{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_48507/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_48507","id":"gutenberg_48507","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48507","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Other","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Devon (England) -- Biography","Devon (England) -- History"],"text":"Transcriber\u2019s Note:\n                          ###################\n\n    This e-text is based on the 1908 edition of the book. Minor\n    punctuation errors have been tacitly corrected. Inconsistencies\n    in hyphenation and spelling, such as \u2018ale-house\u2019/\u2018alehouse\u2019 and\n    \u2018Mary Wilcocks\u2019/\u2018Mary Willcocks,\u2019 have been retained. The asterism\n    symbols in the book catalogue at the end of this text have been\n    inverted for presentation on electronic media.\n\n    The following passage has been corrected:\n\n    # p. 126: \u20181852\u2019 \u2192 \u20181825\u2019\n    # p. 685: \u2018fro mthe\u2019 \u2192 \u2018from the\u2019\n\n    Italic text has been symbolised by underscores (_italic_); forward\n    slashes represent small caps (/small caps/). Caret symbols (^)\n    signify superscript characters; multiple characters have been\n    grouped inside curly braces: ^{superscript}.\n\n\n\n\n                         DEVONSHIRE CHARACTERS\n                          AND STRANGE EVENTS\n\n\n\n\n                        BY THE SAME AUTHOR\n\n                        YORKSHIRE ODDITIES\n                        TRAGEDY OF THE C\u00c6SARS\n                        CURIOUS MYTHS\n                        LIVES OF THE SAINTS\n\n                        ETC. ETC.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n    _G. Clint, A.R.A., pinxt._      _Thos. Lupton. sculpt._\n\nMARIA FOOTE, AFTERWARDS COUNTESS OF HARRINGTON, AS MARIA DARLINGTON IN\nTHE FARCE OF \u201cA ROWLAND FOR AN OLIVER\u201d (1824)]\n\n\n\n\n                              DEVONSHIRE\n                              CHARACTERS\n                          AND STRANGE EVENTS\n                       BY S. BARING-GOULD, /M.A./\n\n                    WITH 55 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS\n                   REPRODUCED FROM OLD PRINTS, ETC.\n\n\n                                           O Jupiter!\n            Hanccine vitam? hoscine mores? hanc dementiam?\n\n                                 /Terence/, _Adelphi_ (Act IV).\n\n\n                   LONDON: JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD\n                  NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY MCMVIII\n\n\n\n\n         PLYMOUTH: WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON, LIMITED, PRINTERS\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nIn treating of Devonshire Characters, I have had to put aside the chief\nWorthies and those Devonians famous in history, as George Duke of\nAlbemarle, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Francis Drake, Sir Joshua Reynolds,\nthe Coleridges, Sir Stafford Northcote, first Earl of Iddesleigh, and\nmany another; and to content myself with those who lie on a lower\nplane. So also I have had to set aside several remarkable characters,\nwhose lives I have given elsewhere, as the Herrings of Langstone (whom\nI have called Grym or Grymstone) and Madame Drake, George Spurle the\nPost-boy, etc. Also I have had to pretermit several great rascals,\nas Thomas Gray and Nicholas Horner. But even so, I find an _embarras\nde richesses_, and have had to content myself with such as have had\ncareers of some general interest. Moreover, it has not been possible to\nsay all that might have been said relative to these, so as to economize\nspace, and afford room for others.\n\nSo also, with regard to strange incidents, some limitation has been\nnecessary, and such have been selected as are less generally known.\n\nI have to thank the kind help of many Devonshire friends for the\nloan of rare pamphlets, portraits, or for information not otherwise\nacquirable--as the Earl of Iddesleigh, Lady Rosamond Christie, Mrs.\nChichester of Hall, Mrs. Ford of Pencarrow, Dr. Linnington Ash, Dr.\nBrushfield, Capt. Pentecost, Miss M. P. Willcocks, Mr. Andrew Iredale,\nMr. W. H. K. Wright, Mr. A. B. Collier, Mr. Charles T. Harbeck, Mr.\nH. Tapley Soper, Miss Lega-Weekes, who has contributed the article\non Richard Weekes; Mrs. G. Radford, Mr. R. Pearse Chope, Mr. Rennie\nManderson, Mr. M. Bawden, the Rev. J. B. Wollocombe, the Rev. W. H.\nThornton, Mr. A. M. Broadley, Mr. Samuel Gillespie Prout, Mr. S. H.\nSlade, Mr. W. Fleming, Mrs. A. H. Wilson, Fleet-Surgeon Lloyd Thomas,\nthe Rev. W. T. Wellacott, Mr. S. Raby, Mr. Samuel Harper, Mr. John\nAvery, Mr. Thomas Wainwright, Mr. A. F. Steuart, Mr. S. T. Whiteford,\nand last, but not least, Mr. John Lane, the publisher of this volume,\nwho has taken the liveliest interest in its production.\n\nAlso to Messrs. Macmillan for kindly allowing the use of an engraving\nof Newcomen\u2019s steam engine, and to Messrs. Vinton & Co. for allowing\nthe use of the portrait of the Rev. John Russell that appeared in\n_Bailey\u2019s Magazine_.\n\nI am likewise indebted to Miss M. Windeatt Roberts for having\nundertaken to prepare the exhaustive Index, and to Mr. J. G. Commin for\nplacing at my disposal many rare illustrations.\n\nFor myself I may say that it has been a labour of love to grope among\nthe characters and incidents of the past in my own county, and with\nCordatus, in the Introduction to Ben Jonson\u2019s _Every Man out of his\nHumour_, I may say that it has been \u201ca work that hath bounteously\npleased me; how it will answer the general expectation, I know not.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\nI am desired by my publisher to state that he will be glad to\nreceive any information as to the whereabouts of pictures by another\n\u201cDevonshire Character,\u201d James Gandy, born at Exeter in 1619, and a\npupil of Vandyck. He was retained in the service of the Duke of Ormond,\nwhom he accompanied to Ireland, where he died in 1689. It is said that\nhis chief works will be found in that country and the West of England.\n\nJackson of Exeter, in his volume _The Four Ages_, says: \u201cAbout the\nbeginning of the eighteenth century was a painter in Exeter called\nGandy, of whose colouring Sir Joshua Reynolds thought highly. I heard\nhim say that on his return from Italy, when he was fresh from seeing\nthe pictures of the Venetian school, he again looked at the works of\nGandy, and that they had lost nothing in his estimation. There are many\npictures of this artist in Exeter and its neighbourhood. The portrait\nSir Joshua seemed most to value is in the Hall belonging to the College\nof Vicars in that city, but I have seen some very much superior to it.\u201d\n\nSince then, however, the original picture has been taken from the\nCollege of Vicars, and has been lost; but a copy, I believe, is still\nexhibited there, and no one seems to know what has become of the\noriginal.\n\nNot only is Mr. Lane anxious to trace this picture, but any others in\nDevon or Ireland, as also letters, documents, or references to this\nartist and his work.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n                                                                   PAGE\n\n    /Hugh Stafford and the Royal Wilding/                              1\n    /The Alphington Ponies/                                           16\n    /Maria Foote/                                                     21\n    /Caraboo/                                                         35\n    /John Arscott, of Tetcott/                                        47\n    /Wife-sales/                                                      58\n    /White Witches/                                                   70\n    /Manly Peeke/                                                     84\n    /Eulalia Page/                                                    95\n    /James Wyatt/                                                    107\n    /The Rev. W. Davy/                                               123\n    /The Grey Woman/                                                 128\n    /Robert Lyde and the \u201cFriend\u2019s Adventure\u201d/                       136\n    /Joseph Pitts/                                                   152\n    /The Demon of Spreyton/                                          170\n    /Tom Austin/                                                     175\n    /Frances Flood/                                                  177\n    /Sir William Hankford/                                           181\n    /Sir John Fitz/                                                  185\n    /Lady Howard/                                                    194\n    /The Bidlakes, of Bidlake/                                       212\n    /The Pirates of Lundy/                                           224\n    /Tom D\u2019Urfey/                                                    238\n    /The Bird of the Oxenhams/                                       248\n    /\u201cLusty\u201d Stucley/                                                262\n    /The Bideford Witches/                                           274\n    /Sir \u201cJudas\u201d Stukeley/                                           278\n    /The Sampford Ghost/                                             286\n    /Philippa Cary and Anne Evans/                                   292\n    /Jack Rattenbury/                                                301\n    /John Barnes, Taverner and Highwayman/                           320\n    /Edward Capern/                                                  325\n    /George Medyett Goodridge/                                       332\n    /John Davy/                                                      351\n    /Richard Parker, the Mutineer/                                   355\n    /Benjamin Kennicott/, /D.D./                                     369\n    /Captain John Avery/                                             375\n    /Joanna Southcott/                                               390\n    /The Stoke Resurrectionists/                                     405\n    /\u201cThe Beggars\u2019 Opera\u201d and Gay\u2019s Chair/                           414\n    /Bampfylde-Moore Carew/                                          425\n    /William Gifford/                                                436\n    /Benjamin R. Haydon/                                             457\n    /John Cooke/                                                     478\n    /Savery and Newcomen, Inventors/                                 487\n    /Andrew Brice, Printer/                                          502\n    /Devonshire Wrestlers/                                           514\n    /Two Hunting Parsons/                                            529\n    /Samuel Prout/                                                   564\n    /Fontelautus/                                                    581\n    /William Lang, of Bradworthy/                                    594\n    /William Cookworthy/                                             600\n    /William Jackson, Organist/                                      608\n    /John Dunning, First Lord Ashburton/                             618\n    /Governor Shortland and the Princetown Massacre/                 633\n    /Captain John Palk/                                              700\n    /Richard Weekes, Gentleman at Arms and Prisoner in the Fleet/    709\n    /Steer Nor\u2019-West/                                                718\n    /George Peele/                                                   726\n    /Peter Pindar/                                                   737\n    /Dr. J. W. Budd/                                                 754\n    /Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Chichester, Bart./                      772\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n    /Maria Foote, afterwards Countess of\n    Harrington/                                           _Frontispiece_\n\n    From an engraving by Thomas Lupton, after a picture by\n    G. Clint, /A.R.A./\n                                                            to face page\n\n    /Hugh Stafford/                                                    2\n\n    From the original painting in the collection of the\n    Earl of Iddesleigh\n\n    /The Roasted Exciseman, or the Jack Boot\u2019s Exit/                   4\n\n    From an old print\n\n    /The Tyburn Interview: a New Song/                                 8\n\n    By a Cyder Merchant, of South-Ham, Devonshire.\n    Dedicated to Jack Ketch\n\n    /The Misses Durnford. The Alphington Ponies/                      16\n\n    From a lithograph\n\n    /The Misses Durnford. The Alphington Ponies/\n    (Back View)                                                       18\n\n    Lithographed by P. Gauci. Pub. Ed. Cockrem\n\n    /Maria Foote, afterwards Countess of Harrington/                  22\n\n    From an engraved portrait in the collection of A. M.\n    Broadley, Esq.\n\n    /Caraboo, Princess of Javasu,/ _alias_ /Mary Baker/               36\n\n    From an engraving by Henry Meyer, after a picture by E.\n    Bird\n\n    /Mary Wilcocks, of Witheridge, Devonshire,/ _alias_\n    /Caraboo/                                                         44\n\n    Drawn and engraved by N. Branwhite\n\n    /Arscott of Tetcott/                                              48\n\n    From the picture by J. Northcote, /R.A./\n\n    /Old Tetcott House/                                               54\n\n    /Mariann Voaden, Bratton/                                         74\n\n    /Mariann Voaden\u2019s Cottage, Bratton/                               74\n\n    /A Village \u201cWise Man\u201d/                                            78\n\n    /Manly Peeke in his Encounter with Three Adversaries\n    Armed with Rapiers and Poignards/                                 90\n\n    /James Wyat/, /\u00c6TAT./ 40                                         108\n\n    Reproduced from the frontispiece to _The Life and\n    Surprizing Adventures of James Wyatt, Written by\n    Himself_, 1755\n\n    /Rev. W. Davy/                                                   124\n\n    From an engraving by R. Cooper, after a picture by Wm.\n    Sharland\n\n    /Slanning\u2019s Oak/                                                 188\n\n    From an oil painting by A. B. Collier, 1855\n\n    /Frontispiece to \u201cThe Bloudie Booke; or the Tragical\n    End of Sir John Fitz\u201d/                                           192\n\n    /Lady Howard/                                                    194\n\n    /Bidlake/                                                        212\n\n    /Thomas D\u2019Urfey/                                                 238\n\n    From an engraving by G. Virtue, after a picture by E.\n    Gouge\n\n    /Frontispiece to \u201cA True Relation of an Apparition,\u201d\n    etc., by James Oxenham/                                          248\n\n    /John Rattenbury, of Beer, Devonshire, \u201cThe Rob Roy of\n    the West\u201d/                                                       302\n\n    From a lithograph\n\n    /Edward Capern, the Postman-Poet of Devonshire/                  326\n\n    From a painting by William Widgery, in the Free\n    Library, Bideford\n\n    /Charles Medyett Goodridge in his Seal-skin Dress/               332\n\n    /Richard Parker/                                                 356\n\n    From a drawing by Bailey\n\n    /B. Kennicott/, /S.T.P./                                         370\n\n    From the portrait at Exeter College, Oxford\n\n    /Captain Avery and his Crew taking one of the Great\n    Mogul\u2019s Ships/                                                   376\n\n    From a drawing by Wm. Jeit\n\n    /Joanna Southcott/                                               390\n\n    Drawn from life by Wm. Sharp\n\n    /Silver Pap-boat prepared for the Coming of Shiloh,\n    presented to Joanna Southcott in June, 1814/                     402\n\n    From the original in the collection of A. M. Broadley,\n    Esq.\n\n    /Crib presented to Joanna Southcott in anticipation\n    of the Birth of the Shiloh by Believers in her Divine\n    Mission as \u201cA Goodwill Offering by Faith to the\n    Promised Seed\u201d/                                                  402\n\n    Reproduced from the original print in the collection of\n    A. M. Broadley, Esq.\n\n    /Mr. Gay/                                                        414\n\n    From an old print\n\n    /The Grammar School, Barnstaple, where Gay was\n    Educated/                                                        416\n\n    /Gay\u2019s Chair/                                                    422\n\n    /Bampfylde Moore Carew, \u201cKing of the Beggars\u201d/                   426\n\n    From an engraving by Maddocks\n\n    /W. Gifford/                                                     436\n\n    From an engraving by R. H. Cromek, after a picture by\n    I. Hoppner, /R.A./\n\n    /B. R. Haydon/                                                   458\n\n    From a drawing by David Wilkie\n\n    /Captain Cooke, 1824, aged 58/                                   478\n\n    Drawn, from nature, on the stone by N. Whittock\n\n    /The Noted John Cooke of Exeter, Captain of the\n    Sheriff\u2019s Troop at Seventy-four Assizes for the County\n    of Devon/                                                        482\n\n    From a lithograph by Geo. Rowe\n\n    /Thomas Savery/                                                  488\n\n    /Sketch of Newcomen\u2019s House, Lower Street, Dartmouth,\n    before it was demolished/                                        494\n\n    /The Chimney-piece at which Newcomen sat when he\n    Invented the Steam Engine/                                       494\n\n    /The Steam Engine, near Dudley Castle./ Invented by\n    Capt. Savery and Mr. Newcomen. Erected by y^e later,\n    1712                                                             496\n\n    From a drawing by Barney. Reproduced by kind permission\n    of Messrs. Macmillan & Co.\n\n    /Andrew Brice, Printer/                                          502\n\n    Reproduced by kind permission from a print in the\n    possession of Dr. Brushfield\n\n    /The Wrestling Champion of England, Abraham Cann/                518\n\n    From a drawing\n\n    /Rev. John Russell/                                              530\n\n    Reproduced by permission of the Editor of _Bailey\u2019s\n    Magazine_\n\n    /The Rev. John Russell\u2019s Port-wine Glass, Chamberlain\n    Worcester Breakfast Service, and Barometer/                      558\n\n    Purchased at the sale of his effects in 1883 by Mrs.\n    Arnull and presented by her to Mr. John Lane, in whose\n    possession they now are\n\n    /Samuel Prout/                                                   564\n\n    From a drawing in the possession of Samuel Gillespie\n    Prout, Esq.\n\n    /William Cookworthy of Plymouth/                                 600\n\n    From the original portrait by Opie in the possession of\n    Edward Harrison, Esq., of Watford\n\n    /Mr. Jackson, the Celebrated Composer/                           608\n\n    From an engraving after J. Walker\n\n    /Lord Ashburton/                                                 618\n\n    From an engraving by F. Bartolozzi, after a picture by\n    Sir Joshua Reynolds\n\n    /Horrid Massacre at Dartmoor Prison, England/                    648\n\n    From an old print\n\n    /Plan of Dartmoor Prison/                                        650\n\n    /North Wyke/                                                     710\n\n    /Dr. Wolcot/                                                     738\n\n    /Dr. John W. Budd/                                               754\n\n    From a photograph by his brother Dr. Richard Budd, of\n    Barnstaple\n\n    /Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Chichester, Bart./                      772\n\n\n\n\nDEVONSHIRE CHARACTERS AND STRANGE EVENTS\n\n\n\n\nHUGH STAFFORD AND THE ROYAL WILDING\n\n\nHugh Stafford, Esq., of Pynes, born 1674, was the last of the Staffords\nof Pynes. His daughter, Bridget Maria, carried the estate to her\nhusband, Sir Henry Northcote, Bart., from whom is descended the present\nEarl of Iddesleigh. Hugh Stafford died in 1734. He is noted as an\nenthusiastic apple-grower and lover of cyder.\n\nHe wrote a \u201cDissertation on Cyder and Cyder-Fruit\u201d in a letter to a\nfriend in 1727, but this was not published till 1753, and a second\nedition in 1769. The family of Stafford was originally Stowford, of\nStowford, in the parish of Dolton. The name changed to Stoford and\nthen to Stafford. One branch married into the family of Wollocombe,\nof Wollocombe. But the name of Stowford or Stafford was not the most\nancient designation of the family, which was Kelloway, and bore as its\narms four pears. The last Stafford turned from pears to apples, to\nwhich he devoted his attention and became a connoisseur not in apples\nonly, but in the qualities of cyder as already intimated.\n\nTo a branch of this family belonged Sir John Stowford, Lord Chief Baron\nin the reign of Edward III, who built Pilton Bridge over the little\nstream of the Yeo or Yaw, up which the tide flows, and over which the\npassage was occasionally dangerous. The story goes that the judge one\nday saw a poor market woman with her child on a mudbank in the stream\ncrying for aid, which none could afford her, caught and drowned by the\nrising flood, whereupon he vowed to build the bridge to prevent further\naccident. The rhyme ran:--\n\n    Yet Barnstaple, graced though thou be by brackish Taw,\n    In all thy glory see that thou not forget the little Yaw.\n\nCamden asserts that Judge Stowford also constructed the long bridge\nover the Taw consisting of sixteen piers. Tradition will have it,\nhowever, that towards the building of this latter two spinster ladies\n(sisters) contributed by the profits of their distaffs and the pennies\nthey earned by keeping a little school.\n\nI was travelling on the South Devon line some years ago after there\nhad been a Church Congress at Plymouth, and in the same carriage with\nme were some London reporters. Said one of these gentry to another:\n\u201cDid you ever see anything like Devonshire parsons and pious ladies?\nThey were munching apples all the time that the speeches were being\nmade. Honour was being done to the admirable fruit by these worthy\nDevonians. I was dotting down my notes during an eloquent harangue on\n\u2018How to Bring Religion to Bear upon the People\u2019 when chump, chump went\na parson on my left; and the snapping of jaws on apples, rending off\nshreds for mastication, punctuated the periods of a bishop who spoke\nnext. At an ensuing meeting on the \u2018Deepening of Personal Religion\u2019\nmy neighbour was munching a Cornish gilliflower, which he informed me\nin taste and aroma surpassed every other apple. I asked in a low tone\nwhether Devonshire people did not peel their fruit before eating. He\nanswered _leni susurro_ that the flavour was in the rind.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: HUGH STAFFORD\n\n_From the original painting in the collection of the Earl of\nIddesleigh_]\n\nCyder was anciently the main drink of the country people in the West of\nEngland. Every old farmhouse had its granite trough (circular) in which\nrolled a stone wheel that pounded the fruit to a \u201cpummice,\u201d and the\njuice flowed away through a lip into a keeve. Now, neglected and cast\naside, may be seen the huge masses of stone with an iron crook fastened\nin them, which in the earliest stage of cyder-making were employed for\npressing the fruit into pummice. But these weights were superseded by\nthe screw-press that extracted more of the juice.\n\nIn 1763 Lord Bute, the Prime Minister, imposed a tax of 10s. per\nhogshead on cyder and perry, to be paid by the first buyer. The\ncountry gentlemen, without reference to party, were violent in their\nopposition, and Bute then condescended to reduce the sum and the mode\nof levying it, proposing 4s. per hogshead, to be paid, not by the first\nbuyer, but by the grower, who was to be made liable to the regulations\nof the excise and the domiciliary visits of excisemen. Pitt thundered\nagainst this cyder Bill, inveighing against the intrusion of excise\nofficers into private dwellings, quoting the old proud maxim, that\nevery Englishman\u2019s house was his castle, and showing the hardship\nof rendering every country gentleman, every individual that owned a\nfew fruit trees and made a little cyder, liable to have his premises\ninvaded by officers. The City of London petitioned the Commons, the\nLords, the throne, against the Bill; in the House of Lords forty-nine\npeers divided against the Minister; the cities of Exeter and Worcester,\nthe counties of Devonshire and Herefordshire, more nearly concerned in\nthe question about cyder than the City of London, followed the example\nof the capital, and implored their representatives to resist the tax\nto the utmost; and an indignant and general threat was made that the\napples should be suffered to fall and rot under the trees rather than\nbe made into cyder, subject to such a duty and such annoyances. No\nfiscal question had raised such a tempest since Sir Robert Walpole\u2019s\nExcise Bill in 1733. But Walpole, in the plenitude of his power and\nabilities, and with wondrous resources at command, was constrained to\nbow to the storm he had roused, and to shelve his scheme. Bute, on\nthe other hand, with a power that lasted but a day, with a position\nalready undermined, with slender abilities and no resources, but with\nScotch stubbornness, was resolved that his Bill should pass. And it\npassed, with all its imperfections; and although there were different\nsorts of cyder, varying in price from 5s. to 50s. per hogshead, they\nwere all taxed alike--the poor man having thus to pay as heavy a duty\nfor his thin beverage as the affluent man paid for the choicest kind.\nThe agitation against Lord Bute grew. In some rural districts he was\nburnt under the effigy of a _jack-boot_, a rustic allusion to his name\n(Bute); and on more than one occasion when he walked the streets he was\naccused of being surrounded by prize-fighters to protect him against\nthe violence of the mob. Numerous squibs, caricatures, and pamphlets\nappeared. He was represented as hung on the gallows above a fire, in\nwhich a jack-boot fed the flames and a farmer was throwing an excised\ncyder-barrel into the conflagration, whilst a Scotchman, in Highland\ncostume, in the background, commented, \u201cIt\u2019s aw over with us now, and\naw our aspiring hopes are gone\u201d; whilst an English mob advanced waving\nthe banners of Magna Charta, and \u201cLiberty, Property, and No Excise.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: The ROASTED EXCISEMAN\n\nor\n\nThe JACK BOOT\u2019S EXIT.]\n\nI give one of the ballads printed on this occasion: it is entitled,\n\u201cThe Scotch Yoke, and English Resentment. To the tune of _The Queen\u2019s\nAss_.\u201d\n\n    Of Freedom no longer let Englishmen boast,\n    Nor Liberty more be their favourite Toast;\n    The Hydra Oppression your Charta defies,\n    And galls English Necks with the Yoke of Excise,\n            The Yoke of Excise, the Yoke of Excise,\n            And galls English Necks with the Yoke of Excise.\n\n    In vain have you conquer\u2019d, my brave Hearts of Oak,\n    Your Laurels, your Conquests are all but a Joke;\n    Let a rascally Peace serve to open your Eyes,\n    And the d--nable Scheme of a Cyder-Excise,\n            A Cyder-Excise, etc.\n\n    What though on your Porter a Duty was laid,\n    Your Light double-tax\u2019d, and encroach\u2019d on your Trade;\n    Who e\u2019er could have thought that a Briton so wise\n    Would admit such a Tax as the Cyder-Excise,\n            The Cyder-Excise, etc.\n\n    I appeal to the Fox, or his Friend John a-Boot,\n    If tax\u2019d thus the Juice, then how soon may the Fruit?\n    Adieu then to good Apple-puddings and Pyes,\n    If e\u2019er they should taste of a cursed Excise,\n            A cursed Excise, etc.\n\n    Let those at the Helm, who have sought to enslave\n    A Nation so glorious, a People so brave,\n    At once be convinced that their Scheme you despise,\n    And shed your last Blood to oppose the Excise,\n            Oppose the Excise, etc.\n\n    Come on then, my Lads, who have fought and have bled,\n    A Tax may, perhaps, soon be laid on your Bread;\n    Ye Natives of Worc\u2019ster and Devon arise,\n    And strike at the Root of the Cyder-Excise,\n            The Cyder-Excise, etc.\n\n    No longer let K--s at the H--m of the St--e,\n    With fleecing and grinding pursue Britain\u2019s Fate;\n    Let Power no longer your Wishes disguise,\n    But off with their Heads--by the Way of Excise,\n            The Way of Excise, etc.\n\n    From two Latin words, _ex_ and _scindo_, I ween,\n    Came the hard Word Excise, which to _Cut off_ does mean.\n    Take the Hint then, my Lads, let your Freedom advise,\n    And give them a Taste of their fav\u2019rite Excise,\n            Their fav\u2019rite Excise, etc.\n\n    Then toss off your Bumpers, my Lads, while you may,\n    To Pitt and Lord Temple, Huzza, Boys, huzza!\n    Here\u2019s the King that to tax his poor Subjects denies,\n    But Pox o\u2019 the Schemer that plann\u2019d the Excise,\n            That plann\u2019d the Excise, etc.\n\nThe apple trees were too many and too deep-rooted and too stout for the\nScotch thistle. The symptoms of popular dislike drove Bute to resign\n(8 April, 1763), to the surprise of all. The duty, however, was not\nrepealed till 1830. In my _Book of the West_ (Devon), I have given an\naccount of cyder-making in the county, and I will not repeat it here.\nBut I may mention the curious Devonshire saying about Francemass, or\nSt. Franken Days. These are the 19th, 20th, and 21st May, at which time\nvery often a frost comes that injures the apple blossom. The story goes\nthat there was an Exeter brewer, of the name of Frankin, who found that\ncyder ran his ale so hard that he vowed his soul to the devil on the\ncondition that his Satanic Majesty should send three frosty nights in\nMay annually to cut off the apple blossom.\n\nAnd now to return to Hugh Stafford. He opens his letter with an account\nof the origin of the Royal Wilding, one of the finest sorts of apple\nfor the making of choice cyder.\n\n\u201cSince you have seen the Royal Wilding apple, which is so very much\ncelebrated (and so deservedly) in our county, the history of its\nbeing first taken notice of, which is fresh in everybody\u2019s memory, may\nnot be unacceptable to you. The single and only tree from which the\napple was first propagated is very tall, fair, and stout; I believe\nabout twenty feet high. It stands in a very little quillet (as we call\nit) of gardening, adjoining to the post-road that leads from Exeter\nto Oakhampton, in the parish of St. Thomas, but near the borders of\nanother parish called Whitestone. A walk of a mile from Exeter will\ngratify any one, who has curiosity, with the sight of it.\n\n\u201cIt appears to be properly a wilding, that is, a tree raised from the\nkernel of an apple, without having been grafted, and (which seems well\nworth observing) has, in all probability, stood there much more than\nseventy years, for two ancient persons of the parish of Whitestone,\nwho died several years since, each aged upwards of the number of years\nbefore mentioned, declared, that when they were boys, probably twelve\nor thirteen years of age, and first went the road, it was not only\ngrowing there, but, what is worth notice, was as tall and stout as it\nnow appears, nor do there at this time appear any marks of decay upon\nit that I could perceive.\n\n\u201cIt is a very constant and plentiful bearer every other year, and then\nusually produces apples enough to make one of our hogsheads of cyder,\nwhich contains sixty-four gallons, and this was one occasion of its\nbeing first taken notice of, and of its affording an history which, I\nbelieve, no other tree ever did: For the little cot-house to which it\nbelongs, together with the little quillet in which it stands, being\nseveral years since mortgaged for ten pounds, the fruit of this tree\nalone, in a course of some years, freed the house and garden, and its\nmore valuable self, from that burden.\n\n\u201cMr. Francis Oliver (a gentleman of the neighbourhood, and, if I\nmistake not, the gentleman who had the mortgage just now mentioned) was\none of the first persons about Exeter that affected rough cyder, and,\nfor that reason, purchased the fruit of this tree every bearing year.\nHowever, I cannot learn that he ever made cyder of it alone, but mix\u2019d\nwith other apples, which added to the flavour of his cyder, in the\nopinion of those who had a true relish for that liquor.\n\n\u201cWhether this, or any other consideration, brought on the more happy\nexperiment upon this apple, the Rev. Robert Wollocombe, Rector of\nWhitestone, who used to amuse himself with a nursery, put on some heads\nof this wilding; and in a few years after being in his nursery, about\nMarch, a person came to him on some business, and feeling something\nroll under his feet, took it up, and it proved one of those precious\napples, which Mr. Wollocombe receiving from him, finding it perfectly\nsound after it had lain in the long stragle of the nursery during all\nthe rain, frost, and snow of the foregoing winter, thought it must be\na fruit of more than common value; and having tasted it, found the\njuices, not only in a most perfect soundness and quickness, but such\nlikewise as seemed to promise a body, as well as the roughness and\nflavour that the wise cyder drinkers in Devon now begin to desire.\nHe observed the graft from which it had fallen, and searching about\nfound some more of the apples, and all of the same soundness; upon\nwhich, without hesitation, he resolved to graft a greater quantity of\nthem, which he accordingly did; but waited with impatience for the\nexperiment, which you know must be the work of some years. They came at\nlength, and his just reward was a barrel of the juice, which, though\nit was small, was of great value for its excellency, and far exceeded\nall his expectations.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\nThe _TYBURN_ INTERVIEW: A New SONG.\n\nBy a /Cyder Merchant/, of South-Ham, Devonshire.\n\nDedicated to _JACK KETCH_.\n\n\nTo the Tune _A Cobler there was_, &c.\n\n\n    As Sawney from _Tweed_ was a trudging to Town,\n    To rest his tir\u2019d Limbs on the Grass he sat down;\n    When growsing his Oatmeal, he turn\u2019d up his Eyes,\n    And kenn\u2019d a strange Pile on three Pillars arise.\n                                  _Derry down_, &c.\n\n    Amaz\u2019d he starts up, \u201cThou Thing of odd Form,\n    That stand\u2019st here defying each turbulent Storm;\n    What art thou? Thy Office declare at my Word,\n    Or thou shalt not escape this strong Arm and broad Sword.\u201d\n                                  _Derry down_, &c.\n\n    Quoth the Structure, \u201cAltho\u2019 I\u2019m not known unto thee,\n    Thy Countrymens Lives have been shorten\u2019d by me;\n    To strike thee at once, know that _Tyburn\u2019s_ my Name,\n    In _Scotland_, no doubt, you have heard of my Fame.\n                                  _Derry down_, &c.\n\n    When arm\u2019d all rebellious, like Vultures you rose,\n    A Set of such Shahrags, you frighten\u2019d the Crows;\n    To rid the tir\u2019d land of such Vermin as you,\n    I groan\u2019d with receiving but barely my Due.\n                                  _Derry down_, &c.\n\n    And still I\u2019m in Hopes of another to come,\n    For _Tyburn_ will certain at last be his Home;\n    He\u2019ll come from the Summit of Honour\u2019s vast Height,\n    With a Star and a Garter to dubb me a Knight.\u201d\n                                  _Derry down_, &c.\n\n    His Passion now _Sawney_ no more could contain,\n    \u201cMy Sword shall strait prove all thy Hopes are in vain\u201d;\n    So saying; he brandish\u2019d it high in the Air,\n    When strait a _Scotch_ Voice cry\u2019d out--_Sawney_ forbear!\n                                  _Derry down_, &c.\n\n    The Phantom that spoke now appear\u2019d in a trice,\n    And to the fear\u2019d _Scotsman_ thus gave his Advice:\n    \u201cCalm thy Breast that now boils with Vexation and Rage,\n    And let what I speak thy Attention engage.\n                                  _Derry down_, &c.\n\n    No longer with Fury pursue this old Tree,\n    His Back shall bear Vengeance for you and for me;\n    For know, my dear Friend, the Time is at Hand,\n    When with _Englishmen_, _Tyburn_ shall thin half the Land.\n                                  _Derry down_, &c.\n\n    The Case is revers\u2019d by a good Friend of ours,\n    All Treason is _English_, and Loyalty yours:\n    Posts, Honour, and Profit all _Scotsmen_ await,\n    While the Natives shall tremble and curse their hard Fate.\n                                  _Derry down_, &c.\n\n    The War is no more, and each Soldier and Tar,\n    The Strength and the Bulwark of _England_ in War,\n    Are coming to prove our Friend\u2019s deep Penetration,\n    As the first Sacrifice to our _Scotch Exaltation_.\u201d\n                                  _Derry down_, &c.\n\n    Here ended the Phantom, and sunk in the Ground,\n    While the blue Flames of Hell glar\u2019d terrible round;\n    When for _London_ young _Sawney_ around turn\u2019d his Eyes,\n    Where he march\u2019d for a Place in the _new-rais\u2019d_ /Excise/.\n                                  _Derry down_, &c.\n\n    Ye National Schemers, come tell me, I pray,\n    Your Intention in this. _To bring more Scotch in play_!\n    For this must the Tax be enforc\u2019d with all Speed,\n    For Thousands are coming between _here_ and _Tweed_.\n                                  _Derry down_, &c.\n\n    Ah! hapless _Old England_, no longer be merry,\n    Since _B--_ has thus tax\u2019d your Beer, Cyder and Perry;\n    Look sullen and sad, for now this is done,\n    No doubt in short Time they\u2019ll tax _Laughing_ and _Fun_.\n                                  _Derry down_, &c.\n\n    Yet let the Proud Laird, who presides at the Helm,\n    Extend his Excise to each Thing in the Realm:\n    A Tax on _Spring-Water_ I think would be right,\n    For _Water_, \u2019tis known, is as common as _Light_.\n                                  _Derry down_, &c.\n\n    _Meat_, _Butter_, and _Cheese_, \u201cBy my Saul that will do!\n    \u2019Twill affect all the _Land_, and bring _Money_ in too;\u201d\n    Proceed, my good Laird, and may the _H-lt-r_ or _A--e_,\n    Reward you for saying each _infamous_ T--x.\n                                  _Derry down_, &c.\n\n\n\u201cMr. Wollocombe was not a little pleased with it, and talked of it\nin all conversations; it created amusement at first, but when time\nproduced an hogshead of it, from raillery it came to seriousness, and\nevery one from laughter fell to admiration. In the meantime he had\nthought of a name for his British wine, and as it appeared to be in the\noriginal tree a fruit not grafted, it retained the name of a Wilding,\nand as he thought it superior to all other apples, he gave it the title\nof the Royal Wilding.\n\n\u201cThis was about sixteen years since (i.e. about 1710). The gentlemen of\nour county are now busy almost everywhere in promoting it, and some of\nthe wiser farmers. But we have not yet enough for sale. I have known\nfive guineas refused for one of our hogsheads of it, though the common\ncyder sells for twenty shillings, and the South Ham for twenty-five to\nthirty.\n\n\u201cI must add, that Mr. Wollocombe hath reserved some of them for hoard;\nI have tasted the tarts of them, and they come nearer to the quince\nthan any other tart I ever eat of.\n\n\u201cWherever it has been tried as yet, the juices are perfectly good\n(but better in some soils than others), and when the gentlemen of the\nSouth-Hams will condescend to give it a place in their orchards, they\nwill undoubtedly exceed us in this liquor, because we must yield to\nthem in the apple soil. But it is happy for us, that at present they\nare so wrapt up in their own sufficiency, that they do not entertain\nany thoughts of raising apples from us; and when they shall, it must be\nanother twenty years before they can do anything to the purpose, though\nsome of their thinking gentlemen, I am told, begin to get some of them\ntransported thither, (by night you may suppose, partly for shame and\npartly for fear of being mobbed by their neighbours) and will, I am\nwell assured, much rejoice in the production.\n\n\u201cThe colour of the Royal Wilding cyder, without any assistance from\nart, is of a bright yellow, rather than a reddish beerish tincture;\nits other qualities are a noble body, an excellent bitter, a delicate\n(excuse the expression) roughness, and a fine vinous flavour. All the\nother qualities you may meet with in some of the best South-Ham cyder,\nbut the last is peculiar to the White-Sour and the Royal Wilding only,\nand you will in vain look for it in any other.\u201d\n\nMr. Stafford goes on to speak of his second favourite, the White Sour\nof the South Hams.\n\n\u201cThe qualities of the juices are precisely the same with those of\nthe Royal Wilding, nay, so very near one to the other, that they are\nperfectly rivals, and created such a contest, as is very uncommon,\nand to which I was an eye-witness. A gentleman of the South-Hams,\nwhose White-Sour cyders, for the year, were very celebrated, (for our\ncyder vintages, like those of clarets and ports, are very different\nin different years) and had been drank of by another gentleman, who\nwas a happy possessor, an uncontested lord, _facile princeps_, of the\nRoyal Wilding, met at the house of the latter gentleman a year or two\nafter: the famed Royal Wilding, you may be sure, was produced, as\nthe best return for the White-Sour that had been tasted at the other\ngentleman\u2019s; and what was the effect? Each gentleman did not contend,\nas is usual, that his was the best cyder; but such was the equilibrium\nof the juices, and such the generosity of their breasts (for finer\ngentlemen we have not in our country) that each affirmed his own\nwas the worst; the gentleman of the South-Hams declared in favour of\nthe Royal Wilding, and the gentleman of our parts in favour of the\nWhite-Sour.\u201d\n\nAs to the sweet cyder, Mr. Stafford despises it. \u201cIt may be acceptable\nto a female, or a Londoner, it is ever offensive to a bold and generous\nWest Saxon,\u201d says he.\n\nMr. Stafford flattered himself one year that he had beaten the Royal\nWilding. He had planted pips, and after many years brewed a pipe of the\napples of his wildings in 1724. Mr. Wollocombe was invited to taste\nit. \u201cThe surprise (and even almost silence) with which he was seized\nat first tasting it was plainly perceived by everyone present, and\noccasioned no small diversion.\u201d But, alas! after it was bottled this\n\u201cSuper-Celestial,\u201d as it had been named, as the year advanced, appeared\nthin compared with the cyder of the Royal Wilding, and Hugh Stafford\nwas constrained after a first flush of triumph to allow that the Royal\nWilding maintained pre-eminence.\n\nAccording to our author, the addition of a little sage or clary to\nthin cyder gives it a taste as of a good Rhenish wine; and he advises\nthe crushing to powder of angelica roots to add to cyder, as is done\nin Oporto by those who prepare port for the English market. It gives a\nflavour and a bouquet truly delicious.\n\nAt the English Revolution, when William of Orange came to the throne,\nthe introduction of French wines into the country was prohibited, and\nthis gave a great impetus to the manufacture of cyder, and care in the\nproduction of cyder of the best description. But the imposition of a\nduty of ten shillings a hogshead on cyder that was not repealed, as\nalready said, till 1830, killed the industry. Farmers no longer cared\nto keep up their orchards, and grew apples only for home consumption.\nThey gave the cyder to their labourers, and as these were not\nparticular as to the quality, no pains were taken to produce such as\nwould suit men\u2019s refined palates. The workman liked a rough beverage,\none that almost cut his throat as it passed down; and this produced the\nevil effect that the farmers, who were bound by their leases to keep\nup their orchards, planted only the coarsest sort of apples, and the\nhigher quality of fruit was allowed to die out. The orchards fell into,\nand in most cases remain still in a deplorable condition of neglect.\nHear what is the report of the Special Commissioner of the _Gardeners\u2019\nMagazine_, as to the state of the orchards in Devon. \u201cThey will not,\nas a rule, bear critical examination. As a matter of fact Devonshire,\ncompared with other counties, has made little or no progress of late\nyears, and there are hundreds of orchards in that county that are\nlittle short of a disgrace to those who own or rent them. The majority\nof the orchards are rented by farmers, who too often are the worst of\ngardeners and the poorest of fruit growers, and they cannot be induced\nto improve on their methods.\u201d The writer goes on to say, that so long\nas the farmers have enough trees standing or blown over, to bear\nfruit that suffices for their home consumption, they are content, and\nwith complete indifference, they suffer the cattle to roam about the\norchards, bite off the bark, and rend the branches and tender shoots\nfrom the trees.\n\n\u201cIf you tackle the farmers on the subject, and in particular strongly\nadvise them to see what can be done towards improving their old\norchards and forming new ones, they will become uncivil at once.\u201d\n\nIt is sad to have to state that the famous \u201cRoyal Wilding\u201d is no longer\nknown, not even at Pynes, where it was extensively planted by Hugh\nStafford.\n\nMessrs. Veitch, the well-known nurserymen at Exeter and growers of\nthe finest sorts of apples, inform me that they have not heard of it\nfor many years. Mr. H. Whiteway, who produces some of the best cyder\nin North Devon, writes to me: \u201cWith regard to the _Royal Wilding_\nmentioned in Mr. Hugh Stafford\u2019s book, I have made diligent inquiry in\nand about the neighbourhood in which it was grown at the time stated,\nbut up to now have been unable to find any trace of it, and this\nalso applies to the _White-Sour_. I am, however, not without hope of\ndiscovering some day a solitary remnant of the variety.\u201d\n\nThis loss is due to the utter neglect of the orchards in consequence\nof the passing and maintenance of Lord Bute\u2019s mischievous Bill. This\nBill was the more deplorable in its results because in and about\n1750 cyder had replaced the lighter clarets in the affections of all\nclasses, and was esteemed as good a drink as the finest Rhenish, and\nmuch more wholesome. Rudolphus Austen, who introduced it at the tables\nof the dons of Oxford, undertook to \u201craise cyder that shall compare\nand excel the wine of many provinces nearer the sun, where they abound\nwith fruitful vineyards.\u201d And he further asserted: \u201cA seasonable and\nmoderate use of good cyder is the surest remedy and preservative\nagainst the diseases which do frequently afflict the sedentary life of\nthem that are seriously studious.\u201d He died in 1666.\n\nConsiderable difference of opinion exists as to the advantage or\ndisadvantage of cyder for those liable to rheumatism. But this\ndifference of opinion is due largely, if not wholly, to the kinds of\ncyder drunk. The sweet cyder is unquestionably bad in such cases,\nbut that in which there is not so much sugar is a corrective to the\nuric acid that causes rheumatism. In Noake\u2019s _Worcestershire Relics_\nappears the following extract from the journal of a seventeenth-century\nparson. \u201cThis parish (Dilwyn), wherein syder [_sic_] is plentiful,\nhath and doth afford many people that have and do enjoy the blessing\nof long life, neither are the aged here bed-ridden or decrepit as\nelsewhere, but for the most part lively and vigorous. Next to God, wee\nascribe it to our flourishing orchards, which are not only the ornament\nbut the pride of our country, yielding us rich and winy liquors.\u201d At\nWhimple, in Devon, the rectors, like their contemporary, the Rev.\nRobert Wollocombe, the discoverer of the Royal Wilding a century or\nso later than the Dilwyn parson, were both cyder makers and cyder\ndrinkers. The tenure of office of two of them covered a period of over\na century, and the last of these worthy divines lived to tell the story\nof how the Exeter coach set down the bent and crippled dean at his\ndoor, who, after three weeks \u2018cyder cure\u2019 at the hospitable rectory,\nhad thrown his crutches to the dogs and turned his face homewards\n\u201cupright as a bolt.\u201d[1]\n\nThe apple is in request now for three purposes quite distinct: the\ndessert apple, to rival those introduced from America; that largely\nemployed for the manufacture of jams--the basis, apple, flavoured\nto turn it into raspberry, apricot, etc.; and last, but not least,\nthe cyder-producing apple which is unsuited for either of the former\nrequirements.\n\nIn my _Book of the West_ I have given a lengthy ballad of instruction\non the growth of apple trees, and the gathering of apples and the\nmaking of cyder, which I heard sung by an old man at Washfield, near\nTiverton. The following song was sung to me by an aged tanner of\nLaunceston, some twenty years ago, which he professed to have composed\nhimself:--\n\n    In a nice little village not far from the sea,\n    Still lives my old uncle aged eighty and three;\n    Of orchards and meadows he owns a good lot,\n    Such cyder as his--not another has got.\n\n        Then fill up the jug, boys, and let it go round,\n        Of drinks not the equal in England is found.\n        So pass round the jug, boys, and pull at it free,\n        There\u2019s nothing like cyder, sparkling cyder, for me.\n\n    My uncle is lusty, is nimble and spry,\n    As ribstones his cheeks, clear as crystal his eye,\n    His head snowy white as the flowering may,\n    And he drinks only cyder by night and by day.\n\n        Then fill up the jug, etc.\n\n    O\u2019er the wall of the churchyard the apple trees lean\n    And ripen their burdens, red, golden, and green.\n    In autumn the apples among the graves lie;\n    \u201cThere I\u2019ll sleep well,\u201d says uncle, \u201cwhen fated to die.\u201d\n\n        Then fill up the jug, etc.\n\n    \u201cMy heart as an apple, sound, juicy, has been,\n    My limbs and my trunk have been sturdy and clean;\n    Uncankered I\u2019ve thriven, in heart and in head,\n    So under the apple trees lay me when dead.\u201d\n\n        Then fill up the jug, etc.\n\n\n\n\nTHE ALPHINGTON PONIES\n\n\nDuring the forties of last century, every visitor to Torquay noticed\ntwo young ladies of very singular appearance. Their residence was in\none of the two thatched cottages on the left of Tor Abbey Avenue,\nlooking seaward, very near the Torgate of the avenue. Their chief\nplaces of promenade were the Strand and Victoria Parade, but they were\noften seen in other parts of the town. Bad weather was the only thing\nthat kept them from frequenting their usual beat. They were two Misses\nDurnford, and their costume was peculiar. The style varied only in\ntone and colour. Their shoes were generally green, but sometimes red.\nThey were by no means bad-looking girls when young, but they were so\nberouged as to present the appearance of painted dolls. Their brown\nhair worn in curls was fastened with blue ribbon, and they wore felt or\nstraw hats, usually tall in the crown and curled up at the sides. About\ntheir throats they had very broad frilled or lace collars that fell\ndown over their backs and breasts a long way. But in summer their necks\nwere bare, and adorned with chains of coral or bead. Their gowns were\nshort, so short indeed as to display about the ankles a good deal more\nthan was necessary of certain heavily-frilled cotton investitures of\ntheir lower limbs. In winter over their gowns were worn check jackets\nof a \u201cloud\u201d pattern reaching to their knees, and of a different\ncolour from their gowns, and with lace cuffs. They were never seen,\nwinter or summer, without their sunshades. The only variation to the\njacket was a gay-coloured shawl crossed over the bosom and tied behind\nat the waist.\n\n[Illustration: THE MISSES DURNFORD. THE ALPHINGTON PONIES\n\n_From a Lithograph_]\n\nThe sisters dressed exactly alike, and were so much alike in face as to\nappear to be twins. They were remarkably good walkers, kept perfectly\nin step, were always arm in arm, and spoke to no one but each other.\n\nThey lived with their mother, and kept no servant. All the work of\nthe house was done by the three, so that in the morning they made no\nappearance in the town; only in the afternoon had they assumed their\nwar-paint, when, about 3 p.m., they sallied forth; but, however highly\nthey rouged and powdered, and however strange was their dress, they\ncarried back home no captured hearts. Indeed, the visitors to Torquay\nlooked upon them with some contempt as not being in society and not\ndressing in the fashion; only some of the residents felt for them in\ntheir solitude some compassion. They were the daughters of a Colonel\nDurnford, and had lived at Alphington. The mother was of an inferior\nsocial rank. They had a brother, a major in the Army, 10th Regiment,\nwho was much annoyed at their singularity of costume, and offered to\nincrease their allowance if they would discontinue it; but this they\nrefused to do.\n\nWhen first they came to Torquay, they drove a pair of pretty ponies\nthey had brought with them from Alphington; but their allowance being\nreduced, and being in straitened circumstances, they had to dispose of\nponies and carriage. By an easy transfer the name of Alphington Ponies\npassed on from the beasts to their former owners.\n\nAs they were not well off, they occasionally got into debt, and were\nsummoned before the Court of Requests; and could be impertinent even\nto the judge. On one occasion, when he had made an order for payment,\none of them said, \u201cOh, Mr. Praed, we cannot pay now; but my sister\nis about to be married to the Duke of Wellington, and then we shall\nbe in funds and be able to pay for all we have had and are likely to\nwant!\u201d Once the two visited a shop and gave an order, but, instead of\npaying, flourished what appeared to be the half of a \u00a35 note, saying,\nthat when they had received the other half, they would be pleased to\ncall and discharge the debt. But the tradesman was not to be taken in,\nand declined to execute the order. Indeed, the Torquay shopkeepers\nwere very shy of them, and insisted on the money being handed over the\ncounter before they would serve the ladies with the goods that they\nrequired.\n\nThey made no acquaintances in Torquay or in the neighbourhood, nor did\nany friends come from a distance to stay with them. They would now\nand then take a book out of the circulating library, but seemed to\nhave no literary tastes, and no special pursuits. There was a look of\nintelligence, however, in their eyes, and the expression of their faces\nwas decidedly amiable and pleasing.\n\nThey received very few letters; those that did arrive probably\ncontained remittances of money, and were eagerly taken in at the door,\nbut there was sometimes a difficulty about finding the money to pay for\nthe postage. It is to be feared that the butcher was obdurate, and that\noften they had to go without meat. Fish, however, was cheap.\n\n[Illustration: THE MISSES DURNFORD. THE ALPHINGTON PONIES (BACK VIEW)\n\n_Lithographed by P. Gauci. Pub. Ed. Cockrem_]\n\nA gentleman writes: \u201cMr. Garrow\u2019s house, The Braddons, was on my\nfather\u2019s hands to let. One day the gardener, Tosse, came in hot\nhaste to father and complained that the Alphington Ponies kept coming\ninto the grounds and picking the flowers, that when remonstrated with\nthey declared that they were related to the owner, and had permission.\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said father, \u2018the next time you see them entering the gate\nrun down and tell me.\u2019 In a few days Tosse hastened to say that the\nladies were again there. Father hurried up to the grounds, where he\nfound them flower-picking. Without the least ceremony he insisted on\ntheir leaving the grounds at once. They began the same story to him\nof their relationship to the owner, adding thereto, that they were\ncousins of the Duke of Wellington. \u2018Come,\u2019 said father, \u2018I can believe\n_one_ person can go mad to any extent in any direction whatever, but\nthe improbability of _two_ persons going mad in identically the same\ndirection and manner at the same time is a little too much for my\ncredulity. Ladies, I beg you to proceed.\u2019 And proceed they did.\u201d\n\nAfter some years they moved to Exeter, and took lodgings in St.\nSidwell\u2019s parish. For a while they continued to dress in the same\nstrange fashion; but they came into some money, and then were able\nto indulge in trinkets, to which they had always a liking, but which\npreviously they could not afford to purchase. At a large fancy ball,\ngiven in Exeter, two young Oxonians dressed up to represent these\nladies; they entered the ballroom solemnly, arm in arm, with their\nparasols spread, paced round the room, and finished their perambulation\nwith a waltz together. This caused much amusement; but several ladies\nfelt that it was not in good taste, and might wound the poor crazy\nMisses Durnford. This, however, was not the case. So far from being\noffended at being caricatured, they were vastly pleased, accepting\nthis as the highest flattery. Were not princesses and queens also\nrepresented at the ball? Why, then, not they?\n\nOne public ball they did attend together, at which, amongst others,\nwere Lady Rolle and Mr. Palk, son of the then Sir Lawrence Palk.\nOwing to their conspicuous attire, they drew on them the attention\nof Lady Rolle, who challenged Mr. Palk to ask one of the sisters for\na dance, and offered him a set of gold and diamond shirt studs if he\ncould prevail on either of them to be his partner. Mr. Palk accepted\nthe challenge, but on asking for a dance was met in each case by the\nreply, \u201cI never dance except my sister be also dancing.\u201d Mr. Palk then\ngallantly offered to dance with both sisters at once, or in succession.\nHe won and wore the studs.\n\nA gentleman writes: \u201cIn their early days they made themselves\nconspicuous by introducing the bloomer arrangement in the nether\nlatitude.[2] This, as you may well suppose, was regarded as a scandal;\nbut these ladies, who were never known to speak to any one, or to each\nother out of doors, went on their way quite unruffled. Years and years\nafter this, you may imagine my surprise at meeting them in Exeter, old\nand grey, but the same singular silent pair. Then, after an interval of\na year or two, only one appeared. I assure you, it gave me pain to look\nat that poor lonely, very lonely soul; but it was not for long. Kind\nHeaven took her also, and so a tiny ripple was made, and there was an\nend of the Alphington Ponies.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nMARIA FOOTE\n\n\n\u201cIf there was ever a creature who merited the sympathy of the\nworld, it is Maria Foote. If there was ever a wife who deserved its\ncommiseration, it is her mother.\u201d With these words begins a notice of\nthe actress in _The Examiner_ for 1825.\n\nAbout the year 1796 an actor appeared in Plymouth under the name of\nFreeman, but whose real name was Foote, and who claimed relationship\nwith Samuel Foote, the dramatist and performer. He was of a respectable\nfamily, and his brother was a clergyman at Salisbury. Whilst on a\nvisit to his brother, he met the sister of his brother\u2019s wife, both\ndaughters of a Mr. Charles Hart; she was then a girl of seventeen,\nin a boarding-school, and to the disgrace of all parties concerned\ntherein, this simple boarding-school maid was induced to marry a man\ntwenty-five years older than herself, and to give great offence to her\nparents, who withdrew all interest in her they had hitherto shown.\nFoote returned to Plymouth with his wife, a sweet innocent girl. He was\nat the time proprietor and manager of the Plymouth Theatre; and as, in\ncountry towns, actors and actresses were looked down upon by society,\nno respectable family paid Mrs. Foote the least attention, and although\nthe whole town was interested in her appearance, it regarded her simply\nwith pity.\n\nDeserted by the reputable of one sex, she threw herself into the\nsociety of the other; and in Plymouth, her good humour, fascinating\nmanner, long silken hair, and white hat and feather made havoc among\nthe young bloods. The husband was too apathetic to care who hovered\nabout his wife, with whom she flirted; and she, without being vicious,\nfinding herself slighted causelessly, became indifferent to the world\u2019s\nopinion. Her elderly husband, seeing that she was not visited, began\nhimself to neglect her.\n\nThe produce of this ill-assorted union was Maria Foote, ushered into\nthe world without a friend on the maternal, and very few on the\npaternal side, who took any interest in her welfare, and she was\nbrought up amid scenes little calculated to give her self-respect,\nsense of propriety, or any idea of domestic love and happiness.\n\nFrom the disappointment and weariness of mind that weighed on the\nslighted wife, Mrs. Foote sought relief in attending the theatre\nnightly and acting on the stage. Daily and hourly seeing, hearing, and\ntalking of little else but the stage, as might be expected, a wish to\nbecome an actress took possession of the child\u2019s mind at an early age.\n\nWhen Maria was twelve years of age, her mother was so far lost to all\ndelicacy of feeling, and her father so insensible to the duties of a\nfather, that he suffered his only daughter to act Juliet to the Romeo\nof his wife.\n\nPlymouth was disgusted, thoroughly disgusted, and whatever claims\nMr. Foote had before to the notice of some private friends, they now\nconsidered these as forfeited for ever. From this moment a sort of\nreckless indifference seemed to possess the whole family. Nothing came\namiss, so that money could be obtained; and Foote, who had been brought\nup as a gentleman, and his wife as a lady, took a small inn in\nExeter, in 1811, lost his wife\u2019s fortune, became the dupe of rogues,\nand was ruined.\n\n[Illustration: MARIA FOOTE, AFTERWARDS COUNTESS OF HARRINGTON\n\n_From an engraved portrait in the collection of A. M. Broadley, Esq._]\n\nThe fame of Maria Foote\u2019s beauty and charm of manner had reached\nLondon, and in May, 1814, she made her first appearance at Covent\nGarden Theatre, and personated Amanthis in \u201cThe Child of Nature\u201d\nwith such grace and effect that the manager complimented her with an\nimmediate engagement. Young, beautiful, intelligent, and with natural\nrefinement, she was almost the creature she represented. A liberal\nsalary was assigned to her, and the managers always considered the\nannouncement of her name as certain of obtaining for them a crowded\nhouse. That she had no pretensions to a rank higher than that of a\nsecond-rate actress must, perhaps, be allowed. \u201cI was never a great\nactress,\u201d she used to say in later life, \u201cthough people thought me\nfascinating, and that I suppose I was.\u201d\n\nShe was always dressed tastefully, looked charming, and was a universal\nfavourite among the lobby loungers. A writer in _The Drama_ for 1825\nsays: \u201cTo those who know nothing of a theatre, it may be new to tell\nthem that an interesting girl is in the jaws of ruin, who enters\nit as an actress, unless watched and protected by her family and\nfriends. Constantly exposed to the gaze of men--inflaming a hundred\nheads, and agitating a thousand hearts, if she be as Maria was,\nfascinating and amiable--surrounded by old wretches as dressers, who\nare the constant conveyers of letters, sonnets and flattery--dazzled\nby the thunders of public applause, and softened by the incense of a\nthousand sighs, breathed audibly from the front of the pit or the stage\nboxes--associating in the green-room with licensed married strumpets,\nbecause she must not be affected! Or supping on the stage, after the\ncurtain is dropped, with titled infamy or grey-headed lechery!--Let the\nreader fancy an innocent girl, from a country town, plunged at once\ninto the furnace of depravity--let him fancy her father sanctioning her\nby his indifference or helping her by his example, and then let him\nsay, if she be ultimately seduced and abandoned, whether it ought not\nto be a wonder she was innocent so long.\u201d\n\nIn spite of an education that never cherished the best feelings of a\nchild, Maria had a far sounder understanding than her parents, and\nan instinctive modesty that withstood the evil with which she was\nsurrounded.\n\nIn the summer of 1815, Maria Foote was engaged as a star to perform at\nCheltenham, and there attracted the attention of Fitzharding Berkeley,\nbetter known as Colonel Berkeley. This gentleman was the son of\nFrederick Augustus, fifth Earl of Berkeley, by Mary Cole, the beautiful\ndaughter of a butcher at Gloucester, to whom he was married in 1796.\nThe Colonel was born in 1786. The Earl, indeed, affirmed that a private\nmarriage had taken place in 1785; the House of Lords disallowed the\nproofs, in consequence of which one of the Colonel\u2019s younger brothers,\nborn after 1796, became entitled to the earldom; he, however, always\nrefused to assume the title. Colonel Berkeley was an enthusiastic\namateur of the stage, and he offered his services to perform at the\nbenefit of Miss Foote, and she accepted his offer. The house was full\nto the ceiling, and Maria, of course, felt grateful for the aid thus\nlent her. After thus ingratiating himself, he seized the opportunity\nto plead the passion with which she had inspired him. The old Earl,\nhis father, had died in 1810, and the Colonel was endeavouring to\nestablish his claim to the earldom. He pleaded with her, that till his\nclaim was allowed he could not well marry her, as such a marriage, he\nasserted, would prejudice his suit to recover the forfeited earldom of\nBerkeley, but he solemnly vowed his intention to make her his wife the\nmoment that he could do so without injuring his cause. By this means\nhe deluded the unfortunate girl into a connexion with him that lasted\nfor five years, and during all that time he made her no allowance\nbeyond the payment of those expenses which he himself had led her\nto incur, and the presents he made to her did not in all that time\namount to \u00a3100. In 1821, Maria bore the Colonel a child, and had again\nexpectations of becoming a mother in 1824, and in the June of that year\nall connexion ceased between them.\n\nIn the spring of 1823, Mr. Joseph Hayne, a young man of fortune,\ncommonly known, from the colour of his coat, as \u201cPea-green\u201d Hayne,\nsaw Maria Foote at Covent Garden Theatre, was struck with her beauty,\ncalled at her house in Keppel Street, and invited Mr. Foote to spend\nsome days with him at Kitson Hall in Staffordshire, one of his seats.\nThe invitation was accepted, and there Hayne informed the father that\nhe desired to pay his addresses to his charming daughter. Mr. Foote\nhurried back to town, and as Maria was expecting her confinement,\nsent off his wife with her into the country under the feigned name of\nForbes, to remain in concealment till after that event.\n\nIn the following January, Hayne again called at Keppel Street, and\nannounced to Mrs. Foote that he seriously desired to be united in\nmarriage to her daughter. Mrs. Foote informed him that Maria was\nengaged to be married to Colonel Berkeley, and that her daughter\ncould not listen to his suit unless the Colonel failed to fulfil his\npromise. Hayne then said that he was about to go into the country,\nand asked permission to escort Mrs. and Miss Foote to the opera, and\nto tender to them his private box. To this the lady consented. As it\nhappened, Colonel Berkeley with a Mr. Manse happened to be in the pit\nthat evening, and the Colonel at once dispatched his friend to the box\nto request Hayne to speak with him in the pit. When the young buck\ncame to him, Berkeley asked him for an explanation of his conduct with\nrespect to Miss Foote, and desired a meeting on the following day.\nWhen they met the Colonel disclosed to Hayne everything relative to\nhis connexion with Maria Foote, and told him that he was the father by\nher of two children. On hearing this Mr. Hayne at once wrote to the\nlady to withdraw his proposal of marriage. She, in reply, requested an\ninterview with him in order to explain the circumstances. This took\nplace at Marlborough in the presence of Mrs. Foote. The young man (he\nwas aged only twenty-two) was moved by her sad story, and on his return\nto town found that his flame had not been quenched by the revelation.\nSo he penned a letter to Maria, stating that his feelings remained\nunaltered, and begging her to marry him. After some negotiation she\nagreed to this, and at Hayne\u2019s advice the children were sent to Colonel\nBerkeley, who had asked for them. Hayne proposed to settle \u00a340,000\non Miss Foote, for himself and her to receive the dividends during\ntheir joint lives, and after the death of the survivor of them, to be\ndistributed equally among the children of the marriage, if any; and\nif, at the death of Mr. Hayne, his wife should survive him, but have\nno children, then \u00a320,000 was to become the absolute property of the\nwidow. The day for the wedding was fixed to take place on the ensuing\n4th September, and \u201cMay God strike me dead,\u201d asseverated the young\nman, \u201cif ever I consent to separate myself from you, dearest Maria.\u201d\n\nA few days later, Mr. Bebb, \u201cPea-green\u201d Hayne\u2019s solicitor, called in\nKeppel Street, at Mr. Foote\u2019s house, and left a verbal message to\nthe effect \u201cthat Mr. Hayne would never see Miss Foote again.\u201d Great\nconsternation was produced in the family, and the young actress at once\nwrote to her new lover to entreat an interview and an explanation. The\nbearer of the letter encountered Hayne in Bond Street, and he returned\nwith the servant in a coach to Keppel Street. Hayne informed Maria that\nit was not his fault that he had acted in so strange a manner towards\nher; that it had been his firm intention to fulfil his engagement, but\nthat, on his return home on Sunday, some persons had first plied him\nwith liquor, so as to make him in such a beastly state of intoxication\nthat he knew not what he did; that they afterwards locked him up in a\nlittle back room, from which he had only that moment made his escape,\nwhich his exhausted appearance would prove, and that when he met the\nservant with the letter he was on his way to see his dearest Maria.\nThe explanation was received, a reconciliation was effected, and as\n\u201cPea-green\u201d was so evidently a weak young man, liable to be swayed\nthis way or that according to whom he was with, it was resolved that\na special licence should at once be procured, and that the marriage\nshould take place on the following morning at nine o\u2019clock.\n\nThe night passed anxiously enough on the part of Miss Foote, who\nrealized that there was many a slip between the cup and the lip. At\nlength the morning arrived, everything was prepared, the bride\u2019s maid\nwas in attendance, as were also Mr. Gill, the lawyer with the marriage\nsettlement, and Mr. Robins, the trustee; but the bridegroom did not\nturn up, or send any notice that he was kept away. The parties waited\ntill three o\u2019clock, and then a note was dispatched to him at Long\u2019s\nHotel, where he was staying. The servant who took it was ushered into a\nprivate room, and was there detained, under one pretext or another, for\na considerable time, and was finally informed that Joseph Hayne, Esq.,\nhad gone into the country, to his seat at Burdeson Park, Wiltshire. For\nsix days did the young lady wait in anxious expectation of receiving\nsome communication from the defaulting bridegroom. At length, on the\nsixth day, she wrote to him a distressed and piteous appeal. To this\nshe received an answer: \u201cMy dearest Maria, you are perfectly correct\nwhen you say that my heart and thoughts are still with you.\u201d Hayne then\nstated that the world was censorious, that he was divided between love\nfor her and esteem for his friends and dread of their disapproval. The\nletter then went on to state, \u201cI am resolved to sacrifice friends to\naffection; I cannot, will not lose you.\u201d\n\nAfter a short interval, Hayne returned to London and called on Miss\nFoote, at her father\u2019s residence, and they became perfectly reconciled,\nand the 28th September was finally fixed for the day of their marriage.\nThis fell on the Tuesday, and Monday was appointed for the execution of\nthe marriage settlement. On Saturday, Hayne, accompanied by Mr. Foote,\nwent to Doctors\u2019 Commons, and there procured the marriage licence,\nwhich Hayne himself delivered into the hands of his intended bride,\nand solicited leave to wait on her the following morning. But instead\nof calling himself, a gentleman named Manning appeared at the house of\nthe Footes, and brought a letter from Mr. Hayne to the father of Maria,\nwhich stated that poor Joseph was so wretched as to be unable himself\nto call, but that the bearer would explain everything, and finally\nconcluded by breaking off the match.\n\nAfter this, Miss Foote received another letter from Hayne: \u201cMy dearest\nMaria,--We know each other well; but with all my faults, you have a\nregard for my honour,--my attachment to you is unabated. I entreat you\nto grant me an interview in any other place than Keppel Street.\u201d\n\nTo this letter the fair Maria replied: \u201cIs this the way of proving your\nlove and regard for me? To my honour and your shame be it spoken, that\nI am now suffering under a painful illness, brought on entirely by your\nconduct; but that you are actuated by the advice of bad counsels, I\nhave no doubt. I will, however, once more consent to see you, but it\nmust be in the presence of my family: if I am well enough, on Saturday,\nat one o\u2019clock, it will be convenient to me to grant you an interview.\u201d\nIn reply \u201cPea-green\u201d wrote: \u201cFarewell for ever.--Hayne.\u201d\n\nFor his breach of promise, Miss Foote brought an action for damages.\nThe Attorney-General was retained on behalf of the plaintiff; and Mr.\nScarlett on behalf of the defendant. The case was heard on 21 December,\n1824.\n\nIt then transpired that Mr. Foote, the father, had been given by Mr.\nHayne, to secure his goodwill, the sum of \u00a31150; that Miss Foote had\nreceived presents from the defendant to the value of \u00a31000. It was\nshown that gross deception had been practised on Hayne, at the time of\nMaria\u2019s expected confinement, to conceal from him her condition, and it\nhad been represented to him that she had been taken into the country as\nsuffering from a pulmonary complaint.\n\nHowever, after he had learned all the circumstances, and knew that she\nhad been \u201cunder the protection\u201d of Colonel Berkeley and had borne him\ntwo children, he renewed his offer of marriage. Miss Foote demanded\n\u00a320,000 damages. The jury, after a brief consultation, agreed to accord\nher \u00a33000; a large slice of which sum, if not the largest portion of\nit, was eaten up by the lawyers employed in the case by her.\n\nNone came out well in the matter. As the Attorney-General remarked:\n\u201cHe could not trust himself in using language he thought sufficient to\nexpress his detestation of Colonel Berkeley\u2019s conduct.\u201d Joseph Hayne\nappeared as a public fop who did not know his own mind from one day to\nanother.\n\nMrs. Foote was revealed to be a scheming unprincipled woman, but Mr.\nFoote came out worst of all. As _The Examiner_ said of him: \u201cThere is\nscarcely a family living, or a family dead, that he has not treated\nwith the dirtiest selfishness, whatever were his obligations--spunging\ntill he was insulted, lying till he was discovered, puffing till he\nwas the butt of the town. The people of Plymouth can relate a thousand\ninstances of this description.\u201d\n\nMaria Foote came out best of all. She, brought up by such detestably\nmean parents, without protection, exposed to temptation at every\nturn, was more to be pitied than blamed. This the town felt, and\nwhen, on 5 February, 1825, her benefit was given at Covent Garden\nTheatre, the house was packed. _The Drama, or Theatrical Magazine_,\nsays: \u201cThe fullest house of this season, indeed of any season within\nour experience, assembled this evening. The performance was not\nthe attraction; the overruling anxiety was to be present at the\nreappearance of Miss Foote. A more intense interest could not have\nbeen displayed; it was without parallel in the records of theatrical\nhistory. For many weeks past every seat in the boxes--in the dress\ncircle--of the first circle--in the slips--all were engaged, and would\nhave been engaged had the theatre been double its dimensions. Even part\nof the orchestra was appropriated to the accommodation of visitors\nwith guinea tickets; and an additional _douceur_ was in the course of\nthe evening given even for tolerable sight-room. Not the fraction of\na seat was to be had; and before the rising of the curtain the whole\ninterior of the theatre was crowded almost to suffocation. During the\nfirst scenes of the performance (_The Belle\u2019s Stratagem_) little else\nwas heard than the din and bustle consequent on the adjustment and\nregulation of places. At length, at an advanced period of the first\nact, Miss Foote appeared. The utmost stillness prevailed in the house\nimmediately previous to her expected entr\u00e9e; she at length appeared,\nand was received with a burst of loud, continued, and enthusiastic\nacclamation, such as we never remember to have heard or known to have\nbeen equalled at any theatre. All the persons in the pit and, with\nscarcely an exception, in the boxes and other parts of the house,\nstood up and welcomed her return to the stage with the most marked and\nemphatic kindness. The waving of hats, handkerchiefs, was resorted\nto. There was something, too, in the manner of her appearance, which\ncontributed greatly to enhance, while it seemed to entreat, the\nindulgent consideration with which the audience were inclined to\nreceive her. She advanced with downcast look and faltering step to\nthe front of the stage, and became affected even to tears. There was\na diffidence, a timidity, and a truly distressing embarrassment in\nher mode of coming forward, which, together with her beauty and the\nrecollection of her sufferings, was calculated to compel pity. It was\na scene which did equal honour to the audience, who duly appreciated\nthe distress of her situation, and to the object of their sympathy,\nwho gave such a pathetic attestation of her consciousness of it. Many\nladies--and there were many present--could not refrain from tears.\nThose parts, and there were several throughout the play, capable of\nbeing applied to Miss Foote\u2019s peculiar situation, were seized on by the\naudience, and followed by loud plaudits. At the delivery of the lines\n\n    What is your fortune, my pretty maid?\n    My face is my fortune, sir, she said,\n\na burst of acclamation was sent forth, almost equal to that which\ngreeted her entrance. The two lines which succeeded were, if possible,\nstill more applicable to recent events, which have occupied so much of\nthe attention of the Bar and of the public.\n\n    Then I\u2019ll not marry you, my pretty maid.\n    There\u2019s nobody asking you, sir, she said.\n\nThe good-humoured approval that followed these lines, which was in no\ndegree abated by the arch air with which Miss Foote gave them, cannot\nbe conveyed by verbal description. At the expression of the sentence,\n\u2018This moment is worth a whole existence,\u2019 Miss Foote bowed to the\naudience in grateful acknowledgment of the reception she had met with.\nAltogether Miss Foote\u2019s reappearance has been most gratifying. She has\nbeen hailed as a favourite of the public, who has been basely lured\nfrom virtue, but who is not on that account treated as an alien from\nits path.\u201d\n\nThe total receipts that evening amounted to \u00a3900. 16s. At the latter\nend of 1830, Madame Vestris took the Olympic Theatre, and opened it, on\n3 January of the following year, with a drama on the subject of Mary\nQueen of Scots, in which Miss Foote, who appears for a time to have\nbeen in partnership with her, played the heroine. But she soon after\nquitted the stage, and on 7 April, 1831, was married to the eccentric\nCharles Stanhope, eighth Earl of Harrington and Viscount Petersham. He\nwas aged fifty-one and she aged thirty-three. They had one daughter; he\ndied in 1851, and she, as Dowager Countess of Harrington, lived until\n27 December, 1867.\n\nMrs. Bancroft, in _On and Off the Stage_ (London, 1888), gives us a\npleasant recollection of Maria Foote in her old age as Dowager Countess\nof Harrington.\n\n\u201cMy father had known her slightly when she was in her zenith, and\nwould often speak of her as one of the loveliest and most amiable of\nwomen. He would often recall not only the charm she possessed as an\naccomplished actress, but her good-nature to everybody, high and low,\nin the theatre.... My mother had never met Lady Harrington, but she\nsoon grew much attached to one who became a true friend to me, and as\ntime went on seemed more and more endeared to me. She must have been\nvery beautiful when young, being still extremely handsome as an old\nlady. She was as good, too, as she was handsome; and I can never forget\nher kindness to me. When I was once seriously ill with an attack of\nbronchitis, Lady Harrington was unwearying in her attention to me, and\nwould, day after day, sit by my bedside reading to me, and would bring\nwith her all the delicacies she could think of. When I had sufficiently\nrecovered my strength, she sent me to the seaside to recruit my health.\nTo record all the kindnesses she bestowed on me and mine would fill\nup many pages, but my gratitude is indelibly written on my heart. She\ngave me a portrait of herself, as Maria Darlington in _A Roland for\nan Oliver_, and by it one can see how lovely she must have been. Among\nher other gifts was a beautiful old-fashioned diamond and ruby ring,\nwhich she told me was given to her by the Earl when he was engaged to\nbe married to her.... Lady Harrington was much attached to (her old\nbutler) Payne, and also to her maid, who, I believe, had been in her\nservice since she was quite young, and often spoke of them as Romeo and\nJuliet. I recall many a happy visit to Richmond Terrace, and until her\nlast illness I had no better friend than Lady Harrington.\n\n\u201cOn the afternoon of Friday, 27 December, 1867, my mind was\nunaccountably full of thoughts about her. I had been making some\npurchases in Regent Street, and on my way home in a cab was wondering,\nas I was driven through the crowd of vehicles, if I should ever see her\nin her well-known carriage again, with its snuff-coloured \u2018Petersham\nbrown\u2019 body, the long brown coats, the silver hat cords of the coachman\nand footman, the half-crescents of white leather which formed part of\nthe harness across the foreheads of the horses.\n\n\u201cOn the following day I received the sorrowful news that Lady\nHarrington was dead at the time I had thought so much of her, and that\nI had lost a friendship for which Time can never lessen my gratitude.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCARABOO\n\n\nOn Thursday evening, 3 April, 1817, the overseer of the parish of\nAlmondsbury, in Gloucestershire, called at Knole Park, the residence\nof Samuel Worall, Esq., to inform him that a young female had entered\na cottage in the village, and had made signs to express her desire to\nsleep there; but not understanding her language, the good folk of the\ncottage communicated with the overseer, and he, as perplexed as the\ncottagers, went for counsel to the magistrate. Mr. Worall ordered that\nshe should be brought to Knole, and presently the overseer returned\nwith a slim damsel, dressed poorly but quaintly, with a sort of turban\nabout her head, not precisely beautiful, but with very intelligent\nspeaking eyes.\n\nNeither Mr. nor Mrs. Worall could make heads or tails of what she said.\nHe had a Greek valet who knew or could recognize most of the languages\nspoken in the Levant, but he also was at fault; he could not catch a\nsingle word of her speech that was familiar to him. By signs she was\nquestioned as to whether she had any papers, and she produced from her\npocket a bad sixpence and a few halfpence. Under her arm she carried\na small bundle containing some necessaries, and a piece of soap wound\nup in a bit of linen. Her dress consisted of a black stuff gown with a\nmuslin frill round her neck, a black cotton shawl twisted about her\nhead, and a red and black shawl thrown over her shoulders, leather\nshoes, and black worsted stockings.\n\nThe general impression produced from her person and manners was\nfavourable. Her head was small, her eyes black, hair also black; the\nforehead was low, nose short, in complexion a brunette. The cheeks were\nfaintly tinged with red. The mouth was rather wide, teeth pearly white,\nlips large and full, the underlip slightly projecting. The chin small\nand round. Her height was 5 ft. 2 in. Her hands were clean and small\nand well cared for. Obviously they had not been accustomed to labour.\nShe wore no ear-rings, but the marks of having worn them remained. Her\nage appeared to be twenty-five.\n\nAfter consultation, it was thought advisable to send her to the village\ninn; and as Mrs. Worall was interested in her, she sent her own maid\nand the footman to attend the stranger to the public-house, it being\nlate in the evening, and to request the landlady to give her a private\nroom and a comfortable bed.\n\nThe young woman seemed to be greatly fatigued and walked with\ndifficulty. When shown the room in which she was to sleep, she prepared\nto lie down on the mat upon the floor; whereupon the landlady put her\nown little girl into the bed, so as to explain its purport to her\nguest. The stranger then undressed and went to bed.\n\nNext morning Mrs. Worall went to the inn at seven o\u2019clock and found her\nsitting dejectedly by the fire. The clergyman of the parish had brought\nsome books of travel and illustrated geographies to show her, so that\nshe might give some clue as to whence she came. She manifested pleasure\nat the pictures of China and the Chinese.\n\n[Illustration: CARABOO PRINCESS OF JAVASU,\n\n_alias MARY BAKER_.]\n\nMrs. Worall now took her to Knole, where by signs, pointing to herself\nand uttering the word Caraboo, she explained to her hostess that this\nwas her name. At dinner she declined all animal food, and took nothing\nto drink but water, showing marked disgust at beer, cyder, and meat.\n\nNext day she was conveyed to Bristol and examined before the mayor\nand magistrates, but nothing was made out concerning her, and she was\nconsigned to St. Peter\u2019s Hospital for Vagrants.\n\nThere she remained till the ensuing Monday--three days--refusing food\nof every description. On that day Mrs. Worall went into Bristol and\nvisited her at the hospital. The friendless situation of the foreign\nlady had in the interim become public, and several gentlemen had called\nupon her, bringing with them foreigners of their acquaintance, in the\nhope of discovering who she was. Caraboo expressed lively delight at\nseeing Mrs. Worall again, and that lady, deeply touched, removed her\nfrom the hospital to the office of Mr. Worall, in Bristol, where she\nremained for ten days under the care of the housekeeper.\n\nDaily efforts were made to discover her language and country, but\nwithout effect. At last a Portuguese of the name of Manuel Eynesso, who\nhappened to be in Bristol, had an interview, and he professed that he\nwas able to interpret what she said. The tale he revealed was that she\nwas a person of consequence in her own country, and had been decoyed\nfrom an island in the East Indies, brought to England against her\nwishes, and then deserted. He further added that her language was not a\npure dialect, but was a mixture of several tongues spoken in Sumatra.\nOn this Mrs. Worall removed Caraboo to Knole, and from 3 April to 6\nJune her hostess, the whole family, and the domestics treated her with\nthe utmost consideration and regard.\n\nAmong the visitors at Knole was a gentleman who had made many voyages\nin the East Indies, and he took a lively interest in the girl, and\nconversed with her, partly by word of mouth and partly--when at fault\nfor words--by signs.\n\nIt must have been an interesting sight, the travelled gentleman\ninterrogating Caraboo and taking notes of her reply, with an admiring\ncircle around of the family and visitors, wondering at his linguistic\nacquirements and facility of speech in Oriental tongues. This traveller\ncommitted to writing the following particulars obtained from Caraboo.\n\nShe was daughter of a person of high rank, of Chinese origin, by a\n_Mandin_, or Malay woman, who was killed in war between the Boogoos\n(cannibals) and the Mandins (Malays). Whilst walking in her garden at\nJavasu attended by three _sammen_ (women), she was seized by pirates\ncommanded by a man named Chee-ming, bound hand and foot, her mouth\ncovered, and carried off. She herself in her struggles wounded two of\nChee-ming\u2019s men with her creese; one of these died, the other recovered\nby the assistance of a _justee_ (surgeon). After eleven days she was\nsold to the captain of a brig called the _Tappa-Boo_. A month later\nshe arrived at a port, presumably Batavia, remained there two days,\nand then started for England, which was reached in eleven weeks. In\nconsequence of ill-usage by the crew, she made her escape to shore. She\nhad had a dress of silk embroidered and interwoven with gold, but she\nhad been induced to exchange this with a woman in a cottage whose doors\nwere painted green, but the situation of which she could not describe.\nThe garments she now wore were those she had received from the cottager.\n\nAfter wandering over the country for six weeks, she had arrived at\nAlmondsbury. She spoke of her mother\u2019s teeth as artificially blackened\n(i.e. by chewing betelnut); her face and arms were painted, and she\nwore a jewel in her nose, and a gold chain from it was attached to her\nleft temple. Her father had three more wives, and he was usually borne\nupon the shoulders of _macratoos_ (common men) in a palanquin.\n\nShe described the dress she wore at home. Seven peacock\u2019s feathers\nadorned the right side of her cap or turban. Upon being furnished with\ncalico, she made herself a dress in the style she had been accustomed\nto. It was short in the skirt, the sleeves wide and long enough\nto reach to the ground. A broad embroidered band passed round her\nwaist, and the fringe of the skirt, of the sleeves and the bosom, was\nembroidered. She wore no stockings, and was furnished with sandals of\nRoman fashion. She sometimes twisted her hair and rolled it up at the\ntop of her head and fastened it with a skewer.\n\nDuring the ten weeks she resided at Knole and in Bristol, she was never\nheard to pronounce a word or syllable that at all resembled a European\ntongue. Mrs. Worall\u2019s housekeeper, who slept with her, never heard on\nany occasion any other language, any tone of voice other than those she\nhad employed when she first entered the house.\n\nShe was equally constant in her choice of food, and showed great nicety\nas to her diet. She dressed everything herself, preferring rice to\nanything else, did not care for bread, rejected meat, and drank only\nwater or tea. She refused a pigeon, which she called a _rampue_, that\nhad been dressed by the cook; but when given a bird that was alive,\nshe pulled off the head, poured the blood into the earth and covered it\nup, then cooked the bird herself and ate it. This was the only animal\nfood she could be induced to touch, except fish, which she treated in\nthe same manner.\n\nOn every Tuesday she fasted rigidly, on which day she contrived to\nascend to the roof of the house, frequently at the imminent peril of\nher life. Ablutions she was particularly fond of; she regularly knelt\nby the pond in Knole Park and washed her face and hands in it.\n\nAfter three weeks\u2019 residence at Knole, she was one morning missing. But\nshe returned in the evening with a bundle of clothes, her shoes and\nhands dirty. Then she fell seriously ill.\n\nOn Saturday, 6 June, she again took flight. She had not taken with\nher a pin or needle or ribbon but what had been given to her. She\nbent her way to Bath, and on the following Sunday, Mrs. Worall\nreceived information of the place to which her prot\u00e9g\u00e9e had flown. She\ndetermined to reclaim her, and started for Bath, which she reached on\nSunday afternoon.\n\nHere she found the Princess of Javasu, as she was called, at the\npinnacle of her glory, in the drawing-room of a lady of the _haut ton_,\none fair lady kneeling at her feet and taking her hand, and another\nimploring to be allowed the honour of a kiss.\n\nDr. Wilkinson, of Bath, was completely bewildered when he visited\nher, and wrote to the _Bath Chronicle_ a glowing account of Caraboo,\nin full belief that she was all she pretended to be. \u201cNothing has yet\ntranspired to authorize the slightest suspicion of Caraboo, nor has\nsuch ever been entertained except by those whose souls feel not the\nspirit of benevolence, and wish to convert into ridicule that amiable\ndisposition in others.\u201d\n\nDr. Wilkinson resolved on going to London to consult the Foreign\nOffice, and to obtain funds for the present relief of the Princess, and\nher restoration to her native land.\n\nMrs. Worall left Bath, taking Caraboo with her. But the wide\ncirculation of the story led to her detection.\n\nOn the following Monday, a Mrs. Neale called on a Mr. Mortimer, and\nurged him to go to Knole and tell Mrs. Worall that she knew the girl\nvery well, for she had lodged in her house in the suburbs of Bristol.\nAt the same time a youth arrived from Westbury, a wheelwright\u2019s\nson, who had met her upon her first expedition to Almondsbury, and\nremembered seeing her at a public-house by the roadside, where a\ngentleman, feeling compassion for her weariness, had taken her in and\ntreated her to beefsteak and hot rum and water.\n\nMrs. Worall was much disconcerted, but wisely said nothing to her guest\nof what she had heard, and took Caraboo next day in her carriage to\nBristol under the plea that she was going to have Mr. Bird, the artist,\ncomplete the portrait of the princess on which he was engaged, and\ndesired a final sitting. But instead of driving to Mr. Bird\u2019s studio,\nthe princess was conveyed to the house of Mr. Mortimer, where she was\nshown into a room by herself, whilst Mrs. Worall had an interview with\nMrs. Neale elsewhere. This lady was attended by her daughter, and\ntheir story both surprised and confounded the kind magistrate\u2019s wife.\nAfter a protracted discussion, she returned to Caraboo, and told her\nplainly that she was convinced that she was an impostor. When Caraboo\nheard that Mrs. Neale had denounced her, she burst into tears and her\nfortitude gave way. She made a few feeble attempts to keep up the\ndeception, but finally made a full confession.\n\nHer name was Mary Baker. She was born at Witheridge in Devonshire in\n1791, and had received no education, being of a wild disposition and\nimpatient of study. At the age of eight she was employed spinning wool\nduring the winter, and in summer she drove her father\u2019s horses, weeded\nthe corn, etc. At the age of sixteen her father and mother procured a\nsituation for her at a farmhouse with a Mr. Moon, at Brushford, near\nWitheridge. She remained there two years as nurse and general help, but\nleft because paid only tenpence a week, and she demanded that her wage\nshould be raised to a shilling, which Mr. Moon refused.\n\nHer father and mother were highly incensed at her leaving, and treated\nher so ill that she ran away from home and went to Exeter, where she\nknew no one, but had a written character from her former mistress. She\nwas engaged by a shoemaker named Brooke at the wage of \u00a38 per annum.\nBut she remained in this situation only two months. She spent her\nwage on fine clothes, especially a white gown, and went home in it.\nHer father was angry at seeing her dressed in white like a lady, and\nperemptorily ordered her to take the gown off. She refused and left,\nreturned to Exeter, and went about begging. She wandered to Taunton\nand thence to Bristol, begging from house to house. From Bristol she\nmade her way to London, where she fell ill with fever, and was taken\ninto St. Giles\u2019s Hospital. There she enlisted the pity and sympathy\nof a dissenting preacher, who, when she was well enough to leave,\nrecommended her to a Mrs. Matthews, 1 Clapham Road Place, and with her\nshe tarried for three years. Mrs. Matthews was very kind to her, and\ntaught her to read; but she was a strict woman, and of the straitest\nsect of Calvinists. One day Mary heard that there was to be a Jews\u2019\nwedding in the synagogue near by, and she asked leave to be allowed\nto witness it. Her mistress refused, but Mary was resolved not to be\ndebarred the spectacle, so she persuaded a servant in a neighbouring\nhouse to write a letter to Mrs. Matthews, as if from a friend of hers,\nto say that she was hourly expecting her confinement and was short of\ndomestics: would Mrs. Matthews lend her the aid of Mary Baker for a\nwhile? Mrs. Matthews could not refuse the favour and sent Mary out of\nthe house, and Mary went to the synagogue and saw what was to be seen\nthere.\n\nMeanwhile, Mrs. Matthews had sent to inquire how her dear friend was\ngetting through with her troubles, and expressed a hope that Mary had\nbeen of assistance in the house. To her unbounded surprise, she learned\nthat the good lady was not in particular trouble just then, and that\nshe really did not comprehend what Mrs. Matthews meant about Mary\u2019s\nassistance. When Mary returned to the house, having seen the breaking\nof the goblet and heard some psalm singing, she found that a storm was\nlowering. Her mistress had sent for the dissenting minister to give it\nhot and strong to the naughty girl. To escape this harangue Mary ran\naway, wandered about the streets, and seeing a Magdalen Reformatory,\napplied at the door for admission. \u201cWhat! so young and so depraved!\u201d\nwas the exclamation with which she was received. She was admitted and\nremained in the institution some time, and was confirmed by the Bishop\nof London. Then it was discovered that she had all along not been\nqualified for admission, and was expelled.\n\nShe then exchanged her female garments for a boy\u2019s suit at a Jew\u2019s\npawnshop, and started to walk back to Devonshire, begging her way. On\nSalisbury Plain she fell in with highwaymen, who offered to take her\ninto their company if she could fire a pistol. A pistol was put into\nher hand, but when she pulled the trigger and it was discharged, she\nscreamed and threw the weapon down. Thereupon the highwaymen turned\nher off, as a white-livered poltroon unfit for their service. She\nmade her way back to Witheridge to her father, and then went into\nservice at Crediton to a tanner, but left her place at the end of\nthree months, unable further to endure the tedium. Then she passed\nthrough a succession of services, never staying in any situation longer\nthan three months, and found her way back to London. There, according\nto her account, she married a foreign gentleman at a Roman Catholic\nchapel, where the priest officiated to tie the knot. She accompanied\nher husband to Brighton and thence to Dover, where he gave her the\nslip, and she had not seen him or heard from him since. She returned\nto London, was eventually confined, and placed her child in the\nFoundling Institution; then took a situation not far off and visited\nthe child once a week till it died. After a while she again appeared\nat Witheridge, but her reception was so far from cordial that she left\nit and associated with gipsies, travelling about with them, telling\nfortunes.\n\nIt was now, according to her account, that the idea entered her head of\nplaying the part of a distinguished stranger from the East, and when\nshe quitted the gipsies, she assumed that part--with what success we\nhave seen.\n\nMrs. Worall sent into Devon to ascertain what amount of truth was in\nthis story. It turned out that her father was named Willcocks, and was\na cobbler at Witheridge, and badly off. He confirmed Mary\u2019s tale as far\nas he knew it. She had had an illness when young, and had been odd,\nrestless, and flighty ever since; especially in spring and autumn did\nshe become most impatient and uncontrollable. He denied that he had\ntreated her cruelly, but he had taken the stick to her occasionally, as\nshe was specially aggravating by throwing up every situation obtained\nfor her after staying in it for but a short while.\n\n[Illustration: MARY WILCOCKS, OF WITHERIDGE, DEVONSHIRE, ALIAS CARABOO\n\n_Drawn and Engraved by N. Branwhite_]\n\nFinally Mrs. Worall got her embarked on board a vessel, the _Robert and\nAnne_, at Bristol, Captain Richardson, under her mother\u2019s maiden name\nof Burgess, for the United States, in the hopes that she might be able\nto find a situation in Philadelphia.\n\nThe reason why she was entered in her mother\u2019s name was to prevent her\nfrom being overwhelmed by the visits and attentions of the curious.\nAs it was, the Earl of Cork and the Marquess of Salisbury obtained\ninterviews, got the girl to tell her story, speak her lingo, and\ndoubtless did not leave without having put gold into her palm.\n\nShe was certainly a remarkable character, with astounding\nself-possession. Once or twice the housekeeper at Knole would rouse her\nby some startling cry or call when she was asleep, but even then she\nnever passed out of her assumed character.\n\nAt Bath, the lady who had received her into her house proposed that a\ncollection should be made to defray her expenses in returning home to\nJavasu. Bank-notes were thrown on the table, and some fell off on the\nfloor. Caraboo looked on with stolid indifference. If she picked one up\nshe replaced it on the table without glancing at the note to see how\nmuch it was worth; in fact, she acted as if she did not understand that\nbank-notes were other than valueless scraps of paper.\n\nShe was, moreover, insensible to flattery. A young gentleman seated\nhimself by her one day and said, \u201cI think that you are the loveliest\ncreature I ever set eyes on!\u201d She remained quite unmoved, not a\nflutter of colour was in her cheek.\n\nThe Greek valet mistrusted her at first, but after a while was\ncompletely won over to believe that she was a genuine Oriental\nprincess. She was entirely free from vicious propensities beyond that\nof feigning to be what she was not. She never purloined anything; never\nshowed any token of wantonness. Vanity and the love of hoaxing people\nwere her prevailing passions; there was nothing worse behind.\n\nSo over the blue sea she passed to the West, and what became of her\nthere, whether there she gulled the Americans into believing her to be\nan English countess or marchioness, is unknown.\n\nOf one thing we may be pretty certain, that the gentleman who had\nvisited the Far East, and who pretended to understand her language and\nthereby drew out her history, never again dared to show his face at\nKnole.\n\nThe authority for this story is: \u201cA narrative of a Singular Imposition\npracticed ... by a young woman of the name of Mary Willcocks _alias_\nBaker, ... _alias_ Caraboo, Princess of Javasu.\u201d Published by Gutch,\nof Bristol, in 1817. This contains two portraits, one by E. Bird,\n/R.A./, the other a full-length sketch of her in her costume as\na princess.\n\n\n\n\nJOHN ARSCOTT, OF TETCOTT\n\n\nThe family of Arscott, of Dunsland, is one of the most ancient in\nthe county. Its certified pedigree goes back to 1300, when they were\nArscotts, of Arscott, in the parish of Holsworthy. The elder branch\nremained at Dunsland, one of the finest houses in North Devon, or\nrather cluster of houses, for it consists of the early mansion of the\nreign, at latest, of Henry VII, probably much earlier, of another\nportion erected in the reign of James I, and of a stately more modern\nmansion erected in the seventeenth century. Dunsland came into the\npossession of the Arscotts through marriage with the heiress of Battyn\nin 1522. In 1634 the heiress of Arscott married William Bickford, and\nit remained in the Bickford family till 1790, when the heiress conveyed\nit to her husband, William Holland Coham. In 1827 the heiress of Coham\nconveyed Arscott and Dunsland to her husband, Captain Harvey Dickenson,\nof the Madras Army, whose son now owns the estate and resides at\nDunsland.\n\nSo far the elder branch. The junior branch of Arscott was settled at\nTetcott in 1550, where it continued till 1783, when died John Arscott,\nof Tetcott, the last of that stock, whereupon the Tetcott estate passed\nto the Molesworths through the descendant of a great-aunt.\n\nTetcott House--the older--remains, turned into stables and residence\nfor coachmen and grooms. A stately new mansion was erected in the reign\nof Queen Anne. But when the property passed to the Molesworths this was\npulled down, and all its contents dispersed. The family portraits, the\ncarved oak furniture, the china fell to the contractor who demolished\nthe mansion. But the park remains with its noble oak trees, and of this\nmore anon.\n\nJohn Arscott, of Tetcott, was born in 1718 or 1719; he lived all his\nlife at the family mansion, and was a mighty hunter before the Lord.\n\nOn the presentation of Sir W. Molesworth, Bart., the Rev. Paul W.\nMolesworth was presented to the living of Tetcott, and he, in 1855,\nsucceeded to the baronetcy.\n\nIn the register of Tetcott he made the following entry in Latin, which\nis here given in translation:--\n\n\n\u201cOf the Rectors who preceded me I know almost nothing. John Holmes,\nwhose name appears first in the list of Rectors, was inducted by \u2018Quare\nimpedit\u2019--to use the legal term--in face of the Bishop\u2019s objection. Of\nthis I was assured by the Rev. G. C. Gorham, who about the year 1848,\nas the Bishop of Exeter--H. Phillpotts--refused to institute him to a\nbenefice on account of his unsoundness on Baptism, attempted to get\nhimself instituted compulsorily in the same manner.\n\n\u201cJames Sanxay, whose name comes lower down in the list, was a man of\nno small classical learning, as is proved by his editing a Lexicon of\nAristophanes.\n\n\u201cI have heard it said of him, that on the title page of a book he\nadded after his name the letters--O.T.D., and on being asked what\nthese signified, he replied: \u2018I have noticed that most Authors, when\npublishing their writings, have the greatest objection to their bare\nname, always add something to it, such as--F.R.S., LL.D., M.A. So\nto keep up the old custom, I myself have added O.T.D., that is--Of\nTetcott, Devon.\u2019\u201d\n\n[Illustration: ARSCOTT OF TETCOTT\n\n    \u201cThe good old Squire! once more along the glen,\n    Oh, for the scenes of old! the former men!\u201d\n\n    _R. S. Hawker_\n\n_From the picture by J. Northcote. R.A._]\n\n[Between the above and what follows a leaf has been cut out of the\nregister. Perhaps other rectors were told of on this missing leaf.]\n\n\u201cOf the \u2018Lords\u2019 who have held the manor of Tetcott in an unbroken line,\nthere are not many surviving memories.\n\n\u201cI have heard a story told by the old parishioners of one known as\n\u2018The wicked Arscott,\u2019 so named because he used to keep poor people\nand beggars from his doors by big dogs. He still, they say, pays the\npenalty of his cruelty in an old oak near the Church.\n\n\u201cHe was succeeded, though I cannot say whether at once or after an\ninterval, by John Arscott, the last of that name in Tetcott, and the\nmost famous. You will find him described with no small literary skill\non a following page. He was benevolent to poor children, and a generous\nand attentive host. He kept open house, as they say, thinking more of\nlove than of money. An eager student of the laws of nature, and at the\nsame time a devoted follower of the chase, whether of stag, or fox,\nor any other such beast, he was at once the enemy and the patron of\ndumb animals. He used to keep a toad on the doorsteps of his house\nwith such care, that that hateful and loathsome animal, moved by such\nunusual kindness, used to come out of its hiding place, when its master\ncalled it, and take its food on the table before his astonished guests,\nuntil it lost its life through the peck of a tame raven. This fact, I\nbelieve, has escaped the notice of every writer on British reptiles.\nMay the toad be reverenced in Tetcott for ever. Not even the rapacious\nspider was forgotten. For when one had spun its fatal toils in a\ncorner of a pew in the Church, our Knight used to bring a bottle full\nof flies into the sacred building itself, that he might while away\nthe tediousness of Divine Service by feeding his Church pet. He used\nto go in an old soiled coat into a wood where the ravens nested, and\nthe birds would come down and settle on his shoulder, looking for the\nfavours of a bountiful hand.\n\n\u201cWhen he had to go to the neighbouring town of Holsworthy on judicial\nbusiness, it was his custom to take a bag containing fighting cocks.\nThe present inhabitants would smile at such a proceeding, but a certain\nsimple rudeness is excusable in our forefathers.\n\n\u201cNor may I be silent about an irreverence which an otherwise upright\nman used to show in the House of God. He would accost the country\npeople he knew in a friendly manner. If a Clergyman was reading the\nBible badly [for it was customary for a Cleric to read the Lessons now\nand then] when he finished with, \u2018Here endeth the second lesson\u2019--our\nKnight would call out, \u2018Thee\u2019st better never begun it.\u2019 He would throw\napples at the Priest in the middle of Divine Service.\n\n\u201cLike Ajax and Peleus and other heroes he was not ashamed to woo a\nhandmaid, and married one of his father\u2019s servants. He died without\nissue, most widely mourned. His estate went to his kinsman, William\nMolesworth. The poor people, I believe, still cherish the memory of so\ndear a man, and give his name to their little ones in Baptism, as they\nmight the name of a Saint.\n\n\u201cIf in these brief narratives, gathered here and there, I have in any\nway transgressed the rules of more classical Latin, I beg the kind\nreader to pardon me. If in any way I have departed from the truth, I\nhave done so unwittingly. God be merciful.\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n                     [John Arscott died in 1788.]\u201d\n\nSir Paul W. Molesworth has dealt with John Arscott more tenderly than\nthat man deserved.\n\nA modern writer[3] thus describes the sort of man that John Arscott\nwas:--\n\n\u201cA familiar figure in the eighteenth century was the country squire,\nfamiliar the long wig, long coat, silver buttons, breeches and\ntop-boots, the bluff, red face, the couple of greyhounds and the\npointer at heel. When not hunting the fox, the popular sport of the\nday, he settled the disputes of the parish, or repaired to the nearest\nale-house to get drunk in as short a space of time as possible. Usually\nhe only drank ale, but on festive occasions a bowl of strong brandy\npunch, with toast and nutmeg, added to his already boisterous spirits.\nOn Sundays he donned his best suit, which often descended from father\nto son through several generations, repaired to the parish church, and\nentered the family pew, where he slumbered during a great part of the\nsomewhat dismal service. He seldom went further than his own country\ntown, for a journey to London was still full of danger and discomfort.\u201d\n\nWho that has read Fielding and other novelists of the period does not\nknow the figure, full-blooded, coarse to brutality, with a certain\namount of kindliness in his disposition, whose talk is of bullocks or\nhorses or dogs, and who, after the ladies had withdrawn, spent the\nrest of the evening at his hospitable table singing ribald songs and\ntelling obscene stories? I possess, myself, a little book in MS. of the\nafter-dinner stories told by a great-great-uncle, that has to be kept\nunder lock and key, so unfit is it for perusal by clean-minded persons.\nThe songs were from Tom D\u2019Urfey\u2019s _Pills to Purge Melancholy_, or other\ncollections of the sort. I had a collection of them that belonged to\nan _ancestress_, or rather near kinswoman of an ancestor, engraved on\ncopper plate. I gave the volume to the British Museum. It was not a\nbook to be kept on one\u2019s shelves when there were children in the house.\n\nJohn Arscott was never married, or if he did marry, no trace of such a\nceremony is forthcoming. He lived with a certain Thomasine Spry as his\nmistress. If he did \u201cmake an honest woman of her,\u201d it was, as reported,\non his death-bed. She survived him, and was buried at Tetcott in 1796,\naged seventy-six. They had no issue.\n\nMr. Hawker, in his _Footprints of Former Men in Far Cornwall_, has told\nseveral stories of John Arscott\u2019s favourite, the last of the jester\ndwarfs, Black John, one of whose jokes, that entertained the company\nafter dinner, was to tie together by the legs several live mice and\nswallow them one by one, and then, by means of a string, pull them up\nfrom his interior parts again. Another of his tricks was to mumble a\nsparrow. The living bird was gripped by the legs by his teeth, and then\nwith his lips and teeth he would rip off the feathers, till he had\nplucked the unfortunate sparrow bare. A couple of projecting fangs were\nof especial value as sparrow-holders to Black John. His hands all the\nwhile were knotted or tied behind his back.\n\nOne evening he fell asleep by the hearth in the hall at Tetcott.\nSuddenly he started up with a cry, \u201cOh, Master,\u201d said he, \u201cI was in a\nsog [sleep] and I thought I was dead and in hell.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, John,\u201d said Arscott, \u201cand what did you see there?\u201d\n\n\u201cSir, everything very much like what it is here in Tetcott Hall, the\ngentlefolks nearest the fire.\u201d\n\nJohn Arscott had, as already related, an enormous tame toad that came\nout on the doorstep to be fed every morning, and went by the name of\n\u201cOld Dawty.\u201d The country people thought that it was John Arscott\u2019s\n\u201cfamiliar.\u201d When he whistled, the creature would hop up to him, and\nleap to his hand or to his knee. One day a visitor with his stick\nkilled it; but seeing this Black John flew at him and knocked him down\nand belaboured him soundly. John Arscott came out, and when he heard\nwhat the visitor had done, turned on his heel, and when the gentleman\nhad picked himself up and drew near, slammed the house door in his face.\n\nThis is Mr. Hawker\u2019s version of the story of the end of the pet toad,\nwhich is at variance with that related by the Rev. P. W. Molesworth,\nwhose authority is more trustworthy than that of Mr. Hawker, a\ngentleman given to romancing.\n\n\u201cBlack John\u2019s lair was a rude hut, which he had wattled for a snug\nabode close to the kennels. He loved to retire to it, and sleep near\nhis chosen companions, the hounds. When they were unkennelled he\naccompanied and ran with them on foot, and so sinewy and so swift was\nhis stunted form that he was very often in their midst at the death.\u201d\n\nJohn Arscott had another follower called Dogget. \u201cMy son Simon\u201d\nor simply \u201cSimon\u201d he was wont to call him. He also ran after the\nfoxhounds.\n\nThere exists a fine ballad on the \u201cHunting of Arscott, of Tetcott,\u201d in\nwhich Simon is mentioned. Mr. Frank Abbott, gamekeeper at Pencarrow,\nbut born at Tetcott, informed me, concerning Dogget:--\n\n\u201cOnce they unkennelled in the immediate neighbourhood of Tetcott,\nand killed at Hatherleigh. This runner was in at the death, as was\nhis wont. John Arscott ordered him a bed at Hatherleigh, but to his\nastonishment, when he returned to Tetcott, his \u2018wife\u2019 told him all the\nparticulars of the run. \u2018Then,\u2019 said Arscott, \u2018this must be the doing\nof none other than Dogget: where be he?\u2019\u201d\n\nDogget was soon found in the servants\u2019 hall, drinking ale, having\noutstripped his master and run all the way home.\n\nThe ballad above mentioned begins as follows:--\n\n    In the month of November, in the year fifty-two,\n    Three jolly Fox-hunters, all sons of the Blue,\n    Came o\u2019er from Pencarrow, not fearing a wet coat,\n    To take their diversion with Arscott of Tetcott.\n            Sing fol-de-rol, lol-de-rol, etc.\n\n    The daylight was dawning, right radiant the morn\n    When Arscott of Tetcott he winded his horn;\n    He blew such a flourish, so loud in the hall,\n    The rafters resounded, and danced to the call.\n            Sing fol-de-rol, etc.\n\n    In the kitchen the servants, in kennel the hounds,\n    In the stable the horses were roused by the sounds,\n    On Black-Bird in saddle sat Arscott, \u201cTo-day\n    I will show you good sport; lads, hark, follow, away!\u201d\n            Sing fol-de-rol, etc.\n\nTo return to Black John. His wonted couch when he could not get back to\nTetcott at night was a bed among the reeds or fern of some sheltering\nbrake or wood, and he slept, as he himself used to express it, \u201crolled\nup, as warm as a hedge-boar, round his own nose.\u201d One day he was\ncovered with snow, and found to all appearance dead. He was conveyed\nto Tetcott and put in a coffin. But as he was about to be buried, and\nwhilst the service was proceeding, a loud thumping noise was heard\nwithin the coffin. The lid was removed, and he sat up. He had been in\na long trance, but the funeral ride and jolting had revived him, and,\nsaid he, \u201cWhen I heard the pa\u2019sson say \u2018Earth to earth and dust to\ndust,\u2019 I thought it high time to bumpy.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: OLD TETCOTT HOUSE]\n\nAfter that he had no love for parsons of the Church or indeed ministers\nof any denomination, for every one of them, he said, would bury him\nalive, if they could. Once an itinerant Methodist preacher came across\nhim and asked his way. Black John volunteered to show him a short cut\nacross the park, and led him to a paddock, in which his master kept a\nfavourite bull. He thrust the preacher into it and fastened the gate.\nWhat ensued is matter of guess-work. A yell and a bellow were heard,\nand some object was seen projected into the air over the hedge. Soon\nafter Black John appeared at the Hall with a white tie in his hands,\nwhich he gave to his master, and said, \u201cThis be the vag-ends of the\nminister--all I could recover.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen gout and old age had imprisoned Mr. Arscott in his easy chair,\nBlack John nuzzled among the ashes of the vast wood fires of the\nhearth, or lay coiled upon his rug like some faithful mastiff watching\nevery look and gesture of his master; starting up to fill the pipe or\ntankard of old ale, and then crouching again. At the squire\u2019s death and\nfuneral, the agony of the misshapen retainer was unappeasable. He had\nto be removed by force from the door of the vault, and then he utterly\nrefused to depart from the neighbourhood of the grave. He made himself\nanother lair, near the churchyard wall, and there he sobbed away the\nbrief remnant of his days.\u201d\n\nThe story goes that on one long and tremendous chase, Dogget running by\nhis master\u2019s horse--\n\n    \u201cHow far do you make it?\u201d said Simon the son.\n    \u201cThe day that\u2019s declining will shortly be done.\u201d\n    \u201cWe\u2019ll follow till Doomsday,\u201d quoth Arscott,--before\n    They hear the Atlantic with menacing roar.\n\nOn this occasion the chase continued to Penkenner.\n\n    Through Whitstone, and Poundstock, St. Genny\u2019s they run,\n    Like a fire-ball, red, in the sea set the sun.\n    Then out on Penkenner--a leap, and they go,\n    Full five hundred feet to the ocean below.\n\nIn this memorable run, the fox went over the cliffs and the hounds\nafter him; but Arscott and the rest of the hunters drew up, and\nthough he lost his hounds, he did not lose his life. Penkenner is\na magnificent and sheer cliff, west of St. Genny\u2019s Church. A deep\ncleft is on one side, and Crackington Cove on the other. There was no\npossible escape for the fox. As to the \u201csons of the Blue\u201d who were in\nthis memorable run with Arscott, of Tetcott, opinions differ.\n\nThe versions of the ballad vary greatly. I have had a copy, written in\n1820, with explanatory notes. The date of the song is sometimes set\ndown as 1752, sometimes as 1772. The \u201csons of the Blue\u201d are taken to\nhave been Sir John Molesworth, of Pencarrow, Bart., William Morshead,\nof Blisland, and Braddon Clode, of Skisdon. But neither Sir John\nMolesworth nor Mr. Morshead was, as it happens, a naval man. If the\ndate were either 1652 or 1672, it would fit an earlier John Arscott,\nof Tetcott, who died in 1708; and Sir John Molesworth of the period\nwas Vice-Admiral of Cornwall; and the sons of the blue were his sons,\nHender, Sparke, and John. The second John Molesworth married Jane,\ndaughter of the elder John Arscott, in 1704. It seems probable,\naccordingly, that the ballad belonged originally to the earlier John\nArscott, and that it was adapted a century later to the last John\nArscott. The melody to which it is still sung at the rent-audit of the\nMolesworth estate at Tetcott is a very ancient one, which was employed\nby Tom D\u2019Urfey, in his _Pills to Purge Melancholy_, 1719, for a song\nentitled \u201cDear Catholic Brother.\u201d I have given it in my _Songs of the\nWest_.\n\nSince the death of Arscott, he still hunts.\n\n    When the full moon is shining as clear as the day,\n    John Arscott still hunteth the country, they say;\n    You may see him on Black-Bird, and hear in full cry,\n    The pack from Pencarrow to Dazzard go by.\n\n    When the tempest is howling, his horn you may hear,\n    And the bay of his hounds in their headlong career;\n    For Arscott of Tetcott loves hunting so well,\n    That he breaks for the pastime from Heaven or Hell.\n\nThe belief that he is to be heard winding his horn and in full gallop\nin chase through the park at Tetcott is still prevalent, and there are\nthose alive who assert positively that they have heard and seen him.\n\nCuriously enough much the same belief adheres to Dunsland, and there\none of the Bickfords is thought to be the Wild Huntsman. I know of one\nwho is so convinced that he and his hounds rushed past her through the\ngrounds along a certain drive, that nothing afterwards would induce her\non any consideration to go along that drive at night.\n\n\n\n\nWIFE-SALES\n\n\nThere is no myth relative to the manners and customs of the English\nthat in my experience is more tenaciously held by the ordinary\nFrenchman than that the sale of a wife in the market-place is an\nhabitual and an accepted fact in English life.\n\nIt is--so far as my experience goes--quite useless to assure a\nFrenchman that such transfer of wives is not a matter of everyday\noccurrence, and is not legal: he replies with an expression of\nincredulity, that of course English people endeavour to make light of,\nor deny, a fact that is \u201cnotorious.\u201d\n\nIn a book by the antiquary Colin de Plancy, on _Legends and\nSuperstitions connected with the Sacraments_, he gives up some pages to\nan account of the prevalent English custom. I heard a country cur\u00e9 once\npreach on marriage, and contrast its indissolubility in Catholic France\nwith the laxity in Protestant England, where \u201cany one, when tired of\nhis wife, puts a halter round her neck, takes her to the next market\ntown and sells her for what she will fetch.\u201d I ventured to call on this\ncur\u00e9 and remonstrate, but he answered me he had seen the fact stated\nin books of the highest authority, and that my disputing the statement\ndid not prove that his authorities were wrong, but that my experience\nwas limited, and he asked me point blank whether I had never known such\ncases. There, unhappily, he had me on the hip. And when I was obliged\nto confess that I _did_ know of one such case, \u201cMais, voil\u00e0, mon\nDieu,\u201d said he, and shrugged his shoulders with a triumphant smile.\n\nNow it must be allowed that such sales have taken place, and that\nthis is so is due to rooted conviction in the rustic mind that such a\ntransaction is legal and morally permissible.\n\nThe case I knew was this.\n\nWhen I was a boy there lived a tall, thin man in the parish who was\nthe village poet. Whenever an event of any consequence took place\nwithin the confines of the parish, such as the marriage of the squire\u2019s\ndaughter, he came down to the manor-house with a copy of verses he had\ncomposed on the occasion, and was then given his dinner and a crown.\nNow this man had actually bought his wife for half a crown. Her husband\nhad led her into Okehampton and had sold her there in the market. The\npoet purchased her for half the sum he had received for one of his\npoems, and led her home with him a distance of twelve miles, by the\nhalter, he holding it in his hand, she placidly, contentedly wearing\nthe loop about her neck.\n\nThe report that Henry Frise was leading home his half-crown wife\npreceded the arrival of the couple, and when they entered the village\nall the inhabitants turned out to see the spectacle.\n\nNow this arrangement was not very satisfactory to my grandfather, who\nwas squire, or to my uncle, who was rector of the parish, and both\nintervened. Henry Frise maintained that Anne was his legitimate wife,\nfor \u201che had not only bought her in the market, but had led her home,\nwith the halter in his hand, and he\u2019d take his Bible oath that he never\ntook the halter off her till she had crossed his doorstep and he had\nshut the door.\u201d\n\nThe parson took down the Bible, the squire opened Burns\u2019 _Justice of\nthe Peace_, and strove to convince Harry that his conduct was warranted\nby neither Scripture nor the law of the land. \u201cI don\u2019t care,\u201d he said,\n\u201cher\u2019s my wife, as sure as if we was spliced at the altar, for and\nbecause I paid half a crown, and I never took off the halter till her\nwas in my house; lor\u2019 bless yer honours, you may ask any one if that\nain\u2019t marriage, good, sound, and Christian, and every one will tell you\nit is.\u201d\n\nMr. Henry Frise lived in a cottage that was on lives, so the squire\nwas unable to bring compulsion to bear on him. But when Anne died,\nthen a difficulty arose: under what name was she to be entered in\nthe register? The parson insisted that he could not and he would not\nenter her as Anne Frise, for that was not her legal name. Then Henry\nwas angry, and carried her off to be buried in another parish, where\nthe parson was unacquainted with the circumstances. I must say that\nAnne proved an excellent \u201cwife.\u201d She was thrifty, clean, and managed a\nrough-tempered and rough-tongued man with great tact, and was generally\nrespected. She died in or about 1843.\n\nMuch later than that, there lived a publican some miles off, whom I\nknew very well; indeed, he was the namesake of and first cousin to\na carpenter in my constant employ. He bought his wife for a stone\ntwo-gallon jar of Plymouth gin, if I was informed aright. She had\nbelonged to a stonecutter, but as he was dissatisfied with her, he put\nup a written notice in several public places to this effect:--\n\nNOTICE\n\n    This here be to hinform the publick as how James Cole be dispozed\n    to sell his wife by Auction. Her be a dacent, clanely woman, and be\n    of age twenty-five ears. The sale be to take place in the New Inn,\n    Thursday next at seven o\u2019clock.\n\nIn this case I do not give the name of the purchaser, as the woman is,\nI believe, still alive. I believe--so I was told--that the foreman of\nthe neighbouring granite-works remonstrated, and insisted that such\na sale would be illegal. He was not, however, clear as to the points\nof law, and he believed that it would be illegal unless the husband\nheld an auctioneer\u2019s licence, and if money passed. This was rather a\ndamper. However, the husband was desirous to be freed from his wife,\nand he held the sale as had been advertised, making the woman stand on\na table, and he armed himself with a little hammer. The biddings were\nto be in kind and not in money. One man offered a coat, but as he was a\nsmall man and the seller was stout, when he found that the coat would\nnot fit him, he refused it. Another offered a \u201cphisgie,\u201d i.e. a pick,\nbut this also was declined, as the husband possessed a \u201cphisgie\u201d of his\nown. Finally, the landlord offered a two-gallon jar of gin, and down\nfell the hammer with \u201cGone.\u201d\n\nI knew the woman; she was not bad-looking. The new husband drank, and\ntreated her very roughly, and on one occasion she had a black eye when\nI was lunching at the inn. I asked her how she had hurt herself. She\nreplied that she had knocked her face against the door, but I was told\nthat this was a result of a domestic brawl. Now the remarkable feature\nin these cases is that it is impossible to drive the idea out of the\nheads of those who thus deal in wives that such a transaction is not\nsanctioned by law and religion. In Marytavy parish register is the\nfollowing entry:--\n\n    1756. Robert Elford was baptized, child of Susanna Elford by her\n    sister\u2019s husband. She was married with the consent of her sister,\n    the wife, who was at the wedding.\n\nIn this instance there is no evidence of a _sale_, but we may be sure\nthat money did pass, and that the contractor of the new marriage\nbelieved it was a right and proper union, although perhaps irregular;\nand the first wife unquestionably believed that she was acting in\nobservance of a legal right in transferring her husband to her sister.\nThere are instances in which country people have gone before a local\nsolicitor and have had a contract of sale drawn up for the disposal\nof their wives. The Birmingham police court in 1853 had to adjudicate\non such a case, and the astounding thing in this instance was that a\nlawyer could be found to draw up the contract. It is no wonder that\nthe magistrates administered a very severe reprimand. But there was a\nfar earlier case than this, that of Sir William de Paganel; the lady\nstoutly and indignantly resisted the transfer and appealed against the\ncontract to the law, which declared the sale to be null and void.\n\nMr. Whitfeld, in his _Plymouth and Devonport, in Times of War and\nPeace_, mentions a case that occurred at the former, but without giving\nthe date, of one John Codmore, who was indicted for burglary and for\nhaving married without his father\u2019s consent, and then tiring of his\nwife, having sold her for five pounds--which was a large sum as the\nprice of wives went--to a miller. In December, 1822, the Plymouth crier\nannounced to all and singular: Oh yes! Oh yes! that James Brooks was\nabout to dispose of his wife by public auction. The lady was advertised\nas young and handsome, and as likely to succeed to an inheritance of\n\u00a3700.\n\nExpectation was whetted by the intimation that the lady would attend\nthe sale herself, that all might judge of her personal charm, and\nthat she would be mounted on horseback. A curious and babbling crowd\nassembled to witness the transaction, and precisely at midday,\naccording to the announcement, she rode up, attended by the ostler\nof the \u201cLord Exmouth.\u201d The husband, James Brooks, officiated as\nauctioneer. The first bid was five shillings, then the sums offered\nmounted to ten and to fifteen; but none rose, and that slowly, over two\npound. Whereupon the ostler called out \u201cThree pounds,\u201d and she would\nhave been knocked down to him had not at this conjuncture a couple of\nwatchmen intervened, one laying hands on the husband and the other\non the wife, and escorted the pair to the Guildhall, followed by the\nrabble.\n\nWhen the mayor took them to task, the husband declared that for the\nlife of him he could not see that he was doing wrong. He and his wife\nhad agreed to the sale, as they had not lived together for long, and\nwere ill-assorted, and therefore desired fresh partners. The ostler\nwas prepared to pay twenty pounds for her--three pounds down and the\nbalance at Christmas--and the woman was quite agreeable. What, then,\nwas wrong? He assured the mayor that there was nothing \u201cbelow board\u201d in\nthe transaction; the auction had been \u201ccalled\u201d three times in Modbury\nMarket, and the wife also considered that she ought and would like to\nbe sold in a public fair.\n\nThe mayor now examined the woman. She admitted that the ostler was\nbuying her in at a reserved price, at which she had valued herself.\nThere was a gentleman, a Mr. K., who she expected would have attended\nand bid for her, and with whom she had intended to go. But Mr. K. had\nnot turned up, much to her annoyance. \u201cI was very much annoyed,\u201d said\nshe, \u201cto find that he had not kept his promise. But I was so determined\nto be loosed from Mr. Brooks, that when Mr. K. did not attend, I asked\nthe ostler to buy me with my own money, unless I went for more than\ntwenty pounds.\u201d\n\nThe justices bound them over in sureties to be of good behaviour, and\ndismissed them.\n\nIn 1823, an army sergeant in residence in Devonport Dock tracked his\nfaithless wife to Liskeard, and there engaged the bell-man to announce\nthat it was his intention to dispose of her by sale to the highest\nbidder. Procuring a rope, he placed it round the neck of his spouse,\nand led her unresisting to the Higher Cross, opposite the Market, where\nthe offers were taking a spirited turn when the police interfered.\nIn the same year, William Hodge was indicted at Plymouth for putting\nhis wife up to auction, and William Andrews for purchasing her. It\nwas shown that Hodge had repeatedly threatened to sell his wife,\nthat she had cheerfully welcomed the proposition, and that Andrews\nhad anticipated the transaction of the sale by abducting her. At the\nQuarter Sessions \u201cthe auctioneer\u201d was conspicuous by his absence; the\nwife pleaded that he had frequently assaulted her; and Andrews was\ncondemned to prison \u201cby way of warning.\u201d[4]\n\nThe Rev. W. H. Thornton, vicar of North Bovey, in _Devon Notes and\nQueries_, Vol. IV, 1906, writes: \u201cA sale may apparently be effected\neither by private arrangement or by public auction, and in neither case\ndo the prices obtainable seem, as a rule, to run high. The husband\nnaturally considers the result more satisfactory if a good sum can be\nobtained for his wife, but when the course of matrimony has arrived\nat a crisis, he commonly feels that it is better to accept the market\nprice of the day than it is to lead her home again to resume conjugal\nlife.\n\n\u201cMy attention was recently called to the matter, when, in March of this\nyear (1906), I was investigating in North Devon a remarkable instance\nof suicide, and a still more remarkable verdict thereon. My informant\nwas an old poacher and fisherman, and speaking of the deceased, he\nsaid casually that he came of a curious family, and that he himself\ncould well remember to have seen the dead man\u2019s grandfather leading\nhis grandmother on a halter to be sold by public auction in Great\nTorrington Market. The reserve price was, in this instance, fixed at\neighteen pence, but as no one would give so much money, the husband\nhad to take his wife home again and resume matrimonial intercourse.\nChildren were born to them, and the ultimate result was the suicide.\n\n\u201cOn being asked whether, in such instances, the neighbours generally\nconsidered the transaction legitimate, old John Badger replied in the\naffirmative; he declared that the vendor was held to be free to wed\nagain, and the purchaser to be liable for the maintenance of the woman,\nbut not till the money had changed hands over the bargain.\n\n\u201cThis statement reminded me of a case which occurred at North Bovey\nshortly before I became incumbent of the living in 1868. This can\neasily be verified. A man, whose name I can give, walked into Chagford,\nand there by private agreement sold his wife to another man for a quart\nof beer. When he returned home with the purchaser the woman repudiated\nthe transaction, and, taking her two children with her, went off at\nonce to Exeter, and only came back to attend her husband\u2019s funeral, at\nwhich, unless I am mistaken, I officiated.\n\n\u201cMr. Roberts, the present old clerk at Wolborough, tells me that he has\nheard his father say that he knew of several instances of the kind now\nunder consideration, but that he does not think that in South Devon\nthe arrangement was often considered legal. In the north of the county\npeople were less enlightened.\u201d\n\nDevon was not alone the scene of these wife-sales, though they were\nprobably more common there than elsewhere. Still, there is evidence\nthat such transactions went on elsewhere, and one or two instances may\nbe quoted, to relieve Devon of exclusive discredit in such matters.\n\nThe story is well known of the Silesian noble whose house was raided\nby Tartars, one of whom carried off the nobleman\u2019s wife on his horse\nbehind him. The Silesian looked after the disappearing bandit, rubbed\nhis hands, and said, \u201cAlas, poor Tartar!\u201d Doubtless there were many\nhusbands who would have been glad to be rid of their wives at any\nprice, even for nothing at all.\n\nIn 1815, a man held a regular auction in the market-place at\nPontefract, offering his wife at a minimum bidding of one shilling, but\nhe managed to excite a competition, and she was finally knocked down\nfor eleven shillings.\n\nIn 1820, a man named Brouchet led his wife, a decent, pleasant-looking\nwoman, but with a tongue in her mouth, into the cattle market at\nCanterbury from the neighbouring village of Broughton. He required a\nsalesman to dispose of her, but the salesman replied that his dealings\nwere with cattle only, and not with women. Brouchet, not to be beaten,\nthereupon hired a cattle-pen, paying sixpence for the hire, and led his\nwife into it by the halter that was round her neck. She did not fetch\na high figure, being disposed of to a young man of Canterbury for five\nshillings.\n\nIn 1832, on 7 April, a farmer named Joseph Thomson came into Carlisle\nwith his wife, to whom he had been married three years before; he sent\nthe bell-man round the town to announce a sale, and this attracted a\ngreat crowd. At noon the sale took place. Thomson placed his wife on\na chair, with a rope of straw round her neck. He then said--according\nto the report in the _Annual Register_--\u201cGentlemen, I have to offer to\nyour notice, my wife, Mary Anne Thomson, otherwise Williams, whom I\nmean to sell to the highest and fairest bidder. Gentlemen, it is her\nwish as well as mine to part for ever. She has been to me only a born\nserpent. I took her for my comfort, and the good of my home; but she\nbecame my tormentor, a domestic curse. Gentlemen, I speak the truth\nfrom my heart when I say may God deliver us from troublesome wives and\nfrolicsome women! Avoid them as you would a mad dog, or a roaring lion,\na loaded pistol, cholera morbus, Mount Etna, or any other pestilential\nthing in nature. Now I have shown you the dark side of my wife, and\ntold you her faults and failings, I will introduce the bright and sunny\nside of her, and explain her qualifications and goodness. She can read\nnovels and milk cows; she can laugh and weep with the same ease that\nyou could take a glass of ale when thirsty. Indeed, gentlemen, she\nreminds me of what the poet says of women in general:--\n\n    Heaven gave to women the peculiar grace\n    To laugh, to weep, to cheat the human race.\n\nShe can make butter and scold the maid; she can sing Moore\u2019s melodies,\nand plait her frills and caps; she cannot make rum, gin, or whisky,\nbut she is a good judge of the quality from long experience in tasting\nthem. I therefore offer her with all her perfections and imperfections\nfor the sum of fifty shillings.\u201d\n\nThat this address was spoken by Thomson is most improbable--it is\ndoubtless put into his mouth by the editor of the _Annual Register_; it\nwas not to his interest to depreciate the article he desired to sell.\nAfter about an hour, the woman was knocked down to one Henry Mears,\nfor twenty shillings and a Newfoundland dog. They then parted company\nin perfect good humour, each satisfied with his bargain; Mears and the\nwoman went one way, and Thomson and the dog another.\n\nIn 1835 a man led his wife by a halter, in precisely the same way, into\nthe market at Birmingham, and sold her for fifteen pounds. She at once\nwent home with the purchaser. She survived both buyer and seller, and\nthen married again. Some property came to her in the course of years\nfrom her first husband; for notwithstanding claims put forth by his\nrelatives she was able to maintain in a court of law that the sale did\nnot and could not vitiate her rights as his widow.\n\nMuch astonishment was caused in 1837 in the West Riding of Yorkshire\nby a man being committed to prison for a month with hard labour for\nselling or attempting to sell his wife by auction in the manner already\ndescribed. It was generally and firmly believed that he was acting\nwithin his rights.\n\nIn 1858, in a tavern at Little Horton, near Bradford, a man named\nHartley Thompson put up his wife, who is described by the local\njournals as a pretty young woman, for sale by auction, and he had the\nsale previously announced by sending round the bell-man. He led her\ninto the market with a ribbon round her neck, which exhibits an advance\nin refinement over the straw halter; and again in 1859, a man at Dudley\ndisposed of his wife in a somewhat similar manner for sixpence. A\nfeature in all these instances is the docility with which the wife\nsubmitted to be haltered and sold. She would seem to have been equally\nimbued with the idea that there was nothing to be ashamed of in the\ntransaction, and that it was perfectly legal.\n\nIf we look to discover whence originated the idea, we shall probably\nfind it in the conception of marriage as a purchase. Among savage\nraces, the candidate for marriage is expected to pay the father for\nhis daughter. A marriageable girl is worth so many cows or so many\nreindeer. The man pays over a sum of money or its equivalent to\nthe father, and in exchange receives the girl. If he desires to be\nseparated from her he has no idea of giving her away, but receives what\nis calculated to be her market value from the man who is disposed to\nrelieve him of her. In all dealings for cattle, or horses, or sheep, a\nhandsel is paid, half a crown to clinch the bargain, and the transfer\nof coin constitutes a legal transfer of authority and property over the\nanimal. This is applied to a woman, and when a coin, even a sixpence,\nis paid over and received, the receiver regards this as releasing him\nfrom all further responsibility for the wife, who at once passes under\nthe hand of the purchaser. There is probably no trace in our laws of\nwomen having been thus regarded as negotiable properties, but it is\nunquestionable that at an early period, before Christianity invaded the\nisland, such a view was held, and if here and there the rustic mind is\nunable to rise to a higher conception of the marriage state, it shows\nhow extremely slow it is for opinions to alter when education has been\nneglected.\n\n\n\n\nWHITE WITCHES\n\n\nSome years ago I wrote a little account of \u201cWhite Witches\u201d in the\n_Daily Graphic_, in which I narrated some of my experiences and my\nacquaintance with their proceedings. This brought me at the lowest\ncomputation fifty letters from all parts of the country from patients\nwho had spent much of their substance upon medical practitioners, and,\nlike the woman with the issue of blood in the Gospel, \u201chad suffered\nmany things of many physicians and was nothing bettered, but rather\ngrew worse.\u201d These entreated me to furnish them with the addresses of\nsome of these irregular practitioners, that they might try them. I did\nnot send what was desired, and that for a very good reason, that I\nregard these individuals as impostors and the occasion of a good deal\nof mischief.\n\nAt the same time _distinguez_, as the French would say. They are not\nall so, and I have seen and can testify to very notable and undeniable\ncures that they have effected. That they believe in their powers and\ntheir cures is true in a good many cases, and I quite admit that they\nmay be in possession of a large number of valuable herbal recipes,\ndoubtless of real efficacy. Some of our surgeons are far too fond\nof using the knife, and the majority of them employ strong mineral\nmedicines that, though they may produce an immediate effect, do injury\nin the long run. I take it that one reason why our teeth are so bad in\nthe present generation is due largely to the way in which calomel was\nadministered in times past, a medicine that touches the liver but is\nrottenness to the bones.\n\nWhat Jesus the son of Sirach said centuries ago is true still: \u201cThe\nLord hath created medicines out of the earth, and he that is wise will\nnot abhor them ... by such doth he heal men, and taketh away their\npains. Of such doth the apothecary make a confection\u201d (Ecclus. XXXVIII.\n4, 7, 8). What the writer meant was herbs and not minerals. The simples\nemployed by the wise old women in our villages were admirable in most\ncases, but they were slow, if sure of action, and in these days when we\ngo at a gallop we want cures to be rapid, almost instantaneous.\n\nBut the professed herbalist in our country towns is very often not a\nherbalist at all, but a mere impostor. He puts up \u201cherbalist\u201d on a\nbrass plate at his door, but his procedure is mere quackery.\n\nMoreover, the true White Witch is consulted not for maladies only,\nbut for the discovery of who has cast the evil eye, \u201coverlooked\u201d and\n\u201cill-wished\u201d some one who has lost a cow, or has been out of sorts,\nor has sickness in his pig-sty. The mode of proceeding was amusingly\ndescribed in the _Letters of Nathan Hogg_, in 1847. Nathan in the\nform of a story gives an account of what was the general method of\nthe White Witch Tucker in Exeter. A farmer whose conviction was that\ndisorders and disasters at home were the result of the ill-wishing of a\nred-cloaked Nan Tap, consulted Tucker as to how the old woman was to be\n\u201cdriven\u201d and rendered powerless.\n\nI modify the broad dialect, which would not be generally intelligible.\n\n    When into Exeter he had got\n    To Master Tucker\u2019s door he sot;\n    He rung\u2019d the bell, the message sent,\n    Pulled off his hat, and in he went,\n    And seed a fellow in a room\n    That seem\u2019d in such a fret and fume.\n    He said he\u2019d lost a calf and cow,\n    And com\u2019d in there to know as how,\n    For Master T., at little cost,\n    Had often found the things he\u2019d lost.\n\nThereupon the farmer opened his own trouble, and told how he and his\nwere bewitched by Nan Tap. And as he told his tale, it seemed so sad\nthat the man in the room bade him go in first to consult the White\nWitch.\n\nNow this fuming man was employed by Tucker to draw out from the gulls\nwhat their trouble was, and there was but a sham wall of paper between\nthe room where the interview took place and that in which he received\nthe farmer, whom he greatly astonished by informing him of all the\ncircumstances that led to the visit. The remedy he prescribed was to\ncarry a little bag he gave him, in which were some stones, and to dash\nwater in the direction of the old woman, and say, \u201cI do it in the name\nof Tucker,\u201d and if this did not answer, he was to put a faggot up his\nchimney, set fire to it, and say a prayer he taught him while it was\nburning. We need not follow the account any further.\n\nThere was a few years ago a notable White Witch of the name of Snow,\nat Tiverton, who did great business. In a case with which I am well\nacquainted, he certainly was the means of curing a substantial farmer.\nThe man had caught a severe chill one night of storm, when a torrent\nthreatened to inundate his house. He had stood for hours endeavouring\nto divert the stream from his door. The chill settled on his chest, and\nhe became a wreck; he drew his breath with difficulty, walked bent,\nalmost double, and as I was convinced would not live out the twelve\nmonths. He consulted the most famous and experienced physicians, and\nthey did him no good. Then in desperation he went to \u201cOld Snow.\u201d From\nthat day he mended. What the White Witch gave him I do not know; but\nthe man is now robust, hearty, and looks as if many years were before\nhim.\n\nI know another case, but this is of a different nature. A young farmer,\ncurious as to the future, visited a White Witch to learn who his\nfuture wife would be. Said she--this witch was a woman, and an old\none: there are female witches who are young and exercise very powerful\ncharms--said she: \u201cNext Sunday, you go along Narracott lane, and the\nfirst young woman you see pass, look her well in the face, and when\nyou\u2019ve gone by, turn your head and look, and if she\u2019s also turned her\nhead and is looking at you, that\u2019s the one.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell now,\u201d said this farmer in later years, \u201cit were a coorious thing\nit were, but as I were goin\u2019 along thickey lane there I seed Bessie\nBaker, and I turn\u2019d, and sure enough her were lookin\u2019 over her shoulder\nto me, and wot\u2019s most coorious of all--her\u2019s my missus now. After\nthat, don\u2019t ee go and tell me as how White Witches knows nothin\u2019. But\nthere\u2019s somethin\u2019 more to the tale. I heerd afterwards as Bessie, her\u2019d\nconsulted old Nan, and Nan had said to her, \u2018Go along Narracott lane,\nand the first man as you sees, when you\u2019ve past, turn and look; and if\nhe\u2019s lookin\u2019 over his shoulder to you, that\u2019s the one.\u2019 There\u2019s facts;\nand wi\u2019 them facts staring of you in the face, don\u2019t you go and say\nWhite Witches is nort.\u201d\n\nThere is an old woman I know--she is still alive. It was six years\nsince she bought a bar of yellow or any other soap. But that is neither\nhere nor there. She was esteemed a witch--a white one of course. She\nwas a God-fearing woman, and had no relations with the Evil One, of\nthat one may be sure. How she subsisted was a puzzle to the whole\nparish. But, then, she was generally feared. She received presents from\nevery farm and cottage. Sometimes she would meet a child coming from\nschool, and stay it, and fixing her wild dark eye on it, say, \u201cMy dear,\nI knawed a child jist like you--same age, red rosy cheeks, and curlin\u2019\nblack hair. And that child shrivelled up, shrumped like an apple as is\npicked in the third quarter of the moon. The cheeks grew white, the\nhair went out of curl, and she jist died right on end and away.\u201d\n\nBefore the day was out, a chicken or a basket of eggs as a present from\nthe mother of that child was sure to arrive.\n\nI have given an account of this same old woman in my _An Old English\nHome_, and will here add a few more particulars about her. She\npossessed of her own a two-storied house, thatched, built mainly of\ncob, but with two chimneys of brick. Some five-and-twenty years ago the\nhouse was habitable enough. The thatch had given way in several places,\nbut she could not or would not have it repaired. Perhaps she had not\nthe means; but the farmers offered her straw, and a thatcher would\nhave done the work for her gratis, or only for her blessing. She would\nnot. \u201cGod made the sky,\u201d she said, \u201cand that is the best roof of all.\u201d\nAfter a while, however, the roof became leaky everywhere. Then she\nsought shelter for her head by stuffing up the chimney of her bedroom\nfireplace with a sack filled with chaff, and pushing her bed to the\nhearth, she slept with her head and pillow under the sack. But access\nto this bedroom became difficult, as the stairs, exposed to the rain,\nrotted and gave way, and she was compelled to ascend and descend by an\nimprovised ladder.\n\n[Illustration: MARIANN VOADEN, BRATTON]\n\n[Illustration: MARIANN VOADEN\u2019S COTTAGE, BRATTON]\n\nThe rector of the parish went to her and remonstrated at the dangerous\ncondition of the tenement.\n\n\u201cMy dear,\u201d said she, \u201cthere be two angels every night sits on the rungs\nof the ladder and watches there, that nobody comes nigh me, and they be\nready to hold up the timbers that they don\u2019t fall on me.\u201d\n\nThe rector\u2019s daughter carried her some food every now and then. One day\nthe woman made her a present of some fine old lace. This was gratefully\naccepted. As the young lady was departing, \u201cOld Marianne\u201d called after\nher from the bedroom door, \u201cCome back, my dear, I want that lace again.\nIf any one else be so gude as to give me aught, I shall want it to\nmake an acknowledgment of the kindness.\u201d The lace was often given as\nacknowledgment, and as often reclaimed.\n\nAfter a while the ladder collapsed. Then the old woman descended for\ngood and all, and took up her abode on the ground floor--kitchen and\nparlour, dining-room and bedroom all in one.\n\nFinally the whole roof fell in and carried down the flooring of the\nupper story, but in such manner that the \u201cplanchin\u201d rested at one end\nagainst the wall, but blocked up door and fireplace. Then she lived\nunder it as a lean-to roof, and without a fire for several winters,\namongst others that bitter one of 1893-4, and her only means of egress\nand ingress was through the window. Of that half the number of panes\nwas broken and patched with rags. As the water poured into her room\nshe finally took refuge in an old oak chest, keeping the lid up with a\nbrick.\n\nI knew her very well; she was a picturesque object. Once she and I\nwere photographed together standing among the ruins of her house. She\nmust have been handsome in her day, with a finely-cut profile, and\npiercing dark eyes. She usually wore a red kerchief about her head or\nneck and an old scarlet petticoat. But she was dirty--indescribably\nso. Her hands were the colour of mahogany. She promised me her book\nof charms. I never got it, and this was how. The huntsmen were wont,\nwhenever passing her wretched house, to shout \u201cMarianne! Marianne!\u201d and\ndraw up. Then from amidst the ruins came a muffled response, \u201cComing,\nmy dears, coming!\u201d Presently she appeared. She was obliged to crawl\nout of her window that opened into the garden and orchard at the back\nof the house, go round it, and unlace a gate of thorns she had erected\nas a protection to her garden; there she always received presents. One\nday as usual the fox-hunters halted and called for her; she happened\nat the time to have kindled a fire on the floor of her room to boil a\nlittle water in a kettle for tea, and she left the fire burning when\nshe issued forth to converse with the gentlemen and extend her hand\nfor half-crowns. Whilst thus engaged the flames caught some straw that\nlittered the ground, they spread, set fire to the woodwork, and the\nroom was in a blaze. Everything was consumed, her chest-bed, her lace,\nher book of charms. After that she was conveyed to the workhouse, where\nshe is still, and now is kept clean.\n\nOnce, before this catastrophe, I drove over to see her, taking my\nyoungest daughter with me. The child had breakings-out on her face;\nMarianne noticed this. \u201cAh, my dear,\u201d said she, \u201cI see you want my\nhelp. You must bring the little maiden to me, she must be fasting, and\nthen I will bless her face, and in two days she will be well.\u201d Her cure\nfor whooping-cough was to cut the hair off the cross on a donkey\u2019s\nback, fasten it in silk bags, and tie these round the children\u2019s\nnecks. \u201cYou see,\u201d she said, \u201cChrist Jesus rode into Jerusalem on an\nass, and ever since then asses have the cross on their backs, and the\nhair of those crosses is holy and cures maladies.\u201d\n\nAlthough I did not obtain her book of charms, she gave me many of her\nrecipes. For fits one was to swallow wood-lice, pounded if one liked,\nbetter swallowed _au naturel_.\n\n_For Burns or Scalds._--Recite over the place:--\n\n    There were three Angels who came from the North,\n    One bringing Fire, the other brought Frost,\n    The other he was the Holy Ghost.\n            In Frost, out Fire! In the Name, etc.\n\n_For a Sprain._--Recite: \u201cAs Christ was riding over Crolly Bridge, His\nhorse slid and sprained his leg. He alighted and spake the words: Bone\nto bone, and sinew to sinew! and blessed it and it became well, and so\nshall ... become well. In the Name, etc.\u201d Repeat thrice.\n\n_For Stanching Blood._--Recite: \u201cJesus was born in Bethlehem, baptized\nin the river of Jordan. The water was wide and the river was rude\nagainst the Holy Child. And He smote it with a rod, and it stood still,\nand so shall your blood stand still. In the Name, etc.\u201d Repeat thrice.\n\n_Cure for Toothache._--\u201cAs our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ\nwere walking in the garden of Jerusalem, Jesus said unto Peter, Why\nweepest thou? Peter answered and said, Lord, I be terrible tormented\nwith the toothache. Jesus said unto Peter, If thou wilt believe in Me\nand My words abide in thee, thou shall never more fill [_sic_] the pain\nin thy tooth. Peter cried out with tears, Lord, I believe, help thou my\nonbelieve [_sic_].\u201d\n\n_Another receipt for a Sprain._\n\n    2 oz. of oil of turpentine.\n    2 oz. of swillowes.\n    2 oz. of oil of earthworms.\n    2 oz. of nerve.\n    2 oz. of oil of spideldock (? opodeldoc).\n    2 oz. of Spanish flies.\n\nI recommend this recipe to be taken to an apothecary. Order it to be\nmade up, and observe his face as he reads it.\n\nMarianne had the gift of stanching blood even at a distance. On one\noccasion when hay was being cut, a man wounded himself at Kelly, some\neight miles distant, and the blood flowed in streams. At once the\nfarmer bade a man take a kerchief dipped in his blood and gallop as\nhard as he could to the tumble-down cottage, and get Marianne to bless\nthe blood. He did so, and was gone some three hours. As soon as the old\nwoman had charmed the kerchief the blood ceased to flow.\n\nAt one time, now thirty to forty years ago, it was not by any means\nuncommon for one to meet the village postman walking with one hand\nextended holding a kerchief that was sent to the White Witch to be\nblessed. The rag must touch no other human being till it reached her.\nMoreover, at my own village inn, people from a distance frequently\nlodged so as to be able to consult the White Witch, and my tenant, the\nlandlady of the inn, was absolutely convinced of the efficacy of the\ncures wrought.\n\nThe rector\u2019s son went to call on Marianne, and she brought out for\nhim a filthy glass with poppy wine she had made, thick and muddy, and\noffered it to him. \u201cI am almost a teetotaler,\u201d said he; \u201cand so can\ndo no more than just sip this to your health and happiness,\u201d and he\nput his lips to the glass.\n\n\u201cAh! Mr. Edward, dear,\u201d said she, \u201cI\u2019ve offered thickey glass o\u2019 wine\nto some, and they\u2019m so proud and haughty as they wouldn\u2019t titch it; but\nyou\u2019m no so--and now my blessing shall be wi\u2019 you night and day--and\ngude fortune shall ever attend you--that I promise you.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: A VILLAGE \u201cWISE MAN\u201d]\n\nA writer in _Devon Notes and Queries_, October, 1906, writes:--\n\n\u201cFifty-nine years ago, two years after breaking my arm, I evidently\nchilled it by violent exercise and perspiring in a lengthened snowball\nbattle on Northernhay (Exeter). This caused a large surface wound which\nneither doctor nor chemist could heal for months, but I had to renew\non all opportunities daily the application of bandages wetted with\nGoulard\u2019s Extract (acetate of lead and water). Months went by, still\nno cure, and at last, in sheer despair, my mother, who had not long\nleft the country to live in Exeter, resolved to take me to a Seventh\nSon whose fame was current in Exeter. He was at the time the carrier to\nand from Moretonhampstead. He saw my arm as he stood by his wagon, and\nbade my mother bring me the following Friday, when something was said\nover the wound, and I was invested with a small velvet amulet, which I\nbelieve contained the leg of a toad.\n\n\u201cThe wet bandages were continued, and from that day to this I have\nnever been able to tell which effected the ultimate cure, the wet\nbandages or the toad.\n\n\u201cAbout thirty years later I had of my own a seventh daughter, born\nin succession. The news got about, and within a fortnight we had two\napplications from troubled mothers. Would we let our dear baby lay her\nhand on their child\u2019s arm or leg, as may be, for it would not harm\nmine and might cure theirs of King\u2019s Evil?\n\n\u201cDuring the early years that I have named, there were several notable\nwhite witches in Exeter who took lots of good fees for pretended good\nservices. Superstition dies slowly, for within the last seven years a\nfriend of mine with the same surname as the White Witch of 1840-50,\nbut a comparative new-comer to Exeter, was startled by an application\nof which he, knowing nothing of old wives\u2019 stories of Devon, could not\nfathom the meaning until asking the writer if he could explain. About\n1880 my wife was met at the door by a man who might by appearance have\nbeen a small farmer. \u2018Missus, be I gwain right?\u2019 \u2018Where do you want to\ngo?\u2019 (A little hesitation.) \u2018I waant to vind thickey wuman that tells\nthings. My cows be wished and I waant to vind out who dood it.\u2019 So he\nwas told to go to a cottage behind Friars\u2019 Green, where old Mrs.----\nhad a crop of fools for clients every Friday, and told them their\nfortunes by tea-grounds and cards, much to her and their satisfaction;\nbut I certainly was amused to hear my wife say, \u2018Oh, Jenny So-and-so,\nPolly What\u2019s-her-name, and various others, and I, have gone there lots\nof times, and had our fortunes told for twopence.\u2019\u201d\n\nAt the beginning of this article I mentioned a farmer, a tenant of\nmine, who professed to have been cured by \u201cOld Snow,\u201d of Tiverton.\n\nNine years after this I wrote the article on our Devonshire White\nWitches in the _Daily Graphic_. This was transferred to one or two\nPlymouth papers. Shortly after that, at our harvest festival, the\nfarmer turned up. He had left my farm and taken another elsewhere;\nbut he had a hankering after Lew Trenchard, and at our festival he\nappeared, robust and hearty. He came to me and said, \u201cWhy, sir, you\nhave been putting me in the papers.\u201d \u201cWell, old friend,\u201d said I, \u201cI\nsaid in it nothing but what was true.\u201d \u201cTrue, aye, aye, sir, true as\ngospel. The doctors in Plymouth and Mr. Budd, of North Tawton, gave\nme up, but Old Snow cured me. I met him on the platform of Tiverton\nstation, and told him my case. He looked me hard in the eye, and said\nsome words, and bade me go home and I was cured. Well, sir, from that\nday I mended. You see now what I am.\u201d\n\nA friend wrote to me: \u201cIn 1891, my head man had an attack of influenza,\nand this fell on his nerves, and convinced that he had been ill-wished,\nhe consulted a White Witch at Callington, who informed him that he had\nbeen \u2018overlooked\u2019 by one of his own profession, and that he had applied\ntoo late for a cure to be effected.\u201d\n\nNow the person who exhorted him to have recourse to the White Witch was\nhis daughter, who was mistress at the school of the parish.\n\nThe man eventually recovered, but not through the aid of the White\nWitch.\n\nI know a farmer, a God-fearing, sensible man, and thriving in his farm\nand piling up money, to whom recourse is continually had to stanch\nwounds, and to cure abscesses, by striking the place and reciting\ncertain mystic sentences.\n\nA witch, white or black, must communicate the secret of power to one of\nan opposite sex before he or she can die--that is well known.\n\nThat in many cases the imagination acting on the nervous system acts\ncuratively \u201cgoes without saying.\u201d It is that which really operates in\nthe faith cures and in the Lourdes miracles. What a bad time witches,\nwhite or black, must have had when the short way with any one\nsuspected was to throw her into a pond! If she sank, why she sank and\nwas drowned, but had the satisfaction of being aware that her character\nwas cleared, whereas if she floated, she was a convicted witch and was\nburnt.\n\nI am not, however, sure that we are not too lenient with the\nprofessional White Witch nowadays, as the following incident will show.\nI do not name the locality, certainly not the persons, for nothing was\nproved.\n\nA certain cattle-dealer three years ago was much troubled because his\ndaughter who had had influenza did not rally, but was rather strange\nin her head. He went to the county capital to consult the White Witch.\nThe latter showed him a glass of water, and said that the person who\nhad overlooked his child was fair-haired and stout. Further, that she\nhad never been inside his doors, but that she would enter them on the\nfollowing Saturday.\n\nThe cattle-jobber looking into the glass of water thought he saw a\nface--it was that of a woman who lived not far from him. What he really\nsaw was, of course, his own reflected, but with the words of the witch\nringing in his ears and guided by his imagination he conceived that he\nsaw a neighbour.\n\nHe returned home full of conviction and wrath. Next night the husband\nof the fair-haired, stout woman woke after midnight, and heard a\nstrange crackling sound. He hastily dressed, and went outside his door,\nwhen he saw that the thatch of his house was in flames. He hastened\nto rouse his wife and family, there were six who slept in the house,\nand he had barely drawn them outside, before the roof fell in and the\ncottage was converted into one great bonfire. By the merest accident\nit was that six persons were not burned in their beds. Next morning\nthe police, who investigated the matter, found evidence that the house\nhad been wilfully and deliberately set fire to. Some one had stepped\non to a hedge, and had lighted three lucifer matches, and in drawing\nthem from his pocket had drawn out and dropped at the same time two\nhalfpenny stamps. The first two matches had failed. The third took\neffect. Who had been the incendiary was not discovered.\n\nOf course the circumstance first mentioned may be entirely unconnected\nwith the second. But there can be no doubt that bitter animosities are\nbred by the charges of \u201cill-wishing\u201d and \u201coverlooking\u201d which are made\nby the White Witches. They are far too shrewd to name names, but they\ncontrive to kindle and direct suspicions in their dupes which may lead\nto serious results.\n\nIt is very difficult to bring these cases home, and on this immunity\nthey trade. But it is devoutly to be hoped that some day certain of\nthese gentry will be tripped up, and then, though magistrates can no\nmore send them to the stake, they will send them to cool their heels in\ngaol, and richly they will deserve the punishment.\n\n\n\n\nMANLY PEEKE\n\n\nThe pirates of Algiers had for some years been very troublesome, not\nin the Mediterranean only, but also along the European coasts of the\nAtlantic. Several English vessels trading to Smyrna had been plundered,\nand the corsairs had even made descents on the coasts of England and\nIreland and had swept away people into slavery. James I proposed that\nthe different Christian powers should unite to destroy Algiers, the\nprincipal port of these pirates. Spain, whose subjects suffered most,\nengaged to co-operate, but withdrew at the last moment. Sir Robert\nMansell was placed in command of the English fleet, but provided with\nan inefficient force, and given strict orders from the timid and\nparsimonious James not on any account to endanger his vessels.\n\nOn 24 May, 1621, Sir Thomas sailed into the harbour of Algiers\nand set fire to the Moorish ships and galleys; but had scarcely\nretired--unwilling to follow up the advantage--when \u201ca great cataract\nof rain\u201d hindered the spread of the fire; and the Algerines succeeded\nin recovering all their ships with the exception of two, which burnt\nto the water\u2019s edge. The enemy brought their artillery to bear on the\nEnglish fleet, mounted batteries on the mole, and threw booms across\nthe mouth of the harbour. Mansell, hampered by his instructions, dared\nnot expose his vessels further and withdrew, having lost only eight\nmen; and returned to England. Among those who had sailed with him was\nRichard Peeke, of Tavistock, who returned home much disgusted, \u201cMy Body\nmore wasted and weather-beaten, but my purse never the fuller nor my\npockets thicker lyned.\u201d\n\nCharles I came to the throne in 1625; and one of his first acts was to\norganize and start an expedition against the Spanish. It was devised\nfor the sake of plunder. His treasury was empty; he was obliged to\nborrow \u00a33000 to procure provisions for his own table. Plate ships,\nheavy-laden argosies, were arriving in the port of Spain from the New\nWorld, and Buckingham suggested to him to fill his empty coffers by\nthe capture of these vessels. The English fleet counted eighty sail;\nthe Dutch contributed a squadron of sixteen sail; it was the greatest\njoint naval power that had ever spread sail upon salt water--and this\nmade the world abroad wonder what the purpose was for which it was\nassembled. Ten thousand men were embarked on the English vessels, and\nthe command of both fleet and army was given to Sir Edward Cecil, now\ncreated Lord Wimbledon, a general who had served with very little\nsuccess in the Palatinate and the Low Countries. This appointment of a\nmere landsman surprised and vexed the seamen. The position belonged to\nSir Robert Mansell, Vice-Admiral of England, in case the Admiral did\nnot go; but Buckingham had made the choice and persisted in it. The\nfleet set sail in the month of October, and shaped its course for the\ncoast of Spain.\n\nRichard Peeke had remained in Tavistock after his return from Algiers\ntill October, 1625, when--\u201cThe Drumbe beating up for a New Expedition\nin which many noble Gentlemen, and Heroical Spirits, were to venture\ntheir Honors, Lives and Fortunes: Cables could not hold me, for away I\nwould, and along I vowed to goe, and did so.\u201d Peeke entered as sailor\non board the _Convertine_, under Captain Thomas Porter.\n\nIn the Bay of Biscay the ships were damaged and in part scattered by a\nstorm. One vessel foundered with a hundred and seventy men on board.\nThis was the beginning of misadventure. The confusion of orders was\nsuch that the officers and soldiers scarcely knew who were in command\nand whom they were to order about. When Wimbledon got in sight of the\nSpanish shores, he summoned a council of war, the usual and dangerous\nresource of an incompetent commander. His instructions were to\nintercept the plate ships from America, to scour the Spanish shores and\ndestroy the shipping in the ports. But where should he begin? In the\ncouncil of war some recommended one point, some another; in the end it\nwas resolved to make for Cadiz Bay. But whilst they were consulting,\nthe Spaniards had got wind of their approach, and prepared to receive\nthem. Moreover, Wimbledon allowed seven large and rich Spanish vessels\nto sail into the bay under his nose, and these afterwards did him much\ndamage. \u201c\u2019Tis thought,\u201d says Howell, who had many friends with the\nexpedition, \u201cthat they being rich would have defrayed well near the\ncharge of our fleet.\u201d\n\nA sudden attack on the shipping at Cadiz and Port St. Maria could\nhardly have failed even now, but the blundering and incompetent\nWimbledon preferred to land all his troops, and he succeeded in\ncapturing the paltry fort of Puntal, whilst his fleet remained inactive\noutside the bay. Then he moved towards the bridge which connects the\nIsle de Laon with the continent, to cut off communications. No enemy\nwas visible; but in the wine-cellars of the country, which were broken\nopen and plundered, a foe was found which has ever been more dangerous\nto undisciplined English troops than bullets and sabres. The men, under\nno control, got drunk, and became totally unmanageable; and if the\nSpaniards had been on the alert they might have cut them to pieces.\nLord Wimbledon then ordered a retreat, but this was conducted in such a\nmanner that hundreds of stragglers were left behind to fall under the\nknives of the enraged peasantry.\n\nRichard Peeke, not being a soldier, did not accompany the army; but at\nmidday thought that he might as well also go ashore to refresh himself.\nHe did so, and met some of the men laden with oranges and lemons. He\ninquired of them where the enemy was. They replied that they had not\nseen a Spaniard. Thereupon \u201cwe parted, they to the shippes, I forward,\nand before I reached a mile, I found three Englishmen starke dead,\nbeing slayne, lying in the way, and one, some small distance off, not\nfully dead.\u201d Whilst Peeke was assisting the wounded man, a Spanish\ncavaliero, whose name he afterwards learned was Don Juan de Cadiz, came\nup and attacked him, but Peeke flapped his cloak in the eyes of the\nhorse, which swerved, and Peeke mastered the Don, and threw him down.\nThe Spaniard pleaded for mercy, and Peeke, after emptying the Don\u2019s\npocket of a few coins, bade him depart. At that moment, however, up\ncame fourteen Spanish musketeers. \u201cThus farre, my Voyage for Oranges\nsped well, but in the end prooved sower sauce to me.\u201d The musketeers\noverpowered Peeke, and the ungrateful Don stabbed at him, \u201cand wounded\nme through the face from eare to eare, and had there killed me, had not\nthe foureteen muskatiers rescued me from his rage. Upon this I was led\nin triumph into the town of Cales [Cadiz]; an owl not more wondered\nand hooted at, a dog not more cursed. In my being ledde thus along the\nstreets, a Flemming spying me cryed out alowde, Whither do you leade\nthis English dogge? Kill him, kill him, he\u2019s no Christian. And with\nthat, breaking through the crowde, in upon those who held mee, ranne me\ninto the body with a halbert, at the reynes of my back, at least foure\ninches.\u201d\n\nHe was taken before the Governor, who had him well treated and attended\nby surgeons, and when he was better, dispatched him to Xeres, which he\ncalls Sherrys. Meanwhile his captain, Porter, induced Lord Wimbledon to\nsend a messenger on shore and offer to ransom Peeke at any reasonable\nprice; but the Spanish Governor, supposing him to be a man of far\ngreater consequence than he was, refused this, and at Xeres he was had\nup on 15 November before a council of war, consisting of three dukes,\nfour counts, four marquesses, and other great persons. Two Irish friars\nattended as interpreters. These men had been in England the year before\nacting as spies and bringing to Spain reports of the number of guns\nand troops in Plymouth. \u201cAt my first appearing before the Lordes my\nsword lying before them on a table, the Duke of Medina asked me if I\nknew that weapon. It was reached to me, I tooke it, and embraced it in\nmine armes, and with tears in mine eyes kist the pomell of it. He then\ndemanded, how many men I had kild with that weapon. I told him if I\nhad kild one I had not bene there now, before that princely Assembly,\nfor when I had him at my foote begging for mercy, I gave him life, yet\nhe then very poorely did me a mischiefe. Then they asked Don John what\nwounds I gave him. He sayd, None. Upon this he was rebuked and told\nthat if upon our first encounter he had run me through, it had been\na faire and noble triumph, but so to wound me being in the hands of\nothers, they held it base.\u201d\n\nHe was now closely questioned as to the fleet, the number of guns in\nthe vessels, the fortifications of Plymouth, the garrison and the\nordnance there, and was greatly surprised to find how accurately the\nCouncil was informed on every point.\n\n\u201cBy the common people who encompast me round, many jeerings, mockeries,\nscorns and bitter jests were to my face thrown upon our Nation. At\nthe length one of the Spaniards called Englishmen _gallinas_ (hens);\nat which the great lords fell a laughing. Hereupon one of the Dukes,\npoynting to the Spanish soldiers, bid me note how their King kept them.\nAnd indeed, they were all wondrous brave in apparell, hattes, bandes,\ncuffes, garters, etc., and some of them in chaines of gold. And asked\nfurther if I thought these would prove such hennes as our English, when\nnext year they should come into England? I sayd no. But being somewhat\nemboldened by his merry countenance, I told him as merrily, I thought\nthey would be within one degree of hennes, and would prove pullets or\nchickens. Darst thou then (quoth Duke Medina, with a brow half angry)\nfight with one of these Spanish pullets?\n\n\u201cO my Lord, said I, I am a prisoner, and my life is at stake, and\ntherefore dare not be so bold to adventure upon any such action; yet\nwith the license of this princely Assembly, I dare hazard the breaking\nof a rapier; and withall told him, he was unworthy the name of an\nEnglishman that should refuse to fight with one man of any nation\nwhatsoever. Hereupon my shackells were knocked off, and my iron ring\nand chayne taken from my neck.\n\n\u201cRoome was made for the combatants, rapier and dagger the weapons. A\nSpanish champion presents himselfe, named Signior Tiago, Whom after we\nhad played some reasonable good time, I disarmed, as thus--I caught his\nrapier betwixt the barr of my poignard and there held it, till I closed\nin with him, and tripping up his heeles, I tooke his weapons out of his\nhands, and delivered them to the Dukes.\n\n\u201cI was then demanded, If I durst fight against another. I told them,\nmy heart was good to adventure, but humbly requested them to give me\npardon if I refused, for I too well knew that the Spaniard is haughty,\nimpatient of the least affront, and when he receives but a touch of any\ndishonour, his revenge is implacable, mortall and bloody.\n\n\u201cYet being by the noblemen pressed again and again to try my fortune\nwith another, I sayd, That if their Graces and Greatnesses would\ngive me leave to play at mine owne Countrey weapon, called the\nQuarter-staffe, I was then ready there, an opposite against any comer,\nwhom they would call foorth; and would willingly lay doune my life\nbefore those princes, to doe them service, provided my life might by no\nfoule means be taken from me.\n\n\u201cHereupon, the head of a halbert which went with a screw was taken off,\nand the steall [staff] delivered to me; the other but-end of the staffe\nhaving a short iron pike in it. This was my armor, and in my place I\nstood, expecting an opponent.\n\n\u201cAt last, a handsome and well-spirited Spaniard steps foorth with his\nrapier and poignard. They asked me what I sayd to him. I told them I\nhad a sure friend in my hand that never failed me, and made little\naccount of that one to play with. Then a second, armed as before,\npresents himselfe. I demanded if there would come no more. The Duke\nasked, how many I desired. I told them any number under six. Which\nresolution of mine they smiling at it in a kind of scorne, held it not\nmanly nor fit for their own honors and glory of their nation, to worry\none man with a multitude; and therefore appointed three only to enter\nthe lists.\n\n    Three to One:\n\n    Being, An Engli\u017fh-Spani\u017fh Combat,\n\n    Performed by a _We\u017fterne_ Gentleman, of _Tauy\u017ftoke_ in _Deuon\n    \u017fhire_, with an Engli\u017fh Quarter-Staffe, again\u017ft Three _Spani\u017fh_\n    Rapiers and Poniards, at _Sherries_ in _Spaine_,\n\n    The fifteene day of Nouember, 1625.\n\n    In the Pre\u017fence of Dukes, Condes, Marque\u017f\u017fes, and other Great\n    Dons of _Spaine_, being the Coun\u017fell of Warre.\n\n    The Author of this Booke, and Actor in this Encounter, _Richard\n    Peecke_.\n\n    [Illustration:\n\n    Printed an London for _I. T._ and are to be sold at his Shoppe.\n\n    MANLY PEEKE IN HIS ENCOUNTER WITH THREE ADVERSARIES ARMED WITH\n    RAPIERS AND POIGNARDS]\n\n\n\u201cThe rapier men traversed their ground, I mine. Dangerous thrusts were\nput in, and with dangerous hazard avoyded. Showtes echoed to heaven, to\nencourage the Spaniards, not a shoute nor a hand to hearten the poore\nEnglishman; only Heaven I had in mine eye, the honour of my Countrey in\nmy heart, my fame at the stake, my life on a narrow bridge, and death\nboth before me and behind me.\n\n\u201cPlucking up a good heart, seeing myself faint and wearied, I vowed to\nmy soule to do something ere she departed from me; and so setting all\nupon one cast, it was my good fortune with the but-end where the iron\npike was to kill one of the three; and within a few boutes after, to\ndisarme the other two, causing one of them to fly into the armie of\nsoldiers then present, and the other for refuge fled behind the bench.\n\n\u201cNow was I in greater danger; for a generall murmure filled the ayre,\nwith threatenings at me; the soldiers especially bit their thumbes, and\nhow was it possible for me to scape?\n\n\u201cWhich the noble Duke of Medina Sidonia seeing called me to him, and\ninstantly caused proclamation to be made, that none, on paine of death,\nshould meddle with mee. And by his honourable protection I got off. And\nnot off, only, with safety, but with money, for by the Dukes and Condes\nwere given me in gold to the value of foure pounds tenne shillings\nsterling, and by the Marquesse Alquenezes himself as much; he embracing\nme in his armes and bestowing upon me that long Spanish russet cloake\nI now weare, which he tooke from one of his men\u2019s backs; and withall\nfurnished me with a cleane band and cuffes.\u201d\n\nThe Spaniards, nobly appreciating the bravery of their captive, and\ndiscovering that instead of being a man of great consequence he was a\nmere sailor before the mast, and not likely to be redeemed at a great\nprice, resolved to give him liberty, and under the conduct of four\ngentlemen attached to the suite of the Marquess Alquenezes, he was\nsent to Madrid to be presented to the King. During Peeke\u2019s stay in\nMadrid, which he calls Madrill, he was the guest of the Marquess. The\nMarchioness showed him great kindness, and on his leaving presented him\nwith a gold chain and jewels for his wife, and pretty things for his\nchildren. On Christmas Day he was presented to the King, the Queen, and\nDon Carlos, the Infante.\n\n\u201cBeing brought before him, I fell (as it was fitt) on my knees. Many\nquestions were demanded of me, which so well as my plaine witte\ndirected me, I resolved.\n\n\u201cIn the end, his Majesty offered me a yearly pension (to a good vallew)\nif I would serve him, eyther at land or at sea; for which his royal\nfavour, I confessing myself infinitely bound, most humbly intreated,\nthat with his princely leave, I might be suffered to returne into mine\nown Countrey, being a subject onely to the King of England my sovereign.\n\n\u201cAnd besides that bond of allegiance there was another obligation due\nfrom me, to a wife and children. And therefore most submissively beg\u2019d,\nthat his Majesty would be so princely minded as to pitty my estate and\nto let me goe. To which he at last granted, bestowing upon me, one\nhundred pistoletts, to beare my charges.\n\n\u201cHaving thus left Spaine, I took my way through some part of France,\nand hoysting sail for England I landed on the 23rd day of Aprill, 1626,\nat Foy in Cornwall.\u201d\n\nWhilst Peeke was in Spain, Lord Wimbledon had been blundering with his\nfleet and army worse than before. After he had reshipped his army,\nthere still remained the hope of intercepting the plate fleet, but\nan infectious disorder broke out in the ships of Lord Delaware, and\nin consequence of an insane order given by Wimbledon, that the sick\nshould be distributed into the healthy ships, the malady spread. After\nbeating about for eighteen days with a dreadful mortality on board,\nand without catching a glimpse of the treasure vessels from the New\nWorld, Lord Wimbledon resolved to carry his dishonoured flag home\nagain, \u201cwhich was done in a confused manner, and without any observance\nof sea orders.\u201d The plate fleet, which had been hugging the coast of\nBarbary, appeared off the coast of Spain two or three days after his\ndeparture, and entered safely into the harbour of Cadiz. Moreover,\nwhilst he was master of these seas, a fleet of fifty sail, laden with\ntreasure, got safe into Lisbon, from Brazil. With the troops and crews\ndreadfully reduced in numbers, with sickness and discontent in every\nvessel, and without a single prize of the least value, Lord Wimbledon\narrived in Plymouth Sound, to be hissed and hooted by the indignant\npeople, and to have his name of Cecil ridiculed as Sit-still. This\nsorry and unsuccessful expedition which had cost Charles so much was a\ngrievous blow to him. A thousand men had perished in the expedition,\na great sum of money had been thrown away, and the whole country was\nroused to anger. The Privy Council was convened and an examination\ninto the miscarriage was instituted, but the statements of the\nofficers were discordant, their complaints reciprocal, and after a long\ninvestigation, it was deemed expedient to bury the whole matter in\nsilence.\n\nIt has been well said, that the only man who of the whole expedition\ncame out with credit to himself and to his country was Richard Peeke,\nof Tavistock, who earned for himself the epithet of \u201cManly.\u201d\n\nWhat became of Peeke afterwards we do not know; in the troubles of the\nCivil War he doubtless played a part, and almost certainly on the side\nof the Crown. The authority for the story is a rare pamphlet by Peeke\nhimself, entitled, \u201cThree to One, Being, An English-Spanish Combat,\nPerformed by a Westerne Gentleman, of Tavystoke in Devonshire, with an\nEnglish Quarter-Staffe, against Three Spanish Rapiers and Poniards, at\nSherries in Spaine, The fifteene day of November, 1625 ... the Author\nof this Booke, and Actor in this Encounter, _Richard Peeke_.\u201d There is\nno date to it. This has been reprinted by Mr. Arber in his _English\nGarner_, and large extracts have been given by Mr. Brooking-Rowe in\nhis article, \u201cManly Peeke, of Tavistock,\u201d in the _Transactions_ of the\nDevonshire Association, 1879. Reprinted also as supplement to _Devon\nNotes and Queries_, 1905. I have not in the above extracts strictly\nconfined myself to the spelling, nor have I reproduced the capital\nletters employed profusely that are somewhat teasing to the eye of the\nmodern reader.\n\n\n\n\nEULALIA PAGE\n\n\nMrs. Bray, in her _Borders of the Tamar and the Tavy_, written in\n1832-3, quoting a letter from her husband, the Rev. E. Atkins Bray, to\nMr. Lysons, dated 16 January, 1819, tells the following story relative\nto Judge Glanville, of Kilworthy, near Tavistock:--\n\n\u201cThe Judge\u2019s daughter was attached to George Stanwich, a young man\nof Tavistock, lieutenant of a man-of-war, whose letters, the father\ndisapproving of the attachment, were intercepted. An old miser of\nPlymouth, of the name of Page, wishing to have an heir to disappoint\nhis relations, who perhaps were too confident in calculating upon\nsharing his wealth, availed himself of the apparent neglect of the\nyoung sailor, and settling on her a good jointure obtained her hand.\nShe took with her a maid-servant from Tavistock; but her husband was\nso penurious that he dismissed all the other servants, and caused\nhis wife and her maid to do all the work themselves. On an interview\nsubsequently taking place between her and Stanwich, she accused him\nof neglecting to write to her; and then discovered that his letters\nhad been intercepted. The maid advised them to get rid of the old\ngentleman, and Stanwich at length, with great reluctance, consented\nto their putting an end to him. Page lived in what was afterwards the\nMayoralty House (at Plymouth), and a woman who lived opposite hearing\nat night some sand thrown against a window, thinking it was her own,\narose, and, looking out, saw a young gentleman near Page\u2019s window, and\nheard him say, \u2018For God\u2019s sake stay your hand!\u2019 A female replied, \u2018\u2019Tis\ntoo late, the deed is done.\u2019 On the following morning it was given\nout that Page had died suddenly in the night, and as soon as possible\nhe was buried. On the testimony, however, of his neighbour, the body\nwas taken up again; and it appearing that he had been strangled, his\nwife, Stanwich, and the maid, were tried and executed. It is current\namong the common people here, that Judge Glanville, her own father,\npronounced her sentence.\u201d\n\nIn another place, Mrs. Bray says:--\n\n\u201cRespecting Sir John, or \u2018Old Page,\u2019 I am informed by Mr. Hughes\n(who is well acquainted with many locally interesting stories and\ntraditions) that he was an eminent merchant in his day, commonly called\n\u2018Wealthy Page.\u2019 He lived in Woolster Street, Plymouth, in the house\nsince known by the name of the Mayoralty. It stood untouched till the\nrebuilding of the Guildhall, when it was taken down. The old house\nwas long an object of curiosity on account of the atrocious murder\nthere committed. Mr. Hughes likewise tells me that some years ago,\nprevious to the repairs in St. Andrew\u2019s Church, Plymouth, Page\u2019s coffin\nwas discovered, on breaking the ground near the communion table for\nthe interment of a lady named Lovell. The inscription on the coffin\nproved it to contain the body of the \u2018wealthy Page.\u2019 It was opened;\nthe remains were found in a remarkably perfect state, but crumbled to\ndust on being exposed to the air. So great was the curiosity of the\npopulace, that during several days hundreds pressed in to gratify it,\nand every relic that could be stolen, if but a nail from the coffin,\nwas carried off.\u201d\n\nJudge Glanville, M.P. for Tavistock in 1586, was the third son of\nJohn Glanville, of Tavistock, merchant. The family had been settled\nat Holwell, in Whitchurch, hard by, where they had been tanners, and\nthough the house has been pulled down and rebuilt, yet the old tan-pits\nremain.\n\nJudge Glanville married Alice, daughter of John Skirett, of Tavistock,\nand widow of Sir Francis Godolphin. By her he had a numerous family,\nbut Mistress Page, whose Christian name was Eulalia, is not recorded in\nthe _Heralds\u2019 Visitation_ as one of them. This, however, is in itself\nno evidence against her having been his daughter, as having disgraced\nthe family she would be omitted from the pedigree. Thus, in the family\nof Langford, of Langford, in Bratton Clovelly, Margaret, daughter\nof Moses Langford, born in February, 1605, had a base child who was\nchristened Hilary, in January, 1618, when she was aged thirteen, and\nmarried Hilary Hill, of Chimsworthy, presumedly the father, in 1619.\nWhen the family recorded their pedigree in 1620, they omitted Margaret\nfrom it altogether.\n\nIt is therefore no evidence that Eulalia was not Judge Glanville\u2019s\ndaughter that her name does not appear in the recorded pedigree. We\nshall see presently, however, that she was his niece, and not his\ndaughter.\n\nThe whole of the portion relating to Page is printed in the\n_Shakespeare Society\u2019s Papers_, II (1845, 80-5). From this we learn\nthat Mrs. Page made an attempt to poison her husband, and when that\nfailed, induced \u201cone of her servants, named Robert Priddis [i.e.\nPrideaux],\u201d to murder him, and \u201cshe so corrupted him ... that he\nsolemnly undertook and vowed to performe the task to her contentment.\nOn the other side, Strangwidge hired one Tom Stone to be an actor in\nthis tragicall action.\u201d The deed was accomplished about ten o\u2019clock on\nthe night of 11 February, 1590-1.\n\nA full and particular account of the murder is in \u201cA true discourse\nof a cruel and inhumane murder, committed upon M. Padge, of Plimouth,\nthe 11th day of February last, 1591, by the consent of his own wife\nand sundry others.\u201d From this we learn that a Mr. Glandfeeld, a man\nof good wealth and account as any in the county, lived at Tavistock,\nand that he favoured a young man named George Strangwidge, and turned\nover to him his shop and wares, as an experienced man in business,\nhaving learned it in the shop of Mr. Powell, of Bread Street, London.\nMr. Glandfeeld was so pleased with him, that he proposed taking\nStrangwidge into partnership and marrying his daughter to him. But he\nchanged his mind, being moved by ambition and avarice, and he and his\nwife insisted on her marrying a widower named Page, of Plymouth, an\nelderly man and a miser, and as Glandfeeld purposed himself removing\nto Plymouth, he thought that it would be best to have his daughter\nnear him. This daughter was with difficulty persuaded to consent,\nbut did so in the end. The result was that she took the old husband\nin detestation, and plotted with Strangwidge how to get rid of him.\nFor about a year she made sundry attempts to poison him, but his good\nconstitution prevailed. She on her part worked on one of her servants,\nRobert Priddis or Prideaux, and induced him for the sum of \u00a3140 reward,\nto murder the old man. On the other hand, Strangwidge induced one Tom\nStone to assist in the deed, also for the sake of payment. \u201cThese two\ninstruments wickedly prepared themselves to effect this desperate and\nvillainous deed on the 11th February, being Wednesday, on which night\nfollowing the act was committed; but it is to be remembered that this\nMistress Page lay not then with her husband, by reason of the untimely\nbirth of a child ... dead born; upon which cause she kept her chamber,\nhaving before sworn that she would never bear child of his getting that\nshould prosper; which argued a most ungodly mind in this woman, for in\nthat sort she had been the death of two of her own children.\n\n\u201cAbout ten of the clock at night, Mr. Page being in bed slumbering,\ncould not happen upon a sound sleep, and lay musing to himself, Tom\nStone came softly and knocked at the door, whereupon Priddis, his\ncompanion, did let him in; and by reason that Mistress Page gave them\nstraight charge to dispatch it that night, whatsoever came of it, they\ndrew towards the bed, intending immediately to go about it. Mr. Page,\nbeing not asleep, asked who came in, whereat Priddis leaped upon his\nmaster, being in his bed, who roused himself and got upon his feet,\nand had been hard enough for his man, but that Stone flew upon him,\nand took the kerchief from his head, and knitting the same about his\nneck, they immediately stifled him; and, as it appeareth, even in the\nanguish of death, Mr. Page greatly laboured to put the kerchief from\nabout his neck, by reason of the marks and scratches which he had made\nwith his nails upon his throat, but therewith he could not prevail, for\nthey would not slip their hold until he was full dead. This done, they\nlaid him overthwart the bed, and against the bedside broke his neck;\nand when they saw he was surely dead, they stretched him and laid him\non his bed again, spreading the clothes in ordinary sort, as though no\nsuch act had been attempted, but that he had died on God\u2019s hand.\n\n\u201cWhereupon Priddis immediately went to Mistress Page\u2019s chamber and\ntold her that all was dispatched; and about an hour after he came to\nhis mistress\u2019s chamber door, and called aloud, \u2018Mistress, let somebody\nlook into my master\u2019s chamber, methinks I heard him groan.\u2019 With that\nshe called her maid, who was not privy to anything, and had her light a\ncandle, whereupon she slipped on a petticoat and went thither likewise,\nsending her maid first into the chamber, when she herself stood at the\ndoor. The maid simply felt on her master\u2019s face and found him cold and\nstiff, and told her mistress so; whereat she bade the maid warm a cloth\nand wrap it about his feet, which she did; and when she felt his legs,\nthey were as cold as clay; whereat she cried out, saying her master was\ndead.\n\n\u201cWhereupon her mistress got her to bed, and caused her man Priddis to\ngo call her father, Mr. Glandfeeld, then dwelling in Plymouth, and\nsent for one of her husband\u2019s sisters likewise, to make haste if ever\nshe would see her brother alive, for he was taken with the disease\ncalled the pull (palsy), as they call it in that country. These persons\nbeing sent for came immediately; whereat Mistress Page arose, and in\na counterfeit manner swooned; whereby there was no suspicion a long\ntime concerning any murder performed upon him, until Mrs. Harris,\nhis sister, spied blood about his bosom, which he had with his nails\nprocured by scratching for the kerchief when it was about his throat.\nThey then moved his head, and found his neck broken, and on both\nknees the skin beaten off, by striving with them to save his life.\nMistress Harris hereupon perceiving how he was made away, went to the\nMayor and the worshipful of the town, desiring of them justice, and\nentreated them to come and behold this lamentable spectacle, which they\nimmediately performed, and by searching him found that he was murdered\nthe same night.\n\n\u201cUpon this the Mayor committed Priddis to prison, who, being examined,\ndid impeach Tom Stone, showing that he was a chief actor in the same.\nThis Thomas Stone was married upon the next day after the murder was\ncommitted, and being in the midst of his jollity, was suddenly attached\nand committed to prison to bear his fellow company.\n\n\u201cThus did the Lord unfold this wretched deed, whereby immediately\nthe said Mistress Page attached upon murder, and examined before\nSir Francis Drake, Knight, with the Mayor and other magistrates of\nPlymouth, who denied not the same, but said she had rather die with\nStrangwidge than live with Page.\n\n\u201cAt the same time also the said George Strangwidge was nearly come\nto Plymouth, being very heavy and doubtful by reason he had given\nconsent to the murder; who, being in company with some of London, was\napprehended and called before the justices for the same, whereupon he\nconfessed the truth of all and offered to prove that he had written\na letter to Plymouth before coming thither, that at any hand they\nshould not perform the act. Nevertheless, Mr. Page was murdered before\nthe coming of this letter, and therefore he was sent to prison with\nthe rest to Exeter; and at the Assizes holden this last Lent, the\nsaid George Strangwidge, Mistress Page, Priddis, and Tom Stone, were\ncondemned and adjudged to die for the said fact, and were all executed\naccordingly upon Saturday the 20th February last, 1591.\u201d\n\nThis is circumstantial enough, and contemporary, and it shows how that\nthe story travelling down traditionally has been altered.\n\nThe tract above quoted--we have modernized the spelling--does not,\nhowever, give the Christian name of Mistress Page, and gives us the\nname of her father, Glandfeeld, a merchant tradesman of Tavistock.\nGlandfeeld is the same as Glanville, just as Priddis is the same as\nPrideaux, and as Grenville appears in the registers and in deeds as\nGrenfeeld and Greenfield.\n\nThat she was not the daughter of Justice Glanville is plain from the\nabove account, but she was a niece, for Eulalia was the daughter of\nNicolas, the eldest son of John Glanville, merchant, of Tavistock;\nhe and another brother, Thomas, were in trade at Tavistock, and they\nwere both brothers of Judge Glanville. This we learn from the Heralds\u2019\nVisitation of Cornwall for 1620, where Eulalia is entered as daughter\nof Nicolas, but with no details concerning her.\n\nThere appeared several ballads concerning the tragedy.\n\n1. \u201cThe Lamentation of Master Page\u2019s wife of Plimouth, who being\nenforced by her parents to wed against her will, did most wickedly\nconsent to his murther, for the love of _George Strangwidge_, for which\nfact she suffered death at Bar[n]staple in Devonshire. Written with her\nown hand a little before her death.\u201d This is, of course, untrue. It is\none of those supposititious confessions written by the common ballad\nmonger. By this we know that her Christian name was _Ulalia_.\n\n2. \u201cThe Lamentation of _George Strangwidge_, who for consenting to the\ndeath of Master _Page of Plimouth_, suffered Death at Bar[n]staple.\u201d In\nthis occurs the statement that she was the daughter of \u201cGlandfield.\u201d\n\n    O Glandfield, cause of my committed crime,\n    Snared in wealth, as Birds in bush of lime,\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n    I would to God thy wisdome had been more,\n    Or that I had not entered in the door;\n    Or that thou hadst a kinder Father beene\n    Unto thy Child, whose yeares are yet but greene.\n\n    The match unmeete which thou for much didst make,\n    When aged _Page_ thy Daughter home did take,\n    Well maist thou rue with teares that cannot dry.\n    Which was the cause that foure of us must dye.\n\n    _Ulalia_ faire, more bright than Summer\u2019s sunne,\n    Whose beauty hath my heart for ever won,\n    My soule more sobs to thinke of thy disgrace,\n    Than to behold mine own untimely race.\n\nIn this also, as will be seen, Mistress Page is Eulalia, and her father\nGlandfield is said to have been rich.\n\n3. \u201cThe Sorrowful Complaint of _Mistress Page_ for causing her husband\nto be murdered, for the love of _George Strangwidge_, who were executed\ntogether.\u201d This contains no particulars relative to her relationship to\nthe Glanvilles.\n\nIt may at first sight seem strange that a crime committed at Plymouth\nshould be expiated at Barnstaple, but the reason is simple enough.\nIn September, 1589, the plague broke out in Exeter, and it was very\nfatal in that year, according to Lysons. Under ordinary circumstances\nthe murderers of Page would have been tried at Exeter; but with the\nterrible remembrance of the \u201cBlack Assize\u201d in that city in 1586, when\nthe judge, eight justices, and all the jury except one, fell victims to\nthe gaol fever; and the plague continuing there, the assizes of 1590\n(o.s.) were removed to Barnstaple.\n\nThe Diary of Philip Wyot, town clerk of Barnstaple from 1586 to 1608,\nhas been printed by Mr. J. R. Chanter in his _Literary History of\nBarnstaple_, and he records that the assize was held in 1590 at Honiton\nand at Great Torrington, \u201cthe plague being much at Exeter,\u201d and he\ngives particulars of the assizes held at Barnstaple in the ensuing\nMarch, 1591 (n.s.), and he terminates thus:--\n\n\u201cThe gibbet was set up on the Castle Green and xvii prisoners hanged,\nwhereof iiij of Plymouth for a murder.\u201d\n\nThe parish register gives the particulars and the names:--\n\n\u201cHere ffolloweth the names of the Prysoners w^{ch} were Buryed in the\nChurch yeard of Barnistaple ye syce [assize] week.\n\n    \u201cMarch 1590-1.\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n\u201cGeorge Strongewithe, Buryed the xx^{th} daye.\n\n\u201cThomas Stone, Buryed the xx^{th} daye.\n\n\u201cRobert Preidyox, Buryed at Bishopstawton y^e xx^{th} daye.\u201d\n\nThe three men were hanged, but Eulalia Page was burnt alive, as guilty\nof petty treason. Moreover, her uncle, Justice Glanville, did not\ncondemn her to the stake. He was serjeant-at-law, and was not made a\nJustice of the Common Pleas till 1598, when he was knighted. He died in\n1600, and his stately monument is in Tavistock Church.\n\nThe judge who sentenced Eulalia Page was, as Wyot tells us, \u201cLord\nAnderson,\u201d who tried all the cases \u201cand gave judgment upon those who\nwere to be executed.\u201d But John Glanville, serjeant-at-law, was present\nat these assizes; for Wyot gives the list of the lawyers present at the\ntime, and he names \u201cSergt. Glandyl\u201d as lodging at Roy Cades. Glandyl is\na mistake for Glandvyl.\n\nAs the crime of Eulalia Page was one of petty treason, she would be\nburnt alive, and not hanged. Petty treason, according to a statute 25\nEdward III, consists in (1) a servant killing his master; (2) a wife\nher husband; (3) an ecclesiastic his superior, to whom he owes faith\nand obedience. The punishment of petty treason in a man was to be drawn\nand hanged, and in a woman to be drawn and burned.\n\nCatherine Hayes was burned alive in 1726 for the murder of her husband.\nShe is the Catherine whom Thackeray took as heroine of the story\nunder that name. In 1769 Susanna Lott was burned for the murder of\nher husband at Canterbury. A poor girl, aged fifteen, was burnt at\nHeavitree by Exeter, in 1782, for poisoning her master. A woman was\nburnt for causing the death of her husband, at Winchester, in 1783.\n\nA writer in _Notes and Queries_, August 10, 1850, says: \u201cI will state\na circumstance that occurred to myself in 1788. Passing in a hackney\ncoach up the Old Bailey to West Smithfield, I saw unquenched embers of\na fire opposite Newgate. On my alighting, I asked the coachman, \u2018What\nwas that fire in the Old Bailey over which the wheel of your coach\npassed?\u2019 \u2018Oh, sir,\u2019 he replied, \u2018they have been burning a woman for\nmurdering her husband.\u2019\u201d\n\nIn 1790, Sir Benjamin Hammett in the House of Commons called attention\nto the then state of the law. He said that it had been his painful\noffice and duty in the previous year to attend the burning of a female,\nhe being at the time Sheriff of London; and he moved to bring in a Bill\nto alter the law. He showed that the sheriff who shrank from executing\nthe sentence of burning alive was liable to a prosecution, but he\nthanked Heaven that there was not a man in England who would carry such\na sentence literally into execution. The executioner was allowed to\nstrangle the woman condemned to the stake before flames were applied;\nbut such an act of humanity was a violation of the law, subjecting\nexecutioner and sheriff to penalties. The Act was passed 30 George III,\nc. 48.\n\nPopular tradition has erred on many points. It has made Eulalia the\ndaughter instead of the niece of John Glanville, it has represented\nhim as a judge to try her seven years before he was created a judge.\nTradition will have it that after the sentence of Eulalia he never\nsmiled again. That is possible enough, as he may have defended her at\nthe assizes, and may have witnessed her execution.\n\nInformation concerning, and republication of tracts and ballads\nrelative to the murder of Page are in H. F. Whitfeld\u2019s _Plymouth and\nDevonport, in Times of War and Peace_, Plymouth, 1900. This also gives\nextracts from, and mention of, plays founded on the story.\n\n\n\n\nJAMES WYATT\n\n\nJames Wyatt was born at Woodbury on the Exe in the year 1707. His\nfather was a shoemaker, but James lost both him and his mother when\nhe was very young. He had a brother and two sisters, and he was the\nyoungest of the four. After the death of his parents his eldest sister\ntook care of him, sent him to school, and when old enough to work\ngot him employment on a farm, where he remained till he was fourteen\nyears of age; but, not liking farm work, his sister apprenticed him\nto a woolcomber and dyer at Wembury. His master was a very honest,\ngood-natured man, and taught him his business well, and this, as we\nshall see in the sequel, was of the highest advantage to him.\n\nAs soon as his time of apprenticeship was up he entered as gunner\u2019s\nserver on board the _York_ man-of-war. In 1726 he went with Sir\nJohn Jennings to Lisbon and Gibraltar. Next he served on board the\n_Experiment_ under Captain Radish; but his taste for the sea failed for\na while, and he was lured by the superior attractions of a puppet-show\nto engage with the proprietor, named Churchill, and to play the trumpet\nat his performances. During four years he travelled with the show,\nthen tiring of dancing dolls, reverted to woolcombing and dyeing at\nTrowbridge. But a travelling menagerie was too much for him, and he\nfollowed that as trumpeter for four years. In 1741, he left the wild\nbeasts and entered as trumpeter on board the _Revenge_ privateer,\nCaptain Wemble, commander, who was going on a cruise against the\nSpaniards. The privateer fell in with a Spanish vessel from Malaga, and\ngave chase. She made all the sail she could, but in four or five hours\nthe _Revenge_ came up with her. \u201cWe fir\u2019d five times at her. She had\nmade everything ready to fight us, but seeing the number of our hands\n(which were one hundred in all, though three parts of them were boys)\nshe at length brought to. We brought the captain and mate on board our\nship, and put twelve men on board theirs, one of which was the master,\nand our captain gave him orders to carry her into Plymouth.\u201d Of the\nprize-money Wyatt got forty shillings. The capture did not prove to be\nas richly laden as had been anticipated.\n\nWe need not follow his adventures in the privateer, though they are\ninteresting enough, and give a lively picture of the audacity of these\nventurers, till we come to his capture. The _Revenge_ was cruising\nabout among the Canary Islands, when a Spanish vessel ran for Teneriffe\nfrom Palma, and was at once pursued. She sped for Gomera, but unable to\nweather the point came to anchor within half a cable\u2019s length of the\nshore. She was a bark of sixty tons burthen, and as the _Revenge_ drew\nmore water and the captain feared sunken rocks, he ordered the yawl to\nbe hoisted out and to be manned with eleven hands.\n\n[Illustration: James Wyat \u00c6tat. 40.\n\n_Reproduced from the frontispiece to \u201cThe Life and Surprizing\nAdventures of James Wyatt, Written by Himself,\u201d 1755_]\n\n\u201cWe were three hours after we left the ship before we got within\nmusket-shot of the bark. Our master ask\u2019d us if we were all willing\nto board her. We answered, one and all, we were. We saw twelve men\nashore, and made directly towards them. Our master said, \u2018My boys,\nthe bark\u2019s our own, for these men belong\u2019d to her, but have left her;\nlet us give them one volley, and then board the bark.\u2019 We had two\nbrass blunderbusses, mounted on swivels, in the bow of the boat. Our\nmaster stepp\u2019d forward to one of them himself, and order\u2019d me to the\nother. We had no sooner discharged the blunderbusses, but two or three\nhundred men came from behind the rocks. We had been so long getting to\nthe bark that the men belonging to her, unknown to us, had got out of\nher, gone up country, and brought these people to their assistance. Our\nblunderbusses being discharged, the men from behind the rocks kept up a\nconstant fire at us; and, at the very first fire, our master received\na ball just above his right eye, and another went almost through my\nright shoulder. We rowed directly to the bark. The lieutenant, myself,\nand four more leapt into her, and those that were in the boat handed in\nour arms. As soon as we were in the bark, the lieutenant order\u2019d one of\nour men to take a pole-axe and cut the cable, saying she would drive\noff. I told him if the cable was cut she would certainly drive ashore,\nfor she was then almost upon the breakers. He seem\u2019d a little angry at\nwhat I said, though had my advice been followed, it had been better for\nus all; for, as soon as the cable was cut, she turn\u2019d broadside to the\nsea, and in a few minutes after struck ashore against the rocks.\n\n\u201cBy the bark\u2019s swinging round, our boat was exposed to the fire of the\nenemy; upon which Mr. Perry, our master-at-arms (he had been organist\nat Ross parish church) order\u2019d the three men in the boat to row off. In\nless than a minute I saw Mr. Perry drop to the bottom of the boat, shot\nthrough the heart.\n\n\u201cWhile the Spaniards were firing at our boat, we that were in the bark\nkept firing at them. We fired as fast as possible, and threw all our\nhand-granades ashore, which did some execution. Our lieutenant being\nshot, and our powder almost exhausted, we laid down our arms. As soon\nas the Spaniards saw this, they came on board us. The first man they\nsaw was our lieutenant, who, although he was dead, they began to cut in\na very cruel manner. The next man they came to was William Knock, whom\nthey butcher\u2019d in a most barbarous manner, several of them cutting him\nwith their long hooks at once, though he cry\u2019d out for mercy all the\ntime. In the same manner they serv\u2019d all in the bark but myself.\n\n\u201cBeing in the bow of the bark, seeing their cruelty to our men, and\nexpecting the same fate every moment, I took the blunderbuss which I\nhad in one hand, and laid it on a pease cask, being unable to hold it\nhigh enough to fire, as the ball remain\u2019d still in my right shoulder.\nWhen I saw them coming towards me, I rais\u2019d it up with all my might, as\nthough I was going to fire it at them, upon which they all ran to the\nother side of the bark, and from thence leapt ashore.\n\n\u201cAt that very instant a great sea came in, and turned the bark on one\nside, with her keel towards the shore. This gave me an opportunity of\npulling off my clothes and jumping into the water, in order to swim to\nmy ship. As soon as they saw me they began to fire at me from every\nside. Five small shot lodg\u2019d between my shoulders, three in the poll of\nmy neck, and one ball graz\u2019d my left shoulder; besides the ball which I\nhad before receiv\u2019d in my right shoulder.\n\n\u201cI kept on swimming till I was out of the reach of their balls; and\nI should have been able to have swam to our own ship, had not the\nSpaniards launch\u2019d their boat and come after me. As soon as they came\nup to me, one of the men who stood in the bow of the boat, and had a\nhalf-pike in his hand, pointed towards me and said in the Spanish\nlanguage, \u2018Down, down, you English dog.\u2019 Then they pulled me into the\nboat. As I stood upright in the boat, one of the Spaniards struck me a\nblow on the breast with such violence, that it beat me backwards, and\nI fell to the bottom of the boat; after which they row\u2019d ashore. When\nthey came ashore, they haul\u2019d me out of the boat as though I had been\na dog; which I regarded not at the time, being very weak and faint\nwith swimming and the loss of blood. On their bringing me ashore, the\nenraged multitude crowded round me, and carried me a little way from\nthe place where they had landed; they placed me against a rock to shoot\nme, and threatened to run me through with a half-pike if I offered to\nstir.\n\n\u201cWhile I was plac\u2019d against the rock, and expecting death every moment,\nI saw a gentleman expostulating with the mob, and endeavouring to\nprevail with them to spare my life. After a small time he came directly\nto me and said in English, \u2018Countryman, don\u2019t be afraid; they want to\nkill you, but they shall not.\u2019 He then turn\u2019d his back to me, stood\nclose before me, opened his breast, and said if they shot me they\nshould shoot him likewise.\u201d\n\nHis preserver was an Irishman, named William Ryan, who spoke Spanish\nfluently, and had been in the bark on his way to Santa Cruz in\nTeneriffe. He was apparently a man who had lived some time in the\nCanaries, and had been a trader. He was very kind to James Wyatt, gave\nhim some clothes, and washed his wounds with brandy.\n\nAfter that he was taken to Gomera, where the deputy-governor lived, and\nby means of an interpreter Wyatt was able to explain to him that he\nwas in great pain and had a ball in his shoulder. The deputy-governor\nsent for a barber, who with a razor cut across the wound this way and\nthat till he saw the ball, which he hooked out with a bent nail. The\nball had gone eight inches through the fleshy part of the shoulder\nand was lodged against the bone. From Gomera Wyatt was sent by boat\nto Teneriffe to the head governor, who received and examined him. The\ngovernor\u2019s mother took compassion on him, saw that he was well fed, and\nsent a proper surgeon to dress his wounds, and made him a present of\nthree shirts and two handkerchiefs to make into a sling for his arm.\nNext day the kind old lady sent him a pair of silk stockings, a hat, a\nblack silk waistcoat, and a dollar in money.\n\nWyatt was now transferred to the castle at Laguna, above Santa Cruz,\nwhere he found five-and-twenty English prisoners, among whom was a\nphysician, Dr. Ross. It was some time before he was healed of his\nwounds, but eventually did recover.\n\nOne day a man came to the castle with a drum on his back, and Wyatt\nat once asked him to be allowed to beat it. To this he consented, and\nWyatt beat a march. Though not a skilled drummer, his performance\ngreatly delighted the owner of the drum, and he rushed off to an\nacquaintance, a gentleman, to announce that among the English prisoners\nwas the first drummer in the world.\n\nThe gentleman was much excited and sent for him, and was delighted.\nAfter that at every dinner party, entertainment, gathering, Wyatt was\nin requisition to rattle the drum, on which occasions he received\nlittle sums of money, which he employed in relieving the needs of his\nfellow prisoners.\n\nAfter he had been twenty-eight days in the castle he was sent for to\nSanta Cruz to the general, who had heard that he drummed, and was eager\nto hear the performance. This pleased him so well that he asked Wyatt\nif he would teach the black boy of a friend of his how to handle the\ndrum-sticks. Wyatt consented, and thus obtained much liberty, for the\nowner of the black boy, whom he called Don Mathias Caster, took him\ninto his own house. As instructing the boy did not occupy the whole\nof Wyatt\u2019s time, he resolved on turning his knowledge of dyeing to\nadvantage. The Spanish love black; and as the gentleman told him, black\ncloaks and dresses in the sun and with the dust soon turned rusty. He\ngave him an old kettle and lent him an outhouse, and Wyatt converted\nthe latter into a dye-house and re-dyed the cloth garments of most of\nthe gentlemen of Santa Cruz, and received from each a remuneration.\n\nDr. Ross had been released from prison on condition that he set up as\na physician in Santa Cruz, where the Spanish doctors were ignorant and\nunsuccessful. But Ross had no house to go into. He consulted Wyatt.\n\u201cI will build you one of wood,\u201d said this Jack-of-all-trades. \u201cI know\nsomething of carpentering.\u201d Accordingly he set to work, built a shanty,\npainted it gaily, enclosed a garden, surrounded it with a palisade, and\ndug the ground up for flowers and vegetables and herbs.\n\nA Spanish gentleman was so delighted with the house of Dr. Ross that\nhe asked Wyatt to build him one. Wyatt agreed, but in the midst of the\nwork was arrested by soldiers from Grand Canary and conveyed thither to\nbe examined by the Inquisition, which supposed him to be a Freemason.\nHe had happily provided himself with letters of recommendation from\na number of leading men in the isle of Teneriffe to whom he had done\nservices, and in return for blackening their suits they did their best\nto whiten his character. After several hearings he was discharged, but\none unfortunate Englishman languished for two years in their dungeons,\nlabouring under the suspicion of being a Freemason.\n\nOn his return to Santa Cruz, Wyatt completed the house on which he had\nbegun, and then looked about for more work. Don Mathias Caster said to\nhim one day, \u201cOur hats cost us a deal of money and soon get shabby.\u201d \u201cI\nknow how to dye, and I know something about the hatting trade,\u201d said\nWyatt promptly, \u201cfor when I was an apprentice, there was a hatter next\ndoor, and I kept my eyes open and watched his proceedings.\u201d\n\nAccordingly Don Mathias gave him one of his old hats to dress. Wyatt\nimmediately had a hat-block made, dyed the hat, cleaned the lace, and\ncarried it to the Don the same day.\n\n\u201cWhen I show\u2019d it to him, he was surpriz\u2019d to see how well I had made\nit look. He told me, if I would do other gentlemen\u2019s hats as well as I\nhad done his, I might get an estate in a few years, and that he would\nhelp me to business enough.\u201d That same evening in came two hats, next\nmorning five--and then they rained on him, and he charged half a dollar\nfor renovating each. He had soon realized \u00a320.\n\nOne night he was roused by the cry of fire, and running out saw a crowd\nstanding gaping at the house of the Portuguese consul that was on fire\nin the top story. No one did anything--there was no one to take the\nlead, and the family was fast asleep within. Wyatt got a crowbar and\nan axe, broke down the door, and rescued the consul and his wife and\nall the family save one child that was burnt. The fire rapidly spread,\nas the houses were of wood, to the next house belonging to the French\nconsul. He and his were rescued. The next, but not adjoining, house\nwas that of the general. But what intervened made its destruction\nprobable, for this was a cellar full of brandy and rum casks. The\ngeneral\u2019s house had a flat roof. Wyatt organized a chain of water\ncarriers, and standing on the roof poured water incessantly over the\nside of the house licked by the flames, and this he continued to do\ntill the fire burnt itself out.\n\nNext day the general sent for him, thanked him for having saved his\nhouse, and presented him with a passport authorizing him to carry on\nhis trade and travel freely between the seven islands.\n\nIn the beginning of June, 1742, an English vessel was brought into\nharbour, the _Young Neptune_, Captain Winter, that had been captured\nby a Spanish privateer. Wyatt soon became intimate with the captain\nand his mate, and after a while they confided to him a plan they had\ndiscussed of escaping to Madeira, whence they could easily obtain a\npassage to England or Holland. The scheme was that he, Winter, the\ncaptain, Burroughs, the mate, and four other Englishmen should steal\na boat from a galleon laid up in the bay and make their escape in\nthe night. Wyatt eagerly agreed to be one of the party; and the plan\nwas carried into effect on the 29th of June. There were seven in\nthe boat, the captain and mate aforenamed, Smith, Swanwick, Larder,\nNewell, and Wyatt. The boat had five oars and a sprit-sail. The\ncaptain had a compass, but no quadrant. At first the wind blew fair,\nbut speedily turned to the contrary direction desired, so that all\nhopes of making Madeira had to be abandoned. The wind rose to a gale\nand the men were worn out with bailing. They had to clear the boat of\nwater with two pails and their hats. On 2 July they sighted a point of\nland which they took to be Cape Bojadore, and they steered south in\nhopes of reaching Gambia. On 7 July they saw a low sandy island, and\na sloop ashore, and made at once for land. On disembarking they were\nsurrounded by a swarm of Moors and negroes, the former of whom could\nspeak a little Portuguese, and two of them spoke broken English. Wyatt\nand the rest were conducted inland to where there was a village of\nsqualid huts. Here they were given some fish and a little water. They\nspeedily discovered that the Moors had no intention of letting them go\nto Gambia, but purposed making off with their boat and leaving them\nto perish on the island where there was no water, all that was used\nhaving to be brought in skins from the mainland. Presently a number\nof the Moors departed in the boat of the Europeans, leaving behind\nonly one large boat that was rotten, and a small one; and some of the\nMoors remained to see that the English carpenter repaired the decayed\nvessel, intending when that was done to leave the Europeans behind.\nThese consulted and resolved on getting possession of the little boat\nand escaping in it. As a precaution they contrived to get hold of the\nfishing spears of the Moors, so that these might have as few weapons as\npossible, should it come to a fight.\n\nThe carpenter then, with the tools that had been given to him for the\npurpose of repairing the large boat, set to work to knock holes in her\nbottom, so that she might not be used in pursuit.\n\nThen the little party, having got together, made for the small boat.\n\u201cI had got the hammer and the adze, the carpenter had the hatchet, and\nthe rest of our people had fishing spears. The Moors, perceiving us\nmake towards the boat, ran between that and us, in order to prevent our\ngetting into her. This began the fight, for the carpenter beat Marta\ninto the water, which was about three feet deep, with the hatchet,\nand Duckamar presently after him. I struck Mahomet with the adze, and\ntook off a piece of flesh and part of his ear. In an instant every one\nwas out of their huts, and pulling them down in order to get sticks to\nfight us. Seeing this, we ran to the assistance of our countrymen as\nfast as we could, leaving the two Moors that fell into the water for\ndead.\n\n\u201cThe Moors came very near us with the sticks they pulled out of their\nhuts, and threw them at us, one of which hit Robert Larder and broke\nhis thumb. One of our men, looking round, saw the two Moors who we\nthought were dead standing up against the side of the boat. Upon his\nsaying they were there, I ran towards them, having still the hammer in\none hand and the adze in the other. When they saw me coming, they ran\nround the boat, got to their companions, and fought as well as though\nthey had not been hurt.\n\n\u201cWe were obliged to keep our ground, for fear some of the Moors should\nget into the little boat, in which we intended to make our escape, and\nwhich was not an hundred yards behind us. At length one of the Moors\ncame running behind Mr. Burroughs, and gave him a terrible blow on the\nhead with a stick. Mr. Burroughs immediately turned round and struck\nat him, but missed him. The man ran directly up the island; and Mr.\nBurroughs, in the hurry not thinking of the consequence, ran after him.\nWe kept calling to him to come back to us, when, on a sudden, the Moors\ntook to their heels and ran after him. Some of them presently came up\nwith him, knocked him down with their sticks, and cut his throat from\near to ear. Some of them then turned back and made towards their little\nboat, thinking to have got her off in order to prevent our escape. As\nsoon as we saw that, we all ran as fast as possible to secure the\nboat. As I was the nearest to the boat I got soonest to her; but there\nwas one of the Moors had got to the boat before me, and was getting up\nher side. I gave him a blow on his back with the hammer; upon which he\nlet go his hold and fell into the water. As he was falling I hit him\nanother blow on the head; upon which he fell under the boat, and rose\non the other side.\n\n\u201cWhile we were in the fight, three of our men got into the boat, and\nkept calling to the rest to come in likewise; which at length we did,\nretreating all the way with our faces towards the Moors. When we came\nto the boat, the other three, with the fishing spears, kept off the\nMoors till we got in, cut the grappling loose, and drove away with the\ntide.\u201d\n\nIt was not possible to get far in this little boat, and the party made\nfor the mainland, where they were at once set upon by other Moors,\nwho stripped them of their shirts, and held them prisoners till those\nfrom the island arrived, and these latter fell on them and beat and\ntrampled on them unmercifully, and would have cut their throats had not\nthe mainland Moors restrained them by saying that the King or Sultan\nof the Gum Coast must be informed that there were European prisoners\nthere, and that he would decide what was to be done with them. They\nwere then tied in pairs back to back and carried back to the island,\nwhere they were cast on the floor of a tent, and left thus without food\nor water for four days. After that they were sparingly fed, untied,\nand made to work as slaves. After some weeks an officer called Abede\narrived with nineteen men, reviewed them, and left. As soon as he was\ngone Swanwick, the carpenter, was taken away by the island Moors, and\nno tidings of what became of him ever reached the rest. Sixteen days\nafter the officer had left he returned with orders from the King or\nSultan that all who remained of the prisoners were to be transferred to\nthe mainland and conducted across the desert to the French factory at\nSenegal, where he hoped to receive pay from the French for surrendering\nthem.\n\nThe party had been taken prisoners by the Moors on 7 July, 1742, and\nthey were not released and committed to the charge of Abede till\n13 November, so that they had remained in durance and in miserable\ncondition for four months and six days. At one time, when deprived of\ntheir shirts and exposed to the sun, their faces and bodies were so\nblistered that they were unable to recognize each other, save by their\nvoices. They had now a long and painful journey over the desert, under\nthe charge of Abede, that lasted till the 23rd December, when they were\nnear Senegal, and Abede dispatched a messenger to the French factors to\nannounce that the European prisoners were at hand, and to bargain for a\nsum to be paid for their release. They had been tramping over burning\nsands, insufficiently fed, for forty days. Whilst waiting for news from\nthe factory the Moors killed an ox, and gave the head and guts to the\nEnglish prisoners. They boiled the meat on the sand and devoured it\ngreedily--it was the first flesh they had tasted for upwards of six\nmonths.\n\n\u201cSometime after we got some caravances. Having eaten no pulse for\nseveral months, we hardly knew when we had enough. But we suffered\nseverely for it, for we were presently afterwards taken extremely ill.\nThe Moors seeing we were very bad, gave us the urine of goats to drink.\nThis purged us prodigiously, and we remained ill for several hours;\nbut, when it had worked off, we grew speedily well.\u201d\n\nFive days more elapsed before an answer arrived from the factory. On 28\nDecember the messenger returned in a sloop sent from the factory to\nbring the prisoners to Senegal. The captain brought clothes for them,\nand gave them \u201can elegant entertainment, consisting of fowls, fresh\nmeat, etc.\u201d\n\nOn 29 December they were conveyed to the factory at Senegal, and were\nmost kindly received by the French, and they remained there for a month\nall but a day; and then were sent in a French sloop to Gambia, on 28\nJanuary, 1743, which they reached on 31 January. Gambia was an English\nsettlement, a fort, and a factory; and there also the poor fellows were\nkindly and hospitably entertained, provided with money and all they\nrequired.\n\nThe time of their sufferings was now over.\n\n\u201cThe 1st February I went on board the _Robert_, Captain Dent,\ncommander, lying in Gambia River. He was hir\u2019d by the African Company\nand was laden with gum arabick, elephants\u2019 teeth, bees-wax, &c. I told\nhim our case, and that I wanted to come to England; upon which he\nkindly promised me, or all of us, if we were so disposed, our passage\nto England _gratis_, provided we would work our way home. Captain\nWinter, however, had business to transact in Jamaica, and preferred\nto wait till a vessel would take him thither; two of the men remained\nat Gambia, and the rest, saying that they had no homes or friends in\nEngland, preferred to go to the West Indies and earn some money before\nthey returned to the right and tight little island.\n\n\u201cIt was an unfortunate decision of Captain Winter. He and Larder sailed\nin a schooner bound for Jamaica, but never reached his destination,\nas the vessel was lost, and every one of the crew and passengers was\ndrowned.\n\n\u201cWe set sail from Gambia the 3rd of February, 1743, and arrived in the\nriver Thames on the 16th of April following; so that we were just two\nmonths and thirteen days in our passage to England.\u201d\n\nOn the 29th May, 1741, James Wyatt had entered as trumpeter on board\nthe _Revenge_, privateer, and was away on her almost two years, during\nwhich time he had undergone as many hardships as ever man did--enough\nto break down the health of one who did not possess a constitution of\niron.\n\nWyatt now visited his friends, and was warmly welcomed, and all would\nhave given him money to start him in some business. One gentleman\noffered to advance him a thousand pounds; but he declined these\ngenerous offers. The French at Senegal and the English at Gambia had\nbeen so liberal that he had enough for his purpose. He now bought an\nelectrical machine, and turned showman in London, giving people shocks\nat a shilling a head. This answered for a while, and then public\ninterest in the machine slackened there, so he toured in the country.\n\n\u201cAt some towns I scarce took money enough to bear my expenses, the\npeople not knowing the meaning of the word Electricity; nor would they\ngive the price I usually got in London; for, talking of a shilling each\nperson, frightened them out of their wits. In some towns in Kent I had\nvery good business, and saved a pretty deal of money; but, even then,\nI was forced to lower my price. In these towns the people knew what it\nmeant, and that the thing was very curious and surprising. They came,\nwhen the price was not so high, in great numbers, and sometimes many\nmiles, to be electrified.\u201d\n\nHe remained in Kent two months and made twelve pounds. Then it occurred\nto him that he would go with his battery to Jamaica, where the novelty\nof the machine was certain to create a stir.\n\nWhilst preparing for the voyage, he undertook to manufacture an optical\ncontrivance for a gentleman, and was well paid for it.\n\nThen he bought a pair of gloves and abundance of clothes, as clothes he\nlearned were very dear in the West Indies.\n\n\u201cAt length the time of the ship\u2019s sailing being near at hand, I settled\nmy affairs, took my leave of my friends, and went on board the ship on\nthe 25th April, 1747.\n\n\u201cAfter having experienced various vicissitudes of fortune, I am once\nmore going into a strange land: for, though there is nothing new under\nthe sun, yet the eye is never satisfied with seeing.\u201d\n\nWyatt had committed his adventures to paper before starting, and had\ndisposed of the MS. to a publisher. The book sold well, and the sixth\nedition was called for in 1755, but in it no further particulars are\ngiven of Wyatt, so that it must be assumed either that he was then dead\nor that he was still abroad.\n\nWhat strikes one in reading his Memoirs is the indefatigable energy and\nthe resourcefulness of the man. He could turn his hand to anything. He\nkept his eyes open, and was ever eager to acquire information.\n\nHis _Life and Surprising Adventures_ has his portrait in copper plate\nprefixed to it. He wears a wig, and a laced and embroidered waistcoat,\nopen at the breast to display his fine frilled shirt.\n\n\n\n\nTHE REV. W. DAVY\n\n\nThis is the story of the life of an able, versatile, and learned man,\nneglected, and his \u201cunregarded age in corners thrown.\u201d\n\nHe was born 4 March, 1743, at Downhouse, in the parish of Tavistock,\nof respectable parents. They moved whilst he was still an infant to a\nfarm belonging to them, Knighton, in the parish of Hennock. As a child\nhe was fond of mechanics, and amused himself with contriving various\npieces of machinery. When aged eight years he watched the construction\nof a mill, and imitated it in small in wood, thoroughly grasping all\nthe points in the mechanism. After a while the workmen engaged on the\nmill came to a difficulty, and the mill stopped, nor could they rectify\nthe fault. Little Will Davy pointed out the defects; they saw that he\nwas right, remedied the defects, and the mill ran \u201csuently.\u201d\n\nHe was educated at the Exeter Grammar School, and at the age of\neighteen matriculated at Balliol College, Oxford. Whilst there the idea\ncame into his head to produce a great work of divinity, a compendium of\nevidence of the origin of the Christian Faith; but the idea lay dormant\nfor a few years.\n\nOn leaving college he was ordained to the curacy of Moreton Hampstead,\nand married Sarah, daughter of a Mr. Gilbert, of Longabrook, near\nKingsbridge. When settled into his curacy he began to reduce to order\nthe plan he had devised of writing a _General System of Theology_, and\nwrote twelve volumes of MS. on the subject.\n\nThen he shifted to Drewsteignton. His preaching was complained of to\nthe Bishop of Exeter, who sent for him. He took his twelve volumes of\nMS. with him and showed them to the Bishop, and bade him look through\nthem and mark any lapse from orthodoxy.\n\nThis was more than the Bishop was disposed to do; he ran his fingers\nthrough the pages, he could do no more. \u201cWhat the parishioners\nobjected to,\u201d said Davy, \u201cwas not that I taught false doctrine, but\nthat I rebuke vicious habits that prevail.\u201d Actually, doubtless,\nit was his long-winded discourses on the evidence for a God, and\nfor the immortality of the soul, that the people objected to. They,\nsimple souls, no more needed these evidences than they did that they\nthemselves lived and talked and listened.\n\nThe Bishop was courteous, and promised Davy that he would give him any\nliving that fell vacant, and asked him if he had a preference for one.\nDavy humbly replied that there was a certain benefice likely to be\nvacated very shortly that would suit him exactly. The Bishop promised\nto remember this, and of course forgot, and appointed some one else,\none more of a toady, or better connected.\n\nDavy continued his mechanical work and executed several ingenious\npieces of machinery.\n\nThen he was appointed to the curacy of Lustleigh at \u00a340 per annum; but\nfrom that sum was deducted \u00a35 for the rent of the rectory in which he\nhad to live, the incumbent being non-resident.\n\nWhilst at Lustleigh he published by subscription six volumes of sermons\nand lost \u00a3100 by the transaction, as many of the subscribers failed to\npay for the books sent to them.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n    Printed by W^m. Sharland.        R. Cooper sculp.\n\nREV. W. DAVY]\n\nThen he took to farming, but he had no experience and lost money by it,\nand had to abandon the farm.\n\nThe ambition of his life was to publish his _System of Divinity_, which\nwould utterly refute atheism, deism, and every _ism_ under the sun, and\nestablish the doctrine of the Church on a sound basis. But no publisher\nor printer would undertake the mighty work unless sure of payment; and\nthe price asked was far beyond the means of Davy. Determined to bring\nhis great work before the world, he constructed his own printing press,\nand bought type, but could not afford to purchase more than would\nenable him to set up four pages of his book at a time.\n\nAccordingly he did this, struck off forty copies, broke up the type\nand printed four more, and so on. He taught his servant, Mary Hole, to\ncompose type, and these two worked together, and at last completed the\nwork in twenty-six volumes, each of nearly five hundred pages. When\nthe first volume was completed he sent copies to the Bishop, the Dean\nand Chapter, the Archdeacon, the Universities, and other persons of\nrepute for learning. But he received no encouragement. Some of those to\nwhom he sent his book did not trouble to acknowledge having received\nit. When the vast work was complete in twenty-six volumes, he sent a\ncopy to his diocesan, Dr. Fisher, who ungraciously said to Davy, when\nhe called at the Palace, \u201cI cannot be supposed to be able to notice\nevery trifle that appears in print.\u201d To this Davy replied, \u201cIf your\nLordship considers twenty-six volumes 8vo, the labour of fifty years in\ncollecting, compiling, and printing, to be a trifle, I most certainly\ncannot allow myself to expect from your Lordship either approbation or\nencouragement.\u201d\n\nAt last he retired from the parsonage of Lustleigh, discountenanced\nand discouraged, to a small farm of his own, called Willmead. His\ncuracy was now advanced to \u00a360, and he had not to keep up the large\nrectory. At Willmead he amused his leisure hours with gardening. He\nmoved the granite boulders, arranged terraces among the rocks, and\nformed a herbaceous garden, in which he took the liveliest interest.\nWhilst here he invented a diving-bell, and prepared his contrivance for\nuse to raise the guns and other property lost in the _Royal George_\n(1782), but he had not the means to cause a model of his machine to be\nmade, and his idea was taken up and carried out by others. But Davy was\nby no means the first inventor of the diving-bell, Dr. Halley had made\none in or about 1720; it was of wood covered with lead, and air was\nsupplied through barrels attached to it. But the plan proposed by Davy\nwas far in advance of this, and was, in fact, practically that of the\ndiving-bell as now in use. It was not till 1817 that the _Royal George_\nwas surveyed by means of a diving-bell, and portions of the cargo, the\nguns, etc., were not raised till 1839-42. At length, at the age of\neighty-two, Davy was presented in 1825 to the vicarage of Winkleigh,\nand that not by either the Bishop or the Dean and Chapter.\n\nBut this preferment coming so late in life was rather a cruelty to him\nthan a favour granted. It removed him from his garden, in which he had\nspent such happy hours, and which was crowded with his collections\nof rare plants procured with difficulty and from distances, from all\nhis little contrivances, and from the comforts of his own residence.\nHe had to shift quarters in December, caught a chill in the raw damp\nvicarage to which he removed, and after holding the benefice for five\nmonths, expired there on 13 June, 1826, and was laid in the chancel of\nWinkleigh.\n\nAfter his death three volumes of extracts from his _System of Divinity_\nwere published, together with a Memoir, by the Rev. C. Davy, Exeter,\n1827, and fell as flat as had the twenty-six volumes from which\nthese withered arguments were culled, and no man--not a theologian\neven--would think it worth his while now to read a dozen pages of the\nwork. But the intention was good--he was persistent in carrying it out,\nhe had the honour and glory of God before his eyes, and he worked for\nthat, and certainly will receive the commendation, \u201cWell done, good and\nfaithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,\u201d though bishops\nand deans and archdeacons and the well-beneficed clergy, \u201cbene nati,\nbene vestiti et moderate docti,\u201d showed him the cold shoulder here\nbelow.\n\nBut one cannot fail to regret that, placed where he had been, at\nMoreton, at Drewsteignton, at Lustleigh, his active mind had not been\nturned to more profitable pursuits. What might he not have gleaned,\nthen, among the traditions of the people! What stores of ballads might\nhe not have collected! What careful plans and descriptions he might\nhave made of the prehistoric relics that then abounded around him, then\nalmost intact, now to such a large extent wrecked and swept away.\n\nAt Drewsteignton there was a most remarkable collection of stone\ncircles and avenues and menhirs, and all have gone, not one is now\nleft, only the dolmen of Shilstone remains. One accurate plan drawn\nby Davy, and draw and plan he could, would have been worth all his\ntwenty-six volumes of _System of Divinity_.\n\n\n\n\nTHE GREY WOMAN\n\n\nThe following curious story is from the pen of the lady whose\nexperience is recorded. I know both her and the localities; also a good\nmany of the particulars, and all the names; but for good reasons it has\nbeen thought advisable to disguise both the name of the place and of\nthe persons mentioned. Every particular is absolutely true, excepting\nthe names that are fictitious.\n\n\u201cOn the 1st August, 1904, we heard that we had succeeded by the death\nof an aunt of my husband to a considerable property in South Devon, and\nas bad luck would have it, the mansion on the estate had been let just\ntwo months before on a short lease. It was our duty to make Devonshire\nour home at once and for the future, and the wearying undertaking was\nbefore us of looking out for a suitable house.\n\n\u201cA few days after this I had a dream remarkably distinct and\nimpressive, so impressive was it that on awaking every particular\ntherein was stamped indelibly on my mind.\n\n\u201cI thought that I was looking over a large empty house, and I was\nconscious at the time that it was in Devonshire. A man was showing me\nthrough it, and we had just reached the top of the front and principal\nstaircase, and stood on a broad landing, with many bedroom doors\nopening on to it. I observed one short narrow passage that led down to\na door, and in that doorway, at the end of the passage, I saw a tall\nhandsome woman in grey, deadly pale, with clean-cut features, carrying\na little child of about two years of age or under upon her arm. The\nthought struck me, \u2018Who can she be?\u2019 But I almost immediately said to\nmyself, \u2018What can it matter to me who she is?\u2019\n\n\u201cThe caretaker of the house immediately, and without noticing her, led\nme to that very room, and went past her without a word or turning his\nhead towards her. I followed, and in so doing brushed past the Grey\nWoman, also without a word.\n\n\u201cOn entering the room I saw that in it was a second door in the same\nend wall in which was that by which I had come in, and that between\nthese two doors was a broad space. I at once decided that this should\nbe my bedchamber, and that I would place my bed between the two doors,\nas most convenient for the light and for the fireplace.\n\n\u201cThen, suddenly, without awaking, my dream shifted, and I thought that\nI was in that identical room, and in my own bed, placed where I had\ndesigned to place it; that all my belongings were about me.\n\n\u201cNext, the second door, that by which I had not entered, was opened,\nand again I saw the Grey Woman come in, with the little one toddling\nbefore her pushing before it a round wheel-toy with coloured beads on\nthe spokes. I nudged my husband and said, \u2018Alex, there is a nurse with\na child in the room.\u2019 True to life he answered, \u2018_Bosh!_\u2019 Nevertheless,\nI repeated, \u2018Alex, look there--a nurse and child really are in the\nroom.\u2019\n\nBy this time the pair had walked round the foot of the bed, almost to\nhis side. He raised himself on one arm, and exclaimed, \u2018Good Lord! so\nthere is.\u2019 Then I said, \u2018And they have both been dead long years ago.\u2019\n\n\u201cAfter that I remember nothing further till I awoke in the morning.\n\n\u201cThe dream had made such an impression on me, that at breakfast I told\nmy daughter, and in the afternoon some friends came in to tea, and I\nagain repeated my story, provoking great interest in the sweet ghost\nbabe--much more so than in the nurse.\n\n\u201cI forgot to state that in my dream I felt quite aware that the doorway\nthrough which the Grey Woman and the child had passed did not open out\nof another bedroom, but communicated with the back part of the house.\n\n\u201cWeeks went by, and the dream, without being forgotten in any single\nparticular, passed from my thoughts, now occupied with more practical\nmatters--considering the lists of houses sent to us by various agents.\nOne of these gentry had forwarded to us a special notice of a house\nthat read like the description of a palace. We, having no ambition that\nway, put it down, without considering it for a moment.\n\n\u201cSome days later I called on the agent, and then put down the palatial\nnotice on his table, with the remark that this was not at all the sort\nof mansion that we required.\n\n\u201cTowards the end of September we made another expedition to Devon to\nsee a particular house near B----. I took the train to the station and\nvisited this house, but in ten minutes satisfied myself that it would\nnot do. We had about five hours on hand before the train was due that\nwould take us back to Exeter, and we were at a loss how to spend the\ntime. Suddenly the thought struck me that the impossible house was\nsomewhere in the neighbourhood, and rather than spend hours dawdling on\nthe railway platform, I proposed to my daughter that we should go and\nsee it. The driver of the carriage we had hired said that the distance\nwas seven miles, but that he could very well take us there and back so\nas to catch the up train. We thought so too--but speedily discovered\nthat his horse was extremely leisurely in its movements, and that we\nshould not be able to spend much time in viewing the house. The day was\nbeautiful, the sun was bright, the sky blue, and the trees just touched\nwith autumn frost, and turning every colour.\n\n\u201cWe traversed a maze of lanes and finally reached a lonely house, shut\nup, and standing in something of a jungle, trees all round it. A farm\nwas near by, and we sent to ask if the keys were kept there. They were,\nand we were soon inside. We were delighted, and said at once, \u2018This is\njust what we want; the very house to suit us.\u2019 We returned full of it,\nbut it must be admitted after a very hurried run through the inside.\nThere was an entrance hall, thence led a staircase to a broad landing,\nout of which opened many bedroom doors, and there was a passage leading\na short way to another room. But that all this was precisely like my\ndream did not occur to me at the time. We were in a hurry, afraid to\nmiss our train, and my mind was occupied with house-hunting and the\ndream was temporarily forgotten. In my dream, it must be remembered,\nI had _not_ seen the exterior of the house in which appeared the Grey\nWoman.\n\n\u201cOn our return to Exeter we made a full report to my husband of what we\nhad seen and decided; he had been kept from accompanying us by illness.\n\n\u201cWe now entered into negotiations, and speedily all was settled. The\ndrains had all to be looked to and put in order before we could take\npossession, which was not till the first week in December.\n\n\u201cAbout a fortnight before we moved into the house, after it had been\nrepainted and furnished, my daughter rushed to my room one morning\nexclaiming, \u2018Mother--you have after all taken the Ghost-dream House,\u2019\nand so it was in every particular, and I had chosen the very room for\nmine and arranged to place my bed in the very position I had determined\non in my dream.\n\n\u201cAt last the move was made, I feeling sure that the Grey Nurse and\nLittle Child were part and parcel of the house.\n\n\u201cIn coming into the property an astonishing number of old deeds in\nmany chests had been handed over to us, and demanded sorting and\ninvestigation. A large number of them pertained to the estates that\nmy husband owned, some of them going back five hundred years and\nimpossible for those inexperienced in court-hand and legal documents\nfull of contractions to decipher. But there were others that did not\nbelong to our property, that had come into the hands of a collateral\ngreat-great-uncle, a noted lawyer, who had taken the remainder of a\nlease for ninety-nine years of manors and estates, and which manors\nand estates on the termination of the lease had reverted to the\nproprietors; nevertheless, the deeds had been retained relative to this\nparticular lease.\n\n\u201cWhilst I was engaged along with an upholsterer daily in hanging\ncurtains, arranging carpets, choosing wall-papers, hanging pictures and\nthe like, my husband and daughter occupied themselves in wading through\nand cataloguing and assorting the vast accumulation of deeds, to the\nbest of their ability.\n\n\u201cAt the end of a fortnight they both came to me in great excitement,\nto inform me that they had come across all the papers, deeds, and\nparchments for generations back concerning the very house we had just\nrented, and into which we had settled. This was strange indeed. Till\nthis moment we had entertained not the smallest suspicion that this\nparticular house and manor had ever in any way belonged to one of the\nfamily from which my husband had inherited his estate.\n\n\u201cThe deeds showed that in 1747, the great-great-uncle--if he may be so\ntermed, there being no blood-relationship--had taken this particular\nhouse and property along with another much larger for the rest of the\nterm of ninety-nine years, i.e. for the remaining eighty-eight years.\nThe lease had terminated in 1835. The old parchments had been locked up\nand probably had never been looked at since.\n\n\u201cA week later, a new surprise. My husband and daughter in overhauling\nthese deeds had come, as they declared, on the nurse. On the margin of\nan old deed were written these words:--\n\n\u201c\u2018Anna Maria Welland, daughter of John Welland, married Mr. Cresford\nin 1771, and died in 1772, having only been married fourteen months.\nShe left an only child, born March 8th, 1772, died the following year.\nMrs. Lock, of Old Bond Street, took the body in a box to Barclay, in\nGloucestershire; Mrs. Runt, who nursed the child that died, had two\nherself by Mr. Cresford, one of whom she substituted for the dead\nchild of Anna Maria, the wife of Mr. Cresford. Harkett, a servant of\nMr. Cresford, on a search being made about two years ago at Barclay,\nadmitted in the presence of the Hon. Mr. Maxwell and others, the fact\nof the child having been placed there for that purpose, and then went\nto the spot under Mr. Cresford\u2019s [word illegible] room, and found the\nbox which is now in London. Mrs. Runt (the nurse) died in 1826. She\nmarried a miller named Harris, and she admitted to Miss Birdwood (who\nis now living) that she had bastard children, and that one of such was\nMrs. Francis.\u2019\u201d\n\nThis substituted child grew up and inherited the Welland property and\nmarried a Mr. Francis, to whom the estate went after her death. There\nwere no children. Here is the pedigree:--\n\n                                Samuel Welland,\n                                 _d._ 1735.\n                                       |\n      +------------------------------+-+----------------+\n      |                              |                  |\n    Walter,                        John=...           Richard=...\n    _d._ 1742.    _d._ 1746. |                     |\n                                       |                     |\n                  +--------------------+                     |\n                  |                                          |\n             Anna Maria=S. Cresford     =...Runt.          Samuel,\n       _d._ 1772. | _d._ 1823.: _d._ 1826.   _d._ 1780.\n                       |                :\n           +-----------+                :.......\n           |                                   :\n         Anna,                               Anna=Thos. Francis.\n        _b._ 1772,        (substituted child),\n        _d._ 1773.             _d._ 1811.\n\nIn the above account and in the pedigree all the names are fictitious\nexcept those of Mrs. Runt and the servant, Harkett.\n\nNow, was Mr. Cresford in the plot? Did Mrs. Runt make away with Anna,\nthe daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cresford? That he should have connived\nat the murder of his child is improbable. When he heard that Anna was\ndead, did he agree to have the body smuggled away in a box to his own\nfamily seat in Gloucestershire, and hidden under the floor in his room?\nThat is not so unlikely. That he was an utterly unprincipled man is\nclear. At the same time that he married the heiress of the Wellands, he\nwas carrying on an intrigue with Mrs. Runt, and he had a daughter by\nher of the same age--or thereabouts--as his legitimate daughter by his\nwife.\n\nIt may be suspected with some probability that Mrs. Runt did purposely\nmake away with the little heiress, and then, having told Mr. Cresford\nthat it had died a natural death, induced him to agree to the\nsubstitution of his bastard daughter for his legitimate child who was\ndead, so that this bastard might inherit the Welland estate.\n\nThe stay of the lady who wrote the above, and her husband and daughter,\nat this Welland House was short. Unexpectedly their own mansion became\nvacant, and they moved at once to it. But during the time they were at\nWelland she never saw the Grey Woman.\n\n\n\n\nROBERT LYDE AND THE \u201cFRIEND\u2019S ADVENTURE\u201d\n\n\n\u201cA True and Exact Account of the Retaking a ship, called the _Friend\u2019s\nAdventure_ of Topsham, from the French; after She had been taken six\ndays, and they were upon the Coasts of France with it four days. When\none Englishman and a Boy set upon seven Frenchmen, killed two of them,\ntook the other Five prisoners, and brought the said Ship and them safe\nto England. Their Majesties\u2019 Customs of the said Ship amounted to \u00a31000\nand upwards. Performed and written by Robert Lyde, Mate of the same\nship.\u201d London, 1693.\n\nIn February, 1689, Robert Lyde, of Topsham, shipped on board a pink\nof the same port, eighty tons, Isaac Stoneham, master, bound for\nVirginia, and on 18 May following arrived there, took in a lading, and\nset sail in company with a hundred merchantmen for home under convoy\nof two men-of-war. A fortnight after, storms separated the Topsham\nboat from the convoy, so that she had to make the best of her way home\nalone, and on 19 October came up with two Plymouth vessels of the\nfleet about forty leagues west of Scilly, the wind easterly. On the\n21st the crew saw four other ships to leeward which they took to be\nsome of their consorts, but which proved to be French privateers. They\nmanaged to escape them, but were captured by a privateer of St. Malo,\nof twenty-two guns and over a hundred men, on 24 October, and were\ntaken to St. Malo as prisoners, where they were detained and treated\nwith gross inhumanity, during seventeen days. Lyde says: \u201cIf we had\nbeen taken by Turks, we could not have been used worse. For bread we\nhad 6 lbs. and one cheek of a Bullock for every 25 men for a day; and\nit fell out that he that had half a Bullock\u2019s eye for his lot, had the\ngreatest share.\u201d After seventeen days they were all removed to Dinan,\nwhere were many other English prisoners confined in the cramped tower\nof the fortification that is still standing, with its small cells. Here\nthey were herded together in a place not fit to contain one quarter of\nthe number, and there they were retained for three months and ten days.\n\u201cOur allowance was 3 lb. of old Cow-Beef without any Salt to flavour\nit, for seven men a day; but I think we had 2 lbs. of Bread for each\nMan, but it was so bad that Dogs would not eat it, neither could we eat\nbut very little, and that that we did eat did us more hurt than good,\nfor \u2019twas more Orts than Bread, so we gave some of it to the Hogs, and\nmade Pillows of the rest to lay our Heads on, for they allowed us fresh\nStraw but once every five weeks, so that we bred such swarms of lice\nin our Rags that one Man had a great Hole eaten through his Throat by\nthem, which was not perceived till after his Death, and I myself was so\nweak that it was 14 weeks after my releasement before I recovered any\ntolerable strength in me.\n\n\u201cThey plundered us of our Clothes when we were taken, and some of\nus that had Money purchased Rugs to cover our Rags by day, and keep\nus warm by night; but upon our return home from France, the Deputy\nGovernor of Dinan was so cruel as to order our said Rugs to be taken\nfrom us, and staid himself and saw it performed; and when some of our\nfellow Prisoners lay a dying they inhumanly stript off some of their\nCloaths, three or four days before they were quite dead. These and\nother Barbarities made so great an Impression upon me, as that I did\nthen resolve never to go a Prisoner there again, and this Resolution I\ndid ever after continue in and by the Assistance of God always will.\u201d\n\nLyde returned to his home at Topsham, an exchange of prisoners having\nbeen effected, but not till four hundred out of the six hundred English\nprisoners crowded into the dungeons at Dinan had perished of disease\nand starvation.\n\nIn his Preface, Lyde says: \u201cI here present you with a Token of God\nAlmighty\u2019s Goodness in relieving me from the Barbarity, Inhumanity\nand most cruel Slavery of the Most Christian Turk of France, whose\nDelight it was to make his own Subjects Slaves, and his chief Study to\nput Prisoners of War to the most tedious and cruel lingering Death of\nHunger and Cold, as I have been experimentally (to my own Damage both\nfelt and seen), by a five Months\u2019 Confinement in this Country.\u201d\n\nShortly after his return to Topsham Lyde shipped as mate of a vessel,\nthe _Friend\u2019s Adventure_, eighty tons, bound for Oporto, and sailed\non 30 September, 1691. Oporto was reached in safety, but on the\nway back, off Cape Finisterre, the vessel was taken by a French\nprivateer. Resistance had been impossible, at all events must have been\nunavailing, but before surrendering Lyde concealed a blunderbuss and\nammunition between decks among the pipes of wine. When the _Friend\u2019s\nAdventure_ was boarded the lieutenant ordered Lyde and a boy to remain\non her, and the master, four men, and another boy were conveyed on\nboard the privateer. Seven Frenchmen were left on the _Friend\u2019s\nAdventure_ to navigate her and take her to St. Malo. This done, the\nprivateer departed. Lyde was determined not to go through his former\nexperiences as a prisoner in France, and he endeavoured to induce the\nboy to assist him against the French crew, but the lad was timorous,\nthought such an attempt as Lyde promised must fail, and repeatedly\nrefused to take any part in it. The boat was not very seaworthy, and\nneeded much bailing. As the boy represented to the mate, even if they\ndid overmaster the French crew, how could they navigate the vessel and\nkeep the pumps going till they reached England?\n\nAfter a few days they approached St. Malo, and the repugnance in\nLyde\u2019s mind against renewing his experiences there and at Dinan became\novermastering.\n\n\u201cAt 8 in the morning all the Frenchmen sat round the Cabbin\u2019s Table\nat Breakfast, and they call\u2019d me to eat with them, and accordingly I\naccepted, but the Sight of the Frenchmen did immediately take away\nmy Stomach, and made me sweat as if I had been in a Stove, and was\nready to faint with eagerness to encounter them. Which the Master\nperceiving, and seeing me in that condition, asked me (in French) if\nI were sick, and I answered Yes! But could stay no longer in sight of\nthem, and so went immediately down between Decks to the Boy and did\nearnestly intreat him to go presently with me into the Cabbin, and to\nstand behind me, and I would kill and command all the rest presently.\nFor now I told him was the best Time for me to attack them, while they\nwere round the Table, and knock down but one man in case Two laid\nhold upon me, and it may be never the like opportunity again. After\nmany importunities, the Boy asked me after what manner I intended to\nencounter them; I told him I would take the Crow of Iron and hold it in\nthe Middle with both Hands, and I would go into the Cabbin and knock\ndown him that stood at the end of the Table on my right Hand, and stick\nthe point of the Crow into him that sat at the end of the Table, on\nmy left Hand, and then for the other five that sat behind the Table.\nBut still he not consenting, I had second thoughts of undertaking it\nwithout him, but the Cabbin was so low that I could not stand upright\nin it by a foot, which made me at that time desist.\n\n\u201cBy this time they had eat their Breakfast, and went out upon Deck;\nthen I told the boy with much trouble, We had lost a grave opportunity,\nfor by this time I had had the ship under my command. Nay, says the\nBoy, I rather believe that by this time you and I should have both been\nkilled.\u201d\n\nLyde then, to stimulate the slack fellow to action, recounted to him\nthe miseries to which he would be subjected in prison in France.\n\n\u201cIn a little time after they had been upon Deck, they separated from\neach other, viz. the Master lay down in his Cabbin and two of the Men\nlay down in the Great Cabbin and one in a Cabbin between Decks, and\nanother sat down upon a low Stool by the Helm, to look after the Glass,\nto call the Pumps, and the other two men walked upon the Decks. Then,\nhoping I should prevail with the Boy to stand by me, I immediately\napplied myself to Prayer, desiring God to pardon my Sins, and I prayed\nalso for my Enemies who should happen to dye by my Hands. And then I\nendeavoured again to persuade the Boy--but could not prevail with him\nto Consent.\n\n\u201cThen the Glass was out, it being half after eight, and the two men\nthat were upon Deck went to pump out the Water. Then I also went upon\nDeck again, to see whether the Wind and Weather were like to favour my\nEnterprize, and casting my Eyes to Windward, I liked the Weather, and\nhop\u2019d the Wind would stand. And then immediately went down to the Boy,\nand beg\u2019d of him again to stand by me, while two of the men were at the\nPumps (for they pumpt on the starboard side, and the Steeridge Door\nopen on the starboard side, so that they could not see me going aft to\nthem in the Cabbin). But I could by no Persuasions prevail with the\nBoy, so that by this Time the Men had done Pumping; whereupon losing\nthis opportunity caused me again to be a little angry with the Boy.\u201d\n\nAgain Lyde warned the lad of the horrors before him if taken a prisoner\nto S. Malo. The boy replied that rather than endure such distresses\nhe would turn Papist, and volunteer on board a French privateer. This\nroused Lyde\u2019s wrath, and he said some very strong things. He told him\nthat this would not help him; some of the English prisoners of war with\nhimself had turned Papists, but had already become so attenuated by\ndisease and suffering that they had died.\n\n\u201cThe Boy asked What I would have him do? I told him to knock down that\nMan at the Helm, and I will kill and command all the rest. Saith the\nBoy, If you be sure to overcome them, how many do you count to kill? I\nanswered that I intended to kill three of them. Then the Boy replied,\nWhy three and no more? I answered that I would kill three for three of\nour men that died in Prison when I was there. And if it should please\nGod that I should get home safe I would if I could go in a Man-of-War\nor Fireship, and endeavour to revenge on the Enemy for the Death of\nthose 400 Men that died in the same Prison of Dinan. But the Boy said\nFour alive would be too many for us. I then replied that I would kill\nbut three, but I would break the Legs and the Arms of the rest if they\nwon\u2019t take quarter and be quiet without it.\u201d\n\nAfter a long discussion and much inquiry, the boy was finally induced\nto give a reluctant consent to help. The attempt was to be made that\nday. \u201cAt 9 in the morning the two men upon Deck were pumping; then I\nturned out from the Sail, where the Boy and I then lay\u2019d, and pull\u2019d\noff my Coat that I might be the more nimble in the Action. I went up\nthe Gunroom Scuttle into the Steeridge, to see what Position they were\nin, and being satisfied therein. Then the Boy coming to me, I leapt up\nthe gunroom Scuttle, and said, Lord be with us! and I told the Boy that\nthe Drive Bolt was by the Scuttle, in the Steeridg; and then I went\nsoftly aft into the Cabbin, and put my Back against the Bulkehead and\ntook the Jam Can, and held it with both my Hands in the middle part,\nand put my legs abroad to shorten myself, because the Cabbin was very\nlow. But he that lay nighest to me, hearing me, opened his eyes, and\nperceiving my intent, endeavoured to rise, to make resistance; but I\nprevented him by a Blow upon his Forehead, which mortally wounded him,\nand the other Man which lay with his Back to the dying Man\u2019s side,\nhearing the Blow, turned about and faced me, and as he was rising with\nhis left Elbow, very fiercely endeavouring to come against me, I struck\nat him, and he let himself fall from his left Arm, and held his Arm for\na Guard, whereby did keep off a great part of the Blow, but still his\nHead received a great part of the Blow.\n\n\u201cThe Master lying in the Cabbin on my right Hand, hearing the two\nBlows, rose and sate in the Cabbin and called me--bad names; but I\nhaving my eyes every way, I push\u2019t at his Ear with the Claws of the\nCrow, but he, falling back for fear thereof, it seemed afterwards that\nI struck the Claws of the Crow into his Cheek, which Blow made him\nlie Still as if he had been Dead; and while I struck at the Master,\nthe Fellow that fended off the Blow with his Arm, rose upon his Legs,\nand running towards me, with his Head low, to ram his Head against my\nBreast to overset me, but I pusht the point at his Head. It struck it\nan inch and a half into his Forehead, and as he was falling down, I\ntook hold of him by the Back, and turn\u2019d him into the Steeridg.\n\n\u201cI heard the Boy strike the Man at the Helm two Blows, after I had\nknock\u2019d down the first Man, which two Blows made him lye very still,\nand as soon as I turn\u2019d the Man out of the Cabbin, I struck one more\nBlow at him that I struck first and burst his Head, so that his Blood\nand Brains ran out upon the Deck.\n\n\u201cThe Master all the while did not stir, which made me conclude that I\nhad struck him under the Ear, and had killed him with the Blow.\n\n\u201cThen I went out to attack the two Men that were at the Pump, where\nthey continued Pumping, without hearing or knowing what I had done;\nand as I was going to them, I saw that Man that I had turn\u2019d into the\nSteeridg crawling out upon his Hands and Knees upon the Deck, beating\nhis Hands upon the Deck, to make a Noise, that the Men at the Pump\nmight hear, for he could not cry out, nor speak. And when they heard\nhim, and seeing his Blood running out of his Forehead, they came\nrunning aft to me, grinding their Teeth; but I met them as they came\nwithin the Steeridg Door, and struck at them, but the Steeridg being\nnot above 4 ft. high, I could not have a ful Blow at them, whereupon\nthey fended off the Blow, and took hold of the Crow with both their\nHands close to mine, striving to hawl it from me. Then the Boy might\nhave knockt them down with much ease, while they were contending with\nme, but that his heart failed him, so that he stood like a Stake at a\ndistance on their left side, and 2 Foots length off, the Crow being\nbehind their Hands. I called to the Boy to take hold of it, and hawl\nas they did, and I would let go all at once, which the Boy accordingly\ndoing, I pusht the Crow towards them, and let it go, and was taking out\nmy Knife to traverse amongst them, but they seeing me put my right hand\ninto my Pocket, fearing what would follow, they both let go of the Crow\nto the Boy, and took hold of my right Arm with both their Hands.\n\n\u201cThe Master, that I thought I had killed in his Cabbin, coming to\nhimself, and hearing they had hold of me, came out of his Cabbin, and\nalso took hold of me with both his Hands about my Middle. Then one of\nthe Men that had hold of my right Arm let go, and put his Back to my\nBreast, and took hold of my left Hand and Arm, and held it close to\nhis Breast, and the Master let go from my Middle, and took hold of my\nright Arm, and he with the other that had hold of my right Arm did\nstrive to get me off my Legs; but knowing that I should not be long in\none piece if they got me down, I put my right Foot against the Ship\u2019s\nside, on the Deck, for a support, and with the assistance of God, I\nkept my Feet, when they three and one more did strive to throw me down,\nfor the Man at the Helm that the Boy knocked down rose up and put his\nHands about my Middle and strove to hawl me down. The Boy seeing that\nMan rise and take hold of me, cried out, fearing then that I should be\novercome of them, but did not come to help me, nor did not Strike one\nBlow at any of them neither all the time.\n\n\u201cWhen I heard the Boy cry out, I said, \u2018Do you cry, you Villain, now\nI am in such a condition! Come quickly, and knock this Man on the Head\nthat hath hold of my left Arm\u2019; the Boy perceiving that my Heart did\nnot fail me, took some courage from thence, and endeavoured to give\nthat man a Blow on the Head, with the Drive-Bolt, but struck so faintly\nthat he mist his Blow, which greatly enraged me against him.\n\n\u201cI, feeling the Frenchman that held about my middle hang very heavy, I\nsaid to the Boy, \u2018Do you miss your Blow, and I in such a Condition? Go\nround the Binkle and knock down that Man that hangeth upon my Back,\u2019\nwhich was the same Man the Boy knock\u2019t down at the Helm. So the Boy\ndid strike him one Blow upon the Head, which made him fall, but he\nrose up again immediately, but being uncapable of making any further\nresistance, he went out upon Deck staggering to and fro, without any\nfurther Molestance from the Boy. Then I look\u2019t about the Beams for a\nMarlin-Speek, and seeing one hanging with a strap to a nail on the\nLarboard Side, I jerk\u2019t my right Arm forth and back, which clear\u2019d the\ntwo Men\u2019s Hands from my right Arm, and took hold of the Marlin-Speek,\nand struck the Point four times, about a quarter of an inch deep into\nthe Skull of that man that had hold of my left Arm, before they took\nhold of my right Arm again. And I struck the Marlin-Speek three times\ninto his Head after they had hold of me, which caused him to Screech\nout, but they having hold of me, took off much of the force of the\nthree Blows, and being a strong-hearted Man, he would not let go his\nhold of me, and the two men, finding that my right Arm was stronger\nthan their four Arms were, and observing the Strap of the Marlin-Speek\nto fall up and down upon the back of my Hand, one of them let go his\nright Hand and Took hold of the Strap and hawl\u2019d the Marlin-Speek\nout of my Hand, and I, fearing what in all likelyhood would follow, I\nput my right Hand before my Head as a Guard, although three Hands had\nhold of that Arm; for I concluded he would knock me on the Head with\nit;--but, through God\u2019s Providence it fell out of his Hand and so close\nto the Ship\u2019s side that he could not reach it again without letting go\nhis other Hand from mine, so he took hold of my Arm with the other Hand\nagain.\n\n\u201cAt this time the Almighty God gave me strength enough to take one Man\nin one Hand, and throw at the other\u2019s Head. Then it pleased God to put\nme in mind of my Knife in my Pocket, and although two of the Men had\nhold of my right Arm, yet God Almighty strengthened me so that I put my\nright Hand into my Pocket, and took out my Knife and Sheath, holding\nit behind my Hand that they should not see it; but I could not draw\nit out of the Sheath with my left Hand, because the Man that I struck\non the Head with the Marlin-Speek had still hold of it, with his Back\nto my Breast; so I put it between my Legs, and drew it out, and then\ncut the Man\u2019s Throat with it, that had his Back to my Breast, and he\nimmediately dropt down, and scarce ever stirr\u2019d after. Then with my\nleft Arm I gave both the Men a Push from me, and hawl\u2019d my right Arm\nwith a jerk to me, and so clear\u2019d it of both of them; and fetching a\nstrike with intent to cut both their Throats at once, they immediately\napprehended the Danger they were in, put their Hands together and held\nthem up, crying, _Corte, corte_ (i.e. Quarter), _Mounseer, moy allay\npar Angleterre si vou plea_. With that I stopt my Hand, and said Good\nQuarter you shall have. _Alle a pro_ (Go to the Fore), and then I put\nup my Knife into the Sheath again.\n\n\u201cThen I made fast the Steeridg Door, and ordered the Boy to stand by\nit, and to keep it fast, and to look through the Blunderbuss Holes, and\nif he did see any Man coming towards the Door, he should tell me of it,\nand come into the Cabbin for the Blunderbuss and Amunition which I had\nhid away before we were taken.\n\n\u201cAfter that I had loaden, I came out with it into the Steeridg and\nlook\u2019t forward, out of the Companion, to see if any Man did lye over\nthe Steeridg Door--but seeing no Man there, I went out upon Deck and\nlook\u2019t up to the Maintop, for fear the two wounded Men were there and\nshould throw down anything upon my Head; but seeing no Man there, I\nasked the Boy if he could tell what was become of the two wounded Men\nthat came to themselves and went out upon the Deck whilst I was engaged\nwith the three Men in the Steeridg. The Boy told me they had scrambled\nover-board. But I thought it very strange that they should be accessary\nto their own deaths. Then I ordered the Boy to stand by the Steeridg\nDoor to see if that Man betwixt Decks did come up, and if he did, to\ntell me.\n\n\u201cThen I went forward to the Two Men that had cried for Quarter, but\nthey, being afraid, ran forward and were going up the Fore-shrouds,\nbut I held up the Blunderbuss at them, and said, _Veni abau et montea\nCuttelia et ally abau_,[5] and then they put off their Hats and said,\n_Monsieur, moy travally pur Angleterre si vous plea_; but I answered\n_Alle abau_, for I don\u2019t want any Help; and then they unlid the\nScuttle, and went down. Then I went forward, and as I came before\nthe foot of the Mainsail I look\u2019t up to the Foretop, and seeing no\nMan there, I look\u2019t down in the Forecastle, and showed the two men a\nScuttle on the larboard side that went down into the Forepeak, and\nsaid: _Le Monte Cuttelia et ally abau_. They unlid the Scuttle, and put\noff their Hats and step\u2019t down.\n\n\u201cThen I call\u2019d down to them and asked them if they saw any Men betwixt\nDecks as they went down, and they answered No. Then I call\u2019d forward\nthe Boy and gave him the Blunderbuss and bid him present it down the\nForecastle, and if he saw any Men take hold of me, or if I call\u2019d on\nhim for help, then he should be sure to discharge the Blunderbuss at\nus, and kill us all together, if he could not shoot them without me.\n\n\u201cThen I took the Boy\u2019s Bolt and put my head down the Scuttle, and\nseeing no Man there I leap\u2019t down in the Forecastle and laid the\nScuttle and nail\u2019d it fast, and thought myself fast, seeing two killed\nand two secured.\n\n\u201cThen I went upon Deck, and took the Blunderbuss from the Boy and gave\nhim the Bolt, and went aft, and ordered the Boy as before to stand\nby the Steeridg Door, and give me an account if he saw any Man come\ntowards him with a Handspike; and then I went aft into the Cabbin, and\ncut two Candles in four pieces and lighted them, one I left burning\nupon the Table, the other three I carried in my left Hand, and the\nBlunderbuss in my right Hand; and I put my Head down the Gun-room\nScuttle and look\u2019t around, and seeing no Man there, I leap\u2019t down and\nwent to the Man that lay all the time asleep in a Cabbin betwixt Decks,\nand took him by the Shoulder with my left Hand, and wakened him, and\npresented the Blunderbuss at him with my right Hand, and commanded him\nout of his Cabbin, and made him stand still, till I got up into the\nSteeridg. Then I call\u2019d the Man, and he standing on the Scuttle and\nseeing the Man that had his Throat cut almost buried in his Blood, he\nwrung his Hands, crying out, O Jesu Maria! I told him I had nothing\nto do with Maria now. _Monte, monte et allez a pro!_ Then he came up\nand went forward looking round to see his Companions, but I followed\nhim, and made him go down into the Forecastle. Then I gave the Boy the\nBlunderbuss and ordered him to present it at the Man if he perceived\nhim to come towards me while I was opening the Scuttle, then to shoot\nhim.\n\n\u201cThen I took the Crow and leap\u2019t down with it into the Forecastle and\ndrew the Spikes and opened the Scuttle, and bid the Man come down and\njoyn his Companions. And after that I nailed down the Scuttle again,\nand went aft and ordered the Boy to stand by the Steeridg Door again,\nand I took the Candles and the Blunderbuss and went down between Decks\nand looked in all Holes and Corners for the two wounded Men and found\nthem not. Then I went on Deck, and told the Boy I could not find the\nMen, and he said they were certainly run overboard. I told him I would\nknow what was become of them before I made sail.\n\n\u201cThen I told the Boy I would go up into the Maintop, and see if they\nwere there; and so I gave him the Blunderbuss and bid him present it at\nthe Maintop, and if he saw any man look out over the Top with anything\nin his Hand to throw at me, he should then shoot them. Then I took the\nBoy\u2019s Bolt, and went up, and when I was got to the Puddick Shrouds I\nlook\u2019d forwards to the Foretop, I saw the two Men were cover\u2019d with the\nForetopsail, and their Sashes bound about their Heads to keep in the\nBlood, and they had made a great part of the Foretopsail Bloody, and as\nthe Ship rould, the Blood ran over the Top. Then I call\u2019d to them, and\nthey turn\u2019d out and went down on their knees, and wrung their Hands,\nand cried, _O corte, corte, Monsieur_. Then I said, Good Quarter shall\nyou have, And I went down and call\u2019d to them to come down, and he that\nthe Boy wounded came down, and kissed my Hand over and over, and went\ndown into the Forecastle very willingly. But the other Man was one of\nthe three that I designed to kill; he delayed his Coming. I took the\nBlunderbuss and said I would shoot him down, and then he came a little\nway and stood still, and begged me to give him Quarter. I told him if\nhe would come down he should have quarter. Then he came down and I gave\nthe Boy the Blunderbuss\u201d--and then ensued the redrawing of the nails\nand the reopening of the scuttle, so as to thrust these two wounded\nmen in with the others. But Lyde called up one of the men, a fellow of\nabout four-and-twenty, and who had shown Lyde some kindness when he was\na prisoner on the ship. We need not follow Lyde in his voyage home. He\nmade the Frenchman help to navigate the vessel. But they had still many\ndifficulties to overcome, the weather was rough, the ship leaked, and\nthere were but Lyde and the Frenchman and the boy to handle her.\n\nEven when he did reach the mouth of the Exe, though he signalled for\na pilot, none would come out to him, as he had no English colours on\nboard to hoist, and he was obliged to beat about all night and next day\nin Torbay till the tide would serve for crossing the bar at Exmouth.\nAgain he signalled for a pilot. The boat came out, but would approach\nonly near enough to be hailed. Only then, when the pilot was satisfied\nthat this was not a privateer of the enemy, would he come on board, and\nsteer her to Starcross, which Lyde calls _Stair_-cross. Thence he sent\nhis prisoners to Topsham in the Customs House wherry. There they were\nexamined by the doctor, who pronounced the condition of two of them\nhopeless.\n\nLyde\u2019s troubles were by no means over; for the owners of the _Friend\u2019s\nAdventure_ were vastly angry at her having been brought safely back.\nShe had been insured by them for \u00a3560, and when valued was knocked down\nfor \u00a3170; and they did much to annoy and harass Lyde, and prevent him\ngetting another ship.\n\nHowever, his story got about, and the Marquess of Carmarthen introduced\nhim to Queen Mary, who presented him with a gold medal and chain, and\nrecommended him to the Lords of the Admiralty for preferment in the\nFleet.\n\nWith this his narrative ends. He expresses his hope to serve their\nMajesties, and to have another whack at the Frenchmen.\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH PITTS\n\n\nJoseph Pitts, of Exeter, was the son of John Pitts of that city.\nWhen aged fourteen or fifteen he became a sailor. After two or three\nvoyages, very short, he shipped on board the _Speedwell_, on Easter\nTuesday, 1678, at Lympston, bound for the Western Islands, from thence\nto Newfoundland, thence to Bilbao, and so by the Canaries, home.\nNewfoundland was reached, but on the voyage to Bilbao the ship was\nboarded and taken by Algerine pirates.\n\n\u201cThe very first words they spake, and the very first thing they did\nwas Beating us with Ropes, saying: \u2018Into Boat, you English Dogs!\u2019 and\nwithout the least opposition, with fear, we tumbled into their Boat, we\nscarce knew how. They having loaded their Boat, carried us aboard their\nShip, and diligent Search was made about us for Money, but they found\nnone. We were the first Prize they had taken for that Voyage, and they\nhad been out at Sea about six weeks. As for our vessel, after they had\ntaken out of her what they thought fit and necessary for their use,\nthey sunk her; for she being laden with Fish, they thought it not worth\nwhile to carry her home to Algier.\n\n\u201cAbout Four or Five Days after our being thus taken, they met with\nanother small English Ship, with Five or Six Men aboard, which was\nserved as ours was. And Two or Three Days after that, they espied\nanother small English Vessel, with Five or Six men aboard laden with\nFish, and coming from New England. This Vessel was at their first view\nof her some Leagues at Windward of them, and there being but little\nWind, and so they being out of hopes of getting up to her, they us\u2019d\nthis cunning device, They hawled up their Sails, and hang\u2019d out our\nEnglish King\u2019s Colours, and so appearing Man of War like decoyed her\ndown, and sunk her also.\n\n\u201cTwo or Three days after this, they took a fourth little English Ship\nwith four or five Men a-board laden with Herrings, of which they took\nout most part, and then sunk the Ship.\u201d\n\nThe pirates now returned to Algiers, and their captured Christians were\ndriven to the palace of the Dey, who had a right to select an eighth of\nthem for the public service and also to retain an eighth part of the\nspoils taken from the prizes. His selection being made, the rest were\ndriven to the market-place and put up to auction.\n\nJoseph Pitts was bought by one Mustapha, who treated him with excessive\nbarbarity.\n\n\u201cWithin Eight and forty Hours after I was sold, I tasted of their\n(Algerine) Cruelty; for I had my tender Feet tied up, and beaten\nTwenty or Thirty Blows, for a beginning. And thus was I beaten for a\nconsiderable Time, every two or three days, besides Blows now and then,\nforty, fifty, sixty, at a time. My Executioner would fill his Pipe, and\nthen give me ten or twenty Blows, and then stop and smoak his Pipe for\na while, and then he would at me again, and when weary stop again; and\nthus cruelly would he handle me till his Pipe was out. At other times\nhe would hang me up by Neck and Heels, and then beat me miserably.\nSometimes he would hang me up by the Armpits, beating me all over my\nBody. And oftentimes Hot Brine was order\u2019d for me to put my Feet into,\nafter they were sore with beating, which put me to intolerable Smart.\nSometimes I have been beaten on my Feet so long, and cruelly, that\nthe Blood hath run down my Feet to the Ground. I have oftentimes been\nbeaten by my Patroon so violently on my Breech, that it hath been black\nall over, and very much swollen, and hard almost as a Board; insomuch,\nthat I have not been able to sit for a considerable Time.\u201d\n\nAfter two or three months, Mustapha sent him to sea in a pirate vessel,\nin which he was interested, to attend on the gunner. The expedition\nwas not very successful, as only one ship was taken, a Portuguese,\nwith a crew of eighteen who were enslaved. On his return to Algiers,\nafter having been a couple of months at sea, he was sold to a second\n\u201cPatroon,\u201d named Ibrahim, who had \u201ctwo Brothers in Algiers and a third\nin Tunis. The middle Brother had designed to make a Voyage to Tunis\nto see his Brother there; and it seems I was bought in order to be\ngiven as a Present to him. I was then cloth\u2019d very fine, that I might\nbe the better accepted. The Ship being ready we put to Sea, and in\nabout fourteen Days time we arrived at Tunis, and went forthwith to my\nPatroon\u2019s Brother\u2019s House. The next Day my Patroon\u2019s Brother\u2019s Son,\ntaking a Pride to have a Christian to wait upon him, made me walk\nafter him. As I was attending upon my new Master through the Streets,\nI met with a Gentleman habited like a Christian, not knowing him to\nbe an Englishman, as he was. He look\u2019d earnestly upon me, and ask\u2019d\nme whether I were not an Englishman. I answered him, Yea! How came\nyou hither? said he. I told him I came with my Patroon. What, are you\na slave? said he. I replied, Yes. But he was loath to enter into any\nfurther Discourse with me in the public Street, and therefore desired\nof the young Man on whom I waited, that he would please to bring me to\nhis House. The young Man assured him he would; for being a drinker of\nWine, and knowing the Plenty of it in the said Gentleman\u2019s House, he\nwas the rather willing to go. After the Gentleman was gone from us, my\nyoung new Master told me, that he whom we talk\u2019d to was the English\nConsul.\u201d\n\nThe Consul kindly invited Joseph Pitts to go to his house as often\nas he had an opportunity. After spending thirty days in Tunis, Pitts\nlearned to his dismay that the \u201cPatroon\u2019s Brother\u201d did not care to have\nhim, and that consequently he would have to return to Algiers. The\nConsul and two merchants then endeavoured to buy Pitts, but his master\ndemanded for him five hundred dollars; they offered three hundred,\nwhich was all that they could afford, and as Ibrahim refused to sell at\nthis price, the negotiation was broken off, and he returned with his\nmaster to Algiers.\n\nHere he was subjected to the persecution of his master\u2019s youngest\nbrother, who endeavoured to induce Joseph to become a renegade. As\npersuasion availed nothing, the young man went to his elder brother\nIbrahim, and told him that he had been a profligate and debauched man\nin his time, as also a murderer; and that his only chance of Paradise\nlay in making atonement for his iniquities by obtaining or enforcing\nthe conversion of his slave.\n\nIbrahim was alarmed, and being a superstitious man believed this,\nand began to use great cruelty towards Pitts. \u201cHe call\u2019d two of his\nServants, and commanded them to tye up my Feet with a Rope to the Post\nof the Tent; and when they had so done, he with a great Cudgel fell\nto beating of me upon my bare Feet. He being a very strong Man, and\nfull of Passion, his Blows fell heavy indeed; and the more he beat me,\nthe more chafed and enraged he was; and declared, that if I would not\nTurn, he would beat me to death. I roar\u2019d out to feel the Pains of his\ncruel Strokes; but the more I cry\u2019d, the more furiously he laid on upon\nme; and to stop the Noise of my Crying, he would stamp with his Feet\non my Mouth; at which I beg\u2019d him to despatch me out of the way; but\nhe continued beating me. After I had endured this merciless Usage so\nlong, till I was ready to faint and die under it, and saw him as mad\nand implacable as ever, I beg\u2019d him to forbear and I would turn. And\nbreathing a while, but still hanging by the Feet, he urg\u2019d me again\nto speak the Words, yet loath I was, and held him in suspense awhile;\nand at length told him that I could not speak the Words. At which he\nwas more enrag\u2019d than before, and fell at me again in a most barbarous\nmanner. After I had received a great many Blows a second Time, I\nbeseech\u2019d him again to hold his Hand, and gave him fresh hopes of my\nturning Mohammetan; and after I had taken a little more Breath, I told\nhim as before, I could not do what he desired. And thus I held him in\nsuspense three or four times; but, at last, seeing his Cruelty towards\nme insatiable, unless I did turn Mohammetan, through Terrour I did it,\nand spake the Words, holding up the Fore-finger of my Right-hand; and\npresently I was lead away to a Fire, and care was taken to heal my Feet\n(for they were so beaten, that I was unable to go on them for several\nDays), and so I was put to Bed.\u201d\n\nAlgiers was bombarded thrice by the French whilst Joseph Pitts was\nliving there as a slave, their purpose being to obtain the surrender of\nFrench captives who had been enslaved. \u201cThey then threw but few Bombs\ninto the Town, and that by night; nevertheless the Inhabitants were\nso Surprized and Terrifi\u2019d at it, being unacquainted with Bombs, that\nthey threw open the Gates of the City, and Men, Women, and Children\nleft the Town. Whereupon the French had their Country-men, that were\nSlaves, for nothing. In a little while after the French came again to\nAlgiers, upon other Demands, and then the Dey Surrendered up all the\nFrench Slaves, which prov\u2019d the said Dey\u2019s Ruine. And then they came\na third time (1682). There were nine Bomb-Vessels, each having two\nMortars, which kept fireing Day and Night insomuch that there would\nbe five or six Bombs flying in the air at once. At this the Algerines\nwere horribly Enrag\u2019d, and to be Reveng\u2019d, fired away from the mouth of\ntheir Cannon about forty French slaves, and finding that would not do,\nbut d\u2019Estr\u00e9e (the Marshall) was rather the more enraged. They sent for\nthe French Consul, intending to serve him the same Sause. He pleaded\nhis character, and that \u2019twas against the Law of Nations, etc. They\nanswered, they were resolv\u2019d, and all these complements would not serve\nhis turn. At which he desir\u2019d a day or two\u2019s Respite, till he should\ndespatch a Letter to the Admiral. Which was granted him; and a Boat\nwas sent out with a White Flag. But after the Admiral had perused and\nconsidered the Consul\u2019s Letter, he bid the Messenger return this answer\n(_viz._): That his Commission was to throw 10,000 Bombs into the Town,\nand he would do it to the very last, and that as for the Consul, if he\ndied, he could not die better than for his Prince.\n\n\u201cThis was bad News to the Consul; and highly provoked the Algerines,\nwho immediately caused the Consul to be brought down and placed him\nbefore the mouth of a Cannon, and fired him off also.\u201d\n\nD\u2019Estr\u00e9e\u2019s success was by no means so great as he had anticipated and\nas was expected. He was compelled by the stubborn defence of Algiers to\ncontent himself with an exchange of prisoners for French slaves, nor\ndid he recover more than forty or fifty.\n\nMeanwhile, what was the English Government doing for the protection of\nits subjects, for the recovery of Englishmen who were languishing as\nslaves in Algiers and Tunis? Nothing at all.\n\nUnder the Commonwealth, Blake in 1654 had severely chastised the nest\nof pirates. He had compelled the Dey to restrain his piratical subjects\nfrom further violence against the English. He had presented himself\nbefore Tunis, where, incensed by the violence of the Dey, he had\ndestroyed the castles of Porto Farino and Goletta, had sent a numerous\ndetachment of sailors in their long-boats into the harbour, and burned\nevery vessel which lay there.\n\nBut now the despicable Charles II was king, and the power of England\nto protect its subjects was sunk to impotence. Every three years the\nEnglish fleet appeared off Algiers to renew a treaty of peace with\nthe Dey, that meant nothing; the piratical expeditions continued, and\nEnglishmen were allowed to remain groaning in slavery, tortured into\nacceptance of Mohammedanism, and not a finger was raised for their\nprotection and release. The Consuls were impotent. They could do\nnothing. There was no firm Government behind them.\n\nIn Algiers, Pitts met with an Englishman, James Grey, of Weymouth, with\nwhom he became intimate. This man often appealed to Pitts for advice,\nwhether he should turn Mussulman or not; but Pitts would give him no\ncounsel one way or the other. Finally, he became a renegade, but moped,\nlost all heart, and died.\n\nPitts tells us how that secretly he received a letter from his father,\nadvising him \u201cto have a care and keep close to God, and to be sure,\nnever, by any methods of cruelty that could be used towards him, to\ndeny his blessed Saviour; and that he--his father--would rather hear\nof his son\u2019s death than of his becoming a Mahommedan.\u201d The letter was\nslipped into his hands a few days after he had become a renegade. He\ndared to show this to his master, and told him frankly, \u201cI am no Turk,\nbut a Christian.\u201d The master answered, \u201cIf you say this again, I will\nhave a fire made, and burn you in it immediately.\u201d\n\nThe then Dey, Baba Hasan, died in 1683, and Pitts\u2019 master being rich\nand having friends, attempted a revolt against Hasein \u201cMezzomorto,\u201d his\nsuccessor, and was killed in the attempt. This led to the sale of Pitts\nagain, and he was bought by an old bachelor, named Eumer, a kindly old\nman, with whom he was happy. \u201cMy Work with him was to look after his\nHouse, to dress his Meat, to wash his Clothes; and, in short, to do all\nthose things that are look\u2019d on as Servant-maids\u2019 work in England.\u201d\nWith the old master he made the pilgrimage to Mecca, and thence went\non to Medina, and he was the first Englishman to give a description of\nthese sacred towns. Moreover, his account is remarkably exact. He was a\nyoung fellow full of observation and intelligence, and he made good use\nof his eyes. At Mecca, Eumer gave Pitts his freedom, and Pitts remained\nwith him, not any longer as a slave, but as a servant.\n\nBy being granted his freedom this did not involve the liberty to return\nto his home and his Christian religion. But he looked out anxiously\nfor an opportunity to do both. This came in a message arriving from\nConstantinople from the Sultan to demand the assistance of Algerine\nvessels, and Joseph Pitts volunteered as a seaman upon one of these\nvessels, in the vain hope of its being captured by some Christian\nvessel--French, for there was nothing to be expected from English ships.\n\nAt Algiers, he became acquainted with a Mr. Butler, and as Pitts was\nsuffering from sore eyes, Mr. Butler got an English doctor, who was\na slave, to attend to him and cure him. Mr. Butler introduced him to\nthe English Consul, whom he saw once, and once only, and who could do\nnothing for him further than give him a letter to the English Consul at\nSmyrna, at the same time imploring him to conceal the letter and not\nlet it get into the hands of the Turks, or it might cost him his life.\n\n\u201cBeing got about thirty Days\u2019 voyage towards Smyrna, where I design\u2019d\nto make my Escape, we espied seven or eight Venetian Gallies at Anchor\nunder the Shoar. The Turks had a great Tooth for these Gallies, but\nknew not how to come to them, not being able to adventure so far as\nGallies safely may. At length they consulted, being fifteen Ships in\nnumber, to hoist French Colours. Having done this we haul\u2019d up our\nSails and brought to, pretending as if we were desirous of some News\nfrom the Levant. They, at this, thinking we were French Men-of-War,\nsent out two of their Gallies; upon which the Turks were ordered to\nlie close, and not stir, for fear of showing their Turbants, and such\nOfficers, that were obliged to be moving, took off their Turbants to\navoid discovery, and put on a Hat and Cap instead thereof; but the\nSlaves were all ordered to be upon Deck to colour the matter, and make\nus look more like Christians. At length one of the Gallies being within\nMusquet-shot, we fired upon him, and soon made him strike. The other,\nseeing that, turns and rows with all his Might and Main to get ashoar,\nthe Algerines all the while making what sail they could after him, but\n\u2019twas in vain, for the Venetian got clear, the Wind being off Shoar\njust in our Mouth. In that Galley which we took, there were near four\nhundred Christians, and some few Turks that were Slaves.\n\n\u201cWhen we came to Scio, we were joyn\u2019d with ten Sail of the Grand Turk\u2019s\nShips, carrying seventy or eighty Brass Cannon Guns each; and now being\ntwenty-five in number, we had the Courage to cruize about the Islands\nof the Archipelago.\n\n\u201cSome time after we arrived at Scio, the Turks had liberty, for one\nMonth\u2019s time, to go home to visit the respective Places of their\nNativity. I went to Smyrna and hired a Chamber there. And after I knew\nwhere the Consul\u2019s House was I went thither. The Consul not knowing who\nI was, Complemented me much, because I was handsomely Apparel\u2019d, and\nI returned the Complement to him after the Turkish manner; and then\ndelivered him my Letter of Recommendation. The Consul, having perused\nthe Letter, he bid the Interpreter to withdraw, because he should not\nunderstand anything of the matter. After the Interpreter was gone, the\nConsul ask\u2019d me whether I was the Man mentioned in the Letter. I told\nhim I was. He said the Design was very dangerous, and that if it should\nbe known to the Turks that he was any way concerned in it, it was as\nmuch as his Life, and his all was worth. But after he had discours\u2019d me\nfurther and found that I was fully resolv\u2019d in the matter, he told me\nthat, Truly were it not for Mr. Butler\u2019s Request he would not meddle in\nsuch a dangerous Attempt; but for the friendship and Respect he bore to\nhim, would do me all the kindness he could; which put Life into me.\n\n\u201cWe had no English nor Dutch Ships at Smyrna then, but daily expected\nsome; and he told me, I must wait till they came, and withall caution\u2019d\nme not to frequent his House. A day or two after this I was sitting in\na Barber\u2019s Shop, where both Christians and Turks did Trim, and there\nwas a-triming then an English Man, whose Name was George Grunsell,\nof Deptford. He knew me no otherwise than a Turk; but when I heard\nhim speak English, I ask\u2019d him in English, Whether he knew any of the\nWestern Parts of England to be in Smyrna. He told me of one, who he\nthought was an Exeter man, which, when I heard, I was glad at Heart. I\ndesired him to shew me his House; which he very kindly did; but when\nI came to speak with Mr. Elliott, for so was his Name, I found him\nto be of Cornwall, who had serv\u2019d some part of his Apprenticeship in\nExon, with Mr. Henry Cudmore a Merchant. He was very glad to see me for\nCountry\u2019s-sake. After some Discourse, I communicated to him my Design.\nHe was very glad to hear of it, and promised to assist me; and told me,\nthat I need not run the hazard of going to the Consul\u2019s House, but that\nif I had anything of Moment to impart to him, he would do it for me.\n\n\u201cIn a Month\u2019s time it was cry\u2019d about the City of Smyrna, that all\nAlgerines should repair to their Ships, which lay then at Rhodes.\n\n\u201cAll this while no English or Dutch Ships came to Smyrna; the Consul\nand Mr. Elliott therefore consulted which was my best way to take;\nto tarry in Smyrna after all the Algerines were gone, would look\nsuspiciously; and therefore they advised me not to tarry in Smyrna, but\neither to go to Scio with the Algerines, which is part of our way back\nto Rhodes, or else to go up to Constantinople; and when I was there,\nto write to the said Mr. Elliott to acquaint him where I was; and to\nstay there till I had directions from them to return to Smyrna, or what\nelse to do.\n\n\u201cI pursued their Advice, and went with some of the Algerines to Scio,\nand there I made a stop till all the Algerines were gone from thence,\nand writ to Mr. Elliott where I was. A short Time after, he writ me,\nthat he was very glad that I was where I was, but withal, gave a damp\nto my Spirits, with this bad News, that our Smyrna Fleet were said to\nbe interrupted by the French; with the cold reserve of Comfort, that it\nwanted Confirmation.\n\n\u201cNow the Devil was very busy with me, tempting me to lay aside all\nthoughts of Escaping, and to return to Algiers, and continue Mussulman.\nFor it was suggested to me, first, That it was a very difficult, if not\na desperate Attempt, to endeavour to make my Escape; and that if I were\ndiscovered in it, I should be put to death after the most cruel and\nexemplary way. Also, in the next place, the Loss that I should sustain\nthereby, in several respects, viz. The Loss of the profitable Returns\nwhich I might make of what Money I had to Algiers; and the Loss of\nreceiving eight Months Pay due to me in Algiers; and the frustrating\nof my Hopes and Expectation which I had from my Patroon, who made me\nlarge Promises of leaving me considerable Substance at his Death; and I\nbelieve he meant as he promised; for I must acknowledge he was like a\nfather to me.\n\n\u201cIn the midst of all I would pray to God for his Assistance, and found\nit. For I bless God, that after all my Acquaintance were gone from Scio\nto Rhodes, I grew daily better and better satisfied; though my Fears\nwere still very great; and I was indeed afraid every-body I met did\nsuspect my Design. And I can truly say, that I would not go through\nsuch a Labyrinth of Sorrows and Troubles again, might I gain a Kingdom.\n\n\u201cThe first Letter that Mr. Elliott sent me while I was at Scio, he\ndirected to a Greek at Scio, who did business with the Consul at\nSmyrna, to be delivered to me, naming me by my Turkish Name. I was\naltogether unknown to the Greek, so that he was forced to enquire among\nthe Algerines for one of that Name; and indeed there were two Men of\nthat Name with myself; but by good hap, they were gone to Rhodes,\notherwise \u2019tis odds but the Letter had come to the Hands of one of\nthem, and then my Design had been discovered, and I should undoubtedly\nhave been put to Death.\n\n\u201cI receiv\u2019d another Letter from Mr. Elliott, in which he informed me\nthat the reported bad News concerning our Ships was true, but that he\nand the Consul had Conferr\u2019d that Day what was best to be done for my\nsafety; and were of opinion that it would be in vain for me to wait for\nany English Ships, and therefore they advised me to go off in a French\nShip, tho\u2019 somewhat more expensive, and in order thereto, to hasten\nback again to Smyrna, in the first boat that came.\n\n\u201cAccordingly I came to Smyrna again and lodg\u2019d at Mr. Grunsell\u2019s House,\nand kept myself very private for the space of twenty Days, \u2019till the\nFrench Ship was ready to sail.\n\n\u201cNow the French Ship, in which I was to make my escape, was intended\nto sail the next Day, and therefore in the Evening I went on Board,\nApparel\u2019d as an English Man, with my Beard shaven, a Campaign\nPerrywigg, and a Cane in my Hand, accompanied with three or four of my\nFriends in the Boat. As we were going into the Boat, there were some\nTurks of Smyrna walking by, but they smelt nothing of the matter. My\ngood Friend Mr. Elliott had agreed with the Captain of the Ship to pay\nFour Pounds for my Passage to Leghorn, but neither the Captain nor any\nof the French Men knew who I was. My Friends, next Morning, brought\nWine and Victuals a board; upon which they were very merry, but, for my\npart, I was very uneasy till the Ship had made Sail. I pretended myself\nIgnorant of all Foreign Languages, because I would not be known to the\nFrench, who,--if we had met with any Algerines,--I was affraid would be\nso far from showing me any Favour so as to Conceal me, would readily\nDiscover me.\n\n\u201cWe had a Month\u2019s passage from Smyrna to Leghorne, and I was never at\nRest in my Mind till we came to Leghorne, where, as soon as ever I came\nashore, I prostrated myself, and kissed the earth, blessing Almighty\nGod for his Mercy and Goodness to me, that I once more set footing on\nthe European, Christian part of the World.\u201d\n\nArrived at Leghorn, Joseph Pitts was put in quarantine, but for\nfive-and-twenty days only. Whilst in the Lazaret he met with some\nDutchmen, one of whom had been a near neighbour in Algiers. He\nsuggested that Pitts should join company with him and his party\ntravelling homewards by land. To this Joseph agreed, and they all set\noff at Christmas, in frosty weather, and travelled for twenty days\nthrough heavy snow. After a while Joseph\u2019s leg gave way, and he could\nnot proceed with the others. They were constrained to leave him behind,\nfor fear that their money would run short.\n\nAfter having travelled two hundred miles in their company, he was now\nforced to travel five hundred on foot through Germany alone. One day\nas he was passing through a wood he was attacked by a party of German\nsoldiers, who robbed him of his money. Happily, they did not strip him\nand so discover that he had a good deal more than was in his pockets\nsewn into a belt about his waist.\n\n\u201cWhen I came to Franckfort, the Gates of the City were just ready to be\nshut, and I offering to go in, the Centinel demanded of me who I was. I\ntold them I was an Englishman. They bid me show my Passport, but I had\nnone. I having therefore no pass, they would not let me into the City.\nSo the Gate was shut. I sat down upon the Ground and wept, bewailing my\nhard Fortune and their Unkindness, having not a bit of Bread to eat,\nnor Fire to warm myself in the extreme cold Season which then was.\n\n\u201cBut there being just outside the Gate a little Hutt, where the\nSoldiers Kept Guard, the Corporal seeing me in such a condition as I\nwas, called me in, where they had a good Fire, and he gave me some of\nhis Victuals; for which seasonable Kindness I gave him some money to\nfetch us some good Liquor. And I told the Corporal, if he would get me\ninto the City the next Day, I would Requite him for it. Accordingly he\ndid. He brought me to a Frenchman\u2019s House, who had a Son that lived in\nEngland some time, and was lately come home again, who made me very\nWelcome. He ask\u2019d me what my Business was; I told him \u2019twas to get a\nPass to go safe down the River, (for they are so strict there in time\nof War, that they\u2019ll even examine their own Countrymen), and withal,\ndesired him to change a Pistole for me, and to give me instead of it\nsuch Money as would pass current down the River. For (as I told him)\nI have sometimes chang\u2019d a Pistole, and before the Exchange of it had\nbeen expended in my Travels, some of the money would not pass current.\nHe chang\u2019d my Pistole for me, and told me what Money would pass in such\na place, and what in such a place, and what I should reserve last to\npass in Holland. And he was moreover so civil, as to go to the public\nOffice and obtain a Pass for me. After which he brought me to his House\nagain, and caused one of his Servants to direct me to an Inn, where I\nshould Quarter, and bid me come again to him the next Morning, when\nhe sent his Servant to call me, and also to pay off my Host, but I\nhad paid him before, for which he show\u2019d Dislike. After all which, he\nconducted me to the River\u2019s side where was a Boatfull of Passengers\nready to go to Mentz. This obliging Gentleman (whose name was Van der\nLuh\u2019r) told the Master of the Boat, that he would satisfy him for my\nPassage to Mentz; and moreover desired an Acquaintance of his in the\nBoat to take care of me; and when at Mentz, to direct me to such a\nMerchant, to whom he gave a Letter, and therewith a piece of Money to\ndrink his Health.\n\n\u201cWhen we came to Mentz, we were every Man to produce his Passport;\nand as the Passes were looking over, the Person in the Boat, who was\ndesired to take care of me, sent a Boy to call the Merchant to whom I\nwas to deliver the Letter; who immediately came, and invited me to his\nHouse.\n\n\u201cIt hap\u2019ned that this Gentleman was a Slave in Algier at the same time\nI was. He enquired of me about his Patroon, whom I knew very well; and\nwe talk\u2019d about many other things relating to Algier. I received much\nkindness and Hospitality from the Gentleman; he paid off my Quarters\nfor that Night; and also gave me Victuals and Money, and paid for my\nPassage from Mentz to Cologne; and moreover, sent by me a Letter of\nRecommendation to his Correspondent there.\n\n\u201cAt Cologne I received the like Kindness, and had my Passage paid to\nRotterdam; and if I would, I might have had a Letter of Recommendation\nto some Gentle-man there too; but I refus\u2019d it (with hearty Thanks for\nthe offer) being loath to be too troublesome to my Friends.\n\n\u201cI found great Kindness at Rotterdam and Helversluyce, whither our\nEnglish Packquet-Boats arrive. But when I came into England, my own\nnative Country, here I was very badly treated; for the very first Night\nthat I lay in England, I was impressed for to go in the King\u2019s Service.\nAnd notwithstanding that I made known my Condition, and used many\nArguments for my Liberty, with Tears, yet all this would not prevail,\nbut away I must; and was carried to Colchester Prison, where I lay some\nDays. While I was in Prison I Writ a Letter to Sir William Falkener,\none of the Smyrna Company in London, on whom I had a Bill for a little\nMoney; he immediately got a Protection for me, and sent it me, which\nwas not only my present Discharge, but prevented all further Trouble\nto me on my Road Homeward, which otherwise I must unavoidably have met\nwith.\n\n\u201cWhen I came from Colchester to London, I made it my Business, as in\nDuty bound, to go and pay my Thanks to the honourable Gentleman, from\nwhom I received fresh Kindness. After this I made what hast I could to\ndear Exeter, where I safely came, to the great Joy of my Friends and\nRelations.\n\n\u201cI was in Algier above Fifteen Years. After I went out of Topsham, it\nwas about Half a Year before I was taken a Slave. And after I came out\nof Algier it was well nigh Twelve Months ere I could reach home.\u201d\n\nThis interesting narrative is from \u201cA true and Faithful Account of the\nReligion and Manners of the Mohammetans. In which is a particular\nRelation of their Pilgrimage to Mecca ... by Joseph Pitts of Exon.\u201d\nExon, 1704. A second edition was published at Exeter in 1717; and a\nthird edition corrected, at London, in 1731.\n\n\n\n\nTHE DEMON OF SPREYTON\n\n\n\u201cAbout the month of November last in the Parish of Spraiton, one\nFrancis Fey (servant to Mr. Philip Furze) being in a Field near\nthe Dwelling house of the said Master, there appeared unto him the\nresemblance of an old Gentleman, like his Master\u2019s Father, with a Pole\nor Staff in his hand, like that he was wont to carry when living, to\nkill Moles withal. The Spectrum approached near the young Man, who was\nnot a little surprised at the Appearance of one whom he knew to be\ndead, but the Spectrum bade him have no Fear, but tell his Master that\nseveral Legacies, which by his Testament he had bequeathed were unpaid,\nnaming ten shillings to one, ten shillings to another, both which he\nnamed. The young man replied that the party last named was dead, and\nso it could not be paid to him. The Ghost answered, He knew that, but\nit must be paid to the next relative, whom he also named. The Spectrum\nlikewise ordered him to carry twenty shillings to a Gentlewoman, sister\nof the Deceased, living at Totness, and promised if these things were\ndone, to trouble him no more. At the same time the Spectrum speaking\nof his second wife (also dead) called her a wicked Woman, though the\nRelater knew her and esteemed her as a good Woman.\u201d\n\nThe spectre vanished. The young man did as enjoined and saw that\nthe legacies were duly paid, and he took twenty shillings to the\ngentlewoman near Totnes; but she utterly refused to receive it,\nbelieving it to have been sent to her by the devil.\n\nThat same night, the young man, who was lodging in the house of his\nformer master\u2019s sister, saw the ghost again. The youth thereupon\nremonstrated with it and reminded it of the promise made no more to\nannoy him, and he explained that the deceased man\u2019s sister refused\nto accept the money. Then the spirit bade the young man take horse,\nride into Totnes, and buy a ring of the value of twenty shillings, and\nassured him that the lady would receive that.\n\nNext day, after having delivered the ring, that was accepted, the young\nman was riding home to his master\u2019s, accompanied by a servant of the\ngentlewoman near Totnes, and as they entered the parish of Spreyton,\nthe ghost was seen sitting on the horse behind the youth. It clasped\nits long arms about his waist and flung him from his saddle to the\nground. This was witnessed by several persons in the road, as well as\nby the serving man from Totnes.\n\nOn entering the yard of Mr. P. Furze\u2019s farm, the horse made a bound of\nsome twenty-five feet, to the amazement of all.\n\nSoon after this a female ghost appeared in the house, and was seen by\nthe same young man, as also by Mrs. Thomasine Gidley, Anne Langdon,\nand a little child. She was able to assume various shapes: sometimes\nshe appeared as a dog, belching fire, at another she went out of the\nwindow in the shape of a horse, breaking one pane of glass and a piece\nof iron. It was certainly vastly considerate of her in the bulk of a\nhorse to do so little damage! But usually she stalked along the passage\nand appeared in the rooms in her own form. No doubt could exist as to\nwho this troublesome ghost was. The \u201cspectrum\u201d of the old gentleman\nhad already hinted that his second wife was a bad woman, and could make\nherself unpleasant.\n\nOn one occasion, invisible hands laid hold of the young man, and rammed\nhis head into a narrow space between the bedstead and the wall, and it\ntook several persons to extricate him; and then, what with fright and\nwhat with the pressure, he was so unwell that a surgeon was sent for to\nbleed him. No sooner was this operation performed, than the ligatures\nabout the arm were suddenly snatched at and torn off, and slung about\nhis waist, and there drawn so tight that he was nearly suffocated. They\nhad to be cut through with a knife to relieve him. At other times his\ncravat was drawn tight.\n\nThe spectre was of a playful humour sometimes, and would pluck the\nperukes off the heads of people, and one that was on top of a cabinet\nin a box, with a joint-stool on it, was drawn out and ripped to\nshreds--and this was the most costly wig in the house.\n\nAt another time the youth\u2019s \u201cshoe-string\u201d was observed without\nassistance of hands to come out of his shoe of its own accord and cast\nitself to the other side of the room, whereupon the other shoe-lace\nstarted crawling after its companion. A maid espying this, with her\nhand drew it back, when it clasped and curled round her hand like an\neel or serpent.\n\nThe young man\u2019s clothes were taken off and torn to shreds, as were\nthose of another servant in the house, and this while they were on\ntheir backs. A barrel of salt was seen to march out of one room and\ninto another, untouched by human hands. When the spectre appeared in\nher own likeness she was habited in the ordinary garments of women\nat the time, especially like those worn by Mrs. Philip Furze, her\ndaughter-in-law.\n\nOn Easter Eve the young man was returning from the town when he was\ncaught by the female spectre by his coat and carried up into the air,\nhead, legs, and arms dangling down.\n\nHaving been missed by his master and fellow servants, search was made\nfor him, but it was not till half an hour later that he was found at\nsome distance from the house plunged to his middle in a bog, and in\na condition of ecstasy or trance, whistling and singing. He was with\ndifficulty extracted and taken to the house and put to bed. All the\nlower part of his body was numbed with cold from long immersion in the\nmorass. One of his shoes was found near the doorstep of the house,\nanother at the back of the house, and his peruke was hanging among the\ntop branches of a tree. On his recovery he protested that the spirit\nhad carried him aloft till his master\u2019s house had seemed to him no\nbigger than a haycock.\n\nAs his limbs remained benumbed he was taken to Crediton on the\nfollowing Saturday to be bled. After the operation he was left by\nhimself, but when his fellows came in they found his forehead cut and\nswollen and bleeding. According to him, a bird with a stone in its beak\nhad flown in at the window and dashed it at his brow. The room was\nsearched; no stone, but a brass weight was found lying on the floor.\n\n\u201cThis is a faithful account of the Contents of a Letter from a Person\nof Quality in Devon, dated 11 May, 1683. The young man will be 21 if he\nlives to August next.\u201d\n\nThe title of this curious pamphlet is: \u201cA Narrative of the Demon of\nSpraiton. In a Letter from a Person of Quality in the County of Devon,\nto a Gentleman in London, with a Relation of an Apparition or Spectrum\nof an Ancient Gentleman of Devon who often appeared to his Son\u2019s\nServant. With the Strange Actions and Discourses happening between\nthem at divers times. As likewise, the Demon of an Ancient Woman, Wife\nof the Gentleman aforesaid. With unparalell\u2019d varieties of strange\nExploits performed by her: Attested under the Hands of the said Person\nof Quality, and likewise a Reverend Divine of the said County. With\nReflections on Drollery and Atheism, and a Word to those that deny the\nExistence of Spirits.\u201d London, 1683.\n\nIt is pretty obvious that the mischievous and idle youth was at the\nbottom of all this bedevilment. This was but an instance of the\nPoltergeist that so exercised the minds of K\u00f6rner, Mrs. Crowe, and the\nlike, but which can all be traced back to a knavish servant.\n\n\n\n\nTOM AUSTIN\n\n\nTom Austin was a native of Collumpton, and was the son of a respectable\nyeoman, who, at his death, left him his little property, which was\nestimated at that time as worth \u00a380 per annum. As he bore a good\ncharacter, he soon got a wife with a marriage portion of \u00a3800.\nUnhappily this accession to his means completely turned his head. He\nbecame wild and extravagant, and in less than four years had dissipated\nall his wife\u2019s fortune and mortgaged his own farm. Being now somewhat\npinched in circumstances, he was guilty of several frauds on his\nneighbours, but they did not prosecute him, out of respect for his\nfamily. Then, unable to satisfy his needs, he took to the highway, and\nstopped Sir Zachary Wilmot on the road between Wellington and Taunton\nDean, and as the worthy knight resisted being robbed, Austin shot him\ndead. From Sir Zachary he got forty-six guineas and a silver-hilted\nsword. With this plunder he made haste home to Collumpton undiscovered.\nThis did not last long, as he continued in the same course of riot.\nWhen it was spent he started to visit an uncle of his, living at a\ndistance of a mile.\n\nOn reaching the house he found nobody within but his aunt and five\nsmall children, who informed him that his uncle had gone away for the\nday on business, and they invited him to stay and keep them company\ntill his return. He consented, but almost immediately snatched up an\naxe and split the skull of his aunt with it, then cut the throats\nof all the children, laid their bodies in a heap, and proceeded to\nplunder the house of the money it contained, which amounted to sixty\nguineas. Then he hastened home to his wife, who, perceiving some blood\non his clothes, asked whence it came. In reply he rushed upon her with\na razor, cut her throat, and then murdered his own two children, the\neldest of whom was not three years of age.\n\nHardly had he finished with these butcheries before his uncle arrived,\ncalling on his way home. On entering the house this man saw what had\nbeen done, and though little suspecting what would meet his eyes when\nhe returned home, with great resolution flung himself upon Tom Austin,\nmastered him, bound his hands, and brought him before a magistrate, who\nsent him to Exeter Gaol.\n\nIn August, 1694, this inhuman wretch was hanged. He seemed quite\ninsensible as to the wickedness of his acts, as well as to the\nsenselessness of them, and there can be little doubt that he was a\nvictim to homicidal madness.\n\nWhen on the scaffold, when asked by the chaplain if he had anything to\nsay before he died: \u201cOnly this,\u201d was his reply, \u201cI see yonder a woman\nwith some curds and whey, and I wish I could have a pennyworth of them\nbefore I am hanged, as I don\u2019t know when I shall see any again.\u201d Tom\nAustin had many errors, many faults, many crimes to expiate, but he\ncarried with him into the next world one merit--his undying love of\nDevonshire junket, the same as curds and whey.\n\n\n\n\nFRANCES FLOOD\n\n\n\u201cFrances Flood was born in Gitsom (Gittisham), near Honiton in Devon,\nand on the 22nd January, 1723, being thirty-two years of age, I went\nfrom Philip\u2019s Norton to the town of Saltford, where I had for lodging\nan Inn. I arose well in the Morning, thinking to go about my Business:\nbut being come out of the Door, I was taken very ill, and before I came\nto the Village I was not sensible in what condition I was in, and not\nable to go, was forced to hold by the Wall as I went along: With great\nDifficulty I got to the Overseer\u2019s House, and desired him to get me a\nlodging, but he denied me; whereupon I went up the Street and lay in a\nHogsty, where many People came to see me. I lay there till the Evening\nin a sad Condition, when the Overseer\u2019s Wife of that Place led me to\nthe Overseer\u2019s again, but he still denied me Relief; and, not being\nvery sensible, I returned again to the same Place, but they had been\nso inhuman as to put some Dung into it, to prevent my lodging there\nagain; but at last I got into another which had no Cover over it as the\nother had. In the Morning when I awoke, I went up the Street and with\nWeakness fell down, so that Streams of Water ran over me, till helped\nup by the Clerk of the Parish\u2019s Wife, who led me till I came to the\nwall, by which I held, and with great Trouble got to the Barn, but the\nOwner of the Barn was so barbarous as to unhang the Door the next Day;\na young Man, out of Compassion, hung the Door again. The Owner was so\ndispleased, that he came a second Time and unhung it.\n\n\u201cThe next Day, the Small-Pox appeared on me, and was noised about;\ninsomuch that the Overseer came and put up the Door, and then I had\nboth Meat and Drink, but took no further Care of me for 14 days; the\nSmall-Pox appeared very kind and favourable and might have done very\nwell, had I not been taken in my Legs, and should have been able to go\naway in a Fortnight; after which I was taken on my Calfs, which turned\nblack and cold and looked much like Scalds, and broke out. I applied to\nthem first of all a Bathe, but the Flesh speedily parted from the small\nof my Legs to the Bones. I had there by me some Ointment, which was\nbrought me by the Overseer; but had no one to dress my Wounds, but did\nall myself.\n\n\u201cI freely forgive all the Parish, and as for the Overseers, they did to\nthe utmost of their power, when my Flesh was separated; and whatever I\ndesired of them, they sent me, so I desire that all may be blameless\nof my Misfortunes. My Pains increased to a wonderful Degree and my\nLegs grew worse, and was driven to dismal Extremity, and lay in that\nCondition three Weeks.\n\n\u201cOn the 18th Day of March about 8 o\u2019clock in the Evening there came a\nWoman to the Barn-door to ask me how I did. I was going to show her\nhow my Legs were, and how the Flesh was separated from the Bones, and\nleaning a little harder than Ordinary upon my left leg, it broke off as\nthough it were a rotten Stick, a little below the Calf; the woman left\nme, and I was surprised, but God enabled me to bind up my Leg again\nwith the same Medicines as before; and when most of the People of the\nVillage were at rest, then a Man that liv\u2019d over against the Barn came\nto see me, and asked me how I did. I desired him to get me some Beer at\nthe Overseers, but he fetched me some of his own and left me; so there\nwas no one with me. I submitted myself to God, and after some time fell\nasleep, and slept till the morning. And as soon as \u2019twas Light, dressed\nthe wound before any came to me, and the Flesh covered the Bone,\nbut had no Loss of Marrow, and but little of Blood, nor hardly any\nPain. The Mercies there received at the Hands of God exceeded all the\nPunishment was due to me thro\u2019 Sin, and His Mercy I never did deserve.\nI was visited by abundance of People, and amongst them God sent me the\nMinister of Keinsham, and Mr. Brown of the same Town came along with\nhim, and they afforded me much Comfort; they told me they never saw the\nlike, and it was God\u2019s handy Work, and not Man\u2019s, so taking leave of\nme, they wished that the God of Heaven might be my Physician, and it\ngave me a merry Heart and cheerful Countenance, and gave them Thanks\nfor what Favours I had received from them, and my Pains still ceased.\nAbundance came both far and near all the Week to see me, and amongst\nthe rest a Surgeon, who persuaded me to have the Bone of my right Leg\ntaken off, to which I gave Consent. On the 25th about 6 in the Morning,\nwhen I arose and opened the Cloaths, I found my Legs were fallen from\nme, and the Pains I then suffered were not worthy to be called Pains;\nso I dressed it with the same Medicine I made use of before; within two\nHours after came several People to visit me. I unbound the Cloaths and\nthe Flesh was closed over the Bone, and the Blood was stopp\u2019d. So I had\ngreat Reason to praise the Lord for all His Mercies and Favours I had\nreceived from Time to Time.\u201d\n\nEPITAPH ON F. FLOOD\u2019S LEGS\n\nBuried in Saltford Churchyard\n\n    Stop Reader, and a Wonder See,\n      As strange as e\u2019er was known!\n    My Feet drop\u2019d off from my Body,\n      In the Middle of the Bone.\n    I had no Surgeon for my Help\n      But God Almighty\u2019s Aid,\n    In Whom I ever will rely\n      And never be afraid.\n    Though here beneath (the Mold) they lie\n      Corruption for to see,\n    Yet they shall one Day reunite\n      To all Eternity.\n\nThe last line might have been amended to--\n\n    And walk away with me.\n\nThis curious tract is entitled _The Devonshire Woman: or a Wonderful\nNarrative of Frances Flood_. It bears no date, but is of about 1724.\nAt the end stands: \u201cPrinted for Frances Flood, and sold by Nobody but\nherself.\u201d\n\nIn fact, the poor creature went about on crutches selling the story of\nher misfortunes. The tract is very scarce, but there is a copy in the\nBritish Museum.\n\n\n\n\nSIR WILLIAM HANKFORD\n\n\nIn the Second Part of _Henry IV_, Shakespeare makes his hero, Prince\nHal, behave with splendid generosity to Judge Gascoigne, who had\ncommitted him to prison for striking him in open court.\n\nThe King says to him:--\n\n    How might a prince of my great hopes forget\n    So great indignities you laid upon me?\n    What! rate, rebuke, and roughly send to prison\n    The immediate heir of England! Was this easy?\n    May this be wash\u2019d in Lethe, and forgotten?\n\nThe Chief Justice replies:--\n\n    I then did use the person of your father;\n    The image of his power lay then in me:\n    And, in the administration of his law,\n    Whiles I was busy for the commonwealth,\n    Your highness pleas\u00e8d to forget my place,\n    The majesty and power of law and justice,\n    The image of the king whom I presented,\n    And struck me in my very seat of judgment;\n    Whereon, as an offender to your father,\n    I gave bold way to my authority,\n    And did commit you.\n\nShakespeare makes King Henry V recognize that Gascoigne was in the\nright.\n\n    You are right, justice, and you weigh this well;\n    Therefore still bear the balance and the sword.\n\nBut here Shakespeare has not been true to history. His ideal king\nwas not so generous as he represented him. In fact, directly on his\naccession Henry displaced Gascoigne from the Chief-Justiceship, and\nelevated to his place the Devonshire lawyer Sir William Hankford,\nKnight of the Bath.\n\nPrince, indeed, in his _Worthies of Devon_, claims that it was Hankford\nwho committed Prince Hal to prison; but this is a mistake, the brave\nand resolute judge was Sir William Gascoigne, who was displaced, and\nSir William Hankford installed as Chief Justice in his room by Henry V\neight days after his accession.\n\nSir William was probably born at Hankford, the ancient seat of the\nfamily, in the hamlet of Bulkworthy, a chapel-of-ease to Buckland\nBrewer. He was made Serjeant-at-law in 1391 in the reign of Richard\nII, and was advanced to be one of the lords-justices in the Court of\nCommon Pleas in 1397. He was made Knight of the Bath at the coronation\nof Henry IV, and, as already said, he was called up higher to be Chief\nJustice by Henry V on his accession to the throne. He retained his\noffice for part of a year under Henry VI, so that he served under\nfour kings. He moved from Hankford, the family seat, to Annery, in\nthe parish of Monkleigh, near Great Torrington, a beautiful spot on\nthe Torridge. Here he had a stately mansion \u201cfamous for a large upper\ngallery, wherein might be placed thirty standing beds, fifteen of a\nside, and yet not one to be seen there. Nor could you from one bed\nsee another: for this gallery being very long and wainscotted on each\nhand, there were several doors in it, which led into little alcoves or\napartments, well plaistered and whited, large and convenient enough for\nprivate lodgings.\u201d\n\nAnnery still stands in its beautiful park, but the gallery has\ndisappeared; it was pulled down in the year 1800.\n\nTowards the end of his days Hankford fell into deep fits of depression\nin retirement at Annery, where, weary of life and despondent at the\nprospect of the new reign with an infant as king, and with furious\nrivalries ready to break forth and tear the kingdom to pieces, he was\nimpatient that death might end his troubles.\n\n\u201cOn a fit time for the purpose, he called to him the keeper of his\npark, which adjoined his house at Annery, and charged him with\nnegligence in his office, suffering his deer to be killed and stolen;\nwhereupon he left it in strict charge with him, that he should be more\ncareful in his rounds by night, and that if he met any one in his\nwalk that would not stand and speak, he should shoot him, whoever he\nwas, and that he would discharge him (i.e. free him of blame). This\nthe keeper directly promised, and too faithfully performed. The judge\nhaving thus laid the design, meaning to end his doleful days, in a\ndark tempestuous night, fit for so black an action, secretly conveyed\nhimself out of the house, and walked alone in his park, just in the\nkeeper\u2019s way; who being then in his round, hearing somebody coming\ntowards him, demanded, Who was there. No answer being made, he required\nhim to stand; the which when he refused to do, the keeper shot and\nkilled him upon the place: and coming to see who he was, found him to\nbe his master.\u201d\n\nSo relates Prince, following Baker\u2019s _Chronicle_, 1643, and Risdon and\nWestcote. But Sir Richard Baker\u2019s account is full of errors: he makes\nHankford die in the reign of Edward IV, whereas he died in the same\nyear as Henry V (1422). Prince objects that the story may not be true\nor only partly true. That Sir William was killed by his keeper is a\nfact not to be disputed, but that he purposely contrived his own death\nis very doubtful--it is a conjecture and no more.\n\nSir William was a liberal and religious man: he built the chapel\nat Bulkworthy, as well as the Annery Aisle to Monkleigh Church. In\nthis latter he lies interred, and a noble monument was erected over\nhim, with the epitaph: \u201cHic jacet Willielmus Hankford, Miles, quondam\nCapitalis Justiciarius Domini Regis de Banco, qui obiit xx die mensis\nDecembris, Anno Domini /MCCCCXXII/. Cujus Animae propicietur\nDeus. Amen.\u201d\n\nHe is represented kneeling in his robes alongside of his wife. Out of\nhis mouth proceeds this prayer: \u201cMiserere mei Deus, secundum magnam\nmisericordiam tuam.\u201d A book in his hand is inscribed with \u201cMiserere mei\nDeus secundum magnam justiciam divinam,\u201d and over his head is \u201cBeati\nqui custodiunt judicium et faciunt justiciam omni tempore.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nSIR JOHN FITZ\n\n\nTavistock, in the reign of Elizabeth, was a more picturesque town than\nit is at present. Then the abbey walls, crenellated and with towers\nat intervals, were still standing in complete circuit, and the abbey\nchurch, the second finest in the county and diocese, though unroofed,\nwas still erect. The houses, slate-hung in quaint patterns representing\nfleurs-de-lis, oak leaves, swallow-tails, pomegranates, with gables to\nthe street, were very different from the present houses, stuccoed drab\nand destitute of taste. Moreover the absurd, gaunt market hall erected\nlast century was not a central and conspicuous disfigurement to the\ntown.\n\nBut a few strides to the west, on the Plymouth road, stood Fitzford\nHouse, a mansion recently erected, consisting of a court, entered\nthrough a massive gate-house, and the mansion standing back, with porch\nand projecting wings.\n\nIn this house lived the Fitz family. They had been there for four\ngenerations and had married well. They were also well estated, with\nproperty in Cornwall, in Kent and Southwark, as well as in Devon.\nJohn Fitz, the father of the man whose tragic history we are about to\nrelate, married Mary, daughter of Sir John Sydenham, of Brimpton, in\nSomerset, and had late in life one son, the \u201cunfortunate\u201d Sir John.\nThe Fitzes had been a family bred to the law; the first known of them,\nJohn Fitz, had been a bencher of Lincoln\u2019s Inn, and the John Fitz who\nmarried Mary Sydenham was also a counsellor-at-law, and he managed\nconsiderably to add to the wealth of the family. When he had got as\nmuch as he wanted out of the pockets of his clients, he retired to his\nfamily place of Fitzford and there amused himself with astrology and\nthe casting of horoscopes. When his son John was about to be born in\n1575, John Fitz studied the stars, and, says Prince, \u201cfinding at that\ntime a very unlucky position of the heavens, he desired the midwife, if\npossible, to hinder the birth but for one hour; which, not being to be\ndone, he declared that the child would come to an unhappy end and undo\nthe family.\u201d\n\nJohn Fitz was riding over the moor one day with his wife, when they\nlost their direction, were, in fact, pixy-led, and they floundered\nthrough bogs, and could nowhere hit on the packhorse track that led\nacross the moors from Moreton Hampstead to Tavistock. Exhausted and\nparched with thirst they lighted on a crystal stream, dismounted, and\ndrank copiously of the water. Not only were they refreshed, but at\nonce John Fitz\u2019s eyes were opened, the spell on him was undone, and\nhe knew where he was and which direction he should take. Thereupon\nhe raised his hand and vowed he would honour that well, so that such\ntravellers as were pixy-led might drink at it and dispel the power over\nthem exercised by the pixies. The spring still flows and rises under\na granite structure erected in fulfilment of his vow by John Fitz; it\nbears his initials and the date 1568 in raised figures and letters on\nthe covering stone. Formerly it was on a slope in the midst of moorland\naway from the main track, near the Blackabrook. Now it is enclosed in\nthe reclaimed tract made into meadows by the convicts of Princetown.\nHappily the structure has not been destroyed: it is surrounded by a\nprotecting wall.\n\nIn the same year that John Fitz erected this well, he obtained a lease\nto carry water in pipes of wood or of lead through the garden of one\nJohn Northcott to his mansion at Fitzford. The little house that he\nbuilt over the spring in his close, called Boughthayes, still stands,\npicturesquely wreathed in ivy.\n\nHe died 8 January, 1589-90, aged sixty-one, and by his will made his\nwife executrix and guardian of his son, who was then rather over\nfourteen years old. There is a stately monument in Tavistock Parish\nChurch to John Fitz and his wife, he clothed in armour, which in life\nhe probably never wore, as he was a man of the long robe. The effigies\nare recumbent, and by them is a smaller, kneeling figure of the son and\nheir--their only child, the \u201cunfortunate\u201d John Fitz. But the widow did\nnot have charge of her son; as a ward under the Queen he was committed\nto Sir Arthur Gorges, \u201cwho tended more to the good of the child than\nhis own private profit,\u201d which was perhaps unusual. Mary Fitz retired\nto Walreddon, near Tavistock, another house belonging to the family,\nfor her initials \u201cM. F.\u201d and the date 1591 are cut in granite over the\ndoorway. But presently she married Christopher Harris, of Radford, when\nshe moved to his house near Plymouth.\n\nThe young John Fitz is described as having been \u201ca very comlie person.\u201d\nHe was married, before he had attained his majority, to Bridget, sixth\ndaughter of Sir William Courtenay. Of this marriage one child, Mary,\nwas born 1 August, 1596, when her father was just twenty-one years old.\nJohn Fitz was now of age, considered himself free of all restraint,\nowner of large estates, and was without stability of character or any\nprinciple, and was inclined to a wild life. He took up his residence at\nFitzford, and roystered and racketed at his will.\n\nOne day (it was 4 June, 1599) he was dining at Tavistock with some of\nhis friends and neighbours. The hour was early, for in the account of\nit we are told that \u201cwith great varietie of merriments and discourse\nthey outstript the noontide.\u201d\n\nJohn Fitz had drunk a good deal of wine, and he began to brag of his\npossessions, and boasted that he had not a foot of land that was not\nhis freehold. Among those present was Nicholas Slanning, of Bickleigh.\nHe interrupted Fitz, and said, \u201cThat is not so. You hold of me a\nparcel of land that is copyhold, and though of courtesy it has been\nintermitted, yet of due, you owe me so much a year for that land.\u201d\n\nJohn started from his seat, and told Slanning to his face that he lied,\nand mad with rage, drew his dagger and would have stabbed him. Slanning\nwith a knife beat down Fitz\u2019s blade, and the friends at the table threw\nthemselves between them and patched up the quarrel as they supposed.\nNicholas Slanning then left the apartment and departed for Bickleigh\nwith his man, both being on horseback.\n\nThey had not ridden far when they came to a deep and rough descent,\nwhereupon Slanning bade his man lead the horses, and he dismounting\nwalked through a field where the way was easier.\n\nAt that moment he saw John Fitz with four attendants galloping along\nthe lane after him. Without ado, Slanning awaited the party and\ninquired of John Fitz what he desired of him. Fitz replied that he had\nfollowed that he might avenge the insult offered him. Thereupon Fitz\ncalled to his men, and they drew their blades and fell on Slanning, who\nhad to defend himself against five men. The matter might even then\nhave been composed, but one of Fitz\u2019s men, named Cross, twitted his\nmaster, saying, \u201cWhat play is this? It is child\u2019s play. Come, fight!\u201d\nFitz, who had sheathed his sword, drew it again and attacked Slanning.\nThe latter had long spurs, and stepping back they caught in a tuft of\ngrass, and as he staggered backward, Fitz ran him through the body. At\nthe same time, one of Fitz\u2019s men struck him from behind. Slanning fell\nto the ground and died. He was conveyed home, and buried in Bickleigh\nChurch, where his monument still exists, but in a mutilated condition.\nIt was of plaster, and when the church was \u201crestored\u201d fell to pieces;\nbut the curious Latin inscription has been preserved.\n\n[Illustration: SLANNING\u2019S OAK\n\n_From an oil painting by A. B. Collier, 1855_]\n\nNicholas Slanning had been married to Margaret, daughter of Henry\nChampernowne, of Modbury, and he died leaving as his heir a child,\nand the administration of his estates was committed to that son\u2019s\ngreat-uncle. Of Ley, the fine Slanning place, nothing now remains\nexcept the balls that stood on the entrance gates, that have been\ntransferred to the vicarage garden at Bickleigh. The situation was\nincomparably beautiful, and it is to be regretted that the grand old\nElizabethan mansion has been levelled with the dust. Sir Nicholas\nSlanning, created a baronet in 1663, moved to Maristowe in Tamerton\nFoliot, but the second and last baronet died without issue in 1700, and\nin 1798 John Modyford Heywood, who inherited the extensive Slanning\nestates through a female line, sold them all to Sir Manasseh Lopes, a\nPortuguese Jew diamond merchant, who had obtained a baronetcy by buying\nup rotten boroughs in Cornwall and putting in members whose votes could\nbe relied on by the ministry of the day. The baronetcy was created in\n1805. The first baronet was the son of Mordecai Lopes, of Jamaica.\n\n\u201cGreat,\u201d we are informed, \u201cwas the lamentation that the countryside\nmade for the death of so beloved a gentleman as Maister Slanning was.\u201d\n\nJohn Fitz, then aged twenty-four, escaped to the Continent and stayed\nin France, until the exertions of his wife and mother succeeded in\nDecember, 1599, in procuring a pardon for him; whereupon he returned\nhome, unsubdued by the past, insolent, riotous, and haughty. At the\ncoronation of James I, 1603, he was knighted, not for any services\ndone to the Crown or State, but because he was of good family, well\nconnected, and with property.\n\nHe returned to Fitzford, where, finding his wife and child something\nof a drag upon him in his wild and dissipated career, he turned them\nout of doors, and his wife had to go for shelter to her father. Left\nnow to himself and his evil associates, \u201cMen of dissolute and desperate\nfortunes,\u201d chief among whom was \u201cLusty Jacke, one whose deedes were\nindeed meane, whose qualities altogether none,\u201d he behaved in such sort\nthat \u201cthe Towne of Tavistocke, though otherwise orderly governed with\nsobriety, and likewise of grave magistrates, was thereby infected with\nthe beastly corruption of drunkenesse. Sir John, of his own inclination\napte, and by his retained copesmates urged, persevered evermore to\nrun headlong into such enormities as their sensuality and pleasures\ninclined unto, spending their time in riotous surfettinge and in all\nabominable drunkenness, plucking men by night out of their beddes,\nviolently breaking windows, quarrelling with ale-conners [ale-tasters],\nfighting in private brables amongst themselves. And when they had\nabused the townsmen and disturbed their neighbours, Sir John\u2019s own\nhouse was their sanctuary or receptacle to cloak their outrages; so as\nit seemed they lyved as, in time of old, the common outlaws of the\nland did, neither worshipping God nor honouringe Prince, but wholly\nsubject to their contentes alone.\u201d\n\nAccording to Prince, about this time Fitz committed another murder; but\nwhat seems to be better authenticated is that he all but killed one of\nthe town constables.\n\nIn the summer of 1605, Sir John Fitz was summoned to London to appear\nbefore the courts, in answer to a claim of compensation for their\nfather\u2019s murder, made by the children of Nicholas Slanning, the eldest\nof whom, Gamaliel, was now about eighteen years old. He set out on\nhorseback, attended by a servant. Dissipation had weakened his mind\nand shattered his nerves. He was in deadly alarm. Not only would he\nbe heavily fined for the assassination of Slanning, but he had been\nplaying ducks and drakes with his property which had been settled by\ndeed of 20 March, 1598-9, on his wife, and he expected to be called\nto task for this by Sir William Courtenay, his wife\u2019s father. He\ntook it into his head that his life was in danger, that the friends\nand kinsfolk of Slanning would ambuscade and murder him; that Sir W.\nCourtenay would be willing to have him put out of the way so as to\nsave the property from being further dissipated. At every point on his\njourney he showed himself suspicious of being waylaid or pursued. Every\nday his fancies became more disordered.\n\nAt length he reached Kingston-on-Thames, and put up for the night\nthere. But he could not sleep, noises disturbed him, and rising from\nhis bed he insisted on the servant getting ready his nag, and away he\nrode over Kingston Bridge, alone, having peremptorily forbidden his man\nto accompany him, entertaining some suspicion that the man had been\nbought by his enemies and would lead him into a trap. He drew up at\nthe \u201cAnchor,\u201d a small tavern at Twickenham, kept by one Daniel Alley;\nit was now 2 a.m., and all Twickenham was asleep. He hammered at the\ndoor and shouted; presently the casement opened, and the publican put\nout his head and inquired what the gentleman wanted. Sir John demanded\na bed and shelter for the rest of the night. Daniel Alley begged to be\nexcused, he had no spare room, his house was small and not fitted for\nthe reception of persons of quality. However, on Sir John\u2019s further\ninsistence he put on his clothes, struck a light, descended, and did\nhis utmost to make the nocturnal visitor comfortable, even surrendering\nto him his own bed, and sending his wife to sleep with the children.\nSir John cast himself on the bed. He tossed; and host and hostess\nheard him cry out, and speak of enemies who pursued him and sought his\nblood. There was no sleeping for Daniel or his wife, and the host rose\nat dawn to join a neighbour in mowing a meadow. But when he was about\nto go forth, his wife begged not to be left in the house alone with\nthe strange gentleman. The neighbour came up, and he and Alley spoke\ntogether at the door. Their voices reached Sir John, who had fallen\ninto a disordered sleep. Persuaded that the enemies were arrived and\nwere surrounding the house, he rushed out in his nightgown, with his\nsword drawn, fell on his host, and killed him. Then he ran his sword\nagainst the wife, wounding her. But now, with the gathering light, he\ndiscovered what he had done, and in a fit of despair stabbed himself in\ntwo places. He was secured now by neighbours who had come up, and taken\nto the bed he had just quitted. A surgeon was sent for, and his wounds\nwere bound up. But Sir John angrily refused the assistance of the\nleech, and tore away the bandages, and bled to death.\n\n[Illustration: FRONTISPIECE TO \u201cTHE BLOUDIE BOOKE; OR THE TRAGICAL END\nOF SIR JOHN FITZ\u201d]\n\nDaniel Alley was buried on the 8th day of August, 1605, and Sir\nJohn Fitz on the 10th, and \u201cbecause he was a Gentleman borne and of\ngood kindred, hee was buried in the Chancell at Twickenham.\u201d The\nrepresentative of the Fitz family was now his little daughter Mary,\nwhose story is also sufficiently curious to deserve a place here.\n\nThe authority for the story of Sir John Fitz\u2019s death is _The Bloudie\nBooke; or, the Tragical End of Sir John Fitz_. London, 1605. Probably\nenough written by a chaplain to the Earl of Northumberland, then at\nSion House, who hearing of what had happened, sent this chaplain to\nTwickenham, and to Sir John, at the \u201cAnchor,\u201d \u201cTo put him in mind what\nhe had done and persuade him to repent.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nLADY HOWARD\n\n\nThe Earl of Northumberland had shown himself solicitous for the welfare\nof the soul of Sir John Fitz when he heard of the murder and suicide\nat Twickenham; he was even more solicitous over his estate. He was\naware that Sir John had left an only daughter, still a child, who was\nwith her mother at Radford. He posted up to London at once, saw the\nKing, and bought of him the wardship of the little orphan for \u00a3465,\nto be paid in instalments, and raised out of the estate of the little\nheiress, who was then aged nine years and one week.\n\n\u201cThe law of wardship,\u201d says Mrs. G. Radford, \u201cseems so cruel and\ntyrannical that it is wonderful that it should have endured so long. By\nit, when any man who held land _in capite_, or direct from the Crown,\ndied, his heir, if a minor, belonged to the king, who had a right to\nreceive all rents and profits from these lands until the heir became\nof age. He could also marry the ward to whom he would. Henry VIII\nestablished the Court of Wards and Liveries, the number of estates held\n_in capite_ being so great that some organized system was necessary.\nBy it the wardship and marriage of minors were sold to the highest\nbidder, who was sometimes the child\u2019s mother or the executors of the\nfather\u2019s will. But if they were not very prompt in applying, or did\nnot offer the largest sum, then to any stranger. The guardian would\nhave complete control over the ward, who generally lived in his\nhouse, could marry the ward as he liked, this also being generally an\naffair of money, and received the rents of the minor\u2019s estate without\nany liability to account.\u201d[6]\n\n[Illustration: LADY HOWARD]\n\nAccordingly, at the age of nine, little Mary Fitz was taken from her\nmother, but under whose charge she was placed at first does not appear.\nA year or two later, she was living in the house of Lady Elizabeth\nHatton, second wife of Sir Edmund Coke, then Master of the Court of\nWards. At once the Earl of Northumberland sent his brother, Sir Allan\nPercy, into Devon to look over the estates of Mary Fitz and make what\nmoney he could out of them by felling timber.\n\nSir Allan was, apparently, quite satisfied with what he saw; he was a\nneedy man, and resolved on marrying the heiress, and this he did about\n1608, when he was aged thirty-one and she twelve. But as she was so\nyoung it was arranged that she should not live with her husband till\nshe reached a nubile age. She never did live with him, for he caught a\nsevere chill through lying on the damp ground when hot and tired with\nhunting, and he died in November, 1611. She was the wealthiest heiress\nin Devonshire, and the Earl of Suffolk schemed to obtain her for his\nthird son, Sir Thomas Howard. She was not only rich, but beautiful.\nHer father had been a remarkably handsome man, and Lord Clarendon,\nlong after this date, speaks of her as \u201chaving been of extraordinary\nbeauty.\u201d But she balked all schemers by running away with Thomas Darcy,\na young man of her own age, son of Lord Darcy, of Chiche, afterwards\nEarl Rivers. Lord Darcy could not object to the match, but Mary Fitz\nwas still a minor, and a ward. If proceedings were threatened, nothing\ncame of it, for the young bridegroom died. The exact date is not known,\nbut he could not have lived with her more than a few months after his\nmarriage.\n\nMary, still a ward, was now married, for the third time before she was\nsixteen, to Sir Charles Howard, fourth son of the Earl of Suffolk, not\nto Sir Thomas, his third son, as had been at first designed. The young\ncouple resided with the Earl at Audley End, and there her first child\nwas born, a daughter, Elizabeth, born on 21 September, 1613, who does\nnot seem to have lived long, as she disappears altogether within a few\nyears. There was a second daughter, Mary, born in London, the date\nnot known; but Sir Charles Howard died on 22 September, 1622, without\nleaving male issue. It was when a widow about this time, apparently,\nthat Lady Howard was painted by Vandyke, and this was engraved by\nHollar. The painting cannot now be traced. She was now one of the\nstateliest dames of the Court of Henrietta Maria, where she cultivated\nthe friendship of the Duke of Buckingham, who exerted his influence\nwith her so as to render her propitious to the addresses of one of\nhis own dependents, Sir Richard Grenville. The Duke considered that a\nrich wife would help on the fortunes of his favourite, and thus did\nthe heiress of Fitzford and Walreddon give herself to her fourth and\nworst husband. But before marrying him she was cautious to tie up her\nestate in such a manner that he could not touch it. Without breathing\na word of what she was doing, she conveyed all her lands to Walter\nHele, Anthony Short, and William Grills in trust to permit her during\nher life, whether sole or married, to receive the rents and dispose of\nthem at her own goodwill and pleasure. Sir Richard Grenville went with\nhis wife to Fitzford, and there in May, 1630, their first child was\nborn, and christened Richard after his father. Sir Richard was mightily\nincensed when he discovered that he could not handle the revenues of\nthe estates, and this led to incessant bickerings. Clarendon says:--\n\n\u201cHe had nothing to depend upon but the fortune of his wife: which,\nthough ample enough to have supported the expense a person of his\nquality ought to have made, was not large enough to satisfy his vanity\nand ambition. Nor so great as he, upon common reports, had promised\nhimself by her. By not being enough pleased with her fortune, he\ngrew less pleased with his wife; who, being a woman of a haughty\nand imperious nature, and of a wit far superior to his own, quickly\nresented the disrespect she received from him, and in no degree studied\nto make herself easy to him. After some years spent together in these\ndomestic unsociable contestations, in which he possessed himself of\nall her estate, as the sole master of it, without allowing her out of\nher own any competency for herself, and indulging to himself all those\nlicences in her own house which to women are most grievous, she found\nmeans to withdraw herself from him, and was with all kindness received\ninto the family in which she had before married, and was always very\nmuch respected.\u201d\n\nBefore proceeding with the quotation from Clarendon, it will be well\nto give at once some illustrative touches as to the annoyances she\nunderwent at the hands of Sir Richard, and as to her own conduct\ntowards him. He confined her to a corner of her own house, Fitzford,\nexcluded her from the government of the house, and installed his aunt,\nMrs. Katherine Abbott, as his housekeeper, with control over the\nservants and the keeping of the keys.\n\nThis was bad enough, but there was worse to come; his violence and\nlanguage towards her were so intolerable that she was constrained to\nappeal to the justices of the peace, who ordered him to allow her forty\nshillings a week. This, after a time, he refused to pay, unless she\nwould grant him an acquittance. All this is stated in the lady\u2019s plea\nto obtain a divorce in 1631-2. He also called her bad names before the\njustices, \u201cshe being a vertuous and a chaste lady\u201d--a pretty scene in\nthe court at Tavistock for the citizens to witness and listen to.\n\n\u201cHe gave directions to one of his servantes to burn horse-haire, wooll,\nfeathers and parings of horse hoofes, and to cause the smoke to goe\ninto the ladye\u2019s chamber, through an hole made in the plaistering\nout of the kitchen. He broke up her chamber doore, and came into her\nchamber at night with a sword drawn. That for the key of his closett\nwhich she had taken away and denyed to give him, he tooke hold of her\npetty coate and tore it, and threw her upon the ground, being with\nchilde, and, as one witness deposeth, made her eye blacke and blewe.\u201d\n\nSir Richard, on his side, complained, \u201cThat they had lived quietly\ntogether for the space of two years, and till they came to this\nCourt.... That she hath often carried herself unseemly both in wordes\nand deedes, and sunge unseemly songs to his face to provoke him, and\nbid him goe to such a woman and such a woman, and called him a poore\nrogue and pretty fellow, and said he was not worth ten groates when\nshe married him; that she would make him creepe to her, and that she\nhad good friends in London would beare her out of it. That she swore\nthe peace against him without cause, and then asked him, \u2018Art thou not\na pretty fellow to be bound to the good behaviour?\u2019 Then she said he\nwas an ugly fellow, and when he was once gone from home, she said, \u2018The\nDevill and sixpence goe with him, and soe shall he lacke neither money\nnor company!\u2019 That she said such a one was a honester man than her\nhusband, and loved Cuttofer (George Cutteford, her steward) better than\nhim. That there were holes made in the kitchen wall by the lady or her\ndaughter (i.e. Mary Howard), that he gave direction that they should be\nstopped up, that she might not harken to what the servants said in the\nkitchen, that she had ten roomes at pleasure, and had whatsoever in the\nhouse she would desire. That she locked him into his closett and tooke\naway the key, and it is true he endeavoured to take away the key from\nher, and hurt his thumb and rent her pocket.\u201d\n\nSir Richard certainly comes out best in the case. She was a woman of\ninsuperable pride, and with a violent temper and abusive, insulting\ntongue. Having fled from Fitzford, and taken refuge with the family\nof the Earl of Suffolk, Sir Richard for a while breathed free, and\nrejoiced at her absence, till the tenants refused to pay rent into\nhis hands, whereupon he found himself without money; her pre-nuptial\nsettlement was put in force, and the trustees required the tenants to\npay their rents to them. To return to Clarendon. \u201cThis begat a suit in\nChancery between Sir Richard Grenville and the Earl of Suffolk, before\nthe Lord Coventry, who found the conveyance in Law to be so firm, that\nhe could not only not relieve Sir Richard Grenville in equity, but that\nin justice he must decree the land to the Earl, which he did. This very\nsensible mortification transported him so much, that being a man who\nused to speak bitterly of those he did not love, after all endeavours\nto engage the Earl in a personal conflict, he revenged himself upon\nhim in such opprobrious language as the Government and justice of\nthat time would not permit to pass unpunished; and the Earl appealed\nfor reparation to the Court of the Star Chamber, where Sir Richard was\ndecreed to pay three thousand pounds to the King, who gave the fine\nlikewise to the Earl; so that Sir Richard was committed to the prison\nof the Fleet in execution for the whole six thousand pounds, which\nat that time was thought by all men to be a very severe and rigorous\ndecree, and drew a general compassion towards the unhappy gentleman.\n\n\u201cFor some years Sir Richard endured this imprisonment, which made him\nthe more bitter against his wife; he at length escaped his captivity,\nand fled beyond seas. There he remained till the great change in\nEngland having caused many decrees of the Star Chamber to be repealed,\nand the persons awarded to pay penalties absolved, he came home and\npetitioned to be heard in mitigation of his case. Before this came on,\nthe rebellion broke out in Ireland.\u201d The proceedings for a divorce were\ntaken by Lady Grenville against her husband whilst he was a prisoner in\nthe Fleet, no doubt acting on the advice of the Earl of Suffolk, elder\nbrother of her late husband; and it was whilst she was in London at his\nhouse that her second daughter, Elizabeth, was born. The court after\nhearing arguments from counsel, decreed divorce _a mensa et thoro_, but\nthat one-half of her means should be paid to Sir Richard annually. In\nAugust of the same year (1632), a commission was sent to Fitzford to\nsearch the house, as Sir Richard was suspected of clipping the current\ncoin and of coining as well. Sir F. Drake and William Strode visited\nthe house, but notice of their coming had in some way been given.\nThey thoroughly searched \u201ctronkes, chests and cabinetts,\u201d and closely\nexamined Mrs. Abbott, Sir Richard\u2019s aunt \u201cwho had the rule of the\nhouse.\u201d Pincers, holdfasts, files \u201csmoothe and ruffe,\u201d one of which had\nbeen employed for yellow metal, were found, and the servants admitted\nthat they had melted silver lace, etc. All this, though suspicious, was\nnot conclusive, and the charge was not pressed. On 17 October, 1633,\nSir Richard escaped from the Fleet and entered the Swedish service in\nGermany. Nothing is heard of him again till 1639. During these seven\nyears his emancipated wife lived in various places, for the first four\nor five years with the Earl of Suffolk, and afterwards at her own house\nin London. She had thrown off her name of Grenville and resumed that of\nHoward.\n\nTheophilus, Earl of Suffolk, was born in 1584, and was married to Lady\nElizabeth Hume, who died in 1533, the year after the divorce. To this\nperiod probably belongs an episode that is shrouded in mystery. Lady\nHoward had a son, George Howard, when born is not recorded.\n\nHe is first mentioned in 1644 in a petition made by his mother to the\nKing, and then and afterwards is alluded to as Lady Howard\u2019s son. He\ncertainly was not the son of Sir Charles Howard, for seven years after\nthat gentleman\u2019s death, in 1628, it is stated, in his wife\u2019s pleading\nbefore the Court of Chancery, that Sir Charles died \u201cwithout heires\nmale, leaving only twoe daughters, Elizabeth and Mary.\u201d It is a curious\nfact that none of the contemporary writers who mention Lady Howard make\nany aspersions on her morals. That George passed in Tavistock as the\nson of Sir Charles is certain, but it is just as certain that he was\nnot this. We cannot but suspect a _liaison_ with Theophilus, Earl of\nSuffolk, in whose house Lady Howard continued to live after the death\nof his wife. In the confusion of the Civil Wars, and the distraction\nof men\u2019s minds from family scandals to events of public import, it\nwould have been quite possible for Lady Howard to mislead the Tavistock\npeople as to the true parentage of her son George. The Earl was by no\nmeans an old man when the Countess died, in fact, was aged forty-nine\nyears.\n\nDuring the seven years of Sir Richard\u2019s absence, Lady Howard wrote\nmany letters to her steward Cutteford, who occupied Walreddon and\nmanaged her estates in Devon and Cornwall. Whether it was intended as\nhumour or not we cannot say, but she invariably addressed her agent as\n\u201cGuts,\u201d \u201cHonest Guts,\u201d \u201cGood Guts,\u201d and once \u201cFroward Guts,\u201d and almost\nevery letter was for money. In all the seven years since the decree of\ndivorce, Sir Richard had certainly not received one penny of the sum\nallotted to him to be paid annually from his wife\u2019s income, and when\nhe returned to England in 1639 he carried his cause before the King\u2019s\nCouncil, and claimed of the Earl of Suffolk arrears to the amount of\n\u00a312,656.\n\nA committee was appointed to hear Sir Richard\u2019s cause, in December,\n1640, and so hopeful was he of success, that he actually went down\nto Fitzford, turned out the caretakers, and installed his aunt there\nagain. Lady Howard wrote to her steward in \u201ca very great distraction\u201d\non hearing of these proceedings. But before his case was decided, he\nwas sent by the King to Ireland in command of a troop, and arrived\nin Dublin in March, 1641-2. He remained in Ireland for more than\na year, and earned distinction as a commander. On his return, he\nlearned that the King, who was at Oxford, was short of money, and that\nthe Parliament in London had plenty. He had not been paid for his\nservices in Ireland, so he rode to where the money bags were, assumed\nthe Puritan cant and nasal twang, recounted his great service, and\nprotested his desire to quit the \u201cTents of Shem and cast in his lot\nwith the righteous,\u201d i.e. to desert the royal cause. The Parliament was\ndelighted, he was at once paid all arrears, was made a major-general\nof horse in the Parliamentary army, with a regiment of five hundred\nhorse, and power to choose his own officers. On 2 March, 1643-4, he\nset out with his regiment, riding through London amidst the plaudits\nof the citizens. His banner was carried in front, displaying a map\nof England and Wales on a crimson ground, with \u201cEngland bleeding\u201d in\ngolden letters across the top. The regiment rode on as far as Bagshot,\nwhen a halt was called. Then Sir Richard harangued the officers and\nmen, set forth the sinfulness of fighting against their anointed King,\nand concluded by inviting them to follow him to Oxford, to fight for\nthe King instead of against him. The officers, whom he had not failed\nto pick out from among his most trusty friends and dependents, all\ncheerfully assented, and followed by most of his soldiers, Sir Richard\nrode straight to Oxford and presented himself to the King at the\nhead of a well-equipped troop, and placed his sword at His Majesty\u2019s\ndisposal. The Parliament, duped, was furious, a price was set on Sir\nRichard\u2019s head, and he was hanged in effigy. A Proclamation was issued,\ndeclaring him \u201ctraytor, rogue, villain and skellum\u201d--this last word\nwas deemed so appropriate that henceforth he was known as Skellum\nGrenville. William Lilly, the astrologer, refers to him when he says:\n\u201cHave we another Red Fox like Sir R. G. acting his close devotions to\ndo our Army mischief? Let\u2019s be wary!\u201d\n\nSir Richard being now in high favour with the King made petition\nto be given his wife\u2019s estates in Devonshire, on the ground that\nher continued residence in London made her a rebel. The King, with\nmonstrous injustice, granted what was asked, and at once--a fortnight\nafter his having marched out of London--he arrived in Tavistock, with\npowers from the King to take possession of all his wife\u2019s estates.\nArmed with a warrant from Prince Maurice, then quartered at Tavistock,\nSir Richard threw Cutteford and his wife and son into prison, and\nproceeded to plunder his house, and scrape together what money he could\nfrom the tenants. Plymouth was at this time invested by the Royal\narmy; Sir Richard was placed in command, and he remained there till\nthe approach of Essex with a large army compelled him to retreat into\nCornwall with his troops, leaving only a few soldiers in his wife\u2019s\nhouse, Fitzford, to defend it.\n\nEssex was not slow to avail himself of the chance of punishing Skellum\nGrenville--the Red Fox--and his own regiment and another proceeded to\nFitzford, and after damaging it with cannon, compelled the garrison of\none hundred and eighty to lay down their arms. Those who agreed to take\nthe Covenant, about sixty, were enrolled in the Parliamentary army, the\nrest were detained as prisoners. The house was given up to plunder.\nThere was in it \u201cexcellent pillage for the soldiers, even at least\n\u00a33000 in money and plate, and other provisions in great quantity.\u201d\n\nUnhappily, the plate, the money, the furniture, the provisions did not\nbelong to Skellum Grenville at all, but to Lady Howard, accounted a\nParliamentarian. They were his by usurpation only. After the defeat of\nEssex in Cornwall, the King gave Sir Richard all the Earl of Bedford\u2019s\nestates and those of Sir Francis Drake, and he resumed command at the\nsiege of Plymouth. He was made Sheriff of Devon in the same year, 1645,\nand his exactions were great, both as sheriff and as the \u201cKing\u2019s\nGeneral in the West.\u201d But he was not a man to behave with moderation;\nhe speedily abused all these favours, and his acts were so notoriously\ntyrannical and cruel that they were formally brought as charges against\nhim before the Council, where he was summoned to appear in person\nand answer for his misdeeds whilst governor of Lydford Castle. One\ninstance of his cruelty deserves particular notice, as it shows the\nbitterness wherewith he recollected his quarrels with his wife. During\nthe time of her proceedings against him in Chancery she employed an\nattorney-at-law whose name was Brabant; he bore the character of being\nan honest man, and loyal to the King. He lived somewhere in this part\nof Devonshire. Many years elapsed since the decision of that suit\nagainst him, before Sir Richard became a man of so much importance by\nhis high military command in the west. No sooner did Brabant learn the\nnews of his arrival, than, well knowing he was not of a disposition to\nforget or forgive an old adversary, Brabant judged it prudent to keep\nas much as possible out of the way. Having occasion, however, to make a\njourney that would take him near Sir Richard\u2019s quarters, he disguised\nhimself as well as he could and put on a montero cap. Sir Richard,\nwho probably had been on the watch to catch him, notwithstanding all\nthese precautions, received intelligence of the movements of the man of\nlaw. He caused him to be intercepted on his road, made prisoner, and\nbrought before him. In vain did Brabant protest that he was journeying\non no errand but his own private affairs; for Sir Richard affecting,\non account of his montero cap, to believe him to be a spy, without a\ncouncil of war, or any further inquiry, ordered the luckless lawyer to\nbe hanged on the spot. The offences of Sir Richard were so gross that\nhe was sent a prisoner to St. Michael\u2019s Mount, in Cornwall; but on the\napproach of the Parliamentary army he was allowed to escape on 3 March,\n1645-6. He sailed to Brest, and joined his son at Nantes.\n\nLady Howard, so soon as she heard that Sir Richard was out of England,\nhastened down to Fitzford, where she found that her steward was dead\nand her mansion wrecked. When the country was somewhat more peaceful\nshe brought down to it from London her furniture, books, and plate, and\nset to work to repair the damage that the house had sustained. Her son,\nGeorge Howard, was with her and managed her affairs eventually, not at\nfirst, for if he were born in 1634 he would be still a child.\n\nSir Richard Grenville and his son Richard wandered about the Continent\ntill 1647, when he formed the rash intention to return to London.\nWhat induced him to take this desperate step can only be conjectured.\nPerhaps he had money in London, which it was only possible to secure\npersonally; possibly he may have desired to get possession of his\ndaughter Elizabeth and take her abroad with him, rightly conjecturing\nthat her mother had no affection, but the contrary, for a child of his.\nIndeed, it is probable that the tradition of Lady Howard\u2019s persistent\nhatred displayed towards one of her daughters pertains to this\nElizabeth Grenville.\n\nThere must have been some very strong reason for Sir Richard\u2019s\nventuring to England, for he knew perfectly in what estimation he was\nheld by the Puritans. He disguised himself, cutting his hair short\nand wearing \u201ca very large periwigg hanging on his shoulders,\u201d and\nblackening his foxy-red beard with a lead comb, so that \u201cnone would\nknow him but by his voyse.\u201d\n\nHow he fared in England we know not; he did secure his daughter and\nescaped with his life to Holland, but of his son we hear nothing more,\nand it is possible that he met his death while in England.\n\nLord Lansdowne, in his _Vindication_ of his uncle, says, \u201cHis only son,\nunluckily falling afterwards into whose hands, was hanged.\u201d\n\nIn 1652 Sir Richard Grenville, being in the Low Countries, seized goods\nbelonging to the Earl of Suffolk that were at Bruges, to the value of\n\u00a327,000, as some abatement of the debt he considered was due to him out\nof Lady Howard\u2019s estate.\n\nIn 1655 that lady\u2019s son, George Howard, married Mistress Burnby, and\nby her had a son George who died young, and he had no more children,\nso that with this child died his grandmother\u2019s hopes of a descendant\nin the male line. If George Howard, the father, were born in 1634, he\nwould have been one-and-twenty when he married.\n\nSir Richard Grenville died at Ghent about 1659, attended by his\ndaughter Elizabeth, who shortly after married a privateer captain\nnamed Lennard, who cruised the Channel stopping and plundering English\nvessels, on the principle that all who did not fight for King Charles\nwere his enemies and the enemies of his country. He was taken prisoner\n8 February, 1659-60, and only escaped being hanged by the Restoration.\nHe was set at liberty and given the post of captain of the Black Horse\nat Tilbury; but he did not long enjoy the post, as he died in 1665.\n\nSomething must now be said about this daughter, Elizabeth Grenville,\nconcerning whom tradition has a good deal to say, but it is unsupported\nby documentary evidence.\n\nThe story is that Lady Howard hated the child with a deadly hate as\nthe offspring of the plague of her life, Sir Richard Grenville. As she\nwas unkind to it, a lady carried it away, and without the knowledge\nof the mother brought it up as her own. In after years this lady\nintroduced Elizabeth to her mother under a fictitious name, and Lady\nHoward became quite attached to her. Seeing this, the lady revealed to\nher who the young girl was. At this Lady Howard started to her feet,\nher eyes flaming with rage, and drove Elizabeth from her presence.\n\nA few years passed, and this Elizabeth Grenville made another attempt\nto see and soften her mother. She went to her at Walreddon, but when\nLady Howard saw her she rushed from the room up the stairs pursued by\nher daughter, who implored her to stay and hear and love her. Elizabeth\nclung to her mother\u2019s dress on the landing, as Lady Howard passed into\none of the upper rooms. The unnatural mother swung back the door with\nsuch violence that it broke her daughter\u2019s arm. If this took place at\nall it was probably before Elizabeth departed for the Continent with\nher father, when she was aged sixteen. She never after met her mother.\n\nLady Howard was getting on in life; her son George lived with her at\nFitzford and managed her property. Feeling old age creeping on, she\nby deed made over all her estates to him, in the hopes that when she\nwas gone he would live on in her ancestral home. But in the prime\nof life George Howard died on 17 September, 1671. To his mother the\nshock was so great that she did not recover from it, and she also\ndied, just one month after him. Hearing that she was ill, her first\ncousin, Sir William Courtenay, hurried to her bedside, and gained such\npower over Lady Howard as to induce her to make a will leaving all her\npossessions to him, to the exclusion of her daughters. Mary Howard,\nmarried to one Vernon, was to be given \u00a3500 within four years after\nher decease, and \u00a31000 to her daughter Elizabeth, married to Captain\nLennard, to be paid within two years, and \u00a320 within one year; but\nshould she protest against the will, then what she was to receive would\nbe reduced to \u00a320. The will was signed on 14 October, 1671, and she\ndied on the seventeenth of the same month. \u201cThis is the one action of\nLady Howard\u2019s life,\u201d says Mrs. Radford, \u201cthat seems to have shocked\nher contemporaries. They have not a word to say against her moral\ncharacter; but she disinherited her children. Could anything be more\ndreadful?\u201d\n\nWalreddon to the present day belongs to the Earl of Devon; but Fitzford\nwas sold in 1750 to the Duke of Bedford.\n\nLady Howard was a person of strong will and imperious temper, and left\na deep and lasting impression on the people of Tavistock. Mrs. Bray\ncollected several traditions relative to her, which she published in\nher _Notes to Fitz, of Fitzford_, in 1828. She bore the reputation\nof having been hard-hearted in her lifetime. For some crime she had\ncommitted (nobody knew what), she was said to be doomed to run in the\nshape of a hound from the gateway of Fitzford to Okehampton Park,\nbetween the hours of midnight and cock-crowing, and to return with a\nsingle blade of grass in her mouth to the place whence she had started;\nand this she was to do till every blade was picked, when the world\nwould be at an end.\n\n\u201cDr. Jago, the clergyman of Milton Abbot, however, told me that\noccasionally she was said to ride in a coach of bones up West Street,\nTavistock, towards the moor; and an old man of this place told a friend\nof mine the same story, adding that \u2018he had seen her scores of times.\u2019\nA lady also who was once resident here, and whom I met in company,\nassured me that, happening many years before to pass the old gateway at\nFitzford, as the church clock struck twelve, in returning from a party,\nshe had herself seen the hound start.\u201d\n\nWhen a child I heard the story, but somewhat varied, that Lady Howard\ndrove nightly from Okehampton Castle to Launceston Castle in a black\ncoach driven by a headless coachman, and preceded by a fire-breathing\nblack hound; that when the coach stopped at a door, there was sure to\nbe a death in that house the same night. There was a ballad about it,\nof which I can only recall fragments. Mr. Sheppard picked it up also at\nSouth Brent from old Helmore the miller; but being more concerned about\nthe tune than the words, and thinking that I had the latter already, he\ndid not trouble himself to take down the whole ballad.\n\nIn the first edition of _Songs of the West_, I gave the ballad\nreconstructed by me from the poor fragments that I recollected; and as\nsuch I give it here:--\n\n    My ladye hath a sable coach,\n      And horses two and four;\n    My ladye hath a black blood-hound\n      That runneth on before.\n    My ladye\u2019s coach hath nodding plumes,\n      The driver hath no head;\n    My ladye is an ashen white,\n      As one that long is dead.\n\n    \u201cNow pray step in!\u201d my ladye saith,\n      \u201cNow pray step in and ride.\u201d\n    I thank thee, I had rather walk\n      Than gather to thy side.\n    The wheels go round without a sound,\n      Or tramp or turn of wheels;\n    As cloud at night, in pale moonlight,\n      Along the carriage steals.\n\n    \u201cNow pray step in!\u201d my ladye saith,\n      \u201cNow prithee come to me.\u201d\n    She takes the baby from the crib,\n      She sits it on her knee.\n    \u201cNow pray step in!\u201d my ladye saith,\n      \u201cNow pray step in and ride.\u201d\n    Then deadly pale, in waving veil,\n      She takes to her the bride.\n\n    \u201cNow pray step in!\u201d my ladye saith,\n      \u201cThere\u2019s room I wot for you.\u201d\n    She wav\u2019d her hand, the coach did stand,\n      The Squire within she drew.\n    \u201cNow pray step in!\u201d my ladye saith,\n      \u201cWhy shouldst thou trudge afoot?\u201d\n    She took the gaffer in by her,\n      His crutches in the boot.\n\n    I\u2019d rather walk a hundred miles,\n      And run by night and day,\n    Than have that carriage halt for me\n      And hear my ladye say--\n    \u201cNow pray step in, and make no din,\n      Step in with me to ride;\n    There\u2019s room, I trow, by me for you,\n      And all the world beside.\u201d\n\nAs a fact, Lady Howard did not have a carriage but a Sedan-chair. An\ninventory of her goods was taken at her death for probate, and this\nshows that she had no wheeled conveyance. The story of the Death Coach\nis probably a vague reminiscence of the Goddess of Death travelling\nover the world collecting human souls.\n\nThe authorities for the Life of Lady Howard are:--\n\nLord Lansdowne\u2019s _Vindication of Sir Richard Grenville_, printed in\nHolland, 1654, reprinted in Lord Lansdowne\u2019s _Works_, 1732; also\nClarendon\u2019s _History of the Great Rebellion_, and Mrs. G. Radford\u2019s\n\u201cLady Howard, of Fitzford,\u201d in the _Transactions_ of the Devonshire\nAssociation, 1890.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BIDLAKES, OF BIDLAKE\n\n\nTHE Bidlake family can be traced back to the thirteenth century. Their\noriginal seat was Combe or Combebow, in the parish of Bridestowe,\nwhere they had a mansion on a knoll of limestone rising out of a\nnarrow valley. The site is of interest. The old Roman road, probably a\npre-Roman road from Exeter to Launceston and the West, ran through this\ncontracted glen, on the south-east side of which rises steeply a lofty\nchain of hills cut sharply through by the Lew River. This ridge goes by\nthe name of Galaford, or the Forked Way, because the ancient roads did\nfork--that already mentioned ran along one side, and that leading to\nLydford ran on the other, the fork being on Sourton Down. At the point\nor promontory above the cleft cut by the Lew, and immediately above the\nknoll of Combe, is an extensive series of earthworks, prehistoric and\nSaxon. The prehistoric camp is oval, with outworks to the south, where\nthe tongue of hill is cut through from one side to the other by an\nartificial moat with bank.\n\n[Illustration: BIDLAKE]\n\nIf I am not mistaken, here was the scene of the final contest of the\nBritons against the Saxons in 823, fought at Gavulford, when the former\nwere routed. This was, in fact, the best position along the road\ninto Cornwall at which they could make a stand. That the Saxons\nconsidered it a point of importance is shown by their erecting here a\n_burh_ or burg in addition to the powerfully entrenched prehistoric\nfortress. The knoll in the valley below was also probably fortified,\nbut all traces have been swept away by quarrymen who have dug the hill\nover for lime, only sparing one point that was heaped up with the ruins\nof the mansion of the Combes.\n\nWilliam de Combe early in the fifteenth century had a son John, who\nmoved to Bidlake, built himself a house there, and called himself John\nde Bidlake. His grandson, John de Bidlake, married a cousin Alice,\ndaughter of Richard de Combe of Bradstone, and this John had a son,\nanother John, who married a Joan of Bridestowe, his cousin in the\nfourth degree. Combe came thus to be united to the possessions of the\nBidlakes, for one or other of these ladies was an heiress.\n\nThere was in Bridestowe another family ancient and well estated, the\nEbsworthys, of Ebsworthy, and the Bidlakes and Ebsworthys were too near\nneighbours to be good friends. In fact, there was an hereditary feud\nbetween them. One of the Ebsworthys had married a daughter of Gilbert\nGermyn, the rector. This was quite enough for the Bidlakes to look with\nan evil eye on the parson. William Bidlake and Agnes his wife drew up\ncharges against the parson in 1613.\n\nBut before coming to the complaints of 1613, we must see what sort of\nman this Gilbert Germyn was. The convulsions and changes in religion\nthat had succeeded each other in waves since the year 1531 had\nunsettled men\u2019s minds; with the exception of fanatics on one side or\nthe other--the staunch adherents to the Papacy, and the thorough-going\nPuritans--dead apathy had settled down on the majority with regard\nto religion: they knew not what to believe and how worship was to\nbe conducted, and they did not much care. Having been taught to\nabhor the distinctive errors of the Church of Rome, they had not\nbeen instructed in the distinctive errors of the Church of England\nthat they were required to embrace. The clergy to fill the vacant\nbenefices were ignorant and brutish. They had no religious convictions\nand no culture. So long as they had pliant consciences, Elizabeth\nwas content. In many dioceses in England, a third of the parishes\nwere left without a pastor, resident or non-resident. In 1561 there\nwere in the Archdeaconry of Norfolk a hundred and eighty parishes,\nin the Archdeaconry of Suffolk a hundred and thirty parishes in this\ncondition. Cobblers and tailors occupied the pulpits, where there were\nno incumbents. \u201cThe Bishops,\u201d said Cecil, \u201chad no credit either for\nlearning, good living or hospitality. The Bishops ... were generally\ncovetous, and were rather despised than reverenced or beloved.\u201d The\nArchbishop of York was convicted of adultery with the wife of an\ninnkeeper at Doncaster. Other prelates bestowed ordination \u201con men of\nlewd life and corrupt behaviour.\u201d And a good many of them sold the\nlivings in their gift to the highest bidder.\n\nGilbert Germyn was the son of an apothecary in Exeter. At the time,\nBridestowe cum Sourton, one of the best livings in the gift of the\nBishop, was held by Chancellor Marston. The apothecary, it is stated,\nbribed the Chancellor to resign, with a present of \u00a3100, and then\nnegotiated with the Bishop--at what price is not known--to present his\nson to the united benefices.\n\nWhen so many livings were without incumbents, all sorts of\nunscrupulous men, of a low class, rushed into Orders, without\nuniversity education, indeed without any education at all, so as to\nsecure a living in which they could draw the tithe and farm the glebe,\nwithout a thought as to their religious responsibilities.\n\nSuch a man Gilbert Germyn seems to have been. In 1582 articles of\nmisdemeanours were drawn up against him by Henry Bidlake and some of\nthe parishioners, but as far as can be learnt without effect. The\nBishop had presented him, for reasons best known to himself, and was\nindisposed to take cognizance of his conduct.\n\nIt is worth while looking at some of the charges brought against a man\nwhom the Bishop, John Woolton, delighted to honour.\n\nHe was complained of for his grasping character. Although the glebe\ncomprised a manor of eight or nine tenements, yet he did not rest till\nhe got into his own hands \u201cby dyvers meannes three of the best and most\nfruitfull tenements in the two parishes.\u201d\n\nThat, in addition to being rector of Bridestowe and Sourton, he was\nvicar of another parish in Cornwall.\n\nThat he was litigious, citing his tenants and the tithe payers even for\na halfpenny.\n\nThat he refused at Easter to give the Holy Communion to a bedridden\nwoman, eighty years old, named Jane Adams, till she paid him a penny\nfor his trouble.\n\n\u201cHe is a great skold and faller owte with his neybors, for lyght\noccasyons, as with Mr. William Wrays, and other the best of the\nparishes; and stycketh not to saye yn the churche Thou lyest; and to\nskold yn the Churchyerde.\n\n\u201cFor his pryde, Skoldyng, Avarice and Crueltye his manner is hated\nand abhorred of all the 2 parishes, and so driveth them awaye from the\nChurch.\n\n\u201cHe marryed hys wyffe, a notorryowse lyght woman, and of lyke parents\ndescended being notoryusly suspectyd with the sayd German of [causing]\nher first husband\u2019s death; after whose deathe one Edmonds, her servant\nclaymed her in promise, to be his wyffe, and that openly, and yn the\npresence of dyvers requyred the Parson German to procleme the bannes\nbytwene them. But German refused to doo yt but presently shyfted\nsecretly to marry her hymself, having a lycence, and yn a marryng\nbefore sun rysyng so dyd, having a lyttle before cyted the said Edmonds\nto ... prove his contract with her, came too late, and thuse were\nthey marryed withowt clearyng of the woman, to the offence of both\nparishioners and others, knowyng before her lyght behavyor.\u201d\n\nIt seems that this widow whom Germyn married had some money. Her former\nhusband had left a will making several bequests, but Parson Germyn\nhaving got the money of the deceased into his hands refused to pay the\nbequests, as also the debts of the man and of his widow, now his wife;\nalso refused to pay annuitants.\n\nIt was further complained that Mrs. Germyn baked bread and sold it in\nthe rectory.\n\nIt may be worthy of remark that there is no trace in the Episcopal\nRegisters of Mr. Germyn having obtained a licence to marry this widow.\nIt was probably a bit of bluff on his part to say that he had one. Who\nperformed the ceremony we are not told. Unfortunately the Bridestowe\nregisters do not go back sufficiently far to help us.\n\nFrom 1582 to 1613 we hear no more of Parson Germyn. At this latter date\nfresh complaints were made against him. Another bishop now occupied\nthe see, William Cotton, a man of some character and worth, and not\none interested in protecting the disreputable priest.\n\nIt was now charged against Mr. Germyn that \u201che preached that John\nBaptist and Mary Magdalen wear married in a citie called Cana in\nGalilee,\u201d also that \u201cthe said Parson readeth the usuall divine prayers\nsoe fast that few can understand what he sayeth or the clarke can spare\nto answere him accordinge to what is sett fourth in the booke of Common\nprayer,\u201d also that \u201che setteth out the Church yard for 8 shillings\nand sixpence, and suffereth the horses and sheepe to use the Church\nporche as a common folde, the smell being verie loathesome to the\nParishioners.\u201d\n\nThen came in an accusation of Peter Ebsworthy, \u201cfor usurpinge of place\nin the Churche, being a man of no discent, or parentage, and claiminge\na Seate unfittinge for a man of his ranke or position.\u201d\n\nThis was not a reasonable charge. The Ebsworthys, it is true, in\n1620 could prove only three descents, but one had married an heiress\nof Shilston, another an heiress of Durant, and they were allied by\nmarriage with the Calmadys, the Harrises, and the Ingletts. The\nEbsworthys, of Ebsworthy, had probably lived on their paternal acres as\nlong as had the Bidlakes, of Bidlake, but as yet they had laid no claim\nto bear coat-armour. The Bidlakes bore two white doves, but naturalists\nsay that doves and pigeons are the most quarrelsome of birds.\n\nThe spiteful remark about Peter Ebsworthy being of no descent and\nparentage was intended to wound the feelings of the rector, who had\nmarried one of his daughters to Peter Ebsworthy. The ancients said that\ndoves were without gall.\n\n\u201cNext for his wief abusing of my wief in goinge to the Communion, by\nblowes and afterwards with disgracefull words.\u201d Also, \u201cPaule Ebsworthy\nfor layinge of violent handes upon my wief in the Church yard: and his\nwiefs scouldinge, Katheren Ebsworthy using these wordes before the\nParson unto her sister, Peter\u2019s wief, that her sister might be ashamed\nto suffer such to goe before her as my wief was.\u201d\n\nIt seems that Agnes Bidlake, the wife of William, sought assistance\nof her uncle, Sir Edward Giles, to bring these complaints before the\nBishop. He replied to this by writing to William Bidlake:--\n\n\u201cI would intreat you and my niece your wife at the time of hearinge of\nthese differences before his Lordshipp to be very temperate in your\nutterances. You know it is an old sayinge, A good matter may be marred\nin the handlinge; and I know if passion doe not overcome you all, it\nwill be to my Lord\u2019s good likeinge.\u201d\n\nMr. Bidlake went up about the matter and interviewed the Bishop, who\nagreed to hear the case at Okehampton on the following Thursday.\n\nThe Bishop wrote to Parson Germyn: \u201cBeing credibly informed that Mr.\nBidlake and his wief were latlie by your sonne Peter Ebsworthy and his\nwief verie disgracefully wronged at a Communion ... as alsoe for your\nscandalous and indiscreete doctrine which you usually teach I may not\natt any hande suffer,\u201d he summoned him to appear before him at his\napproaching visitation at Okehampton.\n\nOn 13 May, 1613, the Bishop of Exeter summoned plaintiffs and\ndefendants and witnesses before him for the following Friday at\nOkehampton.\n\nThe Rev. Gilbert Germyn indignantly denied that he had ever preached\nscandalous and indiscreet doctrine; but what was the result of the suit\nbefore the Bishop does not transpire.\n\nOld John Bidlake, the father of William, mightily disapproved of this\ncontention. He wrote to his son: \u201cCommend me heartily to your wief whom\nI pray God to give patience and charitie unto in all these troubles,\nand that yourselfe forgett not that which I said I lately dreamed of 2\nsnakes whereof the one seemed to me to ate up the other before me. And\nthat which I formerly dreamed of the Man that firstlie riding from me\nsaid, Commend me to my friends that are like to be lost if they repent\nnot er time be past. Good sonne, seeke peace and ensue it in what you\nmay, for to live peaceably with all men maketh a man and woman long\nto seme younge. And if you knewe the hindrances and losses besides\nheartburnings, weariness of bodye and unquietness innumerable that\nsuits of Lawe doe bring, as well as I, you would rather goe with your\nwief even unto all such as have donne you offence and openly imbrace\nthem as brethren and sisters and fully forgive them and desier them to\naccept of your lives ever hereafter; as honest quyet neighbours should\ndoe, rather than vex your neighbours by suits of laws therein, whereof\nare as variable as the turnings of a weathercock.\u201d\n\nThis was dated 10 April, 1613.\n\nWilliam died before his father.\n\nOld John was a fine and loyal man; the date of his death is not known.\nThe estates devolved on Henry Bidlake, the son of William, born in 1606\nor 1607.\n\nAfter Henry Bidlake came of age, he married Philippa, daughter of\nWilliam Kelly, of Kelly; whereupon his mother, the quarrelsome Agnes,\nretired to the south of Devon, there indulged in some costly lawsuits,\nand died in 1651.\n\nHenry, while yet young, joined the army of King Charles, and in 1643\nwas made a captain of horse under Colonel Sir Thomas Hele, Baronet.\nIn 1645 he was one of the defenders of Pendennis Castle; a copy of\nthe articles for its surrender is preserved among the Bidlake Papers.\nThese articles were signed on 18 August, and the besieged went forth.\nFrom that time misfortune after misfortune befell Henry Bidlake. On 18\nJanuary, 1646, the Standing Committee of Devon \u201cordered upon Perusall\nof the inventory of the goods of Mr. Henry Bidlake amounting to Thirtie\npounds that upon payment of fower and Twentie pounds unto the Treasurer\nor his Deputie by Mr. William Kelley, the sequestration of the said\ngoods shall be removed and taken off, and the other six pounds is to be\nallowed to Mrs. Bidlake for her sixth part.\u201d\n\nSeveral stories are told of Henry hiding from Cromwell\u2019s soldiers,\nwho were sent to surround Bidlake in order to take him prisoner.\nHe was warned, and dressed himself in rags in order to pass them.\nSome soldiers met him and asked him if he had seen Squire Bidlake.\n\u201cAye, sure,\u201d he replied, \u201cher was a-standin\u2019 on \u2019is awn doorstep a\nfoo minutes agoo.\u201d So they went on to search Bidlake House while he\nescaped to the house of a tenant of his named Veale in Burleigh Wood.\nThe troopers went there also, and Mrs. Veale made him slip into the\nclock-case; they hunted high and low, but could not find him. One of\nthe soldiers looking up at the dial and seeing the hand at the hour\nsaid, \u201cWhat, doant he strike?\u201d \u201cAye, aye, mister,\u201d replied Mrs. Veale,\n\u201cthere be a hand here as can strike, I tell \u2019ee.\u201d\n\nMr. Bidlake suffered from a chronic cough, and just at that moment it\nbegan, but he had the art to dip his head, let the weight down behind\nhis back, and the clock struck the hour and drowned the cough in the\ncase.\n\nAccording to another version of the story, his cough was heard, the\nclock-case was opened, and he taken. But I doubt this. An old man,\nWilliam Pengelly, who had been with my grandfather, and father, and\nmyself, told me that Henry Bidlake was concealed by the Veales in\nBurleigh Wood--that is, the wood over the promontory where are the\ncamps--and they supplied him with blankets and food for some weeks till\nit was safe for him to reappear. Their farm is now completely ruined,\nbut I can recall when it was occupied. According to Pengelly\u2019s story,\nlater on, Henry Bidlake granted that farm to the Veale family to be\nheld in perpetuity on a tenure of half a crown per annum, so long as\nthere remained a male Veale in the family. Pengelly informed me that\nthe last Veale had died when the Rev. John Stafford Wollocombe held the\nestate, 1829-66, and that the tenure had remained the same till then.\nThe Rev. J. H. Bidlake Wollocombe, present owner of the Bidlake estate,\ntells me that he can find no evidence of the grant to the Veales among\nthe deeds, and that he never heard of the story save from me.\n\nIf Henry Bidlake had been secured on this occasion, it would certainly\nhave been recorded. We have a narrative of the visit of a troop of\nhorse sent to Bridestowe by the Earl of Stamford in 1647. In the\n_Mercurius Rusticus_ of that year is an account of this expedition,\nbut not a word about the capture of Henry Bidlake. There is, however,\none of a barbarous act committed in the cottage of a husbandman in\nBridestowe, whose name, however, is not given, but possibly enough\nit may have been Veale. This man having openly adhered to the King\u2019s\nparty, the Earl of Stamford sent a troop of horse to apprehend him in\nhis cottage or farm. \u201cWhen they came thither, they found not the good\nman at home, but a sonne of his, about ten or twelve years old, they\nask him where his Father was, the childe replyed that he was not at\nhome, they threaten him, and use all arts to make him discover where\nhis Father had hid himselfe, the childe being ignorant where his father\nwas, still persisted in the same answer, that he knew not where he was;\nhereupon they threaten to hang him, neither doth that prevail; at last\nthey take the poore innocent childe and hang him up, either because he\nwould not betray his Father, had he been able to satisfie their doubt,\nor for not having the spirit of Prophecy, not being able to reveale\nwhat by an ordinary way of knowledge he did not know; having let him\nhang a while, they cut him downe, not intending to hang him unto death,\nbut being cut downe they could perceive nothing discovering life in\nhim, hereupon in a barbarous way of experiment, they pricke him with\ntheir swords in the back and thighs, using the means leading to death\nto find out life; at last after some long stay, some small symptoms of\nlife did appear; yet so weake, that they left him nearer the confines\nof death than life; and whether the child did ever recover, is more\nthan my informer can assure me.\u201d\n\nIn 1651 a fine of \u00a3300 was put upon Henry Bidlake, and his estates\nwere sequestrated to the Commonwealth until it should be paid. He had\nto borrow money from his friends in order to pay his fine. Money was\nlent him by Nicholas Rowe, of Lamerton, by Daniel Hawkins, of Sydenham,\nby David Hore, of Coryton, by Prudence Lile, of Lifton, by Richard\nEdgecombe, of Milton Abbot, by John Baron, of Lawhitton, and by John\nCloberry, of Bradstone. His mother-in-law, Philippa Kelly, of Kelly,\nseems to have repaid these friends, or paid the interest due to them.\nAs security, Henry Bidlake alienated and sold to her his goods and\nchattels, only reserving his wearing apparel. He got back his property\nin 1654, but his account with the Parliament seems never to have been\nsettled, and he was liable to repeated vexations. As late as December,\n1658, he received a summons along with his wife, from Richard, Lord\nProtector, to appear before the Chancery Court at Exeter. But next year\nhe died, too early to see--what would have gladdened his heart--the\nRestoration, and to have learned by painful experience the ready\nforgetfulness by kings of services rendered in the past.\n\nBidlake House is a very interesting example of a simple mansion such\nas suited the small squires of Devon in the seventeenth century. It\nis Elizabethan, and has a quaint old garden at the back. Like so many\nold houses, the aspect was not considered, and the sun pours into the\nkitchen, but hardly a gleam can reach the hall and parlour.\n\nBut our ancestors had their reasons for burying their mansions at the\nfoot of hills, and turning their backs against the sun. The great enemy\nwas the south-west wind which they could not exclude. It drove through\nthe walls. Therefore by preference they planted their houses under the\nlee of a bank of hill that intervened between them and the south, and\nturned their backs like horses against the driving rain.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PIRATES OF LUNDY\n\n\n\u201cIn the Bristol Channel,\u201d says Mr. Chanter, \u201ctwenty miles from\nBarnstaple Bar, and nearly equidistant from the two headlands of the\nbay, lies the island of Lundy, sometimes invisible from the shore,\nbut generally looming dim and mysterious and more or less shrouded\nin mists, or capped with cloud-reefs; occasionally standing out\nlofty, clear, and distinct, bright with varied hues of rock, fern,\nand heather, its granite cliffs glittering as they reflect the rays\nof the morning sun, and the graceful lighthouse tower and buildings\nplainly defined; or at night traceable by its strange intermittent\nlight--either suddenly shining out as a star and as suddenly vanishing,\nor gradually rising and fading according to the atmospheric conditions;\nbut in all its aspects, varying much from day to day. And to those who\nknow how to read them aright, the changing aspects of Lundy are the\nsurest indications of approaching changes of weather--of winds, storms,\nor settled sunshine.\n\n\u201cAs seen nearer the island shows itself a lofty table-headed granite\nrock, rising to the height of 500 feet, surrounded by steep and\noccasionally perpendicular cliffs, storm-beaten, riven, and scarred\nover with grisly seams and clefts, and hollowed out here and there\nalong the shore into fantastic coves and grottoes, with huge piles\nof granite thrown in wild disorder. The cliffs and adjacent sea are\nalive with sea-birds, every ledge and jutting rock being dotted with\nthem, or they are whirling round in clouds, filling the air with their\ndiscordant screams.\n\n\u201cThis island, so little known, so little visited, so wild and\nmysterious in aspect, possesses an interest in its remote history,\nits antiquities, its physical features and peculiarities, and in its\nnatural history, almost unrivalled.\u201d[7]\n\nLundy is an outcrop of the granite that heaved up Exmoor on its back,\nbut there never broke through. Here the superincumbent carboniferous\nrocks have been cleared away by the action of the sea, and Lundy stands\nforth a naked shaft of granite. It possesses but a single harbour, at\nthe southern extremity of the island.\n\nLundy takes its name from the puffins, in Scandinavian _Lund_, that at\nall times frequented it; but it had an earlier Celtic name, Caer Sidi,\nand is spoken of as a mysterious abode in the Welsh _Mabinogion_.\n\nFrom an early period, its peculiar position, commanding the entrance to\nthe Bristol Channel, its inaccessibility, its remoteness, rendered it\na resort of pirates. Thomas Wyke, Canon of Oseney, in 1238, speaks of\nit as the haunt of a notable pirate, William de Marisco. This William\nhad a son Jordan, who held the island in defiance of the King, and\ndescended from it to make raids on the adjoining coasts. The island had\nbeen granted by Henry II to the Templars, but they had been unable to\ndislodge the De Mariscoes and obtain possession of it. A special tax\nwas levied on the counties of Devon and Cornwall for the siege of Lundy\nand the defence of their maritime ports, but it does not seem that\nSir William was ever dispossessed. Marisco was one of the prisoners\ncaptured from the French in a sea fight in 1217, and was afterwards\nreinstated in his island, along with his wife and children, who had\nalso been taken. In 1222 he removed to Lundy some guns he had taken\nfrom his lordship of Camley in Somerset, and, turbulent to the end, he\nwas, in 1233, amerced in a fine of 300 marks to the King for his ransom.\n\nHis younger son, Sir William, was outlawed in 1235 for slaying in\nLondon an Irish messenger. His elder brother Jordan, or Geoffrey, had\nmade a descent on Ireland and was killed at Kilkenny in 1234.\n\nSir William got into further trouble on an accusation of an attempt to\nassassinate Henry III, and this led to the breaking up of the robbers\u2019\nnest, and its being wrested from the Marisco family for many years.\n\nBut before telling the story, it will be well to say a few words about\nthe castle erected by this turbulent family, of which some remains may\nstill be seen. It was probably originally erected by the first Sir\nJordan, in the reign of Henry II.\n\nThe keep is all that now remains, and it is turned into cottages. The\nbasement wall is nine feet thick, and the lines of bastion and fosse\nmay still be traced. Two engravings and a plan of the castle, as it was\nin 1775, appear in Grose\u2019s _Antiquities_. He thus describes it:--\n\n\u201cThe castle stood on two acres of ground, and was surrounded by a stone\nwall, with a ditch, except towards the sea, where the rock is almost\nperpendicular. The ditch is very visible, and part of the wall. The\nwalls of the citadel (i.e. keep) are very perfect, of a square form.\nIt is converted into cottages, the turrets, of which there are four,\none at each angle, serving as chimneys. The S. W. wall is 51 feet,\nthe N. W. wall 38 feet, in length. In front of the house five guns\nwere placed. The garrison was supplied with water from a spring, which\nrises above the (mansion) house. It was conveyed from thence by earthen\npipes. At the extremity of the rock, within the fortification, is a\ncave, supposed to be cut out of the rock for a store-room, or magazine,\nfor the garrison.\u201d\n\nWe come now to the attempted assassination. Matthew Paris tells the\nstory under the date 1238, in the reign of Henry III.\n\n\u201cOn the day after the Nativity of St. Mary, a certain learned esquire\ncame to the King\u2019s Court at Woodstock pretending that he was insane,\nand said to the King, \u2018Resign thy kingdom to me\u2019; he also added, that\nhe bore the sign of royalty on his shoulder. The King\u2019s attendants\nwanted to beat him, and drive him away from the royal presence, but\nthe King interfered, saying, \u2018Let the madman rave--such people\u2019s words\nhave not the force of truth.\u2019 In the middle of the night, however, the\nsame man entered the King\u2019s bedchamber window, carrying an open knife,\nand approached the King\u2019s couch, but was confused at not finding him\nthere. The King was, by God\u2019s providence, then sleeping with the Queen.\nBut one of the queen\u2019s maids, Margaret Bisett, was by chance awake,\nand was singing psalms by the light of a candle (for she was a holy\nmaid and one devoted to God), and when she saw this madman searching\nall the private places to kill the King, she was greatly alarmed, and\nbegan to utter repeated cries. At her cry the King\u2019s attendants awoke,\nand leaped from their beds with all speed, and running to the spot,\nbroke open the door, which this robber had firmly secured with a bolt,\nand seized him, and notwithstanding his resistance, bound him fast.\nHe, after a while, confessed that he had been sent to kill the King\nby William de Marisco, son of Geoffrey (or Jordan) de Marisco, and he\nstated that others had conspired to commit the same crime. On learning\nthis, the King ordered him to be torn limb from limb by horses, at\nCoventry.\u201d\n\nThe evidence incriminating William de Marisco was clearly worthless. If\nthe would-be assassin had not been insane he would not have asserted\na claim to the crown and drawn attention to himself before making the\nmurderous attempt. De Marisco had nothing to gain by the King\u2019s death,\nand he may certainly be acquitted of participation.\n\nWilliam fled to Lundy, \u201cimpregnable from the nature of the place, and\nhaving attached to himself many outlaws and malefactors, subsisted\nby piracies, taking more especially wine and provisions, and making\nfrequent sudden descents on the adjacent lands, spoiling and injuring\nthe realm by land and by sea, and native as well as foreign merchants.\nMany English nobles, having learnt how that the said William and his\nfollowers could not be surprised save by stratagem, apprised the King\nthat the securing of this malefactor must be effected not by violence,\nbut by craft. The King therefore ordered his faithful subjects to\nexert themselves strenuously in order to capture him and relieve their\ncountry.\u201d\n\nNothing, however, was done for four years, during which the piracies\ncontinued. There was this excuse for De Marisco, that as the island\ngrew neither corn nor wine, he was dependent on the mainland or on\nmerchant vessels for his subsistence. As all those on the mainland were\non the look-out to capture him as the supposed mover of the plot to\nkill the King, he was forced to live by piracy. In 1242, William of\nWorcester informs us, he was caught: how, he does not say, save that\nit was by surprise. \u201cHe was thrown into chains, and he and sixteen\naccomplices were condemned and sentenced to death. He was executed at\nthe Tower on a gibbet with special ignominy, his body suspended in a\nsack, and when stiff in death, disembowelled, his bowels burnt, and his\nbody divided into quarters.\u201d\n\nAfter the execution of Sir William, his father, Geoffrey (or Jordan)\nfled to France, and the island was then seized by the King, who\nappointed to it governors. But in 1281 Lundy was again granted to a\nMarisco, Sir William, son of Jordan, another of the progeny of old\nGeoffrey. He died in 1284, and his son John in 1289, leaving Herbert\nas his son and heir. But Edward II granted the island to the elder\nDespenser, and Herbert was unable to obtain possession of it. He died\nin 1327, and from that date no more is heard of the Mariscoes in\nconnexion with the island.\n\nFrom their time, however, other pirates obtained a footing on it. In\nthe days of Henry VIII a gang of French pirates, under their captain,\nDe Valle, seized Lundy and waylaid the Bristol traders, but the\nClovelly fishermen made an expedition against them, burnt their ship,\nand killed or made prisoners of the whole gang.\n\nA few years later, Lord Seymour, High Admiral of England, uncle of\nEdward VI, was charged, among other misdemeanours, with trying to get\nhold of Lundy, \u201cbeing aided with shipps and conspiring at all evill\neventes with pirates, (so that) he might at all tymes have a sure and\nsaufe refuge, if anything for his demerites should have been attempted\nagainst him.\u201d He was executed, having refused to answer the charges\nmade against him.\n\nIn Sir John Maclean\u2019s _Life and Times of Sir Peter Carew, Knt._,\nare printed two letters written by Queen Elizabeth in the year 1564,\ndirecting Sir Peter--\u201cforasmuch as that cost of Devonshyre and Cornwall\nis by report mucch hanted with pyratts and Rovers ... to cause on or\ntwoo apt vessells to be made redy with all spede in some portes ther\nabout.\u201d In the apprehension of such pirates, with her characteristic\neconomy the Queen bargains that the parties \u201cmust take ther benefitt of\ny^e spoyle, and be provijded only by us of victell.\u201d She goes a little\nfurther in thriftiness, and suggests that possibly \u201cye sayd Rovers\nmight be entyced, with hope of our mercy, to apprehend some of the rest\nof ther Company, which practise we have knowen doone good long agoo in\nthe lyke.\u201d\n\nAlthough Lundy is not specified in this as the rendezvous of the\npirates, we know that at this time it was so.\n\nIn the year 1587 the authorities of Barnstaple appear to have\nundertaken on their own account a raid upon the pirates who were\naccustomed to shelter themselves under Lundy Island.\n\nConnected with the \u201csetting forth of divers men from this town to\napprehend divers rovers and pirates at Londey,\u201d the following items of\nexpenditure in the municipal records show that the expedition was not\nunsuccessful: \u201cPaid to six watchmen for watching the prisoners that\nwere taken, 12^s 1^d. Paid for a watch put, and for candlelyght for the\nsame prisoners, 11^d. Paid for meat and drink for the same prisoners,\n2^{sh}.\u201d[8]\n\nStow tells us that a batch of ten sea-rovers were hanged at once at\nWapping. They distributed among their friends their murrey velvet\ndoublets with great gold buttons and crimson taffeta, and great\nVenetians laid with broad gold lace, \u201ctoo sumptuous apparel,\u201d Stow\nremarks, \u201cwhich they had worn at the seas.\u201d\n\nIn 1608, a commission was issued to the Earl of Bath, who took the\ndepositions of three persons at Barnstaple, to the effect that the\nmerchants were daily robbed at sea by pirates who took refuge in Lundy.\nIn 1610, another commission was issued to the Earl of Nottingham to\nauthorize the town of Barnstaple to send out ships for the capture of\npirates, and the deposition was taken of one William Young, who had\nbeen made prisoner by Captain Salkeld, who entitled himself \u201cKing of\nLundy,\u201d and was a notorious pirate.\n\nOn 31 August, 1612, the town of Barnstaple sent out a ship and a\nbark--the _John of Braunton_ and the _Mayflower_--to capture pirates\nwho had robbed a London vessel and also a pinnace of the Isle of\nWight, in the roads of Lundy. It is satisfactory to learn that the\noffenders--\u201cas notorious Rogues as any in England\u201d--were caught at\nMilford Haven, brought to Barnstaple, and lodged in Exeter Gaol. What\ntheir ultimate fate was is not known.\n\nIn 1625, the Mayor of Bristol reported to the Council that three\nTurkish pirate vessels had surprised and taken the island of Lundy, and\nhad carried off the inhabitants, to sell them as slaves, and that they\nwere threatening Ilfracombe.\n\nIn 1628, it was the headquarters of some French pirates. In June, 1630,\nCaptain Plumleigh reported that \u201cEgypt was never more infested with\ncatterpillars than the Channel with Biscayers. On the 23rd instant\nthere came out of St. Sebastian twenty sail of sloops; some attempted\nto land on Lundy, but were repulsed by the inhabitants.\u201d\n\nIn 1632, a notorious buccaneer, Captain Robert Nutt, made Lundy one\nof his stations, and defied the efforts of several ships of war and\nsmaller vessels called \u201cwhelps\u201d to capture him.\n\nIn 1633, Sir Bernard Grenville reported to the Secretary of State that\na great outrage had been committed by a Spanish man-of-war of Biscay,\nwhich had landed eighty men on the island of Lundy, where, after some\nsmall resistance, they had killed one man, called Mark Pollard, and\nbound the rest, and surprised and took the island, which they rifled\nand cleared of all the best provisions they could find, and then\ndeparted to sea again.\n\nFrom the depositions of William Skynner, of Kilkhampton, dyer, and\nothers, it appears that the _Biscayner_ was a vessel of 150 tons\nwith about 120, under a Captain Meggor, and that these pirates had\npreviously robbed a French bark, and also a pinnace of George Rendall,\nwhich happened to be at Lundy, taking from him his money and all the\nprovisions of his pinnace.\n\nCapt. John Pennington, of the _Vanguard_, was commissioned to put down\nthe pirates, and he appears to have proclaimed martial law on the\nisland. In the year 1663, a Frenchman, Captain Pressoville, established\nhimself on Lundy. In consequence of these events one Thomas Bushell was\nappointed governor of the island to hold it for the King.\n\nGrose, in his _Antiquities_, gives a curious story of an occurrence\nduring the reign of William and Mary. \u201cA ship of force pretending to\nbe a Dutchman, and driven into the roads by mistaking the channel,\nsent a boat ashore desiring some milk for their captain who was sick,\nwhich the unsuspecting inhabitants granted for several days. At length\nthe crew informed them of their captain\u2019s death, and begged leave,\nif there were any church or consecrated ground on the island, to\ndeposit his corpse in it, and also requested the favour of all the\nislanders to be present, which was accordingly complied with. After the\ncorpse was brought in, the islanders were required to quit the chapel\nfor a few minutes when they should be readmitted to see the corpse\ninterred. They had not waited long without the walls before the doors\nwere suddenly thrown open, and a body of armed men furnished from the\nfeigned receptacle of the dead marched out and made them prisoners.\nThe poor islanders then discovered the pretended Dutchmen to be their\nnatural enemies the French. They then seized 50 horses, 300 goats, 500\nsheep, and some bullocks, and reserving what they required, hamstringed\nthe rest of the horses and bullocks, threw the goats and sheep into\nthe sea, and stripped the inhabitants of every valuable, even to their\nclothes, and spoiled and destroyed everything, and then, satiated with\nplunder and mischief, they threw the guns over the cliffs, and left the\nisland in a most desolate and disconsolate condition.\u201d\n\nThere is no other evidence that this really occurred, and the same\nstory is told of the island of Sark, so that it is very doubtful\nwhether the story be true.\n\nIt is, however, certain that for a considerable portion of the reigns\nof William and Mary and of Queen Anne, Lundy was a continual resort of\nthe outcasts of the various parties who betook themselves to piracy as\na means of subsistence, as also that it was for a time in the hands\nof the French in the reign of Queen Anne, and that they used it as a\nprivateering station, and preyed upon the merchant-men who sailed from\nBarnstaple and Bideford, and that they made so many prizes that they\ntermed Barnstaple Bay as \u201cthe Golden Bay.\u201d\n\nIn 1748, Thomas Benson obtained a lease of the island from Lord Gower.\nHe was a man of substance, a native of Bideford, and had inherited a\nfortune of \u00a340,000. His predecessors had been successful merchants,\ncarrying on trade with France, Portugal, and the colonies.\n\nIn 1749 he aspired to get into Parliament, and was elected for\nBarnstaple. He had in 1745 presented to the mayor and corporation a\nlarge silver punch-bowl, which still forms one of their cherished\npossessions, and has recently been copied in Barum ware for\npresentation to the association of \u201cBarumites in London.\u201d\n\nWhen, however, the borough authorities received the bowl, they\ndiscovered that they had no ladle, and this they humbly and\nrespectfully intimated to the donor. So Benson added to his gift a\nsilver ladle, with the inscription, \u201cHe that gave the Bowl gave the\nLadle.\u201d[9]\n\nSoon after he entered into a contract with the Government for the\nexportation of convicts to Virginia and Maryland, and gave the usual\nbond to the sheriff for so doing. But instead of doing this he shipped\nthem to Lundy, where he employed them in building walls and other work\nin the island. Every night they were locked up in the old keep of the\nMariscoes. He regarded himself as king of Lundy, and ruled with a high\nhand.\n\nPresently he got into difficulties through smuggling and piracy. In a\ncave he stored his smuggled goods, and a raid was made upon these. He\nwas exchequered, and fined \u00a35000.\n\nA _fieri facias_ was directed to the Sheriff of Devon to levy the\npenalties, under which the officers seized a large quantity of tobacco\nand other goods secreted in the caves of Lundy. He excused himself for\nnot fulfilling his compact to transport the convicts to Virginia and\nMaryland by saying that he considered Lundy to be quite as much out of\nthe world as these colonies. As the _fieri facias_ did not realize the\nsum of his fine, an extent was issued in 1753 for \u00a37872 duties, under\nwhich his patrimonial estate of Napp was seized, and retained during\nhis life by the Government.\n\n\u201cThe most villainous transaction, however, in which he was implicated\nwas the conspiracy to defraud the insurance offices, by lading a vessel\nwith a valuable cargo of pewter, linen, and salt, which he heavily\ninsured. The vessel sailed for Maryland, but by a secret arrangement\nbetween the Master and Benson, put back in the night and landed\nthe greater part of the cargo at Lundy, where Benson had repaired,\nconcealing it in the caves there; and then the Master, Lancey, put to\nsea, and burnt and scuttled his vessel, some leagues to the westward,\nthe crew being taken off by a homeward-bound vessel. The roguery was,\nhowever, discovered by the confession of one of the crew. Lancey was\napprehended with some of his shipmates, seized and condemned, hung at\nExecution Dock and afterwards in chains. Benson escaped to Portugal; he\nis said, however, to have returned to Napp incognito for a time, some\nyears afterwards, when the affair was nearly forgotten, but ultimately\nreturned to Portugal, and died there.\u201d I quote from a manuscript\njournal of a visit to Lundy by a friend of Benson\u2019s some particulars of\nthe island and of Benson himself at this time.\n\n\u201cIn the month of July, 1752, I sailed from Appledore on a Monday\nmorning with Sir Thomas Gunstone in a little vessel bound to Wales\nwhich dropped us at Lundy road. We came from Benson\u2019s house, of Napp,\nwho rented the island of the Lords Carteret and Gower for \u00a360. We\nlanded about two o\u2019clock. Mr. Benson did not accompany us, expecting\nletters from the insurance office for the vessel and cargo which was\nto have taken us there. The vessel then lay off his quay with convicts\nbound for Virginia, but he came to us on Wednesday. The island was at\nthis time in no state of improvement, the houses miserably bad, one on\neach side of the platform, that on the right inhabited by Mr. Benson\nand his friends, the other by the servants. The old fort was occupied\nby the convicts whom he had sent there some time before, and occupied\nin making a wall across the island. They were locked up every night\nwhen they returned from their labour. About a week before we landed\nseven or eight of them took the long-boat and made their escape to\nHartland, and were never heard of afterwards. Wild fowl were exceeding\nplenty and a vast number of rabbits. The island was overgrown with\nferns and heath, which made it almost impossible to go to the extreme\nof the island. Had it not been for the supply of rabbits and young\nsea-gulls our tables would have been but poorly furnished, rats being\nso plenty that they destroyed every night what was left of our repast\nby day. Lobsters were tolerably plenty, and some other fish we caught.\nThe deer and goats were very wild and difficult to get at. The path to\nthe house was so narrow and steep that it was scarcely possible for a\nhorse to ascend it. The inhabitants by the assistance of a rope climbed\nup a rock in which were steps cut to place their feet, to a cave or\nmagazine where Mr. Benson lodged his goods. There happened to come into\nthe roads one evening near 70 sail of vessels. The colours were hoisted\non the fort, and they all as they passed that island returned the\ncompliment except one vessel, which provoked Mr. Benson to fire at her\nwith ball, though we used every argument in our power to prevent him.\nHe replied that the island was his, and every vessel that passed it and\ndid not pay him the same compliment as was paid to the King\u2019s forts he\nwould fire on her. He talked to us about his contract for exportation\nof convicts to Virginia, and often said that the sending of convicts to\nLundy was the same as sending them to America; they were transported\nfrom England, it mattered not where it was, so long as they were out of\nthe kingdom.\u201d[10]\n\n\n\n\nTOM D\u2019URFEY\n\n\nTom D\u2019Urfey was born in Exeter in the year 1653. The date usually\ngiven, 1649, is incorrect. He came of a very ancient and well-connected\nfamily. Under Charles VII of France, Pierre d\u2019Ulph\u00e9 was Grand Master\nof the crossbow-men of France. His son, Peter II, changed the spelling\nof his name from Ulph\u00e9 to Urf\u00e9. He died in 1508, after having served\nwith distinction under Charles VIII and Louis XII. Francis, the nephew\nof Peter II, Baron d\u2019Oroze, fought along with Bayard in a combat of\nthirteen Frenchmen against thirteen Spaniards. The son of Peter II,\nClaude, was ambassador of France at the Council of Trent, and governor\nof the royal children. He loved letters, had a fine library at his\nCh\u00e2teau de la B\u00e2tie, near Montbrison. Jacques, his son, was chamberlain\nto Henry II; he died in 1574, leaving several sons, of whom two were\nAnne and Honor\u00e9, both staunch Leaguers, and in their day considered\nto be poets. Honor\u00e9, however, made his fame by his interminable and\ntedious romance of _Astr\u00e9e_. The _Dictionary of National Biography_\nsays that Tom\u2019s uncle was this same Honor\u00e9; but this is impossible.\nHonor\u00e9, the fifth son of Jacques I, was born 1572. He had four elder\nbrothers--Anne, who died without issue; Claude, who died young; Jacques\nII, who had one son; Claude Emmanuel, who died in 1685. Christopher\ndied without issue, and Antoine became a bishop. Consequently it is\nnot possible to fit Tom D\u2019Urfey into the pedigree. It is possible\nenough that the grandfather who quitted La Rochelle before the end of\nthe siege in 1628 and brought his son with him to England, and who\nsettled at Exeter, may have been a connexion by blood, possibly enough\nillegitimate, as no trace of him can be found in the D\u2019Urf\u00e9 pedigree.\nThe grandfather broke away from the traditions of the family entirely\nby becoming a Huguenot, for not only were Anne and Honor\u00e9 Leaguers, but\nAnne entered Orders and Antoine became Bishop of Saint Flores.\n\n[Illustration: THOMAS D\u2019URFEY POETA LYRICIIS.\n\n    _Whilst D\u2019urfey\u2019s voice his verse do\u2019s raise._}\n    _When Durfey sings his Tunefull Layes._       }\n    _Give D\u2019urfeys Lyrick-Muse the Bayes._        }\n\n    _E. G._\n\n    _E. Gouge pinx._\n\n    _G. Vertue sculp._\n]\n\nCharles Emmanuel called himself De Lascaris, and was created Marquis\nD\u2019Urf\u00e9 and De Baug\u00e9, Count of Sommerive and St. Just, Marshal, and\ndied in 1685 at the age of eighty-one. His son Louis became Bishop of\nLimoges; another, Francis, became Abb\u00e9 of St. Just, and devoted himself\nto missionary work in Canada; he died in 1701. The third son, Claude\nYves, became a priest of the Oratoire; the fourth, Emmanuel, Dean of\nLe Puy, died in 1689; the fifth, Charles Maurice, was the only one who\ndid not enter the ministry, and he died unmarried; thus the family\ncame to an end, and it is characteristic of it that it was intensely\nCatholic. Thus if the grandfather of Tom D\u2019Urfey did belong to the\nstock, he was a sport of a different colour. The father of Tom D\u2019Urfey\nmarried Frances of the family of the Marmions, of Huntingdonshire. Tom\ncertainly claimed kinship with the D\u2019Urf\u00e9s, of Forez, and was proud of\nthe fame that attached to his relative Honor\u00e9.\n\nThe elder of the sons of Jacques I, viz. Anne, had married a splendid\nbeauty, Diana de Ch\u00e2teau Morand, who was also an heiress. But the union\nwas not happy, and it was annulled by the Ecclesiastical Court at Lyons\n(1598) at the joint petition of husband and wife. Then Anne, after\ntrifling with the Muses, took Holy Orders. Thereupon Honor\u00e9, having\nmoney to pay for it, bought a dispensation at Rome, and married his\nbrother\u2019s late wife, not out of love, but for the purpose of retaining\nin the family her great estates. He was then aged thirty-two, and she\nwas in her fortieth year. She was haughty, vain of her beauty, which\nhad made her famous at one time, and spent her time in trying to\ndisguise the ravages of time on her face. She lived mainly in her room\nsurrounded by dogs, \u201cqui r\u00e9pandaient partout, jusque dans son lit, une\nsalet\u00e9 insupportable.\u201d\n\nVery different was the life of Tom D\u2019Urfey\u2019s father, and one of the\ntouching incidents in his character was his devotion and tenderness\ntowards his wife to her dying day.\n\nTom had been intended for the law, but, as he said, \u201cMy good or ill\nstars ordained me to be a knight errant in the fairy fields of poetry.\u201d\n\nHe wrote plays that were well received for the most part, but all were\ntainted with intolerable grossness. But at this period of revulsion\nfrom Puritanism, licentiousness of intrigue, indelicacy of wit, most\nstrongly appealed to the popular taste, at least in London, and among\nthe hangers-on of a profligate court. In 1676, he produced _The Siege\nof Memphis_ and _The Fond Husband; or, The Plotting Sisters_. In\n1677, _Madame Pickle_. In all, down to his death, thirty-two dramatic\npieces. But that which obtained for D\u2019Urfey his greatest reputation\nwas a peculiarly happy knack that he possessed in writing satires and\nsongs. In the latter style of composition he knew how to start with a\ntelling line. There was in his composition a vein of genuine poetry,\nbut the trail of the serpent was over it all: he could not leave his\nbest pieces without something foul to spoil it. Many of his songs were\nset to music by his friends Henry Purcell, Thomas Farmer, and Dr. John\nBlow; but a good many were adapted to folk airs. In 1683, he brought\nout his _New Collection of Songs and Poems_, in which was \u201cThe Night\nher Blackest Sables Wore,\u201d which was afterwards claimed for Francis\nSemple, of Beltrees. D\u2019Urfey wrote a good many songs in fancy Scottish\ndialect, as a taste for North-country songs came in after James, Duke\nof York, afterwards James II, was sent to govern Scotland in 1679 and\n1680. Although there can be no doubt whatever as to the authorship of\n\u201cThe Night her Blackest Sables Wore,\u201d about fifty years after its first\npublication the song and tune in a corrupt form appear in Thomson\u2019s\n_Orpheus Caledonicus_ (1733), with some change in the words so as to\nmake it appear to be Scottish, as \u201cShe rose and let me in,\u201d altered to\n\u201cShe raise and loot me in.\u201d Mr. Chappell says: \u201cIt is a common error to\nsuppose that England was inundated with Scotch tunes at the union of\nthe two Crowns. The first effect was directly the reverse.\u201d In fact, a\nstream of English popular melodies flowed into Scotland, and this in a\nflood in the reign of Charles II, carrying with them the English words,\nwhich Scottish compilers adapted and appropriated, and these have come\nback to us as \u201cmade in Scotland,\u201d whereas they are genuine English\nsongs, words and music and all.\n\nTom Brown, venomous and scurrilous as Tom D\u2019Urfey was not, lampooned\nthe latter, and called him \u201cThou cur, half French, half English breed,\u201d\nand mocked him regarding a duel at Epsom, in 1689, with one Bell, a\nmusician.\n\n    I sing of a Duel, in Epsom befell\n    \u2019Twixt Fa-so-la D\u2019Urfey and Sol-la-mi Bell.\n\nTom took it in good part. It was only by Jeremy Collier that he could\nbe prevailed to reply, and even then it was chiefly in a song.\n\nJeremy Collier had published in 1697 his famous _Short View of\nthe Profaneness and Immorality of the English Stage_, which dealt\na terrible blow at what little prosperity the theatres enjoyed,\nand aroused a wholesome spirit of resentment against the outrages\ncommitted on the stage against Christian virtue and common decency. The\ncastigation was well deserved, for the licentiousness of the stage both\nbefore and behind the curtain had become a monstrous evil.\n\nThe sensation created by the book was enormous, scores of pamphlets\nrefuting or defending its views were written, and the falling off\nin the audiences plainly showed that its remonstrances had struck\nhome. D\u2019Urfey was one of those hardest hit; he winced, cried out,\nbut did not mend. D\u2019Urfey was a good, witty, and genial companion,\nand this obtained him favour with a great many persons of all ranks\nand conditions. The Duke of Albemarle, son of General Monk, had him\nfrequently at his table to divert the company; of which he was not a\nlittle vain, as we may gather from part of a song made upon him at that\ntime:--\n\n      He prates like a parrot;\n    He sups with the Duke,\n      And he lies in a garret.\n\nCrowned heads condescended to admit him to their presence, and were not\na little diverted by him. It is not surprising to hear this of so merry\na monarch as Charles II; but even King William, so glum and reserved\nin temper, and so little appreciative of music, or of any amusements\nof that kind, must needs have D\u2019Urfey one night to him; and D\u2019Urfey\nextorted a hearty laugh even from him, and departed with a present.\nD\u2019Urfey had inherited his grandfather\u2019s Huguenot prejudices; he was a\nstaunch Protestant in his feelings if not a Christian in his morals,\nand he wrote satirical songs against the Roman Catholics, so that\nWilliam III felt it well to show him favour.\n\nOne of his anti-papal songs, and one that was very popular among the\nWhigs, was \u201cDear Catholic Brother,\u201d and this he set to a very fine\nancient tune, to which to this day \u201cThe Hunting of Arscott of Tetcott\u201d\nis sung in Devon. But D\u2019Urfey did not take the complete tune, as he did\nnot need it for his piece of verse, and his incomplete version of the\ntune travelled into Wales and Scotland as well as throughout England.\nIt is an early, genuine English melody in the Dorian mode.\n\nCharles II had leaned familiarly on D\u2019Urfey\u2019s shoulder, holding a\ncorner of the same sheet of music from which the poet was singing his\nburlesque song, \u201cRemember, ye Whigs, what was formerly done.\u201d\n\nJames II continued the friendship previously shown him when he was Duke\nof York. He had no wish to offend one who could turn a song against him\nand his religion. Queen Anne delighted in his wit and gave him fifty\nguineas when she admitted him to her at supper, because he lampooned\nthe Princess Sophia, then next in succession to herself, by his\nditty, \u201cThe Crown\u2019s too weighty for shoulders of eighty.\u201d She herself\nentertained great dislike towards the Electress Dowager of Hanover.\nD\u2019Urfey was attached to the Tory interest; and in the latter part of\nthe Queen\u2019s reign frequently had the honour of diverting her with witty\ncatches and humorous songs, suited to the spirit of the times, written\nby himself and sung in a droll and entertaining manner.\n\nThe Earl of Dorset welcomed him at Knole Park, and had his portrait\npainted there. At Wincherdon, Buckingham\u2019s house, Philip, Duke of\nWharton, enjoyed in company D\u2019Urfey singing his songs, which he did\nwith vivacity, although in speech he stammered. D\u2019Urfey said: \u201cThe\ntown may da-da-da-mn me as a poet, but they sing my songs for all that.\u201d\n\nHe collected his songs into six volumes, published under the title\nof _Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy_, which went through\nseveral editions. In that for 1719 all the songs in the first two\nvolumes are his own; other songs, many of them folk ballads, he\ntampered with, and added coarsenesses of his own not in the original.\nThe book was published by Playford, and the melodies are not always\ncorrectly printed. Most of his airs were folk melodies; many of them,\ndoubtless, heard by him when he was young in Devonshire, for there they\nare still employed to ballads he recast.\n\nWriting to Henry Cromwell, 10th April, 1710, Alexander Pope says: \u201cI\nhave not quoted one Latin author since I came down, but have learned\nwithout book a song of Mr. Thomas Durfey\u2019s, who is your only poet of\ntolerable reputation in this country. He makes all the merriment in our\nentertainments, and but for him, there would be so miserable a dearth\nof catches, that, I fear, they would put either the Parson or me upon\nmaking some of \u2019em. Any man, of any quality, is heartily welcome to\nthe best topeing-table of our gentry, who can roar out some rhapsodies\nof his works; so that in the same manner as it was said of Homer to\nhis detractors, What! dares any man speak against him who has given so\nmany men to _eat_? (meaning the rhapsodists who lived by repeating his\nverses). Thus may it be said of Mr. Durfey to his detractors, Dares\nany one despise him, who has made so many men _drink_? Alas, Sir! this\nis a glory which neither you nor I must ever pretend to. Neither you\nwith your Ovid, nor I with my Statius, can amuse a board of Justices\nand extraordinary Squires, or gain one hum of approbation, or laugh of\nadmiration. These things (they would say) are too studious, they may do\nwell enough with such as love reading, but give us your ancient Poet,\nMr. Durfey! \u2019Tis mortifying enough, it must be confess\u2019d.\u201d\n\nThere is a slight allusion to D\u2019Urfey in the _Dunciad_, iii. 146.\n\nGay mentions that Tom ran his Muse with what was long a favourite\nracing song, \u201cTo horse, brave boys, to Newmarket, to horse!\u201d\n\nTom was very irregular in his metres. He had the art of jumbling long\nand short quantities so dexterously together that order resulted from\nconfusion. Of this happy talent he gave various specimens, in adapting\nsongs to tunes, composing his songs in such measures as scarcely any\ninstrument but a drum could accompany; as to the tune, it had to\ntake care of itself. To be even with the musicians who complained of\nthe irregularity of his metres, and their unusual character, he went\nfurther, composing songs in metres so broken and intricate, that few\ncould be found who could adapt tunes to them that were of any value. It\nis said that he once challenged Purcell to set to music such a song as\nhe would write, and gave him the ballad that speedily became popular,\n\u201cOne Long Whitsun Holiday,\u201d which cost the latter more pains to fit\nwith a tune than the composition of his _Te Deum_.\n\nTom, at least in the early part of his life, was a Tory by principle,\nand never let slip an opportunity of representing his adversaries, the\nWhigs, in a ridiculous light. Addison says that the song of \u201cJoy to\nGreat C\u00e6sar\u201d gave them such a blow that they were not able to recover\nduring the reign of Charles II.\n\nThis song was set to a tune called \u201cFarinelli\u2019s Ground.\u201d Divisions were\nmade on it by some English master, and it soon became a favourite\nair. D\u2019Urfey set words to it in which his old Huguenot execration of\nthe Papists breaks forth. Farinelli was a Papist, a circumstance that\ngave occasion to Addison to remark that his friend Tom had made use\nof Italian tunes for promoting the Protestant interest; and turned a\nconsiderable part of the Pope\u2019s music as a battery against the chair of\nSt. Peter.\n\nD\u2019Urfey\u2019s _Pills to Purge Melancholy_ is a book nowadays to be kept\nunder lock and key, or else to be bound and lettered \u201cPractical\nSermons,\u201d to avoid its being taken down from its shelf and being looked\ninto by young people. And yet--\u201cTempora mutantur et nos mutantur in\nillis.\u201d Addison speaks of his songs in No. 67 of _The Guardian_ thus:\n\u201cI must heartily recommend to all young ladies, my disciples, the case\nof my old friend, who has often made their grandmothers merry, and\nwhose sonnets have perhaps lulled to sleep many a pleasant toast, when\nshe lay in her cradle.\u201d In No. 29, 1713, Addison wrote: \u201cA _judicious_\nauthor, some years since, published a collection of sonnets, which\nhe very successfully called \u2018Laugh and be Fat; or, Pills to Purge\nMelancholy.\u2019 I cannot sufficiently admire the facetious title of these\nvolumes, and must censure the world of ingratitude, while they are so\nnegligent in rewarding the jocose labours of my friend, Mr. D\u2019Urfey,\nwho was so large a contributor to this treatise, and to whose numerous\nproductions so many rural squires in the remotest parts of the island\nare obliged for the dignity and state which corpulency gives them.\u201d\n\nD\u2019Urfey was the last English poet that appeared in the streets attended\nby a page. Many an honest gentleman, it is said, got a reputation in\nhis county by pretending to have been a boon companion of D\u2019Urfey;\nyet, so universal a favourite as he was, towards the latter part of\nhis life he stood in need of assistance to prevent his passing the\nremainder of it in a cage like a singing-bird; for, to use his own\nwords, \u201cafter having written more odes than Horace, and about four\ntimes as many comedies as Terence, he found himself reduced to great\ndifficulties by the importunities of a set of men who of late years had\nfurnished him with the accommodations of life, and would not, as we\nsay, be paid with a song.\u201d\n\nAddison, to relieve the old man, whose sight was then failing, but\nwhose spirits had not been extinguished, applied to the directors\nof the play-house, and they agreed to act _The Plotting Sisters_,\none of his earliest productions, for the benefit of the author. What\nthe result of this benefit was does not appear, but it was probably\nsufficient to make him easy, as we find him living and continuing to\nwrite with the same humour and liveliness to the time of his death,\nwhich happened on 26 February, 1723. He was buried in the churchyard of\nSt. James\u2019s, Westminster, against the wall on the south-west angle of\nwhich church, on the outside, was erected a stone to his memory, with\nthis inscription: \u201cTom Durfey died Feb. 26, 1723.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE BIRD OF THE OXENHAMS\n\n\nThe Lysons brothers, in their _Magna Britannia_, Devon, tell the\nfollowing story, under the head of South Tawton: \u201cOxenham gave its\nname to an ancient family, who possessed it at least from the time\nof Henry III till the death of the late William Long Oxenham, Esq.,\nin 1814. Captain John Oxenham, who had been the friend and companion\nof Sir Francis Drake, and who, having fitted out a ship on a voyage\nof discovery and enterprise on his own account, lost his life in an\nengagement with the Spaniards in South America, in 1575, is supposed\nto have been of this family. The family has been remarkable also for\nthe tradition of a bird having appeared to several of its members\npreviously to their death. Howell, who had seen mention of this\ncircumstance on a monument at a stonemason\u2019s in Fleet Street, which\nwas about to be sent to Devonshire, gives a copy of the inscription\nin one of his letters. It is somewhat curious that this letter proves\nthe fact alleged by Wood, that Howell\u2019s work does not consist of\nentirely genuine letters, but that many of them were first written\nwhen he was in the Fleet prison to gain money for the relief of his\nnecessities. This letter, dated July 3, 1632, relates that, as he\npassed by the stonecutter\u2019s shop \u2018last Saturday,\u2019 he saw the monument\nwith the inscription relating the circumstance of the apparition. It\nappears, however, by a very scarce pamphlet ... that the persons\nwhose names are mentioned in the epitaph, given in Howell\u2019s letter,\nall died in the year 1635, three years after the date of his letter.\nThe persons to whom the apparition is stated in the pamphlet to have\nappeared were John Oxenham, son of James Oxenham, gentleman, of Zeal\nMonachorum, aged twenty-one,[11] and said to have been six feet and\na half in height, who died Sept. 5, 1635, a bird with a white breast\nhaving appeared hovering over him two days before; Thomazine, wife of\nJames Oxenham, the younger, who died Sept. 7, 1635, aged twenty-two;\nRebecca Oxenham, who died Sept. 9, aged eight years; and Thomazine, a\nchild in the cradle, who died Sept. 15. It is added that the same bird\nhad appeared to Grace, the grandmother of John Oxenham, who died 1618.\nIt is stated also that the clergyman of the parish had been appointed\nby the Bishop (Hall) to enquire into the truth of these particulars,\nand that a monument, made by Edward Marshall, of Fleet Street, had been\nput up with his approbation, with the names of the witnesses of each\napparition.\n\n[Illustration: FRONTISPIECE TO \u201cA TRUE RELATION OF AN APPARITION,\u201d\nETC., BY JAMES OXENHAM]\n\n\u201cAnother proof that Howell\u2019s letter must have been written from memory\nis, that most of the Christian names are erroneous. The pamphlet adds,\nthat those of the family who had been sick and recovered never saw\nthe apparition.\u201d The pamphlet to which the brothers Lysons refer is\nentitled: \u201cA True Relation of an Apparition in the likeness of a Bird\nwith a white brest that appeared hovering over the Death-Beds of some\nof the children of Mr. James Oxenham, of Sale Monachorum, Devon, Gent.\nConfirmed by sundry witnesses as followeth in the ensuing Treatise.\nLondon, printed by I. O. for Richard Clutterbuck, and are to be sold\nat the signe of the Gun, in Little Britain, neere St. Botolph\u2019s Church,\n1641.\u201d\n\nNow in the first place it is well to observe that the name of the\nplace is wrong. The Oxenhams did not live at Zeal Monachorum, but at\nSouth Zeal in South Tawton. No Oxenham entries are to be found in the\nregisters of Zeal Monachorum, no monuments of the family are in the\nchurch. The brothers Lysons examined the registers there, and certified\nto this. The Devon volume of the _Magna Britannia_ was published in\n1822. Since that date a portion of the page in the Burial Register,\ncontaining the entries of burials in 1635, has been cut out by some\nperson who has by this means destroyed the evidence that no such\nOxenhams were buried at Zeal Monachorum. Now the pamphlet states that\nJohn, son of James Oxenham, aged twenty-two, died on 5 September, 1635.\nThe register of South Tawton informs us that John Oxenham was buried on\n20 May, 1635, i.e. four months, two weeks, and two days before he died,\naccording to the tract. He was born in 1613 and baptized 17 October in\nthat year. His father, James Oxenham, was married to Elizabeth Hellier\nin 1608. In 1614, a John Oxenham and his wife Mary had a son John as\nwell. Others reported to have had the white-breasted bird appear on\ntheir deaths in the same year, were Thomasine, wife of James Oxenham\nthe younger, Thomasine, their babe, and Rebecca Oxenham, aged eight\nyears.\n\nThere is no entry in the register of the baptism of either Thomasine or\nRebecca, nor of the burial of Thomasine the elder, Thomasine the babe,\nor of Rebecca.\n\nThe second John Oxenham, son of John and Mary, was buried 31 July,\n1636, at least we presume it was he; the registers do not state in\neither case whose son each of the Johns was.\n\nThere is no trace of the younger James to be found in the register, nor\nof any of the Oxenhams in North Tawton registers at or about the time\nof the supposed apparition.\n\nThe witnesses to the vision were, in the case of John Oxenham, Robert\nWoodley and Humphry King. Robert Woodley does occur in the register\nunder date 1664. Mary Stephens was witness to the visions when\nRebecca and Thomasine the babe died, and Mary Stephens does occur in\nthe register under the date 1667, but none of the other witnesses,\nHumphry King, Elizabeth Frost, Joan Tooker, and Elizabeth Averie,\nwidow. Consequently there is negative evidence that Thomasine, elder\nand younger, and Rebecca never existed save in the imagination of the\nauthor of the catch-penny tract.\n\nWe come now to James Howell\u2019s account, in his _Epistol\u00e6 Ho-Elian\u00e6;\nor Familiar Letters_. The first edition of the first series of these\nletters was published in the year 1645, four years after the tract had\nappeared. About the year 1642 he had been committed to the Fleet, and\nthere confined for eight years. He states in his Letter IX, in Sect. 6,\nin a letter to Mr. E. D.:--\n\n    \u201c/Sir/,--I thank you a thousand times for the Noble\n    entertainment you gave me at _Berry_, and the pains you took in\n    shewing me the Antiquities of that place. In requitall, I can tell\n    you of a strange thing I saw lately here, and I beleeve \u2019tis true:\n    As I pass\u2019d by Saint Dunstans in Fleet street the last Saturday, I\n    stepp\u2019d into a Lapidary or Stone-cutters Shop, to treat with the\n    Master for a Stone to be put upon my Father\u2019s Tomb; And casting\n    my eies up and down, I might spie a huge Marble with a large\n    inscription upon \u2019t, which was thus to my best remembrance:--\n\n    \u201c_Here lies_ John Oxenham, _a goodly young man, in whose\n    Chamber, as he was strugling with the pangs of death, a Bird with\n    White-brest was seen fluttering about his Bed, and so vanish\u2019d._\n\n    \u201c_Here lies also_ Mary Oxenham, _the sister of the said John,\n    who died the next day, and the same Apparition was seen in the\n    Room._\n\n    \u201cThen another sister is spoke of. Then, _Here lies hard by_ James\n    Oxenham,_ the son of the said_ John, _who died a child in his\n    cradle a little after, and such a Bird was seen fluttering about\n    his head a little before he expir\u2019d, which vanish\u2019d afterwards_.\n\n    \u201cAt the bottom of the Stone ther is--\n\n    \u201c_Here lies_ Elizabeth Oxenham, _the Mother of the said_\n    John, _who died 16 yeers since, when such a Bird, with a\n    White-Brest, was seen about her Bed before her death._\n\n    \u201cTo all these ther be divers Witnesses, both Squires and Ladies,\n    whose names are engraven upon the Stone: This Stone is to be sent\n    to a Town hard by _Excester_, wher this happend.\u201d\n\nIt will be noticed that Howell has got all the Christian names wrong,\nbut then, as he states, he gave the inscription from memory. If the\ndate of the letter be correct, 1632, that, as Lysons pointed out, was\nbefore the deaths that took place in 1635. But in the first edition of\nthe letters this particular one is undated, and little or no reliance\ncan be placed on the dates that are given; indeed, the bulk of the\nletters, if not all, were written by Howell when in prison and never\nhad been sent to the persons to whom addressed, any more than at the\ndates when supposed to be written. Probably in his second edition he\ndated this letter to E. D. sufficiently early to account for his\nwalking abroad in Fleet Street \u201clast Saturday,\u201d caring only that it\nshould not appear as a composition written in prison.\n\nThat he ever saw the marble monument is improbable, as it is almost\ncertain that no such monument existed. He had read the tract, and\npretended to have seen the stone so as to furnish a theme for an\ninteresting letter. It is extremely unlikely that the names of\nwitnesses to the apparition should be inscribed on the stone. Howell\nsaw these names in the tract; he did not know who they were, but\nsupposed them to be squires and ladies. There were no such gentry\nabout South Tawton at the period. As to the statement made in the\ntract that the Bishop had commissioned the vicar of the parish to\nexamine into the case, and that he and the parson bore testimony to\nits genuine character, that is as worthless as the witnessing to the\nballad concerning the \u201cFish that appeared upon the Coast, on Wednesday\nthe four score of April, forty thousand fathom above water.... It was\nthought she was a woman turned into a cold fish. The ballad is very\npitiful, and as true.... Five justices\u2019 hands at it; and witnesses more\nthan my pack will hold.\u201d\n\nIt was a common trick of ballad-mongers and pamphleteers to add a\nstring of names of witnesses--all fictitious, every one.\n\nThe monument is probably as fictitious as the names of the witnesses.\nThere is not, and there never was, such in South Tawton Church any more\nthan in that of Zeal Monachorum. Lysons gives the Oxenham monuments as\nhe found them there: William Oxenham, gent., 1699; William Oxenham,\nEsq., 1743; George Oxenham, Esq., 1779. \u201cIt is proper to add,\u201d says\nLysons, \u201cthat there is no trace of the Oxenham family, nor of\nthe monument before mentioned, either in the register, church, or\nchurchyard of Zeal Monachorum, nor have I been able to learn that it\nexists at Tawton, or elsewhere in the county.\u201d\n\nI was at South Tawton in 1854, staying with Mr. T. Burkett, the then\nvicar, and I drew some of the monuments in the church, and am certain\nthis particular stone was neither in the church nor outside.\n\nSo also Polwhele, in his _History of Devonshire_, 1793, says: \u201cThe\nprodigy of the white bird ... seems to be little known at present to\nthe common people at South Tawton; nor can I find anywhere a trace of\nthe marble stone which Mr. Howell saw in the lapidary\u2019s shop in London.\u201d\n\nIn Sir William Pole\u2019s _Collections_, published in 1791, there stood\noriginally: \u201cOxenham, the land of Wm. Oxenham [the father of John,\nthe grandfather of Will, father of another John, grandfather of\nJames; whose tombstone respects a strange wonder of this famyly, that\nat theire deaths were still seen a bird with a white brest, which\nfluttering for a while about theire beds suddenly vanisht away, which\ndivers of ye same place belive being eyewitnesses of]\u201d.\n\nSir William Pole died in 1635, and he said not one word about the bird\nof the Oxenhams; that which has been placed within brackets was an\naddition made by his son, Sir John, who had probably read the pamphlet\nor Howell\u2019s Letters. Risdon, who lived not far from South Tawton, knew\nnothing about the bird. In fact, the whole legend grew out of the story\nin the tract.\n\nThat this story is not wholly baseless may be allowed in the one case\nof John Oxenham. As he was dying the window very probably was opened,\nand a ring ouzel, attracted by the light, may have entered, fluttered\nabout, and then flown out again. That the window was open I said was\nprobable, for it is an idea widely spread in England that when a person\nis near death the casement should be thrown open so as to allow the\nsoul to escape. I said once to a nurse who had attended a dying man:\n\u201cWhy did you open the window?\u201d \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t have had his soul go up\nthe chimney, sir?\u201d was the answer.\n\nThe appearance--accidental--of a bird in the death chamber would, in\na superstitious age, be regarded as supernatural. I was attending the\nwife of an old coachman who had been with my father and myself. She\nwas bed-ridden. One day she said to me: \u201cI know I shall go soon, for a\ngreat bird came fluttering at the window.\u201d She did not, however, die\ntill two months later.\n\nThe story of John Oxenham and the bird got about, and then some one\nremarked that a similar sort of thing had happened, so it was said,\nwhen the young man\u2019s grandmother died. That sufficed to set the ball\nrolling. For the purpose of the pamphleteer, three additional cases\nwere invented, cases of Oxenhams who never existed, and the account\nof the stone was added, so as to give the tale greater appearance of\nverisimilitude.\n\nKingsley introduces the white bird as an omen of the navigator Oxenham.\nHe was justified as a novelist in predating the tradition which did not\nexist in his time, and was hatched out of the tract of 1641.\n\nI have said white bird--for as the story went on the white-breasted\nbird became white, hoary with attendance on generations of Oxenhams. It\nmay be interesting, at all events it is amusing, to note, how out of\nthis pious hoax serious convictions have grown that the bird really has\nbeen seen, and that repeatedly.\n\nMessrs. Lysons say: \u201cThis tradition of the bird had so worked upon the\nminds of some of the members of the family, that it is supposed to\nhave been seen by William Oxenham, who died in 1743.\u201d Then they go on\nto relate this particular instance, which is given on the authority of\na note in the manuscript collections of William Chapple. Mr. Chapple\n\u201chad the relation from Dr. Bent, who was brother-in-law to Mr. Oxenham,\nand had attended him as a physician. The story told is, that when the\nbird came into his chambers he observed upon the tradition as connected\nwith his family, but added, he was not sick enough to die, and that he\nshould cheat the bird; and that this was a day or two before his death,\nwhich took place after a short illness.\u201d\n\nThe story is told more fully in a letter printed in the _Gentleman\u2019s\nMagazine_ of April, 1862, from J. Short, Middle Temple, to George\nNares, jun., of Albury.\n\n\u201cI have received an answer from the country in relation to the strange\nbird which appeared to Mr. Oxenham just before his death, and the\naccount which Dr. Bertie gave to Lord Abingdon of it is certainly true.\nIt first was seen outside the window, and soon afterwards by Mrs.\nOxenham in the room, which she mentioned to Mr. Oxenham, and asked him\nif he knew what the bird was. \u2018Yes,\u2019 says he, \u2018it has been upon my face\nand head, and is recorded in history as always appearing to our family\nbefore their deaths; but I shall cheat the bird.\u2019 Nothing more was said\nabout it, nor was the bird taken notice of from that time; but he died\nsoon afterwards. However odd this affair may seem, it is certainly\ntrue, for the account was given of it by Mrs. Oxenham herself, but she\nnever mentions it to any one, unless particularly asked about it, and\nas it was seen by several persons at the same time, I can\u2019t attribute\nit to imagination, but must leave it as a phenomenon unaccounted for.\u201d\n\nIn both these accounts we have the story at second hand. The Hon.\nCharles Barker, /LL.D./, was rector of Kenn at the time, and\nduring his tenure of the rectory, Mrs. Oxenham erected a monument in\nthe church to her father and mother. But who was the J. Short, Middle\nTemple, who wrote the above letter to George Nares, jun., Albury? And\nwhat is more to the point, how came it to be dated December 24th, 1741,\nwhen Mr. William Oxenham, whose death it records, died on 10 December,\n1743? Discrepancies and anachronisms meet us at every point in the\nstory of the Oxenham omen.\n\nIn the _Gentleman\u2019s Magazine_ of the year 1794, the following paragraph\noccurs recording the death of one of the Oxenhams: \u201c13th (January)\nat Exeter, aged 80, Mrs. Elizabeth Weston ... the youngest daughter\nof William Oxenham, Esq., of Oxenham. The last appearance of the\nbird, mentioned by Howell and Prince, is said to have been to Mrs. E.\nWeston\u2019s eldest brother on his death-bed.\u201d Who said it? What was the\nauthority?\n\nIn Mogridge\u2019s _Descriptive Sketch of Sidmouth_, is given a letter\nrelative to the death of a Mr. Oxenham at Sidmouth:--\n\n    \u201c/My dear Sir/,\n\n    \u201cI give you, as well as I can recollect, the story related to\n    me by a much respected baronet of this county. He told me that,\n    having read in Howell\u2019s _Anecdotes_ of the singular appearance of\n    a white bird flying across, or hovering about the lifeless body of\n    divers members of the Devonshire Oxenham family, immediately after\n    dissolution, and also having heard the tradition in other quarters,\n    wishing rather for an opportunity of refuting the superstitious\n    assertion than from an idea of meeting with anything like a\n    confirmation; having occasion to come to Sidmouth shortly after\n    the death of his friend Mr. Oxenham, who resided in an old mansion,\n    not now standing, he questioned the old gardener, who had the care\n    of the house, as to who attended his master when he died, as Mr.\n    O. had gone there alone, meaning only to remain for a day or two.\n    \u2018I and my wife, sir,\u2019 was the reply. \u2018Were you in the room when\n    he expired?\u2019 \u2018Yes, both of us.\u2019 \u2018Did anything in particular take\n    place at that time?\u2019 \u2018No, sir, nothing.\u2019 But then, after a moment\u2019s\n    pause, \u2018There was indeed something which I and my wife could almost\n    swear we saw, which was a white bird fly in at the door, dart\n    across the bed, and go into one of the drawers; and as it appeared\n    in the same way to both of us, we opened all the drawers to find\n    it, but where it went to we could never discover.\u2019 If I recollect\n    rightly, the man on being questioned had not heard of the tradition\n    respecting such appearances.\u201d\n\nUnfortunately Mr. Mogridge does not name the writer of this letter.\nBut it matters little--the story comes third hand. The \u201cmuch-respected\nbaronet\u201d had a bad memory. He thought Howell called the apparition a\n\u201cwhite bird,\u201d and that he related that it crossed the bed after the\nbody was dead. Accordingly the gardener sees things after the erroneous\nfashion of the story remembered so badly by the \u201cmuch-respected\nbaronet.\u201d Who this Mr. Oxenham was, when he died, and where he is\nburied is unknown.\n\nIn _Glimpses of the Supernatural_, published in 1875, is a\ncommunication of the Rev. Henry Nutcombe Oxenham, and a still more\ndetailed account from his pen is in Mr. Cotton\u2019s article on \u201cThe\nOxenham Omen\u201d in the _Transactions_ of the Devonshire Association for\n1882.\n\n\u201cShortly before the death of my late uncle, G. N. Oxenham, Esq., of\n17 Earl\u2019s Terrace, Kensington, who was then head of the family, this\noccurred: His only surviving daughter, now Mrs. Thomas Peter, but then\nunmarried, and living at home, and a friend of my aunt\u2019s, Miss Roberts,\nwho happened to be staying in the house, but was no relation, and had\nnever heard of the family tradition, were sitting in the dining-room,\nimmediately under his bedroom, about a week before his death, which\ntook place on the 15th December, 1873, when their attention was roused\nby a shouting outside the window. On looking out they discerned a white\nbird--which might have been a pigeon, but if so was an unusually large\none--perched on the thorn-tree outside the windows, and it remained\nthere for several minutes, in spite of some workmen on the opposite\nside of the road throwing their hats at it in a vain attempt to drive\nit away. Miss Roberts mentioned this to my aunt at the time, though not\nof course attaching any special significance to it, and my aunt, since\ndeceased, repeated it to me soon after my uncle\u2019s death. Neither did my\ncousin, though aware of the family tradition, think of it at the time.\nMiss Roberts we have lost sight of for some years, and do not even\nknow if she is still living; but Mrs. Thomas Peter confirms in every\nparticular the accuracy of the statement. Of the fact, therefore, there\ncan be no reasonable doubt, whatever interpretation may be put upon it.\nMy cousin also mentioned another circumstance which either I did not\nhear of or had forgotten: viz. that my late aunt spoke, at the time, of\nfrequently hearing a sound like a fluttering of a bird\u2019s wings in my\nuncle\u2019s bedroom, and said that the nurse testified to hearing it also.\u201d\n\nHere we have a development of the story. The bird is _white_, not\nwhite-breasted, and it appears before the death of the head of the\nfamily, whereas in the original story it appeared before the decease\nof any member of the Oxenham family. This looks like a shrinkage of\nthe story. So many had died without the apparition, that it was reduced\nin significance to the appearance before the death of the head of the\nfamily.\n\nMr. Cotton says: \u201cOn my pointing out to Mr. Oxenham that at least the\nearlier notices of his family tradition did not seem to warrant his\nsupposition that the apparition was limited to the head of the family,\nhe informed me that, so far as he was aware, it had always been the\noral tradition in the family that the bird was bound to appear before\nthe death of the head of the family, and that it might or might not\nappear at other deaths, but certainly not that it always did so. Mr.\nOxenham, who was himself a boy at the time, does not remember hearing\nof any appearance of the omen to his great uncle, Richard Oxenham, the\nhead of the family in the previous generation, who died August 24th,\n1844, at Penzance. He was a bachelor, and lived alone, and only his\nsister, Mrs. Oddy, who herself died in 1861, was with him at the time\nof his death. It certainly was not seen at the death of the Rev. W.\nOxenham, Vicar of Cornwood and Prebendary of Exeter, younger brother\nof the above, six months earlier, Feb. 28th, 1844, nor at the death\nof either of the younger brothers of the late head of the family, G.\nN. Oxenham, Esq., before mentioned. On the other hand, it is stated\nby a relative of the family now living, that when Mrs. Oddy died, her\ndaughter, now dead, spoke of birds flapping and hopping at the bedroom\nwindow the night before.\u201d\n\nMy mother was most intimate with Miss Anne Oxenham, who lived in the\nClose, Exeter, one whom I remember and loved. My mother informed me\nthat the bird was seen when Miss Anne Oxenham\u2019s sister died. But on\nwhat authority she received this I am unable to say.\n\nFinally, in September, 1891, on the death of a female descendant of\nthe Oxenhams, the Rev. C. S. Homan states that, while at Oxenham Manor\n(Oxenham, by the way, never was a manor), he was one day up very early\nby daylight, and as he went out of the front door, he just caught sight\nof what in the early light looked like a very large white bird. His\nfather said, \u201cPerhaps it is the Oxenham white bird; if so, there ought\nto be a death in the family.\u201d Within a few days they noticed in the\nnewspaper the death of a connexion of the family, and were struck by\nthe coincidence.[12]\n\nIn these last cases, it will be seen that the bird has grown plump and\nbig. It was first white-breasted, then white, and finally a big white\nbird. So fables grow. One wonders where the bird nests, how many little\nwhite-breasted ones it has had, what has become of them! For that it is\nthe old hoary humbug there can be little doubt becoming blanched with\nage, and stout, \u201cgoing in for its fattenings,\u201d as the Yorkshire folk\nsay.\n\n\n\n\n\u201cLUSTY\u201d STUCLEY\n\n\nIf Devonshire has turned out a number, and a very considerable number,\nof gallant and honourable gentlemen, she has also given birth to some\ngreat scoundrels, and one of these was Thomas Stucley or Stukeley.\n\nHis life was worked out with great pains and elaboration by the late\nRichard Simpson in his _School of Shakespeare_, London, 1878. Indeed,\nit occupies one hundred and thirty-nine pages in the first volume of\nthat work. To give the biography at all fully here is not possible,\nspace is not at one\u2019s disposal for all details; it is also unnecessary,\nsince that exhaustive account by Simpson is accessible to every one.\nThe utmost we can do is to give a summary of the chief events of his\nchequered career. Captain Thomas Stucley was the third son of Sir Hugh\nStucley, of Affeton in the parish of West Worlington, near Chumleigh.\nHugh Stucley, the father of our Thomas, was Sheriff of Devon in 1544;\nhis wife was Jane, daughter of Sir Lewis Pollard. Sir Hugh died in 1560.\n\nThe eldest son, Lewis Stucley, was aged thirty at the death of his\nfather. He became standard-bearer to Queen Elizabeth.\n\nIt was rumoured during the life of Thomas that he was an illegitimate\nson of Henry VIII, like Sir John Perrot. \u201cStucley\u2019s birth,\u201d says Mr.\nSimpson, \u201cmust have occurred at the time when the King, tired of his\nwife Catherine, was as yet ranging among favourites who were contented\nwith something less than a crown as the price of their kindness.\nElizabeth Tailbois had been succeeded by Mary Boleyn; and as Mary\nBoleyn was married to William Carey at Court, and in the presence of\nthe King, 31 January, 1521, it is clear that some one else had already\nsucceeded to her place.\u201d\n\nWhether Thomas ever claimed to be of royal blood we do not know. If so,\nLady Stucley, like Lady Falconbridge, might have cried out:--\n\n    Where is that slave--where is he,\n    That holds in chase mine honour up and down?\n\nBut he was certainly treated at foreign courts as one of birth superior\nto that of a younger son of a Devonshire knight; and the tradition\nobtains some support from the familiar way in which he was received by\nboth queens, Mary and Elizabeth, and the peculiar terms of intimacy\nwhich he assumed towards royal personages; moreover the Duke of\nNorthumberland treated him with the same jealousy with which he might\nhave treated Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, had he been still alive.\nIn the play Vernon says:--\n\n    Doubtless, if ever man was misbegot,\n    It is this Stucley.\n\nAs a retainer of the Duke of Suffolk, into whose household he had\nentered, and whose livery he wore, he was present at the siege of\nBoulogne, 1545-50; and he acted as standard-bearer, with the wage of\nsix shillings and eightpence a day, from 1547 until its surrender to\nthe French in March, 1549-50. Then he returned to England, and attached\nhimself closely to the Protector Somerset.\n\nAs one of the Protector\u2019s retainers, he was probably involved in his\nplot to revolutionize the government. The gendarmerie upon the muster\nday were to be attacked by two thousand men under Sir Ralph Vane, and\nby a hundred horse of the Duke of Somerset\u2019s, besides his friends, who\nwere to stand by, and the idle people who, it was calculated, would\ntake part. After this was done, the Protector intended to run through\nthe city and proclaim, \u201cLiberty! Liberty!\u201d But the plot was discovered\nin time, and Somerset and his chief accomplices were committed to\nthe Tower, 17 October, 1551. The Council gave orders for Stucley\u2019s\napprehension, but he escaped in time, and took refuge in France, where\nhe devoted his sword to the service of Henry II, who entitled him \u201cmon\ncher et bon ami.\u201d\n\nHe must have fought in the campaign of Henry against the Emperor\nCharles V in 1552, when Metz was taken by fraud. He was certainly\nreceived as a disaffected subject, and was admitted to the French\ncounsels. In 1552 he returned to England with a story which he hoped\nwould purchase his pardon. This was to the effect that Henry II\nmeditated a sudden attack upon Calais.\n\nAccording to his account the French King himself had spoken to him\nof the weak points in the defences, had pointed out the very plan of\nassault by which, six years later, Calais was actually taken. Moreover,\naccording to his scheme, the Scots were to enter Northumberland; Henry\nII would land troops at Falmouth, and the Duke of Guise would land at\nDartmouth, which he knew to be undefended. Cecil suggested that Stucley\nshould be sent back to France to acquire further information; but the\nDuke of Northumberland sent Stucley\u2019s report to the French King, and\ncommitted Stucley to the Tower. Henry denied the truth of what had been\nreported. The payment of his debts, which had been promised to Stucley\nas a reward for his revelations, was now refused, and he remained in\nprison to the end of Edward\u2019s reign. He was released on 6 August, 1553,\nbut his debts compelled him again to leave England. Unable to return\nto France, he betook himself to the Emperor, and he was at Brussels in\nthe winter of 1553-4, and served with the Imperial army at St. Omer.\nPhilibert, Duke of Savoy, invited Stucley to accompany him to England\nin October of 1554, and Stucley accordingly appealed to Queen Mary for\nsecurity against arrest whilst in her dominions, and this was granted\nto him for six months, and at the end of December he accompanied the\nDuke to England.\n\nDuring his visit he attempted, Othello-like, to bewitch Anne, the\ngrand-daughter and sole heiress of Sir Thomas Curtis, a wealthy\nalderman of London, with his tales of adventure. Against her father\u2019s\nwishes the lady was beguiled into a secret marriage, and he retired\nwith her to North Devon. On 13 May, 1555, the sheriffs of Devon and\nCheshire were ordered to arrest him on a charge of coining false money.\nHis house was searched, his servants questioned. There was much that\nwas suspicious, but nothing certainly to convict. But Thomas Stucley\nhad taken himself off before the sheriff arrived, and again took\nservice under the Duke of Savoy, and shared in the victory of the\nImperialists over the French at St. Quintin, 10 December, 1557.\n\nThen he went into the Spanish service, but in November old Sir Thomas\nCurtis died, brokenhearted, it was asserted, at the match his favourite\ngrandchild had contracted with one so disreputable and unprincipled.\n\nStucley at once returned to England, and a correspondent of Challoner,\nthe Ambassador in Spain, writes of him in November, 1559: \u201cThe\nAlderman Curtes is dead, and by this time is busy Stucley in the\nmidst of his coffers.\u201d Speedily the accumulations of the merchant\u2019s\nindustrious life were squandered in extravagance. We next hear of him\nin April, 1561, when he was appointed to a captaincy in Berwick. There\nhe entertained Shan O\u2019Neil, a famous, turbulent chief from Ireland, who\nlate in this year visited Elizabeth\u2019s Court, where his train of kerns\nand gallowglasses, clothed in linen kilts dyed with saffron, made a\ngreat impression.\n\nWhile at Court, Shan wrote to Elizabeth: \u201cMany of the nobles, magnates,\nand gentlemen treated me kindly and ingenuously, and, namely, Master\nThomas Stucley entertained me with all his heart, and with all the\nfavour he could.\u201d The friendship was destined to bear fruit later.\n\nIn a few years but little of the alderman\u2019s savings remained, and with\nthe wreck that was left, Stucley fitted out a small squadron, and\nobtained permission from Elizabeth to colonize Florida; and the Queen\ncontributed \u201c2000 weight of corn-powder, and 100 curriers; and besides\nartillery to the value of \u00a3120 towards the furniture of his journey.\u201d\nThis was her investment in the venture, though she did not furnish the\npowder out of her own stores, but made one Bromefield go into debt for\nit with a Dutchman.\n\nFuller says that, \u201chaving prodigally misspent his Patrimony, he entered\non several projects (the issue-general of all decaied estates), and\nfirst pitched on the peopling of Florida, then newly found in the West\nIndies. So confident his ambition, that he blushed not to tell Queen\nElizabeth \u2018that he preferred rather to be sovereign of a Mole-hill\nthan the highest Subject to the greatest King in Christendom\u2019; adding,\nmoreover, \u2018that he was assured he should be a Prince before his\ndeath.\u2019 \u2018I hope,\u2019 said Queen Elizabeth, \u2018I shall hear from you, when\nyou are seated in your Principality.\u2019 \u2018I will write to you,\u2019 quoth\nStucley. \u2018In what languidge?\u2019 said the Queen. He returned, \u2018In the\nstyle of Princes, _To our dear Sister_.\u2019\u201d\n\nHe took leave of the Queen on 25 June, 1563. Cecil wrote in her name\nto the Earl of Sussex, Lord Deputy of Ireland: \u201cOur servant Thomas\nStucley, associated with sundry of our subjects, hath prepared a number\nof good ships well armed and manned to pass to discover certain lands\nto the West towards Florida, and by our licence hath taken the same\nvoyage.\u201d But in the event of stormy winds or accidents he was to be\nwell received, should he put into a port in Ireland.\n\nSo he sailed, but Stucley had no real intention of going to Florida:\nhis squadron lived by piracy on the high seas for two years. He made\nhis head-quarters at Kinsale, where he resumed acquaintance with Shan\nO\u2019Neil, chief of Tyrone, who aspired to be king of Ulster, and was\nrepeatedly in arms against the English. Shan had offered Ireland as\na fief to Philip II of Spain. And now Stucley from Kinsale swept the\nseas, and made prizes of Spanish galleons, and of French and Portuguese\nmerchantmen. Complaints were made by the foreign courts, and the\nEnglish Ambassador at Madrid confessed that \u201che hung his head for\nshame.\u201d Stucley filled his cellars with sherry from Cadiz, and amused\nShan O\u2019Neil with his boastful speech, his flattery, and his utterance\nof what he would do for him; and Shan had the impertinence to write to\nElizabeth in favour of \u201chis so dearly loved friend, and her Majesty\u2019s\nworthy subject.\u201d\n\nIn June, 1563, Stucley took a Zealand ship with \u00a33000 worth of linen\nand tapestry, and then, joining a small fleet of West-countrymen,\nfourteen sail in all, he lay off Ushant, watching for the wine fleet\nfrom Bordeaux professedly, but picking up gratefully whatever the gods\nmight send. No less a person than the Mayor of Dover himself was the\nowner of one of these sea-hawks. Wretched Spaniards flying from their\ntalons were dashed to pieces upon the granite cliffs of Finisterre.\n\nAt length the remonstrances of foreign ambassadors took effect, and\nElizabeth disowned Stucley, and took measures for his apprehension.\nSome ships were sent out with this object, and he was caught in Cork\nharbour, in 1565, put under arrest, and sent to London, where he was\nconsigned to the Tower.\n\nStucley was all the while playing a double game. While professing\nloyalty to the Queen he was in correspondence with Philip of Spain.\nShan O\u2019Neil proposed to Elizabeth that she should divide all Ireland\nbetween himself and Stucley, when they would make of it a paradise.\nStucley had purchased a good deal of land in Cork, and he hoped to\nhave more granted him and to share with St. Leger and Carew in the\npartition of Munster. He had a plausible tongue, put on an air of great\nfrankness, and soon obtained his release, and was actually sent back\nto Ireland with a letter of recommendation from Cecil. There he bought\nof Sir Nicholas Bagnal for \u00a3300 down his office of Marshal of Ireland\nand all Bagnal\u2019s estate in the island. Elizabeth, however, refused to\nsanction the transaction; she mistrusted him, and with reason, for he\nwas engaged in constant treasonable correspondence with the Spanish\nAmbassador, and he was in receipt of a pension from Philip. She heard\nreports of murders, robberies, and other outrages committed by him, and\nordered him back to England. He obeyed, cleared himself, and in 1567\nwas allowed to return to Ireland, where he purchased of Sir Nicholas\nHeron the offices of seneschal and constable of Wexford and captainship\nof the Kavanaghs, together with many estates. Again Elizabeth\ninterfered, and Stucley was turned out of his offices. Nicholas White,\nHeron\u2019s successor, now accused Stucley of felony and high treason, and\nin June, 1569, he was imprisoned in Dublin Castle. It was high time; he\nhad in that same month proposed to Philip the invasion of Ireland, and\nhad demanded twenty fully armed ships for the purpose. As sufficient\nevidence to convict him was not forthcoming, he was discharged, but\nfelt that he could no longer rely on Elizabeth\u2019s forbearance. With\ntreachery in his heart he pretended to Sidney, the Queen\u2019s deputy in\nIreland, that after such misinterpretation of his acts and doubts of\nhis fidelity, he desired to go in person to his royal mistress and\nclear his reputation with her; and Sidney, instead of sending him over\nunder a guard, was contented with his parole--Stucley\u2019s parole!\n\nStucley informed him that for his defence he needed a certain number\nof Irish gentlemen to serve as witnesses to his conduct. The deputy\npermitted him to purchase and fit out a ship at Waterford to transport\nthem and himself. He took with him some Irish cavaliers, along with\ntheir servants and horses, and a miscellaneous crew of adventurers.\nThey embarked as for London, but when clear of the harbour made for the\nocean. A few days after they sailed for Galicia, and sent messengers to\nPhilip to announce their arrival.\n\nThe Archbishop of Cashel, then at Madrid, not knowing much of Stucley,\nrecommended Philip to receive the party. The King accordingly sent\nfor him to Court, knighted him, loaded him with presents, granted him\nfive hundred reales a day and a residence at Las Rozas, nine miles\nfrom Madrid, where he lived in great state, with thirty gentlemen\nabout him. He made great brag of the vast estates of which the Queen\nhad deprived him--Wexford, Kinsale, the Kavanagh country, Carlow, and\nthe whole kingdom of Leinster, and an income of \u00a32200 per diem--and\nwas believed. He assumed the title of Duke of Ireland, but Philip only\nallowed him to be received as Duke of Leinster. He represented himself\nas of vast influence in Ireland, and Philip was completely taken in by\nhis boasting. But the Archbishop of Cashel soon received tidings of his\nreal position in the island. He had robbed churches, despoiled abbeys,\nwas detested by the native Irish whom he had cruelly maltreated, and\nwas of no influence at all. Thenceforth two parties were formed in\nthe Spanish Court, one denouncing Stucley as an adventurer and so\nunprincipled that if he thought it would suit his purpose would betray\neverything to Elizabeth. The other party believed in his professions\nand encouraged the King to trust him; and his assumption, his audacious\nand enormous lies, his perfect self-assurance bore down all opposition,\nand under Stucley\u2019s auspices the Spanish Government began serious\npreparations for the invasion and conquest of Ireland. Ships were\ncollected at Vigo with arms and stores. Ten thousand men were to be\nraised, and Julian Romero was to be recalled from Flanders to command.\n\nMeanwhile he amused the Spaniards with scandalous stories about\nElizabeth and her Court, and his fool\u2019s boast of what he was about to\nachieve.\n\n\u201cMaster Stukely said to the King\u2019s Council that the Queen\u2019s Majesty\nwill beat Secretary Cecil about the ears when he discontenteth her, and\nhe will weep like a child. The Spaniards asking him why the Queen\u2019s\nHighness did not marry, he said she would never marry, for she cannot\nabide a woman with child, for she saith those women be worse than a\nsow. He also said, \u2018What hurt I can do her I will do it and will make\nher vilely afraid.\u2019\u201d[13]\n\n\u201cThe Duke\u2019s Grace Stukely had received the Sacrament, and promised\nto render unto the King of Spain not only entrance within his duchy,\nbut also possession of the whole realm of Ireland. The soldiers were\namassing from all parts of Spain--Spaniards, Burgundians, Italians, the\nmost part Bezonians, beggarly, ill-armed rascals, but their captains\nold beaten men-of-war. The King was sparing no cost on the enterprise,\nand no honours to Stukely, hoping by such means to enlarge his\nempire.\u201d[14]\n\nNothing, however, came of this at the time, and the party that\nperceived Stucley to be a charlatan grew stronger, his boasting palled,\nand the King at last became suspicious and withdrew his favour.\nPerceiving himself to be regarded on all sides with mistrust, not to\nsay with contempt, in a huff he left Spain, went to Italy, and offered\nhis service to the Pope. In 1571 he was given command of three galleys,\nand partook in Don John\u2019s victory over the Turks at Lepanto; and thus\nraised himself considerably in King Philip\u2019s estimation. Then he went\nback to Rome, where \u201cit is incredible how quickly he wrought himself\ninto the favour, through the Court into the Chamber, yea Closet, yea\nBosom of Pope Pius V; so that some wise men thought his Holiness did\nforfeit a parcel of his Infallibility in giving credit to such a\n_Glorioso_, vaunting that with three thousand Soldiers, he would beat\nall the English out of Ireland.\u201d\n\nThe Pope created Stucley Baron of Ross, Viscount Murrough, Earl of\nWexford, and Marquess of Leinster, and furnished him with a few vessels\nand eight hundred soldiers, but these were to receive their pay from\nthe King of Spain.\n\nSome contention arose as to the division of spoil when Elizabeth was\noverthrown and England and Ireland were at the feet of Gregory XIII and\nPhilip of Spain. The Pope gave Stucley a consecrated banner to plant\nin Ireland, which was to become wholly his own, and to which he was to\nappoint the Pope\u2019s bastard son, Giacomo Buoncompagni, as king.\n\nStucley left Civita Vecchia in March, 1577-8, but soon found that the\nvessels were unseaworthy, and the military the offscouring of Italy.\nStucley put into Lisbon for repairs, and found King Sebastian of\nPortugal preparing for his attempt on North Africa, having with him two\nMoorish kings. The King persuaded Stucley to accompany him. Landing in\nAfrica, Stucley gave wise counsel to Sebastian not to engage the enemy\ntill the soldiers had recovered from the voyage, they having suffered\nseverely in the stormy passage. But the young King would listen to no\nadvice, and in the battle of Alcazar, on 4 August, 1578, Stucley lost\nhis life, regretted probably by none.\n\n    A fatal fight, where in one day was slain\n    Three king\u2019s that were, and one that would be fain.\n\nThus perished a man of whom Cecil had written some years before,\n\u201cThomas Stucley, a defamed person almost through all Christendom, and\na faithless beast rather than a man, fleeing first out of England for\nnotable piracies, and out of Ireland for treacheries unpardonable.\u201d\n\nLord Burghley wrote: \u201cOf this man might be written whole volumes to\npaint out the life of a man in the highest degree of vain-glory,\nprodigality, falsehood, and vile and filthy conversation of life, and\naltogether without faith, conscience, or religion.\u201d\n\nStucley at once became the hero of ballads, chapbooks, and plays.\n_The Famous History of the Life and Death of Captain Thomas Stukeley_\nwas printed in 1605, and Peele\u2019s _Battle of Alcazar_ in 1594, but\nboth plays had been acted before these dates. In the _Life and Death_\nStucley is glorified, as an idol of the military or Essex party to\nwhich Shakespeare is known to have belonged, and it has been thought\nthat his hand can be traced in the composition. But if so, he has left\nin it but little trace of his genius.\n\nIn one of the ballads published about Stucley, he is thus spoken of:--\n\n    Taverns and ordinaries--were his chiefest braveries,\n      Golden angels there flew up and down;\n    Riots were his best delights--with stately feasting day and night,\n      In court and city thus he won renown.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BIDEFORD WITCHES\n\n\nAt the assizes held at the castle of Exeter 14 August, 1682, three poor\nold women from Bideford--Temperance Lloyd, aged eighty years, Mary\nTrembles, and Susanna Edwards--were tried for witchcraft, were found\nguilty, and were executed on 25 August ensuing.\n\nThey had all previously been examined before Thomas Gist, Mayor of\nBideford, and John Davie, Alderman, and also by the Rector. Before\nthese worthies they had made full confession of their misdeeds, but to\nwhat an extent they had been drawn on by leading questions appears from\nthe _proc\u00e8s verbal_ of these examinations.\n\nThe worst of the three women was Temperance Lloyd, \u201cintemperate\nTemperance\u201d as she is called in one account.\n\nAccording to the information of Dorcas Coleman, she had suffered from\nprickings in her body. She had consulted a physician, Dr. Beare, and he\nhad told her that he could do nothing for her, as she was bewitched.\nWhen Susanna Edwards entered the room of Dorcas, the deponent was\nsitting in her chair speechless, but on seeing Susanna she slid out of\nher seat and tried to scramble towards her so as with her nails to draw\nblood, for by that means alone can a spell be broken that has been cast\nby a witch.\n\nGrace Thomas also complained of pricking pains caused by Temperance\nLloyd, \u201cjust as though pins and awls had been thrust into her body,\nfrom the crown of her head to the soles of her feet.\u201d Temperance was\nbrought to confess that she had met the devil, as a little blackamoor,\nin a lane, and that she had gone with him invisibly to the bedroom of\nGrace Thomas, who lodged in the house of Thomas Eastchurch, and that\nshe \u201cdid then and there pinch with the nails of her fingers the said\nGrace, in her shoulders, thighs, and legs.\u201d She further admitted that\nthe black man had sucked her teats, and that he was about the length\nof her arm. She was subjected to examination by some matrons, who\nprofessed that they found suspicious marks upon her body. Before the\nrector of Bideford she confessed that, having assumed the form of a\ncat, she fetched out of Thomas Eastchurch\u2019s shop a puppet, commonly\ncalled a child\u2019s baby, and left it near Grace\u2019s bed, but she would\nin no way admit that she had run pins into this figure. It appears\nthat Grace Thomas had been pricked in nine places about the knee, as\nthough pricked by a thorn, and according to the evidence of Elizabeth\nEastchurch, Temperance had confessed that she had taken a piece of\nleather and driven a pin into it nine times, purposing thereby to cause\ninjury to the skin of Grace. She allowed that she had been accused of\nassuming the form of a red pig, but would not admit that the accusation\nwas true. According to the evidence, the devil had appeared to her at\nvarious times, sometimes in the form of a magpie, sometimes in that of\na grey or braget cat.\n\nSusanna Edwards confessed that she first encountered the devil, dressed\nvery respectably and gravely in a black suit, in the Parsonage Close,\nand that afterward, shrinking in size to a small boy, he had sucked\nblood from her breast. She had pricked and pinched Grace Barnes; and\nshe stated that whilst her body lay motionless in bed, she could go to\nany place she liked invisibly.\n\nMary Trembles confessed that the devil came to her \u201cin the shape of a\nLyon\u201d and sucked her so hard, that she was obliged to scream for pain,\nand that she also could travel invisibly.\n\nAmong these witches, a certain Anne Fellow was said to have been done\nto death by their practices. They had also bewitched cows so that\nthey would not yield their milk; and Temperance admitted that she\nhad caused several shipwrecks and been instrumental to the death of\nseveral persons and many cattle. They could only say the Lord\u2019s Prayer\nbackwards. They had squeezed Hannah Thomas to death. At their trial at\nthe assizes, all their confessions before the Mayor and Alderman at\nBideford were accepted against them. There was no evidence produced to\ninculpate them beyond these confessions and the suppositions of women\nwho had felt pains and pricks in their bodies. Nevertheless, the three\npoor creatures were sentenced to death. On the scaffold they were again\nquestioned, and denied almost everything that they had previously been\ninduced or frightened into admitting.\n\nThe authorities for this account are:--\n\n\u201cA True and Impartial Relation of the Informations against Three\nWitches, Temperance Lloyd, Mary Trembles, and Susanna Edwards ...\nLondon, 1682.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Tryal, Condemnation and Execution of three Witches ... who were\narraigned at Exeter, on the 18th of August, 1682 ... London, 1682.\u201d In\nthis the names are given inaccurately.\n\nThere is also a broadside ballad on the subject. At the top are two\nrude woodcuts of witches, and a third of the devil dancing in the\nmiddle of a ring of witches. He holds a candle in his right hand and a\nbroomstick in the other. Black owls are flying about; and a black cat\nsits hard by looking on complacently. It has been reprinted by John\nAshton in his _Century of Ballads_, London, 1887.\n\nIt is wretched doggerel. Here are some stanzas:--\n\n    So these Malicious Women at the last,\n    Having done mischief, were by Justice cast;\n    For it appear\u2019d they children had destroy\u2019d,\n    Lamed Cattel, and the Aged much annoy\u2019d.\n\n    Having Familiars always at their Beck,\n    Their Wicked Rage on Mortals for to wreck;\n    It being proved they used Wicked Charms,\n    To Murder Men, and bring about sad harms.\n\n    The Country round where they did live came in,\n    And all at once their sad complaints begin;\n    One lost a Child, the other lost a Kine,\n    This his brave Horse, that his hopeful Swine.\n\n    One had his Wife bewitch\u2019d, the other his Friend,\n    Because in some things they the Witch offend:\n    For which they labour under cruel pain,\n    In vain seek remedy, but none can gain.\n\n\n\n\nSIR \u201cJUDAS\u201d STUKELEY\n\n\nSir Lewis Stukeley, or Stucley, who has been branded as the Judas of\nDevonshire, was the eldest son of John Stukeley, of Affeton, by Frances\nSt. Leger. He had two brothers and several sisters. He was great-nephew\nto \u201cLusty\u201d Stucley, and partook of that vein of meanness and treachery\nthat characterized Thomas. He was married to Frances daughter of\nAnthony Monk, of Potheridge, a family which, if not more ancient, was\nfree from the taint of baseness that savoured three of the Stukeleys.\nBy her he had five sons; none were knighted, the shame of the father\nrested on them, and it was not till the next generation that knighthood\nwas again granted to the representative of the Stukeleys, of Affeton.\n\nLewis himself was knighted, not for any worthiness that he had shown,\nbut as the representative of a good family, when James I was on his\nway to London in 1603. In 1617 he was appointed guardian of Thomas\nRolfe, the infant son of Pocahontas by J. Rolfe. Then he was created\nVice-Admiral of Devon, and in that capacity he left London in June,\n1618, with verbal orders from the King to arrest Sir Walter Raleigh,\nthen arrived at Plymouth on his return from the Orinoco. Sir Walter\nhad been released from his long captivity in the Tower, because he\ngave hopes to James of finding a gold-mine in Guiana. He had been\nthere before, had brought away auriferous spar, and had heard tidings\nof deposits of gold. James was in debt and in need of money, and he\nclutched at the chance of getting out of his difficulties through the\ngold of Guiana. That there was gold there is certain; Raleigh\u2019s mine\nhas been identified; but since he had left the Orinoco, the Spaniards\nhad pushed up the river and annexed land and built stations.\n\nJames did not want to break with the Spanish Government and gave\nRaleigh instructions not to come to blows with the Spaniards.\nUnhappily, Raleigh\u2019s lieutenant, whom he had dispatched up the river,\ndid come to blows with them, and blood was shed; it was however in\nself-defence, for the Spaniards had fallen upon the English party when\nunprepared and killed some of them. This unfortunate business, and the\nfact that Raleigh could not reach his gold-mine, the way to it being\nintercepted by the Spaniards, made him turn back with a heavy heart. On\nreaching Plymouth, he hasted towards London to state the case to the\nKing, when he was met at Ashburton by his cousin, Sir Lewis Stukeley,\nwith smiles and professions of love--but having war in his heart. His\nrancour against his kinsman was due to a quarrel in 1584, when, as\nStukeley asserted, Sir Walter did \u201cextreme injustice\u201d to Stukeley\u2019s\nfather, then a volunteer in Sir Richard Grenville\u2019s Virginia voyage,\nby deceiving him in a matter of a venture he had made. James was in a\ngreat fright lest he should be plunged in war with the King of Spain,\nand very angry because the gold-mine had not been found; and Stukeley\nwas promised \u00a3500 to worm out of his cousin some damning admissions, as\nthat there never had been any gold-mine at all, and to betray these to\nJames. Stukeley had received only verbal instructions from the King. He\ntherefore reconducted Raleigh back to Plymouth, where he placed him in\nRadford, the house of Sir Christopher Harris, who was charged with his\ncustody, till Stukeley received orders from James. Raleigh was ill--or\nfeigned to be ill--the former is the more probable, and he being laxly\nguarded formed a plan of escape to France. He commissioned Captain\nKing, the only one of his officers who remained faithful to the last,\nto make arrangements for flight with the master of a French vessel\nthen lying in the Sound. At nightfall, the two stole from Radford and\ngot into a boat lying at the little quay below the house. They had not\nrowed far, however, before qualms came over Raleigh; it seemed to him\nunworthy of his past and of his honour to fly his native land; and he\nperhaps counted too securely on the generosity of the despicable James.\nHe changed his mind, and ordered King to return to Radford. Next day\nhe sent money to the Frenchman, and begged him to wait for him another\nnight. Night came, but Raleigh did not stir. This singular irresolution\nin a man so energetic, ready, and firm, points surely to the fact\nthat he was ill at the time, suffering from the ague which so often\nprostrated him. Stukeley at length received orders to take his prisoner\nto London, and the opportunity to escape was gone for ever. As Raleigh\npassed through Sherborne, he pointed out the lands that had once been\nhis, and related how wrongfully they had been taken from him.\n\nAt Salisbury Raleigh complained of illness, and begged to be allowed to\nhalt there for a while. It was asserted by a French quack, Mannourie,\nset as a spy over him, that he got the doctor to anoint him so as to\nproduce sores wherever the ointment was applied. This was one of the\ncharges afterwards brought against him, at the special insistence of\nKing James, who always kept his eye on trifles. Whilst Raleigh was at\nSalisbury, Sir Lewis Stukeley robbed him of all his jewels and money,\nleaving him only the emerald ring on his finger, engraved with the\nRaleigh arms. It has been asserted that Sir Walter endeavoured here\nto bribe his cousin to connive at his escape. Had this been the case,\nStukeley would certainly have mentioned it in his \u201cHumble Petition,\u201d\nand justification of his conduct after the execution of Raleigh. He was\nnot the man to fail to flaunt such a feather in his cap as that he had\nresisted a bribe, had such a bribe been offered him.\n\nWhilst Raleigh lay ill at Salisbury, Captain King hurried up to London,\nby his master\u2019s direction, to hire a vessel to wait at Gravesend till\nhe should be able to go on board. The master of the vessel at once\nbetrayed the matter. Sir William St. John, a captain of one of the\nKing\u2019s ships, immediately took horse and rode to meet Stukeley and his\nprisoner on their way to town, and encountered them before he reached\nBagshot. Stukeley then confided to him certain charges against Raleigh\nwhich he was to lay before the King.\n\nNext day Stukeley had fresh matter to dispatch to the Court. It was\nthis: La Chesn\u00e9e, the interpreter of the French Embassy, visited Sir\nWalter at Brentford. He had brought with him a message from Le Clerc,\nagent for the King of France, offering him a passage on board a French\nvessel, together with letters of introduction which would secure him an\nhonourable reception in Paris. Raleigh thanked him for the offer, but\nreplied that he had already provided for his escape. All this Stukeley\nlearned by applying his ear to the keyhole or by worming the secret\nout of Raleigh by professions of kindness and desire to assist him to\nescape.\n\nJames at once took alarm. A plot with France was a serious matter at\nthat time. He accordingly directed Stukeley to continue to counterfeit\nfriendship with Raleigh, to assist him in his meditated escape, and\nonly to arrest him at the last moment; and to bring this attempt as one\nmore charge against Raleigh. So Stukeley continued to insinuate himself\ninto the confidence of his cousin, and endeavoured by all means in his\npower to wheedle out of him such papers as might afford evidence of his\ndesigns and might serve to help to bring him to the scaffold.\n\nOn his arrival in town, Raleigh was conducted to his own house in Broad\nStreet. There he was revisited by Le Clerc, who repeated his former\noffers.\n\nThe next morning Sir Walter got into a boat attended by Stukeley, all\nsmiles, and the honest King; and, as prearranged, he was arrested at\nWoolwich and at once lodged in the Tower.\n\nOn 29 October, 1618, Raleigh\u2019s head fell under the executioner\u2019s\naxe. He was a victim to Spanish resentment and to James\u2019s meanness\nin offering him as a sacrifice to curry favour with Spain. Gardiner\nsays Raleigh was executed \u201cnominally in accordance with the sentence\ndelivered in 1603; in reality because he had failed to secure the gold\nof which James was in need. The real crime was the King\u2019s, who had sent\nhim out without first defining the limits of Spanish sovereignty.\u201d\n\nThe writer of the notice of Sir Lewis Stukeley in the _Dictionary\nof National Biography_ takes a lenient view of Stukeley\u2019s conduct.\n\u201cStukeley certainly gave hostile, not necessarily false evidence\nagainst Raleigh. He seems to have been a harsh, narrow-minded, and\nvulgar man, glad to have his cousin in his power, to revenge himself on\nhim for the pecuniary loss his own father had entertained.\u201d Gardiner\nsays: \u201cStukeley seems to have thought it no shame to act as a spy\nupon the man who had called upon him to betray his trust;\u201d but it\nis precisely this charge that cannot be established. We have no good\nevidence that Raleigh did attempt to bribe him. Popular opinion ran\nstrongly against Stukeley, and he was nicknamed Sir Judas. He tried\nto hold up his head at Court, but no man would condescend to speak to\nhim. He met on all sides with glances full of contempt and gestures of\ndisgust. He hurried to James, and offered to take the Sacrament upon\nthe truth of a story Raleigh had denied on the scaffold--that he had\nbeen offered a commission by the French King (the story came through\nMannourie); but no one would have believed Stukeley a whit the readier\nhad he done this.\n\nIndeed, Mannourie subsequently admitted that it was false, when he\nwas arrested for clipping the gold, the blood money, he had received\nfor spying on Sir Walter. In a letter from the Rev. T. Lorkin to Sir\nT. Puckering on 16 February, 1618-19, he says: \u201cManourie, the French\nApothecary, (who joigned with Stukely in the accusation of Syr Walter\nRaleigh) is at Plimouth for clippyng of gold ... his examination was\nsent up hether to the King, wherein ... (as I hear from Syr Rob.\nWinde, cupbearer I thincke to his Majesty, who saith he read the\nexamination) that his accusation against Raleigh was false, and that\nhe was wonne thereto by the practise and importunity of Stukely, and\nnow acknowledges this his present miserable condition a judgment of God\nupon him for that.\u201d\n\nWhen Stukeley made this offer to King James, a bystander dryly observed\nthat if the King would order him to be beheaded, and if he would then\nconfirm the truth of his story with an oath while on the scaffold, then\npossibly he might be believed.\n\nOne day Sir Judas went to call on the old Earl of Nottingham, who\nwas Lord High Admiral, and asked to be allowed to speak to him. The\nEarl turned on him instantly. \u201cWhat,\u201d he said, \u201cthou base fellow! Thou\nwho art reputed the scorn and contempt of men, how darest thou offer\nthyself into my presence? Were it not in my own house, I would cudgel\nthee with my staff for presuming to be so saucy.\u201d Stukeley ran off to\nwhine to the King, but even there he met with no redress. \u201cWhat,\u201d said\nJames, \u201cwouldst thou have me do? Wouldst thou have me hang him? On my\nsoul, if I should hang all that speak ill of thee, all the trees in the\ncountry would not suffice.\u201d It was even said, probably without truth,\nthat James had said to Stukeley, \u201cSir Walter\u2019s blood be on thy head.\u201d\n\nA few days after the scene with the King, it was discovered that\nStukeley had been for many years engaged in the nefarious occupation\nof clipping coin. It was even said that he tampered in this way with\nthe very gold pieces which had been paid to him as the price of his\nservices for lodging Raleigh in the Tower and betraying him. When\narrested he endeavoured to excuse himself by inculpating his son. Could\nmeanness descend to a lower depth?\n\n\u201c1618-19. Jan. 12.... Upon Twelf night Stukely was committed close\nprisoner in the Gate house for clipping of gould. He had receyved of\nthe Exchequer some weeks before \u00a3500 in recompense for the service he\nhad performed in the business of Syr Walter Raleigh, and beganne (as\nis said) to exercise the trade upon that ill-gotten money (the price\nof blood). Upon examination he endeavoured to avoid it from himself,\nby casting the burden either upon his sonne or man. The former playes\nleast in sight and can not be found. The servant is committed to the\nMarshalsay, who, understanding that his Master would shift over the\nbusiness to him, is willing to sett the saddle upon the right horse,\nand accuses his Master.\u201d[15]\n\nBut the accusation was not pressed. King James owed Stukeley too deep a\ndebt to let him suffer, and he threw him a pardon, so that the evidence\nagainst him was not gone into. It may be remembered that \u201cLusty\u201d\nStukeley had also been implicated in clipping and coining, and had only\nescaped arrest by flying the country.\n\nStukeley, an outcast from society in London, went down to Affeton. But\neven there he was ill-received. The gentry would not speak to him, his\nown retainers viewed him with a cold, if not hostile, eye, and rendered\nhim but bare obedience.\n\nThe brand of Cain was on him, and he fled from the society of his\nfellow men to the isle of Lundy, and shut himself up in the lonely,\nhaunted tower of the De Mariscoes. There he went raving mad and\nperished (1620), a miserable lunatic on that rock, surrounded by\nthe roaring of the waves and the shrieks of the wind. His body was\nconveyed to South Molton, so that he was denied even a grave beside his\nancestors at Affeton.\n\nFor authorities, see Gardiner, _Prince Charles and the Spanish\nMarriage_, Vol. I, London, 1869; Dr. Brushfield\u2019s _Raleghana_, Part\nVII; the _Dictionary of National Biography, s.n._; and the various\nLives of Raleigh.\n\n\n\n\nTHE SAMPFORD GHOST\n\n\nIn 1810, considerable commotion was caused by the rumour that spread\nconcerning a house in Sampford Peverell reputed to be haunted. The\nhouse belonged to a Mr. Tally, who let it to a Mr. Chave, son of\na well-to-do yeoman of the neighbourhood, for a general shop and\nresidence. The rumours reached the ears of the Rev. C. Colton,\n/M.A./, a clergyman at Tiverton, and he visited Sampford to\ninvestigate the matter, and wrote his experiences to the editor of the\n_Taunton Courier_ on 18 August. The tone of the letter is frank and\nsincere.\n\n\u201cI am well aware that all who know me would not require the sanction\nof an oath, but as I am now addressing the public, I must consider\nmyself before a tribunal of which my acquaintance constitutes a very\nsmall part. And first, I depose that after six nights at Mr. Chave\u2019s\nhouse, and with a mind perfectly unprejudiced, after the most minute\ninvestigation and closest inspection of the premises, I am utterly\nunable to account for any of the phenomena.\n\n\u201cI further depose, that in my visits to Mr. Chave\u2019s house, I never had\nany other motive, direct or indirect, but an earnest wish to trace\nthese phenomena to their true and legitimate cause. Also that I have\nin every instance found the people of the house most willing and ready\nto contribute everything in their power to co-operate with me in the\ndetection of the cause of these unaccountable sights and violent blows\nand sounds. Also, that I have affixed a seal with a crest to every\ndoor, cavity, etc., in the house, through which any communication could\nbe carried--that this seal was applied to each end of sundry pieces of\npaper in such a manner that the slightest attempt to open such doors,\nor pass such cavities, must have broken these papers--that none of\nthese papers were deranged or broken; and also, that the phenomena that\nnight were as unaccountable as ever.\n\n\u201cAlso, that it appears that this plot, if it be a plot, hath been\ncarried on for many months, that it must be in the hands of more than\nfifty people, that the present owner is losing the value of his house,\nthe tenant the customers of his shop, whom fear now prevents from\nvisiting it after sunset.\u201d\n\nTo this and more, Mr. Colton took oath before B. Wood, Master in\nChancery, Tiverton.\n\nThis letter was animadverted upon by the editor and by writers to the\n_Taunton Courier_, as dealing in general, and giving no details.\n\nTo this Mr. Colton (14 September) replied, giving particulars of what\nhe had seen and heard.\n\nThe house rented by Chave had for some time been looked upon as\nhaunted. An apprentice boy lodging in it had been frightened by the\napparition of a woman. Persons passing at night had seen strange lights\nin the windows. Mr. Colton goes on to say:--\n\n\u201cRather more than four months ago, this house became extremely\ntroublesome. The inhabitants were alarmed in the following manner:\nnoises and blows by day were heard extremely loud, in every apartment\nof the house. On going upstairs and stamping on any of the boards of\nthe floor, in any room, say five or six times, corresponding blows,\ngenerally louder, and more in number, would be instantly returned. The\nvibration of the boards caused by the violence of these blows would be\nsensibly felt through a shoe or boot. Observe, the floors underneath\nwhich these noises were heard are all of them immediately over rooms\nthat are ceiled. An effect not to be produced by any blows on the\nceiling was that the dust was thrown up from such boards as were beaten\nwith such velocity as to affect the eyes of the spectators.\n\n\u201cAt midday the cause of these effects would announce its approach by\namazing and loud knockings in some apartment or other of the house,\nabove stairs or below, as might happen. The moment they were heard,\nany person on ascending the stairs, and stamping with the feet, would\nbe answered somewhat louder; and then, what is extremely curious,\nthese noises would absolutely follow the persons through any of the\nupper apartments. The joists and beams of the flooring opposed not the\nslightest obstacle to its progress. Walls it would penetrate with equal\nfacility, as was manifest by its following any person into different\napartments.\n\n\u201cThese phenomena by day continued almost incessantly for about five\nweeks, when they gradually gave place to others still more curious\nand alarming, which succeeded at night. There are two apartments in\nthis house--one within the other. In this room there is but one door,\nnot a single cupboard, and one very small chimney. The walls are of\nstone, the flooring of new deal, extremely close, and not covered by\na carpet. There is one large modern window in the room. There is no\nvisible access to this room but through another, in which they who wish\nto satisfy their curiosity constantly sit. The partition is thin, there\nis also a window in it (it is of lath and plaster). In the room where\nstrangers sit, there is also one door only; and there is a kind of\nlanding-room at the top of the stairs opposite to this door.\u201d\n\nIn the further room the servant-maids were sent to sleep. These\nwere now violently beaten, during the night, producing bruises and\nswellings. Those who sat in the outer room could hear the blows being\nadministered. Mr. Colton went into the inner room and stood by the bed\nwhere the maids were, and heard the blows rained on them. When he cried\nfor a light, it was brought in, but no person could be seen by him who\ncould have administered these blows.\n\nThe next phenomenon was this, not witnessed by Mr. Colton. He says:\n\u201cMr. Chave, of Mere, no relation at all to Mr. Chave who rents the\nhouse, can swear to the following fact. Sitting up to hear and see\nthese phenomena, he was alarmed by one or two loud shrieks; on rushing\ninto the room his course at the threshold of the door was arrested by\nthe following phenomenon. Every curtain of that bed was agitated and\nthe knots thrown and whirled about with such rapidity, all at the same\ntime, that it would have been by no means pleasant to have been in\ntheir vortex, or within the sphere of their action.\u201d The moon at the\ntime was full, and was shining into the room.\n\n\u201cThis scene, accompanied with such a violent noise of the rings as\ncould not have been exceeded by four persons stationed one at each\ncurtain for the purpose, continued for about two minutes, when it\nconcluded with a noise resembling the tearing of a sheet from top to\nbottom. Candles were then instantly produced, and many rents, one\nvery large one _across_ the grain of strong new cotton curtains, were\ndiscovered.\u201d Mr. Colton, however, on other occasions professes to have\nseen the curtains violently agitated and a heavy Greek Testament\nplaced on the bed flung across the room. But it is worth noticing that\nthese things only took place when the women were in the bed, and never\nwhen the candle was in the room. The maids now pretended to be so\nfrightened that they dared no longer sleep in their room, whereupon Mr.\nand Mrs. Chave allowed them to remove into their apartment. The noises\nfollowed them, an iron candlestick was flung across the room at Mr.\nChave\u2019s head. Another significant matter noted by Mr. Colton, was that\nthe maids after one of these violent exhibitions were found bathed in\nperspiration, the drops rolling from their brows.\n\nSuch is a brief summary of Mr. Colton\u2019s narrative. It called forth a\npamphlet by Mr. Marriott, the editor of the _Taunton Courier_, that\nhad been prompted by Mr. Tally who was much annoyed at the probable\ndepreciation of the value of his house, and who gave notice to Mr.\nChave to quit it.\n\nMr. Marriott was doubtless right in his conjecture that there was\na plot among the servants, and that it was they who produced the\nphenomena. He conjectured that the raps were dealt by a mop-stick at\nthe ceiling below the floors that seemed to be struck. He pointed out\nthat there were marks on the ceiling as if the mop-stick had been so\nused, and he intimated that the set of hauntings was due to Mr. Chave\ntrying by this means to avenge a quarrel he had had with his landlord\nover a bill.\n\nTo this Mr. Colton promptly replied, that it was true that there was a\nmop-stick in the house, but that by means of the mop-stick the sounds\nheard and the vibration of the boards casting up dust could not have\nbeen effected. He and others had tried, and the marks observed on the\nceiling were caused by these trials. As to the quarrel over a bill, it\nhad not occurred. It was not to Mr. Chave\u2019s interest to give the house\na bad name, for he had but recently rented and fitted it up, and it\nwould be an inconvenience to him to move; moreover, these supernatural\nphenomena were doing him much harm, in injuring his business.\n\nMr. Colton now added further mysterious sights, but they rested on\nnothing better than the testimony of the maids. One had seen a white\nhand come out from under the bed, another had seen a livid arm hanging\ndown from the ceiling.\n\nThere can, I think, be little doubt that it was not Mr. Chave, but\nthe servant-maids who managed the whole series of phenomena. These\nknockings could easily be transmitted through boards, and the curtains\ntossed about, and books and candlesticks flung across the room, by\nhaving horsehair attached to them. That is the true secret of the\nPoltergeist manifestations in England, France, and Germany.\n\nThe authorities are:--\n\n\u201cSampford Ghost. A Plain and Authentic Narrative of those Extraordinary\nOccurrences, etc., by the Rev. C. Colton, /M.A./, Reg. Col.\nSoc., Tiverton\u201d (1810).\n\n\u201cSampford Ghost!!! A Full Account of the Conspiracy at Sampford\nPeverell, near Tiverton; Containing the Particulars of the Pretended\nVisitations of the Monster. Taunton, 1810.\u201d (This by Marriott.)\n\n\u201cSampford Ghost. Stubborn Facts against Vague Assertions, etc., by the\nRev. C. Colton, M.A., Reg. Col. Soc., Tiverton\u201d (1810). Answer to Mr.\nMarriott.\n\n\u201cSampford Ghost! Facts Attested and Delivered to the Public Relative to\nthese Extraordinary Occurrences, etc., by the Rev. C. Colton.... London\n(n.d.).\u201d\n\n\n\n\nPHILIPPA CARY AND ANNE EVANS\n\n\nIn the month of August, 1672, the wife of a dyer of Plymouth, one\nWilliam Weeks, died after \u201cmany and frequent vomitings.\u201d Shortly\nafter that Mr. Weeks and his daughter were seized with the same\nsymptoms--violent pains internally, cold sweats, faintings and\nvomitings; and in an engraving of the period relative to the tragic\nevent about to be related, Mr. Weeks is shown in bed affected by this\nlast symptom. At the outset the physician who attended them suspected\npoison, and he was confirmed in his suspicions when a neighbour who had\nentered the house found a pot in the kitchen with \u201ccrude arsenick\u201d in\nit. Moreover, Mr. Weeks\u2019s grand-daughter, child of a Mistress Pengelly,\nwas affected in precisely the same manner.\n\nPhilippa Cary, the nurse, together with Anne Evans, the servant, first\ndrew attention to themselves by counterfeiting sickness and vomiting,\nbut the general prostration and agony were lacking in their case. The\nadministration of emetics led to the recovery of the child and of Mr.\nWeeks, but Mistress Pengelly died in great agonies.\n\nThis \u201chorrid accident\u201d caused much commotion, and the nurse and the\ngirl were arrested. The first brought before the mayor was Anne Evans,\n\u201capprentice to the said Mistress Weeks, a poor child, whose mother\nbeing dead, had been bound out in the Mayoralty of Mr. Peter Schaggel,\nAnno 1672, by the Churchwardens and overseers of Charles parish, being\nthen about twelve or thirteen years old.\u201d\n\nThe poor child Anne, on being questioned by the mayor, allowed that\nshe bought \u201ca pottle of girts\u201d in the market, and that when they had\nbeen cooked she had noticed \u201csome yellow thing in the girts,\u201d and the\nfamily were afflicted by incessant tortures after they had partaken\nof it. There had been a dispute between Mrs. Weeks and the nurse, and\nthe latter had asked Evans whether she knew where she could get some\nrat\u2019s-bane. Cary admitted that there had been words between her and the\nold lady, and said that it arose over the frying of some pilchards. She\nadded that Anne Evans was on bad terms with her mistress, and that the\ngirl had threatened to run away and join \u201cthe mountebanks.\u201d\n\nThe mayor plied one witness against the other. Next Evans said that\nas she was gathering herbs she found a packet of rat\u2019s-bane, and on\nshowing it to Cary the latter exclaimed that was just the very thing\nneeded to \u201cfit\u201d Mrs. Weeks, and that a little dose of it would soon\n\u201cmake work.\u201d Next the girl mentioned that Cary abused her for removing\na great spider from some beer that Mrs. Weeks was about to drink. A\nspider was, according to popular belief, a concentration of deadly\npoison. Cary had said, \u201cThou shouldst have let it alone, thou Fool, and\nnot have taken it out, but shouldst have squatted it amongst the beer.\u201d\nWhen Cary was taxed with this, she denied having said any such thing,\nbut asserted that Evans had threatened to do away with her mistress \u201con\nSaturday week was fortnight.\u201d\n\nThe mayor continued his interrogations of each witness separately,\nplaying the statements of one against the other. Then Evans improved\nher story by asserting that she saw Cary crush the rat\u2019s-bane into\nfine powder between two tiles, and she added that when she asked the\nnurse what she was about Cary replied that she was making a medicine to\n\u201cfit\u201d the old woman.\n\nHaving placed the powder in a cloam dish, she added small beer, and\nallowed it to steep overnight. She then gave some of the poison to Anne\nto put in the \u201cOld Woman\u2019s Dish\u201d of porridge, adding, \u201cYou shall see\nwhat sport we shall have with her to-morrow.\u201d\n\nBut the amount then administered was small: it was designed to cause\nonly preliminary discomfort. After that, Cary said, \u201cWe shall live\nso merry as the days are long.\u201d She cautioned the girl to hold her\ntongue, and told her that if she did so nothing could come out; and she\nthreatened that if Evans betrayed what had been done, she would lay all\nthe blame upon her. In due time Mrs. Weeks asked for her porridge, and\nthe girl put the arsenic into the bowl according to the instructions\nshe had received from the nurse. Later on Cary drank from a jug; and\nafter pouring in the poisoned liquor, administered it to Mr. Weeks, but\nhe did not relish the taste of it and passed it on to the others to\ntry. They all averred that it had a \u201ckeamy\u201d taste, but, small though\nthe quantity was that they drank, all who tasted it had convulsions.\nIn some concern at seeing her master and mistress in such anguish, the\ngirl affirmed that she had exclaimed, \u201cAlas! nurse, what have you done\nthat our master and mistress are so very ill?\u201d\n\nCary replied, according to Anne\u2019s statement, that \u201cshe had done God\ngood service in it to rid her out of the way, and that she had done no\nsin in it.\u201d\n\nThis confession was read over to Cary, who denied every particular.\n\nCary and the little girl--who, be it remembered, was only twelve or\nthirteen years of age--were put in prison, and were to appear at the\nnext assizes. Cary and Evans found themselves \u201cin the very suburbs\nof Hell,\u201d for the local prison was no better than \u201ca seminary of all\nvilainies, prophaneness and impieties.\u201d\n\nAfter months of waiting, the prisoners were sent to Exeter, where they\nwere tried for their lives. They responded \u201cwith heavy hearts though\nwith undejected countenances.\u201d Sentence of death was pronounced against\nthem both, but they petitioned to be transported.\n\nThe unfortunate little girl was sentenced \u201cto be drawn on a hurdle to\nthe place where she shall be executed, and there burnt to death.\u201d\n\nJohn Quicke was a Nonconformist minister, and he interested himself\nin the criminals. \u201cMethinks,\u201d said he, \u201cthe very sentence should have\nstruck her dead; an emblem and lively picture of Hell\u2019s torments. Drawn\nas if dragged by devils. Burnt alive, as if in the Lake of Fire and\nBrimstone already.\u201d\n\nThe nurse, Philippa Cary, was ordered to hang till she was dead.\n\u201cToo gentle a death,\u201d wrote the harsh Quicke, \u201cfor such a prodigy of\nungodliness. She pleads stiffly her innocence, disowns her guilt,\ntakes no shame, her brow is brass, she is impudent and hath a whore\u2019s\nforehead. If ever there were a daughter of Hell, this is one in her\nproper colours. No evidence shall convince her. \u2018Confess,\u2019 saith she,\n\u2018then I shall hang indeed. I deny the fact, none saw, none knew it but\nthe girl; it may be that vile person, my husband, hath a hand in it,\nbut he is gone. Some will pity me, though none will believe me, none\ncan help me.\u2019\u201d And now, according to Quicke, Satan helps Cary to \u201can\nexpedient that may help her life.\u201d She pleaded before the judge that\nshe was in the family way. \u201cIf I must dye, let my child live.\u201d\n\nThereupon the judge ordered a jury of matrons to be empanelled, but\nthey found that the plea of Cary was false.\n\nAs Plymouth had been the scene of the murder, the judge had little\ndifficulty in consenting to the petition of the relatives of Mrs.\nWeeks that the execution should take place there. \u201cProvided that\nthe magistrates of the towne, or Mr. Weeks, whose wife was by the\nmalefactors above named poysoned, shall defray the extraordinary\ncharges thereof, and shall undertake for the same before Easter Day,\nbeing Sunday next. The day of execution is to bee on Thursday in Easter\nweeke, but if you, the magistrate of the said towne, or Mr. Weeks,\nshall fail to undertake before Easter Day to defray the extraordinary\ncharges thereof, then the execution on these malefactors is to be done\nat the common-place of execution for this Countie,\u201d i.e. at Exeter.\n\nThe local authorities gladly undertook the arrangements for carrying\nout Lord Chief Justice North\u2019s sentence, and for affording to the\ncitizens of Plymouth an exciting scene, and for the domestic servants\nof that borough a moral warning.\n\nEvery endeavour was made to persuade Cary to confess, but she laid the\ncrime upon the girl. Of all the ministers who strove to turn her to\nrepentance, John Quicke, the Nonconformist, was the most importunate.\nHe warned her that \u201cshe had sworn a bargain with the Devil for secrecy\nto her own destruction, that all would come out at last, as cunningly\nand closely as she did carry it before men and angels; and, said I,\nyou are one of the most bloody women that ever came into gaol; you are\nguilty of two murders, one of your master, another of your mistress,\nand a third of having drawn in this poor girl like a Devil, as you are,\nto joyn with you to ruin them and herself also.\u201d Quicke further assured\nher that he did \u201cas verily believe she would be in Hell, unless there\nwere a very wonderful change wrought upon her, as that old Murderer,\nher Father, the Devil, was.\u201d Quicke was obviously not a man to move a\nsinner to repentance. His exhortation made her cry, but extorted no\nconfession; and when Cary implored this sour and remorseless minister\nto have some little pity and indulgence towards her, he declined to\ntone his invectives till he knew that \u201cher stony heart was riven and\nshivered in pieces and her bones broken under her hellish wickedness.\u201d\n\nWaiting without the cell door whilst this appalling denunciation was\nbeing delivered was \u201ca crowd of vulgar persons,\u201d all pressing and\nimpatient to obtain admission. The gaolers derived not a little revenue\nby charging the inquisitive and curious with fees for admission to see\ncriminals condemned to death, and they reaped a good harvest on this\noccasion.\n\nDuring a subsequent visit, influenced by apparent relenting, Quicke\nassured the two criminals that it was quite as \u201ceasy going to Heaven\nfrom the stake and the gallows as if it was from their beds,\u201d but then,\nthey must confess their guilt. But Cary was not to be induced to admit\nanything. He was highly incensed that his words produced no effect, and\nhe abused her roundly as \u201ca brazen impudent hypocrite thus to dissemble\nwith God and man\u201d; and he warned her that, as she kept the devil\u2019s\ncounsel, to the devil she would go. He added that he saw no promise of\na good result if he expended any more labour upon her. \u201cLook to it,\nwoman,\u201d he shouted to her at parting, \u201cthat this do not make thy Hell\nhotter than ordinary.\u201d\n\nAs the prisoners were conducted from Exeter on horseback, we are told\nthat the nurse exchanged ribald and obscene jests with the spectators,\nand at the entrance to Plymouth the procession was met by thousands.\nPersons of every age and sex and quality rushed forth to the suburbs\nto see the arrival of the two unfortunates. Although, we are informed,\nmany had \u201cbowels of pity for the poor girl,\u201d none \u201chath charity for the\nnurse.\u201d\n\nOn being conducted to their cells, various ministers attended them;\nbut crowds poured in, tipping the gaolers, to have a sight of the\ncriminals, and the ministers of religion could effect nothing. The\nnurse remained resolute in denying her guilt, but the little girl\nadmitted hers.\n\nOn the appointed day Philippa Cary and Anne Evans were escorted to\nthe gallows erected on the heights of Prince Rock. \u201cThe streets were\ncrowded, the Mayor, the Magistrates and Under Sheriff can hardly pass\nfor the throng. The poor maid was drawn on the hurdle. The posture she\nlay in was on her left side, her face in her bosom, her Bible under\nher arm, seeming like one dead rather than alive. At length we came,\nthough slowly, to the place of execution. Plimouth was then naked\nof inhabitants, the town was easy to be taken, and the houses to be\nplundered, if an enemie had been at hand to have done it. Catdowne,\nthe Lambhay, the Citadel, and Catwater are pressed with a multitude of\ntwenty thousand persons. But commanders, who have lived in wars and\nseen great armies, and are therefore the most competent judges in this\ncase, estimate them at one-half. I write within compass. The maid,\nbeing nailed to the stake, and the iron hoop about her, and the nurse\nmounted on the ladder, she desires that the Relater may pray with\nher.\u201d With passionate invocations to the Deity, Mr. Quicke complied;\nthe crowd were invited at the close to join in the singing of a psalm,\nand in this part of the ceremony the clear childish voice of Anne Evans\nwas heard to rise like that of the lark. Then Quicke laboured through\nextemporary prayers of inordinate length, smiting at the flinty heart\nof Cary, hitting right and left at impenitent sinners in those around.\nIt has been said that as a front rank of soldiers kneels to shoot, so\ndo certain divines in their prayers aim, not at God, but at those who\nhear them. It was so with Quicke. Then the poor sufferers were urged\nto avow their theological opinions with regard to certain dogmas of\nreligion, not this time by Quicke, but by other ministers.\n\nThe rope was now drawn close round the child\u2019s neck, \u201cand the hangman\nwould have set fire unto the furze before she was strangled; but some,\nmore charitable and tender-hearted, cryed to him to take away the block\nfrom under her feet, which having been done, she soon fell down and\nexpired in a trice.\u201d\n\nThe executioner could cause neither powder, wood nor fuel to catch fire\ntill the girl had been dead a quarter of an hour; and then, as the\nflames kindled, the wind blew the smoke into the face of the nurse, \u201cas\nif God had spoken to her; \u2018the smoke of My Fury and Flames of My Fiery\nVengeance are now riding upon the wings of the wind towards thee.\u2019\u201d\n\nFor two hours Cary was compelled to remain and watch the death and\nburning of the little girl, and again attempts were made to wring\na confession from her. Such she steadily and persistently put from\nher. When the word went forth to dispatch her, the executioner could\nnot be found. He had run off with the halter under the cliffs; and,\non being found, was carried by the exploring party to the scene and\ncast dead-drunk at the foot of the gallows, there to sleep off his\nintoxication, whilst the nurse was still pestered by the Nonconforming\nministers to repent and confess.\n\nBut the last words she uttered before being swung into the air were:\n\u201cJudge and revenge my cause, O God.\u201d \u201cA sure proof,\u201d concluded Quicke,\n\u201cthat she went into the lake of brimstone and fire, there to be\ntormented for ever and ever.\u201d\n\nWe are inclined to judge otherwise, and that she was guiltless of\nintent to poison the Weeks family. This was done by the child, in a\nfit of temper and resentment. Only after this had been done, did Cary\nfind it out, and, frightened for the consequences, simulated sickness\nand cramps, lest she should be accused of the poisoning. As to Quicke\u2019s\nstatement that on the ride into Plymouth she used obscene and ribald\njests, we do not believe a word of it. He was furious against her\nbecause she would not confess; and he was not with her on the ride\nto hear what her words were. He invented this, and put it into his\nnarrative to prejudice the reader against her who was not amenable to\nhis exhortations, and who accordingly galled his self-conceit.\n\nThe authorities for this tragic story are three:--\n\n\u201cHorrid News of a Barbarous Murder committed at Plimouth ... 1676.\u201d\n\n\u201cHell Open\u2019d, or the Infernal Sin of Murther Punished. Being a True\nRelation of the Poysoning of a whole Family in Plymouth ... by J. Q.\n(John Quicke), Minister of the Gospel. London, 1676.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Poysoners Rewarded, or the Most Barbarous of Murthers detected and\nPunished ... London, 1687.\u201d\n\nMr. Whitfeld has summed them up in his book, _Plymouth and Devonport,\nin War and Peace_. Plymouth, 1900.\n\n\n\n\nJACK RATTENBURY\n\n\nThe coasts of Devon and Cornwall, north and south, are bold, with\ncliffs starting out of the sea, white near the Dorset frontier, then\nred, and then of limestone marble, or, on the north coast, of slate\nand schist. The rocks are riddled with caves, the highland is cleft by\nnarrow valleys sawn through their mass by descending streams. The whole\ncoast, north and south, lends itself to smuggling; and smuggling had\nbeen carried on as a profitable speculation till it ceased to pay, when\nheavy duties were removed, and when the coastguard became efficient.\n\nThe smugglers formerly ran their goods into the caves when the weather\npermitted, or the preventive men, nicknamed _picaroons_, were not on\nthe look-out. They stowed away their goods in the caves, and gave\nnotice to the farmers and gentry of the neighbourhood, all of whom\nwere provided with numerous donkeys, which were forthwith sent down\nto the _caches_, and the kegs and bales were removed under cover of\nnight or of storm. Few farmhouses and squires\u2019 mansions were not also\nprovided with hiding-places in which to store the kegs obtained from\nthe free-traders. Only the week before writing this I was shown one\nsuch in the depth of a dense wood, at Sandridge Park on the Dart;\nexternally it would have been taken for a natural mound or a tumulus.\nBut there are a concealed door and a descent by a flight of steps into\nthe subterranean cellar, that was carefully vaulted, and also carefully\ndrained.\n\nThe other day I saw an old farmhouse in process of demolition in the\nparish of Altarnun, on the edge of the Bodmin Moors. The great hall\nchimney was of unusual bulk, bulky as such chimneys usually are; and\nwhen it was thrown down it revealed the explanation of this unwonted\nsize. Behind the back of the hearth was a chamber fashioned in the\nthickness of the wall to which access might have been had at some time\nthrough a low walled-up doorway, that was concealed behind the kitchen\ndresser and plastered over. This door was so low that it could be\npassed through only on all fours.\n\nNow the concealed chamber had also another way by which it could be\nentered, and this was through a hole in the floor of a bedroom above.\nA plank of the floor could be lifted, when an opening was disclosed\nby which any one might pass under the wall through a sort of door and\ndown steps into this apartment, which was entirely without light. Of\nwhat use was this singular concealed chamber? There could be little\nquestion. It was a place in which formerly kegs of smuggled spirits and\ntobacco were hidden. The place lies some fourteen or fifteen miles from\nBoscastle, a dangerous little harbour on the North Cornish coast, and\nabout a mile off the main road from London, by Exeter and Launceston,\nto Falmouth. The coach-travellers in old days consumed a good deal of\nspirits, and here in a tangle of lanes lay a little emporium always\nkept well supplied with a stock of spirits which had not paid duty, and\nwhence the taverners along the road could derive the contraband liquor,\nwith which they supplied the travellers. Between this emporium and\nthe sea, the roads--parish roads--lie over wild moors or creep between\nhigh hedges of earth on which the traveller can step along when the\nlane below is converted into the bed of a stream, also on which the\nwary smuggler could stride, and keep a look-out whilst his laden mules\nand asses stumbled forward in the concealment of the deep-set lane.\n\n[Illustration: JOHN RATTENBURY.\n\nof Beer, Devonshire\n\n\u201cTHE ROB ROY of the WEST\u201d]\n\nA very noticeable feature of the Devon and Cornwall coasts is the\ntrenched and banked-up paths from the little coves. By these paths the\nkegs and bales were removed under cover of night.\n\nAs an excuse for keeping droves of donkeys, it was pretended that the\nsea-sand and the kelp served as admirable dressing for the land; and\nno doubt so they did; the trains of asses sometimes came up laden with\nsacks of sand, but not infrequently with kegs of brandy.\n\nNow a wary preventive man might watch too narrowly the proceedings of\nthese trains of asses. Accordingly squires, yeomen, farmers alike set\nto work to cut deep ways in the face of the downs, along the slopes of\nthe hills, and bank them up, so that whole caravans of laden beasts\nmight travel up and down absolutely unseen from the sea and greatly\nscreened from the land side.\n\nUndoubtedly the sunken ways and high banks are a great protection\nagainst the weather. So they were represented to be--and no doubt\ngreatly were the good folks commended for their consideration for the\nbeasts and their drivers, in thus at great cost shutting them off from\nthe violence of the gale. Nevertheless, it can hardly be doubted that\nconcealment from the eye of the coastguard was sought by this means\nquite as much as, if not more than the sheltering the beasts of burden\nfrom the weather.\n\nA few years ago, an old church-house in my own parish was demolished.\nThe church-house was originally the place where the parishioners from\na distance, in a country district, put up between the morning and\nafternoon services on the Sunday, and was used for \u201cchurch ales,\u201d etc.\nIt was always a long building of two stories; that below served for\nthe men, that above for the women, and each had its great fireplace.\nHere they ate and chattered between services, as already said, and\nhere were served with ale by the sexton or clerk. In a great many\ncases these church-houses have been converted into taverns. Now this\none in the writer\u2019s parish had never been thus altered. When it was\npulled down, it was found that the floor of large slate slabs in the\nlower room was undermined with hollows like graves, only of much larger\ndimensions--and these had served for the concealment of smuggled\nspirits. The clerk had, in fact, dug them out, and did a little trade\non Sundays with selling contraband liquor from these stores.\n\nThe story is told of a certain baronet near Dartmouth, now deceased,\nwho had a handsome house and park near the coast. The preventive men\nhad long suspected that Sir Thomas had done more than wink at the\nproceedings of the receivers of smuggled goods. His park dipped in\ngraceful undulations to the sea and to a lovely creek, in which was\nhis boathouse. But they never had been able to establish the fact that\nhe favoured the smugglers, and allowed them to use his grounds and\noutbuildings.\n\nHowever, at last, one night a party of men with kegs on their shoulders\nwere seen stealing through the park towards the mansion. They were\nobserved also leaving without the kegs. Accordingly, next morning\nthe officer in command called, together with several underlings.\nHe apologized to the baronet for any inconvenience his visit might\noccasion--he was quite sure that Sir Thomas was ignorant of the use\nmade of his park, his landing-place, even of his house--but there was\nevidence that \u201crun\u201d goods had been brought to the mansion the preceding\nnight, and it was but the duty of the officer to point this out to Sir\nThomas, and ask him to permit a search--which would be conducted with\nall the delicacy possible. The baronet, an exceedingly urbane man,\npromptly expressed his readiness to allow house, cellar, attic--every\npart of his house, and every outbuilding--unreservedly to be searched.\nHe produced his keys. The cellar was, of course, the place where wine\nand spirits were most likely to be found--let that be explored first.\nHe had a cellar-book, which he produced, and he would be glad if the\nofficer would compare what he found below with his entries in the book.\nThe search was made with some zest, for the Government officers had\nlong looked on Sir Thomas with mistrust; and yet were somewhat disarmed\nby the frankness with which he met them. They ransacked the mansion\nfrom garret to cellar, and every part of the outbuildings, and found\nnothing. They had omitted to look into the family coach, which was\nfull of rum kegs, so full that, to prevent the springs being broken or\nshowing that the carriage was laden, the axle-trees were \u201ctrigged up\u201d\nbelow with blocks of wood.\n\nWhen a train of asses or mules conveyed contraband goods along a road,\nit was often customary to put stockings over the hoofs to deaden the\nsound of their steps.\n\nOne night many years ago, a friend of the writer--a parson on the north\ncoast of Cornwall--was walking along a lane in his parish at night. It\nwas near midnight. He had been to see, and had been sitting up with, a\ndying person.\n\nAs he came to a branch in the lane he saw a man there, and he called\nout \u201cGood night.\u201d He then stood still a moment, to consider which lane\nhe should take. Both led to his rectory, but one was somewhat shorter\nthan the other. The shorter was, however, stony and very wet. He chose\nthe longer way, and turned to the right. Thirty years after he was\nspeaking with a parishioner who was ill, when the man said to him\nsuddenly: \u201cDo you remember such and such a night, when you came to the\nY? You had been with Nankevill, who was dying.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I do recall something about it.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you remember you said \u2018Good night\u2019 to me?\u201d\n\n\u201cI remember that someone was there; I did not know it was you.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd you turned right instead of left?\u201d\n\n\u201cI dare say.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you had taken the left-hand road you would never have seen next\nmorning.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy so?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere was a large cargo of \u2018run\u2019 goods being transported that\nnight--and you would have met it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat of that?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat of that? You would have been chucked over the cliffs.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut how could they suppose I would peach?\u201d\n\n\u201cSir! They\u2019d ha\u2019 took good care you shouldn\u2019t ha\u2019 had the chance!\u201d\n\nThe principal ports to which the smugglers ran were Cherbourg and\nRoscoff; but also to the Channel Islands. During the European War, and\nwhen Napoleon had formed, and forced on the humbled nations of Europe,\nhis great scheme for the exclusion of English goods from all ports,\nour smugglers did a rare business in conveying prohibited English wares\nto France and returning with smuggled spirits to our shores, reaping a\nharvest both ways. If a revenue cutter hove in sight and gave chase,\nthey sank their kegs, but with a small buoy above to indicate where\nthey were, and afterwards they would return and \u201ccreep\u201d for them with\ngrappling irons. But the preventive officers were on the alert, and\nalthough they might find no contraband on the vessel they overhauled,\nyet the officers threw out their irons and searched the sea in the wake\nof the ship, and kept a sharp look-out for the buoys. If the contraband\narticles were brought ashore, and there was no opportunity to remove\nthem at once, they were buried in the sand, to be exhumed when the\ncoast was clear.\n\nThe smugglers had more enemies to contend with than the preventive men.\nAs they were known to be daring and experienced sailors, they were in\ngreat request to man the navy, and every crib and den was searched for\nthem that they might be impressed.\n\nThe life was hard, full of risks, and although these men sometimes\nmade great hauls, yet they as often lost their cargoes and their\nvessels. They were very frequently in the pay of merchants in England,\nwho provided them with their ships and bailed them out when they\nwere arrested. Rarely did a smuggler realize a competence, he almost\ninvariably ended his days in poverty. One of the most notorious of the\nDevon free-traders was Jack Rattenbury, who was commonly called \u201cThe\nRob-Roy of the West.\u201d He wrote his _Memoirs_ when advanced in life,\nand when he had given up smuggling, not that the trade had lost its\nattraction for him, but because he suffered from gout, and he ended his\ndays as a contractor for blue-lias lime for the harbour in course of\nerection at Sidmouth.\n\nIt will not be necessary to give the life of this man in full. It was\ndivided into two periods--his career on a privateer and his career\nas a smuggler--spent partly in fishing, partly as a pilot, mainly in\ncarrying on free trade in spirits, between Cherbourg, or the Channel\nIslands, and Devon. Naturally, Rattenbury speaks of himself and his\ncomrades as all honourable men, it is the informers who are the spawn\nof hell. The record year by year of his exploits as a smuggler,\npresents little variety, and the same may be said of his deeds as a\nprivateer. We shall therefore give but a few instances illustrative of\nhis career in both epochs of his life.\n\nJohn Rattenbury was born at Beer in the year 1778. Beer lies in a cleft\nof the chalk hills, and consists of one long street of cottages from\nthe small harbour. His father was a shoemaker, but tired of his awl\nand leather apron, he cast both aside and went on board a man-of-war\nbefore John was born, and was never heard of more. It is possible that\nMrs. Rattenbury\u2019s tongue may have been the stimulating cause of his\ndesertion of the last.\n\nThe mother of John, frugal and industrious, sold fish for her support\nand that of her child, and contrived to maintain herself and him\nwithout seeking parish relief. The boy naturally took to the water,\nas all the men of Beer were fishermen or smugglers, and at the age of\nnine he went in the boat with his uncle after fish, but happening one\nday when left in charge to lose the rudder of the row-boat, his uncle\ngave him the rope\u2019s end so severely that the boy ran away and went as\napprentice to a Brixham fisherman; but this man also beat and otherwise\nmaltreated him, and again he ran away. As he could get no employment\nat Beer, he went to Bridport and engaged on board a vessel in the\ncoasting trade. But he did not remain long with his master and returned\nto Beer, where he found his uncle entering men for privateering, and\nthis fired John Rattenbury\u2019s ambition and he volunteered.\n\n\u201cAbout the latter end of March, 1792, we proceeded on our first cruise\noff the Western Islands: and even now, notwithstanding the lapse of\nyears, I can recall the triumph and exultation which rushed through my\nveins as I saw the shores of my native land recede, and the vast ocean\nopening before me.\u201d\n\nInstead of making prizes, the privateer and her crew were made a\nprize of and conveyed to Bordeaux, where the crew were detained as\nprisoners. John Rattenbury, however, contrived to make his escape to\nan American vessel lying in the harbour, on which, after detention for\ntwelve months, he sailed to New York. There he entered on an American\nvessel bound for Copenhagen, and on reaching that place invested all\nthe money he had earned and carried away with him from Bordeaux in\nfiddles and clothes. Then he sailed in another American vessel for\nGuernsey, where he profitably disposed of his fiddles and clothes. He\nhad engaged with the captain for the whole voyage to New York, but when\nat Guernsey at his request the captain allowed him to return to England\nto visit his family, on passing his word that he would rejoin the ship\nwithin a specified time. Rattenbury returned to Beer, and broke his\npromise, which he regards as a mistake. He remained at home six months\noccupied in fishing, \u201cbut,\u201d says he, \u201cI found the employment very dull\nand tiresome after the roving life I had led; and as the smuggling\ntrade was then plied very briskly in the neighbourhood, I determined\nto try my fortune in it.\u201d Fortune in smuggling as in gambling favours\nbeginners so as to lure them on. However, after a few months,\nRattenbury had lapses into the paths of honesty. In one of these, soon\nafter, he did one of the most brilliant achievements of his life. I\nwill give it in his own words:--\n\n\u201cBeing in want of a situation, I applied to Captain Jarvis, and agreed\nto go with him in a vessel called the _Friends_, which belonged to\nBeer and Seaton. As soon as she was rigged we proceeded to sea, but,\ncontrary winds coming on, we were obliged to put into Lyme; the next\nday, the wind being favourable, we put to sea again, and proceeded to\nTenby, where we were bound for culm. At eight o\u2019clock the captain set\nthe watch, and it was my turn to remain below; at twelve I went on\ndeck and counted till four, when I went below again, but was scarcely\ndropped asleep, when I was aroused by hearing the captain exclaim,\n\u2018Come on deck, my good fellow! Here is a privateer, and we shall all\nbe taken.\u2019 When I got up, I found the privateer close alongside of\nus. The captain hailed us in English, and asked us from what port we\ncame and where we were bound. Our captain told the exact truth, and\nhe then sent a boat with an officer in her to take all hands on board\nhis own vessel, which he did, except myself and a little boy, who had\nnever been to sea before. He then sent the prize-master and four men\non board our brig, with orders to take her into the nearest French\nport. When the privateer was gone, the prize-master ordered me to go\naloft and loose the maintop-gallant sail. When I came down, I perceived\nthat he was steering very wildly through ignorance of the coast, and\nI offered to take the helm, to which he consented, and directed me to\nsteer south-east by south. He went below, and was engaged in drinking\nand carousing with his companions. They likewise sent me up a glass of\ngrog occasionally which animated my spirits, and I began to conceive a\nhope not only of escaping, but also of being revenged on the enemy. A\nfog too came on, which befriended the design I had in view; I therefore\naltered the course to east by north, expecting that we might fall\nin with some English vessel. As the day advanced the fog gradually\ndispersed, and, the sky getting clearer, we could perceive land; the\nprize-master and his companions asked me what land it was; I told them\nthat it was Alderney, which they believed, though at the same time\nwe were just off Portland. We then hauled our wind more to the south\nuntil we cleared the Bill; soon after we came in sight of land off\nSt. Alban\u2019s: the prize-master then again asked what land it was which\nwe saw; I told him it was Cape La Hogue. My companions then became\nsuspicious and angry, thinking I had deceived them, and they took a dog\nthat had belonged to our captain, and threw him overboard in a great\nrage and knocked down his house. This was done as a caution to intimate\nto me what would be my fate if I had deceived them. We were now within\na league of Swanage, and I persuaded them to go on shore to get a\npilot: they then hoisted out a boat, into which I got with three of\nthem, not without serious apprehension as to what would be the event.\nWe now came so near the shore that the people hailed us, and told them\nto keep further west. My companions began to swear, and said the people\nspoke English: this I denied, and urged them to hail again; but as they\nwere rising to do so, I plunged overboard and came up the other side of\nthe boat; they then struck at me with their oars, and snapped a pistol\nat me, but it missed fire. I still continued swimming, and every time\nthey attempted to strike me, I made a dive and disappeared. The boat\nin which they were now took water, and finding they were engaged in a\nvain pursuit, and endangering their own safety, they suddenly turned\nround, and rowed away as fast as possible to regain the vessel. Having\ngot rid of my foes, I put forth all my efforts to get to the shore,\nwhich I at last accomplished. In the meantime, the men in the boat\nreached the brig, and spreading all canvas, bore away for the French\ncoast. Being afraid they would get off with the vessel, I immediately\nsent two men, one to the signal-house at St. Alban\u2019s and another to\nSwanage, to obtain all the assistance they could to bring her back.\n\n\u201cFortunately, there was at the time in Swanage Bay a small cutter,\nbelonging to His Majesty\u2019s customs, called the _Nancy_, commanded by\nCaptain Willis; and as soon as he had received the information, he\nmade all sail after them; but I was not on board, not being able to\nreach them in time. The cutter came up with the brig, and by retaking,\nbrought her into Cowes the same night, where the men were put in\nprison. Captain Willis then sent me a letter, stating what he had\ndone, and advising me to go as quickly as possible to the owners, and\ninform them of all that had taken place. This I did without delay, and\none of them immediately set off for Cowes, when he got her back by\npaying salvage--but I never received any reward for the service I had\nrendered, either from the owners or from any other quarter.\u201d\n\nJohn Rattenbury was then aged sixteen.\n\nAs Rattenbury was returning to Devon in a cutter, the vessel was\nstopped and overhauled by a lieutenant and his gang seeking able-bodied\nseamen to impress them.\n\n\u201cWhen it came to my turn to be examined, I told him I was an\napprentice, and that my name was German Phillips (that being the\nname of a young man whose indenture I had for a protection). This\nstratagem was of no avail with the keen-eyed lieutenant, and he took\nme immediately on board the _Royal William_, a guard ship, then lying\nat Spithead. I remained in close confinement for a month, hoping by\nsome chance I might be able to effect my escape; but seeing no prospect\nof accomplishing my design, I at last volunteered my services for the\nRoyal Navy; if that can be called a voluntary act, which is the effect\nof necessity, not of inclination.\n\n\u201cAnd here I cannot help making a remark on the common practice of\nimpressing seamen in time of war. Our country is called the land of\nliberty; we possess a just and invincible aversion to slavery at home\nand in our foreign colonies, and it is triumphantly said that a slave\ncannot breathe in England. Yet how is this to be reconciled with the\npractice of tearing men from their weeping and afflicted families, and\nfrom the peaceable and useful pursuits of merchandise and commerce, and\nchaining them to a situation which is alike repugnant to their feelings\nand their principles?\u201d\n\nAt Spithead Rattenbury succeeded in making his escape. But he had left\nhis pocket-book on board, and by this means the lieutenant found out\nwhat were his real name and abode, and thenceforth he was hunted as a\ndeserter and put to great shifts to save himself from capture.\n\nIn 1800, when he was twenty-one, he was taken in a vessel by a Spanish\nprivateer and brought to Vigo; but on shore made himself so useful and\nwas so cheerful that he was given his liberty and travelled on foot to\nOporto, where he found a vessel bound for Guernsey, laden with oranges\nand lemons, and worked his way home in her.\n\n\u201cBefore I set out on my last voyage, I had fixed my affections on a\nyoung woman in the neighbourhood, and we were married on the 17th of\nApril, 1801. We then went to reside at Lyme, and finding that I could\nnot obtain any regular employment at home, I again determined to try my\nfortune in privateering, and accordingly engaged myself with Captain\nDiamond of the _Alert_.\u201d\n\nBut this expedition led to no results. No captures were made, and\nRattenbury returned home as poor as when he started, and almost at\nonce acted as pilot to foreign vessels. On one occasion a lieutenant\ncame on board to impress men, and took Rattenbury and put him in\nconfinement. Next day he told the lieutenant that if he would accompany\nhim to Lyme, he would show him a public-house where he was sure to\nfind men whom he could impress. The officer consented and landed with\nJack and some other seamen, and proceeded to the tavern; but finding\nnone there he ordered Rattenbury back to the boat. At that moment up\ncame Rattenbury\u2019s wife, and he made a rush to escape whilst she threw\nherself upon the lieutenant and had a scuffle with him; and as the\ntownfolk took her part, Rattenbury managed to escape.\n\nOn another occasion he was at Weymouth, and the same lieutenant,\nlearning this fact, tracked him to the tavern where he slept, and burst\nin at 2 a.m. Rattenbury had just time to climb up the chimney before\nthe officer and his men entered. They searched the house, but could not\nfind him. When they were gone he descended much bruised, half-stifled,\nand covered with soot.\n\n\u201cWearied out by the incessant pursuit of my enemies, and finding that\nI was followed by them from place to place like a hunted stag by the\nhounds, I at last determined, with a view to getting rid of them, again\nto go privateering.\u201d Accordingly he shipped on board the _Unity_\ncutter and cruised about Madeira and Teneriffe, looking out for prizes.\nBut this expedition was as unsuccessful as the other, and in August,\n1805, he returned home; \u201cand I determined never again to engage in\nprivateering, a resolution which I have ever since kept, and of which I\nhave never repented.\u201d\n\nWe now enter on the second period of Rattenbury\u2019s career.\n\n\u201cOn my return home, I engaged ostensibly in the trade of fishing, but\nin reality was principally employed in that of smuggling. My first\nvoyage was to Christchurch, in an open boat, where we took in a cargo\nof contraband goods, and, on our return, safely landed the whole.\n\n\u201cBeing elated with this success, we immediately proceeded to the same\nport again, but on our way we fell in with the _Roebuck_ tender: a\nwarm chase ensued; and, in firing at us, a man named Slaughter, on\nboard the tender, had the misfortune to blow his arm off. Eventually,\nthe enemy came up with and captured us; and, on being taken on board,\nfound the captain in a great rage in consequence of the accident, and\nhe swore he would put us all on board a man-of-war. He got his boat out\nto take the wounded man on shore; and, while this was going forward, I\nwatched an opportunity, and stowed myself away in her, unknown to any\nperson there. I remained without being perceived, amidst the confusion\nthat prevailed; and when they reached the shore, I left the boat, and\ngot clear off. The same night, I went in a boat that I had borrowed,\nalongside the tender, and rescued all my companions; we likewise\nbrought three kegs of gin away with us, and landed safe at Weymouth,\nfrom whence we made the best of our way home.\n\n\u201cThe same winter I made seven voyages in a smuggling vessel which had\njust been built; five of them were attended with success, and two of\nthem turned out failures.\n\n\u201cIn the spring of 1806, I went to Alderney, where we took in a cargo;\nbut, returning, fell in with the _Duke of York_ cutter, in consequence\nof getting too near her boat in a fog without perceiving her. Being\nunable to make our escape, we were immediately put on board the\ncutter, and the crew picked up some of our kegs which were floating\nnear by, but we had previously sunk the principal part. As soon as we\nwere secured, the captain called us into his cabin, and told us that\nif we would take up the kegs for him, he would give us our boat and\nliberty, on the honour of a gentleman. To this proposal we agreed,\nand having pointed out where they lay, we took them up for him. We\nthen expected that the captain would have been as good as his word;\nbut, instead of doing so, he disgracefully departed from it, and a\nfresh breeze springing up, we steered away hard for Dartmouth. When\nwe came alongside the castle, the cutter being then going at the rate\nof 6 knots, I jumped overboard; but having a boat in her stern, they\nimmediately lowered her with a man. I succeeded, however, in getting on\nshore, and concealed myself among some bushes; but two women who saw\nme go into the thicket inadvertently told the boat\u2019s crew where I was,\nupon which they retook me, and I was carried on board quite exhausted\nwith the fatigue and loss of blood, for I had cut myself in different\nplaces.\u201d\n\nNext morning Rattenbury was brought up before the magistrates at\nDartmouth along with his comrades in misfortune, and they were\nsentenced to pay a fine of a hundred pounds each, or else to serve\non board a man-of-war, or go to prison. They elected the last, and\nwere confined in a wretched den where they could hardly move and\nbreathe. Worn out by their discomfort, they agreed to enlist, and were\nliberated and removed to a brig in Dartmouth roads. On coming on board\nhe found all the officers drinking, and that the mainsail had been\npartly hoisted so that the officers could not command a prospect of the\nshore. Seizing his opportunity he jumped overboard, and seeing a boat\napproaching held up his hand to the man in it, as a signal to be taken\nup. The fellow did so, and in less than five minutes he was landed at\nKingswear, opposite Dartmouth. He paid the fisherman a pound, and made\nhis way to Brixham, where he hired a fishing-smack and got safely home.\n\nSoon after he purchased part of a galley, and resumed his smuggling\nexpeditions, and made several successful trips in her, till he lost\nhis galley at sea. Then he went to Alderney in an open boat, with two\nother men, to get kegs, but on their way back were chased, captured,\nand carried into Falmouth, where he was sentenced to be sent to gaol at\nBodmin.\n\n\u201cWe were put into two post-chaises, with two constables to take\ncare of us. As our guards stopped at almost every public-house,\ntowards evening they became pretty merry. When we came to the \u2018Indian\nQueen\u2019--a public-house a few miles from Bodmin--while the constables\nwere taking their potations, I bribed the drivers not to interfere.\nHaving finished, the constables ordered us again into the chaise, but\nwe refused. A scuffle ensued. One of them collared me, some blows\nwere exchanged, and he fired a pistol, the ball of which went close\nto my head. My companion in the meantime was encountering the other\nconstable, and he called on the drivers to assist, but they said it\nwas their duty to attend the horses. We soon got the upper hand of our\nopponents, and seeing a cottage near, I ran towards it, and the woman\nwho occupied it was so kind as to show me through her house into the\ngarden and to point out the road.\u201d\n\nEventually he reached Newquay with his comrade. Thence they hired\nhorses to Mevagissey, where they took a boat for Budleigh Salterton. On\nthe following day they walked to Beer.\n\nThis is but a sample of one year out of many. He was usually engaged\nin shady operations, getting him into trouble. On one occasion he\nundertook to carry four French officers across the Channel who had made\ntheir escape from the prison at Tiverton, for the sum of a hundred\npounds, but was caught, and narrowly escaped severe punishment. Soon\nafter that he was arrested as a deserter, by a lieutenant of the\nsea-fencibles when he was in a public-house drinking along with a\nsergeant and some privates. But he broke away and jumped into the\ncellar, where he divested himself of shirt and jacket, armed himself\nwith a reaping-hook, and closing the lower part of a half-hatch door\nstood at bay, vowing he would reap down the first man who ventured to\nattack him. His appearance was so formidable, his resolution was so\nwell known, that the soldiers, ten in number, hesitated. As they stood\ndoubtful as to what to do, some women ran into the house crying out\nthat a vessel had drifted ashore, and a boy was in danger of being\ndrowned, that help was urgently needed. This attracted the attention\nof the soldiers, and whilst they were discussing what was to be done,\nRattenbury leaped over the hatch, dashed through the midst of them, and\nbeing without jacket and shirt slipped between their fingers. He ran to\nthe beach, jumped into a boat, got on board his vessel, and hoisted\nthe colours. The story told by the women was a device to distract the\nattention of his assailants. The lieutenant was furious, especially\nat seeing the colours flying, as a sign of triumph on the part of\nRattenbury, who spread sail and scudded away to Alderney, took in a\ncargo of contraband spirits, and returned safely with it.\n\nOccasionally, to give fresh zest to his lawless transactions, he did an\nhonest day\u2019s work, as when he piloted safely into harbour a transport\nvessel that was in danger. We need not follow him through a succession\nof hair\u2019s-breadth escapes, of successes and losses, imprisonments\nand frauds. He carries on his story to 1836, when, so little had he\nprofited by his free-trading expeditions, that he was fain to accept a\npension from Lord Rolle of a shilling a week.\n\n    /Note./--There is an article by Mr. Maxwell Adams on \u201cJack\n    Rattenbury\u201d in Snell\u2019s _Memorials of Old Devonshire_.\n\n\n\n\nJOHN BARNES, TAVERNER AND HIGHWAYMAN\n\n\nThe \u201cBlack Horse\u201d was an old inn near Southgate, Exeter. The south\ngate was perhaps the strongest of all the gates. It was defended by\ntwo massive drums of towers, and there was a double access to the\ntown through it, the first gate leading into a yard with a second\ngate behind. Holy Trinity Church, with a red tower and pinnacles, was\nclose to the inner gate, and nigh by that swung the sign of the \u201cBlack\nHorse.\u201d The whole group was eminently picturesque. All was effaced in\n1819; the gabled houses have been destroyed, not a stone left upon\nanother of the noble gateway; even Trinity Church was pulled down, and\na despicable cardboard edifice erected in its room as a specimen of the\nutter degradation to which art had fallen at that period.\n\nJohn Barnes was taverner at the \u201cBlack Horse\u201d in and about the years\n1670-5, during which he had three children christened in Trinity\nChurch. He kept his tavern well. His wife was reputed to be a quiet,\ntidy, and respectable woman, and John Barnes professed to be a hot and\nstrong Presbyterian, and he made of his house a rallying-place of the\ngodly who were in a low way after the Restoration and the ejection\nfrom their benefices of the ministers who had been intruded into them\nduring the days of the Commonwealth, when the Church pastors were\nejected. It was turn and turn about. These latter had been thrown out\nof their nest by Independent and Presbyterian cuckoos, and now the\ncuckoos had to go and the original owners of the nests were reinstated.\nBut the cuckoos did not like it, and the Puritans were very sore\nafflicted, and liked to meet and grumble and testify, over ale and\ncyder, in John Barnes\u2019 tavern. And when a private prayer meeting was\nheld, mine host of the \u201cBlack Horse\u201d was sure to be there, and to give\nevidence of his piety by sighs and groans. But he testified against\nprelacy more efficaciously than by upturned eyes and nasal whines, for\nhe refused to have his children baptized by the Church clergy, and was\naccordingly prosecuted in the Exeter Consistory.\n\nAbout 1677 Barnes abandoned the \u201cBlack Horse\u201d in Exeter, and took an\ninn at Collumpton, where he threw off the \u201creligious mask\u201d and ran\ninto debt and evil courses. One of his creditors was a smith, \u201ca stout\nfellow of good natural courage.\u201d\n\nBarnes could not or would not discharge the debt, and he suggested to\nthe blacksmith that there was an opening for doing a fine stroke of\nbusiness that would at once liquidate the little bill and make him a\nman for ever. The plan was to waylay and rob the Exeter carrier on his\nway up to London, charged with a considerable amount of money sent to\ntown by the merchants for the purchase of sundry goods. The blacksmith\nagreed, but it was deemed prudent to have another confederate, so a\nwoolcomber was prevailed on to join.\n\nThe old Exeter road, after leaving Honiton, ascends a barrier of hill\nnow pierced by the South Western Railway that there passes through a\ntunnel. This ridge stands between the stream bottoms of the Otter\nand the Corry, and is bleak, with habitations very wide apart along\nit. The distance from Collumpton to Honiton was so considerable and\nintercommunication so infrequent that the confederates hoped to escape\nrecognition and detection by making their attempt far from home.\n\nWe are not informed at what hour the carrier\u2019s van was waylaid, but\nthere can be little doubt that it was early in the morning. One day out\nof Exeter was the stage to Honiton, and there the carriers had put up.\n\n    Upon a cold and stormy night, when wetted to the skin,\n    I bear it with contented heart, until I reach the inn;\n    And there I sit a-drinking, boys, with the landlord and his kin.\n        Say wo! my lads, say wo! Drive on, my lads, I-ho!\n        Who would not lead the stirring life we jolly waggoners do?\n\n    When Michaelmas is coming on, we\u2019ll pleasure also find,\n    We\u2019ll make the red gold fly, my boys, as chaff before the wind;\n    And every lad shall take his lass, so merry, buck and hind.\n        Say wo! my lads, say wo! Drive on, my lads, I-ho!\n        Who would not lead the stirring life we jolly waggoners do?\n\nThe highwaymen heard the tinkle of the horse-bells, as the team of four\ndrew the carrier\u2019s van up the long hill, and listened to the shout of\nthe walking driver to the horses to put a good breast to it, as the top\nof the ascent was not far off. It would have been still dusk, when the\nthree men leaped from behind some thorn bushes upon the carriers, and\npresented loaded pistols at their heads. It was customary for carriers\nto start before daybreak, as we know from the scene on the way to\nGadshill in _Henry IV_, Part I.\n\nWhilst two of the ruffians held the carriers and passengers quiet, with\ntheir pistols presented at full cock, Barnes ransacked the van, and\nsecured six hundred pounds. Then the three men disappeared, mounted\ntheir horses, and galloped back to Collumpton.\n\nBut Barnes had left out of count that he was well known by voice and\nface in Exeter, and that a change of domicile and the space of one\nyear would not have eradicated from the memory of carriers and such as\nfrequented taverns the canting publican of the \u201cBlack Horse.\u201d\n\nThe carrier\u2019s men at once gave information, and before long both Barnes\nand his confederates were apprehended and conveyed to Exeter Gaol,\nbut not before the blacksmith had managed to secrete a file about his\nperson. There they were fettered, but during the night by means of the\nfile the blacksmith relieved himself and the other two of their chains,\nand all three broke out of prison.\n\nOne of them escaped, but the other two, including the taverner, were\nretaken next morning, and both were sentenced to die. The narrative\nproceeds to state that \u201cthere were many Women of Quality in Exeter that\nmade great intercession for the said innkeeper to get him a Reprieve,\nnot so much for his sake, as out of charity to his poor innocent Wife\nand Children; for she was generally reputed a very good, careful,\nindustrious and pious Woman, and hath no less than nine very hopeful\nchildren; but the nature of the Crime excluded him from mercy in this\nWorld, so that he and his Comrade were on Tuesday, the 13th of this\ninstant August (1678), conveyed to the usual place of Execution, where\nthere were two that presently suffered; but the Innkeeper, desiring\ntwo hours\u2019 time the better to prepare himself, had it granted, which\nhe spent in prayer and godly conference with several Ministers; then,\ncoming upon the ladder, he made a long Speech, wherein he confessed not\nonly the Crime for which at present he suffered, but likewise divers\nother sins, and particularly lamented that his Hypocrisie, earnestly\nbegging the Spectators\u2019 prayers, and exhorting them not to despair\nin any condition ... and so with all the outward marks of a sincere\nPenitent, submitted to his sentence, and was executed.\u201d\n\nDr. Lake, whose _Diary_ has been published by the Camden Society,\nhappened to be visiting a prisoner in the gaol when Barnes and his\naccomplice were brought in. The doctor says that he was \u201ca notorious\nPresbyterian,\u201d and that \u201cthe evening before hee went forth to execute\nhis design\u201d--of robbing the carrier--\u201chee pray\u2019d with his family two\nhours.\u201d\n\nThe authority for this story is a unique tract in the Bodleian Library,\nOxford, of which the late Robert Dymond, of Exeter, made a copy, and to\nwhich he refers in his paper on \u201cThe Old Inns and Taverns of Exeter,\u201d\nin the _Transactions_ of the Devonshire Association for 1880.\n\n\n\n\nEDWARD CAPERN\n\n\nThe Postman Poet, Edward Capern, has been hailed as the Devonshire\nBurns, but he has no right to be so entitled. Burns, at his best, sang\nin the tones and intonation of his class and country, and it was at\nhis worst that he affected the style of the period and of culture,\nsuch as it was. Now Capern aspired to the artificiality and smoothness\nof the highly educated and wholly unreal class of verse writers of\nthe Victorian period, of whom John Oxenford may be thrust forward as\ntypical, men who could turn out smooth and finished pieces, rhythm and\nrhyme correct, but without a genuine poetical idea forming the kernel\nof the \u201cpoem.\u201d\n\nWhat can be said for verses that begin as this to the Wild Convolvulus?\n\n    Upon the lap of Nature wild\n    I love to view thee, Beauty\u2019s child;\n    And mark the rose and lily white\n    Their charms in thy fair form unite.\n\nAnd this to the White Violet?\n\n    Pale Beauty went out \u2019neath a wintry sky\n    From a nook where the gorse and the holly grew by,\n    And silently traversed the snow-covered earth\n    In search of a sign of floriferous birth.\n\nAnd this to an Early Primrose?\n\n    Pretty flow\u2019ret, sweet and fair,\n    Pensive, weeping, withering there;\n    Storms are raging, winds are high,\n    I fear thy beauty soon will die.\n\nWho is not familiar with this sort of stuff? It is to be found in\n\u201cKeepsakes,\u201d in those old pocket-books in leather, with a dozen badly\nengraved steel-plate landscape scenes at the beginning, and a budget of\nverses and rhapsodies that follow, before we come to the calendar and\nthe sheets for notes.\n\nOf himself, Capern wrote:--\n\n    He owns neither houses nor lands,\n      His wealth is a character good;\n    A pair of industrious hands,\n      A drop of poetical blood.\n\nIt was a drop, and a small drop. He had an ear for rhythm; he had a\nwarm appreciation of Nature; he had sentiment--but not ideas, the germs\nof mental life to be carried on from generation to generation. The\nleaves of poetic expression, graceful diction, fade and wither. It is\nideas alone that are the fruit of the tree of mental life that will\nsurvive. Of such we find none in Capern\u2019s volumes.\n\nHis verses are very creditable to the man, considering his position,\nbut he is not to be named in the same breath with Robert Burns and\nEdwin Waugh. Capern had the poetic faculty, but he trod wrong paths,\nwith the result that nobody henceforth will read his verses, which are\nnot likely to be republished. Edward Capern was born at Tiverton on 21\nJanuary, 1819, where his father carried on business as a baker. When\nEdward was about two years old, the family removed to Barnstaple, and\nhis mother becoming bed-ridden, young Edward, then about eight years\nold, found employment at a local lace factory, toiling often, for a\nscanty wage, twenty out of the twenty-four hours. The long hours and\nthe trying nature of the work permanently injured his eyesight, and\nseriously affected his after life.\n\nCompelled to abandon his work in the factory in 1847, he ultimately\nobtained the post of letter-carrier from Bideford to Buckland Brewer\nand its neighbourhood, distributing the mail through a discursive walk\nof thirteen miles daily, and receiving a salary of half a guinea per\nweek.\n\n[Illustration: EDWARD CAPERN, THE POSTMAN-POET OF DEVONSHIRE\n\n_From a painting by William Widgery, in the Free Library, Bideford_]\n\nCapern\u2019s first book of Poems was published in 1856. A Mr. W. F. Rock,\nhaving seen his verses, thought there was merit in them, and undertook\nto collect subscribers; and by worrying certain noblemen into taking\nfour, five, or six copies, and canvassing through the county, he\nsucceeded in getting enough subscribers to enable him to publish.\n\nBut Capern wanted to have all he had written included. Mr. Rock had to\nbe firm.\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d exclaimed Capern. \u201cExclude my \u2018Morning\u2019 and the \u2018Apostrophe to\nthe Sun\u2019! Why, sir, I wrote those pieces when I had but four shillings\na week to live upon, which gave but frugal meals.\u201d\n\nPrecisely, but that did not constitute them poems. Mr. Rock says: \u201cIt\nis not my intention even to touch upon the trying incidents of Mr.\nCapern\u2019s early life. He is a rural letter-carrier ... for which his\nsalary is ten shillings and sixpence per week. He has a real poet\u2019s\nwife; his Jane, a charming brunette, is intelligent, prudent, and good.\nHe has two children, Charles, a boy of seven, and Milly, a girl just\nthree years of age.\n\n\u201cMr. Capern\u2019s features have a striking resemblance to those of Oliver\nGoldsmith; he has also the Doctor\u2019s sturdy build, though not his\npersonal height. Nor is this the only point of resemblance to our dear\nGoldy. Mr. Capern has an ear for music, he plays touchingly on the\nflute, and sings his own songs to his own tunes with striking energy or\ntenderness.\u201d\n\nHe certainly enjoyed his life as a postman. He says:--\n\n    O, the postman\u2019s life is as happy a life\n        As any one\u2019s, I trow;\n    Wand\u2019ring away where dragon-flies play,\n        And brooks sing soft and low;\n    And watching the lark as he soars on high,\n        To carol in yonder cloud,\n    \u201cHe sings in his labours, and why not I?\u201d\n        The postman sings aloud.\n\nIn 1858, Capern published a second volume, entitled _Ballads and\nSongs_, and in 1865 a third, _Wayside Warbles_. There was yet another,\n_The Devonshire Melodist_, in which he set his own songs to tunes of\nhis own composition. But here again he was at fault. Devonshire is full\nof folk music of the first order. Burns set his songs to folk tunes\nthen sung by the people, but to gross words. He rescued the melodies\nby giving to them verses that could be sung by decent and clean-minded\npeople. Now had Capern done this for the music of the neighbourhood of\nBarnstaple he would have been remembered along with these delicious\nairs, as is Burns along with the Scotch melodies. But not so, he must\nset his verses to the tootling of his own pipe, entirely without\nmelodious idea in the tunes.\n\nProbably Edward Capern had never heard of Edwin Waugh, who wrote the\nmost delicious, simple, and sweet poems in Lancashire and Yorkshire\ndialect; every one is a gem. Probably, had he seen these, Capern would\nhave despised them. They breathe the life, the passion, the tenderness,\nthe genius of the North-countrymen. Capern\u2019s verses have none of this\nmerit. They are respectable _vers de soci\u00e9t\u00e9_, such as any man of\nculture could have written. His great achievement was, that, not being\na man of culture, he could write such respectable \u201cpoems.\u201d He took a\nwrong course from the outset; and unhappily he maintained it. What\ntells its own tale is this. Next to the British Museum, the London\nLibrary is the largest in the Metropolis, and it has not been deemed\nworth while to include in it one of Capern\u2019s volumes of verses.\n\nHis last volume published was _Sun-gleams and Shadows_ (1881), and,\nunless I am mistaken, all owed their success to subscribers.\n\nIn 1866 Capern left Marine Gardens, Bideford, and went to live at\nHarborne, near Birmingham. His verses found their way into various\nperiodicals, _Fun_ and _Hood\u2019s Comic Annual_. But his heart was in\nhis native county and thither he returned. He received a pension from\nthe Civil List of \u00a340 a year, which was afterwards increased to \u00a360.\nIt was due to his wife\u2019s ill-health that he left the neighbourhood\nof Birmingham in 1884, and rented a pleasant cottage at Braunton.\nThere he lost his wife in February, 1894. The two old people had been\ntenderly attached, and her admiration for and pride in her husband\nwere unbounded. He did not long survive her, for he died on 4 June in\nthe same year as his wife, and they were buried side by side in the\nchurchyard of Heanton Punchardon. The expenses of his funeral were\ndefrayed by the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, to whom he had dedicated the\nsecond volume of his poems.\n\nIt was unfortunate for Capern in a measure that he had been patted\non the back by such men as James Anthony Froude, who wrote of him in\n_Fraser\u2019s Magazine_: \u201cCapern is a real poet, a man whose writings\nwill be like a gleam of summer sunshine in every household which they\nenter\u201d; and Walter Savage Landor, who pronounced him to be \u201ca noble\npoet\u201d; also Alfred Austin, who wrote of him:--\n\n    O, Lark-like Poet: carol on,\n    Lost in dim light, an unseen trill:\n    We, in the Heaven where you are gone,\n    Find you no more, but hear you still.\n\nIn the summer of 1864, the American literary blacksmith, Elihu Burritt,\nspent three days with Capern, on his \u201cWalk from London to the Land\u2019s\nEnd and back,\u201d and gave an excellent description of his host. He says:\n\u201cEdward Capern, of Bideford, is a poet, and he is a postman, and both\nat once, and good at each. He is as faithful and genial a postman as\never dropped a letter in a cottage door, with an honest and welcome\nface, itself a living epistle of good will and friendly cheer. I can\nattest to that most confidently; for I went with him in his pony-cart\ntwo days on his rural rounds. That he is a poet who has written songs\nthat will live and have a pleasant place among the productions of\ngenius, I am equally confident, though pretending to be no connoisseur\nin such matters myself. Better judges have awarded to them a high\ndegree of merit. Already a considerable volume of his songs and ballads\nhas gone to its second edition; and he has sufficient matter on hand to\nmake another of equal size and character. His postal beat lies between\nBideford and Buckland Brewer, a distance of more than six miles. Up\nto quite a recent date, he walked this distance twice a day in all\nweathers; starting off on winter mornings while it was yet dark. Having\ngrown somewhat corpulent and short-winded, he has mounted, within a\nyear or two, a pony-cart, that carries him up and down the long, steep\nhills on his course. It takes him till noon to ascend these to Buckland\nand distribute letters and papers among the hamlet cottages and\nroadside farmhouses on the way. Having reached the little town on the\nsummit-hill, and left his bag at the post-office, he has three hours to\nwait before setting out on his return journey. These are his writing\nhours; and he spends them in a little, antique, thatched cottage in one\nof the village streets. Here, seated at one end of a long deal table,\nwhile the cottager\u2019s wife and daughters are plying their needles, and\ndoing all their family work at the other, he pens down the thoughts\nthat have passed through the flitting visions of his imagination while\nalone on the road. Here he wrote most of his first book of ballads, and\nhere he is working up his glowing rollicking songs for a new volume.\nSometimes the poetic inspiration comes in upon him like a flood on\nhis way. He told me that he once brought home with him six sonnets on\nsix different subjects, which he had thought out and penned in one\nof his daily beats. When the news of the taking of the Redan reached\nEngland, the very inner soul of his patriotism was stirred within him\nto the proudest emotion. As he walked up and down the long hills with\nhis letter-bags strapped to his side, the thoughts of the glory his\ncountry had won came into his mind with a half-suffocating rush, and he\nstruggled, nearly drowned by them, to give them forms of speech. The\ndays were short, the road was long, and hard to foot, and the rules of\nthe postal service were rigid. He could not hold fast the thoughts the\nevent stirred within him until he reached the cottage. Some of the best\nof them would flit out of his memory, if he delayed to pen them as they\narose. So he ran with all his might and main for a third of a mile,\nall panting with the race for time, found he had caught enough of it\nfor pencilling on his knee a whole verse of the song. Thus he ran and\nwrote, each stanza costing him a race that made the hot perspiration\nfall upon the soiled and crumpled paper, on which he brought home to a\nwife prouder than himself of the song,--\u2018The Lion Flag of England.\u2019\u201d\n\n\n\n\nGEORGE MEDYETT GOODRIDGE\n\n\nThe record of the adventures of this man is fully as interesting as the\nfictitious story of _Robinson Crusoe_ and well deserves republication.\nIt was first published in Exeter in 1837. Two editions of a thousand\ncopies each were exhausted, and a third was published in 1839, and a\nfourth in 1841.\n\nGeorge Medyett Goodridge was born at Paignton on 22 May, 1796. At\nthe age of thirteen he hired himself as cabin-boy on board the _Lord\nCochrane_, an armed brig, stationed off Torquay to protect the fishing\ncraft from French cruisers. From that time till 1820 he was continually\nat sea; in that year, on 1 May, he joined the _Princess of Wales_,\na cutter, burthen seventy-five tons, bound for the South Seas after\noil, fins, seal-skins, and ambergris. The arrangement was that out of\nevery ninety skins procured, each mariner should have one; the boys\nproportionately less; and the officers proportionately more. Captain\nVeale was commander, Mazora, an Italian, mate; there were in addition\nthree boys and ten mariners.\n\nIn descending the Thames from Limehouse, a Captain Cox went on board\nand made a present to the crew of a Bible. \u201cWe thought little of the\ngift at the time,\u201d says Goodridge, \u201cbut the sequel will show that this\nproved to be the most valuable of all our stores.\u201d In passing down the\nChannel, the vessel was wind-bound for several days, and Goodridge was\nable to visit his friends at Paignton, and bid them farewell. \u201cOn\nthe 21st, being Whit Sunday, the weather proved fine, with a breeze\nfrom the northward, we again weighed anchor and proceeded on our\nvoyage.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: CHARLES MEDYETT GOODRIDGE IN HIS SEAL-SKIN DRESS]\n\nOn 2 November the vessel reached the Crozets, a group of five islands\nin the South Pacific Ocean.\n\n\u201cAs there is no harbour for shelter, the plan pursued is, for one party\nto go on shore, provided with necessary provisions for several days,\nwhile the remainder of the crew remain to take care of the vessel, and\nto salt in the skins that have been procured. The prevailing winds\nare from the westward, and we used to lie with our vessel under the\nshelter of the island, and whenever the wind shifted to the eastward,\nwhich it sometimes did very suddenly, we had to weigh our anchor, or\nslip the cable, and stand out to sea. The easterly wind scarcely ever\nlasted more than two days, when it would chop round to the northward,\nwith rain, and then come round to W.N.W. We should then return to our\nshelter, take on board the skins collected, and again furnish the\nsealing party with provisions. The most boisterous season of the year\nin these latitudes commences in August, during which month the most\ntremendous gales are experienced, with much snow, rain and hail.\n\n\u201cThe hardships and privations experienced in procuring seal-skins\non these islands may be faintly conjectured, when I state the plan\npursued by the parties on shore. The land affords no shelter whatever,\nthere being neither tree nor shrub, and the weather is at most times\nextremely wet, and snow frequently on the ground, indeed, there is\nscarcely more than a month\u2019s fine weather during the year. Their boat,\ntherefore, hauled on shore, serves them for their dwelling house by\nday, and their lodging house by night. Their provisions consist of\nsalt pork, bread, coffee, and molasses; on this scanty fare, with the\nshelter of their boat only turned upside down, and tussicked up, they\nsometimes remain a fortnight at a time, each day undergoing excessive\nlabour in searching for and killing seals, and very often without\nmeeting with an adequate reward after all their privations. Added to\nthis, when a gale renders it necessary for their vessel to drive to\nsea, each hour she is absent, the mind is harassed with fears for her\nsafety, and of the consequences that would result to themselves if thus\nleft on such a desolate spot, surrounded by a vast ocean, and where\nyears might pass without a vessel ever coming near them.\u201d\n\nThe largest of the islands is about twenty-five miles in circumference,\nand lies about thirty miles distant from one of the small ones, and\nabout twelve miles from the other. The other two islands lie about\ntwenty miles to the eastward of the three first.\n\nOn 5 February a sealing party, consisting of eight, was landed on the\neasternmost island, and the remaining seven proceeded with the vessel\nto the other island. Those in the vessel consisted of the master,\nCaptain Veale, of Dartmouth, and his brother, Jarvis Veale, Goodridge,\nParnel, Hooper, Baker, and a Hanoverian named Newbee. The vessel\nvisited the sealing party every seven days, took on board the skins\ncollected, and supplied them with a fresh stock of provisions; that\ndone it returned to the other island, where the crew also employed\nthemselves in collecting seal-skins.\n\nThe last visit made to the easternmost island was on 10 March, and the\nnext visit would have been on the 18th had not a gale come on, on the\n17th, that compelled the captain to stand off, and gain the offing.\n\n\u201cWe accordingly slipped our cable and stood to sea, but before we had\nproceeded any distance, it came on a dead calm, so that we entirely\nlost command of the vessel, the swell of the sea continuing at the same\ntime so heavy that our boat was useless; for any attempt at towing her\nin such a swell, and against a strong current which was making directly\non the land, was utterly vain. The island presented to our view a\nperpendicular cliff, with numerous rocks protruding into the sea, and\nagainst them we were driven, victims to the unspent power of a raging\nsea, lashed into fury by winds which now seemed hushed into breathless\nsilence, the more calmly to witness the effects of the agitation raised\nby them in the bosom of the ocean. We attempted to sound for bottom,\nin hope that we might have recourse to our anchor; but the hope was\nvain, as our longest lengths of line were found inadequate to reach\nit. It was now ten at night, and from this time till midnight we were\nin momentary expectation of striking. The suspense was truly awful,\nindeed, the horrors we experienced were more dreadful than I had ever\nfelt or witnessed in the most violent storms; for on such occasions the\npersevering spirits of Englishmen will struggle with the elements to\nthe last blast and the last wave; but here there was nothing to combat;\nwe were driven on by an invisible power--all was calm above us--around\nus the surface of the sea, although raised into a mountainous swell,\nwas smooth; but the distant sound of its continued crash on the\nbreakers to which we were drawn by irresistible force, broke on our\nears as our death knell. At last the awful moment arrived, and about\n12 o\u2019clock at night, our vessel struck with great violence. Although\nprevious to her striking all hands appeared paralysed, now arrived the\nperiod of action. The boat was fortunately got out without accident,\nand all hands got into her with such articles as we could immediately\nput our hands on, among which were a kettle, a frying-pan, our knives\nand steels, and a fire-bag (this article is a tinder-box supplied with\ncotton matches, and carefully secured from damp in a tarpaulin bag),\nbut without any provisions or clothes except what we stood upright in.\n\n\u201cThe night was dark and rainy, and the vessel was pitching bowsprit\nunder; we were surrounded by rocks, and the nearest shore was a\nperpendicular cliff of great height. We however tugged at the oars, but\nmade little progress, the kelp being extremely thick, long and strong,\nand the current running direct to the shore. After four hours incessant\nlabour, we succeeded in effecting a landing, on a more accessible\npart of the island, but our boat was swamped, and it was with great\ndifficulty we succeeded at length in dragging her ashore; which however\nwe accomplished, and by turning her bottom upwards, and propping up\none side as before described, we crept under and obtained some little\nshelter from the rain, being all miserably cold, wet and hungry.\n\n\u201cWe remained huddled together till daylight appeared, and our craving\nappetites then told us it was time to seek for sustenance; we therefore\nsallied forth in search of a sea-elephant; and although they were\nrather scarce at this period of the year, it was not long before we\nfound one; nor was it long before we dispatched it. With its blubber\nwe soon kindled a fire, and the heart, tongue, and such other parts as\nwere edible, with the assistance of our kettle and frying-pan, were\nsoon in a forward state of cookery. We also made a fire of some blubber\nunder our boat, and by it we dried our clothes, and made ourselves more\ncomfortable.\n\n\u201cWhen we were in some measure refreshed, and had recruited our strength\nwith the food we had procured, a party of us set out over the hills,\nin the direction of the spot where the vessel was wrecked, in order to\nascertain her fate, and to see if there was a possibility of saving\nanything out of her. They returned about the middle of the day, and\nreported that she was lying on the rocks, on her beam ends, with a\nlarge hole in her lower planks, and the sea breaking over her; so\nthat it was impossible she should hold together much longer; it was\nevident, therefore, that all hope of saving her was at an end, and our\nendeavours could now only be exerted for the purpose of saving any\nportion of the wreck that might prove serviceable to us in our desolate\nsituation.\n\n\u201cOn the following morning we succeeded in launching our boat, and we\nthen proceeded towards the wreck. In our progress we discovered a cove\nmuch nearer the vessel than where we landed, and we resolved to make\nthis our immediate station.\n\n\u201cWe next visited the wreck, and succeeded in saving the captain\u2019s\nchest, the mate\u2019s chest, and also some planks. The last thing we saved,\nand which we found floating on the water, was the identical Bible put\non board by Captain Cox. What made this circumstance more remarkable\nwas, that although we had a variety of other books on board, such as\nour navigation books, journals, log-books, etc., this was the only\narticle of the kind that we found, nor did we discover the smallest\nshred of paper of any kind, except this Bible.\n\n\u201cOn the next day the wind blew very strong, and we saw that nothing\nremained of our vessel but the mast, which had become entangled by the\nrigging among the rocks and sea weed, and this was the last thing we\nwere enabled to secure.\n\n\u201cThe weather continued so wet and boisterous for three weeks from this\ntime, that it was as much as we could well do to procure necessary\nfood for our sustenance, and we therefore contented ourselves with the\nshelter our boat, tussicked up, afforded us during that period; the\nweather at last proving less inclement, we set about collecting all the\nmaterials we had saved, and then commenced erecting for ourselves a\nmore commodious dwelling-place. The sides we formed of stones and the\nwood saved from the wreck, for there was not shrub or tree growing on\nthe whole island. The top we covered with sea-elephants\u2019 skins, and at\nthe end of a few weeks we were comparatively well lodged. We made our\nbeds of the long grass, called tussick, with which the island abounded;\nand the skins of the seals we chanced to kill served us for sheets,\nblankets, and counterpanes. Wanting glass we were obliged to do without\nwindows; the same opening, therefore, that served us for entrance,\nserved us also for the admission of light and air; and when the weather\nobliged us to shut out the cold, we were obliged to shut out the light\nof day also.\n\n\u201cWhile constructing our hut, we found on the island traces of some\nAmericans who had visited these islands sixteen years before, and\nwho had built a hut. The sea-elephants, however, had trodden almost\neverything into the ground; and as we had no tools wherewith to dig,\nwe could not search for anything they might have left. Providence,\nhowever, at length threw the means in our way of effecting our wishes;\nfor one of our company, while searching for eggs at a considerable\ndistance from our building, found a pick-axe, and brought it home in\nhigh glee. To men situated as we were, it was not to be wondered at\nthat we should deem this almost a miracle. Suffice it to say, we all\nreturned our hearty thanks for the favour, and set to work digging up\nthe place where traces of the hut remained. Our labour proved not to be\nin vain, for we got up a quantity of timber; also part of a pitch-pot,\nwhich would hold about a gallon. This proved highly valuable to us,\nfor, by the help of a piece of hoop-iron, we manufactured it into a\nfrying-pan, our other being worn so thin by constant use, that it\nwas scarcely fit to cook in. Digging further we found a broad axe, a\nsharpening-stone, a piece of a shovel, and an auger; also a number of\niron hoops. These things were of essential service to us. We did not\nsave any of our lances from the ship, and we had often considerable\nlabour to kill the large male sea-elephants; but we now took the handle\nof our old frying-pan, and with the help of the sharpening-stone, gave\nit a good point; we then fixed it in a handle, and with this weapon we\ndispatched these animals with ease.\n\n\u201cThe dog-seals are named by South-seamen _Wigs_, and the female seals\nare called _Clap-matches_. The Wigs are larger than the largest\nNewfoundland dog, and their bark is somewhat similar. When attacked\nthey would attempt to bite; and it required some dexterity to avoid\ntheir teeth, the wounds from which were difficult to heal. The flesh we\nfound very rank. The young ones are usually denominated _Pompeys_, and\nare excellent for food.\n\n\u201cThe supply of seals we found very scanty; our principal dependence,\ntherefore, was on the sea-elephants, which, from their great tameness,\nbecame an easy prey. They served us for meat, washing, lodging, firing,\ngrates, washing-tubs, and tobacco pipes. The parts we made use of for\nfood, were the heart, tongue, sweetbread, and the tender parts of the\nskin; the snotters (a sort of fleshy skin which hangs over the nose)\nand the flappers. These, after boiling a considerable time, formed a\njelly, and made, with the addition of some eggs, adding a pigeon or\ntwo, or a sea-hen, very good soup. The blood served to wash with, as\nit quickly removed either dirt or grease. When we had articles that\nneeded washing, and had killed an elephant, we used to turn the carcase\non its back, and the intestines being taken out, a quantity of blood\nwould flow into the cavity. In this we cleansed the articles, and then\nrinsing them in the stream, they were washed as well as if we had been\nprovided with soap.\n\n\u201cThe skins served us for roofing, and of them we also formed our shoes\nor moccasins, and these we used to sew together with thongs formed from\nthe sinews. Their teeth we formed into the bowls of pipes, and to this\nattached the leg bone of some water-fowl, and together it formed a good\napparatus. Having no tobacco, we used the dried grass that grew on the\nisland.\n\n\u201cOf sea-elephants\u2019 blubber we made our fires, and their bones laid\nacross on some stones formed grates to lay the blubber on. Of a piece\nof blubber also, with a piece of rope-yarn stuck in it, we formed our\nlamps, and it produced a very good light. The largest elephants are\nabout 25 ft. long and 18 ft. round, and their blubber was frequently 7\nin. thick and would yield a tun of oil. The brain of the animal, which\nwas almost as sweet as sugar, was frequently eaten by us raw. The only\nkind of vegetable on the island, besides grass, was a plant resembling\na cabbage, but we found it so bitter that we could make no use of it.\n\n\u201cMr. Veale had fortunately saved his watch uninjured, so we were able\nto divide our time pretty regularly. We usually rose about 8 in the\nmorning, and took breakfast at 9 o\u2019clock; after breakfast some of the\nparty would go catering for the day\u2019s provisions, while the others\nremained at home to fulfil the domestic offices. We dined generally\nabout 1 o\u2019clock, and took tea about 5. For some months this latter\nmeal, as far as the beverage went, consisted of boiled water only, but\nwe afterwards manufactured what we named Mocoa as a substitute for tea,\nand this consisted of raw eggs beat up in hot water. We supped about 7\nor 8 o\u2019clock, and generally retired to rest about 10.\n\n\u201cI have before said that the most valuable thing we preserved from the\nwreck was our Bible, and here I must state that some portion of each\nday was set apart for reading it; and by nothing perhaps could I better\nexemplify its benefits than by stating that to its influence we were\nindebted for an almost unparalleled unanimity during the whole time we\nwere on the island. Peace reigned among us, for the precepts of Him\nwho was the harbinger of Peace and Goodwill towards men were daily\ninculcated and daily practised. The Bible when bestowed was thrown by\nunheeded: it traversed wide oceans, it was scattered with the wreck\nof our frail bark, and was indeed and in truth found upon the waters\nafter many days, and not only was the mere book found, but its value\nwas also discovered, and its blessings, so long neglected, were now\nmade apparent to us. Cast away on a desert island, in the midst of\nan immense ocean, without a hope of deliverance, lost to all human\nsympathy, mourned as dead by our kindred, in this invaluable book we\nfound the herald of hope, the balm and consolation, the dispenser of\npeace.\n\n\u201cAnother striking fact may here be stated. One of our crew was a\nprofessed Atheist: he was, however, extremely ignorant, not being able\neven to read. This man had frequently derided our religious exercises,\nbut having no one to second him, it did not disturb the harmony that\nreigned among us.\n\n\u201cThis man\u2019s conversion was occasioned by an interposition which he\ndeemed supernatural. The story he gave of himself was as follows: He\nhad been out seeking for provender alone, and evening closed on him\nbefore he could reach our dwelling. The darkness perplexed him, and the\nground which he had to cross being very uneven and interspersed with\nmany rocks and declivities, fear rather increased than decreased his\npower of perception, and he became unable to proceed.\u201d\n\nIt may here be added that one of the great dangers of the island\nwere the bog-holes, Goodridge supposes worked in the soil by the\nbull-elephants; these are eight or nine feet deep and become full of\nmire: any one stepping in would suddenly be engulfed.\n\n\u201cHere he first felt his own weakness; he hallooed loudly for help,\nbut he was far out of hearing of our abode. Bereft of all human aid,\nand every moment adding to his fear, he at length called on the name\nof his Maker and Saviour, and implored that assistance from Heaven\nwhich he had before so often scorned. He prayed now most fervently for\ndeliverance, and suddenly, as he conceived, a light appeared around\nhim, by which he was enabled to discover his path and reach our hut\nin safety. So fully satisfied was he himself that it was a miraculous\ninterposition of Providence that from that period he became quite\nanother man.\n\n\u201cGreat numbers of birds visit these islands. There are three species of\nPenguins beside the King Penguin, and these are named by South Sea men,\nMacaroonys, Johnnys, and Rock Hoppers. The Macaroonys congregate in\ntheir rookeries in great numbers, frequently three or four thousand;\nthey ascend very high up the hills, and form their nests roughly among\nthe rocks. They are larger than a duck, and lay three eggs, two about\nthe size of duck\u2019s eggs, on which they sit; the other is smaller, and\nis cast out of the nest, and we used to term it the pigeon\u2019s egg, for\nanother kind of bird which frequent these islands, almost in every\nrespect resembling a pigeon, make their principal food of eggs, and\nwould rob the nests to procure them unless they found those cast-out\neggs, which most commonly satisfied them till the others by incubation\nwere unfit for food. A similar practice we observed with the Rock\nHoppers, but the Johnnys, like the King Penguins, lay only one egg\neach, unless deprived of them.\n\n\u201cThe Johnnys build their nests superior to either of the others among\nthe long grass. These birds lay in winter as well as in summer, and\nby robbing their nests we kept them laying nearly all the year round.\nWe observed that when we robbed those which formed their nests on the\nplain, that they rebuilt their nests higher up. When we took the eggs\nof these birds, they would look at us most piteously, making a low,\nmoaning noise, as if in great distress at the deprivation, but would\nexhibit no kind of resistance. The King Penguins, however, would strike\nat us with their flippers, and their blows were frequently severe.\n\n\u201cThe Rock Hoppers form their rookeries at the foot of high hills,\nand make their nests of stones and turf. This is the only species of\nPenguin that whistles; the King Penguins halloo, and the Johnnys and\nMacaroonys make a sort of yawing noise.\n\n\u201cOne kind of bird which proved very valuable to us are called Nellys.\nThey are larger than a goose, and resort to these islands in great\nnumbers. They make burrows in the ground, and were very easily caught.\nThese birds are so ravenous, that after we had killed a Sea-Elephant,\nthey would, in a few hours, completely carry off every particle of\nflesh we did not make use of, leaving the bones clean as possible.\nTheir young became very good eating in March.\u201d\n\nAlthough this party knew that the other party of sealers had been left\non the larger island, they did not venture to cross to it, as the seas\nwere very rough, and winds were almost always contrary. However, this\nparty on the western island, in December, 1821, finding the seals very\nscarce, and other provisions scanty, determined on visiting the eastern\nisland, but without the least expectation of finding any remnants of\nthe vessel, much less of meeting any of their comrades, whom they\nsupposed to be all drowned.\n\nThey arrived on the 13th December, and entered the same cove where\nwas the residence of those who had escaped the wreck. The joy of all\nhands on meeting is better conceived than described. The new arrivals\nhad brought with them their kettle, frying-pan, and other implements;\nand also the discovery they had made that the cabbage growing on the\nislands if boiled for three or four hours lost its bitterness. This now\nproved to be a rich delicacy after such long deprivation of vegetable\ndiet.\n\nAs the chance of any vessel coming to the Crozets became apparently\nless and less, the whole party now resolved to attempt to construct a\nvessel in which to make their escape. Those on the western isle had\nfound there remains of wooden huts, and some beams and planks had been\ndug up on the eastern isle. It was found that the means of subsistence\non that island where the whole party was now settled would not suffice\nfor all. It was accordingly resolved again to separate. Captain Veale\nand his brother, Goodridge, Soper, and Spesinick, an Italian, were to\ngo to the western isle and remain there, but the timber found there\nwas to be transferred to the eastern isle, where the vessel was to\nbe constructed. This accordingly was effected. Meanwhile Goodridge\u2019s\nclothes had worn out, and he had to clothe himself in seal-skins.\n\nIn building the ship numerous were the difficulties experienced. Tools\nwere few and imperfect. They had neither pitch nor oakum. The rigging\nwas made of the ropes taken on shore by the sealing party wherewith to\nraft off to the boats the skins procured, as the surf on the beaches\nprevented their landing to load with safety and convenience.\n\nBy the beginning of January, 1823, the vessel was completed by the ten\nmen on the eastern isle, and it was equipped with sails of seal-skins.\nThey also formed vessels for taking a stock of fresh water, from the\nskins of pup elephants; and they provided a store of salted tongues,\neggs, and whatever could be got for a voyage in the frail bark. Then\nthe boat was sent over to the western isle to fetch away those on it to\nassist in launching the ship; and lots were to be cast as to the five\nwhom alone it would accommodate, and who were to be sent off in this\nfrail vessel, without compass or chart, on the chance of falling in\nwith some ship in the Southern Seas.\n\nTwo years had now nearly passed since the party had been wrecked.\n\nSeven had come over to the western isle to summon the Veales,\nGoodridge, and the rest, but it was not possible to return the same\nday; and during the night a violent gale of wind sprang up, and the\nboat having been hauled up in an exposed situation, the wind caught\nher, carried her to a distance of seventy yards, and so damaged her\nas to render her unseaworthy, the stern being completely beat in. This\ndisaster produced consternation; for the other boat, that left on\nthe eastern isle, had been ripped up to line the ship that had been\nconstructed.\n\nOn the 21st, \u201cabout noon, whilst most of us were employed in preparing\nfor our meal, Dominic Spesinick, who was an elderly man, left us to\ntake a walk; he had proceeded to a high point of land about three parts\nof a mile distant from our hut, and saw a vessel passing round the next\npoint. He immediately came running towards us in great agitation, and\nfor some time could do nothing but gesticulate, excess of joy having\ncompletely deprived him of the power of utterance. Capt. Veale, who\nwas with me, asked what the foolish fellow was at, and he having by\nthis time a little recovered himself, told us that he had certainly\nseen a vessel pass round the point of the island. We had so often been\ndeceived by the appearance of large birds sitting on the water, which\nwe had mistaken for vessels at a distance, that we were slow to believe\nhis story; however, it was agreed that John Soper should go with him,\ntaking a direction across the island, so that they might, if possible,\nintercept the vessel; and being supplied with a tinder-box, in order to\nlight a fire, to attract the notice of the crew should they gain sight\nof her, off they started.\n\n\u201cThe hours passed very slowly during their absence, and when night\napproached, and they were not returned, a thousand conjectures were\nstarted to account for their stay. Morning at length came, after a\ntedious night. Some had not closed their eyes, whilst the others who\nhad caught a few minutes sleep had been disturbed by frightful dreams,\nand wakened only to disappointed hopes.\n\n\u201cOur two companions had been fortunate enough to reach that part of\nthe island in which the vessel was still in sight; and by finding\nthe remains of a sea-elephant that had been recently killed, they\nascertained that the crew had been on shore, and they hastened to\nkindle a fire; but finding they could not attract the attention of\nthose in the vessel from the beach, they proceeded with all haste to\nascend a hill in the direction she was still steering. Spesinick,\nhowever, became exhausted, and was unable to proceed further. Soper\nwent on, but had to descend into a valley before he could gain another\nelevated spot to make a signal from. Spesinick, returning to the beach\nwhere they had kindled the fire, to his great joy, saw a boat from the\nvessel coming on shore. The crew had reached the beach before Spesinick\ngot to it; but his voice was drowned by the noise of a rookery of\nmacaroonys he had disturbed on the hill. Seeing the fire, the smoke of\nwhich had first attracted their attention, they were convinced that\nthere were human beings on the island, and had commenced a search. In\nthe interim, Spesinick had made for the boat, and having reached it\nclung to it in a fit of desperate joy that gave him the appearance of\na maniac; and the crew, on returning, found him in such questionable\nguise that they hailed him before approaching. Dressed in shaggy fur\nskins, with a cap of the same material, and beard of nearly two years\u2019\ngrowth, it was not probable that they should take him for a civilized\nbeing. They soon, however, became better acquainted, and he gave them\nan outline of the shipwreck, the number of men on the island, and that\nSoper was not far off.\n\n\u201cThe vessel proved to be an American schooner called the _Philo_, Isaac\nPerceval, master, on a sealing and trading voyage.\n\n\u201cSoper, being still unaware of the boat having gone ashore, as it must\nhave done so, while he was crossing the valley, on coming to a place\nwhere, on a foraging excursion, we had erected a shelter at the opening\nof a cave, he set the place on fire, and the boat which had returned\nwith Spesinick put off and took him on board also, much to his joy.\nBy this time it was nearly dark, and too late to send or make any\ncommunication to us on that evening, but on the following morning, 22\nJanuary, the captain of the schooner sent his boat to fetch off the\nremaining ten.\n\n\u201cWe had by this time almost given up all hopes of our expected\ndeliverance, and had gone to a neighbouring rookery to gather all\nthe eggs we could collect. Shortly after ten a shout from one of our\ncompanions, Millichant, aroused our attention, and we soon perceived\nthe American schooner\u2019s boat coming round the point. Down went the\neggs. Some capered, some ran, some shouted, and three loud cheers from\nus were quickly answered by those in the boat.\n\n\u201cHere I cannot help breaking off in my narrative to remark on the\nprovidential nature of our succour. The damage done to our boat had\ncaused us much distress, but now how different were our views of the\naccident; for had our boat _not_ been damaged, our return to the\nother island would have followed as a matter of course; and, in all\nprobability, we should never have seen the vessel that now proved the\nmeans of our deliverance.\u201d\n\nOn 23 January, Captain Perceval steered for the east island, and took\noff the remainder of the shipwrecked men.\n\n\u201cThe day of departure now arrived, and after remaining on those islands\none year, ten months, and five days, we bade them adieu--shall I say\nwith great joy? Certainly; and yet I felt a mixture of regret. Whether\nfrom the perverseness of my nature, or from any other cause, I can only\nsay--so it was.\u201d\n\nThe American captain was bent on collecting seal-skins, and it was\nhis purpose to visit the islands of Amsterdam and St. Paul\u2019s, and\nthen make his way to the Mauritius, where he would leave those whom\nhe had rescued. Meanwhile, he required them, like a shrewd, not\nto say grasping Yankee, to work for him at the seal fishery; and\nthis they did till the 1st April, when he was at St. Paul\u2019s. There\ndissatisfaction broke out among those he had rescued. He had kept\nthem working hard for him during two months, and had not given them\neven a change of clothing. The Italian Mazora spoke out, and Captain\nPerceval was furious and ordered him to be set on shore; he would take\nhim no further in his ship. At this his comrades in misfortune spoke\nout also. Having suffered so long together they would not desert a\ncomrade, and they all resented the way in which Captain Perceval was\ntaking an unfair advantage of them. They had, in fact, secured for\nhim five thousand seal-skins and three hundred quintals of fish. The\nYankee captain having now got out of them all he could, did not trouble\nhimself about taking them any further, and sent ten of them ashore:\nonly three--Captain Veale, his brother, and Petherbridge--went on with\nthe American ship. Two others, Soper and Newbee, had remained at their\nown wish at Amsterdam, which they could leave when they wished, as it\nlay in the direct track of all ships going from the Cape of Good Hope\nto New South Wales.\n\nThe American captain gave a cask of bread and some necessaries to those\nhe put ashore on St. Paul\u2019s.\n\nHere they remained, renewing their hardships on the Crozets, but in a\nbetter climate, till the first week in June, when a sloop, a tender to\nthe _King George_ whaler, arrived, looking for her consort in vain. The\nsloop was only twenty-eight tons and could not accommodate more than\nthree, and the lot decided that Goodridge should be one of these three.\nThen the sloop sailed for Van Diemen\u2019s Land, and after a rough passage\nof thirty-six days reached Hobart Town on 7 July.\n\nWe need not follow Goodridge\u2019s narrative further, though what remains\nis interesting: his observations on the condition of the convicts,\nthe settlers, and so forth. He there got into trouble, being arrested\nand thrown into prison on the suspicion that he was a runaway sailor\nfrom the _King George_, and he had great difficulty in obtaining his\ndischarge. He was also attacked and nearly murdered by bushrangers.\n\nAt length, in the beginning of 1831, he was able to start for home. He\nembarked on 15 February. \u201cOn Sunday morning, 31st July, we came off\nTorbay, and now I anxiously looked out for some conveyance to land: I\nwas in sight of my native village--my heart beat high. The venerable\ntower of Paignton, forming as it does one of the most conspicuous\nobjects in the bay, was full in view, and with my glass I could trace\nmany well-remembered objects, even the very dwelling of my childhood\nand the home of my parents.\u201d On 2 August, Goodridge reached home\nto find his parents still alive, though the old man was infirm and\nfailing. He had been away eleven years; but of these a good many had\nbeen spent by him in business in Van Diemen\u2019s Land.\n\n\n\n\nJOHN DAVY\n\n\nJohn Davy was born at Upton Hellions, and was an illegitimate child,\nbaptized as Davie on Christmas Day, 1763. When he was about three years\nold, he entered the room one day where his uncle, a blacksmith in the\nsame parish, was playing a psalm tune on the violoncello; but the\nmoment he heard the instrument he ran away crying, and was so terrified\nthat it was thought he would have a fit. For several weeks his uncle\nrepeatedly tried to reconcile him to the instrument; and at last, after\nmuch coaxing and encouragement, he effected it by taking the child\u2019s\nfingers and making him strike the strings. The sound thus produced\nstartled him considerably at first, but in a few days he became so\npassionately fond of the amusement, that he took every opportunity\nof scraping a better acquaintance with the monster. With a little\nattention he was soon able to produce such notes from the violoncello\nas greatly delighted him.\n\nSoon after this Davy\u2019s uncle frequently took him to Crediton, where\na company of soldiers was quartered, and one day at the roll-call\nhe was greatly delighted at the music of the fifes; so much was he\npleased that he borrowed one, and very soon taught himself to play\nseveral tunes decently. After this he began to make fifes from the\ntubular reeds growing on the banks of the Creedy, and commonly called\n\u201cbillers.\u201d With these he made several imitations of the fife, and\nbartered them to his playmates.\n\nAt the age of four or five years, his ear was so correct that he\ncould play any easy tune after once hearing it. Before he was quite\nsix years old, a neighbouring blacksmith, into whose house he went\nfrequently, lost twenty or thirty horseshoes. Diligent search was made\nfor them during many days. But one evening the blacksmith, John Davy\u2019s\nuncle, heard faint chimes, like those of Crediton Church, sounding\nfrom the garret of his house, and having listened a sufficient time\nto be convinced that his ears did not deceive him, he ascended to the\nattic, and there found the boy with the horseshoes, or so many of them\nas would form an octave, hung clear of the wall to nails, and he was\nstriking them with a hammer or iron rod, playing the chimes of Crediton\nChurch bells.\n\nThe story coming to the ears of Chancellor Carrington, then rector\nof Upton Hellions, he felt interested in the child, and showed him a\nharpsichord, on which he speedily acquired some proficiency. He applied\nhimself likewise to the violin, on which his uncle, who played in the\norchestra of the church choir, was able to give him some instruction,\nand he found little difficulty in surmounting the preliminaries.\nWhen eleven years old the Chancellor introduced him to the Rev. Mr.\nEastcott, who possessed a pianoforte, then an instrument of recent\nintroduction, at least in the west. With this also the boy soon became\nfamiliar, and so impressed Mr. Eastcott with his intuitive genius for\nmusic, that he advised his friends to place him with some musician of\neminence, under whom he would have free access to a good instrument,\nand might learn the rules of composition. They applied to Mr. William\nJackson, the organist of Exeter Cathedral, and when John was about\ntwelve years of age, he was articled as a pupil and apprentice to this\nable man.\n\nHis progress in the study of composition, and especially of church\nmusic, was rapid. He also became an admirable performer on the organ,\nand often took the place of Jackson in the cathedral. The first of his\ncompositions that appear to have attained any degree of celebrity were\nsome vocal quartettes.\n\nHaving completed his studies with Jackson, Davy went to London, where\nhe obtained a situation in the orchestra at Covent Garden; and he\nemployed his time in teaching, and soon had a considerable number of\npupils. He composed some dramatic pieces for the theatre at Sadler\u2019s\nWells, and wrote the music to Mr. Holman\u2019s opera of _What a Blunder_,\nwhich was performed at the little theatre in the Haymarket in 1800.\nIn the following year, he was engaged with Moorhead in the music of\n_Perouse_, and with Mountain in _The Brazen Mask_, for Covent Garden.\n\nHe was greatly lionized in Town, owing to the \u00e9clat attending his early\nefforts, and was retained as composer of music by the managers of the\nTheatres Royal until infirmities, rather than age, rendered him almost\nincapable of exertion, unhappily a victim to drink. He died, before he\nwas sixty-two, in February, 1824, without a friend, and was buried in\nSt. Martin\u2019s churchyard at the expense of two London tradesmen, one of\nwhom, Mr. Thomas, was a native of Crediton.\n\nDavy at one time had an ambition to shine as an actor, and he actually\nmade his debut on the stage at Exeter, but failed.\n\nAlthough Davy\u2019s end was so wretched, many of his compositions will\nnever cease to be recollected and sung; notably that delicately\nbeautiful ballad, \u201cJust Like Love\u201d; others, more boisterous in\ncharacter, are, \u201cMay We Never Want a Friend,\u201d \u201cThe Death of the\nSmuggler,\u201d and \u201cThe Bay of Biscay.\u201d\n\nFor the life of Davy, see dictionaries of Musical Biography, and an\narticle by Dr. Edwards on \u201cCrediton Musicians\u201d in the _Transactions_ of\nthe Devonshire Association, 1882.\n\n\n\n\nRICHARD PARKER, THE MUTINEER\n\n\nFor the story of Richard Parker, I shall quote almost verbatim the\naccount, which is very detailed, by Camden Pelham in _Chronicles of\nCrime_, London, 1840.\n\nIn the year 1797, when the threatening aspect of affairs abroad made\nthe condition of the naval force a matter of vital importance to\nBritain, several alarming mutinies broke out among the various fleets\nstationed around the shores of the country. In April of the year\nmentioned, the seamen of the grand fleet lying at Portsmouth disowned\nthe authority of their officers, seized upon the ships, hoisted the\nred flag, and declared their determination not to lift an anchor, or\nobey any orders whatsoever, until certain grievances of which they\ncomplained were redressed.\n\nThere is no denying or concealing the fact--the men had been ill-paid,\nill-fed, shamefully neglected by the country, which depended upon them\nfor its all, and, in many instances, harshly and brutally treated by\ntheir officers, and belly-pinched and plundered by their pursers. They\nbehaved with exemplary moderation. The mutineers allowed all frigates\nwith convoys to sail, in order not to injure the commerce of the\ncountry. The delegates of the vessels drew up and signed a petition to\nParliament and another to the Admiralty; their language was respectful,\nand their demands were very far from exorbitant.\n\nAfter some delay, satisfactory concessions were made to them by\nGovernment, and the men returned to their duty. But the spirit of\ninsubordination had spread among other squadrons in the service, and\nabout the middle of May, immediately after the Portsmouth fleet had\nsailed peaceably for the Bay of Biscay, the seamen of the large fleet\nlying at the Nore broke out also into open mutiny. The most conspicuous\npersonage in the insurrection was one Richard Parker, a native of\nExeter, privately baptized, in St. Mary Major parish, 24 April, 1767.\nHis father was a baker in that parish, and had his shop near the\nturnstile. It was afterwards burnt down. He rented it of the dean and\nchapter, from 1761 to 1793, and acquired a little land near to Exeter\nas his own. Young Parker received a good education, and at the age\nof twelve went to sea. He served in the Royal Navy as midshipman and\nmaster\u2019s mate. But he threw up his profession on his marriage with Anne\nMcHardy, a young woman resident in Exeter, but of Scottish origin, a\nmember of a respectable family in Aberdeen.\n\nThis connexion led Parker to remove to Scotland, where he embarked\nin some mercantile speculations that proved unsuccessful. The issue\nwas that before long he found himself in embarrassed circumstances,\nand unable to maintain his wife and two children. In Edinburgh, where\nthese difficulties arose, he had no friends to whom he could apply\nfor assistance, and in a moment of desperation he took the King\u2019s\nbounty, and became a common sailor on board a tender at Leith. When he\nannounced to his wife the steps he had taken, she hastened to Aberdeen\nin great distress to procure from her brother the means of hiring two\nseamen as substitutes for her husband. But when she returned with the\nmoney from Aberdeen it was too late, for the tender had just sailed\nwith her husband on board. Her grief was aggravated at this time by\nthe loss of one of her children. Parker\u2019s sufferings were shown to be\nequally acute by his conduct when the vessel sailed, crying out that he\nsaw the body of his child floating upon the waves; he leaped overboard,\nand was with difficulty rescued and restored to life.\n\n[Illustration: /Richard Parker/\n\n_Who was executed on board the Sandwich off Sheerness on Friday Jun\n30^{th} 1797 pursuant to the sentence of a Court Martial for having\nbeen the Principal in a most daring Mutiny on board several of his\nMajesty\u2019s Ships at the Nore & which created a dreadful alarm through\nthe whole Nation_]\n\nIn the early days of May, 1797, Parker reached the Nore, a point of\nland dividing the mouth of the Thames and the Medway. Probably on\naccount of his former experience as a seaman, he was drafted on board\nthe _Sandwich_, the guardship that bore the flag of Admiral Buckner,\nthe Port Admiral. The mutinous spirit which afterwards broke out\ncertainly existed on board the Nore squadron before Parker\u2019s arrival.\nCommunications were kept up in secret between the various crews, and\nthe mischief was gradually drawing to a head. But though he did not\noriginate the feeling of insubordination, the ardent temper, boldness,\nand superior intelligence of Parker soon became known to his comrades,\nand he became a prominent man among them. Their plans being at last\nmatured, the seamen rose simultaneously against their officers, and\ndeprived them of their arms, as well as of all command in the ships,\nthough behaving respectfully to them in all other ways. Each vessel\nwas put under the government of a committee of twelve men, and, to\nrepresent the whole body of seamen, every man-of-war appointed two\ndelegates and each gunboat one to act for the common good. Of these\ndelegates Richard Parker was chosen president, and in an unhappy hour\nfor himself he accepted the office. The representative body drew up a\nlist of grievances, of which they demanded the removal, offering return\nimmediately after to their duty. The demands were for increased pay,\nbetter and more abundant food, a more equal division of prize-money,\nliberty to go on shore, and prompt payment of arrears. A committee of\nnaval inquiry subsequently granted almost all their demands, thereby\nacknowledging their justice. Parker signed these documents, and they\nwere published over the whole kingdom with his name attached, as well\nas presented to Port Admiral Buckner, through whom they were sent to\nthe Government. When these proceedings commenced the mutineers were\nsuffered to go on shore, and they paraded the streets of Sheerness,\nwhere lay a part of the fleet, with music and the red flag flying.\n\nBut on the 22nd of May, troops were sent to Sheerness to put a stop\nto these demonstrations. Being thus confined to their ships, the\nmutineers, having come to no agreement with Admiral Buckner, began\nto take more decisive measures for extorting compliance with their\ndemands, as well as for securing their own safety. The vessels at\nSheerness moved down to the Nore, and the combined force of the\ninsurgents, which consisted of twenty-five sail, proceeded to block\nup the Thames, by refusing a free passage, up or down, to the London\ntrade. Foreign vessels, and a few small craft, were suffered to go\nby, after having received a passport, signed by Richard Parker, as\npresident of the delegates.\n\nIn a day or two the mutineers had an immense number of vessels under\ndetention. The mode in which they kept them was as follows: The ships\nof war were ranged in a line, at considerable distances from each\nother, and in the interspaces were placed the merchant vessels, having\nthe broadsides of the men-of-war pointed to them. The appearance of\nthe whole assemblage is described as having been at once grand and\nappalling. The red flag floated from the mast-head of every one of the\nmutineer ships.\n\nThe Government, however, though unable at the moment to quell the\nmutiny by force, remained firm in their demand of \u201cunconditional\nsurrender as a necessary preliminary to any intercourse.\u201d This was,\nperhaps, the best line of conduct that could have been adopted. The\nseamen, to their great honour, never seemed to think of assuming an\noffensive attitude, and were thereby left in quiet to meditate on\nthe dangerous position in which they stood in hostility to their own\ncountry. Disunion began to manifest itself, and Parker\u2019s efforts\nto revive the cooling ardour of the mutineers resulted in rousing\nparticular hostility against himself.\n\nMeanwhile, formidable preparations had been made by the Government for\nthe protection of the coast against a boat attack by the mutineers,\nand to prevent the fleet advancing up the Thames and menacing London.\nAll the buoys and beacons in the three channels giving entrance to\nthe Thames had been removed. Batteries with furnaces for red-hot shot\nwere constructed at several points. Sheerness was filled with troops,\nand at more distant places outposts were established to prevent the\nlanding of parties of the mutineers. Two ships of the line, some\nfrigates, and between twenty and thirty gunboats lying higher up the\nriver were fitted out in great haste, to co-operate, in the event of\nan attack by the mutinous fleet, with the squadron from Spithead, that\nhad been summoned. Alarm and perplexity disorganized the council of\nthe mutineers. The supply of provisions had for some time been running\nshort.\n\nA price had been set on Parker\u2019s head--\u00a3500. It was thought that\nhe might attempt to escape, and therefore a description of him was\npublished: \u201cRichard Parker is about thirty years of age, wears his\nown hair, which is black, untied, though not cropt; about five feet\nnine or ten inches high; has a rather prominent nose, dark eyes and\ncomplexion, and thin visage; is generally slovenly dressed, in a plain\nblue half-worn coat and a whitish or light coloured waistcoat and\nhalf-boots.\u201d\n\nBut Parker made no attempt to escape. The mutineering vessels held\ntogether till the 30th May, when the _Clyde_ frigate was carried off\nby a combination of its officers and some of the seamen, and was\nfollowed by the _S. Fiorenzo_. These vessels were fired upon by the\nmutineers, but escaped up the river. The loss was, however, more than\ncounterbalanced by the arrival of eight ships from the mutinous fleet\nof Admiral Duncan, anchored in Yarmouth Roads.\n\nOn the 4th June, the King\u2019s birthday, the Nore fleet showed that their\nloyalty to their Sovereign was undisturbed by firing a general salute.\n\nOn the 6th June two more ships deserted under the fire of the whole\nfleet, but the same evening four more arrived from Admiral Duncan\u2019s\nfleet. On this day Lord Northesk, having been summoned on board the\n_Sandwich_, found the council, comprising sixty delegates, sitting in\nthe state cabin, with Parker at its head. After receiving a letter\ncontaining proposals of accommodation to which the unfortunate Parker\nstill put his name as president, Lord Northesk left, charged to deliver\nthis letter to the King. The answer was a refusal to all concessions\ntill the mutineers had surrendered unconditionally. Disunion thereupon\nbecame more accentuated, and on 10 June, Parker was compelled to shift\nhis flag to the _Montague_ and the council removed with him.\n\nOn the same day the merchantmen were permitted by common consent to\npass up the river, and such a multitude of ships certainly had never\nbefore entered a port by one tide.\n\nFresh desertions now occurred every day, and all hope of concerted\naction was ended by stormy discussions, in which contradictory\nsuggestions were made with such heat as to lead in many instances to\nacts of violence. Upon ship after ship the red flag was hauled down and\nreplaced by one that was white, signifying submission. On the 12th only\nseven ships had the red flag flying. Such was the confusion, every crew\nbeing divided into two hostile parties, that five ships were taken up\nthe Thames by those in favour of surrender, aided by their opponents\nunder the belief that an attack was about to be made on the shore\ndefences. The discovery by the latter that they were betrayed aroused\nterrible strife. The deck of the _Iris_ frigate became a battlefield;\none party in the fore, the others in the after-part, turned the great\nguns against each other, and fought till the mutineers were worsted.\n\nBy the 16th the mutiny had terminated, every ship having been restored\nto the command of its officers. A party of soldiers went on board the\n_Sandwich_ to which Parker had returned, and to them the officers\nsurrendered the delegates of the ship, namely a man named Davies and\nRichard Parker.\n\nRichard Parker, to whom the title of admiral had been accorded by\nthe fleet and by the public during the whole of this affair, was the\nundoubted ringleader, and was the individual on whom all eyes were\nturned as the chief of the mutineers. He was brought to trial on the\n22nd of June, after having been confined during the interval in the\nBlack-hole of Sheerness garrison. Ten officers, under the presidency\nof Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley, Bart., composed the court-martial,\nwhich sat on board the _Neptune_, off Greenhithe. The prisoner\nconducted his own defence, exhibiting great presence of mind, and\npreserving a respectful and manly deference throughout towards his\njudges.\n\nThe prosecution on the part of the Crown lasted two days, and on the\n26th, Parker called witnesses in his favour, and read a long and able\ndefence which he had previously prepared. The line of argument adopted\nby him was--that the situation he had held had been in a measure\nforced upon him; that he had consented to assume it chiefly from the\nhope of restraining the men from excesses; that he had restrained them\nin various instances; that he might have taken all the ships to sea,\nor to an enemy\u2019s port, had his motives been disloyal, etc. Parker\nunquestionably spoke the truth on many of these points. Throughout the\nwhole affair, the injury done to property was trifling, the taking of\nsome flour from a vessel being the chief act of the kind. But he had\nindubitably been the head of the mutineers. It was proved that he went\nfrom ship to ship giving orders and encouraging the men to stand out,\nand that his orders were given as though he were actually admiral of\nthe fleet. Nothing could save him. He was sentenced to death. When his\ndoom was pronounced, he rose, and said, in firm tones, \u201cI shall submit\nto your sentence with all due respect, being confident in the innocency\nof my intentions, and that God will receive me unto His favour;\nand I sincerely hope that my death will be the means of restoring\ntranquillity to the Navy, and that those men who have been implicated\nin the business may be reinstated in their former situations, and again\nbe serviceable to their country.\u201d\n\nOn the morning of the 30th of June, the yellow flag, the signal of\ndeath, was hoisted on board the _Sandwich_, where Richard Parker lay,\nand where he was to meet his fate. The whole fleet was ranged a little\nbelow Sheerness, in sight of the _Sandwich_, and the crew of every ship\nwas piped to the forecastle. Parker was awakened from a sound sleep\non that morning, and after being shaved, he dressed himself in a suit\nof deep mourning. He mentioned to his attendants that he had made a\nwill, leaving to his wife some property in Devonshire that belonged to\nhim. On coming to the deck, he was pale, but perfectly composed, and\ndrank a glass of wine \u201cto the salvation of his soul, and forgiveness of\nall his enemies!\u201d He said nothing to his mates on the forecastle but\n\u201cGood-bye to you!\u201d and expressed a hope that \u201chis death would be deemed\nsufficient atonement, and save the lives of others.\u201d\n\nHe was strung up to the yard-arm at half-past nine o\u2019clock. A dead\nsilence reigned among the crews around during the execution. When cold,\nhis body was taken down, put in a shell, and interred within an hour\nor two after his death in the new naval burying ground at Sheerness. A\nremarkable and pathetic sequel to the account has served as the basis\nof a popular ballad still sung.\n\nRichard Parker\u2019s unfortunate wife had not left Scotland, when the\nnews reached her ears that the Nore fleet had mutinied, and that the\nringleader was one Richard Parker. She could not doubt that this was\nher husband, and immediately took a place in the mail for London, to\nsave him if possible. On her arrival, she heard that Parker had been\ntried, but the result was not known. Being able to think of no way but\npetitioning the King, she gave a person a guinea to draw up a paper,\npraying that her husband\u2019s life might be spared. She attempted to make\nher way with this into His Majesty\u2019s presence, but was obliged finally\nto hand it to a lord-in-waiting, who gave her the cruel intelligence\nthat all applications for mercy would be attended to, except for\nParker. The distracted woman then took coach for Rochester, where she\ngot on board a King\u2019s ship, and learnt that Parker was to be executed\nnext day. She sat up, in a condition of unspeakable wretchedness, the\nwhole of that night, and at four o\u2019clock in the morning went to the\nriverside to hire a boat to take her to the _Sandwich_, that she might\nat least bid her poor husband farewell. Her feelings had been deeply\nwrung by hearing every person she met talking on the subject of her\ndistress, and now the first waterman to whom she spoke refused to take\nher as a single passenger. \u201cThe brave Admiral Parker is to die to-day,\u201d\nhe said, \u201cand I can get any sum I choose to ask for carrying over a\nparty.\u201d\n\nFinally, the wretched wife was glad to go on board a Sheerness market\nboat, but no boat was allowed to run up alongside of the _Sandwich_. In\nher desperation she called on Parker by name, and prevailed on the boat\npeople, moved by the sight of her distress, to attempt to approach, but\nthey were stopped by a sentinel who threatened to fire at them, unless\nthey withdrew.\n\n    O Parker was the truest husband,\n      Best of friends, whom I love dear;\n    Yet when he was a-called to suffer,\n      To him I might not then draw near.\n    Again I ask\u2019d, again I pleaded,\n      Three times entreating,--all in vain;\n    They even that request refused me,\n      And ordered me ashore again.\n\nAs the hour drew nigh, she saw her husband appear on deck walking\nbetween two clergymen. She called to him, and he heard her voice, for\nhe exclaimed, \u201cThere is my dear wife from Scotland.\u201d\n\nThen, happily, she fainted, and did not recover till some time after\nshe was taken ashore. By this time all was over, but the poor woman\ncould not believe it so. She hired another boat, and again reached the\n_Sandwich_. Her exclamation from the boat must have startled all who\nheard it. \u201cPass the word,\u201d she cried in her delusion, \u201cfor Richard\nParker!\u201d\n\nThe ballad says:--\n\n    The yellow flag I saw was flying,\n      A signal for my love to die;\n    The gun was fir\u2019d, as was requir\u2019d,\n      To hang him on the yard-arm high.\n    The boatswain did his best endeavour,\n      I on the shore was put straightway,\n    And there I tarried, watching, weeping,\n      My husband\u2019s corpse to bear away.\n\nOn reaching the _Sandwich_ she was informed that all was over, and\nthat the body of her husband had just been taken ashore for burial.\nShe immediately caused herself to be rowed ashore again, and proceeded\nto the cemetery, but found that the ceremony was over and the gate was\nlocked. She then went to the Admiral and sought the key, but it was\nrefused to her. Excited almost to madness by the information given her\nthat probably the surgeons would disinter the body that night and cut\nit up, she waited around the churchyard till dusk, and then clambering\nover the wall, readily found her husband\u2019s grave. The shell was not\nburied deep, and she was not long in scraping away the loose earth that\nintervened between her and the object of her search. She tore off the\nlid with her nails and teeth, and then clasped the hand of her husband,\ncold in death, and no more able to return the pressure.\n\nHer determination to possess the body next forced her to quit the\ncemetery and seek the assistance of two women, who, in their turn,\ngot several men to undertake the task of lifting the body. This was\naccomplished successfully, and at 3 a.m. the shell containing the\ncorpse was placed in a van and conveyed to Rochester, where, for the\nsum of six guineas, the widow procured another wagon to carry it to\nLondon. On the road they met hundreds of people all inquiring about,\nand talking of, the fate of \u201cAdmiral Parker.\u201d\n\nThe rude ballad thus relates the carrying away of the body:--\n\n    At dead of night, when all was quiet,\n      And many thousands fast asleep,\n    I, by two female friends attended,\n      Into the burial-ground did creep.\n    Our trembling hands did serve as shovels\n      With which the mold we moved away,\n    And then the body of my husband\n      Was carried off without delay.\n\nAt 11 p.m. the van reached London, but there the poor widow had no\nprivate house or friends to go to, and was constrained to stop at the\n\u201cHoofs and Horseshoe\u201d on Tower Hill, which was full of people. Mrs.\nParker got the body into her room, and sat down beside it; but the\nsecret could not long be kept in such a place, more particularly as the\nnews of the exhumation had been brought by express that day to London.\n\nAn immense crowd assembled about the house, anxious to see the body of\nParker, but this the widow would not permit.\n\nThe Lord Mayor heard of the affair, and came to ask the widow what she\nintended to do with her husband\u2019s remains. She replied, \u201cTo inter them\ndecently at Exeter or in Scotland.\u201d The Lord Mayor assured her that the\nbody would not be taken from her, and eventually prevailed on her to\nconsent to its being decently buried in London. Arrangements were made\nwith this view, and in the interim it was taken to Aldgate Workhouse,\non account of the crowds attracted by it, which caused some fears lest\n\u201cAdmiral Parker\u2019s remains should provoke a civil war.\u201d\n\nFinally, the corpse was buried in Whitechapel Churchyard, and Mrs.\nParker, who had in person seen her husband consigned to the grave, gave\na certificate that all had been done to her satisfaction. But, though\nstrictly questioned as to her accomplices in the exhuming and carrying\naway of the body, she firmly refused to disclose the names.\n\nParker had, as he said, made a will, leaving to his wife the little\nproperty he had near Exeter. This she enjoyed for a number of years,\nbut ultimately lost it through a lawsuit with Parker\u2019s sisters,\nwho claimed that it was theirs by right. She was thrown into great\ndistress, and, becoming almost blind, was obliged to solicit assistance\nfrom the charitable. King William IV gave her at one time \u00a310, and at\nanother \u00a320.\n\nIn 1836 the forlorn and miserable condition of poor Parker\u2019s widow\nwas made known to the London magistrates, and a temporary refuge was\nprovided for her. But temporary assistance was of little avail to one\nwhose physical infirmities rendered her incapable of any longer helping\nherself. When Camden Pelham wrote in 1840, she was aged seventy, blind,\nand friendless; but time and affliction had not quenched her affection\nfor the partner of her early days. However, in 1828, John C. Parker,\nthe son of the mutineer, obtained a verdict against his aunts for the\npossession of the little estate of Shute that had belonged to his\nfather\u2019s elder brother. The question turned on the legitimacy of the\nplaintiff, which was proved by his mother, a woman who then exhibited\nthe remains of uncommon beauty, and who was able to prove that she had\nmarried Richard Parker in 1793.\n\n    Then farewell, Parker, best beloved,\n      That was once the Navy\u2019s pride,\n    And since we might not die together,\n      We separate henceforth abide.\n    His sorrows now are past and over,\n      Now he resteth free from pain--\n    Grant, O God, his soul may enter\n      Where one day we meet again.[16]\n\nThe melody to which the ballad of the \u201cDeath of Parker\u201d is set is much\nmore ancient, by two centuries at the least, than the ballad itself. It\nis plaintive and very beautiful, and the words are admirably fitted to\nthe dainty and tender air.\n\nRichard Parker was a remarkably fine man. The brilliancy and expression\nof his eyes were of such a nature as caused one of the witnesses, while\nunder examination, to break down, and quail beneath his glance, and\nshrink abashed, incapacitated from giving further testimony.\n\nDouglas Jerrold wrote a drama upon the theme of the \u201cMutiny at the\nNore.\u201d But it is a mere travesty of history. The true pathos and beauty\nof the story of the devoted wife were completely put aside for vulgar\nmelodramatic incidents.\n\nFor authorities, the _Annual Register_ for 1797; _The Chronicles of\nCrime_, by Camden Pelham, London, 1840; _The Mutiny at Spithead and the\nNore_, London, 1842; \u201cRichard Parker, of Exeter, and the Mutiny of the\nNore,\u201d by S. T. Whiteford, in _Notes and Gleanings_, Exeter, 1888.\n\n\n\n\nBENJAMIN KENNICOTT, D.D.\n\n\nBenjamin Kennicott was born at Totnes on 4 April, 1718, and was the\nson of Benjamin Kennicott, the parish clerk of that town. The family\nhad been one of some respectability, as in 1606 one Gabriel Kennicott\nwas mayor of Totnes. Probably, if a well-to-do tradesman family at one\ntime, it had sunk, and Benjamin senior was quite content to act as\nclerk on a small stipend. His son was educated at the Grammar School,\nfounded by King Edward VI in 1554, and held in a building adjoining the\nGuildhall, both of which occupy a portion of the old dissolved priory\nof Totnes, on the north side of the church. The trustees of Eliseus\nHele had endowed the school, and the corporation were empowered to send\nthree boys to the school to receive their education free of expense;\nand there can be little doubt that Benjamin the younger was one so\nprivileged. After quitting school he was appointed master of a charity\nschool for poor children, male and female, at Totnes; which same\ncharity children were provided with quaint and antiquated garbs. Young\nKennicott now doubtless thought that he was provided for for life.\n\nIn 1732, when he was only fourteen years of age, the bells of Totnes\ntower were recast, and at the same time the ringers presented to the\nbell-ringing chamber an eight-light brass candlestick inscribed with\nthe names of the ringers. Benjamin Kennicott the elder headed the\nlist, and Benjamin Kennicott the younger brought up the tail. But in\n1742, when new regulations were drawn up and agreed to by the ringers,\nthe youngest ringer had become the leader.\n\nBell-ringing was a pastime dearly loved and much practised in Devon at\nthe time. There were contests between the ringers of various churches,\nand challenges, the prize being either money or a hat laced with gold.\nAll over the county one comes on old songs relating to these contests,\nand in these songs are recorded the names of ringers who are now only\nrepresented by moss-grown stones in the churchyard. A party of ringers,\nsay of Totnes, would sally forth to spend a day in contest with those\nof Ashburton or Dartmouth, and all day long the tower would be reeling\nwith the clash of the bells. Here is one of the songs touching the\nringers of Torrington:--\n\n    1. Good ringers be we that in Torrington dwell,\n       And what that we are I will speedily tell.\n         1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6; 6 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 2 . 1.\n       The first is called Turner, the second called Swete,\n       The third is a Vulcan, the fourth Harry Neat.\n         1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6; 6 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 2 . 1.\n\n    2. The fifth is a doctor, a man of renown,\n       The tenor the tailor that clothes all the town.\n         1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6; 6 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 2 . 1.\n       The breezes proclaim in their fall and their swell,\n       No jar in the concord, no flaw in a bell.\n         1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6; 6 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 2 . 1.\n\n    3. The winds that are blowing on mountain and lea,\n       Bear swiftly my message across the blue sea,\n         1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6; 6 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 2 . 1.\n       Stand all men in order, give each man his due,\n       We can\u2019t be all tenors, but each can pull true.\n         1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6; 6 . 5 . 4 . 3 . 2 . 1.\n\n[Illustration: /B. Kennicott. S.T.P./\n\nolim Socius.\n\n_From the portrait at Exeter College, Oxford_]\n\nThere is another, wedded to an exquisitely sweet and expressive melody,\nconcerning the ringers of North Lew, who challenged Ashwater,\nBroadwood, S. Stephen\u2019s, and Callington. I give but the opening verse:--\n\n      One day in October,\n      Neither drunken nor sober,\n    O\u2019er Broadbury Down I was wending my way,\n      When I heard of some ringing,\n      Some dancing and singing,\n    I ought to remember that Jubilee Day.\n      \u2019Twas in Ashwater town,\n      The bells they did soun\u2019;\n    They rang for a belt and a hat laced with gold.\n      But the men of North Lew\n      Rang so steady and true,\n    That never were better in Devon, I hold.\n\nOn this song the late Rev. H. H. Sheppard remarked: \u201cThere is an\nindolent easy grace about this tune which is quite in keeping with the\nwords and charmingly suggestive. The sunny valleys, the breezy downs,\nthe sweet bell-music swelling and sinking on the soft autumn air,\nthe old folk creeping out of their chimney-nooks to listen, and all\nemployment in the little town suspended in the popular excitement at\nthe contest for the hat laced with gold; all this, told in a few words\nand illustrated by a few notes, quite calls up a picture of life, and\nstamps the number as a genuine folk-song. The narrator is unhappily\nslightly intoxicated, but no one thinks the worse of him; stern\nmorality on that or any other score will in vain be looked for in songs\nof the West.\u201d\n\nSuch a picture as this must have occurred again and yet again in young\nKennicott\u2019s life whilst head of the ringers at Totnes.\n\nKennicott\u2019s sister was in service as lady\u2019s-maid to the Hon. Mrs.\nElizabeth Courtney, of Painsford in Ashprington, near Totnes; and\nin 1743 that lady had a narrow escape from death, having eaten a\npoisonous herb in mistake for watercress, which it much resembled.\nThe charity-school master, on hearing of this, composed a poem on her\nrecovery, which he dedicated to \u201cKelland Courtney, Esq., and his Lady.\u201d\nIt consisted of no fewer than three hundred and thirty-four lines;\nand this effusion having gained him the favour of the family, he was\ntaken in hand, and sent in 1744 to Oxford, where he became a student of\nWadham College. But the Courtneys, though his principal patrons, were\nnot the sole. Archdeacon Baker, the Rev. F. Champernowne, and H. Fownes\nLuttrell, Esq., subscribed to send him to college.\n\nAt Oxford he speedily attracted attention by his industry and\nabilities, and was elected Fellow of Exeter College in 1747, and was\nadmitted to his B.A. degree a year before the usual time. He took\nhis M.A. degree in 1750, about which time he entertained a design of\ncollating the Hebrew texts of the Old Testament. In 1753 he published\nhis first volume on the state of the printed text, and in 1760 his\nsecond volume. In these works he pointed out various discrepancies, and\nproposed an extensive collation of manuscripts.\n\nSubscriptions were obtained, and between 1760 and 1769 no less than\n\u00a39117. 7s. 6d. had been raised for the work. This work occupied ten\nyears. To aid in it, persons were employed to examine the MSS. in all\nparts of Europe. In 1769, Dr. Kennicott stated that of the 500 Hebrew\nMSS. then in Europe he had himself seen and studied 250; and of the\n16 MSS. of the Samaritan Pentateuch eight had been collated for him.\nSubsequently other MSS. were heard of, and the collation extended in\nall to 581 Hebrew and 16 Samaritan MSS.\n\nIn 1776 appeared the first fruit of all the labour, being the first\nvolume of his _Vetus Testamentum Hebraicum cum variis lectionibus_,\nand the second appeared in 1780.\n\nKennicott took his degree of D.D. in 1761, and received from the Crown\na pension of \u00a3200. In 1770 he was made Prebendary of Westminster, but\nthis he afterwards exchanged for a canonry at Christchurch. He was\nalso rector of Culham, a valuable living, but resigned it, as owing to\nhis studies he was unable to reside and pay attention to his pastoral\nduties there.\n\nAgainst the garden wall of Exeter College grew a fig tree, and\nKennicott was very partial to figs. Now in a certain year there was\nbut a single fig on the tree. The Doctor watched it, eagerly expecting\nwhen it would be ripe, for a fig is like a pear, it ripens and reaches\nperfection all at once, before which moment it is no good at all. To\nsecure this fruit for himself he wrote out a label, \u201cDr. Kennicott\u2019s\nFig,\u201d and hung it above the fruit on the tree. But just as the fig was\nfit to be gathered and eaten, some audacious undergraduate managed\nto get it, plucked, ate, and then reversing the label wrote in large\nletters thereon \u201cA Fig for Dr. Kennicott.\u201d\n\nWhen the reverend divine was at the height of his fame he visited\nTotnes, and was asked to preach in the parish church. This he consented\nto do. In the vestry he found his old father, still parish clerk,\nprepared to robe him. The Doctor protested. No--on no account would he\nsuffer that. He could perfectly well and unassisted encase himself in\ncassock and surplice and assume his scarlet doctorial hood. But the old\nman was stubborn. \u201cBut, Ben--I mean Reverend Doctor--do it I must, and\ndo it I will. You know, Ben--I mean Reverend Sir--I am your father and\nyou must obey.\u201d So the Hebrew scholar was fain to submit and give to\nthe old parish clerk the proudest hour of his life. Dr. Kennicott died\non 18 September, 1783, in the sixty-sixth year of his age.\n\nFor authority see an article on \u201cBenjamin Kennicott, /D.D./,\u201d by\nMr. Ed. Windeatt, in the _Transactions_ of the Devonshire Association,\n1878.\n\nThe portrait given with this article is from one in Exeter College.\n\n\n\n\nCAPTAIN JOHN AVERY\n\n\nConcerning this captain it is not easy to give a trustworthy account as\nthe discrepancies between the narratives of his life and adventures are\nconsiderable, and the means of discriminating between the true and the\nfictitious are not available. He is a Flying Dutchman who appears in\nweird and terrible scenes, and then vanishes into mist.\n\nThe authorities for his adventures, such as they are, are these:--\n\n    (_a_) _\u201cThe Life of Captain Avery\u201d in Captain Charles Johnson\u2019s\n    General History of the Robberies and Murders of Notorious Pyrates,\n    from 1717._ London, 1724.\n\n    (_b_) _The Life and Adventures of Captain John Avery._ I. Baker.\n    London, 1709.\n\n    (_c_) _The Famous Adventures of Captain John Avery of Plymouth._\n    Falkirk, 1809. Probably a reprint of an earlier Life.\n\n    (_d_) _The King of Pirates._ (Supposed to be by Daniel Defoe.)\n    London, 1720.\n\nWith regard to (_a_), Johnson gives no authority for his narrative, and\nit widely differs in the sequel from (_b_) and (_c_).\n\n(_b_) purports to be written by Adrian Van Broeck, a Dutchman, who was\na prisoner for some time with Avery in Madagascar, but he effected\nhis escape in a vessel of the East India Company, and his narrative\nterminates abruptly with the severance of his connexion with the\npirates.\n\n(_c_). In this--as we have it--late version, all the early life of John\nAvery is given totally different from (_a_) and (_b_). Little or no\nreliance can be placed on it, and as to (_b_) it is hard to say whether\nVan Broeck\u2019s is a fictitious narrative or whether he records actual\nfacts. It is singular that Johnson should not have spoken explicitly\nabout this, the first published record of the pirate\u2019s adventures.\n\n(_d_) purports to be Avery\u2019s story of his own life, but it is almost\ncertainly a product of Defoe\u2019s lively imagination.\n\nOn the whole Johnson\u2019s account is the most reliable, and we will\nfollow that, noticing the divergences from it in (_b_), and will take\nno account of (_c_) and (_d_). Johnson begins: \u201cNone of the bold\nadventurers on the Seas were ever so much talk\u2019d of for a while as\nAvery. He was represented in Europe as one that had rais\u2019d himself\nto the Dignity of a King, and was likely to be the Founder of a new\nMonarchy; having, as it was said, taken immense Riches, and married\nthe Great Mogul\u2019s Daughter, who was taken in an Indian Ship which fell\ninto his Hands; by whom he had many Children, living in great Royalty\nand State: That he had built Forts, elected Magistrates, and was Master\nof a stout Squadron of Ships, mann\u2019d with able and desperate Fellows\nof all Nations. That he gave Commissions out in his own Name to the\nCaptains of his Ships, and to the Commanders of the Forts, and was\nacknowledg\u2019d by them as their Prince. A Play was writ upon him,\ncall\u2019d _The Successful Pyrate_;[17] and these Accounts obtained such\nBelief that several Schemes were offer\u2019d to the Council for sending\nout a Squadron to take him; while others were for offering him and his\nCompanions an Act of Grace and inviting them to England with all their\nTreasure, lest his growing Greatness might hinder the Trade of Europe\nto the East Indies.\n\n[Illustration: _Willm. Jeit delin.  W. Pritchard sculpt._\n\n_CAP^/T/. AVERY and his Crew taking one of the\nGREAT MOGUL\u2019S Ships_]\n\n\u201cYet all these were no more than false Rumours, improv\u2019d by the\nCredulity of some, and the Humour of others who love to tell strange\nThings; for, while it was said he was aspiring at a Crown, he wanted a\nShilling; and at the same Time it was given out he was in Possession of\nsuch prodigious Wealth in Madagascar he was starving in England.\u201d\n\nJohn Avery was a native of Plymouth; according to (_b_) he was born in\n1653. His father had served under Admiral Blake, then left the navy for\nthe merchant service, but died whilst John was still young, and to his\nsixth year was brought up by his aunt, Mrs. Norris. The story in (_c_)\nis that his mother kept the tavern with the \u201cSign of the Defiance,\u201d and\nbecause one night she refused to receive a drunken party of sailors,\nin revenge they carried off her son and took him on board their ship,\nwhere the captain, taking a liking to him, carried him with him to\nCarolina. After three years he returned to Plymouth and was placed\nunder the guardianship of a Mr. Lightfoot. At the age of forty-four he\nentered on board the _Duke_, a merchant vessel, Captain Gibson.\n\nAt this time, by the Peace of Ryswick, 1697, there was an alliance\nbetwixt Spain, England, and Holland against France; previous to this\nthe French had carried on a smuggling trade with the Spaniards in Peru,\nwhich was against the law that reserved the trade with the Spanish\npossessions in the New World to Spaniards alone. Accordingly a fleet\nwas ever kept at sea to guard the coast and seize as prizes any foreign\nvessels that approached within a certain number of leagues. But as this\nfleet was very inefficient, the French smugglers became vastly daring.\nAccordingly, the Spanish Government, after the conclusion of the peace,\nhired three large vessels, built at Bristol, to serve as preventive\nships on the South American coast. The merchants of Bristol at once\nfitted out two of thirty guns each, and one hundred and twenty hands\napiece, for service under the Spanish Government, and one of them was\nthe _Duke_; and in it as mate sailed our hero, John Avery. These two\nvessels were ordered to sail for Corunna, thence to take some Spanish\nofficers on board. Before sailing Avery, as first mate, got into close\ncommunication with both crews and persuaded them to mutiny so soon as\nthey got to sea, and instead of serving the Spanish Government, to\nsweep the Indian Sea as pirates. Captain Gibson was nightly addicted\nto punch, and spent most of his time on land in drinking and getting\ndrunk. The day of sailing, however, he did not go ashore, but tippled\nin his cabin. The men who were not privy to the design, as well as he,\nturned into their hammocks, leaving none on deck but the conspirators.\nAt the time agreed upon, ten o\u2019clock at night, the long-boat of the\nconsort, called the _Duchess_, approached. Avery hailed, and was\nanswered by the men, \u201cIs your drunken boatswain on board?\u201d which\nwas the watchword agreed upon between them. Avery replied in the\naffirmative, and sixteen men from the boat came on board, joined the\ncompany, and proceeded to secure the hatches. They did not slip the\nanchor, but weighed it leisurely, and so put to sea without disorder,\nthough there were several ships lying around.\n\nThe captain awoke, roused by the motion of the vessel and the noise of\nworking the tackle, and rang his bell. Thereupon Avery and two others\nwent to him. He, half asleep, shouted out, \u201cWhat is the matter?\u201d To\nwhich Avery replied coolly, \u201cNothing.\u201d The captain retorted, \u201cSomething\nis the matter. Does she drive? What is the weather?\u201d \u201cNo, no,\u201d said\nAvery, \u201cwe are at sea with a fair wind.\u201d \u201cAt sea!\u201d exclaimed Captain\nGibson, \u201chow can that be?\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t be alarmed,\u201d said Avery; \u201cput on your\nclothes, and I\u2019ll let you into a secret. You must know that now I am\ncaptain of the ship, and that henceforth this is my cabin, so please to\nwalk out of it. I am bound for Madagascar to seek my fortune, and that\nof the brave fellows who have joined with me.\u201d\n\nThe captain was now thoroughly roused, and in a great fright. Avery\nbade him not fear. If he chose to throw in his lot with them, he would\nbe received, but must remain sober and mind his own business, and if\nhe conducted himself properly would be made lieutenant. If he refused\nhe might have the long-boat and go ashore in it. The captain preferred\nthe latter alternative; he was accordingly put into the boat along with\nsuch seamen, five or six in all, who would not throw in their lot with\nthe mutineers. The two ships proceeded to Madagascar, and came across\na couple of sloops at anchor on the north-east of the island. These\nwere manned by mutineers as well, and both parties speedily came to\nan agreement to hunt together, and they now sailed for India. Off the\nmouth of the Indus they espied a large vessel flying the Great Mogul\u2019s\ncolours. Avery opened fire, and the sloops ran close to her, one on\nthe bow, the other on the quarter, and boarded her. She at once struck\nher colours. She was a vessel of the Great Mogul, bound with a load of\npilgrims for Arabia to make the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. On board\nwere also a lady with her retinue, whom they took to be a daughter of\nthe Mogul. The vessel was laden with treasure.\n\nAt this time much trouble and vexation to the East India Company was\ncaused by the interlopers. The Company had obtained their charter,\ngranting them exclusive rights to trade between India and England,\nand they had certain determined ports where they had their factories.\nBut the trade was so profitable that companies of merchants and\nprivate adventurers embarked on the trade in defiance of the rights\nof the Company. They put into ports within the limits of the Company\nconcessions, but to which the ships of the latter did not resort, by\nthis means undermining and invading the rights of the Company. It\nwas more than that, it was a direct attack on the legal exercise of\nthe privileges of the Company. In 1695 the British Court informed\nSir John Gayer and the Presidency of Surat that the expedients which\nhad been adopted for suppressing the interlopers had failed at home\nand abroad by their not being excluded from foreign markets, and the\nCompany\u2019s servants were required to obstruct their sales in foreign\nmarkets, and further to take measures against their entering the Indian\nports. In 1675-6, the interlopers being disappointed in the sales of\ntheir cargoes and in the purchase of Indian produce, determined not\nto return to Europe without realizing gains for themselves and their\nemployers, and they turned pirates and seized vessels belonging to the\nnative princes, and left the Company\u2019s servants exposed to suspicion\nand imprisonment and their property to seizure and confiscation. It\nwas precisely at this conjuncture that Avery\u2019s little piratical fleet\nmade its capture. The vessel, the _Gunswek_, was bound from Bombay\nfor Daman. Avery cleared it of all its treasure, and only released\nthe pilgrims on payment of a heavy indemnity, and left the ship to be\nsteered back to Bombay by the native crew. As to the ladies on board,\nAvery took to himself that one whom he supposed to be the daughter of\nthe Great Mogul, and let his crew toss up for the rest as partners.\n\nJohn Bruce in his _Annals of the East India Company_ says nothing\nof the retention of the ladies, nor of the capture of the Mogul\u2019s\ndaughter. It is likely enough that some women were taken and retained,\nbut certainly no lady of so high a rank as the grand-daughter of\nAurungzebe.\n\nThis outrage produced very unpleasant effects. Already in September,\n1695, an interloping vessel turned pirate, and, bearing English\ncolours, had plundered a ship belonging to Abdul Gopher, a merchant\nof Surat, and the governor of the place had been obliged to set a\nguard on the house of the Company to prevent its being wrecked by the\nenraged natives, and the servants of the Company from being massacred.\nNews now arrived that the same pirate had attacked a ship belonging\nto the Mogul, conveying pilgrims to Mecca. If the first injury to an\nindividual merchant was resented, this which was deemed a sacrilege\nroused fanatical resentment to fury, and obliged the Governor to put\nthe President and all the English in irons to prevent their being torn\nto pieces by the inhabitants.\n\nThe Governor desired French, Dutch, and English to send vessels\nin search of the pirate, that by her capture the fact might be\nascertained as to who really was responsible. The French and Dutch\nhesitated to comply, and the readiness of the English to go on this\nservice served somewhat to abate the hostility entertained against them.\n\nSir John Gayer, as General of the Company\u2019s affairs, wrote to the\nMogul to assure him that the Company were not only ignorant of the\nexistence of such a pirate, but were ready to employ two of their ships\ncompletely armed to convey the pilgrims to Jedda, if he would grant\nthat all the English but the Company should be debarred from trading in\nhis dominions. The Mogul answered \u201cthat the English, French, and Dutch\nmust go to sea in search of the thieves, but that the embargo he had\nplaced on all trade must continue till the innocence or guilt of the\nEnglish Company was proved.\u201d\n\nMr. Bruce does not name John Avery as the pirate, but this must be the\ncase spoken of in his Life. It will be noticed that the dates do not\naccord. The capture of the pilgrim vessel took place in the winter of\n1693-4, and, according to Johnson, it was not till after the Peace of\nRyswick, 10 September, 1697, that Avery made the capture, and it was in\nconsequence of this treaty that he was able to get hold of the vessels.\nFrom the date 1693 the pilgrims were annually conveyed to Jedda by\nships of the Company, so that Avery could not have captured one of them\nafter that date. Charles Johnson must have blundered in his facts.\n\nThe sum demanded by Avery for the release of the pilgrims was three\nhundred thousand pounds, and he got it.\n\nHe had already established himself at Perim, and levied toll on all\nvessels passing in and out of the Red Sea, but after this affair,\nwhen large rewards were offered by the Company and by the British\nGovernment for his capture, he deemed it advisable to change his\nquarters and establish himself in Madagascar.\n\nAs the four vessels were steering their course, he sent on board each\nof the sloops, desiring the captains to come to his vessel and meet in\ncouncil. They did so, and he told them that he had a proposal to make.\nThe treasure of which they were possessed would not be sufficient for\nall; they might be separated by bad weather, in which case the sloops,\nif either of them should fall in with any large armed vessels would be\ntaken or sunk, and the treasure on board lost as well. As for himself,\nhe and the _Duchess_, his consort, were strong enough to hold their\nown against any ship they were likely to meet on the high seas, and\nhe proposed, therefore, that all the spoil should be put on board his\nship, each chest sealed with three seals, whereof each was to keep\none, and to appoint a rendezvous in case of separation. This proposal\nseemed reasonable and was agreed to, and the treasure was conveyed on\nboard Avery\u2019s vessel, and the chests sealed. They kept company that\nday and the next, the weather being fine; and during this time Avery\ntampered with his men. \u201cWhat should hinder us,\u201d said he, \u201cfrom going\nto some strange country where we are not known, and living on shore\nall the rest of our days in plenty?\u201d They understood his design, and\nall agreed to bilk their new allies in the sloops and other vessel.\nAccordingly they took advantage of the night, changed their course,\nand next morning the sloops and _Duchess_ found themselves deserted in\nmid-ocean. Avery and his men resolved to make the best of their way to\nAmerica, and there change their names, and purchase settlements, and\nspend the rest of their days at ease.\n\nThe first land they made was the island of Providence, then quite\nrecently settled, and there they disposed of their vessel, under the\npretence that the _Duke_ had been fitted out as a privateer, but that\nhaving met with no success, Avery said that he had received orders from\nthe owners to dispose of her to the best advantage. He soon met with a\npurchaser, and immediately bought a sloop. In this vessel he and his\nmates embarked. They touched at several ports, where no one suspected\nthem, and some of the crew went on shore and dispersed about the\ncountry, and with the dividends given them by Avery, settled there.\n\nAt length he arrived at Boston, in New England, and there again some\nof the crew left to establish themselves, and no doubt founded there\nsome of the Bostonian families now flourishing. Avery advised those who\nremained to sail for Ireland. He had concealed and kept for himself a\ngreat store of diamonds that had been secured in the ship of the Mogul,\nand which his present comrades had not known how to value. These he\ncould not dispose of in New England, but hoped to realize in Ireland.\n\nOn their voyage they avoided St. George\u2019s Channel, and sailing north,\nput into one of the northern ports. There they disposed of the sloop\nand separated; some went to Dublin, others to Cork. Some afterwards\nobtained their pardon from King William.\n\nAvery was afraid to dispose of his diamonds in Ireland, lest inquiry\nshould be made as to how he had come by them. He therefore crossed\nover to England, to Bideford; and knowing of a man in Bristol who was\nan old acquaintance, and whom he thought he could trust, he sent to\nappoint a meeting in Bideford. The man came, and after consultation the\nfriend advised that the jewels should be entrusted to certain Bristol\nmerchants, who being men of wealth and credit, no suspicion would be\naroused if they disposed of them. No better plan could be devised,\nAvery consented, the merchants were communicated with and came to\nBideford, where they received the diamonds, undertook to sell them and\nremit the money to Avery, reserving to themselves a commission; and to\nthis he consented. He now changed his name and took up his residence\nat Bideford, attracting no notice, but communicating with some of his\nrelations. After a while his money was spent, and not a word reached\nhim from the merchants. He wrote to them, and they sent him a supply of\nmoney--not much, doled out from time to time. At last he could endure\nthis no longer, and went to Bristol to see the merchants, who coolly\ntold him that if he troubled them any further they would disclose to\nthe authorities who he was; \u201cso that our merchants were as good pirates\non land as he was at sea.\u201d\n\nWhether alarmed at their threats, or that he fancied he had been seen\nand recognized by some old comrades in Bristol, is not known; but he\ncrossed into Ireland, where he remained till destitute. Then in despair\nhe worked his way over before the mast in a trading vessel to Plymouth,\nand thence made his way on foot to Bideford, where a few days later he\nfell ill and died without so much money in his pocket as would buy him\na coffin.\n\nIn the meantime, the companions in the _Duchess_ and the two sloops\nwhen deserted by Avery, finding that they were running short of\nprovisions, made their way to Madagascar. On their course they fell in\nwith a privateer sloop, commanded by Captain Tew, who had just captured\na large vessel bound from India to Arabia, with three hundred soldiers\non board besides seamen. By this prize his men shared \u00a33000 apiece. Tew\nand the crew of the _Duchess_ and the sloops agreed together to form\na settlement in Madagascar. According to (_b_) the pirates established\nthemselves on the east coast, lat. 15\u00b0 30\u2032, where there was a bay and\nan island before it.\n\nProbably Antongil Bay is meant. They built a fort, finding the natives\ndivided up into clans under their several chiefs, who were incessantly\nat war with one another--\u201cSo,\u201d says Johnson, \u201cthey sometimes joyned one\nsometimes another; but wheresoever they sided, they were sure to be\nvictorious; for the Negroes here had no Fire arms; so that at length\nthese Pirates became so terrible to the Negroes, that if two or three\nof them were only seen on one Side, when they were going to engage, the\nopposite Side would fly without striking a Blow. By this means they\nnot only became feared, but powerful; all the Prisoners of War they\ntook to be their slaves; they married the most beautiful of the Negro\nwomen, not one or two only but as many as they liked. Their Slaves\nthey employ\u2019d in planting Rice, in Fishing, Hunting, etc. Besides\nwhich, they had abundance of others, who lived, as it were, under their\nprotection. Now they began to divide from one another, each living with\nhis own Wives, Slaves and Dependants, like a separate Prince; and, as\nPower and Plenty naturally beget Contention, they sometimes quarrelled\nwith one another, and attacked each other at the Head of their several\nArmies. But an Accident happened, which oblig\u2019d them to unite again\nfor their common Safety. They grew wanton in Cruelty, and nothing was\nmore Common than, upon the slightest Displeasure, to cause one of their\nDependants to be tied to a tree, and shot thro\u2019 the Heart.[18] This\noccasioned the Negroes to conspire together, to rid themselves of\nthese Destroyers, all in one Night; and as they lived separately, the\nThing might easily have been done, had not a Woman, who had been the\nWife or Concubine of one of them, run nearly twenty Miles, in three\nHours, to discover the Matter to them. Immediately upon the Alarm, they\nran together as fast as they could; so that when the Negroes approached\nthem, they found them up in Arms, and retired without making any\nAttempt. This Escape made them very cautious from that Time.\u201d\n\nThenceforth they fortified their dwellings and converted them into\ncitadels.\n\n\u201cThus Tyrant-like they lived, fearing and feared by all; and in this\nsituation they were found by Captain Woods Rogers when he went to\nMadagascar in the _Delicia_, a ship of forty guns, with a Design of\nbuying Slaves in order to sell them to the Dutch at Batavia or New\nHolland. He happened to touch upon a part of the Island where no Ship\nhad been seen for seven or eight Years before; here he met with some of\nthe Pyrates, when they had been upon the Island above 25 Years, having\na large motly Generation of Children and Grandchildren descended from\nthem, there being, at that Time, eleven of them remaining alive....\nThus he left them as he found them, in a great Deal of dirty State and\nRoyalty, but with fewer Subjects than they had. One of these great\nPrinces had formerly been a Waterman upon the Thames, where having\ncommitted a Murder, he fled to the West Indies, and was of the number\nof those who run away with the Sloops; the rest had been all foremast\nmen, nor was there a Man amongst them, who could either read or write.\u201d\n\nSuch is Captain Charles Johnson\u2019s account. There are several\ndifficulties about accepting his narrative about Avery. From whom\ncould he have obtained the story? Possibly a part of it from the\npirates who obtained their pardon from William III, but not as to the\nend of John Avery.\n\nThe story as told in (_c_) is quite different. According to Adrian van\nBroeck, Avery did not desert the _Consort_, the _Duchess_, nor the\nsloops, but all together went to Madagascar and settled there. In that\nsettlement, his wife, the daughter of the Mogul, bore him a son, and\ndied of a broken heart.\n\nThe second in command was a M. de Sales, who after a while, impatient\nat being second, organized a revolt among the Frenchmen who were there,\ncaptives from a French vessel taken by the pirates. As soon as the\nwatch-bell sounded they were to seize the principal fort, and not spare\nany man, woman, or child. One of de Sales\u2019 crew, named Picard, betrayed\nthe plot to a Cornishman named Richardson, who told it to Avery, and\nprecautions were taken to surround the French on parade, and make all\nprisoners. Avery had every man impaled who had been engaged in the\nconspiracy.\n\nAvery was anxious to obtain his pardon, and wrote a letter to Captain\nPitt, Governor of Fort St. George, near Madras, which he was to\ntransmit to England, but the East India Company would not present it to\nthe Government.\n\nAvery next attacked and destroyed Fort Ste. Marie of the French East\nIndia Company on the north of Madagascar.\n\nAdrian van Broeck managed to make his escape from the settlement\non board an East India Company vessel; and with that the narrative\nabruptly terminates.\n\nThe two narratives are irreconcilable, and where the truth lies is\nimpossible to determine. It is conceivable that after van Broeck\u2019s\nvisit--if it ever took place--Avery may have made his way to England\nto dispose of his jewels, but we have no dates in the Dutchman\u2019s\nnarrative, and no dates, and no authority quoted by Johnson for his\naccount of the last days of Avery. No reliance whatever can be placed\non Defoe\u2019s _Life and Adventures of Captain John Avery_, \u201cthe King\u201d in\nMadagascar, 1720. Consequently the end of Avery remains, and probably\nwill remain, a mystery unsolved. Andrew Brice in his _Geographical\nDictionary_, published in 1759, under the heading of \u201cMadagascar,\u201d\nsays: \u201cPirates have had stations in these Harbours, among whom was\nAvery, so much talked of 40 or 50 years ago.\u201d Had Avery died at\nBideford, Brice as a Devonshire man would most likely have heard of it.\nSalmon, in his _Universal Traveller_, 1759, says: \u201cWhat became of Avery\nhimself I could never learn; but it is probable he is dead, or remains\nconcealed in the Island of Madagascar to this time; for he can expect\nno Mercy from any of the Powers of Europe, if he should fall into their\nhands, but as to being in such circumstances, as to lay the Foundation\nof a New State or Kingdom in this Island, this report possibly deserves\nlittle Credit. We should have heard more of him after so many years\nelapsed, if he had made any figure there.\u201d\n\nAccording to Captain Johnson\u2019s account, as we have seen, a Captain Wood\nRogers of the _Delicia_, a ship of forty guns, touched at Madagascar\nwith a design of purchasing slaves, and came on the settlement of the\ncrews of the two other vessels, but did not meet with Avery himself.\n\n\n\n\nJOANNA SOUTHCOTT\n\n\nThe life of this impostor or self-deluded woman is not pleasant to\nwrite or to read, and it is only because in such a collection including\nDevonshire oddities and unworthies she could not be excluded that her\nstory is here given.\n\nJoanna was a native of Gittisham, the daughter of William and Hannah\nSouthcott, respectable people, the father a very small farmer. She\nwas baptized at Ottery St. Mary, on 6 June, 1750. There was nothing\nremarkable in her during the first forty years of her life. She was\nin domestic service, and then moved to Exeter, where she entered the\nhousehold of an upholsterer, in 1790.\n\nWhat turned her head was the visit of a revivalist Methodist preacher,\nwho, combining the most fiery evangelic preaching with laxity of\nmorals, lived in adultery with her mistress, and endeavoured to seduce\nthe daughter. But his ministrations in the pulpit were acceptable. He\nshrieked and threatened till sometimes the whole congregation fell flat\nand rigid on the floor, when he would walk in and out among them and\nrevive them by assuring them they had received pardon for all their\nsins, were elect vessels, and that their election was sealed in heaven.\nHe would declare that there never was a man so highly favoured of God\nas himself, and that he would not thank God to make him other than what\nhe was, unless he made him greater than every other man on earth,\nand placed supreme power in his hands; and he boasted, when he heard of\nthe death of a man who had derided his mission, that he had prayed this\nman to death.\n\n[Illustration: Joanna Southcott. Jan^y 1812\n\nPublished by Jane Townley London.  Drawn and Engraved from life by Wm\nSharp\n\nIsaiah Ch. LXV & LXVI., JOANNA SOUTHCOTT, Jan^y. 1812\n\n_Published according to Act of Parliament Jany 12th 1812 by Jane\nTownley London._]\n\nAll the servants in the house were afraid of this preacher; but Joanna\naffirmed that he had no power over her, and that she was wont to think\nthat the room was full of spirits when he was engaged in prayer. But\nthough she fancied this man had no power over her, he certainly had,\nand turned her into a fanatic, intoxicating her with his own spiritual\npride.\n\nWhen first she went to Exeter, she attended the services in the\ncathedral, but she left the Church and joined the Wesleyans in 1791, as\nshe affirmed, by Divine command, for she was already beginning to see\nvisions. The ministers of the sect frequented her master\u2019s shop, and\ntook a good deal of notice of Joanna, and this encouraged her to launch\nforth in the course she afterwards pursued. In 1792 she stated that\nshe had had a vision of the Lord, and a meeting of Methodist preachers\nwas summoned to discuss her spiritual condition. It concluded by their\nsigning a paper to the effect that her calling was of God.\n\nOne of the Methodist preachers in Exeter was named Pomeroy, and he at\nfirst more than half believed in her mission. She gave him a number\nof sealed packets, which she told him contained her prophecies, and\ndesired him to keep them till a time she mentioned, when they were to\nbe opened and would prove the truth of her claim to inspiration.\n\nThe minister received the precious papers; but afterwards, when Joanna\npublicly announced that he was a believer and a recipient of her\nprophecies, he got frightened, and committed the unopened predictions\nto the flames. \u201cFrom that time,\u201d says Southey, \u201call the Joannians,\nwho are now a considerable number, regard him as the arch-apostate.\nHe is the Jehoiakim, who burnt Jeremiah\u2019s roll; he is their Judas\nIscariot, a second Lucifer. They call upon him to produce those\nprophecies, which she boldly asserts, and they implicitly believe,\nhave all been fulfilled, and therefore would convince the world of\nthe truth of her mission. In vain does Mr. Pomeroy answer that he has\nburnt these unhappy papers: in an unhappy hour for himself did he burn\nthem! Day after day long letters are dispatched to him, sometimes from\nJoanna herself, sometimes from her brother, sometimes from one of her\nfour-and-twenty elders, filled with exhortation, invective, texts of\nScripture, and denunciations of the law in this world and the devil\nin the next; and these letters the prophetess prints, for the very\nsufficient reason--that all her believers purchase them. Mr. Pomeroy\nsometimes treats them with contempt; at other times he appeals to their\ncompassion, and beseeches them, if they have any bowels of Christian\ncharity, to have compassion on him and let him rest.\u201d\n\nMeanwhile, the falling away of this believer was abundantly compensated\nto Joanna by the accession of other adherents, both lay and clerical.\nAmong the persons of superior station in the world who became ardent\ndisciples was the Rev. T. P. Foley, incumbent of Old Swinford, in\nLeicestershire, who should have written his name Folly, not Foley.\n\nIn 1792 she had a serious illness, and went to Plymtree to recruit.\nWhen she was recovered she set to work again with renewed vigour. She\npretended to have found, whilst sweeping the house, a die with J.S.\non it between two stars, and this she used henceforth for sealing her\nprophecies and her passports to heaven.\n\nBut she had other disappointments, beside the defection of Mr.\nPomeroy. One of his elders, Elias Carpenter, of Bermondsey, after going\na certain way with her, fell off. This, however, was later. He was\nfollowed by six others. Thereupon she wrote and printed five letters of\ndenunciation and woe to the back-sliders.\n\nBy the sale of her sealed passports to heaven Joanna obtained a very\nrespectable revenue, and from being a poor working drudge she blossomed\nout into a woman of substance. Her followers in Exeter were recognized\nby the peculiarity of their dress, somewhat in the fashion of that of\nthe Quakers, the men being particularly distinguished by wearing a long\nbeard at a time when beards were not generally adopted.\n\nIn 1798 she moved to Bristol, and in 1801 began to publish books of\nprophecies and warnings, which were eagerly purchased by her followers.\nIn 1802 she moved to London, where she was patronized by Sharp, the\nengraver, and had other influential friends, Brothers, the fanatic, who\nhad proclaimed himself the promised Messiah, and a certain Miss Cott,\nwhom he admitted to be the daughter of King David and the future Queen\nof the Hebrews. But Richard Brothers was sent to Bridewell, and those\nwho had believed in him, amongst others an M.P., Mr. Halhead, member\nfor Lymington, were drifting about in quest of some new delusion.\nJoanna suited them to a nicety, and they rallied about her.\n\nThe books which she sent forth into the world were written partly in\nprose, partly in rhyme, all the prose and most of the rhyme being\ngiven forth as the direct words of the Almighty. It is not possible\nto conceive that any persons could have been deluded by such rambling\nnonsense, did one not know that human folly is like the Well of Zemzem\nthat is inexhaustible. Joanna\u2019s handwriting was illegibly bad; so that\nat last she found it advisable to pretend that she had received orders\nfrom heaven to discard the pen, and deliver her oracles verbally, and\nthe words flowed from her faster than the scribes could write them\ndown. Her prophecies were words, and words only, a rhapsody of texts\nand vulgar applications; the verse the vilest doggerel ever written,\nand the rhyme and grammar equally bad. She made a pretty penny, not\nonly by the sale of her books, but also by her \u201cCertificates for the\nMillennium,\u201d and her \u201cSealings of the Faithful,\u201d passports to paradise.\nOf these she sold between six and seven thousand, some at twelve\nshillings, but most at a guinea; and she continued the sale until a\nwoman, Mary Bateman, a Leeds murderess, who had poisoned a Mrs. Perigo,\nand had attempted to poison Mr. Perigo, was hanged in 1809, and it was\nascertained that this poisoner had been furnished by Joanna with one of\nher passports to paradise.\n\nIn 1813, she first announced that she was to become the mother of\nShiloh, that she was the Woman spoken of in the Apocalypse as having\nthe moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; the\ntwelve stars were twelve evangelists or apostles whom she sent abroad\nto declare her revelations. In herself, she asserted, the scheme of\nredemption would be completed, by woman came the fall of man, and by\nwoman must come his restoration. She was the Bride, the promised seed\nwho was to bruise the serpent\u2019s head. The evening-star was placed in\nthe firmament to be her type. The immediate object of her call was to\ndestroy the devil; of this Satan was fully aware; and that it might\nnot be said he had foul play, a regular dispute of seven days was\nagreed upon between him and Joanna, in which she was to be alone; the\nconditions were that if she held out her argument for seven days,\nSatan should retire from troubling the earth, but if she yielded,\nthen his kingdom was to stand. Accordingly, she went alone into a\nsolitary house for this contest. Joanna on this occasion was her own\nsecretary, and the _proc\u00e8s verbal_ of the conference was printed from\nher manuscript. She set down all Satan\u2019s blasphemies with the utmost\nfrankness, and the proficiency he displayed in vulgar language and\nBillingsgate abuse is surprising.\n\nOf all Joanna\u2019s books this is the most curious. The conference\nterminated like most theological disputes. Both parties grew warm; but\nJoanna\u2019s tongue was more lightly slung on its pivots, and she talked\nSatan out of all patience. She gave him, as he complained, ten words\nto his one, and allowed him no time to speak. All men, he said, were\nalready tired of her tongue, and now she had tired the devil.\n\nThis was not unreasonable; but he proceeded to abuse the whole sex,\nwhich would be ungracious in any one, but in him was peculiarly\nungrateful. He said that no man could tame a woman\u2019s tongue; it were\nbetter to dispute with a thousand men than with one woman.\n\nOnce she declared that she had scratched the devil\u2019s face with her\nnails, and had even bitten off one of his fingers, and that his blood\ntasted sweet.\n\nWhen she announced to the world her pregnancy, her followers were\nfilled with breathless expectation. Presents came pouring in for the\ncoming Shiloh. One wealthy proselyte sent a cradle that cost \u00a3200,\nmanufactured by Seddons, a cabinet-maker of repute in Aldersgate\nStreet; another sent a pap-spoon that cost \u00a3100; and that nothing\nmight be lacking at this accouchement laced caps, infant\u2019s napkins,\nbibs, mantles, some of white satin, pap-boats, caudle-cups arrived. A\nBible also, richly bound, was not forgotten as a present to the coming\nMessiah. The cradle is now in Salford Museum.\n\nBut what was most extraordinary of all is that a regular London\nphysician, a Dr. Richard Reece, having on the 7th of August, 1814,\nvisited Joanna, \u201cto ascertain the probability of her being in a state\nof pregnancy, as then given out,\u201d declared his opinion to be that she\nwas perfectly right in the view she had taken of her situation, and\naccording to his own admission in a four-shilling pamphlet, entitled\n_A Correct Statement of the Circumstances, etc._, which he published,\ndeclared his belief in the fact. No wonder that after this the Rev. Mr.\nFoley, who had headed a deputation that waited on the doctor to obtain\nan authentic declaration of the conclusion to which he had come after\nhis first visit, and the whole body of the believers were frantic with\nexultation and confidence; and that even a portion of the hitherto\nincredulous public began to have misgivings, and not to know very well\nwhat to think of the matter.\n\nWhen Dr. Reece first saw the prophetess she expected to lie-in in a few\nweeks; months however passed without bringing the looked-for event.\nFurther, to strengthen the delusion, it was unblushingly asserted that\na number of medical men of the highest reputation had been called in,\nand that they had expressed their opinion affirmatively as to her\npregnancy.\n\nDr. Sims, however, published a statement to this effect in the _Morning\nChronicle_ of September 3, 1814: \u201cI went to see her on August 18th,\nand after examining her, I do not hesitate to declare, it is my firm\nopinion, that the woman called Joanna Southcott is not pregnant; and,\nbefore I conclude this statement, I feel it right to say, that I am\nconvinced the poor woman labours under strong mental delusion.\u201d\n\nA Mr. Want, also, a surgeon, who was called in by Dr. Reece,\nunhesitatingly declared his opinion that she was not in the family way,\nas also that there were no hopes of her recovery.\n\nBefore her death, which took place on the 27th of December, she had\nbeen confined to her bed for above ten weeks. During this time she\nhad lived in a state of mental exaltation, but towards the end her\ncourage failed. A scene in the chamber of the dying woman, which Dr.\nReece relates that he witnessed on the 19th of November, is not without\npathos.\n\nFive or six of the believers, who had been waiting, having been\nadmitted, \u201cShe desired them to be seated round her bed; when, spending\na few minutes in adjusting the bed-clothes with seeming attention,\nand placing before her a white handkerchief, she thus addressed them,\nas nearly as I can recollect, in the following words: \u2018My friends,\nsome of you have known me nearly twenty-five years, and all of you\nnot less than twenty. When you have heard me speak of my prophecies,\nyou have sometimes heard me say that I doubted my inspiration. But,\nat the same time, you would never let me despair. When I have been\nalone it has often appeared delusion; but when the communications\nwere made to me I did not in the least doubt. Feeling, as I now do\nfeel, that my dissolution is drawing near, and that a day or two may\nterminate my life, it all appears a delusion.\u2019 She was by this exertion\nquite exhausted, and wept bitterly.\u201d She then, the doctor proceeds to\ninform us, after some further discourse about her death and funeral,\nwept again, and some of those present also shed tears; but after a\nlittle while, one of them, Mr. Howe, spoke up, and said: \u201cMother, your\nfeelings are human. We know you are a favoured woman of God, and that\nyou will produce the promised child, and whatever you may say to the\ncontrary will not diminish our faith.\u201d\n\nThis assurance, we are told, revived her, and from crying she fell to\nlaughing. She however then made her will.\n\nImmediately on her decease, Dr. Reece wrote to the editor of the\n_Sunday Monitor_, which had lent itself to become an organ of the\nJoannites:--\n\n\u201cAgreeably to your request, I send a messenger to acquaint you, that\nJoanna Southcott died this morning precisely at 4 a.m. The believers\nin her mission, supposing that the vital functions are only suspended\nfor a few days, will not permit me to open the body until some symptom\nappears, which may destroy all hopes of resuscitation.\u201d\n\nIn fact, in 1792, Joanna had published a prophecy to the effect that\nshe, the mother of Shiloh, previous to his birth would be as dead for\nfour days, and at the end of that period would revive and be delivered.\nNo sooner was she dead than her friends proceeded to wrap her body\nin warm blankets, to place bottles of hot water at her feet, and by\nkeeping the room warm, to endeavour to preserve the vital spark.\n\nManchester Street was thronged by a crowd watching the house, and\ninquiries respecting her resuscitation were constant and anxious. To\nall inquiries the answer given was consolatory. On Saturday the crowd\nagain assembled early, before 4 a.m., and the most zealous pronounced\ntheir positive conviction that she would come to life again that day.\n\nBut the prescribed period of four days and nights elapsed, and so far\nwas the body from exhibiting appearances of a temporary suspension\nof animation, that it began to display a discoloration which at once\nbrought home to conviction the fact that the wretched Joanna was but\nmortal. Preparations were made to dissect her remains. A summons was\nissued to the surgeons who had expressed a wish to be present, and\nat 2 p.m. fifteen gentlemen assembled; in addition were the apostle\nTozer, Colonel Harwood, and one or two other of Joanna\u2019s followers and\nproselytes. Ann Underwood was in the ante-room, much chagrined at the\ndisappointment of her hopes, and the breakdown of her convictions.\n\nThe examination of the body showed that Joanna Southcott had been\nsuffering from dropsy, which had killed her.\n\nThe adherents of the prophetess, who had awaited the event, skulked\noff in great tribulation, and were happy to escape the populace, who\nwere outrageous towards any whom they suspected of adhering to the\nsect of Joanna. This excusable indignation had nearly proved fatal in\nthe morning to an old lady who had rapped at the door of the house, to\nmake inquiries as to whether Joanna was already resuscitated. No sooner\nwas she suspected to be a disciple, than she was assailed with mud and\ncabbage stalks.\n\nSome glimmerings of sanity had lightened the mind of Joanna previous\nto her death, and she had indited a will, in which she professed that\nshe had been a deceiver, prompted to play her part by the devil,\nand directing that after her death, cradle, caudle-cups, pap-boats,\netc., that had been sent for the use of the coming Shiloh, should be\nreturned to the donors. She was buried in Marylebone burying-ground on\n2 January, 1815. On her stone was inscribed:--\n\n        In Memory of Joanna Southcott,\n    who departed this life December 27, 1814, aged 60 years.\n\n        While through all my wondrous days,\n        Heaven and earth enraptured gaze,\n        While vain sages think they know\n        Secrets _thou_ alone canst show,\n        Time alone will tell what hour\n        Thou\u2019lt appear in greater power!\n\nThe composition evidently of one of her dupes, hoping on still. She\nwas really aged sixty-four years. Her tombstone was shattered by the\ngreat gunpowder explosion in the Regent\u2019s Park Canal in 1874. The\ndelusion was not at an end with the death and burial of Joanna. Sharp,\nthe engraver, ever after maintained that she was not really dead, and\nwould rise again and become the mother of Shiloh. When he was sitting\nto Haydon for his portrait, he predicted that Joanna would reappear in\nthe month of July, 1822.\n\n\u201cBut suppose she should not?\u201d said Haydon.\n\n\u201cI tell you that she will,\u201d retorted Sharp; \u201cbut if she should not,\nnothing would shake my faith in her divine mission.\u201d\n\nThose who were near Sharp during his last illness, state that in this\nbelief he died.\n\nNor was he singular. Some of her one hundred thousand adherents fell\naway, but a great many remained, waiting in yearly expectation for her\nreappearance. The men bound themselves by a vow not to shave their\nbeards till her resurrection. It need scarcely be said that they\ndescended to their graves unshorn.\n\nUnder the date of January, 1817, the _Annual Register_ quotes the\nfollowing notice of the proceedings of the sect from a Lincoln\nnewspaper of the day: \u201cAn interdict arrived at Newark, on Sunday, the\n19th instant, from a disciple of the Conclave at Leeds, inhibiting\nthose of the faith, amongst other things, from attending to their\nordinary business during the ensuing eight or nine days; and a\nmanufacturer\u2019s shop at that place is at this time entirely deserted,\nand the business of many small dealers suspended in consequence.\u201d This\nwas due to the expectation of the resuscitation of Joanna.\n\nLeeds was one of the strongholds of Joannism, and several of the\nfounder\u2019s publications are dated from that place.\n\nTwo years after this, in January, 1817, the London disciples made a\nremarkable outbreak. One morning, having assembled somewhere in the\nWest End of the metropolis, they made their way to Temple Bar, passing\nthrough which, they set forward in procession through the City, each\ndecorated with a white cockade, and wearing a small star of yellow\nriband on the left breast. In this guise, led by one of their number,\ncarrying a brazen trumpet ornamented with light blue ribands, while\ntwo boys marching by his side bore each a flag of silk, they proceeded\nalong Fleet Street, up Ludgate Hill, and thence through St. Paul\u2019s\nChurchyard to Bridge Row, followed by the rabble in great force. Here,\nhaving reached what they considered to be the centre of the great city,\nthey halted; and then their leader sounded his trumpet, and roared out\nthat the Shiloh, the Prince of Peace, was come again to the earth;\nto which a woman who was with him, and who was said to be his wife,\nresponded with another wild cry of \u201cWoe! woe! to the inhabitants of the\nearth, because of the coming of Shiloh.\u201d This terrific vociferation was\nrepeated several times, and joined in by the rest of the party. But at\nlast the mob, which now completely blocked up the street, from laughing\nand shouting proceeded to pelting the enthusiasts with mud and harder\nmissiles. They struggled to make their escape, or to beat off their\nassailants; this led to a general fight; the flags were torn, and the\naffray ended in the trumpeter and his wife, five other men and the two\nboys of the party, after having been rolled in the mire, being rescued\nfrom the fury of the multitude by the constables, and conveyed to the\nCompter.\n\nWhen they were brought up the next day before the alderman at\nGuildhall, they maintained that they were only obeying the commands of\nGod in acting as they had done. Their spokesman, the trumpeter, who\nturned out to be one Sibley, a City watchman, who appeared to exercise\ngreat authority over the others, said that he had proclaimed the second\ncoming of the Shiloh in the same manner and with the same authority\nas John the Baptist, who had announced the first coming; and his wife\nasserted that she had had the Shiloh in her arms four times. In the end\nthey were all sent back to prison, to be detained till they could find\nsecurity for their peaceful demeanour in future.\n\nA remnant of the sect, the Jezreelites, lingered on for long at\nChatham, remarkable for the general singularity of their manners and\nappearance.\n\nThe Joannites are now almost, if not wholly, extinct, leaving room for\nsome newer outbreak of religious folly.\n\nIf we did not live at a period when such charlatans as Dr. Dowie and\nMrs. Eddy have appeared, drawn about them crowds of adherents, and\nconjured tens of thousands of pounds out of their pockets, we should\nhave supposed that such irruptions of religious mania, such eagerness\nto believe in a lie, such credulous clinging to an impostor, were a\nthing of the remote past. But the fools, like the poor, are always with\nus, and--\n\n    Still Dunce the Second reigns like Dunce the First.\n\n[Illustration: SILVER PAP-BOAT PREPARED FOR THE COMING OF SHILOH,\nPRESENTED TO JOANNA SOUTHCOTT IN JUNE, 1814\n\n_From the original in the collection of A. M. Broadley, Esq._]\n\n\n[Illustration: JOANNA SOUTHCOTT]\n\n\n[Illustration: CRIB PRESENTED TO JOANNA SOUTHCOTT IN ANTICIPATION\nOF THE BIRTH OF THE SHILOH BY BELIEVERS IN HER DIVINE MISSION AS \u201cA\nGOODWILL OFFERING BY FAITH TO THE PROMISED SEED\u201d\n\n_Reproduced from the original print in the collection of A. M.\nBroadley. Esq._]\n\nThe question presents itself to the mind whether Joanna was a conscious\nimpostor, or whether she was self-deluded. With her dying confession\nand her will before us, it would seem that she knew that she was\nimposing on the credulity of men and women. She had seen a debauched\nand dissolute Methodist preacher in her master\u2019s house pose as an\napostle and as inspired, and draw crowds and convince them that he\nwas an oracle of God. She imitated him, and found that her imitation\nwas successful, and also that it paid well. She was able to command\nthousands of pounds from her dupes, and it flattered her vanity to be\nappreciated as one half divine.\n\nShe had occasional qualms of conscience, but her devotees had more\nfaith in her than she had in herself, and they overbore every feeble\nattempt to retrace her steps.\n\nThe authorities for her life are numerous.\n\n    Southey has given a full account of her in _Letters from England by\n    Dom M. A. Espriella_. London, 1806.\n\n    A full account of the dissection of her body is given in _Notes and\n    Gleanings_, VI, 15 December, 1891. Exeter, 1891.\n\n    A reproduction of one of her Passports to Heaven made out to\n    Richard Hubbard, is in _Devon Notes and Queries_, Vol. II. Exeter,\n    1903.\n\n    _Memoirs of the Life and Mission of Joanna Southcott_, to which\n    is added a sketch of the Rev. W. Tozer, /M.J.S./, with\n    portrait. London, 1814.\n\n    _Life of Joanna Southcott the Prophetess: her Astounding Writings,\n    etc., with Caricature Portrait._ London, 1814.\n\n    _The Life of Joanna Southcott, the Prophetess, etc., with Portrait\n    and View of the Crib for the Expected Messiah._ London, 1814.\n\n    Fairburn\u2019s edition of the _Prophetess_. Portrait and Prints.\n    London, 1814.\n\n    _The Life and Prophecies of Joanna Southcott, from her Infancy to\n    the Present Time, etc._ Portrait. London.\n\n    _The Life of Joanna Southcott, illustrative of her supposed\n    Mission, etc._ By D. Hughson, /LL.D./ Portrait. London, 1814.\n\n    _Full Particulars of the Last Moments of the Pretended Prophetess,\n    Joanna Southcott._ London, 1815.\n\n    _A Correct Statement of the Circumstances that attended the last\n    illness and death of Mrs. Southcott._ By Richard Reece, m.d.\n    London, 1815.\n\n    _A Complete Refutation of the Statements and Remarks._ Published by\n    Dr. Reece, relative of Mrs. Southcott. London, 1815.\n\n    _The Case of Joanna Southcott, as far as it came under his\n    professional observation, impartially stated._ By P. Mathias,\n    Surgeon and Apothecary. Portrait. London, 1815.\n\n    _The Life and Death of Joanna Southcott, with the particulars of\n    her will, and an account of her dissection._ Woodcut. London (n.d.).\n\n    _Memoirs of the Life and Mission of Joanna Southcott._ Portrait.\n    London, 1814.\n\nThere are other tracts, but these are the principal.\n\n    /Note./--Mr. A. M. Broadly, of Bridport, kindly supplies the\n    following note:--\n\n    Stourbridge, in the second decade of the nineteenth century, was\n    a stronghold of the followers of Joanna Southcott. Amongst them\n    was the Rev. T. P. Foley, a member of one of the leading county\n    families of the district. In the spring of 1814 the coming of\n    the Shiloh was announced, and a crib and a pap-bowl were among\n    the presents which were made by the faithful. The pap-bowl was\n    presented in June, and was engraved by Lowe of Birmingham. It\n    has on it a portrait, cherubim in rays of light, the dove with\n    the olive branch, and a crowned child leading a lion, with two\n    repetitions of \u201cGlory to God.\u201d The reverse of the bowl contains,\n    within two branches of laurel and oak, the following inscription:\n    \u201cA Token of Love to the Prince of Peace. From the Believers of\n    Joanna Southcott\u2019s Divine Mission in Stourbridge and its vicinity.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nTHE STOKE RESURRECTIONISTS\n\n\nIn the year 1829 Mr. Warburton introduced a Bill into the House of\nCommons for the prevention of the unlawful disinterment of human bodies\nand for the regulation of schools of anatomy. The horrible revelations\nof the murders--at least thirty--committed by Burke and Hare, in\nEdinburgh, for the sake of providing subjects for the purposes of\nanatomy to lecture on, had produced a profound emotion. The Bill passed\nthe House of Commons, but was thrown out by the Lords.\n\nSo long as the European war continued, the period of time required\nfor the completion of the education of medical students, so as to fit\nthem for the service in the Army or Navy, was unduly short, and the\nstudy of anatomy was consequently much neglected. At that time the\ndissecting-rooms were supplied by men who in general exhumed bodies.\nThe trade was lucrative; one resurrectionist at his death left nearly\n\u00a36000 to his family. Another resurrectionist, after a long career,\nwithdrew in 1817. He had attended the army in the Peninsula and in\nFrance as a licensed sutler, and after a battle went over the field\nextracting the teeth of those who had fallen and such as were dying,\nand disposed of them to dentists in England. With the produce of these\nsales he built a large hotel at Margate. A leading resurrectionist once\nreceived \u00a3144 for twelve subjects in one evening. Sir Astley Cooper\nexpended hundreds of pounds in the purchase of bodies and in advancing\nmoney to screen these useful auxiliaries of the anatomical school. To\nobtain the liberation of one he paid \u00a3160.\n\nThe proper education of a surgeon demanded that he should be acquainted\nwith anatomy, and the only provision made by the legislature was that\nthe bodies of criminals who had been executed should be handed over\nto the schools. This did not furnish by any means an adequate number,\nand the professors of anatomy were obliged to have recourse to the\nprofessional purveyor of corpses, knowing well enough, or suspecting,\nwhence they came.\n\nA select committee of the House of Commons was appointed to inquire\ninto the matter, and several of the profession were had up for\nexamination.\n\nHere is the evidence of one resurrectionist, condensed:--\n\n\u201cA man may make a good living at it if he is a sober man, and acts\nwith judgment. I should suppose there are at present in London between\nforty and fifty men that have the name of raising subjects. If you are\nfriends with a grave-digger, the thing will be all right to know what\nbodies to get; if you are not, you cannot get them. The largest number\nof bodies I have got were twenty-three in four nights. It was only in\none year that I got one hundred. Perhaps the next year I did not get\nabove fifty or sixty. When I go to work I like to get those of poor\npeople buried from the workhouses, because, instead of working for one\nsubject, you may get three or four. I do not think, during the time I\nhave been in the habit of working for the schools, I got half a dozen\nof wealthier people.\u201d\n\nA second said: \u201cThe course I should take would be to have the\nworkhouse subjects; we can get them out of the burial-ground without\nany difficulty whatever.\u201d\n\nOne of the largest dealers was Israel Cohen, commonly called Izzy,\na Jew, well known to surgeons and sextons. By the surgeons he was\npatronized; of the sextons he was the patron; and so complete was\nthe understanding between the profession to which he belonged and\nthose with which he was connected, that the interest of all three was\nadvanced by coalition. He was a square-built, resolute ruffian, with\nfeatures indicative of his Hebrew origin, black whiskers, and a squint.\n\nThe Plymouth medical men memorialized the Government in 1827 relating\nto the necessity they were in of having human bodies for dissection,\nand the inadequacy of the legitimate supply. \u201cIn other countries,\u201d they\nsaid, \u201cthe dissection of the dead, so necessary to the well-being of\nthe living, is permitted and protected; and is actually prosecuted,\nwithout shocking any existing prejudice or violating the sanctities of\nthe dead. It follows either that the professional gentlemen of this\nkingdom must be contented with a very inferior medical education, or\nthat they must resort to the Continent to obtain that information which\nis denied to them by the laws of Great Britain.\u201d The alternative of\nhaving recourse to resurrectionists they did not refer to. The memorial\nproduced no results.\n\nIn the recent alterations of Princetown Church, it was found that no\ninconsiderable number of the graves of the French prisoners who died\nduring incarceration were empty. There can be little doubt that the\nbodies were disposed of to the surgeons in Plymouth. It was generally\nsupposed that the body-snatchers in exhuming a corpse first proceeded,\nas would a novice, in excavating the whole grave, and having arrived\nat the coffin would then force off the lid and so get possession of\nthe body. But this would have been too slow an operation. To do the job\nexpeditiously they cleared away the earth above the head of the coffin\nonly, taking care to leave that which covered the rest of the coffin\nundisturbed. As soon as about one-third of the chest was thus exposed,\nthey forced a very strong crowbar between the end of the coffin and the\nlid, and easily prised it open. It usually happened at this stage of\nthe proceedings that the superincumbent weight of earth on the other\nportion of the coffin-lid caused it to be snapped across. As soon as\nthis was effected the body was drawn out, the death-gear removed from\nit and replaced in the coffin, and finally the body was tied up in\na bundle or thrust into a sack and taken away, the whole operation\nlasting not over a quarter of an hour.\n\nVery generally a hackney coach or a spring cart was in waiting to\nreceive the body. When corpses were sent from the country to London\nthey were generally packed in barrels or hat-crates. But when one was\nto be taken to a dissecting-room in the same town it was laid on a\nlarge piece of green baize, the four corners were tied together, and\nso the body was rolled up in a bundle. The body-snatcher would then,\ndressed as a porter, swing the load over his shoulder, and often, even\nin broad daylight, carry it to its place of destination through the\nmost crowded streets.\n\nEvery means which ingenuity could suggest was put in practice to obtain\nbodies which had not been buried. For this purpose the men, when they\nheard of the body of a person being found--drowned, for instance, and\nlying to be owned--trumped up a story of an unfortunate brother or\nsister, humbugged a coroner\u2019s jury, and thus obtained possession of\nthe body. In this sort of trickery the wives of the men were often\nemployed, as their application was attended to with less suspicion,\nand it was never difficult to impose on the parochial officials, who\nwere always anxious to avoid the expense of burying the deceased.\nSubjects were thus occasionally procured, but they were more frequently\nobtained by pretending relationship to persons dying without friends in\nhospitals and workhouses. As the bodies thus obtained were much fresher\nthan those which had been buried, they produced generally, independent\nof the teeth, as much as twelve guineas each.\n\nAt the commencement of a new term at the hospitals, the lecturers on\nanatomy were beset by the leading dealers in subjects, and \u201cfifty\npounds down, and nine guineas a body,\u201d was often acceded to. The larger\nsum down secured to the lecturer the exclusive supply of that dealer\u2019s\nwares. The competition for subjects was great, and in some cases twenty\npounds were paid for a single corpse in good condition.\n\nStoke Church and yard lay solitary amid waste land. It had a wall round\nit, but no houses very near, and there were no oil lamps burning in the\nroad that passed it.\n\nA strong suspicion was entertained that the graves there had been\nrifled, and were so continually, and it was proposed to the parish\nauthorities to have lamps and organize a night watch. But the officials\nshrank from the expense, and many people reasoned that it were well\nto allow the resurrectionists to get bodies from graves, as bodies\nthe surgeons must have, rather than run the risk of inducing these\nscoundrels to imitate the proceedings of Burke by killing individuals\nfor the purpose. Within a stone\u2019s throw of Mill Bridge was a commodious\nresidence called Mount Pleasant, with Stonehouse Lake or Creek on one\nside, and Stoke Church on the other. A man, apparently well to do, a\nMr. Gosling, took the house, and brought in a somewhat mixed party\nof men and women. The neighbours thought the family was peculiar,\nbut as he was a pleasant-spoken man and the ladies of the party were\naffable and sympathetic, and as he paid his way with punctuality, they\nwere content. Indeed, they were more than content. The females of the\nGosling household attended every funeral, and expressed their tenderest\nfeelings of regard and pity for the mourners, asked all particulars\nabout the deceased, his or her age, and what malady had hurried the\nlamented one to his grave, as also occasionally whether the deceased\nhad good teeth. At night, immediately after every funeral, the men of\nthe party stole forth, furnished with crowbar and spades, and equipped\nwith a sack or two, and made their way into the graveyard, where they\nworked by the light of a dark lantern. The sexton had been squared,\nand he had not made the grave very deep, nor had he heaped the earth\nthickly over it.\n\nBut the gang did not confine operations to the last interment. They\nopened other graves, and if the corpses were too much decomposed to\nbe of any commercial value they contented themselves with drawing all\ntheir teeth.\n\nSometimes it happened that the subjects when removed to Mount Pleasant\nunderwent rapid decomposition. Then they were buried in the garden, and\nrestored to the graveyard on the next visit.\n\nNeighbours now began to notice that lights were burning in Mount\nPleasant at all times of the night. It was also remarked that the grave\nmounds bore a suspicious look of having been tampered with--not those\nrecently made only, but others more ancient.\n\nIn the nearest house was a shrewd, observant servant-girl, and\nthe lights, the way they moved about at night in the rooms of the\nvilla--not in the bedrooms, but downstairs, at times when every one\nelse was asleep--aroused her suspicions. Her bedroom window commanded\nthe villa of Gosling and Co., and wake at what time she might or\nhowever early in the morning before daybreak, there the lights were.\nShe resolved on keeping watch; and she stationed herself where,\nunseen, she could observe proceedings. Towards midnight she saw dark\nfigures emerge from Mount Pleasant and make their way to Stoke Church.\nFollow she did not. Her courage was not equal to that; but she waited\nand watched till the figures stole back, and on this occasion she\ndistinctly saw sacks being carried on the backs of two of the men.\nShe now remembered that she had often noticed packing-cases and casks\nbeing taken from the villa to the water\u2019s edge and placed on a barge\napparently waiting there for its load. In the morning the girl told her\nmaster what she had seen, and he at once apprised the police.\n\nThese latter now placed themselves behind the wall at night to watch\nwhat would happen; they were rewarded one night after there had been a\ncouple of funerals in the churchyard. The constables saw the men dig\nand shovel for about ten minutes; heard them strike a coffin-lid, and\nproceed to force it up. Then by the faint light they saw them remove\na corpse and put it into a sack. Thereupon one of the men came out\nof the yard as a scout to see that the coast was clear. After that\nthey hoisted the body over the churchyard wall and made towards Mount\nPleasant. As the constables on this occasion were but two and there was\na considerable gang in the villa, they returned to Devonport, where\nthey collected a sufficient force of watchmen and special constables,\nand surrounded the building, where the resurrectionists were enjoying\na refreshing sleep after their labours. Scaling the wall by means of a\nladder and advancing in their stocking-soles, they entered the various\nbedrooms, and secured four men and two women, pinioned and gagged them.\nThey were taken completely by surprise.\n\nIn the kitchen were found two sacks. In one was the body of a girl\nof eighteen, in the other that of an elderly man. The cupboards and\ndrawers were stocked with extracted teeth and implements of dentistry\nfor drawing them.\n\nWhen on the following morning it was noised in Devonport that a\nconfederacy of body-snatchers had been captured, the greatest\nexcitement prevailed. The relatives of all who had died and been buried\nwithin a couple of years and more crowded the cemetery demanding that\nthe graves of their kinsfolk should be examined. The graveyard turned\nout to have been a mine well worked. Grave after grave was opened, and\ndishevelled shrouds and mutilated bodies, teethless jaws, revealed to\nthe distracted relatives of the dead that the graves had been violated.\n\nGosling and his confederates were brought to trial, and confessed their\nguilt, and even revelled in their horrible reminiscences. Gosling\ngrimly recalled how on one night the resurrection party had been so\ndrunk that they had fought in an open grave under the shadow of the\nchurch.\n\nThis took place in 1830. Gosling and his confederates were transported.\n\nIt was not till 1832 that Mr. Warburton\u2019s Bill, already referred to,\npassed both Houses; and public feeling had been further stirred on\nthe subject by the case of Bishop and Williams, who had murdered an\nItalian boy in London for the sake of providing a subject for S.\nBartholomew\u2019s Hospital, and Bishop had admitted that he had committed\nsixty such murders.\n\nThe objection raised to the Bill in the House of Lords in the first\ninstance, and again in the second, was that Warburton\u2019s project was\nthat such persons as died in a hospital, and whose bodies were not\nclaimed by relatives, should be given up for dissection. What the\nLords objected to was that this subjected the poor to what might be\nconsidered an evil in which the rich did not participate. But the\nserious condition of affairs, the evidence that many murders were\ncommitted so as to provide the anatomical schools with subjects,\noverrode the sentimental feeling, and the Bill passed. Happy indeed\nwould it have been if it had passed thirty years earlier.\n\n\n\n\n\u201cTHE BEGGARS\u2019 OPERA\u201d AND GAY\u2019S CHAIR\n\n\nIt is not my intention to give a detailed biography of John Gay, for\nsuch is easily procurable, either in Cox\u2019s Life of the poet, or in the\n_Dictionary of National Biography_, or, again, in the Life, prefixed to\nhis works, by J. Underhill, 1893. All here proposed is to give a brief\nsketch, and fill out two points, the story of _The Beggars\u2019 Opera_, and\nthat of the discovery of MSS. in Gay\u2019s chair.\n\nThe Gays of Goldsworthy were an ancient Devonshire family, tracing back\nin direct descent from a John Gay, already seated in his warm nest at\nGoldsworthy, in Parkham, near Bideford, a parish that nursed as well\nthe Giffards of Halsbury and the Risdons of Babley. But if Parkham\nnursed these families, it did not keep them; Giffards, Risdons, Gays\nare all gone, and the Gays had sold Goldsworthy before Risdon wrote\nhis Survey between 1605 and 1630. But the Gays still retained the old\npriory of Frithelstock which they held on a long lease from 1602, and\nwhere lived the widow of a Gay in 1822, when Lysons published his\n\u201cDevonshire\u201d in _Magna Britannia_.\n\nJohn Gay was the son of William Gay, fourth son of John Gay of\nFrithelstock. William had married the daughter of a Dissenting preacher\nnamed Hanmer, in Barnstaple, and there John was born on 30 June, 1685.\nWilliam Gay died when John was but ten years old, and he was brought\nup by his mother in Ivy Street, Barnstaple, and sent to school to\nRobert Luck, a would-be poet, who wrote Latin and English verses, in\none of which, \u201cThe Female Ph\u00e6ton,\u201d he depicted the career and lapse of\na fast young lady of fashionable life.\n\n[Illustration: _M^r. Gay._]\n\nGay was bound apprentice to a London mercer, but, his health failing,\nhe returned to Barnstaple, where he dwelt with his uncle, the\nDissenting minister, John Hanmer. The association must have been most\nunsuitable to both. John \u201c_toujours gai_\u201d with a poet\u2019s fancy, a\nbuoyant heart, what more incongruous than to be lodged under the roof\nand nourished at the table of a sour and moody Puritan!\n\nHow and when he broke away from this depressing and distressing\nenvironment we do not know. All that is known of this early period\nis to be found in a little work called _Gay\u2019s Chair_, written by his\nnephew, Joseph Ballard. At the age of twenty-one he wrote his first\npiece, _Rural Sports_, which he dedicated to Pope, with whom he\nbecame afterwards allied in intimate friendship. In 1712 we find him\nsecretary, or rather domestic steward, to the Duchess of Monmouth, in\nwhich station he continued till the beginning of the year 1714, at\nwhich time he accompanied the Earl of Clarendon to Hanover, whither\nthat nobleman was dispatched by Queen Anne. In the latter part of the\nsame year, in consequence of the Queen\u2019s death, he returned to England,\nwhere he lived in the highest estimation and intimacy of friendship\nwith many persons of rank; he became, in fact, the petted lap-dog of\nfashionable society.\n\nQueen Caroline, then Princess of Wales, was interested in him, and\nsent to invite him to read his play, _The Captives_, before her at\nLeicester House. The day was fixed, and Gay was commanded to attend.\nHe waited some time in a presence chamber, with his manuscript in his\nhand, but being a modest man, and unequal to the trial into which he\nwas entering, when the door of the drawing-room was thrown open, where\nthe Princess sat with her ladies, he was so much confused and concerned\nabout making the proper obeisance that he did not see a low footstool\nthat happened to be in the way; and, stumbling over it, fell against\na large screen, which he upset, and threw the ladies into no small\ndisorder.\n\nIn 1726 he dedicated his _Fables_, by permission, to the Duke of\nCumberland. From his countenance, and promises made of preferment, he\nhoped to have obtained some office in which, without being overworked,\nhe might be well paid, and able to devote himself more at leisure to\nthe Muses. Instead of which, in 1727, he was offered the place of\ngentleman-usher to one of the youngest princesses; an offer which, as\nhe regarded, it was insulting to make. In a fit of resentment, and in\nill-humour with the Court, he wrote _The Beggars\u2019 Opera_ as a satire on\nthe Italian opera, then warmly patronized by the Court.\n\nSwift had observed to Gay what an old, pretty sort of thing a Newgate\npastoral would make. Gay was inclined to consider the suggestion,\nbut afterwards, hot in his resentment against the Court, turned the\ntheme into a comedy. He began _The Beggars\u2019 Opera_, and mentioned it\nto Swift, but the Doctor did not much like the project. As he carried\nit on, he showed what he had written to him and to Pope, and they now\nand then gave him a correction or a word or two of advice; but it was\nwholly of his own writing. When it was done, neither of them thought it\nwould succeed. The play was offered in 1727 to Cibber at Drury Lane,\nand was by him rejected with contempt. Congreve read it over and\nsaid, \u201cIt will either take greatly or be damned confoundedly.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL, BARNSTAPLE, WHERE GAY WAS EDUCATED]\n\nThe play was, however, accepted by Rich, and produced at Lincoln\u2019s\nInn Fields Theatre. When brought on the stage on the first night, 29\nJanuary, 1727-8, Gay\u2019s friends sat in great uncertainty of the event,\ntill they were vastly encouraged by overhearing the Duke of Argyll, who\nsat in the next box, say: \u201cIt will do--it must do! I see it in the eyes\nof them!\u201d When Polly Peachum sang her pathetic appeal to her parents--\n\n    O ponder well, be not severe\n      To save a wretched wife,\n    For on the rope that hangs my dear\n      Depends poor Polly\u2019s life,\n\nand this, to the air of \u201cThe Babes in the Wood,\u201d familiar to the\nentire audience from their nurseries, the effect was magical. The\naudience broke into a roar of applause, and the success of the play was\nestablished.\n\nThe plot of the piece was thin and poor, but the people were refreshed,\nand rejoiced to hear again the old familiar notes of English music.\nThere were sixty-nine airs in _The Beggars\u2019 Opera_, and nearly every\none was an old English ballad or song air. Gay was not himself a\nmusician, but he had his head full of old ballads and their airs,\nmost, doubtless, picked up about Barnstaple or Bideford, and he set\nto the tunes words suitable to his characters and the dialogue, and\nthen got a German named Pepusch to note them down for him and write a\nsimple orchestral accompaniment and an overture. The author, according\nto Mace, got the entire receipts of four nights, amounting in the\naggregate to \u00a3693 13s. 6d., whereas Rich, the manager, after the piece\nhad been performed thirty-six times, had pocketed nearly \u00a34000. It was\nwell said that this play made Rich _gay_, and Gay _rich_.\n\nLavinia Fenton had been tempted by Rich from the Haymarket to Lincoln\u2019s\nInn Fields to act the part of Polly in _The Beggars\u2019 Opera_ at a salary\nof 15s. per week, but owing to the enormous success of the play he\nraised it to 30s.; and such was the rage of the town respecting her\nthat she was obliged to be guarded home every night by a considerable\nparty of her confidential friends, to prevent her being hurt by the\ncrowd or being run away with. The Duke of Bolton became enamoured of\nher--took her under his protection, as the euphemism went. The Duke\nwas then in the prime of life, living apart from his wife. \u201cPolly\u201d was\nnot remarkably pretty, but she had a charming manner and a delicious\nvoice. Wharton tells us that he knew her, and could testify to her\nwit, intelligence, and good manners. \u201cHer conversation,\u201d says he, \u201cwas\nadmired by the first characters of the age, particularly the old Lord\nBathurst and Lord Grenville.\u201d She and the Duke had several quarrels,\nand after one very serious explosion he gave her notice to quit the\nhouse.\n\nShe retired to her room, assumed the costume of Polly Peachum,\nreturned, and presenting herself before him in all the grace and charm\nwith which she had first won him, with tears in her eyes, sang--\n\n      Oh, what pain it is to part!\n    Can I leave thee? Can I leave thee?\n      Oh, what pain it is to part!\n    Can thy Polly ever leave thee?\n\nto the air \u201cGin thou wert mine ain thing,\u201d to which it had been set by\nGay.\n\nTouched by the remembrance of the past and by her witchery of\nmanner, the Duke opened his arms, she flew to his heart, and the\nreconciliation was complete. On the death of the Duchess, the Duke\nmarried Lavinia Fenton at Aix in Provence, 21 October, 1751, just\none day beyond the month after the death of his wife, who died on 20\nSeptember.\n\nThe children borne by \u201cPolly\u201d to the Duke before the marriage were\nthree sons, who all assumed the name of Powlett. The Duke died on 26\nAugust, 1754, and was succeeded in the dukedom by his brother. \u201cPolly\u201d\nFenton died at West Combe Park, Kent, on 24 January, 1760, at the age\nof fifty-two.\n\nAssuredly never was a more sudden, complete, and unexpected success\nachieved than that by the production of _The Beggars\u2019 Opera_. It defied\nthe prevailing taste; it went contrary to all the received canons\nof art, it was as audacious as a play as it was musically. Hitherto\nthe Opera had been in the hands of Italians. The themes selected for\nmusical setting had been classic and mythological. Then came Gay,\ntaking his subject from the lowest class--gaol-birds; and discarding\nall intricate and foreign music, set his songs to melodies familiar to\nall from their cradles.\n\nIt was said of the deserted stalls and boxes at the Italian Opera\nwhilst Gay\u2019s piece held the town, that he had made of the Italian the\nveritable Beggars\u2019 Opera.\n\nSir Robert Walpole was frequently the subject of Gay\u2019s satire.\nNevertheless he attended the first performance, and sat in one of the\nstage lounges. When Lockit sang--\n\n        When you censure the age,\n        Be cautious and sage,\n    Lest the courtiers offended should be.\n      If you mention _vice_ or _bribe_,\n      \u2019Tis so pat to all the tribe,\n    That each cries--That was levelled at me!\n\nSir Robert observing that all eyes turned upon him at these lines,\nparried the thrust by leading the applause. After an uninterrupted run\nin London of sixty-three nights, and emptying the Italian Opera House,\nthe play spread into all the great towns of England, and was played in\nmany places thirty or forty times--in Bath and Bristol fifty times. It\nmade its progress into Wales, where it contributed some of its airs to\nnational Welsh melody, to Scotland and Ireland; and last of all it was\nperformed in Minorca.\n\nNor was its fame confined to the reading and representation alone, for\nthe card-table and the drawing-room shared with the theatre and the\ncloset in this respect; the ladies carried about the favourite songs\nengraven on their fans, and screens were decorated with scenes from the\nplay.\n\nHogarth\u2019s painting representing the first scene on the boards, with\nnoble dukes and earls on fauteuils upon the stage, is well known. His\nportrait of Polly Fenton is in the National Gallery.\n\n_The Beggars\u2019 Opera_ was revived by Messrs. Gatti at Covent Garden\nin the season 1878-9. On this occasion wrote _Punch_: \u201cThe house\nwas literally crammed from floor to ceiling by an audience whose\nenthusiastic temperature increased in a graduated thermometrical scale,\nthe over-boiling point being reached at the back row of the upper\ngallery; and this on a night when, in the stalls and boxes, wrappers,\nfurs, mantles, and ulsters were _de rigueur_ on account of the rigour\nof the cold.... Let those who do not believe in a comic tenor see Sims\nReeves as Captain Macheath, and they will discover what magic there\nis even in a refrain of \u2018tol-de-lol, lol-de-rol, loddy,\u2019 when given\nby a tenor who is not impressed by the absurd traditional notion that\nhe is nothing if not sentimental. His acting of the celebrated song\n\u2018How happy could I be with either\u2019 is full of humour, and his change\nof manner from \u2018tol-de-rol\u2019 in a tender tone, when addressed to the\ngentle, confiding Polly, to the \u2018tol-de-rol\u2019 with a true Cockney\nchick-a-leary twang when addressed to the vulgar Lucy Lockit, is a\nclever idea, most artistically carried out; and then his dance up the\nstage while singing, giving his last note good and true to the end in\nspite of his unaccustomed exertion, as with a jump he seats himself\nin a natural devil-may-care style upon the table, was followed by an\n_encore_ so momentous that even he, the _anti-encorist_, was fain to\ncomply with the enthusiastic demand; so he repeated the two verses, the\ndance, and the jump with as much freshness and vigour as though he had\nnot already sung six songs--snatches, more or less, it is true--and had\ngot ten more to follow.\u201d\n\nAs a man, Gay was amiable and winning in manner. He had a\nfoible--indolence. Nevertheless he had saved several thousand pounds\nat the time of his death, which occurred in the house of the Duke and\nDuchess of Queensberry, in Burlington Gardens, in December, 1732, and\nhe was buried in Westminster Abbey.\n\nAnd now, having done with the man, we come to his chair.\n\nRather over eighty years after the death of Gay some unpublished\npoems of his were found in an old arm-chair which had belonged to the\npoet, and after his death had been retained, with other relics, by\nthe surviving members of his family. The history was fully narrated\nimmediately after the discovery in a little book, called _Gay\u2019s\nChair_, along with the life of the poet and a selection of the poems\ndiscovered; some were too broad in humour for publication.\n\nIt appears that at a sale in 1818 of the effects of a man called\nClarke, who had kept an old-clothes and curiosity shop in Barnstaple,\nan antique chair was disposed of. It is described as of mahogany, with\nthe seat, back, and arms stuffed, and covered with brown leather and\nstudded with brass nails. There was a long drawer under the seat, and\ntwo other drawers were fixed on pivots so as to turn back under the\narms, and were fitted for writing materials, with a brass candlestick\nattached to each and a wooden leaf for reading or writing. It was\nknocked down for a few shillings, and being rather dilapidated, was\nsent to Mr. Crook, cabinet-maker, to be repaired. Whilst doing this he\nfound that the drawer under the seat did not extend the full depth of\nthe seat, and that when this drawer was taken out it disclosed another\nbehind it. This concealed drawer was crammed with MSS. and paper. These\nwere submitted to inspection, and found to consist of some unpublished\npoems, together with a variety of other documents and accounts.\n\nThis discovery caused much local sensation at the time. It was\nascertained that the chair had been purchased some years previously at\nthe sale of the effects of Mrs. Williams, a descendant of Catherine,\nthe poet\u2019s sister, who had married Anthony Baller. She had come in for\nGay\u2019s furniture as next-of-kin, and it was then considered as proved\nbeyond all reasonable doubt that it had been Gay\u2019s property. Mr.\nHenry Lee edited the poems, and they were published in 1820, with a\nfrontispiece representing the chair. Mr. Chanter says:--\u201cNow all this\nseems like a clever fiction introductory to a book, and indeed the idea\nof finding papers in a concealed drawer or cabinet has been used so\noften as to become threadbare. I have therefore taken pains to verify\nthe story, gaining further details from Mr. Crook himself, who is\nstill living, and, fiction-like as it appears, it is strictly and\nliterally true.\u201d[19]\n\n[Illustration: GAY\u2019S CHAIR\n\nDESCRIPTION:\n\nUnder the arms of the Chair are drawers, with the necessary implements\nfor writing; each drawer turns on a pivot, and has attached to it\na brass candlestick. The wooden leaf for reading or writing upon,\nmay be raised or depressed, or entirely let down, at the student\u2019s\npleasure. Under the seat is a drawer for books or paper, and behind\nit is the _concealed drawer_, in which were found the manuscripts;\nit is curiously fastened by a small bolt, not perceivable till the\nlarger drawer is removed. The Chair is made of very fine grained, dark\ncoloured mahogany; the seat, back, and arms stuffed, and covered with\nbrown leather, ornamented with brass nails; the whole, considering\nits antiquity, in pretty good repair, and admirably constructed for\nmeditative ease and literary application.]\n\nOne of the poems found in the chair is \u201cThe Ladies\u2019 Petition to the\nHouse of Commons,\u201d the suffragettes of the day. It is founded on the\nold ballad of \u201cNice Young Maidens.\u201d\n\n    Here\u2019s a pretty set of us\n        Nice young maidens.\n    Here\u2019s a pretty set of us\n    All for husbands at a loss\n    But we cannot tarry thus,\n        Nice young maidens.\n\nThere is a Scottish version of the same, \u201cPuir auld Maidens,\u201d borrowed\nfrom England.\n\nGay wrote:--\n\n    Sirs:--We, the maids of Exon-City,\n    The maids--good lack! the more\u2019s the pity!\n    We humbly offer this petition\n    To represent our sad condition.\n    Which, once made known, our hope and trust is\n    Your honoured House will do us justice.\n    First you shall hear--but can\u2019t you guess?--\n    The reason of our sad distress.\n    A maiden was designed by nature\n    A weakly and imperfect creature,\n    So liable to err and stray,\n    She wants a guide, requires a stay:\n    And then, so timorous of sprites,\n    She dreads to be alone at nights.\n    Say what she will, do what she can,\n    Her heart still gravitates to man.\n\nAs Mr. Chanter has pointed out, Gay has scarcely received due credit\nfor the number of proverbial couplets and sayings which have entwined\nthemselves in our daily language; for instance:--\n\n    When a lady\u2019s in the case\n    You know all other things give place.\n\n    Those who in quarrels interpose,\n    Must often wipe a bloody nose.\n\n    Can Love be controll\u2019d by advice?\n\n    While there\u2019s Life there\u2019s Hope.\n\n    If the heart of a man is depressed with cares,\n    The mist is dispelled when a woman appears.\n\nThe epitaph which Gay wrote for himself is a fit conclusion:--\n\n    Life is a jest, and all things show it;\n    I thought so once, but now--I know it.\n\n\n\n\nBAMPFYLDE-MOORE CAREW\n\n\nTo _An Apology for the Life of Mr. Bampfylde-Moore Carew_, London,\nn.d., but probably 1753, all the Lives of this disreputable man are\nindebted. This was, in fact, his own autobiography, dictated by him\nto some literary acquaintance, who put his adventures into shape and\npadded them out with reflections and quotations from Shakespeare,\nHorace, and mainly from Fielding\u2019s _Tom Jones_.\n\nThe book has two dedications, the first is from the \u201cHistoriographer\nto Mr. Bamfylde-Moore Carew\u201d to Justice Fielding. The second is \u201cTo\nthe Public\u201d from Bampfylde himself. The dedication to Henry Fielding\nis by no means complimentary, and one strain of thought runs through\nthe whole _Apology_. It shows that Bampfylde-Moore Carew was not such\na scoundrel as was Tom Jones the hero of Fielding\u2019s novel; and in that\nattempt the author does not fail.\n\nIt will not be possible here to do more than give an outline of the\nlife of this King of the Beggars; the original deserves to be read by\nWest-countrymen, on account of the numerous references to the gentry of\nthe counties of Devon, Cornwall, and Somerset that it contains. It is\nsomewhat amusing in the _Apology_ to notice how Carew insists on being\nentitled Mr. on almost every occasion that his name is mentioned by the\nbiographer. The book reveals at every page the vanity and self-esteem\nof this runaway from civilized life, as it does also his utter\ncallousness to truth and honesty. He relates his frauds and falsehoods\nwith unblushing effrontery, glorying in his shame. There have always\nbeen persons who have rebelled against the restraints of culture, and\nhave reverted to a state of savagery more or less. Nowadays there are\nthe colonies, to which those who are energetic and dislike the bonds of\ncivilization at home can fly and live a freer life, one also simpler.\nAnd this desire, located in many hearts, to be emancipated from\nlimitations and ties that are conventional, is thus given an opening\nfor fulfilment. It may be but a temporary outburst of independence, but\nwith some, unquestionably, like Falstaff, there is a \u201ckind of alacrity\nin sinking.\u201d\n\nBampfylde-Moore Carew broke all ties when a boy, and remained a\nvoluntary outcast from society to his death.\n\n\u201cMr. Carew was born in the Month of July, 1693\u201d--even at birth he\nis Mister--\u201cand never was there known a more splendid Appearance of\nGentlemen and Ladies of the first Rank and Quality at any Baptism in\nthe West of England than at his.\u201d He was the son of the Rev. Theodore\nCarew, rector of Bickleigh, near Tiverton.\n\n[Illustration: Bampfylde-Moore Carew.\n\nKing /OF THE/ Beggars]\n\nAt the age of twelve, Bampfylde was sent to Tiverton school, \u201cwhere he\ncontracted an intimate Acquaintance with young Gentlemen of the first\nRank in Somersetshire, Devonshire, Cornwall, and Dorsetshire.\u201d Here\nhe and other boys kept a pack of hounds, and as these, with Carew and\nothers behind them, once gave chase to a deer strayed from Exmoor over\nstanding corn, so much damage was done that the farmers complained to\nthe headmaster. Bampfylde was too great a coward to wait and take his\nwhipping. He ran away from school and sheltered among some gipsies.\nHe contracted such a love for their vagrant life, and such satisfaction\nfrom the applause he got for thefts that manifested low cunning, that\nnothing would induce him to abandon their mode of life and return to\ncivilization. Here is the description of the hero, as sent forth into\nthe world with Mr. Carew\u2019s sanction:--\n\n\u201cThe Stature of our Hero is tall and majestic, his Limbs strong\nand well proportioned, his Features regular, his Countenance open\nand ingenuous, bearing all those characteristical Marks which\nPhysiognomists assert denote an honest and good-natured Mind; and tho\u2019\nHardships, and even Age itself (he being now sixty) have made some\nAlterations in his Features, yet we venture to compare his Countenance\nwith Mr. Thomas Jones\u2019s, tho\u2019 the Author of that Gentleman\u2019s Life\nasserts he is the finest Figure he ever beheld.\u201d\n\nHe was an adept at all sorts of disguises. Sometimes he postured\nas a shipwrecked seaman and begged for relief, sometimes he was a\nhouseholder whose dwelling had been destroyed by fire, sometimes,\ndressed in little more than a blanket, he acted the madman. Then he\nwas a Kent farmer, whose lands had been overflowed by the tide. The\nonly trade he acquired was that of rat-catching. In this, \u201cour Hero,\nby his close Application, soon attained so considerable a Knowledge\nin his Profession, that he practised it with Success and Applause, to\nthe great Advantage of the Public in general, not confining the good\nEffects of his Knowledge to his own Community only, but extending\nthem universally to all Sorts of People wheresoever they were wanted;\nfor though the Mendicants are in a constant State of Hostility with\nall other People, and Mr. Carew was as alert as any one in laying all\nManner of Schemes and Stratagems to carry off a Booty from them, yet\nhe thought, as a Member of the grand Society of Human Kind, he was\nobliged to do them all the Good in his Power, when it was not opposite\nto the Interest of that particular Community of which he was a Member.\u201d\n\nCarew kept a watchful eye on the papers, and so soon as he heard of\na disaster anywhere, he at once assumed the disguise of one who had\nsuffered in this disaster, and appealed for relief. To assist him in\nhis deception, he produced letters authenticating his story, forged\nby himself in the name of magistrate and nobleman, clergy and country\ngentlemen of good repute.\n\nIt next occurred to him that it would serve his purpose if he made a\nvoyage to Newfoundland, so as to be able the better to personate an\nunfortunate sailor who had been wrecked on his way home. He went there\naccordingly and picked up all the local knowledge he could, the names\nof the merchants and dealers and agents there, and returned. At once he\nfigured in the character of a seaman lost in a vessel homeward bound,\nsometimes belonging to Poole, sometimes to Dartmouth, at other times\nto other ports, and under such and such commander, according as the\nnewspapers gave accounts of such accidents.\n\n\u201cIf the Booty he got before under this character was considerable, it\nwas much more so now; for being able to give a very exact Account of\nNewfoundland, he applied with great Confidence to Masters of Vessels,\nand Gentlemen well acquainted with those Parts; so that those whom\nbefore his Prudence would not permit him to apply to, now became his\ngreatest benefactors, as the perfect Account he gave of the Country\nengaged them to give Credit to all he asserted, and made them very\nliberal in his Favour.\u201d\n\nBut his very worst act was committed shortly after this. He went in a\ncollier from Dartmouth to Newcastle, and there he fell in love with a\nMiss Grey, daughter of a respectable surgeon-apothecary of the town. He\npretended to be mate of the collier, and the captain was not ashamed\nto corroborate this statement. He gained the young lady\u2019s affections,\nand as the father naturally objected to such a match, he induced the\nunfortunate girl to elope with him and come to Dartmouth, where only\ndid she find out that he was a professional mumper or beggar, and\nthat his only respectable trade was that of rat-catcher. But she had\ntaken an irrevocable step in running away with him, and she consented\nto marry him, and the ceremony was performed at Bath, where for a few\nweeks they lived in high style, till his money was gone, when he was\nobliged again to return to his impositions and frauds. From Bath the\nyoung couple went to Porchester, where they were kindly received by an\nuncle of Bampfylde, and he most urgently strove to turn the scoundrel\nfrom his mode of life, promising that if he would reform, he and the\nfamily would obtain for him some situation in which he could earn his\nlivelihood in an honest manner, and live in a way befitting his birth.\nBut this did not suit Carew. He employed his time with his uncle, who\nwas a clergyman, in studying his demeanour, manner of speech, etc., and\nleaving him supplied himself with cassock, bands, a black gown, and\nstarted \u201cmumping\u201d as a Jacobite incumbent of Aberystwyth, who had been\nejected from the living for his political sentiments, and \u201cthis and his\nthorough Knowledge of those Persons whom it was proper to apply to,\nmade this stratagem succeed even beyond his own expectations.\u201d\n\nHe, however, exchanged his disguise; for having heard that a vessel\ncontaining many Quakers bound for Philadelphia had been cast away\non the coast of Ireland, he laid aside gown, cassock, and bands, and\nassumed the garb and language and address of a Quaker. \u201cHis countenance\nwas now demure; the words You and Sir he seemed to hold in abomination;\nhis Hat was moved to none; for though under Misfortunes, he would\nnot think of bowing the knee to Baal.\u201d Thus equipped he preyed very\nsuccessfully on the Friends. He even went to a great meeting of Quakers\nfrom all parts at Thorncombe, in Dorset, and induced the Friends there\nto make a considerable contribution for the relief of this member of\nthe sect who had fallen into such distress through the wreck.\n\nHis effrontery, his cunning, his utter unscrupulousness gained him such\ncredit among the gipsies that on the death of Claude Patch, who had\nreigned previously over the canting crew, he was elected King of the\nBeggars, and thenceforth drew from the whole community a certain income.\n\nAt last he was arrested, tried at the quarter sessions at Exeter, and\ntransported to Maryland, where he was sold to a planter. As he tried to\nescape, an iron collar with a handle to it was riveted about his neck.\nHe again escaped; this time he succeeded in getting among the Indians,\nwho relieved him of his collar. He stole a canoe from his benefactors,\nand in it made his way to Newcastle in Pennsylvania. There he wandered\nabout, pretending to be a Quaker, being everywhere well received by the\nfraternity till he came to Derby, where Mr. Whitefield was preaching\nand drawing crowds. He attended Whitefield\u2019s meetings, pretended to be\na converted character, sought the preacher out, imposed on him, got\nfrom him money, and departed for Philadelphia, and thence made his\nway to New London, where resided two sisters of Sir John Davie, of\nCreedy Park, near Crediton. They were married there, and their sons\nwere timber merchants. They were greatly delighted to see a man who\ncould inform them about their family, and he raised vain hopes in their\nmind that \u201cthey were near heirs to a fine estate near Crediton.\u201d So\ncompletely were they taken in by him that they gave him money and a\nletter to their relative Humphry Davie, recommending Carew to his good\noffices. Carew embarked at New London for England. He was, however,\nmuch afraid of being pressed for the Navy on approaching England. To\navoid this he pricked his breast and arms with a needle, rubbed in bay\nsalt and gunpowder, feigned to be very ill and to be light-headed.\nIt was suspected that he had small-pox, and as such, when an officer\ncame on board to see what men were there, he escaped. As ill with\nsmall-pox, he was put ashore at Bristol, where he speedily threw off\nall appearance of sickness, made the best of his way to a mumpers\u2019\nresort at Mile Hill, and had a carouse. He then made his way to Exeter,\nwhere he fell in with the captain who had conveyed him to Maryland, and\nwho was vastly astonished to find that Carew had returned home as soon\nas or sooner than himself.\n\nHe now resumed his old mode of begging under false pretences.\n\n\u201cOne day as he was begging in the town of Maiden Bradley, from Door\nto Door, as a shipwrecked Seaman, he saw on the other side of the\nStreet a mendicant Brother Sailor in a Habit as forlorn as his own,\na begging for God\u2019s sake, just like himself; who seeing Mr. Carew,\ncrossed over the way and came up to him, and in the canting Language\nasked him where he was last Night; what Road he was going; then whether\nhe would brush into a Boozing-ken and be his Thrums, _i.e._ go into\nthe Alehouse and spend his Threepence with him. To this he consented\nand away they go, where, in the Series of their Conversation, they ask\neach other various Questions concerning the Country, the charitable and\nuncharitable Families, the moderate and severe Justices, the good and\nqueer Corporations, etc., those that would and would not suffer begging\nin their Territories. The new Acquaintance of Mr. Carew\u2019s asked him if\nhe had been to Sir Edward Seymour\u2019s? He answered Yes, and had received\nhis Alms.\n\n\u201cThe next Day they beg the Town, one on one Side of the Street, the\nother on the other, each on his own separate Story. They then proceeded\nto the Houses of several Gentlemen in that Neighbourhood; among others\nthey came to Lord Weymouth\u2019s, where it was agreed that Mr. Carew should\nbe the Spokesman. Upon their coming up to the House the Servants bid\nthem begone, for should Lord Weymouth come and detect them in any\nFalsehood, he would horsewhip them without Mercy.\n\n\u201cOur Travellers, however, were not the least daunted hereat. Therefore\nthey went up to the Kitchen Door and Mr. Carew broke the Ice, telling\nthe deplorable Story of their Misfortune in his usual lamentable\nTone. At length the Housekeeper gave them the greatest Part of a cold\nShoulder of Mutton, half a fine Wheaten Loaf, and a Shilling, but did\nit with great Haste and Fear, lest my Lord should see her. Of the\nButler they got a Copper of good Ale, and then departed.\n\n\u201cHaving got at some Distance from the House, there arose a Dispute who\nshould carry the Victuals, both being loth to encumber themselves with\nit, as having neither Wife nor Child near to give it to. Mr. Carew was\nfor throwing it into the Hedge, but the other urged that it was both\na Sin and a Shame to waste good Victuals in that Manner; so they both\nagreed to go to the \u2018Green Man,\u2019 about a Mile from my Lord\u2019s, and there\nexchange it for Liquor. At this Alehouse they tarried some time, and\nsnacked the Arget, that is, shared the Money which they had that Day\ngotten; then, after a parting Glass, each went his separate Way.\n\n\u201cThe Reader cannot but be surprised, when we assure him that this\nMendicant Companion of his was _no less a Person than my Lord Weymouth\nhimself_, who, being desirous of sounding the Tempers and Dispositions\nof the Gentlemen, and other Inhabitants of his Neighbourhood, put\nhimself into a Habit so vastly beneath his Birth and Fortune. Nor was\nthis the first Time that this great Nobleman had metamorphosed himself\ninto the despicable Shape and Character of a Beggar. He took especial\nCare to conceal it even from his own Family, one Servant only, in whose\nSecresy he greatly confided, being entrusted therewith.\u201d\n\nThis Lord Weymouth was Thomas Thynne, born 1710, who succeeded to the\ntitle of Viscount Weymouth in 1714, and died in 1751.\n\nSo soon as Carew and his companion had parted company, Lord Weymouth\nslipped home by a private way, divested himself of his disguise, and\ncalling for his servants said that he had been informed that two\nmendicant sailors had visited his house, that they were impostors, and\nhe ordered two of his men to mount their horses and bring them before\nhim.\n\nThe servants, naturally, were able to secure Carew alone, and he was\nreconducted to the mansion. My lord accosted him in a very rough\nmanner, asked where the other fellow was, and told him he should be\nmade to find him. \u201cMr. Carew in the mean Time stood thunder-struck,\nexpecting nothing less than Commitment to Prison; but upon Examination,\nmade out his Story as well as he could. After having thus terrified\nand threatened him for a considerable Time, away goes his Lordship,\nand divesting himself of his Habit and Character of a Nobleman, again\nputs on his Rags, and is by his Trusty Valet de Chambre (alone in the\nSecret) ushered into the Room where his Brother Beggar stood sweating\nwith Fear. They confer Notes together, whispering to each other what\nto say, in order that their Accounts might agree when examined apart.\nThe Steward took Mr. Carew aside into a private chamber, and there\npretending that the other Fellow\u2019s Relation contradicted his, proved\nthem to be both Counterfeits; a Prison must be the Portion of them\nboth; indeed nothing was omitted that might strike Mr. Carew with the\ngreatest Terror and Confusion. By this Time my Lord having thrown off\nhis Rags and put on his fine Apparel, Mr. Carew was again brought into\nhis Presence to receive his Sentence; when my Lord, having sufficiently\ndiverted himself with the Consternation of his Brother Mumper,\ndiscovered himself to him.\u201d\n\nAfter that Lord Weymouth, to whom before Bampfylde had confided his\nreal name, showed him hospitality and liberality and took him along\nwith himself to the Warminster horse-races.\n\nWe need not follow in detail all Bampfylde-Moore Carew\u2019s adventures.\nHe went to Sweden, where he collected money on the ground that he\nwas a Presbyterian Minister, to Paris where he posed as a refugee\nRomanist from England; he was again arrested and sent to Maryland, and\nagain escaped. He pretended to be a soldier wounded at Fontenoy, and\nexhibited a raw beefsteak attached to his knee as his open wound. In a\nword his disguises, his rascalities were endless.\n\nMany attempts were made by his family to reclaim him, by Lord Clifford\nwho was his first cousin, but all in vain.\n\nHe died in obscurity in 1758, at the age of fifty-five, at Bickleigh,\nwhere he is buried. It is not known what became of his daughter, the\nonly child he had.\n\n\n\n\nWILLIAM GIFFORD\n\n\nWilliam Gifford, the satirist, was born at Ashburton in April, 1756.\nHis father\u2019s name was Edward, and he says that his great-grandfather\n\u201cwas possessed of considerable property at Halsbury, a parish in the\nneighbourhood of Ashburton.\u201d There is no such parish, but there is the\n_manor_ of Halsbury that belonged to the Giffords or Giffards in the\nneighbourhood of Bideford, in Parkham parish.\n\nAs William Gifford does not give the Christian names of his grandfather\nand great-grandfather, it will not be an easy matter to trace descent\nfrom the Giffards of Halsbury. That estate was sold by Roger Giffard,\nwho died in 1763, seven years after the birth of William.\n\nRoger had inherited Halsbury from his great-uncle, of the same\nChristian name, who died without issue in 1724. There is no trace of\nany legitimate son of this Roger.\n\nNo Giffords appear in the Ashburton register prior to 1716, when Mary,\ndaughter of Edward Gifford, was baptized; but there were Giffords, but\nnot gentlefolk, in the neighbouring parish of Ilsington.\n\nWilliam Gifford\u2019s great-grandfather was of the same generation as Roger\nGiffard of Halsbury, second son of John Giffard, of Brightleigh, who\nsucceeded to Halsbury, under some family arrangement, in consequence\nof the then heads of the Halsbury Giffards dying without issue. It\nis possible that the last Halsbury Giffard may have left his estate\nto Roger of Brightleigh, in consequence of his having disinherited a\nworthless son. In this case William Gifford\u2019s story of a disinheritance\nmay have some foundation. But one would expect to find an entry in the\nParkham registers of the baptism of such a son; and there is none.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n    _I. Hoppner, R.A._\n\n    _R. H. Cromek_\n\nW. GIFFORD]\n\nWilliam\u2019s grandfather was dissipated and extravagant, and his father,\nEdward, was not much better. He had been sent to the Grammar School at\nExeter, but ran away, and entered on board a man-of-war. His father\nbought him out, but he was incorrigible; he again ran away, and joined\nBampfylde-Moore Carew in his vagabondage, when the latter was an old\nman. On leaving this choice society he became a plumber and glazier at\nAshburton, and married a carpenter\u2019s daughter named Elizabeth Cain, 3\nSeptember, 1750.[20] Edward Gifford now moved to South Molton and set\nup there; but after four or five years, having involved himself in\ntrouble by attempting to excite a riot in a Methodist conventicle, he\ndeemed it advisable to show a pair of heels, and went to sea on board\nthe _Lyon_, a transport. Mrs. Gifford then returned to her native\nplace, Ashburton, where William was born.\n\nSo away went Edward, singing, I doubt not, a popular Devonshire song--\n\n    My fortune is pretty well spent,\n      My lands and my cattle and corn;\n    I must put on a face of content,\n      When as naked as when I was born.\n    No more I\u2019ll be troubled with wealth,\n      My pockets are drained full dry,\n    I walk where I please for my health,\n      And never fear robbing, not I.\n\n        *       *       *       *       *\n\n    O once I could lie on the best,\n      The best of good beds made of down,\n    If sure of a flock of good straw\n      I am glad to keep off the cold ground.\n    Some say that Old Care killed the cat,\n      And starv\u2019d her for fear she should die;\n    Henceforth I\u2019ll be wiser than that,\n      To my cares bid for ever good-bye.\n        So adieu to old England, adieu!\n          And adieu to some thousands of pounds!\n        If the world had been done, ere my life was begun,\n          My sorrows would then have had bounds.\n\nMrs. Gifford was left very badly off. All she had for her maintenance\nwas the rent of four small fields--all that remained of the land as yet\nunsold.\n\nEdward Gifford returned from sea in 1764, having been absent eight\nyears. He had received over a hundred pounds of prize money in\naddition to his wages, which were considerable; but as he reappeared\nin Ashburton his pockets were nearly empty. The little property yet\nleft was therefore turned into money, and Edward Gifford set up a\nsecond time as glazier, plumber, and house-painter. William was now\nsent to the free school in S. Laurence\u2019s Chapel, the master of which\nwas Hugh Smerdon. This school was founded by Bishop Stapeldon in the\ntower of the old Chantry Chapel. On the dissolution of the chantries,\nthe scholars and master moved out of the tower into the body of the\nchapel. It was further endowed with funds by Edward Gould, Esq., of\nPridhamsleigh, and Mr. Peter Blundell, of Tiverton. In this school\nWilliam Gifford learned to read, write, and cypher. He remained there\ntill his father\u2019s death three years later. Edward Gifford had learned\nnothing by his misfortunes. He preferred to drain the pewter in the\ntavern to doing pewterer\u2019s work in the shop. He died and was buried 9\nJune, 1767, leaving beside a widow and his son William another son\naged six or eight months. Mrs. Gifford unwisely continued the business\nwithout knowing anything about it, and committed the management to a\ncouple of journeymen, who wasted her property and embezzled her money.\nIn less than a twelvemonth she died, and was buried 29 November, 1768.\nWilliam was then thirteen and his brother not two years old; and they\nhad not a relation or friend in the world. Everything left was seized\nby a man named Carlile for money advanced to Mrs. Gifford. The youngest\nchild was sent to an almshouse, and William was taken charge of by\nCarlile, who was his godfather, not out of pity, but because he was\nafraid of forfeiting the respect of his fellow citizens if he turned\nthe orphan adrift.\n\nThe life of the unfortunate youngest child was short. He was indeed\n\n    The child of misery, baptized in tears.\n\nWhen aged seven the parish bound him apprentice to a farmer of the\nname of Leman, with whom he endured incredible hardships, and at nine\nbroke his thigh. On his recovery he tried the sea, and went on board\nthe _Egmont_, but was allowed to do this by the grasping Leman, as his\napprenticeship was not expired, only on condition that his wages should\nbe paid into his (Leman\u2019s) hands. The poor lad knew no favourable\nchange of fortune, for he fell sick and died at Cork.\n\nCarlile sent the unfortunate William to drudge at the plough; but\nWilliam was physically incapable of driving the plough. During his\nfather\u2019s life, in attempting to clamber up a table, he had fallen\nbackwards and drawn it after him; its edge fell on his chest, and it is\npossible that his spine was also jarred, giving him ever after a look\nof deformity. Ploughing was out of the question, and he was forced to\nbe withdrawn from field labour.\n\nHis guardian then thought of sending him to Newfoundland to assist in\na storehouse, and for this purpose entered into correspondence with\na Mr. Holdsworth, of Dartmouth, who consented to see the boy. When,\nhowever, he had cast eyes on the puny, sickly child, he declined to\nhave anything to do with him, and Carlile then sent him on board a\ncoaster at Brixham, with a man named Full, plying between Dartmouth and\nPlymouth, and sometimes going as far as Portsmouth.\n\nIn this boat he continued for a twelvemonth.\n\nOn Christmas Day, 1770, he was summoned back to Ashburton by his\ngodfather. It seemed that the fishwives who went from Brixham to\nAshburton with their wares had spoken there pretty freely of the little\nragged urchin who wandered about the quay, and of his delicacy and\nof the rough treatment to which he was exposed. This roused a strong\nfeeling in Ashburton against Carlile, and he was constrained to bring\nthe boy back so as to allay the prejudice his conduct had awakened.\nHe sent him again to school in the old chapel, where he sat on the\nbenches at the long desks, and looked up at the huge plaster-work\ngaily-painted shield and bearings of Ashburton over the headmaster\u2019s\ndesk, and those of the benefactors to the school down the sides. Here\nhe worked assiduously at his books and made astonishing progress. He\nwas even employed as a monitor to teach the younger boys, and received\na few coppers for his services. The ambition of his young heart was to\nqualify himself to take the place of the old schoolmaster, Smerdon, who\nwas becoming infirm and past work.\n\nBut these dreams of future happiness in the school where he had\npassed his most enjoyable hours were dashed. Carlile wanted to get the\nlad out of Ashburton and relieve his pocket of the burden of finding\nhim clothes and bread and butter. He was determined to wash his\nhands of the orphan altogether; and accordingly, without consulting\nthe boy\u2019s wishes, indentured him in January, 1772, to a cobbler, a\ncousin of his in Exeter, with whom he would be bound to remain till\nhe was twenty-one. The shoemaker with whom he was placed was a sour\nand narrow-minded Presbyterian, who read nothing but controversial\npamphlets relative to a theological dispute then raging between two of\nthe clergy of Exeter and some of the Dissenting preachers of the city,\nand of these controversial pamphlets the cobbler read only those of his\nown side.\n\nGifford had no books save a Bible, a Thomas \u00e0 Kempis, and a\nblack-letter romance, _Parismus and Parismenus_, that had belonged\nto his mother, together with some chapbooks, _The Golden Bull_, and\nsuch like trifles. However, he found a stray treatise on algebra in\na lodging-house, and commandeered it. But this last book was not at\nthis time of any advantage to him, as to understand it a preliminary\nknowledge of simple equations was necessary--and what \u201cequations\u201d meant\nhe knew no more than did the man in the moon, who had at his command no\nlibrary whatsoever.\n\nHowever, his master\u2019s son had a Flemming\u2019s _Introduction to Knowledge_,\nwhich, as a spiteful boy, he refused to let Gifford use, and hid it\naway. William, however, by accident discovered where the book was\nconcealed and carried it off, sat up for several nights, and poring\nover it with avidity mastered the contents, and was then able to pursue\nhis studies in algebra.\n\nHe says: \u201cI hated my new profession with a perfect hatred; I made no\nprogress in it, and was consequently little regarded in the family, of\nwhich I sank by degrees into the common drudge.\u201d\n\nWhilst at Ashburton his dreary life had been cheered by making friends\nwith some of his schoolfellows. One of these was young Hoppner,\nafterwards a famous portrait painter, a rival of Sir Thomas Lawrence,\nand in after years he looked back to this friendship with pleasure, and\nwrote to him, on the death of Sir Joshua Reynolds--\n\n    One Sun is set, one Glorious Sun, whose rays\n    Long gladdened Britain with no common blaze;\n    O may\u2019st thou soon (for clouds begin to rise)\n    Assert thy station in the Eastern skies,\n    Glow with his fires, and give the world to see\n    Another Reynolds rise, my friend, in thee!\n\nBut dearer still to him had been the Ashburton butcher\u2019s son, John\nIreland, afterwards Dean of Westminster, and to him he wrote--\n\n    Sure if our fates hang on some hidden Power,\n    And take their colour from the natal hour,\n    Then, Ireland! the same planet on us rose,\n    Such the strong sympathies our lives disclose!\n    Thou know\u2019st how soon we felt this influence bland,\n    And sought the brook and coppice, hand in hand,\n    And shaped rude bows, and uncouth whistles blew,\n    And paper kites (a last great effort) flew;\n    And when the day was done, retired to rest,\n    Sleep on our eyes, and sunshine in our breast.\n\nBut in Exeter he had no friends, none who would associate with him. He\nwas utterly alone and miserable. He had not a penny wherewith to bless\nhimself. One only little streak of sunlight entered his gloomy life,\nand this was the cheery notice of a young woman, a neighbour, who daily\ngave the depressed boy, as he passed her door, a smile and a kindly\ngreeting, and the gratitude he felt for this slight encouragement was\nthe first pleasing sensation he had ventured to entertain for many\ndreary months.\n\nIn his _Autobiography_ he says: \u201cPen, ink, and paper were for the most\npart as completely out of my reach as a crown and sceptre.\u201d He had but\none resource, which required the utmost caution and secrecy in applying\nit. He beat out pieces of leather as thin and smooth as possible, and\nin his garret, by the tiny window, with a blunt awl worked out on the\nleather his algebraical calculations.\n\nHitherto he had not so much as dreamed of poetry, but his first attempt\nwas on the occasion of a person who had undertaken to paint a sign\nfor an inn; it was to have been a lion, but the artist had produced\na creature much more like a dog. One of his acquaintances wrote some\nlines on it. Gifford looked them over, shook his head, and said that\nhe thought that he could do better. Accordingly he composed an epigram\non the theme, so cutting and droll that his shopmates declared he\nhad succeeded in a masterly manner. After that he ventured on other\nattempts--doggerel, he says they were, but all caustic and humorous,\nand these circulated, were laughed over, and gained him not a little\napplause. When he had composed some brief little satire he would read\nit to a select circle, and was rewarded by the gift of a few pence,\namounting occasionally to sixpence. Did he write also a few tender and\ngrateful lines to the pretty, smiling girl on the doorstep in the same\nstreet, who had cheered the lonely boy? I have not the smallest doubt\nin my mind that he did.\n\nTo one so long in absolute want of money, such a resource seemed\nlike a gold-mine, and although at this time he thought lightly, even\ncontemptuously of the Muse, and all his energies of mind were devoted\nto mathematics, yet, as these trifles brought him in money, and so\nenabled him to buy paper and ink, and books on geometry and algebra, he\ncontinued to compose verses.\n\nBut a storm was gathering. There is a delightful picture by Phiz in\n_David Copperfield_, where Mr. Creakle, the schoolmaster, enters the\nschoolroom leaning on the arm of his factotum Tungay, just as a boy has\ndrawn a caricature of both on the blackboard.\n\nInevitably some of the keen shafts of Gifford\u2019s ridicule had been\nlevelled at his master, the cobbler. This man laid himself open to\nbeing satirized. He possessed a dictionary of synonyms; and it was\nhis practice never, when he could avoid it, to employ a direct word\nwhen he could find a roundabout mode of expressing himself; a weeding\nwith him would be a _runcation_, and to ride would be to _equitate_.\nIt was not in human nature that William Gifford should withhold his\nhand from turning out some neat lines taking off the sanctimonious and\npretentious cobbler, and so revenging himself for slights and insults\nmany. It is not in human nature that he should refrain from showing\nthis product to his fellow apprentices. It is not in human nature that\nsome sneak among them should not apprise the master or that master\u2019s\nson of what the sullen, discontented lad had done.\n\nWhether it was this, or whether it was that the shoemaker as a strict\nPuritan looked on laughter and jest and poetry as ungodliness, the\nmaster\u2019s anger was raised to fury. He searched Gifford\u2019s garret, took\naway all his books and papers, and dared him to touch paper with pen\nor read any other books in future than the Bible. This was a severe\nblow, and was followed soon after by another that was as great. Mr.\nHugh Smerdon, whom he had hoped to succeed, died, and was succeeded as\nmaster in the Ashburton Grammar School by another man not much older\nand still less qualified for the station than himself. Thus at once\ncrumbled to nothing all his castles in the air that he had built; and\nstill the only light in his darkness continued to be the smile and\nwelcome from the girl a few doors off.\n\nThere is a ballad, \u201cThe Little Girl Down the Lane,\u201d sung to a\nplaintive, sweet air, greatly affected at one time by apprentices, and\nnot yet forgotten in Devonshire; it relates the loves and sorrows of a\n\u2019prentice boy, bound by his articles to a tailor, who loved a maiden\nin the same lane, and who induced her to marry him. But, alas! as the\ncouple were in church and the knot was about to be tied, the master\ntailor got wind of it, rushed in, stopped the ceremony, and carried\noff the bridegroom to his bench again. The words are mere doggerel,\nbut they would appeal to Gifford, as they have appealed to many a\nDevonshire apprentice, and often in his garret he may have hummed over\nthe pathetic air as he thought of the kind young face that alone in\nExeter had smiled on him.\n\nThe darkest hour precedes the dawn. And now, when he was in the\nprofoundest depths of depression, help arrived, and that from an\nunexpected quarter. Mr. William Cookesley, a surgeon of Ashburton,\na large-hearted and open-handed man, having by accident heard some\nof his verses, recalled the unfortunate boy, thrust from pillar to\npost, and inquired after him. His history was well known to all in\nAshburton, and he at once interested himself in Gifford, and not only\ngave from his own scantily furnished purse, but begged help from his\nfriends and patients to cancel Gifford\u2019s apprenticeship and further\nhis education. On examining his literary attainments, he found that,\nwith the exception of mathematics, he was woefully ignorant; his\nhandwriting was bad, and his language very incorrect. Mr. Cookesley\nnow started a subscription list headed \u201cA Subscription for purchasing\nthe remainder of the time of William Gifford, and for enabling him to\nimprove himself in Writing and English Grammar.\u201d Few contributed more\nthan five shillings, and none beyond half a guinea; enough, however,\nwas collected to free him from his apprenticeship, which amounted to\nsix pounds (there were but eighteen months of that bondage to run), and\nalso to maintain him for a few months during which he attended school\nunder the Rev. Thomas Smerdon.\n\nThe hard life, the starvation of his early days, mentally and\nphysically for a while stunted his faculties, so that he could not keep\npace with youths of his own age or even younger, and his master talked\nof putting him into a lower class; on which he wrote the following\nlines, adopting playfully his somewhat significant nickname:--\n\n    Tho\u2019 my name is Cloudy,\n      Yet cast me not away;\n    For many a cloudy morning\n      Brings forth a shining day.\n\nHowever, by dint of hard work, after two years and two months he was\npronounced by Mr. Smerdon fit to go to the University.\n\nAssistance was afforded by Mr. Thomas Taylor, of Denbury, who had\nalready given him friendly support, and who procured for him a Bible\nreadership at Exeter College; and this, with occasional help from Mr.\nCookesley and his friends, was considered sufficient to enable him to\nlive until he could take his degree.\n\nThe first act of Gifford on reaching Oxford was heartily to thank his\nfriend Cookesley for all he had done for him. The surgeon replied:\n\u201cThough I have ever esteemed you, my dear Gifford, yet I was far from\nperceiving the extent of my regard for you till you left Ashburton; and\nI am only reconciled to the loss of your society by the prospects of\nadvantage and honour which are now before you. Believe me, I shall ever\nfeel myself as much interested in your future fortune as if you were my\nbrother or my son.\u201d\n\nWhen Gifford was preparing to issue his _Pastorals_ he insisted\nthat Mr. Cookesley\u2019s name should stand at the head of the list of\nsubscribers. \u201cI will suck my fingers for a month rather than draw my\npen to put a name over yours in my subscription book. Therefore look to\nit! I am Wilful and Wishful; and Wilful will do it.\u201d\n\nUnfortunately those who promised to subscribe to maintain Gifford at\ncollege were slack in paying the sums they had agreed to find, and this\nput both Cookesley and Gifford in pecuniary straits.\n\nCookesley was one day dining with Governor Palk, near Ashburton, when\nhe told him that Gifford was in sore want of a _Juvenal_, and could not\nafford to buy a second-hand copy at sixteen shillings. The governor\nthen exclaimed: \u201cOh! he shall not want a _Juvenal_. My dear\u201d (to his\nwife), \u201cgive Mr. Cookesley a guinea, and tell Gifford from me that he\nshall have his _Juvenal_ and a little firing to read it by; and tell\nhim, moreover, that I\u2019ll make my subscription three guineas annually.\u201d\n\nCookesley\u2019s letters to Gifford were carefully preserved. They were\noften written between sleeping and waking. One day he gives, as\nan excuse for the shortness of his letter: \u201cI am quite fatigued,\nhaving been without sleep for a great part of the past night, and on\nhorseback for several hours to-day.... Your account of the meadows of\nChristchurch almost made me so far forget myself as to cry out, \u2018I am\nresolved forthwith to set out for Oxford\u2019; but, alas! to begin one\u2019s\njourney without money would be rather worse than ending it so.\u201d\n\nMr. Cookesley\u2019s active benevolence was cut short by his untimely death.\nHe did not live long enough to do more than start his young friend on\nthe road to fame and affluence. This event took place on 15 January,\n1781. He died suddenly, and with a letter of Gifford\u2019s unopened in his\nhands. He left his family but scantily provided for, but a man\u2019s good\nworks follow him, and the harvest comes sometime, if late, as we shall\nsee in the sequel.\n\nIn his _Autobiography_, written twenty years later, Gifford says: \u201cIt\nafflicted me beyond measure, and in the interval I have wept a thousand\ntimes at the recollection of his goodness; I yet cherish his memory\nwith filial respect; and at this distant period my heart sinks within\nme at every repetition of his name.\u201d\n\nGifford was, however, encouraged by the unexpected friendship of the\nRev. Servington Savery. He had, moreover, gained other friends, not\nmore kindly, but better able to serve him with their purses. His\nacquaintance with his greatest patron, Earl Grosvenor, was made through\nan accident. He had formed a college acquaintance with a young man\nwho kept up a correspondence with him, and to whom, when this latter\nleft college, he addressed his letters under cover to Lord Grosvenor.\nBut on one occasion he forgot to put his friend\u2019s name to the letter,\nand it was opened by the Earl, who read it, and was surprised at the\nwit and brilliance of scholarship it evinced, and he begged for an\nintroduction. This led to his being sent as tutor to travel abroad\nwith Lord Belgrave, Earl Grosvenor\u2019s son. Under the auspices of this\nnobleman he entered upon London life, and gradually rose to an eminent\nposition among men of letters.\n\nBut there is an episode in his life to which he himself makes no\nallusion in his memoirs. Somewhere about the time when he was able\nto maintain himself, he married a certain Joanna--her surname is not\nknown--but not at Ashburton. It can hardly be doubted that this was\nthe \u201clittle girl down the lane\u201d who had cheered him with her smile and\nvoice in his hours of deepest gloom.\n\nThe entry of this marriage has not yet been found, but it will be\nlighted on some day in the register of one of the Exeter churches. To\nher he often alluded in his poems, as Anna. In an ode to a tuft of\nviolets we find the following:--\n\n    Come then--ere yet the morning ray\n      Has drunk the dew that gems your crest,\n    And drawn your balmiest sweets away;\n      O come and grace my Anna\u2019s breast.\n\n    O! I should think--that fragrant bed\n      Might I but hope with you to share--\n    Years of anxiety repaid\n      By one short hour of transport there.\n\nTo her he appears to have been deeply attached. He moved her to\nAshburton, and there visited her when he could escape from his literary\nlabours in London, and there she faded, and was buried on 27 December,\n1789. Gifford was stricken by her loss in the most sensitive part\nof the human heart, for over her grave he poured forth the pathetic\nlament:--\n\n    I wish I was where Anna lies,\n      For I am sick of lingering here,\n    And every hour affliction cries,\n      \u201cGo, and partake her humble bier.\u201d\n    I wish I could! For when she died\n      I lost my all; and life has proved\n    Since that sad hour a dreary void,\n      A waste, unloving and unloved.\n\nPerhaps the surest testimony to the pain left in his soul by her loss\nis his silence in his _Autobiography_ concerning her. She--and his love\nand his sorrow--were too sacred to be brought before the public eye.\nHe never mentioned her, or that he had been married, even to his best\nfriends; and in Murray\u2019s _Reminiscences_ it is asserted that Gifford\nnever was married.\n\nIn Lord Grosvenor\u2019s house Gifford proceeded with his translation of\n_Juvenal_, that had occupied him off and on for some years. His bitter\nhumour agreed with the biting sarcasm of the Roman poet, and the\nwork on which he was engaged was one of love. But, previous to its\npublication, he hurled his _Baviad_ at the heads of the Della Cruscan\nschool of poetasters, in 1794. The name signifies \u201cof the Bran,\u201d\nand was adopted by a literary coterie, to signify that their poetic\nproductions were sifted, and of the purest wheat. It was a mutual\nadmiration society, and was composed of Robert Merry, a fanatical\nRepublican, who had married Miss Brunton, the celebrated actress, and\nsister of the still more celebrated Louisa, who became Countess of\nCraven; another member of the society was Mrs. Piozzi; others were Mrs.\nRobertson and Bertie Greathead. This set inundated the newspapers,\nmagazines, and annuals with a flood of weak and watery \u201cpoetry.\u201d\n\nAs Byron says, addressing this set:--\n\n    With you I was not: Gifford\u2019s heavy hand\n    Has crush\u2019d, without remorse, your numerous band.\n\nIn 1795 appeared the _M\u00e6viad_, a satire of the same class, in which,\nalthough equally personal, there was less unnecessary virulence.\n\nFollowing up a line of composition so congenial to his temper and\ntalents, he published, in 1800, his _Epistle to Peter Pindar_, of which\nsome lines are given in the article devoted to that abusive poet. This\nroused Wolcot to fury, and he sought out and found the rival satirist\nin the publisher\u2019s shop.\n\nAn amusing account of the fray is given by Mr. Moonshine, \u201cThe Battle\nof the Bards.\u201d Sir Walter Scott says of it: \u201cThough so little an\nathlete, he nevertheless beat off Dr. Wolcot, when that celebrated\nperson, the most unsparing calumniator of his time, chose to be\noffended with Gifford for satirizing him in his turn. Peter Pindar made\na most violent attack, but Gifford had the best of the affray, and\nremained, I think, in triumphant possession of the field of action, and\nof the assailant\u2019s cane.\u201d\n\nScott had a high opinion of Gifford as a poet in his peculiar line. He\nwrote in 1805: \u201cI have a good esteem of Mr. Gifford as a manly English\npoet, very different from most of our modern versifiers.\u201d\n\nIn 1802, Gifford published his principal work, his English version of\n_Juvenal_, the production of which had engrossed the greater part of\nhis life, and which was issued with a dedication to Earl Grosvenor.\n\nSoon after the publication of the _Baviad_, and the _M\u00e6viad_, Gifford\nissued, as editor, the _Anti-Jacobin_ (1797-8). In 1805, he published\nan edition of Massinger; in 1816, an edition of Ben Jonson. His version\nof Persius did not appear till 1821, after which date he completed an\nedition of Ford.\n\nIn 1814, he was at Ryde, whither he had taken his old housekeeper.[21]\nHe wrote: \u201cMy poor housekeeper is going fast. Nothing can save her, and\nI lend all my care to soften her declining days. She has a physician\nevery second day, and takes a world of medicines, more for their profit\nthan her own, poor thing. Guess at my expenses, but I owe in some\nmeasure the extension of my feeble life to her care through a long\nsuccession of years, and I would cheerfully divide my last farthing\nwith her.\u201d\n\nWhen the scheme was first started to issue the _Quarterly Review_, to\ncounteract the influence of the _Edinburgh Review_, Gifford was at once\nproposed as editor. Sir Walter Scott, 25 October, 1808, wrote of the\nselection: \u201cGifford will be admirable at service, but will require,\nor I mistake him much, both a spur and a bridle--a spur on account of\nhabits of literary indolence, induced by weak health, and a bridle\nbecause, having renounced in some degree general society, he cannot be\nsupposed to have the habitual and distinctive feeling enabling him to\njudge at once and decidedly on the mode of letting his shafts fly down\nthe breeze of popular opinion. But he has worth, wit, learning, and\nextensive information.\u201d\n\nFrom this time the influence and celebrity of Gifford may be deemed\nestablished; nor were his services as a party man forgotten by those\nwho could reward him, as he possessed two sinecures, the controllership\nof the lottery, at a salary of \u00a3600 per annum, and paymastership of\nthe band of gentlemen pensioners, at \u00a3300 per annum. As editor of\nthe _Quarterly_, he received a salary of \u00a3900 per annum, and also a\npension of \u00a3400 from his former pupil, now Earl Grosvenor. He bitterly\nlamented, long ere this, that before the means of helping his little\nbrother, nursed in the almshouse at Ashburton, was in his power, that\nlittle brother had died.\n\nHe was alone in the world, and his early trials, his loss of the only\nbeings whom he had loved, soured his temper, and made him savage and\nvirulent in his treatment of such as differed from him. One great\ndefect he showed as editor. He would not consider a work to be\nreviewed on its own merits, but looked first to see what were the\npolitics of the author before he praised or condemned the book.\n\nIn personal appearance he was not striking. George Ticknor, in his\n_Life, Letters, and Journals_, says, under 19 June, 1814: \u201cAmong other\npersons I brought letters to Gifford, the satirist, but never saw him\ntill yesterday. Never was I so mistaken in my anticipations. Instead of\na tall and handsome man, as I had supposed him from his pictures, a man\nof severe and bitter remarks in conversation, such as I had good reason\nto believe him from his books, I found him a short, deformed, and ugly\nlittle man, with a large head sunk between his shoulders, and one of\nhis eyes turned outward, but withal one of the best-natured, most open,\nand well-bred gentlemen I have met.\u201d\n\nFrom the ability and keenness of the _Baviad_ and _M\u00e6viad_, and from\na promise made in his edition of the latter to continue his satirical\nwritings, it was hoped that he would do this, but he did not. Byron\nsays:--\n\n    \u201cWhy slumbers Gifford?\u201d once was asked in vain.\n    Why slumbers Gifford? let us ask again.\n    Are there no follies for his pen to purge?\n    Are there no fools whose backs demand the scourge?\n    Are there no sins for satire\u2019s bard to greet?\n    Stalks not gigantic Vice in every street?\n    Shall peers or princes tread pollution\u2019s path\n    And \u2019scape alike the law\u2019s and Muse\u2019s wrath?\n    Nor blaze with guilty stare through future time,\n    Eternal beacons of consummate crime?\n    Arouse thee, Gifford! be thy promise claim\u2019d,\n    Make bad men better, or, at least, ashamed.\n\nOne curious peculiarity Gifford had. He made his old housekeeper sit in\nhis study doing her needlework whilst he was engaged on his literary\nlabours. To the end he maintained a warm friendship with Dr. Ireland,\nDean of Westminster, son of a butcher of Ashburton, and a schoolfellow\nin former days, and when he died he bequeathed to him his library.\n\n\u201cThe last month of Gifford\u2019s life was but a slow dying\u201d, says Mr.\nSmiles. \u201cHe was sleepless, feverish, oppressed by an extreme difficulty\nof breathing, which often deprived him of speech; and his sight had\nfailed. Towards the end of his life he would sometimes take up a pen,\nand after a vain attempt to write, would throw it down, saying, \u2018No,\nmy work is done.\u2019 Even thinking caused him pain. As his last hour drew\nnear, his mind began to wander. \u2018These books have driven me mad,\u2019 he\nonce said; \u2018I must read my prayers.\u2019 He passed gradually away, his\npulse ceasing to beat five hours before his death. And then he slept\nout of life on the 31st December, 1826, in his 71st year.\u201d\n\nHe left \u00a325,000 of personal property. He left the bulk of it to the\nRev. John Cookesley, son of his early patron, whom he also instituted\nresiduary legatee. He also left a sum of money the interest of which\nwas to be distributed annually among the poor of Ashburton.\n\nFinally, one touching trait in the character of Gifford was his\nexceeding love for children. Looking back at his own desolate, loveless\nchildhood, full of hardship, his heart expanded towards all little\nones, and he delighted in attending juvenile parties, and rejoiced\nat seeing the children frisking about in the happiness of youth. His\ndomestic favourites were his dog and his cat, both of which he dearly\nloved. He was also most kind and considerate to his domestic servants;\nand all who knew him well knew that his bark was worse than his bite;\nhe made no answer, did not retaliate when attacked vindictively,\ninsultingly by Hazlitt, and when William Cobbett called him \u201cthe\ndottrel-headed old shuffle-breeches of the _Quarterly Review_\u201d he cast\nback no vituperative term in reply.\n\nGifford was a staunch friend. He left his house in James Street,\nBuckingham Gate, to the widow of his old friend Hoppner, the portrait\npainter.\n\nSir Walter Scott wrote on 17 January, 1827: \u201cI observe in the papers my\nold friend Gifford\u2019s death. He was a man of rare attainments and many\nexcellent qualities. His _Juvenal_ is one of the best versions ever\nmade of a classic author, and his satire of the _Baviad_ and _M\u00e6viad_\nsquabashed at one blow a set of coxcombs who might have humbugged the\nworld long enough. As a commentator he was capital, could he but have\nsuppressed his rancours against those who had preceded him in the\ntask; but a misconstruction or misinterpretation, nay, the misplacing\nof a comma, was in Gifford\u2019s eyes a crime worthy of the most severe\nanimadversion. The same fault of extreme severity went through his\ncritical labours, and in general he flagellated with so little pity,\nthat people lost their sense of the criminal\u2019s guilt, in dislike of the\nsavage pleasure which the executioner seemed to take in inflicting the\npunishment. This lack of temper probably arose from indifferent health,\nfor he was very valetudinary, and realized two verses, wherein he says\nFortune assigned him:--\n\n            One eye not over good,\n    Two sides that to their cost have stood\n      A ten years\u2019 hectic cough,\n    Aches, stitches, all the various ills\n    That swell the devilish doctor\u2019s bills,\n      And sweep poor mortals off.\n\nBut he might also justly claim as his gift the moral qualities\nexpressed in the next fine stanza:--\n\n                                A soul\n    That spurns the crowd\u2019s malign control,\n      A firm contempt of wrong;\n    Spirits above affliction\u2019s power,\n    And skill to soothe the lingering hour\n      With no inglorious song.\n\n\u201cHe was a little man, dumped up together, and so ill made as to seem\nalmost deformed, but with a singular expression of talent in his\ncountenance.\u201d\n\nGifford was buried in Westminster Abbey, and his schoolfellow and\nlifelong friend, Dean Ireland, was afterwards buried in the same grave.\n\nThe authorities for his life are his own biographical account of his\nearly life, and Smiles\u2019s _Memoir and Correspondence of John Murray, the\nPublisher_. London, 1891.\n\nAlso a \u201cLife,\u201d by Mr. J. S. Amery, in the now extinct _Ashburtonian_,\n1891.\n\nAlso a brief account by the Rev. Treasurer Hawker in \u201cTwo Ashburton\nScholars,\u201d in the _Transactions_ of the Devonshire Association, 1876.\n\n\n\n\nBENJAMIN R. HAYDON\n\n\nThe only painting by which this artist is generally known is that of\nNapoleon standing on a cliff at S. Helena, gazing on the departing\nglories of the day as the sun sets in the ocean. There is feeling and\npathos in the picture, as there is in Watts\u2019s \u201cYoung Man with Great\nPossessions,\u201d although in both only the back is seen of the personage\ndepicted. Haydon did his \u201cNapoleon Musing\u201d over a good many times. He\nsold a copy to the King of Hanover.\n\nOn 7 March, 1844, he entered in his diary: \u201cI have painted nineteen\nNapoleons. Thirteen Musings at S. Helena, and six other Musings. By\nheavens! how many more?\u201d\n\nAnd of all his pictures Haydon thought least of this. But he was a man\nmistaken in his estimate of his own powers and of what he could do. He\nwanted to be an heroic painter, but projected his own personality upon\nhis canvas, and as he was a man with disproportionately short legs, his\n\u201cMoses,\u201d his \u201cAlexander,\u201d and other heroes must be short nether-limbed\nas well.\n\nThe Haydons of Cadhay, in Ottery S. Mary parish, were an ancient\nfamily. They built the south porch of the collegiate church in 1571,\nand set up on it the inscription \u201cHe that no il will Do no thynt yt\nlang yto,\u201d or in plainer English, \u201cHe that no ill will do, let him\ndo nothing that belongs thereto\u201d; a motto that it had been well for\nBenjamin had he retained it and acted on it to the end.\n\nThe authentic pedigree of the Haydons goes back to the reign of Henry\nIII. They were, originally, of Ebford, in Woodbury parish, and did not\nacquire Cadhay till the beginning of the seventeenth century; but in\nthe eighteenth century they got into difficulties through expensive\nlawsuits, and lost both Cadhay and Ebford, and disappeared as water\nthat sinks into the sand. The last of whom we know anything was Gideon\nHaydon, of Cadhay, who died in 1707, and left two sons, Gideon and John.\n\nBenjamin Robert Haydon in his _Autobiography_ says: \u201cMy father was the\nlineal descendant of one of the oldest families in Devon, the Haydons\nof Cadhay. The family was ruined by a chancery suit, and the children\nwere bound out to various trades. Among them was my grandfather, who\nwas bound out to Mr. Savery, of Slade, near Plymouth. He conducted\nhimself well, and gained the esteem of his master, who in time made him\nhis steward. In a few years he saved money, and on the death of Mr.\nSavery set up a bookseller\u2019s shop in Plymouth, where he died in 1773\nfrom disease of the heart. My grandfather married Mary Baskerville, a\ndescendant of the great printer. At my grandfather\u2019s death my father\nsucceeded to the business, and married a Miss Cobley, daughter of a\nclergyman, who had the living of Ide, near Exeter. He was killed early\nin life by the fall of a sounding-board on his head while preaching.\u201d\n\nUnfortunately B. R. Haydon does not give the Christian names of his\nfather and grandfather, so that we are not able to say where they hitch\non to the submerged Haydons of Cadhay.\n\n[Illustration: B. R. HAYDON\n\n_From a drawing by David Wilkie_]\n\nB. R. Haydon left at his death not only an _Autobiography_ extending\nto the year 1820, but also a _Journal_ in twenty-six folio volumes.\nThe former has been published entire, but the _Journal_ has been\ncompressed, and the whole edited in three volumes by Mr. Tom Taylor\n(London, 1853). It is not my intention in a short article to go through\nthe entire Life and further to compress it, but rather to pick out\na few salient points, and to draw from other sources more impartial\nestimates of Haydon than he formed of himself and of his work.\n\nAs the opening of his _Autobiography_ contains some lively sketches of\nold Plymouth, I shall extract these.\n\n\u201cMy father sent me to the grammar school under the Rev. Dr. Bidlake,\na man of some taste. He painted and played on the organ, patronized\ntalent, was fond of country excursions, wrote poems which nobody ever\nread.\n\n\u201cFinding that I had a taste for art, he always took me, with another\nboy, from our studies to attend his caprices in painting. Here his odd\nand peculiar figure, for his back was bent from fever, induced us to\nplay him tricks. As he was obliged to turn round and walk away to study\nthe effect of his touches, we used to rub out what he had done before\nhe returned, when his perplexity and simplicity were delightful to\nmischievous boys. Once he sent my companion to cut off the skirt of an\nold coat to clean his palette with, and the boy cut off the skirt of\nhis best Sunday coat. Poor dear Dr. Bidlake went to Stonehouse Chapel\nin his great-coat the next Sunday, and when he took it off to put on\nthe surplice the clerk exclaimed in horror, \u2018Good God, Sir! somebody\nhas cut off the skirt of your coat!\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cMy father used to show my drawings to his customers. One of them was\na very great man in the town--merchant and, I believe, consul. John H.\n[Hawker] was a very worthy but pompous man, exceedingly vain, very\nfond of talking French before people who could not speak a word of it,\nand quoting Italian sayings of which he knew little; liked everything\nbut steady attention to his business, was a good father, good husband,\nand to play soldier for a week at any time would have laid his head\nupon the block. During the dread of invasion volunteer corps became the\nrage. The very infants in the nursery played soldiers too. Mr. John\n[Hawker] either raised or joined a corps of volunteers, and warier\nmen made him colonel, that the expense might not fall on their heads.\nColonel he was, and devoted himself to the occupation with so much\nsincerity that his men in discipline and order would certainly not have\ndisgraced a marching militia regiment. After review days, nothing gave\nthe Colonel so much delight as marching right through the town from the\nHoe, to the horror and consternation of the apple-women. The moment the\ndrums and trumpets were heard sounding at the bottom of Market Street,\nthe scramble to get out of the way among the poor old women is not to\nbe imagined. Market Street in Plymouth is a sort of hill, and how often\nas a boy have I left my drawing, dashed down and out to the top of the\nhill to see the Colonel in all his glory.\n\n\u201cFirst came in view his feather and cap, then his large, red,\npride-swollen, big-featured face, with a smile on it in which grim war,\ndignity, benevolent condescension, stolidity, and self-satisfaction\nwere mixed in equal proportions; then came his charger, curvetting\nwith graceful fire, now hind-quarters this side, now fore-quarters\nthat side, with the Colonel--sword drawn and glittering in the\nsun--recognizing the wives and children of the ironmongers, drapers,\nand grocers who crowded the windows to see him pass. Then came the\nband, big drum and trumpets; then the grenadier company with regular\ntramp; then the Colonel\u2019s eldest son, John, out of the counting-house,\nwho was captain; then his lieutenant, an attorney\u2019s clerk; then the\nColonel and band turned to the right down Broad Street--the music\nbecame fainter and fainter, the rear lagged after. The Colonel drew\nup his regiment before his own parlour windows, and solaced by white\nhandkerchiefs and fair lips, dismissed his men, and retired to the\nprivacy of domestic life until a new field day recalled him to the\nglory of the Hoe and the perils of apple-stalls and slippery streets.\u201d\n\nB. R.\u2019s father had been a fast and dissipated man, but before he\nutterly sank past recovery, he pulled himself together and became\na man of business, always somewhat shifty, and disposed to enjoy\nhimself rather than stick to work. On one occasion the bookseller\nwas asked angrily by a important customer why he had not fulfilled\nhis oft-repeated promise to procure some young walnuts to which he\nhad access, and his reply was that there had been such a demand for\ngun-stocks from the war then raging in the Peninsula that there were no\ntrees left.\n\nA somewhat congenial spirit came to Plymouth and settled into his\nhouse. This was a Mr. Cobley, brother of Mrs. Haydon, a man fond of\nsociety and of his bottle, accomplished, and so habitually indolent\nthat when he came to see his sister on a six weeks\u2019 visit he never had\nthe energy to remove, got embedded in the family, stayed thirty years,\nand quitted it and life together.\n\nB. R. does not appear to have had much love for his father, but he\nalways speaks of his mother with the tenderest affection, and _her_\nopposition to her only boy\u2019s choice of the profession of a painter cost\nhim a severe struggle before he could disregard her entreaties to abide\nby his father\u2019s trade.\n\nHaydon was little more than a boy in years when he left home in May,\n1804, and plunged into the uncertain depths of London life. He had an\nintroduction to Northcote, a Devonshire man like himself, but jealous,\nspiteful, and unwilling to help a struggling beginner. And he was\nfortunate in attracting the notice of Fuseli, Keeper of the Royal\nAcademy, who liked him, and helped him to master the rudiments of his\nprofession.\n\nHaydon admired the effects of London smoke.\n\n\u201cBy Gode,\u201d said Fuseli to him one day, \u201cit\u2019s like the smoke of the\nIsraelites making bricks.\u201d \u201cIt is grand,\u201d retorted B. R., \u201cfor it is\nthe smoke of a people who would have made the Egyptians make bricks for\nthem.\u201d\n\nHe became friendly with Wilkie, then a raw, red-headed Scotch lad,\nwho had made a hit, and taken the town by storm with his \u201cVillage\nPoliticians.\u201d\n\nDavid Wilkie was canny about money. One day he was showing his fellow\npupils some drawing-paper he was using. \u201cWhy, Wilkie!\u201d exclaimed\nHaydon, \u201cwhere did you get this? Bring us a quire to-morrow.\u201d\nHe promised that he would. The next day, and the day after, no\ndrawing-paper. When remonstrated with, David quietly excused himself,\n\u201cWeel, weel, jest give me the money first, and ye\u2019ll be sure to hae the\npaper.\u201d\n\nWhen thus starting as a painter, a hint was given to Haydon, by this\nsuccess of Wilkie, what was the line that he should pursue, what was\nthe style of picture that would appeal to the public. But he was too\nobstinate to take the hint. His idea was the High Art, heroic subjects\nfrom mythology or classic history, or from the Old Testament, on huge\ncanvases--themes that interested few, and of a size that few could buy.\n\n\u201cYour paintings are too big,\u201d said a duchess to him one day; \u201cwe have\nnot houses that can contain them.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not that,\u201d replied Haydon; \u201cit is that your hearts are too\ncontracted to appreciate them.\u201d\n\nIn 1807 Haydon was summoned to Plymouth by the failure of his mother\u2019s\nhealth.\n\n\u201cIncessant anxiety and trouble, and her only son\u2019s bursting away from\nher at a time when she had hoped for his consolations in her old age,\ngradually generated that dreadful disease _angina pectoris_. Her doom\nwas sealed, and death held her as his own, whenever it should please\nhim to claim her. Her fine heroic face began to wither and grow pale;\nloss of exercise brought on weakness and derangement. She imagined that\nthe advice of an eminent surgeon in London might save her, and though I\nand everybody else knew that nothing could be done, we acceded to her\nwish immediately.\n\n\u201cI painted her portrait, and as she sat I saw a tear now and then\nfill her eye and slowly trickle down her cheek, and then she would\nlook almost indignant at her own weakness. My dear mother felt her\napproaching end so clearly that she made every arrangement with\nreference to her death. I went to Exeter to get her apartments ready\nat the hotel the day before she left home. She had passed a great part\nof her life with a brother (the prebend of Wells), who took care of a\nMr. Cross, a dumb miniature painter. Cross (who in early life had made\na fortune by his miniatures) loved my mother, and proposed to her, but\nshe, being at that time engaged to my father, refused him, and they had\nnever seen each other since. He retired from society, deeply affected\nby his disappointment. The day after leaving Exeter we stopped at\nWells, as my mother wished to see my uncle once more.\n\n\u201cThe meeting was very touching. As I left the room and crossed the\nhall I met a tall, handsome old man; his eyes seemed to look me\nthrough. Muttering hasty, unintelligible sounds he opened the door,\nsaw my mother, and rushed over to her, as if inspired of a sudden with\nyouthful vigour. Then, pressing her to his heart, he wept, uttering\nsounds of joy not human. This was Cross. They had not met for thirty\nyears. We came so suddenly to my uncle\u2019s they had never thought of\ngetting him out of the way. It seemed as if the great sympathizing\nspirit once again brought them together before their souls took flight.\n\n\u201cHe was in an agony of joy and pain, smoothing her hair, and pointing\nfirst to her cheek and then to his own, as if to say, \u2018How altered!\u2019\nThe moment he darted his eyes upon my sister and me, he looked as if he\nfelt we were her children, but did not much notice us beyond this.\n\n\u201cMy sister, hanging over my poor mother, wept painfully. She, Cross,\nmy uncle and aunt, were all sobbing and much touched; for my part, my\nchest hove up and down as I struggled with emotions at this singular\nand afflicting meeting. Disappointment in love, where the character is\namiable, gives a pathetic interest to woman or man. But how much more\nthan ordinary sympathy must he excite who, dumb by nature, can only\nexpress his feelings by the lightenings of the eye! Thus had this man\nbeen left for thirty years, brooding over affections wounded as for\nthe mere pleasure of torture. For many months after my mother married\nhe was frantic and ungovernable at her continued absence, and then\nsank into sullen sourness. His relations and friends endeavoured to\nexplain to him the cause of her going away, but he was never satisfied,\nand never believed them; now, when the recollection of her, young\nand beautiful, might occasionally have soothed his imagination, she\nsuddenly bursts on him with two children, the offspring of her marriage\nwith his rival--and that so altered, bowed, and weakened as to root\nout the association of her youthful beauty with the days of his happy\nthoughts.\n\n\u201cThere are moments of suffering or joy when all thought of human\nfrailties is swept away in the gush of sympathy. Such a moment was\nthis. His anger, his frantic indignation, and his sullen silence at her\nlong absence, all passed away before her worn and sickly face. He saw\nher before him, broken and dying; he felt all his affection return,\nand flinging himself forward on the table, he burst into a paroxysm of\ntears as if his very heart-strings would crack. By degrees we calmed\nhim, for nature had been relieved by this agonizing grief, and they\nparted in a few moments for the last time.\u201d\n\nNext day Haydon and his sister went on with their mother, but did not\nreach London with her; she died at Salt Hill, in the inn.\n\nSurely had B. R. but deigned to paint a picture of the old dumb\nlover with arms outspread on the table, weeping--as he so touchingly\ndescribes the scene, it would have appealed to the public. But no! the\nscene was not heroic. Old Cross was not a classic figure. Haydon had\nresolved to be a painter of heroic in art or be nothing.\n\nThe Royal Academy would have none of him, and he attacked it furiously\nat point of the bayonet. That the Royal Academy hampered the progress\nof Art, stifled genius, crushed out originality was true then as some\nassert it is true now; but the Royal Academicians did not relish\nbeing told these truths by one just growing to manhood; and it was\nimpolitic in Haydon to set those in arms against him who posed and\nwere regarded as authorities on Art. Nothing pleased him but vast\ncanvases. On 24 July, 1825, he refused a commission of five hundred\nguineas from Sir John Broughton to paint a small picture of Edward the\nBlack Prince distinguishing an ancestor on the field of Poitiers, lest\nit should interfere with his carrying out of one of his unsaleable\nmonstrous canvases. The pictures that sold were portraits. \u201cMy whole\nsoul and body raise the gorge at portrait,\u201d he wrote in his diary.\nWhen he was engaged to do a family piece, he says that it gave him a\nnasty taste in his mouth. Yet, as his great subjects would not sell,\nhe was forced to paint portraits; and he writes, 24 July, 1824: \u201cFor\nthese two months, having at last devoted myself to portraits, I have\nenjoyed tranquillity, luxury, quiet, and peace, and have maintained my\nfamily with respectability.\u201d And then he bursts forth into scorn and\nloathing of the subject. Indeed, he says he gloried in doing portraits\nbadly, because it was unworthy of him and his high ideals. \u201cI have an\nexquisite gratification in painting portraits wretchedly.\u201d 27 March,\n1843: \u201cThe moment I touch a great canvas I think I see my Creator\nsmiling on all my efforts. The moment I do mean things for subsistence\nI feel as if He had turned His back, and, what\u2019s more, I believe it.\u201d\n21 January, 1842: \u201cThere is nothing like a large canvas. Let me be\npenniless, helpless, hungry, thirsty, croaking or fierce, the blank,\neven space of a large canvas restores me to happiness, to anticipations\nof glory. My heart expands, and I stride my room like a Hercules.\u201d\nBorrow, in his _Lavengro_, has devoted a chapter to a visit to Haydon.\nA commission had been given to the artist to paint the portrait of\nthe Mayor of Norwich. He was only reconciled to the idea when it was\nsuggested to him that he should represent the mayor as issuing from\nunder a Norman archway.\n\n\u201cThe painter of the heroic resided a great way off, at the western end\nof the town. We had some difficulty in obtaining admission to him; a\nmaidservant, who opened the door, eyeing us somewhat suspiciously. It\nwas not until my brother had said that he was a friend of the painter\nthat we were permitted to pass the threshold. At length we were shown\ninto the studio, where we found the painter, with an easel and brush,\nstanding before a huge canvas, on which he had lately commenced\npainting a heroic picture. The painter might be about thirty-five years\nold; he had a clever, intelligent countenance, with a sharp grey eye;\nhis hair was dark-brown, and cut _\u00e0 la_ Raphael, that is, that there\nwas very little before and much behind; he did not wear a neckcloth,\nbut in its stead a black riband, so that his neck, which was rather\nfine, was somewhat exposed; he had a broad, muscular breast, and I make\nno doubt that he would have been a fine figure, but unfortunately his\nlegs and thighs were somewhat short.\n\n\u201cMy brother gave him a brief account of his commission. At the mention\nof the hundred pounds I observed the eyes of the painter to glisten.\n\u2018Really,\u2019 said he, \u2018it was very kind to think of me. I am not very fond\nof painting portraits; but a mayor is a mayor, and there is something\ngrand in the idea of the Norman arch. I\u2019ll go; moreover, I am just at\nthis moment confoundedly in need of money, and when you knocked at the\ndoor I thought it was some dun. I don\u2019t know how it is, but in the\ncapital they have no taste for the heroic. They will scarce look at a\nheroic picture.\u2019\n\n\u201cThereupon it was arranged between the painter and my brother that they\nshould depart [for Norwich] the next day but one; they then began\nto talk of art. \u2018I\u2019ll stick to the heroic,\u2019 said the painter; \u2018I now\nand then dabble in the comic, but what I do gives me no pleasure--the\ncomic is low; there is nothing like the heroic. I am engaged here on\na heroic picture,\u2019 said he, pointing to the canvas; \u2018the subject is\nPharaoh dismissing Moses from Egypt. That finished figure is Moses.\u2019\nThe picture was not far advanced; as I gazed upon it, it appeared to\nme that there was something defective--something unsatisfactory in the\nfigure.\n\n\u201cWe presently afterwards departed. My brother talked much about the\npainter. \u2018He is a noble fellow,\u2019 said my brother, \u2018but, like many other\nnoble fellows, has a great many enemies; he is hated by his brethren of\nthe brush--but above all, the race of portrait painters detest him for\nhis heroic tendencies. It will be a kind of triumph to the last when\nthey hear he has condescended to paint a portrait; however, that Norman\narch will enable him to escape from their malice.... By the by, do you\nnot think that figure of Moses is somewhat short?\u2019 And then it appeared\nto me that I had thought the figure of Moses somewhat short, and I told\nmy brother so.\n\n\u201cOn the morrow my brother departed with the painter for the old town,\nand there the painter painted the mayor. The mayor was a mighty, portly\nman, with a bull\u2019s head, black hair, body like that of a dray-horse,\nand legs and thighs corresponding--a man six foot high at the least. To\nhis bull\u2019s head, black hair, and body, the painter had done justice;\nthere was one point, however, in which the portrait did not correspond\nwith the original--the legs were disproportionably short, the painter\nhaving substituted his own legs for those of the mayor.\n\n\u201cShort legs in a heroic picture will never do; and, upon the whole,\nI think the painter\u2019s attempt at the heroic in painting the mayor of\nthe old town a decided failure. If I am now asked whether the picture\nwould have been a heroic one provided the painter had not substituted\nhis own legs for those of the mayor, I must say I am afraid not. I have\nno idea of making heroic pictures out of English mayors, even with the\nassistance of Norman arches; yet I am sure that capital pictures might\nbe made of English mayors, not issuing out of Norman arches, but rather\nfrom the door of the Chequers, or the Brewers Three. The painter in\nquestion had great comic power, which he scarcely ever cultivated; he\nwould fain be a Raphael, which he never could be, when he might have\nbeen something quite as good--another Hogarth; the only comic piece\nwhich he ever presented to the world being little inferior to the best\nof that illustrious master.\u201d\n\nBorrow was wrong in saying that Haydon did only one comic piece; he did\nthree or four, of which presently.\n\nOn 10 October, 1821, Haydon married a widow with two children by the\nfirst husband; and to the end he remained devotedly attached to his\ndear Mary. She had a little money of her own.\n\nHe had got \u00a33000 receipts by exhibition of his picture \u201cChrist\u2019s\nEntry into Jerusalem,\u201d but had to sell it, being short of money, for\n\u00a3240; and he was forced to dispose of his \u201cRaising of Lazarus\u201d to\nBinus, his upholsterer, to clear off a debt, for \u00a3300. He certainly\ndid make a good deal of money, but was always in debt, often without\na shilling in his pocket. His huge canvases did not sell. He says of\nthem, in 1826, when Reinagle questioned him about them, \u201cWhere is your\n\u2018Solomon,\u2019 Mr. Haydon?\u201d \u201cHung up in a grocer\u2019s shop.\u201d \u201cWhere is your\n\u2018Jerusalem\u2019?\u201d \u201cIn a wareroom in Holborn.\u201d \u201cWhere is your \u2018Lazarus\u2019?\u201d\n\u201cIn an upholsterer\u2019s shop in Mount Street.\u201d \u201cAnd your \u2018Macbeth\u2019?\u201d\n\u201cIn Chancery.\u201d \u201cYour \u2018Pharaoh\u2019?\u201d \u201cIn an attic, pledged.\u201d \u201cAnd your\n\u2018Crucifixion\u2019?\u201d \u201cIn a hayloft.\u201d \u201cAnd \u2018Silenus\u2019?\u201d \u201cSold for half-price.\u201d\nBut he was incapable of bending his proud spirit to accommodate his\nstyle to the popular taste. He besieged the ministers, he pestered\ngreat men to get the Government to encourage High Art. If noble patrons\nwould not buy heroic pictures on huge canvases, the State should do it\nto adorn public buildings. He took pupils,[22] who paid large premiums,\nand he got them to back his bills, and involved them in heavy outlay\nto meet them, and then pupils shrank from coming near him. He pestered\nthe nobility, all wealthy men for loans, for grants, for pecuniary aid\nto help him out of immediate difficulties. He was arrested again and\nagain, and sent to the King\u2019s Bench, had to appear in the Insolvent\nDebtors\u2019 Court, had distraints levied on his pictures, his furniture,\nhis books. He went about lecturing on Art, and these lectures brought\nhim in a respectable revenue, but he was ever underwater. How he\nsquandered his money does not appear in his journals; but he certainly\ndid earn sufficient with his brush to have maintained himself and his\nfamily in respectability had he known how to economize. He got into the\nhands of moneylenders, and was squeezed. He met with generous aid from\nnumerous quarters, but was no sooner relieved of one pressing call than\nhe fell into fresh difficulties.\n\nIf he were taken up by a noble patron and invited to his table, he\noffended him by contradiction and rudeness. \u201cI do not think I am liked\nin company, except by women,\u201d he admits in his journal.\n\nThe comic painting alluded to by Borrow was thus originated whilst\nHaydon was in the Debtors\u2019 Prison at King\u2019s Bench:--\n\n\u201cI was sitting in my own apartment, buried in my own reflexions,\nmelancholy, but not despairing, at the darkness of my prospects and the\nunprotected condition of my wife and children, when a sudden tumultuous\nand hearty laugh below brought me to the window.\n\n\u201cBefore me were three men marching in solemn procession, the one in the\ncentre a tall young, reckless, bushy-headed, light-hearted Irishman,\nwith a rusty cocked-hat under his arm, a bunch of flowers in his bosom,\nhis curtain-rings round his neck for a gold chain, a mopstick for a\nwhite wand, tipped with an empty strawberry-pottle, bows of ribbons on\nhis shoulders, and a great hole in his elbow; on his right was another\nperson in burlesque solemnity, with a sash and real white wand; two\nothers, fantastically dressed, came immediately behind, and the whole\nfollowed by characters of all descriptions, some with flags, some with\nstaffs, and all in perfect merriment and mock gravity, adapted to some\nmasquerade. I asked what it meant, and was told it was a procession of\nburgesses, headed by the Lord High Sheriff and Lord Mayor of the King\u2019s\nBench Prison, going in state to open the poll, in order to elect two\nmembers to protect their rights in the House of Commons. I returned to\nmy room, and laughed and wept by turns! Here were a set of creatures\nwho must have been in want and in sorrow, struggling (with a spiked\nwall before their eyes) to bury remembrance in the humour of a farce.\u201d\n\nHe painted the scene of the \u201cMock Election in Prison,\u201d and sold it to\nthe King for \u00a3525, after having made \u00a3321 by it in exhibition. Then he\npainted another comic picture, \u201cChairing the Member,\u201d for which he got\n\u00a3422, beside \u00a3168 by exhibition. A third humorous picture was \u201cPunch\nand Judy.\u201d\n\nBut though he made money by these paintings in the style of Hogarth, he\nhated doing them. His soul soared to High Art.\n\n\u201cAt the table of Mr. Wyatt,\u201d says the Rev. J. Richardson in his\n_Recollections_ (London, 1856), I met the late Mr. Haydon, the\nartist, with whom I had been previously acquainted. Haydon was\nundoubtedly a man of considerable talent, but of insatiable vanity.\nHe had concentrated in his own estimation of his merits those atoms\nof admiration that ought to have been diffused among the general\ncommunity, who were certainly somewhat slow in recognizing the claims\nwhich he was continually urging; indeed, they were far too slow to\nsatisfy his craving for applause, and for a slice or two of that\nsolid pudding which many people value much more than empty praise.\nThe consequence was that he was continually indulging in querulous\ncomplaint and bitter vituperation; everybody was rewarded except\nhimself; nobody but himself had any merit or capacity or feeling for\nArt. All the world were fools; he was the little bit of leaven that\nwas to bring the solid lump into fermentation; the one wise man whose\npresence rescued the mass of mankind from unqualified insignificance\nand fatuity. This inordinate vanity overlaid the many good qualities\nwhich he possessed, blinded his perspicuity, and perverted his\njudgment.\u201d\n\nOn 16 October, 1834, the Houses of Parliament were consumed by fire,\nand Barry was entrusted with designs for the erection of a new palace,\nwhich was begun in 1840. Now was the opportunity for which Haydon had\nyearned. The new Houses of Parliament must receive decoration in\nfresco. In 1842 a Fine Arts Commission issued a notice of conditions\nfor a cartoon competition. Haydon welcomed this with delight. Who but\nhe was competent to execute such great works? And he laboured hard at\nthe study of fresco and in the preparation of cartoons. But he was\ndisappointed at not being given the chief place, without question, in\nthe decoration of the Houses.\n\n\u201cAfter thirty-eight years of bitter suffering,\u201d he wrote, \u201cperpetual\nstruggle, incessant industry, undaunted perseverance, four\nimprisonments, three ruins, and five petitions to the House--never\nletting the subject of State support rest night or day, in prison or\nout; turning everything before the public--the wants of his family, the\nagonies of his wife, the oppression of the Academy, directing all to\nthe great cause [of High Art], it is curious to see that the man who\nhas got hold of the public heart, who is listened to and hailed by the\nmasses--it is curious, as a bit of human justice, to find chairman,\ncommittee, witnesses, pupils, avoid throughout the whole inquiry any\nthought, word, or deed which could convey to a foreign nation or a\nnative artist, a noble lord or an honourable member, that there was\nsuch a creature as Haydon on the earth!\u201d\n\nThe opening of the Cartoon Exhibition was fixed for 3 July, 1843.\nAlready, on 27 June, Haydon had received intelligence that his cartoons\nhad been rejected. It was a bitter blow. But he struggled on till\nApril, 1846, when he received another, that was final, and crushed his\nspirits. His cartoons should be seen and appreciated by the public.\nHe hired a room in the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, in which to exhibit\nthem, together with some of his historical paintings--\u201cAristides\nBanished from Naples,\u201d \u201cNero Playing upon his Harp whilst Rome was\nBurning,\u201d and some others. In the large front room of the Egyptian\nHall, General Tom Thumb was holding his levees, and a swarm of people\ncrowded to these, and very few looked in on Haydon\u2019s exhibition.\n\nIn his diary he enters: \u201c21 April. Tom Thumb had 12,000 people last\nweek. B. R. Haydon 133-1/2 (the 1/2 a little girl). Exquisite taste of\nthe English people!\u201d\n\nHe closed his exhibition on 18 May, and had lost by it \u00a3111 8s. 10d. He\nwrote: \u201cI have not decayed, but the people have been corrupted. I am\nthe same, they are not.\u201d\n\nThis was a wound so severe to his vanity that it never healed. He\nabused the public, contrasting his own merits with those of his\ndiminutive rival, and mixing up the sublime with the ridiculous in such\na manner as to make his complaints the source of laughter rather than\nof commiseration. He was at some moments in so excited a condition from\nhis own disappointment, contrasted with the success of the dwarf and\nthe showman, that he appeared to his friends to be almost insane.\n\nOn 22 June he wrote in his diary the lines from _Lear_:--\n\n    Stretch me no longer on this rough world.\n\nThis was written between half-past ten and a quarter to eleven o\u2019clock\non that morning. He was in his studio. About a quarter to eleven\nhis wife and daughter heard the report of firearms, but took little\nnotice of it, as they supposed it to proceed from the troops then\nexercising in the Park. Mrs. Haydon went out. Miss Haydon entered\nthe painting-room, and found her father stretched dead before the\neasel on which stood his unfinished picture of \u201cKing Alfred and the\nFirst English Jury\u201d--his white hairs dabbled in blood, a half-open\nrazor smeared with blood at his side, near it a small pistol recently\ndischarged, in his throat a fearful gash, and a bullet-wound in his\nskull. A portrait of his wife stood on a smaller easel facing his large\npicture. On a table near was his diary open at the page of that last\nentry, his watch, and a Prayer Book open at the Gospel for the Sixth\nSunday after the Epiphany, and his will.\n\nThe coroner\u2019s jury found that the suicide was committed when Haydon\nwas in an unsound state of mind. In fact, he had been driven mad by\nmortified vanity. His debts at his death amounted to about \u00a33000. The\nassets were inconsiderable. Liberal and immediate assistance and much\nsympathy were extended to the bereaved widow and family.\n\nPosterity has not seen occasion to reverse the judgment of his\ncontemporaries on Haydon\u2019s paintings.\n\nHis engrossing love of art, with his consciousness of great powers,\nand excessive self-esteem, made him a most enthusiastic devotee to\nany work which he had on his easel, and enabled him to bear up long\nagainst the thousand interruptions from embarrassed circumstances which\nare detailed in his _Autobiography_. Whilst painting his \u201cMaid of\nSaragossa\u201d he accidentally wounded his foot with a bayonet, but went on\nwith the picture, using his own blood as a pigment, till the surgeon\narrived.\n\nZeal, devotion, high thoughts, ability in composition, some power in\ncolouring, and correct anatomical drawing may and ought to be conceded\nto Haydon. But he aimed at subjects beyond his power of execution, and\nin all his High Art paintings there is a lack of refined feeling and\ngood taste. Thus, in the \u201cJudgment of Solomon\u201d the king is depicted\nas treating the whole affair as a practical joke. Mr. Watts, the\nartist, says: \u201cThe characteristics of Haydon\u2019s art appear to me to be\ngreat determination and power, knowledge and effrontery. His pictures\nare himself, and fail as he failed. In Haydon\u2019s work there is not\nsufficient forgetfulness of self to disarm criticism of personality.\nHis pictures are themselves autobiographical notes of the most\ninteresting kind; but their want of beauty repels, and their want of\nmodesty exasperates. Perhaps their principal characteristic is want\nof delicacy of perception and refinement of execution. His touch is\ngenerally woolly, and his surface disagreeable.\u201d\n\nHe was determined to force his idea of the Heroic in Art on a public\nthat had got beyond gods and goddesses and the heroes of the Greeks and\nRomans. He would have done well at the Court of Louis XIV, but he was\nout of date at the dawn of the naturalism of the nineteenth century.\n\nThe public, thought Haydon, were sick, and knew not what Art was. They\nmust be forced, scolded, lectured, rated to admire it. The last thing\nthat would occur to him would be to study the trend of public taste and\nto adapt himself to it.\n\nWhen drawing his cartoons for the Houses of Parliament, he would not\neven consider what was fitting. Had he sent in his \u201cAlfred and Trial by\nJury,\u201d it might and probably would have been approved; but instead he\nsent pictures from the Reign of Terror in France to represent Anarchy,\nwhich was of all things unsuited for the new palace, that did not\ndesire scenes from French history, and those recent ones.\n\nAnd his huge cartoons were a mistake. Epics are not for the masses,\nand only great public buildings could contain these canvases. Public\nbodies did not care to spend large sums upon pictures for town halls\nand exchanges.\n\n\u201cWhat a game you have thrown away!\u201d said a friend to Haydon one day;\nand we must echo that opinion in considering the life before us. It was\na game utterly and irretrievably, through vanity and pig-headedness,\nthrown away.\n\n\n\n\nJOHN COOKE\n\n    By a public character in his way\n    You may find an anecdote of the day,\n    I wish every line to tell, and word I say.\n\n\nThus \u201cCaptain\u201d John Cooke, the Exeter saddler, begins his pamphlet,\n_Old England for Ever_, published by Curson, of Exeter, in 1819.\n\nJohn Cooke was born at the \u201cRose and Crown\u201d public-house, on the old\nbridge, at Ashburton, in 1765. Ashburton, says Cooke, was not only\nfamous as producing Dunning, Lord Ashburton, but also for its Pop. \u201cI\nrecollect its sharp feeding good taste, far richer than the best small\nbeer, more of the champagne taste, and what was termed a good sharp\nbottle. When you untied and hand-drew the cork it gave a report louder\nthan a pop-gun, to which I attribute its name; its contents would fly\nup to the ceiling if you did not mind to keep the mouth of the stone\nbottle into the white quart cup; it filled it with froth, but not over\na pint of clear liquor. Three old cronies would sit an afternoon six\nhours, smoke and drink a dozen bottles, their reckoning but eightpence\neach, and a penny for tobacco. The pop was but twopence a bottle. It is\na great loss to the town, because its recipe died with its brewer about\n1785.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: CAPTAIN COOKE, 1824, AGED 58\n\n_Drawn from Nature, on the stone by N. Whittock_]\n\nAnother drink of the past was white ale. This derived its name from\nits appearance, not unlike tea freely diluted with milk and having\nconsiderable quantities of some white curdy substance floating about\nin it, which had a tendency to settle at the bottom of the glass. The\nsecret of its composition lay in the nature of the ferment employed,\ncalled \u201cgrout.\u201d At one time white ale was a common drink in South\nDevon; now it is as dead as Ashburton Pop and John Dunning.\n\nJohn Cooke\u2019s father was a plasterer and \u201chellier\u201d--i.e. slater--but\nturned publican and maltster, and kept the tavern in which his son\nwas born. John\u2019s grandfather brought the water into the town to the\nEast Street conduit. At the age of fifteen his mother, then a widow,\nput John apprentice to Chaster, a saddler in Exeter, and on the death\nof Chaster, Cooke succeeded to the business at the age of twenty-one,\nand was highly esteemed in the county for the excellence of his work\nand his knowledge of how to fit the back of a horse. He made saddles\nfor Lord Rolle, Sir Stafford Northcote, Sir John Duntze, Sir Robert\nand Sir Lawrence Palk, Sir Thomas Acland, and last, but not least,\nfor Lord Heathfield. \u201cHis lordship was allowed to be one of the best\njudges of horses and definer of saddlery in the kingdom; his lordship\u2019s\nsaddle-house consisted from the full bristed to the demi-pick, Shafto,\nHanoverian, to the Dutch pad-saddles; and from the snaffle, Pelham,\nWeymouth, Pembroke, Elliott, Mameluke, and Chifney bridles. His\nlordship\u2019s saddle and riding-house was a school for a saddler and\ndragoon.\u201d\n\nCooke breaks into rhyme:--\n\n    As few began the world so I multiplied,\n    I\u2019ve gratitude to all my friends, who\u2019ve supplied.\n    Plain at twenty-one, I did begin,\n    Which in my manuscript was seen,\n    Tho\u2019 years at school with arithmeterians,\n    Who wrote well, but they are no grammarians,\n    Tho\u2019 I did not know the use of grammar\n    I was well supported by my hammer.\n    I sticked to my King, leather and tools;\n    And for order wrote a set of shop rules.\n    It\u2019s not what work is brought for to be only done,\n    Every think that\u2019s necessary, buckle or tongue;\n    For instance, a saddle is brought to stuff, that\u2019s all,\n    A stirrup-bar is wanted to prevent a fall;\n    All your work must be done well, not like fools,\n    For if it breaks on the road, there\u2019s no tools.\n    Working with the hands only is but part,\n    The head\u2019s the essential to make work smart.\n\n    Be John Bulls, true to your country and Church,\n    Always tell the truth and don\u2019t never lurch.\n\nJohn Cooke\u2019s saddlery was better than his grammar and his orthography,\nand his faults in these latter particulars called down upon him the\nscorn of Andrew Brice, the printer and publisher of a weekly paper.\nCooke was a strong loyalist, and Brice was touched with republican\nideas.\n\n\u201cBrice,\u201d says Cooke, \u201cposted me about the streets with halfpenny\npapers; and the poor hawkers got many pence through me; but all that he\ncould do or say was to degrade my orthography; but to lessen my loyalty\nor character he could not; from his art or out of burlesque he said\nmy letters were after the manner of Junius, and at the same time said\nI was of Grub-street. I winked at all this, whilst the people read my\nbulletins. I confess I did not know Junius\u2019s Letters or Grub-street\nthen, but I know them now. At the attack and at different times he\nwanted to run aground my loyal advertisements; but, poor man, he ran\nhimself aground dead.\u201d\n\nThe bulletins and advertisements animadverted upon by Brice were\nhandbills issued by Cooke opposing the republican inflammatory\npamphlets that were put in circulation, as also bulletins of the news\nwith comments of his own which he pasted up outside his shop. There\nwas at the time a noisy party in England in favour of Bonaparte, and\nthis was the Radical and Republican party. Cooke was taunted by these\nas a bull-calf. He replied that he gloried in the name of John Bull.\n\u201cEven when the friends of one of the candidates at the recent general\nelection at Exeter came to solicit my vote (I thank God I vote for six\nmembers) I told them that I would not vote for a man of such principles\nif they would give me \u00a3500. When I came to give my vote at the\nGuildhall, Mr. Sergeant Pell rose up out of fancy or fun, and said to\nme, Are you not a Frenchman? I said, A Frenchman! No, sir, I am a true\nJohn Bull. He said, Of the calf kind. I said, It must be a calf before\nit\u2019s a bull. The Sergeant sat down.\u201d\n\nIn 1789 Cooke was made captain to the sheriff\u2019s troop. \u201cAbout this time\nthere were commotions by the mobility in London against his Majesty\u2019s\nminister, Mr. Pitt. I went into the pot-houses at Exeter, and treated\nwith mugs round, and gave loyal toasts and sentiments--my own motto,\nAny income-tax sooner than a French-come-tax; a long pull and a strong\npull and a pull altogether-mind how the fox served the chicken, and\nsaid the grapes were sour--a speedy necklace to all traitors--Old\nEngland for ever, and those who don\u2019t like it, leave it.\n\n\u201cThere has been but one small riot in Devonshire, to its honour and\ncredit, and that was stopped in its infancy. It was for breaking into\na miller\u2019s house to get corn by violence; one Campion, a blacksmith,\na young man called out from his work inadvertently to join the mob;\nfrom farmhouse to house they got liquor, got inebriated. He became a\nleader and carried a French banner, the old story. Campion was desired\nto desist by gentlemen; but he would not. He was apprehended in a day\nor two, committed to gaol, and tried at the Assizes, 1795, before the\nlate Justice Heath; the jury found him guilty of the felony--riot and\nsedition. He suffered death. This prompt measure put an end and stopped\nthe contagion in the West. There were thousands of spectators on the\nroad, besides a thousand military of dragoons, artillery and volunteers\nof the district, who escorted him thirteen miles to the place of\nexecution, Bovey-heathfield, in sight of his own village, Ilsington, as\na rescue was talked of.\n\n\u201cAt a foolish County Meeting in 1797, to petition his Majesty to remove\nhis late Minister, Mr. Pitt, I called up my apprentices at 3 o\u2019clock\nin the morning; we got a ladder, and scaladed the walls of the Castle\nof Exeter, got in unperceived, I wrote conspicuously _No petition, no\ncivil war_, and at many more lofty hazardous places in the city, that\nthe freeholders might read it when they came to the meeting; we (had)\ndone the whole before the people were up. I again put out handbills\nwarning the mobility of Exeter of riot; and at the show of hands by\nthe Sheriff the mob held up both their hands, and there was a great\nmajority of legal (loyal) votes.\n\n\u201cAt another County Meeting a few violent gentleman wanted to turn out\none or both of our old staunch County Members, Col. Bastard and Sir\nLaurence Palk. An orator, a Protestant Dissenter, took an elevated\nstation and was haranguing; I perceived that the orator spared neither\npowder nor shot with his tongue. I being a freeholder mixed with the\nyeomanry freeholders; I fired a shot from my mouth, having good lungs\nit gave a loud report. I exclaimed \u2018Palk\u2019s no presbyterian I\u2019ll sware\n[_sic_].\u2019 It hit him, it had the desired effect, the orator was struck\ntongue-tied, he thought it came from higher authority. He attempted\nagain in vain; the yeomanry caught flash from my pan and they fired\na feu-de-joy with their tongues for Bastard and Palk, a loud clamour\nfor question was called, and the old members were returned unanimously.\n\n[Illustration: _Drawn from Nature by Geo. Rowe.  Printed by P. Simonau._\n\n/The Noted John Cooke of Exeter./\n\nCaptain of the Sheriff\u2019s troop at 74 Assizes for the County of Devon.\n\n_Published by Geo. Rowe N^{n} 38 Paris Street Exeter._]\n\n\u201cWhen Mr. Pitt armed this country I became a volunteer in the infantry,\nbefore the cavalry were equipped by my brother tradesmen, that they\nshould not say my loyalty was for trade. After this, I joined the\nsecond troop of the first Devon Royal Cavalry.\n\n\u201cI may say John Cooke, the saddler of Exeter, is known from England\nto the Indies, on the Continent, Ireland and Scotland; from\nBerwick-upon-Tweed to Penzance. I had two direction posts at my\ndoor during the War, that no one had in the kingdom besides--one to\nthe various places and distances from Exeter to London; the other a\nlarge sheet of paper written as a daily monitor, gratis, a bulletin\nof news, to cheer people in the worst of times, to guide them in\nthe Constitutional Road, which both citizens and country-folks of a\nmarket-day looked up to Cooke\u2019s bulletin as natural as they look at\ntheir parish dial.\n\n\u201cI knowing the city and county of Exeter is the county town of the\nsecond county of England, I even made myself a direction-post when\ncommotions were in London by the mobility, against the late Mr. Pitt,\nwho was the people\u2019s friend, instead of their enemy; I being a public\nofficer at the Assizes, having had the honour to serve thirty Sheriffs\nof the County, sixty Assizes, and 1817 I commanded two Sheriffs troops,\nDevon and Cornwall. In 1795 I wore a conspicuous breast-plate painted\nwith this motto, _Fear God, honour the King, and revere his Ministers_;\nwhich made not only the auditory, but the Judges, Sheriffs, and Counsel\nstare at me; which my heart did not mind being for the public good.\nTwice I had two escapes for my life in my achievements. I went from\nExeter to London, to the funeral of Lord Nelson, the hero of the Nile,\nin 1805. In my going into the painted hall at Greenwich to see the\ncorpse lie in state, I was nearly squeezed to death against the stone\npillars. I might as well holloa in the bottom of the sea, as in a\nLondon throng. I have the pain to this day.\n\n\u201cI saw Mr. Pitt at his lodging window at Bath, a few weeks before he\ndied; he looked very weak and thin. I had a tablet made to his memory\nand hung it over my door.\n\n\u201cIn 1800, in consequence of that dearth year, potatoes were sixteen\npence a peck. The poor grumbled, noisy, clamorous in the market. I went\nin the country and bought 500 bags, and sold them at a shilling a peck.\nThe rumour that I had got all the potato trade; it lowered the market\nto a shilling a peck.\n\n\u201cIn honour of his Majesty, on the Jubilee, 1809, I gave all the poor\nmen, women and children of my parish, above 200, a good dinner in the\nlong cloth hall of Exeter. My wife ripped sheets for tablecloths, and\nwhat is worth recording, in the evening the men would carry me home on\ntheir shoulders. They carried me by the Old London Inn, where a large\nparty, it being a holiday, in our passing we were not halted.[23]\nIn the centre of a 50 feet street, I saw a decanter thrown from the\ndining-room twelve feet high; I was bare pate, my hat being off, to\nmake obedience to this company; I miraculously caught the decanter by\nits neck with my right hand, it was full of port wine; it came with\nsuch velocity not a drop was spilt. I thought no harm meant, I jocosely\ndrank all their healths and gave the spectators the rest. I bought the\ndecanter of Miss Pratt, of the Inn, in memory of such an event; which,\nif it had took me by the head, must have stun me.\u201d\n\nBesides having done much for his King and country, Cooke flattered\nhimself that he did much for the city of Exeter. He says: \u201cWe are\nindebted to Mr. S. F. Milford for the Savings Bank, and wholesome\nprisons in Exeter. We had no common sewers until 1810, it was like\nold Edinburgh before. About twelve years since, I rose one morning\nbefore the people were up, and numbered every house in Fore Street with\nchalk, which made the people stare. I was told I had not begun at the\nright end, with the sun. I went over the ground again. My house being\na corner one, I got it properly numbered, and the street labelled,\nwhich soon led to be general. I paid for seven label boards at the\nstreet. Who would have done it beside? Our market days had ever been\non Wednesdays and Fridays, only one day between. I wrote a requisition\non the propriety of altering the Wednesday\u2019s market to Tuesday. I\ncarried it for signatures to the principal inhabitants, and sent it\nto the Chamber, who upon perusing of their charters found they had a\nbye-law; the market was altered with unanimous approbation in 1812.\u201d\nHe also introduced watering-carts for the streets in summer. In 1809\nhe issued a catalogue of a hundred and ten nuisances in the city of\nExeter, which he exhorted the Corporation to get rid of. He urged on\nthe Dean and Chapter the pulling down of the gates into the Close,\nwhich unhappily was done. \u201cAt present,\u201d said Cooke, \u201cyou have none but\na dangerous way to the Cathedral. A coach-passenger was killed going\nunder Catherine-Gate.\u201d\n\nThere were still three gates left; three had already been destroyed.\n\nPoor Allhallows, Goldsmith Street, was levelled with the dust but last\nyear, so as to widen High Street. Cooke urged its destruction in 1809,\nas \u201cuseless and dormant.\u201d\n\nCooke built himself a villa residence, which he dubbed \u201cWaterloo\nCottage.\u201d He was a very plain man, with thick, coarse mouth, and a\nbroken nose. A portrait, a profile, is prefixed to his pamphlet, _Old\nEngland for Ever_, but there is one much finer of him, in colour,\nrepresenting him in uniform. This is in the library of the Institution\nat Exeter.\n\nThat the man had enormous self-confidence and conceit _saute aux yeux_,\nbut that he was a useful man to his country, to the county, and to the\ncity is also clear.\n\nCooke assures us that he had been in 400 out of the 466 parishes of\nDevon, \u201chaving the heartfelt satisfaction of being respected\u201d in all\nof them, \u201cand knowing fifteen lords, four honourables, twenty-two\nbaronets, and three knights, and most of the clergy and gentry\u201d of the\ncounty.\n\n    Universal suffrage will never, never do,\n    So experience tells me--and I tell you.\n    It would break down the barriers of our Constitution,\n    And plunge both high and low in cut-throat revolution.\n    You see, in the murder of the Constable Birch,\n    The means they\u2019d employ to destroy King and Church.\n    The King is the head--the constable the hand--\n    For preserving peace and order in this happy land.\n    They who\u2019d cut off the hand, would cut off the head--\n    So, a word to the wise; remember what\u2019s said\n              In the plain, honest Book\n              Of your humble servant,\n\n    /Cooke/.\n\n\n\n\nSAVERY AND NEWCOMEN, INVENTORS\n\n\nWhen a commission was sent by the Parliament to search Raglan Castle\nfor arms, a jet of water was sent pouring over them in a way to them\nextraordinary. It was from a steam-propelled fountain, invented and\nexecuted by Edward Somerset, Lord Herbert, the son of the Marquess of\nWorcester. In 1646 the castle stood a siege from the Parliamentarians,\nunder Sir Trevor Williams and Colonel Morgan, and finally under\nSir Thomas Fairfax. It surrendered on 17 August. No sooner was the\ncastle abandoned than the lead and timber of the roofs were carried\noff for the rebuilding of Bristol Bridge, and the peasantry of the\nneighbourhood began to dig in the moats, drain the fish-ponds, and\ntear down the walls in quest of treasures supposed to be concealed\nthere, and to rip up pipes, and pull to pieces lead and iron work to\nappropriate the metal. Then it was that Lord Herbert\u2019s steam fountain\nwas destroyed.\n\nThe old Marquess died in December of the same year, and Edward\nSomerset became second Marquess of Worcester. Whilst in the Tower, in\n1652-4, the Marquess wrote his _Century of the Names and Scantlings\nof Inventions_, but it was not published till 1663. \u201cHe was a man,\u201d\nsays Clarendon, \u201cof a fair and gentle carriage towards all men (as in\ntruth he was of a civil and obliging nature).\u201d He died 3 April, 1667.\nIn his remarkable book he anticipated the power of steam, and indeed\nmay be said to have invented the first steam engine. His object in his\nsteam-fountain was to throw up or raise water to a great height. His\nwords are as follows: \u201cThis admirable method which I propose of raising\nwater by the force of fire has no bounds if the vessels be strong\nenough; for I have taken a cannon, and having filled it three-fourths\nfull of water and shut up its muzzle and touch-hole, and exposed it to\nthe fire for twenty-four hours, it burst with a great explosion. Having\nafterwards discovered a method of fortifying vessels internally, and\ncombined them in such a way that they filled and acted alternately, I\nhave made the water spout in an uninterrupted stream forty feet high,\nand one vessel of rarefied water raised 40 of cold water. The person\nwho conducted the operation had nothing to do but turn two cocks, so\nthat one vessel of water being consumed, another begins to force, and\nthen to fill itself with cold water, and so on in succession.\u201d By means\nof his contrivance he proposed \u201cnot only with little charge to drain\nall sorts of mines, and furnish cities with water, though never so high\nseated, as well as to keep them sweet, running through several streets,\nand so performing the work of scavengers, as well as furnishing the\ninhabitants with sufficient water for their private occasions, but\nlikewise supply rivers with sufficient to maintain and make them\nportable from town to town, and for the bettering of lands all the\nway it runs, with many more advantageous and yet greater effects, of\nprofits, admiration, and consequence--so that deservedly I deem this\ninvention to crown my labours, to reward my expenses, and make my\nthoughts acquiesce in the way of further inventions.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THOMAS SAVERY]\n\nThe Marquess of Worcester\u2019s small book attracted some attention even\nin his own generation. About twenty years after his death, Sir Samuel\nMorland made some improvements on Worcester\u2019s plan, raising water\nto a great height \u201cby the force of Aire and Powder conjointly.\u201d He\nendeavoured to draw the attention of the French King to the matter, but\nmet with no encouragement.\n\nDenis Papin was a French physician, born at Blois in 1647. He studied\nmedicine in Paris, and visited England to associate himself with Robert\nBoyle in his experiments, and was admitted a member of the Royal\nSociety in 1681. After the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, being a\nHuguenot, he could not return to France, so took refuge in Germany,\nwhere he was well received by the Landgrave of Hesse, who gave him the\nprofessorship of mathematics in the University of Marburg. He was the\nfirst to apply the safety-valve and the piston to the steam engine. He\nshowed that the upward and downward alternate movement of the piston\nmight be employed with effect for the transmission of force. If after\nthe rise of the piston a vacuum could be created below, the piston\nwould fall with the pressure of the atmosphere above. In order to\ncreate this vacuum he proposed to explode gunpowder under the piston;\nbut he saw himself that this method of creating a void was clumsy\nand impracticable. He then sought to exhaust the air by means of an\nhydraulic engine moved by a water-wheel, and he proposed a machine of\nthis sort to the Royal Society in 1687; but he also suggested a means\nof producing the required vacuum by condensation of steam.\n\nMuch about the same time the same idea occurred to Thomas Savery, a\nnative of Modbury, a member of an ancient Devonshire family, coming\noriginally from Halberton, whence John Savery moved to Totnes.\nProbably through the wool and clothing trade, he amassed a considerable\nestate in the reign of Henry VIII. In the sixteenth century the\nheiress of Servington of Tavistock married into the family. In 1588,\nChristopher Savery, the head of the family, resided in Totnes Castle,\nnot then dismantled; and for a period of nearly forty years the town\nwas represented in Parliament by members of the Savery family. One\nChristopher served as Sheriff of Devon in 1620. His son was a colonel\nunder Oliver Cromwell.\n\nThe Saverys had acquired Shilston in Modbury at the end of the\nsixteenth century, and resided there till the middle of the nineteenth.\nColonel Christopher Savery\u2019s youngest son is said by Mr. Smiles, in his\n_Lives of Boulton and Watt_, to have been Richard. But Richard does\nnot appear in the pedigree in Colonel Vivian\u2019s _Visitations of Devon_.\nThis is, however, no proof that Smiles is wrong. Richard Savery was\nthe father of Thomas, who was born, according to Smiles, at Shilston\nabout the year 1650. He was educated to the profession of a military\nengineer, and in course of time reached the rank of trench-master. The\npursuit of his profession, as well as his natural disposition, led\nSavery to study mechanics, and he spent all his spare time in executing\nmechanical contrivances of various sorts. One of the first of these was\na paddle-boat worked by men turning a crank. He spent \u00a3200 on this,\nand built a small yacht on the Thames to exhibit its utility. But when\nsubmitted to the Admiralty they would have nothing to do with it, as\nits practical utility was doubtful. The power of wind was better than\nhand labour in propelling a vessel; and although his machine might\nanswer on a river, it was extremely doubtful whether it would succeed\neven in a moderately rough sea.\n\nDissatisfied at the reception of his paddle-boat by the naval\nauthorities, Savery gave no more thought to it, and turned his\nattention in another direction.\n\nThe miners in Cornwall had been hampered by water flowing into their\nworkings. When the upper strata had become exhausted they were tempted\nto go deeper in search of richer ores. Shafts were sunk into the lodes,\nand these were followed underground, but very speedily had to be\nabandoned through the influx of water. When the mines were of no great\ndepth it was possible to bale the water out by hand buckets; but this\nexpedient was laborious and ineffectual, as the water gained on the\nmen who baled. Then whims were introduced, and by means of horse-power\nwater was drawn up. But this process also proved to be but partially\neffective: in one pit after another the miners were being drowned out.\n\nIn the fen lands water was drawn up out of the drains and pumped into\ncanals by means of windmills; and it is to this that Ben Jonson alludes\nin his play _The Devil is an Ass_, 1616, when he makes Fitzdottrell\nsay: \u201cThis man defies the devil and his works. He does it by engines\nand devices, he! He has ... mills will spout you water ten miles off!\nAll Crowland is ours, wife; and the fens, from us, in Norfolk, to the\nutmost bounds in Lincolnshire.\u201d\n\nBut the use of wind as a motive power does not seem to have occurred to\nthe Cornish miners, or perhaps it was thought to be too uncertain to be\nof much value for pumping purposes.\n\nIt is possible enough that Savery had read the suggestions of the\nMarquess of Worcester, and that this ingenious author gave him the\nfirst hint whither to turn to find the force required. But how he was\nled to steam is differently stated.\n\nDesaguliers says that Savery\u2019s own account was this: Having drunk a\nflask of Florence at a tavern, and thrown the bottle into the fire,\nhe proceeded to wash his hands, when he noticed that the little wine\nleft in the flask was converted into steam. He took the vessel by the\nneck and plunged its mouth into the water in the basin, when, the steam\nbeing condensed, the water was immediately driven up into the bottle by\nthe atmospheric pressure.\n\nSwitzer, however, who was very intimate with Savery, gives another\naccount. He says that the first hint from which he took the engine was\nfrom a tobacco-pipe, which he immersed in water to wash or cool it.\nThen he noticed how that by the rarefaction of the air in the tube by\nthe heat, the gravitation or pressure of the external air, upon the\ncondensation of the steam, made the water to spring through the tube of\nthe pipe in a most surprising manner.\n\nHowever it was that Savery obtained his first idea of the expansion and\ncondensation of steam and of atmospheric pressure, he had now before\nhim a new and untried power with which to deal, and he was obliged to\napproach it by several tentative efforts.\n\nBefore 1696 he had constructed several steam pumping engines to mines\nin Cornwall, and he described these as already working in his book\nentitled _The Miners\u2019 Friend_.[24] He took with him a model to London\nand exhibited it to William III in 1698, and the King promoted Savery\u2019s\napplication for a patent, which was secured in July, 1698, and an Act\nwas passed confirming it in the ensuing year.\n\nPapin saw Savery\u2019s steam engine, when exhibited before the Royal\nSociety, he also witnessed the trial of his paddle-boat on the Thames.\nReturning to Marburg, of which university he was professor, he thought\nover what he had seen, and it occurred to him to combine the two\ncontrivances in one, and to apply Savery\u2019s motive power in the pump to\ndrive Savery\u2019s paddle-wheels. But it took him fifteen years to fit up\na boat that worked to his satisfaction. \u201cIt is important,\u201d he wrote to\nLiebnitz on 7 July, 1707, \u201cthat my new construction of vessel should be\nput to the proof in a seaport like London, where there is depth enough\nto apply the new invention, which, by means of fire, will render one or\ntwo men capable of producing more effect than some hundreds of rowers.\u201d\nPapin\u2019s boat that he intended to send to London was destroyed by some\nwatermen, who feared the new invention might interfere with their trade.\n\nSavery proposed to apply his engine to various purposes. One was\nto pump water into a reservoir for the production of an artificial\nwaterfall for driving mills or any other ordinary machinery; that\nis to say, by means of steam he would lift a body of water which by\nflowing back might drive an overshot wheel, from the rotation of\nwhich the motive power for any other mechanical operations would be\nderived. This, however, was never done, and Savery\u2019s engine continued\nto be employed only in the drainage of Cornish mines. But it had this\ndisadvantage, that it could not heave water but to about eighty feet,\nand as the depth of mines was from fifty to a hundred yards, the only\nway to exhaust the water was by erecting several engines in successive\nstages, one above the other. But the expense of fuel and attendants and\nthe constant danger of explosions rendered it clear that the use of\nhis engine for deep mines was altogether impracticable. Such was the\nstate of affairs when Thomas Newcomen, a blacksmith and ironmonger of\nDartmouth, turned his attention to the matter.\n\nThomas Newcomen was a member of a very ancient family.\n\nIn the church of Stoke Fleming, near Dartmouth, is a brass with this\ninscription:--\n\n    Elias old lies here intombed in grave,\n      But Newcomin to heaven\u2019s habitation.\n    In knowledge old, in zeal, in life most grave,\n      Too good for all who live in lamentation.\n    Whose sheep and seed with heavie plaint and mone,\n      Will say too late, Elias old is gone!\n                    The 13th May, 1614.\n\nOver this inscription is a shield of arms, with helmet, crest,\nand mantling, bearing the arms of Newcomen, of Saltfleetby, in\nLincolnshire, with six quarterings. This is the monument of Elias\nNewcomen, rector of Stoke Fleming. The pedigree of the family commences\nwith Hugo Newcomen, of Saltfleetby, in 1189-99. Elias Newcomen, rector\nof Stoke Fleming, had a brother Robert, who went to Ireland and was\ncreated a baronet.\n\nThe son of the Rev. Elias was Thomas, who settled in Dartmouth, and\nthis Thomas had a son Elias, who was the father of the inventor Thomas,\nwho was baptized at Dartmouth 28 February, 1663-4. He married Hannah,\ndaughter of Peter Waymouth, of Malborough, Devon, in 1705, and died in\n1729.\n\nHe left two sons, Thomas and Elias; and Thomas Newcomen, son of the\ninventor, compiled a pedigree with a view to proving his claim to the\nIrish baronetcy, but probably abandoned the attempt from want of funds\nto prosecute the claim.[25]\n\n[Illustration: SKETCH OF NEWCOMIN\u2019S HOUSE, LOWER STREET, DARTMOUTH,\nBEFORE IT WAS DEMOLISHED]\n\n[Illustration: THE CHIMNEY-PIECE AT WHICH NEWCOMIN SAT WHEN HE INVENTED\nTHE STEAM-ENGINE]\n\nAlthough of gentle blood, Thomas Newcomen, son of Elias, and the\ninventor, was a tradesman in Dartmouth, variously described as a\nlocksmith, an ironmonger, and a blacksmith; and probably combining all\nthese trades. He lived in a picturesque gabled house, with overhanging\nstories sustained by carved-oak corbels, in Lower Street. As the\nstreet was very narrow, it was taken down by order of the Local Board,\nin 1864, and Mr. Thomas Lidstone became the purchaser of the most\ninteresting portions of the old dwelling. These he afterwards erected\nin a new building for himself, which he called Newcomen Cottage. This\nMr. Lidstone was greatly interested in the history of Newcomen, and in\n1871 published _A Few Notes and Queries about Newcomen_, and in 1876\n_Notes on the Model of Newcomen\u2019s Steam Engine_ (1705).\n\nFor some time Thomas Newcomen carried on his experiments in secret on\nthe leads of his house. A letter extant of the time is quoted by Mr.\nLidstone.\n\n\u201cWhen [Newcomen] was engaged on his great work, which took him three\nyears from its commencement until it was completed, and was kept a\nprofound secret, some of his friends would press Mrs. Newcomen to find\nout what her husband was engaged about, and, \u2018for their part, they\nwould not be satisfied to be kept in ignorance.\u2019 Mrs. Newcomen replied,\n\u2018I am perfectly easy. Mr. Newcomen cannot be employed about anything\nwrong; and I am fully persuaded, when he thinks proper, he will,\nhimself, unasked, inform me.\u2019\u201d\n\nWhen Thomas Newcomen had perfected his engine he associated with\nhimself Calley or Cawley, a Dartmouth brazier, and How, another\nDartmouth man, in applying for a patent.\n\nNewcomen was a man of reading, and was in correspondence with Dr.\nHooke, secretary of the Royal Society. There are to be found among\nHooke\u2019s papers, in the possession of the Royal Society, some notes\nof observations made by him for the use of Newcomen on Papin\u2019s\nboasted method of transmitting to a great distance the action of a\nmill by means of pipes. Papin\u2019s project was to employ the mill to\nwork two air pumps of great diameter. The cylinders of these pumps\nwere to communicate by means of pipes with equal cylinders furnished\nwith pistons in the neighbourhood of a mine. The pistons were to\nbe connected by means of levers with the piston-rods of the mine.\nTherefore, when the piston of the air pumps at the mill was drawn up by\nthe engine the corresponding piston at the side of the mine would be\npressed down by the atmosphere, and thus would raise the piston-rod in\nthe mine and throw up the water. It would appear from these notes that\nDr. Hooke dissuaded Newcomen from erecting a machine on this principle,\nof which he saw the fallacy.\n\nIt is highly probable that, in the course of his labours and\nspeculations, it occurred to Newcomen that the vacuum he so much\ndesired to create might be produced by steam, and that this gave rise\nto his new principle, and the construction of his steam engine. He saw\nthe defects of Savery\u2019s engine, and laboured to correct them. Savery,\nhowever, claimed the invention as his own, which lay at the root of\nNewcomen\u2019s improvements; and Newcomen, being a Quaker, and averse from\ncontention, and moreover glad to be assisted by Savery\u2019s wide circle of\nacquaintances, was content to share the honours and the profits with\nSavery.\n\nSwitzer, who knew both, says: \u201cMr. Newcomen was as early in his\ninvention as Mr. Savery was in his; only, the latter being nearer the\nCourt, had obtained the patent before the other knew it, on which\naccount Mr. Newcomen was glad to come in as a partner to it.\u201d[26]\n\n[Illustration: _The STEAM ENGINE near Dudley Castle. Invented by_ Capt.\nSavery. & M^r. Newcomen Erected by y^e later. 1712 _delin. & Sculp by\nT^t Barney 1719._\n\n_Reproduced by kind permission of Messrs. Macmillan & Co._]\n\nSavery had created his vacuum by the condensation of steam in a closed\nvessel by dashing cold water against it. Papin had created his vacuum\nby exhausting the air in a cylinder, fitted with a piston, by means of\nan air pump. What Newcomen did was to combine both systems. Instead\nof employing Savery\u2019s closed vessel, he made use of Papin\u2019s cylinder\nfitted with a piston, but worked by the condensation of steam, still\nemploying the clumsy system of dashing cold water against the cylinder.\n\nWhilst the engine was still in its trial state an accident occurred\nthat led to another change in the mode of condensation. It was this. In\norder to keep the cylinder as free from air as possible, great pains\nwere taken to prevent it from passing down with the piston, and to keep\nthe cylinder air-tight, water was employed to lie above the place where\nthe piston passed up or down.\n\nAt one of the early trials the inventors were surprised to see the\nengine make several rapid strokes, and on looking into the cause found\nthat there was a small hole in the piston, which allowed a jet of cold\nwater to penetrate within, and that this acted as a rapid condenser of\nthe steam.\n\nA new light suddenly broke upon Newcomen. The idea of condensing the\nsteam, and so producing a vacuum by injecting cold water into the\nreceiver, instead of splashing it against the outside, at once occurred\nto him; and he proceeded to embody the principle which this accident\nhad suggested, as part of his machine.\n\nAnother improvement was due to another accident, if so it may be\ntermed. To keep the machine in action a man or boy had to be employed\nin turning alternately two taps, one admitting the steam into the\ncylinder, the other admitting the cold jet into it to condense it.\n\nThe story has been often told how that a boy named Humphry Potter\nwas planted beside the engine to turn the cocks, and found that this\nwas excessively tedious and monotonous work, and being a shrewd lad,\nobserving the alternate ascent and descent of the beam above his head,\nworked by the piston, he thought that by attaching to the beam the\nlevers that governed the cocks, that would do the work for him. The\nresult was the contrivance of what he called the _scoggan_, consisting\nof a catch, worked at first by strings, and afterwards by rods, that\ndid the work automatically. This story has however been discredited.\nSee Galloway\u2019s _Steam Engine_, 1881.\n\n\u201cThus, step by step,\u201d says Mr. Smiles, \u201cNewcomen\u2019s engine grew in power\nand efficiency, and became more and more complete as a self-acting\nmachine. It will be observed that, like all other inventions, it\nwas not the product of any one man\u2019s ingenuity, but of many. One\ncontributed one improvement, and another another. The essential\nfeatures of the atmospheric engine were not new. The piston and\ncylinder had been known as long ago as the time of Hero (222-205\n/B.C./). The expansive force of steam and the creation of a\nvacuum by its condensation had been known to the Marquess of Worcester,\nSavery, Papin, and many more.\n\n\u201cNewcomen merely combined in his machine the result of their varied\nexperience, and, assisted by the persons who worked with him, down to\nthe engine-boy Potter, he advanced the inventions several important\nstages, so that the steam-engine was no longer a toy or a scientific\ncuriosity, but had become a powerful machine capable of doing useful\nwork.\u201d[27]\n\nIn 1712 Newcomen and his partner, Cawley, contracted to erect an engine\nat Wolverhampton. Next they erected two engines near Newcastle. The\nfourth was put up at Leeds in 1714. The fifth was erected in Cornwall\nat Wheal Fortune in 1720, and was on a larger scale than any previously\nconstructed, having a cylinder of nearly four feet in diameter, and\nits performance was regarded as extraordinary, since it made fifteen\nstrokes a minute, and drew up at each stroke a hogshead of water from a\ndepth of 180 feet.\n\nThomas Savery was a captain of military engineers in 1702, and in\n1705 he published a translation of Cohorn\u2019s work on fortification. In\nthe same year he was appointed Treasurer of the Hospital for Sick and\nWounded Seamen. In 1714, by the favour of Prince George of Denmark, he\nwas given the surveyorship to the waterworks at Hampton Court; but he\ndied in the course of the following year, 15 May, 1715.\n\nThe date of Newcomen\u2019s death has been already mentioned. Engines of his\npattern continued to be erected long after his death, till there was\nscarcely a tin or copper mine of any importance in Cornwall that had\nnot one or more of such engines at work, and the gaunt and ugly ruins\nof the engine-houses disfigure the landscape throughout the mining\ndistricts of Cornwall.\n\nIn 1882 Louis Figuier produced a five-act play at the Gaiet\u00e9 in Paris\non Denis Papin. According to this version, Papin, who was a Huguenot,\nhaving fled to London with his family after the Revocation of the Edict\nof Nantes, abandoned wife and family to go to Germany, there to pursue\nhis scientific investigations. When skimming a pot, he noticed the\nforce that raised the lid, and conceived the idea of the power of steam.\n\nHe next set about contriving a model of a steamboat, and as that was\nsuccessful, he constructed another on a large scale on the Weser,\nwhich was hacked to pieces by the boatmen, who were incited to this\nact of vandalism by a harpy of the name of Barbara. Papin returned to\nLondon, where his wife and son, he learned, had died during his ten\nyears\u2019 absence, and there, when reduced to the utmost distress, he\nlearned that a Dartmouth locksmith named Thomas Newcomer [sic] had\ninvented an engine in which steam was employed as a motive power.\nPapin then begged his way to Dartmouth, and recognized in Newcomer his\nson, whom he had supposed to be dead. The young man had been led to\nthis invention by information he had found in drawings and writings of\nhis father that had been left behind when he went to Germany. Papin\ndid not make himself known, however, but allowed his son to reap all\nthe honour and reward of his discovery. In the last scene Newcomer\u2019s\npump is being tried on the Thames in the presence of the Lord Mayor\nand Corporation of London, when Barbara and the Weser boatmen, having\ncrossed the \u201csilver streak\u201d for the purpose, cripple the machine by\ncutting some cord that prevents the valve opening, and Papin, who has\nperceived this, rushes forward to avert an explosion, and falls a\nvictim to his generous devotedness, for the boiler bursts just as he\nreaches it; he dies in his son\u2019s arms, and Newcomer proclaims to the\nLord Mayor and the world generally that all the honour of the invention\nand application of steam is due to his father, a Frenchman--a very\nsatisfactory conclusion for a French audience.[28]\n\nThe French continue to claim for their countryman the glory of being\nthe inventor of the modern steam engine. The system of the Marquess of\nWorcester was propulsion of cold water by the introduction of a blast\nof steam. Papin suggested the use of a vacuum formed by condensation of\nsteam, so as to work a piston; and this vacuum in a cylinder he formed\nfirst by exploding gunpowder in it; and, as this did not answer, by\nremoving the fire every time the condensation was required--a clumsy\nand impracticable method. Savery formed the vacuum first by dashing\ncold water against the cylinder, then by forming an outer ring of cold\nwater about the receiver; but this did not answer well, as this body of\nwater rapidly heated. Moreover, he did not adopt the piston, but drew\nup the water from mines by suction. Then came Newcomen, who adapted\nthe piston in a cylinder to Savery\u2019s engine; and finally Newcomen and\nSavery together discovered how to chill and condense the steam by an\ninjection of cold water. Papin undoubtedly suggested the leading lines\non which the steam engine was to be constructed, but he was unable\neffectually to apply his ideas or to rectify defects in such machines\nas he suggested. The solution was due to Newcomen and Savery.\n\n\n\n\nANDREW BRICE, PRINTER\n\n\nAndrew Brice, an Exeter printer, was born 21 August, 1692, \u201cin the\nhouse where Mary Hellier now lives [1719] near the Butcherow.\u201d[29] He\nwas educated to be a dissenting minister, and received a good grounding\nin classical studies. But owing to the pinched circumstances of his\nfather, and probably also his own disinclination for the pastorate, he\nwas withdrawn from school, and at the age of seventeen apprenticed to a\nprinter. His earliest biographer[30] states:--\n\n\u201cMr. Bliss, a printer of Exeter, wanting a person capable of correcting\nthe press, young Brice (aged 17) was proposed to, and accepted by\nhim as an apprentice for the term of five years. However, having\nlong before his service expired inconsiderately contracted marriage,\nand being unable to support a family of a wife and two children,\nhe enlisted as a soldier in order to cancel his indentures; and,\nby the interest of his friends, very soon procured his discharge.\u201d\nBliss in his paper, the _Mercury_, 30 December, 1715, inserted this\nadvertisement: \u201cWhereas Andrew Brice, who is my Lawful Apprentice,\nhath, without any Cause, in the midst of a Flush of Business, and when\nI was disabled by Illness from working myself, roguishly absconded and\ndeserted my Service to my present great Loss of Businress [sic], and\nDamage, this is to forbid all Persons to entertain or Employ the\nsaid Andrew Brice in any Business, or upon any Account, whatsoever;\nfor, acting by the Advice of the Learned in the Law, I am resolved,\nupon Notice thereof to prosecute such as shall so do. If he returns\nnot to my Business in a very short Time, I shall apply myself to the\nMagistrates of this City for Justice in this Case.\n\n[Illustration: ANDREW BRICE, PRINTER\n\n_Reproduced by kind permission from a print in the possession of Dr.\nBrushfield_]\n\n\u201cN.B. I am inform\u2019d his dependence is on Mr. Bishop; but I am greatly\ndeceiv\u2019d, if He is not a Person of more sense; and better understands\nwhat belongs to an Apprentice, than to encourage such a Rascal as shall\nso basely leave his Master without the least Cause. /Joe Bliss/.\u201d\n\nWhat became of Brice during the next two years is not known, but\nin 1717 he was back in Exeter, for on 22 March of that year Bliss\ninserted the following paragraph in his _Protestant Mercury_: \u201cN.B.\nHaving received reiterated Assurances from several Gentlemen, that,\nnotwithstanding that Villain Brice\u2019s Opposition against me, they are\nfirmly resolved to continue in my Interest: To oblige them, therefore,\nand the rest of my Customers, I shall for the future publish my\nNews on no worse Paper than this, Price One Penny. I can\u2019t forbear\nremarking, how that sorry Rascal has opened his Printing Press with a\nmost rediculous and shabby Advertisement, and a shameful obscene bawdy\nBallad, which deserves to be burnt. Curious Specimens of Rare Genius\nand Great Capacity.\u201d\n\nIt is evident from this that Brice had already taken up his permanent\nabode in Exeter, and had established himself there with a printing\npress of his own. His place of business was in Southgate Street, and\nhe started a paper of his own, the _Postmaster, or Loyal Mercury_. In\nthe \u201cJournals of the House of Commons\u201d we find under date 19 December,\n1718: \u201cComplaint having been made to the House, as a printed Pamphlet,\nintituled _The Postmaster, or the Loyal Mercury, Friday, November the\n28th, 1718; Exon._ Printed by Andrew Brice, at the head of the Serge\nMarket in Southgate Street. Wherein the Resolutions and Proceedings\nof this House are falsely represented and printed, in Contempt of the\nOrder, and in Breach of the Privilege of this House; the said Pamphlet\nwas delivered in at the Clerk\u2019s Table; and several Paragraphs thereof\nbeing read: _Ordered_ That the said Andrew Brice do attend this House\nupon Wednesday the 14th January.\u201d\n\nOn the day appointed Brice presented himself at the Bar, and it\nwas ordered \u201cthat the said Andrew Brice be, for the said Breach of\nPrivilege, taken into Custody of the Sergeant of Arms.\u201d Next day,\nhaving acknowledged his offence, \u201che was accordingly brought to the\nBar: when he, upon his Knees, received a Reprimand from Mr. Speaker;\nand was discharged out of Custody, paying his Fees.\u201d\n\nBrice introduced a new feature into his paper by devoting the first\ntwo pages to some tale or narrative of voyages, continued from week to\nweek, in the style of the French _feuilleton_. His paper terminated its\ncareer on Friday, 23 April, 1725, owing to the imposition of a Stamp\nDuty of a penny for every whole sheet; but on the ensuing 30th April,\nin the same year, appeared a new journal from his press, entitled\n_Brice\u2019s Weekly Journal_, price twopence.\n\nIn the meantime Samuel Farley, an enterprising printer, had started a\nrival paper, _Farley\u2019s Exeter Journal_, and this seriously interfered\nwith the sale of Brice\u2019s _Journal_. This led to bickering that reached\na climax in 1726, when there ensued an open quarrel, and Brice was\nobliged to publish an apology. According to his own admission, he had\nacted in an injudicious and unjustifiable manner. However, he wrote:\n\u201cThe Farleys have vauntingly given out, That they will totally effect\nmy Overthrow, and that I am now tottering on the Brink of Destruction;\nFor that Sam the younger is now actually gone to London to swear some\ndreadful Thing (I know not what) against me,\u201d and he intimates that he\nmay possibly be compelled to shift his quarters to Bristol.\n\nIn 1727 Brice energetically took up the case of the treatment of\ninsolvent debtors. In his _Journal_ of 8 September appeared \u201cThe\nCase of Mr. Charles Lanyon, &c., of Newlyn, near Penzance, Merchant,\na Prisoner in the Sheriff\u2019s Ward in St. Thomas\u2019s,\u201d with a copy of a\nletter to Mr. George Glanvill, gaoler of this prison, which had been\ndisregarded by him; and a postscript commencing: \u201cWe have desired Mr.\nBrice, in pure Commiseration, to insert this Account in his Journal,\nthat the World may be made sensible of our Sufferings.\u201d\n\nOn 20 October he contrasted the manner in which Dally, the keeper of\nSouthgate Prison, treated those committed to his charge with that of\nGlanvill at St. Thomas\u2019s. \u201cBe it known to my Country Readers, that that\nvery worthy Governor is as distinguishable for Humanity, Good-nature,\nCharity, and Indulgence to the poor People under his Guard and Care, as\nHe in St. Thomas\u2019s is for Revenge, Savageness, Cruelty, and a long _et\nc\u00e6tera_ of abhorred Things which want a Name.\u201d\n\nBrice doubtless had good cause to bring before the public the atrocious\nmanner in which insolvent debtors were treated, but he did this in an\nintemperate manner, and with personal abuse that Glanvill could not\nallow to pass without placing the matter in the hands of his lawyer,\nand legal proceedings were taken against Brice.\n\nIn his _Journal_ of 10 November is the remarkable paragraph: \u201cThis is\nto give Notice, that the poor Printer hereof, who expects never to be\nfree from Trouble till Death or Dishonesty takes him under Tutelage,\nwas last Week sued by the most merciful Governour of St. Thomas\u2019s. But\nhe dares lay _2d. ob._ neither he nor his Councel knows for what. Well!\nthe Comfort is he fears none but God.... However, being just going to\ndrink, Mr. Grandvile, my humble Service t\u2019ye!\u201d\n\nUp to the end of the year Brice continued to hammer at Glanvill; one\nof his leaders, being a specially vituperative one, he repeated twice;\nand in his paper of 16 August, 1728, he accused Glanvill of riding\nround the country, visiting the gentlemen empanelled on the jury for\nthe trial of the case, to endeavour to prejudice and influence them\nin his own favour against Brice. After several adjournments the case\nwas tried; and judgment was given against Andrew Brice, and a fine and\ncosts imposed, amounting to a large sum.\n\nDr. Brushfield says truly: \u201cThat Brice\u2019s language was strong,\noutspoken, coarse, and at times savage, no one will dispute--he was\nundoubtedly a hard hitter, and went straight to the mark. In reflecting\nupon him, due regard must be had to the coarse period in which he\nlived. Let any one read the accounts given by the debtors themselves\nand others (in _Brice\u2019s Weekly Journal_, 8 September, 1717, 19 July,\nand 6 December, 1728); and if they even make allowance for some\nexaggeration, let them ask themselves whether anything could be more\nrevolting than Glanvill\u2019s treatment of the debtors, and whether Brice\u2019s\nlanguage could be too strong in his condemnation of such practices.\nIn such a case, truth, if vigorously expressed, was a libel in law.\nHis active sympathies were roused by, what appeared to him to be,\nthe gross injustice and cruelty of the keeper of St. Thomas\u2019s Ward.\nHis enthusiasm never wavered in the support of what he deemed to be\na good cause; and no subject did he prosecute more vigorously than\nthat of rendering some assistance to the confined debtors. Under such\ncircumstances, trouble, expense, and future consequences were never\nconsidered by him.\u201d\n\nBrice could not and would not pay his fine; and it has been asserted\nthat he was sent to prison. This, however, seems not to have been the\ncase. He retired into his own house, and remained there in voluntary\nconfinement for seven years; where he still continued to produce his\n_Journal_. That of 27 February, 1730, contains some information about\nhim in a leading article. After alluding to \u201cthe vile Prosecution\ncommenced against\u201d him \u201cnear Two Years and a Half since,\u201d he thus\nrefers to the consequences of the action: \u201cI\u2019ve the sad Choice of\npaying that other _Honourable Man_, my gentle Adversary above a Hundred\nPounds, go to Gaol (the Den of Legion Woe), or retire from and guard\nagainst the horrid Catchpoles\u2019 rapacious Clutches. The first none who\ncan\u2019t instruct me honestly to get the Sum will, I presume, advise\nme to comply with; the second I\u2019ve a natural Antipathy against; and\ntherefore the latter, how much soever it may rub against the grain,\nI\u2019m forced to submit to.\u201d Then follows the first announcement of a\npoem he had composed during his retirement, entitled _Freedom_; and\nthis had appended to it a notice of another poem, \u201calready printed, to\nbe published very soon,\u201d entitled \u201c/Behemoth/, or, The horrid\nbloody Monster of St. Thomas\u2019s (an Island scituate directly under the\n\u00c6quinoctial Line, between Guinea and Lower \u00c6thiopia, subject to the\nPortuguese).\u201d This, of course, was another attack upon Glanvill, but\nno copy of it is now known to exist.\n\nWhilst preparing for the publication of _Freedom_ he lost his mother\nand wife, and this delayed its issue.\n\nBrice took advantage of every Sunday, a day on which debtors could not\nbe arrested, to walk abroad. Many attempts were made to seize him, but\nall failed. He kept himself too close, and was too much on his guard.\nOn one occasion a bailiff named Spry disguised himself as a clergyman\nand entered his office under pretence that he had got a book he desired\nto have published by Brice; but that worthy did not allow himself to be\nseen.\n\nThe profits from the sale of his poem on \u201cFreedom\u201d were said to have\nbeen sufficiently large to enable him to compound with his creditors\nand regain his liberty. After this he opened a printing press at Truro,\nthe first in Cornwall. But the venture did not succeed, and he soon\ngave it up.\n\nFrom the outset of his career Brice had exhibited a strong partiality\nfor the drama, and when players came to Exeter they were hospitably\nreceived at his table.\n\nIn 1743, John Wesley visited Exeter for the second time, and preached\nin the open air. He probably produced considerable effect, for some\ntime after this visit the local comedians were prosecuted as vagrants\nand forced to give up their theatre in Waterbeer Street. Thereupon\nthe Methodists purchased it and converted it into a meeting-house.\nBrice at once took up the cause of the players, and in 1745 published\na poem entitled \u201cThe Play-house Church, or new Actors of Devotion.\u201d\nIn consequence of this, says the early biographer of Brice, \u201cthe mob\nwere so spirited up that the Methodists were soon obliged to abandon\nthe place to its former possessors, whom Mr. Brice now protected by\nengaging them as his covenant-servants to perform gratis.\u201d\n\nAll the playing fraternity who visited Exeter became acquainted with\nBrice, and while valuing his hospitality and support, could not fail\nto notice and be amused at his eccentricities. When Garrick produced\nColman\u2019s play, _The Clandestine Marriage_, in 1766, Dr. Oliver says:\n\u201cThere was some hesitation what tone would be most suitable to Lord\nOgleby--it was decided at last that Mr. King should assume Mr. A.\nBrice\u2019s.\u201d The part, an important one, was originally intended for\nGarrick: but on his declining it, Mr. King was requested to undertake\nit. He at first hesitated, but finally consented, and made a great hit\nwith it. \u201cMr. King--as Lord Ogleby--seemed to give a relief and glow to\nthe character which was not intended by the author.\u201d[31]\n\nThe character does not accord with what we know of Brice. Lord Ogleby\nis a hypochondriac, a fop, an aged flirt, who leers at the ladies and\nmakes up his complexion. \u201cI have rather too much of the lily this\nmorning in my complexion,\u201d he says to his valet; \u201ca faint tincture\nof the rose will give a delicate spirit to my eyes for the day.\u201d\nHe converses in French, he chirps out stanzas, whilst twinged with\nrheumatism. \u201cLove is the idol of my heart,\u201d says the old fop, \u201cand the\ndemon, interest, sinks before him.\u201d But that there is a strong vein of\nsarcasm in Lord Ogleby, there seems to be no element in the character\nthat agrees with that of Brice.\n\nWe now arrive at the production of the _Grand Gazetteer_, the work\nupon which rests principally Brice\u2019s claim to literary celebrity. Upon\nit he expended much labour and money. \u201cThe very Books by us us\u2019d in\nthe composition ... cost far above \u00a3100,\u201d he says. It was issued in\nforty-four shilling numbers, each consisting of thirty-two pages, and\nwas begun in 1751, and the last number appeared in 1755. This was one\nof the earliest gazetteers published in England, and certainly the\nmost important. Writing fifty years after its completion, Dyer, the\nExeter bookseller, in 1805, termed it, at that date, \u201cthe best, the\nmost comprehensive, and even the most learned Gazetteer in the English\nlanguage\u201d; but if we may trust Brice in the matter, he lost money on\nthe publication.\n\nHis last published work was an heroic-comic poem entitled _The Mobiad_,\nbeing a description of an Exeter election \u201cby Democritus Juvenal,\nMoral Professor of Ridicule and plaguy-pleasant Fellow of Stingtickle\nCollege; _vulgarly_ Andrew Brice.\u201d London, 1770.\n\nDr. Brushfield has shown good reasons for attributing to Andrew\nBrice, assisted by Benjamin Bowring, of Chumleigh, the composition of\n_The Exmoor Scolding and Courtship_ that first appeared in Brice\u2019s\n_Journal_.[32]\n\nBrice\u2019s latter days were spent in strife with his nephew, Thomas Brice,\nwho was connected with the _Exeter Journal_, and with Mr. Andrews and\nB. Trewman, who had been employed in his printing office, and who left\nhim and started a new paper on their own account, the _Exeter Mercury_.\n\nHe was a disappointed man in his family. He was twice married, but\nboth his wives, and all his children, died before him. He himself died\nof general decay, at the age of eighty-three, on 7 November, 1773. In\nhis will he desired that he might be attended to his grave by his\nbrother masons of St. John\u2019s Lodge. His remains were removed to the\nApollo Room, where during his lifetime he had often presided at masonic\ngatherings, and there they were exposed for several days on show to\nthe public, who were charged a shilling a head to view them. The money\nraised was to defray the expenses of his funeral.\n\nOn Sunday, 14 November, \u201cthe morrow of St. Brice\u2019s day,\u201d the interment\ntook place in St. Bartholomew\u2019s churchyard. Two hundred members of\nvarious lodges, in masonic costume, and with all their regalia,\ntogether with several hundred of the inhabitants, walked in procession\nfrom the New Inn to the grave. A funeral elegy, written by J. E.\nWhitaker and set to music by J. E. Gaudry, was performed at the grave\nto the accompaniment of orchestral music. No monumental stone marks the\nspot where he lies, but the following epitaph, as suitable, is given by\nPolwhele:--\n\n    Here lies Andrew Brice, the old Exeter printer,\n    Whose life lengthen\u2019d out to the depth of its winter;\n    Of his brethren masonic he took his last leave,\n    Inviting them all to a lodge at his grave,\n    Who, to show their respect and obedience, came hither,\n    (Or rather, the mob and the masons together)\n    Sung a hymn to his praise in a funeral tone,\n    But disliking his lodging, return\u2019d to their own.\n\nDr. Brushfield thus gives his appreciation of Andrew Brice: \u201cThe\ncharacter of Andrew Brice, although very pronounced, is by no means an\neasy one to estimate or to describe. His natural good abilities, aided\nby a good education, placed him in a position far above his compeers,\nand we can well understand Polwhele\u2019s remark on the Farleys being \u2018no\nmatch for the learning and abilities of Brice.\u2019 That he possessed\nliterary talents of a high order is shown by his article on Exeter in\nhis _Gazetteer_. Of another order of composition, and as displaying\nhis versatility in a praiseworthy direction, some of his newspaper\narticles may be mentioned. But, on the other hand, when excited by\npolitical animosity or by private enmity, he appears to have thrown\noff all restraint, and as he was a master in the arts of vituperation,\nsatire, and unscrupulous sneering, and coarse in his statements, we are\nnot surprised to learn that he was constantly embroiled in literary\nand even in more active warfare. He was vigorous and thorough in all\nthat he did; a model of plodding perseverance, as the circumstances\nof his early life have already demonstrated, a man of strong feelings\nand powerful resentment. Testy, painfully sensitive, never forgetting\nor forgiving an injury, and governed by strong impulses, whether for\ngood or for evil. And yet, like those of a large class, his faults were\nfar more patent to the world than were his virtues. His character was\nantithetic, powerful in extremes. Although a good fighter, even when on\nthe losing side, he often acknowledged himself to be in the wrong. In\nhis daily life no one was kinder, displayed more hospitality, or was\nmore charitable--all these good qualities were especially exhibited\nto his poorer relatives, as well as to the \u2018poor players.\u2019 Of him\nDr. Oliver reports \u2018that he was a great favourite with his brother\nExonians; he ... was frank, humorous, and independent.\u2019 He calls him\n\u2018facetious,\u2019 a point of character on which Andrew appeared to pride\nhimself, as he sometimes dubbed himself \u2018Merry Andrew,\u2019 at other times\n\u2018Andrew, surnamed Merry.\u2019 He certainly possessed strong individuality,\nand was eccentric in speech, in manner, and dress.\u201d\n\nIt often happens that what a man has done and least values is all that\nremains of him to be really appreciated in after times. So was it\nwith Andrew Brice. His _Gazetteer_ has long been superseded. But his\n_Exmoor Scolding and Courtship_, which he so little appreciated that\nhe did not care to acknowledge his part authorship, has been printed\nand reprinted, and is valued to this day as one of the most important\ndialect works in the English language, and the two were published as\na specimen of the folk-speech of the north-east of the county in 1879\nby the English Dialect Society, edited by Mr. F. T. Elworthy. Of the\nvarious authorities for the life of Andrew Brice it is unnecessary here\nto speak; all have been superseded by the admirable monograph by Dr.\nBrushfield in the _Transactions_ of the Devonshire Association, 1888.\nHe has been able to correct many errors into which earlier biographers\nfell.\n\nSeveral portraits of Brice exist, mainly line engravings. But the best\nis a mezzotint engraved by Jehner and published in 1781.\n\n\n\n\nDEVONSHIRE WRESTLERS\n\n\nWrestling was the favourite sport in former days in Devonshire and\nCornwall.\n\nEvelyn, in his _Diary_, speaks of West-countrymen in London contesting\nin London against men of the North, and in all cases the former\nwere the victors. And Ben Jonson, in his _Bartholomew Fair_, 1614,\nintroduces a Western wrestler, who performed before the Lord Mayor of\nLondon.\n\nIf we may judge by _As You Like It_, wrestling in the Elizabethan\nperiod was a murderous sport. Charles, the wrestler, plays with an old\nman\u2019s three sons. \u201cThe eldest of the three wrestled with Charles--which\nCharles in a moment threw him, and broke three of his ribs, and there\nis little hope of life in him, so he served the second, and so the\nthird.\u201d When Le Beau laments that Rosalind and Celia had not seen the\nsport, Touchstone wisely remarks, \u201cThus men grow wiser every day! It is\nthe first time that ever I heard breaking of ribs was sport for ladies.\u201d\n\nAt Marytavy, in the churchyard, is the tombstone of John Hawkins,\nblacksmith, 1721:--\n\n    Here buried were some years before,\n    His two wives and five children more:\n    One Thomas named, whose fate was such\n    To lose his life by wrestling much.\n    Which may a warning be to all\n    How they into such pastimes fall.\n\nThere is a Cornish ballad of a wrestling match between Will Trefry and\n\u201cLittle Jan\u201d that ends thus:--\n\n    Then with a desperate toss\n    Will showed the flying hoss,\n            And little Jan fell on the tan,\n    And never more he spake.\n    Oh! little Jan, alack!\n    The ladies say, O woe\u2019s the day!\n            O little Jan, alack.\n\nAnd it concludes with a verse stating that Little Jan was to have been\nmarried that day.\n\nOf the \u201cflying hoss\u201d or \u201cflying mare\u201d more presently. The wrestling\ndress peculiar to the West Country consisted of breeches or trousers\nand a wrestling jacket, the only part of the dress by which a hold,\nor as it was technically called a _hitch_, could be got by the rules\nof the play. The jacket was short and loose, made of untearable\nlinen stuff, and had short loose sleeves, reaching nearly to the\nwrist. Wrestlers wore nothing else, except worsted stockings, and in\nDevonshire shoes, soaked in bullock\u2019s blood and baked at a fire, making\nthem hard as iron. Three men were appointed as _sticklers_ to watch the\nplayers and act as umpires, and decide, in the case of a fall, whether\nit was a _fair back_ or not. For a fair back both shoulders and one hip\nmust touch the ground at the same time, or both hips and one shoulder.\nSuch a fall was called a Threepoint Fall.\n\nThe men having stepped into the ring, shook hands, and then separated,\nand the play began by trying for a hitch. This led to much dodging.\n\nA player who gave his adversary a fall remained in the ring for the\nnext antagonist, and when he had given two falls he was reckoned as a\n_standard_. Supposing there were twenty standards left in, the double\nplay would begin by the sticklers matching them with each other, and\nten would then be left for the treble play. The players would then\nbe reduced to five, then to three, and finally the two best would be\nmatched against one another.\n\nThe play in Devonshire and Cornwall was different in this, that in the\nformer county there was kicking, but this was not allowed above the\nknee. In some cases skillibegs were worn in Devon, that is, haybands\nwound about the calves and shins as a protection. In the Cornish play\nthere is hugging and heaving; in the Devonshire play, kicking and\ntripping. It might be thus defined: in Cornwall, the shoulders and arms\nwere mainly relied on; in Devonshire, the legs.\n\nA player, having got his hitch, would proceed to very close quarters,\nand taking his man round the body, not lower than the waist, would\nthrow him over his shoulder, giving him the _Flying Mare_, and turning\nhim over on his back when falling, give him the Back Fall.\n\nBesides the Flying Mare, there was the Cross-buttock fall in shoulder\nplay, the Back-heave, and others. In the leg play there were the\nFore-lock, the Back-lock, Heaving-toe, Back-heel, and others. The\nCornish player would, when he had secured his hitch, endeavour to drag\nhis man in for the hug and the fling; whereas the Devonshire man would\nplay for his hitch to keep him off, till he had disabled him.[33]\n\nSir Thomas Parkyns, about whom more in the sequel, thus describes the\ncast of the Flying Mare: \u201cTake him by the right hand with your left,\nyour palm being upwards as if you designed only to shake him by the\nhand in a friendly manner in the beginning, and twist it outwards, and\nlift it upwards to make way for your head, and put your head under\nhis left armpit, and hold his head stiff backwards, to hold him out of\nhis strength; then put your right arm up to the shoulder between his\ngrainings, and let your hand appear behind, past his breech; but if\nyou suspect they will cavil at that arm, as a breeching, lay your arm\nacross his belly, and lift him up as high as your head, and in either\nhold, when so high, lean backwards and throw him over your head.\u201d\n\nSir Thomas insists that a good wrestler must be temperate. \u201cWhoever\nwould be a complete wrestler must avoid being overtaken in drink,\nwhich very much enervates, or, being in a passion at the sight of his\nadversary, or having received a fall, in such cases he is bereaved\nof his senses; not being master of himself is less of his art, but\nshoweth too much play, or none at all, or either pulleth, kicketh, and\nventureth beyond all reason and his judgment when himself.\u201d\n\nWrestling matches usually began at Whitsuntide, but were most in\npractice at the period between the hay and corn harvests, when the\ncereals were assuming a golden hue, and the orchards were bending under\ntheir burden of fruit. There was hardly a village in the West that did\nnot offer a prize and enjoy the time-honoured spectacle of a game of\nwrestling. The prize was either a silver-plated belt or a gold-laced\nhat. The wearing of the latter was held to free the wearers from\nliability to be pressed for the Navy.\n\nThe wrestling ground was laid with tan. At Moreton Hampstead the games\ntook place in the Sentry or Sanctuary field. At Sheepstor in the still\nwell-preserved Bull-ring, and the spectators sat on the churchyard wall\nto watch the sport. At Liskeard, matches took place in the Ploy, or\nPlay-field from Lady Day to Michaelmas.\n\nIn the kicking, usual in Devonshire play, the wrestler about to\nadminister a kick had but one foot on the ground, and having an\noff-hitch was liable to be thrown by a quick player with a trip or a\nlock. The kick could be prevented by bending the knee so as to bring\nthe heel up to the buttock, and projecting it, when the knee caught the\nadministering player on the leg-bone above the knee with such force as\nto paralyse it for a while, and it has even been known to break it.\nThis was entitled the _stop_.\n\nSeveral of the Devonshire wrestlers became famous beyond the confines\nof the county; and matches between Devonians and Cornishmen were not\nuncommon; and the latter do not seem to have been at all afraid of\nthe kick, for by closing on their antagonists for the hug, they could\nprevent them from kicking with toe or heel, at all events with full\nforce.\n\nThorne was a man of Widdecombe-on-the-Moor, a man of splendid build\nand muscular development. He had made his name as a wrestler, when he\nwas induced to join the Life Guards, and in the battle of Waterloo\ntook part in the famous charge against the French cuirassiers; as he\nwas cutting down his tenth victim a shot laid him low, at the age of\ntwenty-three.\n\nThen two young Devonian giants took the lead in the ring, Johnny Jordan\nand Flower, each six feet high and weighing a trifle over eighteen\nstone apiece. Jordan was a redoubted kicker, and the bravest wrestlers\nshrank from challenging him. On one occasion Flower and Jordan were\nopposed to one another, and after a struggle of seventeen minutes,\nFlower gave way.\n\nIn 1816, Flower was confronted with Polkinghorne, a St. Columb\ntaverner, and the champion of Cornwall. The latter was too much\nfor Flower, and he was thrown amidst enthusiastic cheering and\nhat-tossing and kerchief-waving of the Cornishmen.\n\n[Illustration: _Drawn from Nature on the Stone by Geo. Rowe.  Printed by\nP. Simonau._\n\nTHE WRESTLING CHAMPION OF ENGLAND.\n\nABRAHAM CANN.\n\nWho challenges all the World for 100 Sovereigns. Height 5 f^t 8-1/4.\nWeight 12 Stone 7 lb Age 30. _Pub^d by Geo. Rowe N^n 38 Paris S^t Exeter\nAug^{st} 10^{th} 1826._]\n\nJackman, another Devonshire man, confronted Polkinghorne next day, and\nhe was cast over the head of the Cornubian, describing the \u201cflying\nmare.\u201d William Wreford, at the age of eighteen, achieved reputation\nby throwing Jordan over his head with such force that Jordan came\ndown with a \u201ccrash similar to that produced by felling an oak tree.\u201d\nBut Wreford met his match in a wrestle with \u201cthe little Elephant,\u201d\nJames Stone. Simultaneously the men grappled each other; and although\nWreford had the advantage at the outset, he was hurled into the\nair, and fell with such violence on his back that for a time he was\nincapacitated from taking part in a similar contest. Eventually the\nreturn match came off at Southmolton, and Stone was again victorious.\nNevertheless Wreford remained a prominent figure in the ring, and threw\nFrancis Olver, a Cornishman, although he came out of the contest with\nseveral of his ribs crushed by the deadly \u201chug.\u201d But a greater than\nWreford and Jordan arose in the person of Abraham Cann. He was born in\nDecember, 1794, and was the son of Robert Cann, a farmer and maltster\nat Colebrook. His father had been a wrestler before him, and Abraham\ninherited the old man\u2019s skill, and learned by his experience, and soon\ndefeated Jordan, Flower, Wreford, Simon Webber, and other redoubtable\nDevon champions. He was above the middle height as a man, with long\nlegs, and was endowed with surprising strength of limb. He was a\nkicker. Abraham had a brother James, also a well-known wrestler, but he\ndid not acquire the celebrity of Abraham. In his later years he was an\nunder-gamekeeper, respected for his fearlessness when poachers were to\nthe fore.\n\nThere were other mighty men in the ring, as Bawden the Mole-catcher,\nand Frost, of Aveton Gifford; but these were no match for Cann.\n\nAt Totnes, in 1825, Jordan had thrown a fine player, of the name of\nHuxtable, in one minute, and the liveliest interest was felt in a match\nthat was to be played between him and Abraham Cann, who boasted that he\ncould kick to rags the legs of his antagonist in \u201cvive minutes.\u201d\n\nWhen his turn arrived Cann awaited Jordan in the ring, upright,\nundaunted, with a smile of conscious superiority on his face. Jordan\neyed the tall, athletic, and muscular form of Abraham, and withdrew\nwithout trying for a hitch. This caused lively disappointment, and loud\ncries of anger broke forth. But Jordan felt that he was not in good\nform at the time. Two days later he was roughly handled by a young\nCornishman named Hook, and was too much injured to resume the contest.\n\nOn 21 September, 1826, at the Eagle Tavern, City Road, London, Cann\ncontended without shoes for the first prize with James Warren of\nRedruth, and although the latter made a gallant struggle and Cann was\nat a disadvantage playing without his proper and accustomed weapons,\nthe indurated boots, Abraham Cann came off the victor.\n\nHe now challenged Polkinghorne, the champion of Cornwall. James\nPolkinghorne was 6 ft. 2 in. high, weighed 320 lb., and had not\nwrestled for some years, but had carried on business as landlord of the\n\u201cRed Lion\u201d in St. Columb Major. Cann was but 5 ft. 8-1/2 in. high, and\nweighed 175 lb. This match was for \u00a3200 a side, for the best of three\nback-falls; and it took place on Tamar Green, Morice Town, Plymouth,\non 23 October, 1826, in presence of 17,000 spectators. According to\nsome accounts, Abraham on this occasion was allowed only one shoe.\nThere had been much previous correspondence between the champions;\nPolkinghorne had postponed meeting Cann as long as was possible.\n\nFinally a meeting was arranged, as said, on the 23rd October, 1826.\n\n\u201cTamar Green, Devonport, was chosen for this purpose, and the West\nwas alive with speculation when it was known that the backers meant\nbusiness. On the evening before the contest the town was inundated,\nand the resources of its hotels and inns were taxed to the utmost.\nTruculent and redoubtable gladiators flocked to the scene--kickers\nfrom Dartmoor, the recruiting-ground of the Devonshire system, and\nbear-like huggers from the land of Tre, Pol, and Pen--a wonderful\ncompany of tried and stalwart experts. Ten thousand persons bought\ntickets at a premium for seats, and the hills around swarmed with\nspectators. The excitement was at the highest possible pitch, and\noverwhelming volumes of cheering relieved the tension as the rivals\nentered the ring--Polkinghorne in his stockings, and Cann with a\nmonstrous pair of shoes whose toes had been baked into flints. As the\nmen peeled for action such a shout ascended as awed the nerves of all\npresent. Polkinghorne had been discounted as fat and unwieldy, but\nthe Devonians were dismayed to find that, great as was his girth, his\narms were longer, and his shoulders immensely powerful. Three stone\nlighter in weight, Cann displayed a more sinewy form, and his figure\nwas knit for strength, and as statuesquely proportioned. His grip,\nlike Polkinghorne\u2019s, was well known. No man had ever shaken it off\nwhen once he had clinched; and each enjoyed a reputation for presence\nof mind and resource in extremity beyond those of other masters of the\nart. The match was for the best of three back-falls, the men to catch\nwhat hold they could; and two experts from each county were selected\nas sticklers. The feeling was in favour of Cann at the outset, but it\nreceded as the Cornishman impressed the multitude with his muscular\nsuperiority. Repeatedly shifting their positions, the combatants\nsought their favourite \u2018holts.\u2019 As soon as Cann caught his adversary\nby the collar after a contending display of shifty and evasive form,\nPolkinghorne released himself by a feint; and, amid \u2018terrible shouts\nfrom the Cornishmen,\u2019 he drove his foe to his knees.\n\n\u201cNothing daunted, the Devonian accepted the Cornish hug, and the\nefforts of the rivals were superb. Cann depended on his science to\nsave him; but Polkinghorne gathered his head under his arm, and\nlifting him from the ground, threw him clean over his shoulder, and\nplanted him upon his back. \u2018The very earth groaned with the uproar\nthat followed; the Cornishmen jumped by hundreds into the ring; there\nthey embraced their champion till he begged to be released; and, amid\ncheers and execrations, the fall was announced to have complied with\nthe conditions. Bets to the amount of hundreds of pounds were decided\nby this event.\u2019\n\n\u201cPolkinghorne now went to work with caution, and Cann was conscious\nthat he had an awkward customer to tackle. After heavy kicking\nand attempted hugging, the Cornishman tried once more to lift his\nopponent; but Cann caught his opponent\u2019s leg in his descent, and threw\nhim to the ground first. In the ensuing rounds both men played for\nwind. Polkinghorne was the more distressed, his knees quite raw with\npunishment, and the betting veered in Cann\u2019s favour. Then the play\nchanged, and Cann was apparently at the mercy of his foe, when he\nupset Polkinghorne\u2019s balance by a consummate effort, and threw him on\nhis back by sheer strength--the first that the sticklers allowed him.\nCann next kicked tremendously; but, although the Cornishman suffered\nseverely, he remained \u2018dead game,\u2019 and twice saved himself by falling\non his chest.\n\n\u201cDisputes now disturbed the umpires, and their number was reduced to\ntwo. In the eighth round Polkinghorne\u2019s strength began to fail, and\na dispute was improvised which occasioned another hour\u2019s delay. With\nwind regained and strength revived, the tenth round was contested with\nabsolute fury; and, taking kicking with fine contempt, Polkinghorne\ngripped Cann with leonine majesty, lifted him from the earth in his\narms, turned him over his head, and dashed him to the ground with\nstunning force. As the Cornishman dropped on his knee the fall was\ndisputed, and the turn was disallowed. Polkinghorne then left the ring\namid a mighty clamour, and, by reason of his default, the stakes were\nawarded to Cann. The victor emerged from the terrific hugs of his\nopponent with a mass of bruises, which proved that kicking was only one\ndegree more effective than hugging.\n\n\u201cA more unsatisfactory issue could hardly have been conceived, and\nthe rival backers forthwith endeavoured to arrange another encounter.\nPolkinghorne refused to meet Cann, however, unless he discarded his\nshoes.\u201d\n\nVarious devices were attempted to bring them together again, but they\nfailed. Each had a wholesome dread of the other.\n\nBut Cann went on as a mighty wrestler. He tried a fall with \u201cIrish\nGaffney.\u201d It ended in Cann throwing Gaffney over his back and\ndislocating his left shoulder, besides cutting his shins to pieces with\nhis boots.\n\nHis next famous encounter was with Frost, a moorman of Aveton Gifford,\nand after a most desperate contest, Cann landed him on his back.[34]\n\nThere were other mighty men of the ring, such as a blind wrestler\nmentioned in the ballad of \u201cDick Simmins.\u201d In Cornwall wrestling\ncontinues, especially at S. Columb and S. Austell, but in Devon\nit is extinct: it was thought brutal to hack the shins, and after\nthe hobnailed boot, or boot hardened in blood and at the fire, was\ndiscarded, it lost its interest.\n\nSir Thomas Parkyns has been quoted. He published a curious work\nentitled _The Inn Play, or Cornish Hugg Wrestler_, and died in 1741.\nHe was an enthusiast for the noble science--the Cornish, and not the\nDevonshire mode--and would only take into his service men who were good\nwrestlers. His coachman was one who had shown him the Flying Mare.\n\nSir Thomas, by his will, left a guinea to be wrestled for at Bradmore,\nNottinghamshire, every Midsummer Day, and had his monument carved\nfor him during his lifetime, representing him in wrestling costume,\nsculptured in marble by his chaplain, prepared for either the Cornish\nHug or the Flying Mare. On one side is a well-limbed figure lying\n_above_ the scythe of Time, the sun rising and shining on him as a\nwrestler in the prime of life; on the other side is the same figure\nstretched in a coffin, with Time triumphant above him brandishing his\nscythe, and the sun setting. There are Latin verses appended, that may\nbe thus translated:--\n\n    Here lies, O Time! the victim of thy hand,\n    The noblest wrestler on the British strand,\n    His nervous arm each bold opposer quell\u2019d,\n    In feats of strength by none but thee excell\u2019d,\n    Till, springing up, at the last trumpet\u2019s call,\n    He conquers thee, who will have conquer\u2019d all.\n\nAt the time of the European war, it sometimes happened that a wrestling\nmatch was interrupted in an unpleasant manner to some of the parties\nby the appearance on the scene of the press-gang. There is a favourite\nsong relative to Dick Simmins, published in Mr. Collier\u2019s memoir of\nHicks of Bodmin. I will give it here:--\n\n    Come Vaither, Mother and Brothers all,\n      And Zistur too, I pray,\n    I\u2019ll tell ee a power o\u2019 the strangest things\n      As happen\u2019d to me at say.\n    I\u2019ll tell ee a parcel o\u2019 the strangest things\n      About the winds and tide,\n    How by compass us steer\u2019d, and o\u2019 naught was afear\u2019d,\n      An\u2019 a thousand things beside.\n\n    \u2019Tes true I lived i\u2019 ole Plymouth town,\n      My trade it were ostling,\n    Dick Simmins and I went to Maker Green\n      To turn at wrasteling.\n    The prize o\u2019 buckskin breeches a pair,\n      And ne\u2019er the wuss for wear,\n    Dick and I us tried two valls apiece,\n      The blind man got his share.\n\n    Bevoor the play was o\u2019er half way,\n      \u2019Tes true upon my word,\n    There came a set o\u2019 press-gang chaps\n      Each armed wi\u2019 stick and sword.\n    Dick Simmins swore a dreadful oath\n      I didn\u2019t like to hear,\n    But when King ca\u2019d blind man a fule,\n      That--darn\u2019t--I couldn\u2019t bear.\n\n      I went to t\u2019 chap wi\u2019 upcock\u2019d hat,\n    \u201cNo odds where you may be,\n      But if thou thinks thyself a man\n    Come wi\u2019out the ring wi\u2019 me.\u201d\n      So he did stand, his sword in hand,\n    I knocked it from his hand,\n      Then three or vour gurt toads came up\n    And knocked me down on t\u2019 land.\n\n    Along came one of Plymouth town,\n      Prentice to Uncle Cross,\n    Wot run away \u2019bout a bastard child,\n      A terrible lad he wos.\n    Said he, \u201cDon\u2019t sarve the young man so,\n      \u2019Tes an onmanly thing;\n    Pick up the lad, put him on board\n      That he may sarve the King.\u201d\n\n    They took me up by neck and heels,\n      They dra\u2019ed me to the boat,\n    The master came \u2019longside of me\n      Wi\u2019, \u201cSend the lubber afloat.\u201d\n    They took me up by neck and heels,\n      They dra\u2019ed me to the say,\n    But Providence a-ordered it\n      I shuldn\u2019t be killed that way.\n\n    They picked me out, put me aboard\n      A ship then in the Sound,\n    The waves and winds did blow and roar,\n      I thought I shu\u2019d be drown\u2019d.\n    Then one called \u201cTack!\u201d another \u201cShip!\u201d\n      A third cried \u201cHelm a lee!\u201d\n    Lor\u2019 bless\u2019y, I dun knaw Tack from Ship,\n      An\u2019 Helm to me\u2019s Chinee.\n\n    The Master ordered I aloft,\n      \u2019Twas blawin\u2019 cruel hard,\n    And there was three or vour gurt chaps\n      A grizzlin\u2019 in the yard.\n    When down came mast and down came yard,\n      Then down came I likewise.\n    Lor\u2019 bless\u2019y! if the church tower vaall\u2019d,\n      \u2019Twouldn\u2019t make half the noise.\n\n    Some vaall\u2019d o\u2019erboard, and some on deck,\n      Some had a thundrin\u2019 thump,\n    The Master ordered all hands up\n      For pumpin\u2019 at the pump.\n    Us pump\u00e9d at the pump, my boys,\n      And no one dared to squeak,\n    The Master ordered all below\n      To stop a thunderin\u2019 leak.\n\n    When us had stopp\u00e9d up that leak\n      A French ship us spied comin\u2019,\n    The Master orders all to fight\n      And the drummer to be drummin\u2019.\n    So when the French ship came \u2019longside,\n      A broadside us let flee,\n    Lor\u2019 bless\u2019y! what for smoke and vire\n      Us couldn\u2019t smell nor see.\n\n    The Master wi\u2019 his cocked-up hat\n      He flourish\u00e9d his sword,\n    Wi\u2019 \u201cCome and follow me, brave boys,\n      I warn\u2019t we\u2019ll try to board.\u201d\n    I vollowed he thro\u2019 thick and thin,\n      Tho\u2019 bless\u2019y I culdn\u2019t see\u2019n;\n    The gurt French chap was on to he\n      Wi\u2019 sword both long and keen.\n\n    I rinn\u2019d up to the Master\u2019s help,\n      I niver rinn\u2019d no vaster,\n    I zed unto the gurt French chap,\n      \u201cNow don\u2019t ee hurt the Master!\u201d\n    Then \u201cWee, wee, wee, parlez vous Frenchee!\u201d\n      He zed--I reck\u2019n he cuss\u2019d--\n    But \u201cDarny,\u201d sez I, \u201cif that\u2019s your game,\n      I reck\u2019n I must kill ee fust.\u201d\n\n    The Master jumped \u2019bout the French ship\n      And tore down all her colours,\n    And us jumped \u2019bout the French ship, too,\n      A whoppin\u2019 them foreign fellers.\n    As for the chap as Master threat\u2019n\u2019d\n      I beat that Parley-vous,\n    From the niddick down his lanky back,\n      Till he squeaked out \u201cMortbleu!\u201d\n\n    Now here\u2019s a lesson to volks ashore,\n      And sich as ostlers be,\n    Don\u2019t never say Die, and Tain\u2019t my trade,\n      But listen, and mark of me.\n    There\u2019s nobody knaws wot ee can do,\n      Till tried--now trust me well,\n    Why--us wos ostlers and ort beside,\n      Yet kicked the Frenchies to----Torpoint.\n\nCarew gives us an account of the way in which wrestling was conducted\nin the West of England in the days of Charles I. \u201cThe beholders cast\nor form themselves into a ring, in the empty space whereof the two\nchampions step forth, stripped into their dublets and hosen, and\nuntrussed, that they may so the better command the use of their lymmes;\nand first, shaking hands, in token of friendship, they fall presently\nto the effects of anger; for each striveth how to take hold of the\nother with his best advantage, and to bear his adverse party downe;\nwhereas, whosoever overthroweth his mate, in such sort, as that either\nhis backe, or the one shoulder, and contrary heele do touch the ground,\nis accounted to give the fall. If he be only endangered, and makes a\nnarrow escape, it is called a foyle.\u201d\n\nHe then adds: \u201cThis pastime also hath his laws, for instance; of taking\nhold above the girdle--wearing a girdle to take hold by--playing three\npulls for trial of the mastery, the fall-giver to be exempted from\nplaying again with the taker, but bound to answer his successor. Silver\nprizes for this and other activities, were wont to be carried about, by\ncertain circumforanei, or set up at bride-ales, but time or their abuse\nhath now worn them out of use.\u201d Double play was when two who had flung\nthe rest contested at the close for the prize.\n\nIf wrestling was declining in Carew\u2019s time, it certainly revived in\nvigour in the reign of Charles II, and continued till the beginning of\nthe nineteenth century, when again it declined, and is now in Devon a\nthing of the past.\n\nBlackmore has given an excellent description of a Devonshire wrestling\nmatch in his early novel of _Clara Vaughan_.\n\n\n\n\nTWO HUNTING PARSONS\n\n\nAt the beginning of the nineteenth century, few counties in England\nproduced such a crop of hunting parsons as did Devonshire. They were\nin force for the first fifty years. In 1831 Henry Phillpotts was\nconsecrated Bishop of Exeter. Shortly after, as he was driving with his\nchaplain on the way to a Confirmation, a fox-hunt passed by in full\nhalloo.\n\n\u201cDear me!\u201d exclaimed his lordship; \u201cwhat a number of black coats\namong the hunters. Has there been some great bereavement in the\nneighbourhood?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy lord,\u201d replied the chaplain, \u201cthe only bereavement these\nblack-coated sportsmen suffer from is not being able to appear in pink.\u201d\n\nThere were, it was computed, in the diocese of Exeter a score of\nincumbents who kept their packs; there must have been over a hundred\nparsons who hunted regularly two or three days in the week, and as\nmany more who would have done so had their means allowed them to keep\nhunters.\n\nThere is no objection to be made to a parson following the hounds\noccasionally; the sport is more manly than that which engrosses so\nmany young clerics nowadays, dawdling about with ladies on lawn-tennis\ngrounds or at croquet. But those early days of last century hunting\nwas with many the main pursuit of their life, and clerical duties were\nneglected or perfunctorily performed.\n\nThere was no high standard of clerical life prevalent, but what\nstandard there was was not lived up to. These parsonic sportsmen\nwere as profoundly ignorant of the doctrines of the Faith they were\ncommissioned to teach, as any child in a low form in a National School.\nAs was sung of one--typical--\n\n    This parson little loveth prayer\n      And _Pater_ night and morn, Sir!\n    For bell and book hath little care,\n      But dearly loves the horn, Sir!\n        Sing tally-ho! sing tally-ho!\n          Sing tally-ho! Why, Zounds, Sir!\n        I mounts my mare to hunt the hare!\n          Sing tally-ho! the hounds, Sir!\n\n    In pulpit Parson Hogg was strong,\n      He preached without a book, Sir!\n    And to the point, but never long,\n      And this the text he took, Sir!\n        O tally-ho! O tally-ho!\n          Dearly Beloved--Zounds, Sir!\n        I mounts my mare to hunt the hare!\n          Sing tally-ho! the hounds, Sir!\n\nThere is but one patch of false colour in this song, that which\nrepresents the hunting parson as strong in the pulpit.\n\nSociety--hunting society especially--in North Devon was coarse to an\nexceptional degree. One who knew it intimately wrote to me: \u201cIt was\na strange ungodly company, parsons included, and that not so very\nlong ago. North Devon society in Jack Russell\u2019s day was peculiar--so\npeculiar that no one now would believe readily that half a century\nago such life could be--but I was in the thick of it. It was not\ncreditable to any one, but it was so general that the rascality of it\nwas mitigated by consent.\u201d\n\nThe hunting parson was, as said, not strong in the pulpit except in\nvoice. But Jack Russell, of Swymbridge, was an exception.\n\n[Illustration: J. Russell]\n\nHe had a fine, sonorous voice, good delivery, and some eloquence. The\nBishop of Exeter, Dr. Phillpotts, heard him on one occasion, and said\nto a lady, a connexion of Mr. Russell, \u201cThat was really a capital\nsermon.\u201d \u201cAh! my lord,\u201d she replied, \u201cyou have only heard him in the\nwood--you should hear him in pig-skin giving the view-halloo!\u201d\n\nBishop Phillpotts came to the diocese resolved to suppress the hunting\nand sporting of his clergy, but found it impossible to do so. His\nefforts were wrongly directed; the hunting put down would not have\naltered the propensities of his clergy. He could not convert them to\nearnest and devoted parish priests. Thus hearts could not be reached.\nIt was only as this class of men died out that a better type could be\nintroduced. The Bishop sent for Mr. Russell, of Swymbridge.\n\n\u201cI understand that you keep hounds, and that your curate hunts with\nyou. Will you give up your hounds?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, my lord, I decline to do so.\u201d\n\nHe then turned to the curate, Sleeman, and said, \u201cYour licence, sir, I\nrevoke; and I only regret that the law does not enable me to deal with\nthe graver offender of the two.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am very happy to find you can\u2019t, my lord,\u201d said Russell. \u201cAnd may I\nask, if you revoke Mr. Sleeman\u2019s licence, who is to take the duty at\nLandkey, my other parish, next Sunday?\u201d\n\n\u201cMr. Sleeman may do it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd who the following Sunday?\u201d\n\n\u201cMr. Sleeman again,\u201d replied the Bishop, \u201cif by that time you have not\nsecured another curate.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall take no steps to do so, my lord; and, moreover, shall be very\ncautious as to whom I admit into my charges,\u201d replied Russell.\n\nFinally Mr. Sleeman removed to Whitchurch, a family living, to which\nhe succeeded on the death of his father, and Bishop Phillpotts had\nto swallow the bitter pill of instituting him to it. I remember Mr.\nSleeman as rector, hunting, shooting, dancing at every ball, and\ndiffering from a layman by his white tie, a capital judge of horses,\nand possessor of an excellent cellar.\n\nWhen Parson Jack Russell was over eighty he started keeping a pack of\nharriers. The then Bishop of Exeter sent for him.\n\n\u201cMr. Russell, I hear you have got a pack of hounds. Is it so?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is. I won\u2019t deny it, my lord.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, Mr. Russell, it seems to me rather unsuitable for a clergyman\nto keep a pack. I do not ask you to give up hunting, for I know it\nwould not be possible for you to exist without _that_. But will you, to\noblige me, give up the pack?\u201d\n\n\u201cDo y\u2019 ask it as a personal favour, my lord?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Mr. Russell, as a personal favour.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, then, my lord, I will.\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you, thank you.\u201d The Bishop, moved by his readiness, held out\nhis hand. \u201cGive me your hand, Mr. Russell; you are--you really are--a\ngood fellow.\u201d\n\nJack Russell gave his great fist to the Bishop, who pressed it warmly.\nAs they thus stood hand in hand, Jack said--\n\n\u201cI won\u2019t deceive you--not for the world, my lord. I\u2019ll give up the pack\nsure enough--but Mrs. Russell will keep it instead of me.\u201d\n\nThe Bishop dropped his hand.\n\nOn one occasion Bishop Phillpotts met Froude, vicar of Knowstone. \u201cI\nhear, Mr. Froude, that you keep a pack of harriers.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you\u2019ve heard wrong, my lord. It is the pack that keeps me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not understand.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey stock my larder with hares. You don\u2019t suppose I should have\nhares on my table unless they were caught for me? There\u2019s no butcher\nfor miles and miles, and I can\u2019t get a joint but once in a fortnight.\nForced to eat hares; and they must be caught to be eaten.\u201d\n\nThe Bishop then said to Froude: \u201cI hear, sir, but I can hardly credit\nit, that you invite men to your house and keep them drinking and then\nfighting in your parlour.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy lord, you are misinformed. Don\u2019t believe a word of it. When they\nbegin to fight and takes off their coats, I turns \u2019em out into the\nchurchyard.\u201d\n\nJohn Boyce, rector of Sherwell, wishing to have a day\u2019s hunting with\nthe staghounds on the Porlock side of Exmoor, told his clerk to give\nnotice in the morning that there would be no service in the afternoon\nin the church, as he was going off to hunt with Sir Thomas Acland over\nthe moor on the following day. The mandate was obeyed to the letter,\nthe clerk making the announcement in the following terms:--\n\n\u201cThis is to give notiss--there be no sarvice to this church this\narternoon; cos maester be a-going over the moor a stag-hunting wi\u2019 Sir\nThomas.\u201d\n\nAt Stockleigh Pomeroy parish, the rector, Roupe Ilbert, desired his\nclerk to inform the congregation that there would be one service only\non the Sunday in that church for a month, as he was going to take duty\nat Stockleigh English _alternately_ with his own. The clerk did so in\nthese words: \u201cThis is vor to give notiss--there\u2019ll be no sarvice to\nthes church but wance a wick, as maester\u2019s a-going to sarve t\u2019other\nStockleigh and this church to all etarnity.\u201d\n\nOn one occasion, as the congregation were assembling for divine\nservice in a church where Mr. Russell was ministering, a man stood\non the churchyard hedge, with the band of his hat stuck round with\nsilver spoons, bawling out, \u201cPlaize to tak\u2019 notiss--Thaise zix zilver\nspunes to be wrastled vor next Thursday, at Poughill, and all ginlemen\nwrastlers will receive vair play.\u201d The man, with the spoons in his hat,\nthen entered the church, went up to the singing gallery, and hung it\non a peg, from which it was perfectly visible to the parson and the\ngreater part of the congregation during service.\n\nIt was customary in those portions of Devon which were not regularly\nhunted, for the church bell to be rung when a fox had been discovered,\nso as to assemble all hands to kill it.\n\nOn one occasion, at Welcombe, snow lying deep on the ground, the\nclergyman was reading the second lesson, when a man opened the church\ndoor and shouted in, \u201cI\u2019ve a got un!\u201d and immediately withdrew. At once\nup rose all the men in the congregation and followed him, and within a\ncouple of hours brought into the village inn a fine old fox, dug out\nand murdered in cold blood.\n\nOf the whole tribe of fox-hunting, hare-hunting, otter-hunting, dancing\nparsons, Jack Russell was the best in every way.\n\nI was travelling outside the coach one day to Exeter, and two farmers\nwere by me on the seat behind the driver. Their talk was on this\noccasion, not of bullocks, but of parsons. One of them came from\nSwymbridge, the other from a certain parish that I shall not name,\nand whose rector we will call Rattenbury. The latter told a story of\nRattenbury that cannot be repeated, indicating incredible grossness in\nan Englishman, impossible in a gentleman. \u201cAye there!\u201d retorted the\nsheep of Parson Jack\u2019s flock. \u201cOur man b\u2019aint like that at all. He be\nmain fond o\u2019 dogs, I allows; he likes his bottle o\u2019 port, I grant you\nthat; but he\u2019s a proper gentleman and a Christian; and I reckon your\npasson be neither one nor t\u2019other.\u201d\n\nJohn Russell was born in December, 1796. His father was rector of\nIddesleigh, in North Devon, and at the same time of Southill, near\nCallington, in Cornwall, one of the fattest livings in that county, the\nrectory and church distant three miles from the town of Callington,\nthat is in the parish. A curate on a small stipend was sent to serve\nIddesleigh, Mr. Russell settling into the spacious rectory of Southill,\nlarge as a manor-house, and with extensive grounds and gardens.\n\nYoung John was sent to school at Blundell\u2019s, at Tiverton, under\nDr. Richards, a good teacher, but a very severe disciplinarian. At\nBlundell\u2019s, Russell and another boy, named Bovey, kept a scratch pack\nof hounds. Having received a hint that this had reached the ears of Dr.\nRichards, he collected his share of the pack and sent them off to his\nfather. Next day he was summoned to the master\u2019s desk.\n\n\u201cRussell,\u201d said the Doctor, \u201cI hear that you have some hounds. Is it\ntrue?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, sir,\u201d answered Russell; \u201cI have not a dog in the neighbourhood.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou never told me a lie, so I believe you. Bovey, come here. You have\nsome hounds, I understand?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, sir, a few--but they are little ones.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! you have, have you? Then I shall expel you the school.\u201d\n\nAnd expelled he was, Russell coming off scatheless.\n\nJohn Russell was ordained deacon in 1819, on nomination to the curacy\nof Georgenympton, near Southmolton, and there he kept otter hounds.\nIn 1830 he married Penelope, daughter of Admiral Bury, a lady with a\ngood deal of money, all of which, or nearly all, Parson Jack managed in\nprocess of years to get rid of--\u00a350,000, which went, not in giving her\npleasure, but on his own sporting amusements.\n\nRussell thought that in horse-dealing, as in love and war, all things\nare lawful. It so happened that Parson Froude wanted a horse, and he\nasked his dear friend, Russell, if he knew where he could find one that\nwas suitable. \u201cWould my brown horse do?\u201d asked Russell. \u201cI want to sell\nhim, because the hunting season is over, and I have too many horses.\nCome into town on Saturday and dine with me in the middle of the day,\nand see the horse. If you like him, you can have him, and if you do\nnot, there is no harm done.\u201d\n\nOn Saturday, into Southmolton came Froude. Russell lived there, as he\nwas curate of Georgenympton, near by. Froude stabled his horse at the\nlower end of the town. He was suspicious even of a friend, so, instead\nof going to Russell\u2019s lodging, he went to his stable and found the door\nlocked. This circumstance made him more suspicious than ever, and,\nlooking round, he saw a man on a ladder, from which he was thatching\na cottage. He called to him for assistance, shifted the ladder to the\nstable, ascended, and went by the \u201ctallet\u201d door into the loft. He got\ndown the steps inside, opened the window, and carefully inspected the\nhorse, which he found to be suffering in both eyes from incipient\ncataract. He climbed back, got down the ladder, and shutting the\nwindow, went into a shop to have his coat brushed before he rang his\nfriend\u2019s door-bell. The door was opened by Russell himself, who saluted\nhim with:\n\n\u201cYou are early, Froude. Come across to the bank with me for a moment,\nif you do not mind.\u201d\n\nIn the street was standing a Combmartin cart laden with early\nvegetables, and between the shafts was an old pony, stone blind, with\nglassy eyeballs. Froude paused, lifted the pony\u2019s head, turned its face\nto the light, looked at the white eyeballs, and remarked: \u201cHow blessed\nplenty blind horses are in this town just now, Jack.\u201d\n\nNot another word was said. The dinner was eaten, the bottle of port\nwine was consumed, and Froude rode home without having been asked to\nsee the brown horse. Russell knew that the game was up, and that his\nlittle plan for making his friend view the horse _after_ he had dined,\nand not before, had lamentably failed.[35]\n\nBut that was the way with them. Froude would have dealt with his best\nfriend in the same manner over horses.\n\nOne who knew him intimately writes: \u201cRussell was an iron man. I\nhave known other specimens, but Russell was the hardest of all in\nconstitution. He was kindly enough and liberal in his dealings with\nhis people; but if it came to selling him, or even to lending him, a\nhorse, or buying what he was pleased to call his famous terriers, the\ncase was different--it was after the morality of North Devon. He was a\nwonderful courtier where ladies were concerned, and with them he was\nvery popular. He was no fool, but very capable, only a man who was too\nmuch given to outdoor sports to read, or even to keep himself currently\ninformed.\n\n\u201cHis voice was not unmusical, but tremendous. He was far too shrewd to\nbe ever foolish in church. I was in the county somewhere about 1848-9,\nand there was a Bishop\u2019s Visitation at Southmolton, and Russell was\nasked to preach. Then the clergy, churchwardens, etc., dined together\nat the \u2018George,\u2019 and after dinner the Bishop rose, and, with his\nsilvery voice, thanked the preacher of the day, and, in the name of all\nthose present, begged him to publish his admirable discourse for their\nbenefit.\n\n\u201cBishop Phillpotts, I may say, was diabolically astute and\nwell-informed, and dangerous to match.\n\n\u201cThen up rose Russell, with head thrown back, and said: \u2018My lord,\nI rejoice that so good a judge should pronounce my performance\nprofitable. But I cannot oblige your lordship and publish, because that\ndiscourse is already in print. My lord, when I was requested to preach\nto-day I naturally turned to see what others before me had thought it\nadvisable to say on similar occasions; and, chancing on a discourse by\nan Irish clergyman of long ago, I shared your lordship\u2019s sentiments\nof admiration, and feeling myself incapable of doing better than the\nauthor, I was determined, my lord, that if, to-day, I could give no\nbetter fare, at least my audience should have no worse. My lord, the\nsermon is not original.\u2019\n\n\u201cThere was not a man in the room but knew that the Bishop had\nendeavoured to trap _their_ man. And that he had extricated himself\ngave vast delight, manifested by the way in which the glasses leaped\nfrom the tables, as the churchwardens banged the boards.\u201d\n\nRussell was not a heavy drinker. No one ever saw him drunk. Usually he\nonly brought out a bottle of port after he had killed his fox. On all\nother occasions gin and water was produced before going to bed. But if\nnot intemperate in that way, he could and did use strong language in\nthe hunting-field--as strong as any of the yeomen and farmers.\n\nHe was ubiquitous. Whenever there was a wrestling match, distance was\nnothing to him, or a horse fair, or a stag-hunt. Mentioning stag-hunts\nrecalls the story of a parson on the fringe of Exmoor, who had been out\nwith the hounds, and had the hunters in his church on Sunday morning.\nThe Psalm given out was \u201cAs pants the hart for cooling streams,\u201d and\nhis text was \u201cLo, we heard of it at Ephratah, and we found it in the\nwood.\u201d\n\nFrom Southmolton John Russell moved to Iddesleigh, appointed there by\nhis father, who surrendered to him the income of the living.\n\nHe was now somewhat out of the ring of his former associates, and had\nto make, and contrived to make, fresh friends in the neighbourhood of\nHatherleigh. But it was not one where there were many squires, and the\nclergy were too poor to keep packs. Moreover, that tract of country was\nrarely hunted at all, and Russell determined to make it his own special\nhappy hunting ground. There were, however, difficulties in the way. The\npeople did not sympathize. The farmers were indisposed to favour his\nscheme, and of resident sporting squires there were none at all.\n\nIt had long been the practice of the natives to kill a fox whenever\nand however they could catch him; and Russell had not been long at\nIddesleigh when one day his ear caught the sound of a church bell, rung\nin a jangling fashion and with more than usual clamour. It was the\nsignal that a fox had been tracked to ground or balled into a brake;\nand the bell summoned every man who possessed a pickaxe, a gun, or a\nterrier to hasten to the spot and lend a hand in destroying the noxious\nanimal. This practice he had to interrupt and put an end to.\n\nA letter of Russell\u2019s thus describes his first adventure with a party\nbent on murdering a fox in his new country:--\n\n\u201cDuring the winter of the first year I was at Iddesleigh, the snow at\nthe time lying deep on the ground, a native--Bartholomew, _alias_ Bat,\nAnstey--came to me and said, \u2018Hatherleigh bell is a-ringing, sir.\u2019\n\u2018Ringing for what?\u2019 I asked, with a strong misgiving as to the cause of\nit. \u2018Well, sir, they\u2019ve a-tracked a fox in somewhere; and they\u2019ve a-sot\nthe bell a-going to collect the people to shoot un.\u2019 \u2018Come, Bat, speak\nout like a man,\u2019 I replied, \u2018and tell me where it is.\u2019 \u2018In Middlecot\nEarths, sir; just over the Ockment.\u2019\n\n\u201cI was soon on the spot with about ten couple of my little hounds, and\nfound standing around the earths about a hundred fellows, headed, I am\nalmost ashamed to say, by two gentlemen--Mr. Veale, of Passaford, and\nMr. Morris, of Fishley. I remonstrated with these gentlemen, and told\nthem plainly that if they would leave the earths, and preserve foxes\nfor me, I would show them more sport with my little pack in one day\nthan they would see in a whole year by destroying the gallant animal in\nso un-English a way.\n\n\u201cImpressed, apparently, by what I had said, both gentlemen instantly\nbade me good morning, turned on their heels, and left the place; while\na few shillings distributed among the rest, by way of compensation for\nthe disappointment I had caused them, induced them to disperse and\nleave me almost the sole occupant of the situation.\n\n\u201cThen, after waiting half an hour near the spot, I turned my head\ntowards home; but before I arrived there I met a man open-mouthed,\nbawling out, \u2018They\u2019ve a-tracked a fox into Brimblecombe, for I hear the\nDowland bell a-going.\u2019\n\n\u201cSo off I went to Dowland in post-haste; found out where the fox was\nlying, turned him out of a furze-bush, ran him one hour and forty\nminutes--a blaze of scent all the way--and took him up alive before the\nhounds on the very earths I had so lately quitted; where, unfortunately\nfor him, a couple of scoundrels had remained on the watch, and had\nconsequently headed him short back from that stronghold.\u201d\n\nBut Russell had not yet finished with the fox-killers, for he says:\n\u201cThe very next day after the run from Brimblecombe, a man came to\nIddesleigh on purpose to inform me that the bell was going at Beaford,\nand that a fox had been traced into a brake near that hamlet. The\nbrake, in reality, though not far from Iddesleigh, was in Mr. Glubb\u2019s\ncountry; but feeling sure that the necessity of the case would justify\nthe encroachment, I let out the hounds at once, and hurried to the spot\nwith all speed.\n\n\u201cOn arriving at the brake I found only one man near it; and he, placed\nthere as sentinel, was guarding it from disturbance with a watchful\neye. I asked him to tell me where the fox was, but he gave me a very\nimpertinent answer. Pulling out half a crown, I said, \u2018There, my man,\nI\u2019d have given you that if you had told me where he was.\u2019 The fellow\u2019s\neye positively sparkled at sight of the silver. \u2018Let me have it, then,\u2019\nhe replied, \u2018and I will show you where he is to a yard.\u2019\n\n\u201cI ran that fox an hour, and lost him near where he was found. Then,\njust as I was calling the hounds away to go home, down came a crowd of\nmen, women, and children to see this fox murdered. Many of them had\nbrought their loaded guns, were full of beer, and eager for the fray.\nAnd when they discovered that I had disturbed _their_ fox, as they were\npleased to designate him, their language was anything but choice.\n\n\u201cA strapping young fellow, one of the principal farmers in the parish,\ncame up to me and said, \u2018Who are you, sir, to come here and spoil our\nsport?\u2019 \u2018You would have spoiled mine,\u2019 I replied, \u2018if you could.\u2019\n\u2018We\u2019ll shoot them foxes whenever we can--that I\u2019ll promise you,\u2019 he\nsaid in an angry tone. At that moment one of the hounds began to howl.\nI looked round, saw she was in pain, and asked in a threatening manner,\n\u2018Who kicked that hound?\u2019\n\n\u201cNo one spoke for half a minute, when a little boy said, pointing to\nanother, \u2018That boy kicked her.\u2019 \u2018Did he?\u2019 I exclaimed. \u2018Then \u2019tis lucky\nfor him that he is a _little boy_.\u2019 \u2018Why?\u2019 said the farmer with whom\nI had been previously talking. \u2018Because,\u2019 I replied, \u2018if a _man_ had\nkicked her I would have horse-whipped him on the spot.\u2019 \u2018You would find\nthat a difficult job if you tried it,\u2019 was his curt answer. I jumped\noff my horse, threw down my whip, and said, \u2018Who\u2019s the man to prevent\nme?\u2019\n\n\u201cNot a word was spoken. I stood my ground, and one by one the crowd\nretired, the young farmer amongst the number; and from that day forward\nI secured for myself not only the goodwill and co-operation but the\nfriendship of some of the best fox-preservers that the county of Devon\nhas ever seen.\u201d\n\nI have thought it as well to let Mr. Russell tell his own story. If the\nreader considers this a dignified scene for a clergyman to be engaged\nin I beg to differ from him. In 1832, after he had been six years at\nIddesleigh, Mr. Russell moved to Tordown, a lone country house in the\nparish of Swymbridge, and in 1833, the perpetual curacy of Swymbridge\nand Landkey becoming vacant, he was appointed to the benefice by the\nDean of Exeter, and there he remained almost till his death.\n\n\u201cWhen I was inducted,\u201d wrote he, \u201cto this incumbency there was only\none service here every Sunday--morning and evening alternately with\nLandkey--whereas now, I am thankful to say, we have four services every\nSunday in Swymbridge alone.\u201d\n\nThis shows that Parson Jack was not a mere mighty hunter before the\nLord. He was a sincerely good man up to his lights, and never neglected\na duty for the sake of a gallop after his hounds.\n\nWhen he lost Mr. Sleeman he advertised for another curate in the _North\nDevon Journal_. \u201cWanted a curate for Swymbridge; must be a gentleman of\nmoderate and orthodox views.\u201d\n\nMr. Hooker, vicar of Buckerell, was standing in a shop door in\nBarnstaple shortly after the appearance of this advertisement, when\nhe was accosted by Will Chapple, the parish clerk of Swymbridge, who\nentered the grocer\u2019s shop. \u201cHav\u2019ee got a coorate yet for Swymbridge,\nMr. Chapple?\u201d inquired the grocer in Mr. Hooker\u2019s hearing. \u201cNo, not\nyet, sir,\u201d replied the sexton, \u201cMaster\u2019s \u2019nation particler, and the man\nmust be orthodox.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d inquired the grocer.\n\n\u201cWell, I recken it means he must be a purty good rider.\u201d\n\nAnd Mr. Chapple was not far out. A curate did apply and breakfasted\nwith Russell. The meal over, two likely-looking hunters were brought\nround ready to be mounted. \u201cI\u2019m going to take \u2019ee to Landkey,\u201d\nexplained Russell. Off they rode. The young cleric presently remarked,\n\u201cHow bare of trees your estate is,\u201d as they crossed the lands belonging\nto Russell.\n\n\u201cAh!\u201d responded the sportsman, \u201cthe hounds eat \u2019em.\u201d Coming to a stiff\ngate, Russell, with his hand in his pocket, cleared it like a bird, but\nlooking round, saw the curate on the other side crawling over the gate,\nand crying out, \u201cIt won\u2019t open.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot it,\u201d was the reply; \u201cand if you can\u2019t leap a five-barred gate like\nthat, I\u2019m sure you can\u2019t preach a sermon. Good-bye.\u201d\n\nIt is not my intention to give a detailed life of the Rev. John\nRussell. His memoirs by the author of _Old Dartmoor Days_, published\nin 1878, are very full. They are very laudatory, written as they were\nwhilst Russell was alive. Cromwell when being painted was asked by the\nartist about his mole. \u201cPaint the mole and all,\u201d was the Protector\u2019s\nreply. But others are not so strong-minded and do not care to have\nportraits too realistic. In 1880, Russell was appointed to Black\nTorrington.\n\nWhen he was over eighty he rode a poor hack from Black Torrington to\nMr. Williams, at Scorrier, to judge puppies, and Mrs. Williams was\nalarmed, as the old man was not well on arriving. She proposed to\nsend him back by rail, fearing lest he should be seriously--fatally,\nperhaps--ill in her house. But although very poorly, he refused, and\nwith one day between, rode home, something like seventy miles each\njourney.\n\nHe died in 1883, 3 May, in the arms of his medical attendant, Dr.\nLinnington Ash, at Black Torrington, and was buried at Swymbridge.\n\nAfter the best type of the hunting parson we come to one of the worst,\nwho exercised a good deal of influence over Russell, when he was\nyoung, at Southmolton. This was John Froude, vicar of Knowstone, who\nhad succeeded his father, the elder John Froude, in September, 1803,\nand who held the incumbency, a veritable incubus to it, for forty-nine\nyears till his death, on 9 September, 1852.\n\nRussell himself says: \u201cMy head-quarters (after having been ordained)\nwere at Southmolton; and I hunted as many days in every week as my\nduties would permit with John Froude, with whom I was on very intimate\nterms. His hounds were something out of the common; bred from old\nstaghounds--light in colour and sharp as needles, plenty of tongue, but\nwould drive like furies. He couldn\u2019t bear to see a hound put his nose\non the ground and \u2018twiddle his tail.\u2019 \u2018Hang the brute,\u2019 he would say\nto the owner of the hounds, \u2018get me those who can wind their game when\nthey are thrown off.\u2019\n\n\u201cFroude was himself a first-rate sportsman, but always acted on the\nprinciple of \u2018kill un, if you can; you\u2019ll never see un again.\u2019\n\n\u201cHe had an old liver-coloured spaniel, a wide ranger, and under perfect\ncommand. He used to say he could hunt the parish with that dog from the\ntop of the church tower. You could hear his view-halloo for miles, and\nhis hounds absolutely flew to him when they heard it. Let me add, his\nhospitality knew no bounds.\u201d\n\nJohn Froude belonged to a clever family, that produced Archdeacon\nFroude, rector of Dartington and father of Hurrell and James Anthony,\nthe historian. He had been well educated, and was a graduate of Oxford\nUniversity. It is said that he had met with great disappointment in\nlove, and early in life retired into what was, in the beginning of the\nnineteenth century, the great retirement from the world of culture and\nintellectual activity, Knowstone-cum-Molland.\n\nKnowstone stands high on a bleak and wind-swept hill, reached even at\nthis day by a narrow and arduous and often a rough road, when torn up\nby a descending torrent after a storm. Molland lies distant three and\na half miles on a brook flowing down from bleak moors into the Yeo. A\nsheltered and pleasant spot, with an interesting church, containing\nCourtenay monuments.\n\nFroude\u2019s church preferment was at the time valuable, and he was,\nmoreover, in possession of some considerable private fortune in\naddition to his professional income. He had few educated people\nresiding in his neighbourhood. With the quiet, inoffensive clergy\nabout he would not associate; with others he could not, as they held\nthemselves aloof from him. He soon came to associate almost entirely\nwith the rough farmers who inhabited the Exmoor district, and he grew\nto resemble them in mind, language, habits of life and dress. From\nthem he was principally differentiated by his native wit, his superior\neducation, and his exceeding wickedness.\n\nI have said that there were some with whom he could not associate. Such\nwas the Hon. Newton Fellowes, afterwards Earl of Portsmouth, but at\nthat time a young man with a love of sport, which he maintained to the\nlast, and then without much token of brains, but he developed later.\nHim Froude detested, mainly because Newton Fellowes busied himself to\nimprove the roads, so that, when at Eggesford, he could drive about\nthe country in his four-in-hand; partly, also, because he was never\ninvited to cross the threshold of Eggesford. He revenged himself with\nhis tongue.\n\nOne day he was dining at the ordinary at the George Hotel in\nSouthmolton when Newton Fellowes was there as well. The latter was\ntelling the assembled farmers how he had fallen over a hurdle in\na race a few days earlier. \u201cAnd as the mare rolled,\u201d added he, \u201cI\nthought I had broken my neck,\u201d and he put his hands to his throat to\nemphasize the remark. Whereupon Froude, speaking loud enough to command\nattention, exclaimed: \u201cNo, no, Newton, you will never break _your_\nneck; we have scriptural warrant for that.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow so?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Lord preserveth them that are _simple_.\u201d\n\nThe story stuck to Lord Portsmouth for life. Nor did Prebendary\nKarslake fare much better. Karslake was a scholar, a good speaker,\nrector of two parishes, and Prebendary of Exeter Cathedral. He took\npupils, and prepared them for Oxford. He was rural dean and inspector\nof schools, and also chairman of the quarter sessions, farmed largely,\nand was a keen, all-round sportsman, and very intimate with Newton\nFellowes, wherefore Froude hated him.\n\nIt was at another farmers\u2019 dinner at the \u201cGeorge\u201d that Froude left his\nmark upon _him_. Karslake was not present at this dinner.\n\nTwo farmers were engaged in dispute, and one said to the other: \u201cI\ndon\u2019t care for your opinion, for Mr. Karslake says otherwise, and he\nknows.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d shouted Froude; \u201cdo \u2019ee quote that little Billy Karslake? He is\nno better than another--a stone jackass.\u201d\n\nThen a dozen voices together asked: \u201cWhy is Parson Karslake like a\nstone jackass?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Froude, \u201c\u2019tis plain enough, surely. He ain\u2019t handsome, he\nain\u2019t useful, he\u2019s main stupid, but he\u2019s gallous mischievous.\u201d\n\nThe nickname of the \u201cstone jackass\u201d stuck to the Prebendary for life.\nBut worse treatment was in store for him.\n\nHe was a most active magistrate, and the date of the occurrence I\nam about to mention was somewhere between 1835 and 1840, before the\nrailways penetrated into the West Country.\n\nIt must be understood that Froude fascinated his neighbours, overawing\nthem as a snake is said to fascinate a mouse. If he told them to do a\nthing, or to keep silent, he was obeyed. They dared not do otherwise.\n\nOne evening a young farmer arrived at Mr. Karslake\u2019s door, at Meshaw,\nand entreated an interview on urgent business. On being admitted he\ntold the magistrate that an atrocious crime had been undoubtedly\nperpetrated at Knowstone that very day. A little girl of eleven years\nof age had left the village in the afternoon to return to her parents,\nwho occupied a small farm-house a mile or two distant, and had not been\nseen since. When search was made for her, on the roadside were found\na child\u2019s shoe and a bonnet stained with blood, but no body could be\ndiscovered. Karslake took the matter up. He was in the saddle from\nmorning till night, the local constables were stirred up, but all in\nvain. No further traces of the child were to be found, no clue to the\nmystery discovered. Karslake then, at his own expense, went up to\nLondon, and returned with a first-class detective from Bow Street. But\nin vain. He was as unable to unriddle the mystery as were the local\nconstables.\n\nAbout ten days later the baffled magistrate was sitting hearing cases\nin the court-house at Southmolton, wearied and dejected at his failure,\nwhen Mr. Froude walked in, accompanied by a child. \u201cGood morning, Mr.\nKarslake. I am told you\u2019ve been looking for a little maid lately, and\nI\u2019ve brought this one for you to see, in case her\u2019s the one you be\nwanting.\u201d\n\nThe child had been kept secreted at the rectory, and the parents had\nlent themselves to the deception, they being tenants and allies of the\nrector. What the cost was to Mr. Karslake in money, vexation, wear and\ntear, and ridicule--to which he was particularly sensitive--nobody\nknows; but one can conceive his annoyance when the whole\ncourt-house--bench and audience--broke out into a roar of laughter at\nhis expense, he being chairman.\n\nFroude had a nicely adjusted scale of punishments for all who offended\nhim, and he had ready assistants to administer them.\n\nFrom his first arrival at Knowstone he encouraged about him a lawless\ncompany of vagabonds who, when they were not in prison, lived roughly\nat free quarters at the rectory, and from thence carried on their\nbusiness of petty larceny; and who were, moreover, ready to execute\nvengeance upon the rector\u2019s enemies, and these enemies, although they\nlived in continual terror, were numerous.\n\nHis satellites ran errands, beat covers, broke in horses, did light\nfarm-work, and found hares for the hounds, which were kept at the\nrectory.\n\nBlackmore has described him and his gang in _The Maid of Sker_, in\nwhich he calls Froude Parson Chowne. If Froude desired to damage an\nobnoxious farmer who did not pay his tithes punctually, or who had\notherwise offended him, he gave a hint, and the man\u2019s ricks were burnt,\nor his horses houghed.\n\nAs Henry II did not order the murder of Becket, but threw out a hint\nthat it would be an acceptable thing to him to be rid of the proud\nprelate, so was it with Parson Froude. He never ordered the commission\nof a crime, but he suggested the commission. For instance, if a farmer\nhad offended him, he would say to one of these men subject to his\ninfluence, \u201cAs I\u2019ve been standing in the church porch, Harry, I thought\nwhat a terrible thing it would be if the rick over yonder of Farmer\nG---- were to burn. \u2019Twould come home to him pretty sharp, I reckon.\u201d\n\nNext night the rick would be on fire.\n\nOr he would say to his groom, \u201cTom, it\u2019s my tithe day, and we shall\nsit on purty late. There\u2019s Farmer Q---- behindhand again: this is the\nsecond half-year. You\u2019ll be in the room: if I scratch my nose with\nmy fork you\u2019ll know that he has not paid up. Dear me! what a shocking\nthing were his linch-pin to be gone, and he going down Knowstone Hill,\nand in such a dark night--and the wheel were to come off.\u201d\n\nAnd certainly if Tom saw the vicar put his silver fork to his nose,\nso certainly would Farmer Q---- be thrown out of his trap by the\nwheel coming off, to be found by the next passer along the road with\ndislocated thigh, or broken arm and collarbone.\n\nA gentleman near had offended him. This person had a plantation of\nlarch near his house. Froude said to Tom, \u201cBad job for Squire----,\nif his larch lost their leaders!\u201d Next morning every larch in the\nplantation had been mutilated.\n\nThe Rev. W. H. Thornton says in his delightful book, _Reminiscences\nof an Old West-country Clergyman_: \u201cHe always had around him a tribe\nof vagabonds, whom he harboured. They beat the covers when he shot,\nthey found hares for his hounds to hunt, they ran on his errands, they\nwere the terror of the countryside, and were reputed to commit crimes\nat their master\u2019s instigation. He never paid them anything, or spared\nor sheltered them from punishment. Sometimes they were in gaol, and\nsometimes out. They could always have as much bacon, potatoes, bread\nand cheese, and cider at his house as they pleased, as well as a fire\nto sit by, and a rough bed to lie down upon.\n\n\u201cPlantations were burned, horses mutilated, chimneys choked, and\nChowne\u2019s men had the credit of these misdeeds, which were generally\ncommitted to the injury of some person with whom Chowne had quarrelled.\n\n\u201cI have known him say to a young farmer: \u2018John, I like that colt of\nyours. I will give you twenty-five pounds for him.\u2019 The owner had\nreplied that it was not money enough, and Chowne had retorted, \u2018You\nhad better let me have him, Jack. I have noticed that when a man\nrefuses an offer for a horse from me, something goes wrong with the\nanimal. It is very curious really that it should be so, but so it is.\u2019\nAnd the horse would be sent to him for twenty-five pounds.\n\n\u201cHe was frequently engaged in litigation, and one day Mr. Cockburn\n(afterwards Lord Chief Justice of England, but then a wild young fellow\nenough) was engaged against him, and Chowne lost his case. Cockburn\nthen, or so it is said, left the court in the Castle of Exeter in order\nto have some luncheon.\n\n\u201cIn the castle yard he saw an old countryman in yellow leggings and a\nlong blue coat, who had an ash sapling in his hand. As the great lawyer\npassed him, whack! down came the stick across the silk gown upon his\nshoulders.\n\n\u201c\u2018Be you the young rascal who spoke up against me in court just now?\u2019\n\u2018I suppose that you are Parson Chowne,\u2019 said Cockburn. \u2018I was against\nyou, and I am very glad that I succeeded; and now I am inclined to have\nyou up for striking me.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018No you won\u2019t,\u2019 was the reply, \u2018you shall come and have luncheon with\nme instead. You are a deuced clever young chap, and I am hanged if ever\nI have a case on again without employing you. So come along, you little\nbeggar, and I will stand you a bottle of port.\u2019 Cockburn went, and\nfrequently afterwards he would stay with Chowne.\u201d\n\nThe following story shall be told as near as may be in the words of the\nfarmer who was present when occurred the incident he related.\n\n\u201cOn Saturday last Mr. Froude drove a fox from Molland to ground in\nParson Jekyll\u2019s Wood at Tar Steps. He was going to dig him out, and the\nmen had commenced to work, when down came Mr. Jekyll in a thundering\npassion. Mr. Froude and he bean\u2019t over friendly, best of times; and the\nearth is used by the vixens. There was a litter of cubs there only last\nseason. Mr. Jekyll, hearing the hounds stop, came out at once to us,\nin a tear; I was there myself and I heard him. \u2018Mr. Froude,\u2019 says he,\n\u2018I thought you knew better than to go digging in another man\u2019s country\nwithout special permission to do so, and late in the season too, with\ncubs already about. If you don\u2019t desist and take yourself off, I\u2019ll\nsummons you; so blow your horn, sir, and leave.\u2019 \u2018I have a terrier to\nground, sir,\u2019 replied Froude, \u2018and I mean to dig him out.\u2019 \u2018If you go\naway,\u2019 said the other, \u2018the terrier will come out. In no case will I\nallow you to continue to dig.\u2019 With that the old man, Parson Froude,\ngrew white with passion, and says, \u2018And do you dare risk a quarrel with\nme, Mr. Jekyll? Do you not know that to-night on my return I have only\nto say at Knowstone, _Bones, bones at Hawkridge!_ and, mind you, name\nno names, and your carcase will be stinking in a ditch within the week?\u2019\n\n\u201cThen he got on his horse and rode down to Winsford and obtained a\nsearch warrant from S. Mitchell to search Tar Steps Rectory for his\nterrier, which he took oath he believed to be there, stolen by Mr.\nJekyll and concealed on the premises. And he brought back Floyd, the\nWinsford constable, with him to Tar Steps; and we all thought Mr.\nJekyll would have had a fit, he was that furious, while they searched\nthe house down to the very cellars, and shook up the rector\u2019s old port\nwine, on suspicion that he might have hidden the terrier in the back of\nthe bin. But the best of the joke was that there had been no terrier\nout with the hounds that day, and of course none had been put into the\nhole. So Parson Froude had sworn to what he knew well was a lie.\u201d\n\nFroude had a horse to sell, and one cold morning a gentleman named\nHoulditch, of Wellington, drove over in a gig from Tiverton to\nKnowstone, and requested to be shown the horse without delay. Froude,\nloud in protestations of hospitality, refused his request. \u201cI dine at\none o\u2019clock, you\u2019ve had a cold drive, and no man knows better than do\nI what them hills is like that you\u2019ve come over. So, if you can put up\nwith roast ribs of beef, sir, and a mouldy Stilton cheese to follow,\nus will top up with a drop of something hot, and then Jack Babbage, my\nhuntsman, shall show \u2019ee the horse.\u201d\n\nAfter hearing from Mr. Houlditch that he was looking for a hunter, they\nsat down together to dinner, and the parson firmly but politely pressed\nhis ale upon the guest. This ale was of Froude\u2019s own brewing. When new\nit did not readily proclaim its potency, and the rector never gave\nwarning nor spoke of its strength. It was excellent, soft as milk. The\nday had been cold, and the drive had been long.\n\nWhen a strange and unaccustomed glare had come into Mr. Houlditch\u2019s\neyes, Froude ordered Jack Babbage to bring out the horse, and giving\nhis guest a hand to steady him, the two went into a field near the\nrectory. In this field some hurdles \u201cfeathered\u201d with gorse bushes\nwere set up, and Babbage, always shouting as he neared a jump, rode\nthe horse repeatedly over the obstacles, and galloped him round. Then\nFroude invited Mr. Houlditch to try the horse himself, but he was\ntoo fuddled to mount, and he bought the beast for \u00a350, a long price\nin those days, and was driven back by the post-boy to the \u201cAngel\u201d at\nTiverton. The horse, at his charges, was sent to Wellington at once.\n\nA week later came a letter with the Wellington postmark, which Froude\nthrew into the fire unopened. A few days later came a second letter,\nthen a third, and all shared the same fate.\n\nFinally, one day an angry man drove up from Tiverton--it was Houlditch\nhimself. \u201cYou don\u2019t seem to care to reply to my letters, Mr. Froude,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cso I have come in person to ask you whether or not you will\ntake back your horse which you sold me ten days ago, for he is blind.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said Froude, \u201cyou asked me for a hunter, and one that could\njump, and I sold you a hunter that could jump. You saw the horse, and\nit was a bargain. You did not ask me if it could see. Jump he can, as\nyou observed. When you ride him, carry a knife with you, and when you\ncome to a fence you just jump off his back and cut a furze-bush. Put\nthat down before the fence and canter the old horse up and speak sharp\nto him, same as Babbage did, and so soon as he feels the prickles about\nhis legs he will jump.\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you take the horse back?\u201d roared Houlditch.\n\n\u201cCertainly I will.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd repay me my \u00a350?\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly not. I cashed your cheque, sir, last week, and with the\nmoney paid my butcher. A deal is a deal.\u201d\n\nThe story comes with the authority of Jack Babbage, confirmed by Mrs.\nFroude, after her husband\u2019s death. The incident occurred late in the\nrector\u2019s life, after he was married.\n\nFroude\u2019s shamelessness was phenomenal. On one occasion he sold some\nkeep on the glebe at Knowstone by auction, and a neighbouring farmer\npurchased a field of swede turnips under condition that he should\nremove them before a stated day.\n\nThe time limit was nearly expired, when Froude found the purchaser and\nthe men in the field carting away the roots. The rain was falling in\ntorrents, the crop was heavy, and it was a dirty job.\n\nFroude rode into the field and shouted to the farmer (with the usual\nexpletives with which he garnished his discourse), bidding him desist.\n\n\u201cBut, sir,\u201d said the man, \u201cthe time is nearly up, and I am bound to go\non, or I shall forfeit my purchase.\u201d\n\nFroude then called him a---- fool, reminded him that he had known him\nfrom his cradle and his father before him, and bade him go home and\nwait for finer weather to pull his turnips and take them away.\n\nThe appointed day soon came and passed, and the following morning\nthe farmer, feeling a little uneasy, rose early and rode off to his\nturnips. The field was full of sheep when he arrived, and they were all\nmarked J.F. Calling his dog, the farmer opened the gate and proceeded\nto turn them out.\n\nThen Froude, on horseback, came from an ambush, and cracking his whip\nand swearing horribly, rode at him, and dared him to remove the sheep.\nThe man was terrified and went home, fearing lest worse should befall\nhim. Next day was Saturday, and Southmolton Market, and the young\nman, bursting with his sense of wrong, rode into the town to proclaim\nhis woes. As he entered from the bottom of the long street he saw Mr.\nFroude in the midst of a cluster of sporting farmers, the allies of the\nrector, and as the injured man approached, Froude stretched out the\nfinger of scorn, and cried, \u201cLook there! See to un! See to the biggest\nfule in Devonshire as buys a yield of swedes and leaves \u2019em to another\nman to stock--a gurt natural ass!\u201d This sally was answered by a peal of\nlaughter, and the victim, turning his head down street, galloped away.\n\nIn _The Maid of Sker_, Blackmore tells the story of Parson Chowne\n(Froude) having driven a horse mad by putting a hemp-seed into its\neye. This story, I was informed by one who had every occasion to know\nthe circumstances, is true. Froude had set his heart on buying a horse\nat Southmolton Fair, but Sir Walter Carew out-bid him and secured the\nbeast. Froude shortly after was again in Southmolton, and ascertained\nthat Sir Walter was in the inn, at the ordinary, taking his lunch.\nHe went into the stable, and saw that the baronet had ridden in on\nthe coveted horse. Froude gave the ostler a shilling to do him some\ntrifling errand, and during his absence so treated the unfortunate\nanimal that it went almost mad with pain, and on the way home threw its\nrider.\n\nHenry Phillpotts was consecrated Bishop of Exeter in the year 1831,\nand he soon came into collision with Froude; but the Bishop was a\nformidable antagonist, and Froude shunned him, and would not attend his\nvisitations.\n\nThe following story has been frequently told; but the version here\ngiven is as related half a century ago by Jack Russell and by Babbage,\nand confirmed by Prebendary Matthews, who succeeded Froude at Knowstone.\n\nThe Bishop held a visitation at Southmolton, and Froude sent a note to\nsay that he could not attend, as he was indisposed.\n\nThe Bishop remained the night at Southmolton, and next morning early\nstarted for Tiverton in a carriage, and as Knowstone was not much out\nof the way, he ordered the driver to turn up the hill to the village.\nMr. Froude was in the dining-room talking to Babbage, and the hounds\non the lawn, when one of his rascally retainers ran in to inform the\nrector that the Bishop was in the village inquiring for the rectory.\nBabbage hurried the hounds into kennel, and Froude went to bed.\n\nA good-looking housekeeper (for Froude married very late in life) met\nhis lordship at the door, and answering his inquiry after the rector,\nsaid that Mr. Froude was unwell in bed.\n\n\u201cMay I trouble you to tell him that his bishop wishes to see him, and\nwill visit him in his bedroom?\u201d\n\nThe woman went upstairs, and the Bishop, waiting in the hall, overheard\nthe conversation which ensued.\n\n\u201cBishop says, sir, as he must come upstairs if you can\u2019t come down.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell his lordship, Mary, that I don\u2019t know what\u2019s the matter with me,\nbut it\u2019s something infectious--scarlet fever, I reckon--and maybe he\u2019ll\ncatch it if he comes up here.\u201d\n\nHowever, Henry Phillpotts was not to be dissuaded, and he mounted the\nstairs and seated himself by the bed.\n\n\u201cWhat will your lordship take?\u201d asked Froude, showing his head only\nabove the clothes. \u201cIt\u2019s cruel cold; a drop of brandy hot will help to\nkeep off the infection.\u201d\n\n\u201cNothing, thank you, Mr. Froude. I take this opportunity to tell you\nthat strange stories concerning you meet my ears.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps your lordship prefers whisky,\u201d said Froude, \u201cwith a slice of\nlemon in your grog.\u201d\n\n\u201cMr. Froude, I beg you to desist. I am here to inquire into the truth\nof the stories repeated concerning you.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy lord, I\u2019ve also heard strange tales about your lordship. But\namong gentlemen, us don\u2019t give heed to all thickey tittle-tattle.\nPerhaps you\u2019d prefer gin--London or Plymouth, my lord? You\u2019ll excuse\nme, my lord; I be terrible bad, and I be afraid you\u2019ll catch the\ninfection--pleased to have seen you--good-bye\u201d; and he ducked his head\nunder the bedclothes.\n\n\u201cI knawed he\u2019d come,\u201d said Froude to Russell after the visit; \u201cbut I\nreckon he\u2019ll never come again: the air of Knowstone be too keen for he.\u201d\n\nOne day his lordship ran against Froude in Fore Street of Exeter. The\nvicar had with him a greyhound, commonly known in Devonshire as a \u201clong\ndog.\u201d It was on this occasion that the Bishop tackled him for keeping a\npack of harriers, as already related. After that said Henry of Exeter,\n\u201cAnd pray, Mr. Froude, what manner of dog do you call that?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, that\u2019s what volks do call a long dog, my lord, and ef yeu will\njust shak yeur appern to un, he\u2019ll go like a dart.\u201d\n\nThe _Weekly Times_ of Exeter kept an eye on Froude\u2019s doings and\nmisdoings, and published them under the heading of \u201cKnowstone Again.\u201d\nBut Froude was too sly to enable the Bishop to find an occasion to\nproceed against him; the people of Knowstone were too much afraid of\nhis vengeance to dare to give evidence.\n\nFroude married a Miss Halse, the pretty sister of two well-known yeomen\nof Anstey. She was quite young enough to have been his daughter, and\nthey had no children--perhaps fortunately. The circumstances of the\nmarriage are said to have been these. Froude had paid Miss Halse some\nof his insolent attentions, that meant, if they meant anything, a\ncertain contemptuous admiration. The brothers were angry. They invited\nhim to their house, made him drunk, and when drunk sign a paper\npromising to marry their sister before three months were up or to\nforfeit \u00a320,000. They took care to have this document well attested,\nand next morning presented it to Mr. Froude, who had forgotten all\nabout it. He was very angry, blustered, cajoled, tried to laugh it\noff--all to no purpose. He was constrained to marry her. And he seems\nto have been really fond of her. Certain it is that she was warmly\nattached to him, and after his death would speak of him as her \u201cdear\ndeparted saint,\u201d which implies a singular misappropriation of terms,\nand confusion of ideas.\n\n[Illustration: THE REV. JOHN RUSSELL\u2019S PORT-WINE GLASS, CHAMBERLAIN\nWORCESTER BREAKFAST SERVICE AND BAROMETER\n\n_Purchased at the sale of his effects in 1883 by Mrs. Arnull and\npresented by her to Mr. John Lane, in whose possession they now are_]\n\nThe following story is on the authority of Jack Russell. He had called\none day at Knowstone Parsonage, and found Froude sitting over his fire\nsmoking and Mrs. Froude sitting in the corner of the room against\nthe wall. Her husband had his back towards her. Russell was uneasy,\nand asked if Mrs. Froude was unwell. Froude turned his head over his\nshoulder, and asked: \u201cMrs. Froude, be you satisfied or be you not? You\nknow the terms of agreement come to between us when we married, that\nI were never to be contradicted and disagreed with. If you are not\nsatisfied you can go back to your friends; I don\u2019t care a hang myself\nwhether you stay or whether you go.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am content,\u201d said the lady faintly.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Froude; \u201cthen we\u2019ll have a drop of ale, Jack. Go and\nfetch us a jug and mugs, madam.\u201d\n\nHis harriers were kept in such a wretched, rattle-trap set of kennels\nthat they occasionally broke loose. This occurred on a certain Sunday,\nand just as Froude was going up into the pulpit the pack went by.\nHe halted with his hand on the rail, turned to the clerk, and said:\n\u201cThat\u2019s Towler giving tongue. Run--he\u2019s got the lead, and will tear the\nhare to bits.\u201d\n\nAccordingly the clerk left his desk and went forth, and succeeded in\nsecuring the hare from the hounds, hunting on their own head. He\nbrought the hare into the church and threw it under his seat till the\nsermon was done, the blessing given, and the congregation dismissed.\n\nWhen Froude got old he was forced by the Bishop to have a curate. \u201cI\ndon\u2019t care to keep dogs to do the barking for me, no fye,\u201d said he,\n\u201cbut I can\u2019t help it. You see, I just maintains a rough boy to do the\nwork now, and I sits in the vestry and hears un tell.\u201d\n\nBetween services one Sunday, Froude gave his young curate, who was\ndining with him and some of his farmer friends, too much of his soft\nbut strong ale. He disliked the young fellow, who was a bit of a clown\nand uncouth, and did it out of malice. The curate, quite ignorant of\nthe headiness of the ale, inadvertently got fuddled.\n\nThe conversation turned on a monstrous pig that Froude had killed,\nand which was hung up in his outhouse, and he invited his guests to\naccompany him and view the carcase, and estimate the weight. One\nthought it weighed so many stone, others thought differently. Froude\nsaid that it weighed just the same as his curate, who was fat. The\nrough farmers demurred to the rector\u2019s estimate, and, finding an empty\ncorn-sack, they thrust the intoxicated ecclesiastic into it, and,\nhanging him up to the end of the beam, shouted with delight as the\ncurate brought the weight down. Meantime the bells were ringing for\nevensong, but they left the curate hung up in the sack, where he slept\nuncomfortably. The congregation assembled for service, and waited.\nFroude would not officiate, and the curate was incapable of doing so.\n\nMr. Matthews, afterwards Prebendary of Exeter, had been dining at\nSouthmolton in Froude\u2019s company, and Froude undertook to drive him back\nto Knowstone in his gig, where Mr. Matthews was to sleep the night.\nFroude had drunk too much, but insisted on driving home himself. At the\nbottom of the long street the road crosses the river, and the bridge\nis set on at an angle to the road. The horse was a spirited animal,\nand was going home. So down the street they went at a spanking pace,\nand over the bridge with a whir. Froude had fallen asleep already, but\nMatthews seized the reins and guided the animal, and thus they narrowly\nescaped destruction.\n\nFroude slept on, and, arriving at Knowstone, Matthews went in to\nprepare the young wife to get the rector to bed.\n\n\u201cOh, what is the matter?\u201d cried Mrs. Froude, when she was informed\nthat her husband was not very well, and had better be put to bed. \u201cOh!\ndear lamb\u201d--Mrs. Froude was not happy in her choice of descriptive\nepithets--\u201cdear lamb, are you ill? Oh dear! dear!\u201d \u201cNonsense,\u201d retorted\nFroude, \u201cI bain\u2019t ill. I\u2019m only drunk, my dear, that\u2019s all.\u201d\n\nOne day he was riding on the quay at Barnstaple, and asked some\nquestion of a bargeman in his boat. The fellow gave him a rude answer.\nThereupon Froude leaped his horse down into the barge, and thrashed the\nman.\n\nIn the end, Froude gave up doing duty, and retired into a small house\nin Molland, as more sheltered than Knowstone. In _The Maid of Sker_,\nBlackmore represents him as torn to pieces by his hounds. Actually this\nwas not the occasion of his death. Before his parlour window grew a\npeculiarly handsome trimmed box-tree. Now Froude had done a mean and\ncruel act to a young farmer near, tricking him out of a considerable\nsum of money. One night the box-tree was pulled up by the roots and\ncarried away, no one knew whither, or for certain by whom, though the\nyoung farmer was suspected of the deed.\n\nFroude raged over the insult; but as he was unable to bring it home,\nand as his powers were failing, his rage was impotent.\n\nThe uprooting of the box-tree apparently precipitated his death. He\nfelt that the awe of him was gone, his control over the neighbourhood\nwas lost. This thought, even more than mortification at not being\nable to revenge the uprooting of his box-tree, broke him down, and he\nrapidly sank, intellectually and physically, and died 9 December, 1852.\n\nA little before his death, Jack Babbage, his huntsman, visited him.\n\u201cOh, Jack!\u201d said he, \u201cit\u2019s all over with me. I\u2019m going to glory,\nJack\u201d--which shows what is the value of assurance on a death-bed.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Babbage, \u201cif the old master be so cock-sure that he\u2019s on\nthat way, I reckon there be a good chance of a snug corner for me.\u201d\n\nThere was another parson, if possible, more evil than Froude, whom\nBlackmore has called Parson Hannaford, but we have had enough specimens\nof a type of clergy that is, we trust, for ever passed away; but it\nhas gone not without leaving its mark on the present, for it was this\nsort of parson who drove all the God-fearing people in the parish into\ndissent. Happily these men were exceptions even in their day, and were\nnot the rule. The bulk of the clergy were worthy men, doing their duty\nup to their light, the services in the churches not a little dreary;\nbut then, at that time, it was exceptional to find that the country\npeople could read, and therefore sing out a hymn or psalm with one\naccord as they can now. They preached dull sermons, because their own\nminds were not clear. But they were kind, they visited their flock,\nthey were charitable, and their families set a good example in the\nparish, and had immense influence in purifying the moral tone, and they\ntaught in Sunday-schools. I can recall those old days, and I know that\nmen like Froude and Russell were but spots widely scattered over an\notherwise white reputation such as the general body of the clergy bore.\nBut that there were such spots none could deny, and in almost every\ncase the Bishop was powerless to eradicate them.\n\nTo a farmer said a vicar of Holsworthy, himself one of the\ndisreputable, who thought fit to reprimand him for his conduct, \u201cGo by\nthe light, man, not by the lantern.\u201d To which the farmer replied, \u201cWhen\nthe lantern is covered with muck, none can see the light.\u201d\n\nFor the account I have given of Parson Froude I am indebted partly to\nthe late Prebendary Matthews, rector of Knowstone after Froude, and\nalso to Rev. W. H. Thornton\u2019s _Reminiscences of an Old West-country\nClergyman_, as well to a _Froudiana_, a collection made by one who\nintimately knew the neighbourhood and the individuals, and who most\nkindly placed his collection of anecdotes at my disposal.\n\nThe accompanying illustration represents Jack Russell\u2019s port-wine\nglass with a fox beautifully cut in it, his barometer, which he\nprobably tapped with his knuckles many a time before he started on\na day\u2019s hunting, as well as a Chamberlain Worcester tea service,\nformerly in his possession. All these were bought after his death at\nBlack Torrington at a sale of his effects, by Miss Bernasconi, now\nMrs. Arnull, and presented to the publisher, Mr. John Lane, in whose\npossession they are. Dr. Linnington Ash on the same occasion purchased\nseveral mementoes for his Majesty the King--then Prince of Wales--as\nwell as for himself and other friends.\n\n\n\n\nSAMUEL PROUT\n\n\nHas full justice been done to Samuel Prout, the artist? I doubt it.\nTrue that Ruskin recognized his great merits, but the public generally\nhas not acknowledged, indeed, has not realized, the revolution in taste\ndue mainly to this shy, unassertive man.\n\nWhat man in his century had dreamed, before Prout issued his sketches,\nthat there was exquisite beauty in old English cottages? He arose at a\ntime when attention was being drawn to Gothic architecture, and there\nwas a growing recognition of its merits in cathedral, church, and\nmansion. Architects with tape and foot-rule measured and planned, with\nlead-tape took mouldings. They learned the principles of Gothic and\nTudor architecture. They gathered and studied details. But the soul,\nthe spirit escaped them. When they undertook to design and build new\nchurches and mansions, they turned out very poor, uninteresting stuff.\nRickman erected the new courts of St. John\u2019s College, Cambridge, a\nmonstrous pile of ugliness, bad even in its details. Blore built the\nchapel of Marlborough College, a horror, now happily transformed. Sir\nGilbert Scott designed numerous churches, all of borrowed detail, and\nall utterly uninteresting. It was the same on the Continent. In France,\nViollet le Duc studied throughout France, knew the purest French styles\nintimately, but could produce nothing good himself. It was the same\nwith Heideloff in Germany. The inspiration of the Gothic or medieval\nsoul escaped them. It was not to be caught with tape and rule. Their\nbuildings proved correct in many cases, but all cold, unimpressive,\nand uninteresting. But Prout caught the spirit. He did not measure and\nscale, but he drew with the breath of the genius of olden time fanning\nhis heart.\n\n[Illustration: SAMUEL PROUT\n\n_From a drawing in the possession of Samuel Gillespie Prout, Esq._]\n\nAnd the cottage! Churches and mansions were erected by the new Gothic\nschool throughout the land; they were accepted, but did not please. But\nno one thought of the cottage, unless it was to be a lodge at a gate.\nRows of hideous dwellings for the artisan and the labourer continued to\nbe erected, with tall, lanky doors, a fanlight over them, lean windows,\nno gables, nothing picturesque about them.\n\nJerrybuilders covered the suburbs of our towns with their repulsive\ndwellings, their only idea of decoration being elaborate hip-knobs and\nridge tiles. Retired tradesmen and farmers built their residences,\ndisfiguring the countryside with square blocks, a door in the face, a\nwindow on each side, and three windows in the upper story, the roof\npinched together from all four sides, and two chimneys standing up like\ndonkey\u2019s ears, one on each side of the face. Not till this century,\nwith the creation of the garden city, has Prout\u2019s idea of the dwelling\nfor artisan and labourer, as a thing of beauty, been carried out.\n\nSamuel Prout was born at Plymouth 17 September, 1783. The Prouts were\na respectable Cornish family of St. Stephen\u2019s by Launceston, and an\nheiress of Grenville had married a Prout, and the sister and coheiress\na Cary. The family has laid claim to the arms of Prouse of Gidleigh,\nbut can prove no connexion.\n\nSamuel was educated at the Plymouth Grammar School, under the\neccentric, worthy Dr. Bidlake, who had an eye for the picturesque, and\ndelighted in taking out his young pupils, Prout and Benjamin Haydon,\non holidays for long walks into the country, and pointing out to them\nscenes of beauty. Dr. Bidlake was, moreover, a bit of a poet, as poets\nwent in those days. He was a good and kindly man, and endeared himself\nto his pupils.\n\nProut\u2019s mother was a daughter of a Mr. Cater, an enterprising Plymouth\nshipping venturer.\n\nSamuel was a delicate boy. One hot autumn day he was out nutting when\nhe was discovered by a farmer lying moaning under a hedge, with his\nhands to his head. He had been prostrated by sunstroke, and he was\ncarried home in a state of insensibility. From that day forward he was\nsubject to violent attacks of headache, returning at short intervals,\nand preventing him from sticking to business. Indeed, a week seldom\npassed without his being confined to his room for a day or two, unable\nto raise his head from the pillow, and refusing all food. Speaking\nin later years of his life-long infirmity, he says: \u201cUp to this hour\nI have to endure a great fight of afflictions; can I therefore be\nsufficiently thankful for the merciful gift of a buoyant spirit?\u201d\n\nHis father, finding him unsuited for any other profession, allowed him\nto follow his artistic bent, but he was chiefly self-taught. He made\nfriends with young Opie, who painted his portrait. Another was Ambrose\nBowden Johns, born in Plymouth in 1776. He had been a bookseller, but\nhis passion was for landscape art, and he gave up his business to\nbecome a painter. Johns had the advantage of age and experience, and he\nwas able to give Prout much good advice. Noticing that his young friend\nloved chiefly to draw old houses and architectural scraps, he urged\nhim to devote himself especially to that line, and not to cultivate\nlandscape and figure drawing. Boats Samuel ever delighted in, and\nsketched them excellently.\n\n\u201cThenceforth,\u201d to quote Ruskin, \u201cProut devoted himself to ivy-mantled\nbridges, mossy water-mills, and rock-built cottages.\u201d\n\nBut he knew nothing of perspective, and his drawings were sadly\ninaccurate in this respect. He himself wrote in after years, as the\nresult of his own experience: \u201cPerspective is generally considered a\ndry and distasteful study, and a prejudice exists with many against\neverything like geometrical drawings; but without a knowledge of its\nrules no object can be properly delineated, and their application alone\nprevents absurdities and secures symmetry and truth.\u201d\n\nThe Earl of Mount Edgcumbe took notice of the intelligent, sensitive\nboy, and detected that there was talent in him. He invited him to\nMount Edgcumbe House to see and examine for himself the paintings and\npictures there; and the Earl became so interested in the young artist,\nand would have him so frequently with him, that Samuel at last acquired\nthe nickname of \u201cthe Earl\u2019s puppy dog.\u201d\n\nSamuel Prout was also passionately fond of music, and learned to play\non the organ, the piano, and the flute. In early days, when not out\nsketching by himself or with Dr. Bidlake or Haydon, he would steal to\nSt. Andrew\u2019s to play the organ, at that time the only organ in the town.\n\nMeanwhile, on every sunny day, when the soft south wind breathed,\nSamuel, pencil and sketch-book in hand, strayed about the villages\nround Plymouth, and made his sketches, not of bold architectural\nstructures, but of cottages and little bits of street scenery. He\nloved the old wall where the granite blocks were irregularly jointed,\nand saxifrage, sedum, and wallflower had rooted themselves in the\ninterstices. He loved to stray by the seashore or to wander about\nSutton Pool and the Barbican and draw the ships and fishing smacks\nhe saw there. At the time when he was young, Plymouth abounded in\nquaint old houses that had been inhabited by its great merchants, with\noverhanging gables and mullioned windows. These are now almost all gone.\n\nOn returning from one of his wanderings, he called on Mr. Johns with\nhis portfolio in his hand. Johns asked him how many sketches he had\nmade and what success he had met with. Prout, bursting into tears and\nwringing his hands with grief, replied: \u201cOh, Mr. Johns, I shall never\nmake a painter as long as I live.\u201d\n\nJohns then turned over his collection of sketches, and noticing\nthe power shown in the drawing of old cottages and mills, said,\n\u201cIf you won\u2019t make a landscape painter, you will make a painter of\narchitecture, and I recommend you to stick to that.\u201d Encouraged by\nthis, he went away rejoicing that there was still a field open to him\nin Art.\n\nWhilst still quite a lad, accident made him acquainted with John\nBritton, who was passing through Plymouth on his way into Cornwall,\ncollecting materials for his _Beauties of England and Wales_, begun in\n1801, and carried on to 1818. Immediately after Prout\u2019s death, Britton\npublished an account of his first acquaintance with him in the _Art\nJournal_ for 1852. He says that he first saw Samuel Prout, \u201ca pretty,\ntimid boy,\u201d at Dr. Bidlake\u2019s school, and that Prout occasionally\naccompanied his drawing master, S. Williams, to Bickleigh Vale, and\nmade sketches of the rude cottages and bits of rock scenery he found\nthere.\n\nThese Britton saw and liked, and proposed to Prout to take him with\nhimself into Cornwall, paying all his expenses, that the lad might make\nfor him the drawings he required. Samuel gladly consented, and the two\nstarted for St. Germans through a heavy fall of snow, and put up at a\nwretched inn there. \u201cThe object of visiting the place,\u201d says Britton,\n\u201cwas to draw and describe the old parish church, which is within the\ngrounds of the seat of Port Eliot, belonging to Lord Eliot. Prout\u2019s\nfirst task was to make a sketch of the west end of this building,\nwhich is of early Norman architecture, with two towers, one of which\nis square, the other octagonal. Between these is a large semicircular\ndoorway, with several receding arches, but there is very little of\nother detail. My young artist was, however, sadly embarrassed, not\nknowing where to begin, how to settle the perspective or determine the\nrelative proportions of the heights and widths of parts. He continued\nbefore the building for four or five hours, and at last his sketch\nwas so inaccurate in proportion and detail that it was unfit for\nengraving.\u201d In fact, Britton had set the poor lad a task for which he\nwas wholly incompetent. Next morning Prout began another sketch, and\npersevered in it in spite of the cold and discouragement nearly all the\nday, but the result was again a failure.\n\nThen Britton travelled on with him to Probus, and set him to draw\nthe wonderful sculptured tower of that church, the richest piece of\nwork of the kind in the west of England. It is built of elvan and is\nnot merely sculptured throughout, but has pinnacled buttresses with\ncrockets and finials. Prout worked hard at this all day, and though\nBritton accepted the drawing, it was bad. \u201cThe poor fellow cried, and\nwas really distressed, and I felt as acutely as he possibly could,\nfor I had calculated on having a pleasing companion upon a dreary\njourney, and also to obtain some correct and satisfactory sketches.\nOn proceeding further, we had occasion to visit certain druidical\nmonuments, vast rocks, monastic wells, and stone crosses on the moors\nnorth of Liskeard. Some of these objects my young friend delineated\nwith smartness and tolerable accuracy. We proceeded on to St. Austell,\nand thence to Ruan-Lanyhorne, where we found comfortable quarters in\nthe house of the Rev. John Whitaker, the historian of Manchester, and\nauthor of several other literary works. Prout, during his stay at\nRuan, made five or six pleasing and truly picturesque sketches, one of\nwhich included the church, the parsonage, some cottages mixing with\ntrees, the water of the river Fal, the moors in the distance, and a\nfisherman\u2019s ragged cot in the foreground, raised against and mixing\nwith a mass of rocks; also a broken boat, with net, sails, etc., in the\nforeground.\u201d The next halting place was Truro, and there Prout made a\nsketch of the church and the houses about it. But here again he was\nembarrassed with the mullioned windows and the general perspective, and\nwas particularly troubled with the iron railings that surrounded the\nchurch. Here they parted; Britton went forward on his way to Penzance\nand the Land\u2019s End, and Prout was sent back, a poor disheartened lad,\nwho felt that he had missed his vocation, by coach to Plymouth. But the\ndisappointment did Samuel good. He had learned in what his weakness\nlay, and he resolved to labour hard to acquire the rudiments of\nperspective.\n\nIn May, 1802, he sent Britton several sketches of Launceston,\nTavistock, Okehampton Castle, and other places, showing a considerable\nadvance in his powers, and some of these were engraved. Britton saw\nenough to convince himself that Prout had exceptional genius for\ncatching the spirit of architectural work, and that all he required was\ntechnical training, and he sent for him to London, kindly undertaking\nto give him a room and food in his house in Wilderness Row, Camberwell,\nwhilst prosecuting his studies in Town. Here he remained for about two\nyears, and was introduced to Northcote and Benjamin West, the latter\nof whom gave him valuable hints on the management of chiaroscuro,\nand Prout often recurred to his meeting with West and to the utility\nhis advice had been to him. In 1803 and 1804 Britton sent Prout into\nCambridge, Essex, and Wiltshire to make sketches and studies of\nbuildings. Some of these were engraved in his _Beauties_, and others in\n_Architectural Antiquities_, 1835.\n\nIn the year 1805, Prout returned to Plymouth mainly on account of\nhis health and his headaches, which unfitted him for prosecuting his\nstudies with ease and energy.\n\nHe had in the previous year sent his first picture to the Royal\nAcademy, and he was for the next ten years an occasional exhibitor, his\nsubjects being mainly views in Devonshire and coast scenes. His simple\ndrawings, says Mr. Ruskin, were made for the middle classes, even for\nthe second order of the middle classes.\n\n\u201cThe great people always bought Canaletti, not Prout. There was no\nquality in the bright little water-colours which could look other than\npert in ghostly corridors and petty in halls of state; but they gave an\nunquestionable tone of liberal-mindedness to a suburban villa, and were\nthe cheerfullest possible decoration for a moderate-sized breakfast\nparlour opening on a nicely-mown lawn. Their liveliness even rose,\non occasion, to the charity of beautifying the narrow chambers of\nthose whom business or fixed habit retained in the obscurity of London\nitself.\u201d\n\nAfter about six years of earnest work in Devon, he returned to London\nand took up his abode in Brixton, and three years after he married\n(1810) Elizabeth Gillespie. There were pleasant meetings in town\nwith his fellow Plymothians. Haydon was there full of enthusiasm and\nenormous self-confidence, and Eastlake, who had already made his\nmark and was rapidly rising into fame; an occasional visit was made\nto the surly Northcote, but from him little encouragement was to be\nobtained. To maintain himself, Prout gave lessons in drawing, and\nsent pictures to the Watercolour Society, and succeeded in selling\nthem. In 1816, Ackermann published his _Studies_ in parts, executed\nin the then new art of lithography. This was followed by _Progressive\nFragments_, _Rudiments of Landscape_, and other collections of\ninstructive drawings. How perfectly Prout mastered the technicalities\nof lithography may be seen by some of his late works on tinted paper,\nwith introduction of white, as, for instance, his _Hints on Light and\nShade_, etc., published in 1838. In the introduction to that he tells\nhis own experience.\n\n\u201cWant of talent and want of taste are common lamentations and common\nexcuses, but wonders will be achieved by the lowest ability if assisted\nby unremitted diligence. _Nothing is denied to well-directed labour;\nnothing is to be obtained without it._ There must be an assiduous,\nardent devotedness, with a firmness of purpose, absorbing the whole\nmind; never rambling, but pursuing one determined object. It is the\npersevering who leave their competitors behind; and those who work the\nhardest always gain the most.\u201d\n\nProut\u2019s love was for marine subjects--this can be noticed in all his\npublications--but the influence of Britton and the advice of Johns\nprevailed to make him cleave to architecture; and indeed from the first\nthis had ever attracted him, though not so much the great achievements\nof the art, as its humbler yet lovely creations, the labourer\u2019s\ncottage, built of moor-stone, and thatched with reed or heather.\n\nHis health, always bad at the best of times, grew worse; he became\nso feeble that a trip to the Continent was recommended to him. \u201cThe\nroute by Havre and Rouen,\u201d writes Ruskin, \u201cwas chosen, and Prout found\nhimself for the first time in the grotesque labyrinths of the Norman\nstreets. There are few minds so apathetic as to receive no impulse of\nnew delight from their first acquaintance with continental scenery\nand architecture; and Rouen _was_, of all the cities of France,\nthe richest in those objects with which the painter\u2019s mind had the\nprofoundest sympathy.\u201d Now all is changed. The great churches stand\nup by themselves in the midst of modern houses destitute of beauty,\nislands of loveliness in a sea of vulgarity. Great streets have been\ndriven through the town, picturesque houses have been swept away; that\nwhich is old has been barbarously renovated. The cathedral has been\nfurnished with a ridiculous spire. Then \u201call was at unity with itself,\nand the city lay under its guarding hills one labyrinth of delight--its\ngrey and fretted towers, misty in their magnificence of height, letting\nthe sky like blue enamel through the foiled spaces of their crowns\nof open work; the walls and gates of its countless churches wardered\nby saintly groups of solemn statuary, clasped about by wandering\nstems of sculptured leafage, and crowned by fretted niche and fairy\npediment, meshed, like gossamer, with inextricable tracery, many a\nquaint monument of past times standing to tell its far-off tale in the\nplace from which it has since perished--in the midst of the throng and\nmurmur of those shadowy streets--all grim with jutting props of ebon\nwoodwork, lightened only here and there by a sunbeam glancing down from\nthe scaly backs and points of pyramids of the Norman roofs, or carried\nout of its narrow range by the gay progress of some snowy cap or\nscarlet camisole. The painter\u2019s vocation was fixed from that hour; the\nfirst effect upon his mind was irrepressible enthusiasm, with a strong\nfeeling of new-born attachment to art, in a new world of exceeding\ninterest.\u201d\n\nThis was the first of many excursions made through France, Germany, the\nNetherlands, and Italy. How he enjoyed these trips is beyond power of\nwords to describe. He drank in the beauties as he would nectar; they\ninspired new life into him; it filled his happy soul with delights\nthat made him forget his bodily infirmities. His books of studies\nsold well--they did more than anything else to form the taste of the\npublic. The fashion set in for sketches of ruins, of old buildings, of\ncottages. He had many imitators, but no equals. For his water-colour\npaintings he asked but modest prices, six guineas each.\n\nHow Gothic architecture was viewed only seventeen years before Samuel\nProut was born may be judged by Matthew Bramble\u2019s account of York\nMinster in _Humphrey Clinker_. He writes: \u201cAs for the minster, I know\nnot how to distinguish it, except by its great size and the height of\nits spire, from those other ancient churches in different parts of the\nkingdom which used to be called monuments of Gothic architecture; but\nit is now agreed that the style is Saracen--and I suppose it was first\nimported into England from Spain, greater part of which was under the\ndomination of the Moors. Those British architects who adopted this\nstyle don\u2019t seem to have considered the propriety of their adoption.\nNothing could be more preposterous than to imitate such a mode of\narchitecture in a country like England, where the climate is cold and\nthe air eternally loaded with vapours. For my part, I never entered\nthe abbey church at Bath but once, and the moment I stepped over the\nthreshold I found myself chilled to the very marrow of my bones. I\nshould be glad to know what offence it would give to tender consciences\nif the House of God were made more comfortable; and whether it would\nnot be an encouragement to piety, as well as the salvation of many\nlives, if the place of worship were well floored, wainscotted, warmed,\nand ventilated.\n\n\u201c_The external appearance of an old cathedral cannot but be displeasing\nto the eye of every man who has any idea of propriety and proportion_,\neven though he may be ignorant of architecture as a science. There\nis nothing of the Arabic architecture in the Assembly Rooms, which\nseems to me to have been built upon a design of Palladio, and might be\nconverted into an elegant place of worship.\u201d\n\nIn little more than a generation popular taste was completely changed.\nAugustus Pugin and Le Keux published their _Specimens of Architectural\nAntiquities in Normandy_ in 1827; Parker his _Glossary of Architecture_\nin 1836, which rapidly went through several editions. A. Welby Pugin\npoured forth the vials of scorn on the taste of his day in his\n_Contrasts_, 1841; Ruskin\u2019s _Seven Lamps of Architecture_ laid down\nfirst principles in 1849; Rickman, the Quaker, had issued his _Attempt\nto Distinguish the Styles of English Architecture_ as early as 1817,\nand this also rapidly passed through several editions. But it was not\nenough to instruct the public: its heart must be touched, its eyes\nunsealed to the beauties of the so-called Gothic style; and this is\nwhat Prout did with his exquisite drawings. There was no technical\nskill obtruded, no attempt made to distinguish styles: he simply with\nhis pencil brought its charms before the public eye in an engaging\nform. And the public saw and believed.\n\nMr. S. C. Hall, writing of Prout\u2019s personal qualities, says: \u201cNo member\nof the profession has ever lived to be more thoroughly respected, we\nmay add beloved, by his fellow artists; no man has ever given more\nunquestionable evidence of a gentle and generous spirit, or more\ntruly deserved the esteem in which he is so universally held. His\nalways delicate health, instead of souring the temper, made him more\nthoughtful of the trials of others. Ever ready to assist the young by\nthe counsels of experience, he is a fine example of perseverance and\nindustry combined with suavity of manner and those endearing attributes\nwhich invariably blend with admiration of the artist, affection for\nthe man. During the last six or seven years we have sometimes found\nour way into his quiet studio, where, like a delicate exotic requiring\nthe most careful treatment to retain life within it, he could keep\nhimself warm and snug, as he expressed it. There he might be seen at\nhis easel, throwing his rich and beautiful colouring over a sketch\nof some old palace in Venice or time-worn cathedral of Flanders; and\nthough suffering much from pain and weakness, ever cheerful, ever\nthankful that he had still strength enough to carry on his work. He\nrose late, and could seldom begin his labours before the middle of the\nday, when, if tolerably free from pain, he would paint till the night\nwas advanced. No man ever bore suffering more meekly. Essentially\nreligious, he submitted with patience and resignation to the Divine\nwill. All the home affections were warm and strong in him. He was of a\ntender, loving, and truly upright nature.\u201d\n\nHe spent some time at Hastings for his health, and when there his\nparish church was S. Mary\u2019s. He attended this church regularly, and\nthe vicar, the Rev. Mr. Vines, used to say: \u201cI always wait for Prout\nto come and light up my church.\u201d Indeed, his temper was always sunny,\nand he was eminently devout. What touched him profoundly was the piety\nhe noticed among the peasantry abroad--how they uncovered for a brief\nprayer at the sound of the Angelus, and how they made of their churches\na veritable home, where they could pour out their hearts in prayer in\nall sorrows, and in thanksgiving in all joys. But abroad or at home, in\nhis hotel or his studio, his constant companions were his English Bible\nand Book of Common Prayer, and with them he said that he was satisfied.\n\nAs Mr. Hine says beautifully in his _Memoirs of Prout_: \u201cAll the\nsubjects of his pictures point upwards, the lovely street scenes\nterminating in the tall tower or the divine spire. The doves hover\nabout the highest ridges of his roofs and the loftiest pinnacles of\nhis towers. He had the most implicit faith in the final article of the\nNicene Creed--\u2018I believe in the life of the world to come\u2019--and his own\npictures are the faint but beautiful symbols of that celestial city\nwhich he saw as through a glass, darkly.\u201d\n\nHe had been invited with many literary and artistic celebrities to\ndine with Mr. Ruskin, the elder, on Tuesday, 9 February, 1852, to keep\nthe birthday of John Ruskin, and hear a letter from Venice, from the\nyounger Ruskin, who was then in that city.\n\nSamuel Prout had not been well of late, but he went to the dinner, and\nreturned between ten and eleven, and said to his wife, \u201cI\u2019ve had such a\nhappy evening! The Venice letter was capital.\u201d Then he retired to his\nstudio. Shortly after a tapping sound, often made by him as a summons,\nwas heard. One of his daughters running upstairs found her father lying\non the hearthrug in a fit of apoplexy. His open Bible, in which he had\nbeen reading one of the Psalms, lay on the table. He was carried to\nbed, but never spoke again. He died in the sixty-ninth year of his age.\n\u201cThere will never be any more Prout drawings,\u201d said Ruskin sorrowfully.\n\nIn the north aisle of St. Andrew\u2019s Church, Plymouth, is a marble tablet\nto his memory.\n\n\u201cThere is one point,\u201d says Ruskin, \u201cin which Turner, Bewick, Hunt, and\nProut, all four agree--that they can draw the poor, but not the rich.\nThey acknowledge with affection, whether for principal or accessory\nsubjects of their art, the British farmer, the British sailor, the\nBritish market-woman, and the British workman. They agree unanimously\nin ignoring the British gentleman. Let the British gentleman lay it to\nheart, and ask himself why.\n\n\u201cThe general answer is long and manifold. But, with respect to the\nseparate work of Prout, there is a very precious piece of instruction\nin it respecting national prosperity and policy, which may be gathered\nin a few glances.\n\n\u201cYou see how all his best pictures depend on figures either crowded in\nmarket-places or pausing (lounging, it may be) in quiet streets. You\nwill not find, in the entire series of subjects from his hand, a single\nfigure in a hurry. He ignores not only the British gentleman, but every\nnecessary condition, nowadays, of British business.\n\n\u201cLook again and see if you can find a single figure exerting all its\nstrength. A couple of men rolling a single cask perhaps; here and\nthere a woman with a rather large bundle on her head--any more athletic\ndisplay than these you seek in vain. His figures are all as quiet as\nthe Cathedral of Chartres. Some of them you can scarcely think are\nstanding still, but they all move quietly. The real reason is that _he_\nunderstood, and _we_ do not, the meaning of the word \u2018quiet.\u2019\n\n\u201cHe understood it, personally, and for himself; practically, and for\nothers. Take this one fact--of his quiet dealings with men--and think\nit over.\n\n\u201cThe modern fashionable interest in what we suppose to be art had just\nbegun to show itself a few years before Prout\u2019s death, and he was\nfrequently advised to raise his prices. But he never raised them a\nshilling to his old customers, nor greatly to his new ones. They were\nsupplied with all the drawings they wanted at six guineas each--to the\nend. A very peaceful method of dealing, and under the true ancient laws\nordained by Athena of the Agora, and St. James of the Rialto.\n\n\u201cAnd learn from your poor wandering painter this lesson--for some of\nthe best he had to give you (it is the Alpha of the laws of true human\nlife)--that no city is prosperous in the sight of Heaven unless the\npeasant sells in its market; that no city is ever righteous in the\nsight of Heaven unless the noble walks in its street.\u201d\n\nProut\u2019s work is divided into two clearly defined periods. In the first\nhe drew only English scenes. In 1819 he made his first tour on the\nContinent, and thenceforth devoted himself almost entirely to foreign\nsubjects. In this devotion Ruskin lamented the \u201closs of his first\nlove.\u201d His grand wrecks of Indiamen were instinct with that subtle\nsense of vastness that the Art Teacher felt.\n\nAUTHORITIES\n\nThe authorities for the life of Samuel Prout are:--\n\n\u201cSamuel Prout, Artist,\u201d by J. Hine, in the _Transactions_ of the\nPlymouth Institution, 1879-80.\n\n_Art in Devonshire_, by Geo. Pycroft, Exeter, 1883, pp. 106-17.\n\nRoyet, _History of the Old Water-Colour Society_, London, 1891.\n\nRuskin\u2019s \u201cNotes on Samuel Prout and William Hunt,\u201d new edition in\n_Ruskin on Pictures_, London, 1902.\n\n    /Note./--The publisher of this work will esteem it a favour\n    if the possessors of pictures or drawings by Prout will place\n    themselves in communication with him. He is particularly anxious\n    to obtain copies of letters by, or documents about, the artist--in\n    short, any material which may be of use in the preparation of the\n    exhaustive Life which is in progress. All communications should be\n    addressed to Mr. John Lane, The Bodley Head, Vigo Street, London, W.\n\n\n\n\nFONTELAUTUS\n\n\nIt may seem--in fact, it must seem--strange to have included in a\nvolume of notices of remarkable Devonshire characters a biography of\nan infant who did not attain to the age of two years; but I leave the\nreader to judge from the sequel whether I should have been justified in\nomitting a notice of Fontelautus.\n\nFor an account of the life and adventures of this precocious infant we\nare obliged to refer to the following work, published 1826: _Subversion\nof Materialism by Credible Attestation of Supernatural Occurrences_....\nPt. I. _Memoirs of Fontelautus, infant son of Prebendary Dennis,\ncomprising his demoniacal obsession, and diversified apparition,\nwith his father\u2019s ante-nuptial vision and revelations._ Pt. II.\n_Supernatural Anecdotes of various Families\u2019 Farewell Apparitions,\nSupernatural Fire tokens...._ By Jonas Dennis, /B.C.L./,\nPrebendary of the Royal Collegiate Church of Exeter Castle.\u201d\n\nPrebendary Dennis hurls his son Fontelautus as a bomb into the camp\nof atheists, materialists, and rationalists. If Fontelautus does not\nshatter their unbelief, they are past arguing with, past praying for.\n\nPrebendary Dennis begins with the ancestry of Fontelautus, who was\nderived in direct lineal descent from Sir Thomas Dennis of Holcombe\nBurnell, the rapacious and insatiable devourer of ecclesiastical\nestates, made fat on the plunder of Church property by Henry VIII.\nMr. Jonas Dennis is led to observe that there was an hereditary\ntendency in the Dennis family to acquisitiveness, to avarice; but\nthis proclivity, like gout, jumped a generation, and he informs us\nthat he himself was so entirely free from the family taint that he\ndeclined a benefice from scruples respecting the administration of\nthe sacraments; that he further rejected the advances of a lady\nwith a fortune of \u00a350,000, on the discovery of incompatibility of\ninclination; and that he subsequently married \u201ca lady with ten pounds\nfor her fortune, calculating probability of conjugal felicity from the\nendowment of amiable qualities, placid disposition, compliable temper,\nserious principles, polite accomplishments, and last, though not least,\ndomestic habits.\u201d But if acquisitiveness jumped a generation, it\nmanifested itself in Fontelautus, who from the earliest age clawed and\nendeavoured to ram into his mouth whatever he could lay his hands on.\n\nThe Dennis family had been one of warriors: their arms were\nbattle-axes; and the Rev. Jonas admits that combativeness remained as\na pronounced feature in his own character, the hereditary principle\nin himself prompting him to engage in controversy. Some of his\nachievements he records. It seems that the priest vicars of the\ncathedral of Exeter had petitioned the Dean and Chapter to suppress\nthe week-day matins. The Chapter was more than half inclined to agree,\nwhen the stalwart Jonas threw himself into the midst, and stormed,\nthreatened, pointed to the Constitutions, dared the Chapter to give\nway, and so saved the choral matins in the minster.\n\nThe cathedral, he informs us, was kept open, and was used for\nassignations and for various objectionable gatherings. At his\ninstigation the doors were locked between the hours of Divine service.\nIt is possible that what he here refers to may be the performance\nof the _Gloria in Excelsis_ by the choir in the Minstrel Gallery at\nmidnight on Christmas Eve. This was stopped about the same time on\naccount of the disorderly scenes that took place in the nave; but he\ndoes not specially refer to this.\n\nEvery now and then information reached his ear of intended jobs by\nthe Bishop (Carey) to accommodate noblemen, and rich squires of the\ndiocese, by putting very undesirable scions of these families into some\nof his best livings. Dennis wrote to the Bishop, told him that if he\nproceeded in these appointments he would publish what he knew about the\ncharacter of those whom he presented and of the negotiations undertaken\nto obtain these benefices.\n\nHe also strove to get Convocation to transact business. \u201cIt was a point\ngained to make a torpid tribe stretch and flap their wings, although\nspeedily drooping into a seven years\u2019 rest.\u201d\n\nThe mother of Prebendary Dennis was a daughter of John Cobley, of\nCrediton--in fact, the Fontelautus who was to be would be a kinsman\nthrough his grandmother of the immortal Uncle Tom Cobley.\n\nThe Prebendary having no church near him at Exmouth, where he resided,\nthat was open for daily prayer, was wont to recite his office when\nwalking or riding. One day when he was on horseback and engaged in\nprayer, he saw a sudden illumination of the sky in the east, that grew\nbrighter and ever more brilliant till it exceeded that of the sun, and\nthe light appeared to pulsate in waves. Dazzled and overcome he reined\nin his horse, when from the depths of the light he heard a voice, \u201cThe\ndiscipline of the Church shall be restored through you!\u201d Then a pause,\nand the light swelled and enveloped him, and he heard, \u201cMiss Shore\nwill marry you!\u201d After a pause a third voice fell from heaven, \u201cYou\nshall recover your health by observing the fasts of the Church.\u201d Then\nthe light gradually faded away.\n\n\u201cOf the three predictions,\u201d writes Prebendary Dennis, \u201cattended with\na vision, two have already been fulfilled, i.e. his engagement and\nmarriage to Miss Shore (Juliana Susannah) daughter of the Rev. Thomas\nShore, vicar of Otterton, and brother of Lord Teignmouth; next his\nrecovery of sound health. Toward the fulfilment of the other the author\nhas from that day laboured with might and main. To it he has devoted\nprayer, thought, money, speech, travel, exerting every effort within\ncompass of attainment.\u201d According to him, Papal supremacy had been\nabolished in the Church of England, Royal supremacy existed but as a\nshadow, that supremacy under which the Church was crushed, but did not\ngroan and seem inconvenienced, or to dislike, was the supremacy of\nMammon. And he traced this supremacy to the coming over of William of\nOrange, and the filling of the bishoprics, and all preferments with men\nwho were mere timeservers and political partisans. He was an advocate\nfor the restoration of clinical unction; he preached it, and records\nseveral instances of healing through it. He also regarded madness as in\nmany cases due to demoniacal possession, and urged the use of exorcism.\n\nThe following is an extract from the Register of Baptisms of Exmouth\nfor the year 1824:--\n\n\u201cFontelautus, first-born son and fifth child of Jonas and Juliana\nSusanna ... Dennis, Prebendary of Kerswell, in the R. Collegiate Church\nof the Castle of Exeter. Baptised by me, Jonas Dennis, /B.C.L./,\nthe aforesaid Prebendary. Sponsors: Sir W. T. Pole, Bart., by his\nproxy, the Rev. R. Prat, vicar; the Rev. Jno. Dennis, /A.B./,\nand Elizabeth his wife. Supposed to be the first instance of trine\nimmersion since its suppression by the Presbyterian Directory of the\nLong Parliament.\u201d\n\nFontelautus means, of course, \u201cwashed in the (sacred) fount.\u201d What\ncould a wretched infant do with such a name? Could it possibly live?\n\n\u201cPeaceful was his countenance, engaging was his manner, penetrating his\nlooks. In family worship his attention and serious aspect was striking\nto the spectators.\u201d\n\nBut, alas! there was something of the hereditary taint in\nFontelautus--the love of admiration. \u201cEvery little cunning trick was\nresorted to for its gratification. Every description of expedient was\nequally adopted by him as by a vain adult. Approaching home in his\nattendant\u2019s arms, on her return from executing any commission, he\nstudiously assumed appearance of having been bearer of the purchased\narticle by grasping it in his extended fingers, merely to excite\nadmiration. Rather than not excite attention, he courted notice by\nlaying his head on the floor in preference to other support.\u201d\n\nHere follows an exquisite specimen of the style of the Rev. Jonas: \u201cThe\nfew moments spent in his father\u2019s arms were marked by ecstacy; and the\nprivilege of attendance on tonsorial operations\u201d--he means watching the\nbarber cut his father\u2019s hair and shave him--\u201cwas highly estimated by\nthe animated boy. But the son of a scholar commands an inferior portion\nof paternal time and caresses, than he ensures in maternal embraces or\nsartorial attention! His mother, of course, was the paramount object of\nregard. He could not obliterate the associated delight of a suckling.\u201d\n\nFontelautus seemed to be progressing lustily with his pap and his\nbottle, and dribbling effusively as indication of teething, when about\na fortnight before the end of May, as the cook-maid sat at night in the\nkitchen, she saw the headless form of a child enter the door from the\ncourt, walk or glide through the kitchen into the pantry, and suddenly\nvanish.\n\nOn 1 June, seven weeks before Fontelautus had completed his second\nyear, rising to meet his father who had been absent from home for\nsome months, the boy got his foot entangled in a bedside carpet, and\nfalling on his right arm bent the bone, or, as Jonas words it, \u201cthe\npressure of the superincumbent weight gave it an unprecedented degree\nof incurvation.\u201d Before he had recovered from this he had a fall on\nhis head, and soon water on the brain began to gather, and he had\nconvulsions during ten days, and from the appearance of his eyes it was\nclear that the child could no longer see. The father was convinced that\nthis was a case of _ob_session by an evil spirit, not of _pos_session,\nas he is careful to explain, and he had recourse to exorcism, which\ntemporarily relieved the distressed infant. The contortions, the\nexpression of the face, the foaming of the mouth, all satisfied the\nfather that the child was beset by evil spirits, and his exorcisms were\nalways conducive to relief of the patient; an expression of repose and\nrelief stole over the distressed countenance of the child; and when\nhe died it was during such a pause of relief; as the Prebendary says,\n\u201cHis soul was not extracted from the body by the coercive agency of an\ninfernal envoy.\u201d\n\nSo far we do not see how that Fontelautus should be such a crushing\nargument against materialism. Yet the _Memoirs_ were addressed to \u201cMr.\nWilliam Lawrence, surgeon, as chief British apostle of the system of\nNatural Philosophy completely reducing man to a biped featherless\nbrute; therefore eradicating apprehensions of future responsibility,\nconsequently destructive of every moral feeling in the heart.\u201d\n\nBut wait, Mr. Apostle Lawrence, the evidence against materialism is\ncoming!\n\nIt must be premised that the family lived at the time at Belmont House,\nin Bicton Street, Exmouth, and this was the scene of what followed:--\n\n\u201cOn the night succeeding the decease of Fontelautus, for preclusion\nof the body from renewed maternal inspection, it was removed to an\nattic apartment, having an unglazed window open to the staircase. With\nthe same view, the lid of the coffin was screwed until the following\nday, when it was unscrewed on suggestion of hazard to bearers from\ncondensation of putrescent exhalation.\u201d\n\nAt the Prebendary\u2019s desire, the head of his child had been cut off\nand the skull opened to examine the condition of the brain, and to\nascertain the amount of water that was in it. And it is remarkable that\nthis operation took place in the room immediately above the kitchen\nin which a few weeks before the cook had seen the apparition of the\nheadless child.\n\n\u201cPending the intervening night, the inmates of the nursery being\nremoved to another sleeping room, the nursemaid, during half an hour,\nwhile lying in bed, heard his accustomed tones of voice as distinctly\nas when occasionally lying with her during lifetime. Sitting up, she\nheard the voice continued precisely in the usual mode constantly\nresorted to by the affectionate child, to engage his nurse\u2019s nocturnal\nattention, if through fatigue reluctant to be disturbed. His vocal\ntones were peculiarly winning, coaxing, and caressing. They retained\ntheir pristine character during the period of apparition. Forgetful,\nfor the time, of all impossibility of reanimation, through dissection\nof the cerebellum, she concluded, through protraction of the\nphenomenon, that life was restored. On walking out on the staircase,\nand remaining ten minutes, the voice continued to attend her, until\nhastening to the coffin and without success endeavouring to force open\nthe lid. His favourite sister, Maria, lying in a crib in the same room,\nheard her brother\u2019s voice with equal distinctness, both that night and\nthe two following days. She, indeed, heard the sound of his voice so\nfrequently transmitted from the attic room, as repeatedly to be induced\nto hasten thither in expectation of finding him alive. Her mother,\nsitting in the drawing-room, likewise heard the same articulate sound.\nAt one time, the girl at the foot of the stairs, and the servant at the\nnursery door, both heard the infant\u2019s tones repeated at the same time\nfrom the attic room. At another time, Maria, during five minutes, saw\nthe apparition of her brother\u2019s hand stretching out of the room window\nwhere his body lay; and she knocked at her mother\u2019s door, calling her\nout to see Lautus, as he was alive. Before her mother arrived, she saw\nthe hand turned round and drawn in at the window. She continued to hear\nhis voice coming in the same direction the succeeding day.\n\n\u201cAt night, her mother, entreated by her father to deny herself the\npleasure of saluting her deceased darling\u2019s icy lips, reluctantly\nyielded to the injunction. She was subsequently awakened from sound\nsleep by sensible perception of a wing fluttering on her lips, with\nsuch rapidity as nearly to suspend breathing. Sitting up in the bed,\nshe then heard the more distant sound of which fluttering, equally\ndistinct to the ear as previously perceptible by contact. It continued\nfor some time in the upper part of the room. On searching the\nfollowing morning, no material object elucidating the phenomena was by\nany means discoverable, both window and door having through the night\nbeen closely shut and locked.\u201d\n\nThat this was none other than a moth that escaped notice by day by\nclinging to a curtain with folded wings is obvious enough.\n\nThe reader is by this time doubtless so tired of the inflated style of\nthe Prebendary, that he will be grateful to have the rest of the story\ntold in plain English.\n\nThe Rev. Jonas had made up his mind to have Fontelautus buried in the\ngarden of his home, and arrangements were made that his five sisters\nwere to be the bearers. But this was at once met by the positive\nrefusal of Maria, who declared that she would be no party to the burial\nof her brother, who, she was assured, was still alive. After the\nfuneral she remained in an agony of distress, and this idea continued\nto possess her, and so firmly impressed her mind, that at length, to\nappease her and satisfy her that Fontelautus was really dead, he was\ndug up again.\n\nSuch is the story that the Prebendary thought would be annihilation to\nmaterialism.\n\nHe was the author of a good many books. I give the titles of a few.\n\n_Church Reform, by a Church Radical, and Other Tracts._ Exeter, 1834-5.\n\n_Alliance of Church and State, Neither Sinful nor Unscriptural._\nLondon, 1834.\n\n_Key to the Regalia, with Anecdotes of the Late King._ London, 1820.\n\n_Architectura Sacra._ Exeter, 1819.\n\n_Cat o\u2019 Nine Tails._ Exeter, 1823.\n\n_The Landscape Gardener._ Chelsea, 1835.\n\nThe Rev. Jonas Dennis himself died at Polsloe Park on 6 December,\n1846, aged seventy-one. His only ecclesiastical preferment in life\nwas the prebend of Carswell, one of the four prebends attached to the\nchurch of St. Mary, in the Castle of Exeter, which he held from 1799 to\nthe day of his death, receiving the yearly emolument of \u00a32 13s. 4d.\n\nHe was buried at Otterton, and his grave and tombstone, as well as\nthose of his wife, are in the churchyard.\n\nIf Providence had chosen him, as the voice from heaven intimated, to\nreform the Church, it made a most unhappy selection, as his inflated\nand absurd style of writing and speaking made him an object of ridicule\nnot of respect, and deprived his efforts of success.\n\nI will add some of the stories from the second part of his _Hammer of\nMaterialists_.\n\nPrebendary Salter, /M.A./, tutor to the son of the former Bishop\nFisher, of Exeter, translated to Salisbury in 1807, declared that one\nnight he saw his father\u2019s apparition standing by the bedside. At the\nsame time his little child began to whimper, and this roused his wife,\nwho also saw the spectre, and both particularly noticed the peculiar\nplaiting of the shirt. In a short time a special messenger arrived\nbringing information that the old gentleman was dead.\n\nSarah, wife of James Smith, of Peckham, Russia merchant, and herself\na descendant of General Monk and mother-in-law of John Dennis, the\nbrother of Prebendary Jonas, saw a female friend\u2019s apparition at the\nfoot of her bed. Next day a letter arrived announcing the dying anxiety\nof the party for an interview with Mrs. Smith, to entreat her kind\nattention to her surviving orphans. The moment of dissolution coincided\nwith that of the apparition. Mrs. Burrow, aunt of Baron Giffard,\ninformed the author that going up Fore Street, Exeter, one night, she\nsaw, walking at a little distance before her, an intimate acquaintance\nnamed Jones, a retired silversmith. Perceiving him to halt at the door\nof the house where he had been formerly established in business, she\nhurried her pace to catch him up, when he vanished as she reached the\nspot. Next morning a messenger arrived to announce his death, which had\noccurred at the very time of her seeing the spectre.\n\nMrs. Woodall, of Dartmouth, a widow, blind, was informed by letter from\nher daughter-in-law in November, 1797, of the death of her cousin, her\nsister-in-law; Miss Sarah Woodall replied through an amanuensis that\nshe had previously known of the death, by feeling the clay-cold hand of\nher cousin clasp her own as she lay in bed.\n\nThe late Lady Rolle was reported to have been seen after her decease by\nthe gardener at Bicton, at the gate of the Dutch garden.\n\nThe gardener of Franklyn, in St. Thomas by Exeter, then in the\npossession of a family named Jones, said that he saw his father\u2019s ghost\nwhilst he was at work in one of the gardens of the mansion.\n\nMr. Pearce, of Exeter, a retired wine merchant, informed the author\nthat his little child had been wont in the mornings to leave his crib\nin the nursery and run to his father\u2019s room and cuddle into his bed.\nOnce when the child was very ill Mr. Pearce saw him come in as usual in\nhis nightshirt, whereat he shouted angrily to the nurse in another room\nto rebuke her for allowing the child to leave its crib whilst so ill.\nThe child had not left it--at that moment it had died.\n\nA male servant of the late Colonel Templer, of Teignmouth, in November,\n1810, during an incessant fall of rain, swelling the rivers and\ncarrying away bridges, had three successive dreams the same night, in\nwhich he thought that some one, in danger of death on the Dawlish road,\nwas calling to him to come to his aid. So persuaded was the man that he\nwas truly summoned, that he hastily dressed, saddled and mounted one\nof his master\u2019s horses, and proceeded along the road in the darkness,\ntill his horse suddenly drew up and refused to proceed. Dismounting,\nhe found a woman apparently dying in a channel of water furrowed deep\nacross the highway. By this means her life was preserved.\n\nThe late Mr. Smith, of Exeter, proprietor of a muslin warehouse,\nin three successive dreams in the same night, which he separately\nrepeated to his wife, was summoned to go at once to Bodmin. He obeyed,\nand on arriving there, heard that the assizes were being held. Out\nof curiosity he went into the court and heard the judge ask whether\nany one had seen the prisoner on the day and at the hour at which he\nwas charged with having committed a murder in the west of Cornwall.\nLooking at the accused, Mr. Smith exclaimed, \u201cWhy! he was in my shop in\nExeter on that very day.\u201d Through such conclusive evidence an alibi was\nestablished, and the prisoner was acquitted and discharged.\n\nThe Rev. Mr. Reynolds was master of the Grammar School, Exeter. He\nlost his wife, and after that, possibly because his spirits failed him\nand he lacked energy, the school declined seriously and he thought of\ngiving it up. While he was debating this in his mind, one night he saw\nthe figure of a woman stand by his bedside. She told him that she was\nhis mother who had died in childbed at his birth, and that she had been\nsuffered to come to him to encourage him, and bid him go on with the\nschool, for that a notable improvement in his circumstances would take\nplace if he remained at his post. He communicated this to Dr. Rennel,\nrector of Drewsteignton.\n\nThe last story I shall quote is of a different character. Mr.\nTuckfield, of Little Fulford by Crediton, was presumedly dead, and was\nlaid in his shell, and men were set to watch through the night. They\nwere plentifully supplied with candles and spirits. In the dead of the\nnight one pulled out a pack of cards and the two began to play, and as\nthey played they drank, till they became intoxicated.\n\nThen said one to the other: \u201cI say, Bill, old Squire Tuckfield he did\nlike a drop o\u2019 spirits in his day. I reckon it won\u2019t do him a crumb\no\u2019 harm to give him a drop now.\u201d And taking his glass of almost neat\nspirits, he poured it down the throat of the deceased. Thereat, to\ntheir dismay, the supposed corpse gasped, opened its eyes, sat up, and\nsaid: \u201cGive me another drop and I\u2019ll take a hand of cards with you.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nWILLIAM LANG, OF BRADWORTHY\n\n\n\u201cFoortie Articles exhibited against _William Lang_ who was Vicar of\nthe Parish of Broadworthy, &c., humbly presented in the High Court of\nParliament. London, 1641.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo the Rt. Honourable the Knights, Citizens and Burgesses assembled in\nthe Commons House this present Parliament.\n\n\u201cHumbly showing to the Honourable Assembly that one William Lang, Vicar\nof the Parish of Bradworthie aforesaid, having for about eighteen yeers\nlast past grievously vexed his parishioners with infinite Vexations\nand causeless Suits to their exceeding great oppression, and to the\nruine and undoings of many of them, and lived with great dishonour to\nGod, and scandall to the Ministrie; He, the said Lang, being guiltie\nof Symonie, Common Barretrie, Forgerie, Practising to poyson some, and\nEndeavouring to pistoll others of his Parishioners, with many other\nfoule and gross misdemeanors, particularlie set forth, and expressed in\nthe paper herewith annexed, the consideration whereof is hereby humbly\npresented to the Honorable Assemblie.\n\n\u201cThat the said Lang lived till he was about the age of 30 yeers by\nday-labour, and daily hedged and ditched, threshed and carried Sand,\nin the same Parish, and places adjacent, being never admitted of any\nUniversitie.\n\n\u201cThat then he became a Sheriffe\u2019s Bayliffe and arrested divers in his\nown person.\n\n\u201cThat about 20 yeers since he forged several Warrants, and the Justices\nof Assizes having notice thereof, gave order for his Apprehension,\nwhereupon he fled into Ireland.\n\n\u201cThat about four yeers after, he returned and pretended he had taken\nOrders in Ireland, and did officiate as a hireling Reader, untill by\nCarey, Bishop of Exeter, he was suspended for foule misdemeanors.\n\n\u201cThat he purchased his Vicarage of Bradworthie for Money, by unlawful\nSymony, by means of one Robert Yee (Yeo), who being demanded by some\nhow he should make a Common Bailiff (naming Lang) Vicar of Bradworthie,\nwho answered that he had then such power, that if his Horse-head could\nbut speak, he could have made him Vicar of Bradworthie.\n\n\u201cThat same Lang, being desirous to be licensed to preach and pray,\nconscious of his own Insufficiencie to undergo Examination, procured\none Nicholas Hunny to be examined for him by the name of William Lang,\nand so goes for a Preaching Minister.\n\n\u201cThat ever since he hath been Vicar, he hath taken upon him to be a\ncommon Soliciter of Causes in the Courts at Westminster, and frequented\nLondon Tearmly, and taken Money for Solicitations.\n\n\u201cThat he hath commenced Causeless Suits against his Parishioners in\nthe Court of Star-Chamber, the Court of High Commission, the Court of\nAudience, the County Court of Devon, the Consistory Court at Exeter,\nall at once, and hath had above fourtie severall Suits at one time, and\nabove eightie of his Parishioners and others in Suite at one time, and\nhaving by vexatious Suits utterlie undone divers of them, their wives\nand children.\n\n\u201cThat he hath had four Bills in the Star-Chambre depending at one time\nagainst fourty of his Parishioners, where some have depended twelve\nyeers, and thereby compelled his Parishioners to travell to London,\ntearmely from Bradworthie, being 200 miles distant.\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n\u201cThat divers of his Parishioners have several Times been enforced to\ngive Compositions to him, whereof some have payed to him \u00a340, some\nten, some four pounds, some lesse, at his pleasure to redeem them from\noppression and causeless Suits.\n\n\u201cThat he hath prosecuted Nicolas Eliot with unjust and causeless\nsuits this twenty yeers and upward, to his damage above \u00a3500, and\nhath utterly undone him, his wife and children, and hath kept him\nexcommunicate for these two years last past.\n\n\u201cThat he hath of meere malice ... undone Robert Judd, his wife and\nchildren, by taking wrongfully from them his lands and goods to the\nvalue of above \u00a3300, not leaving him worth one mouthful of Bread; and\nin this extreme Povertie did cast into Prison the said Robert Judd, and\nexcommunicated him this eight yeers last past; and the said Judd doth\nstill stand unabsolved, notwithstanding there is no cause against him;\nnor did his malice cease there, for he hath prosecuted Robt. Judd\u2019s\nchildren to their imprisonment and ruine.\n\n\u201cThat he having about six or seven yeers since agreed with Anthony\nNicholl, one of his Parishioners, for fourteen shillings per annum, in\nlieu of the Tithes of his Tenement, did notwithstanding shortly after\nsue Nicholl and threaten him that unless he would give him Twenty\nshillings per annum, and \u00a35 for so quiet a composition, he would make\nhim spend more yeerly than the Rent of his Tenement, and so forced\nNicholl to a new Agreement, and gave him a note under his hand, that\nfor 20 shillings per ann. he should, etc.... Yet two yeers after the\nlatter Agreement he sued Nicholl and forced him to compound by paying\n24 shillings per annum, and \u00a35 for his Love.\n\n\u201cThat for 3^d due he sued Richard Snowe, in the Consistorie at Exeter,\nand put him to \u00a34 or \u00a35 charge about it.\n\n\u201cThat he suborned Gabriel Williams of Torrington to enforce actions\nagainst his Parishioners.\n\n\u201cSo he forced William Cann, John Bishop, Richard Lile, Lewis Dennis,\nRobert Terdrew, John Yee, to come to composition with him.\n\n\u201cThat he hath affirmed that if his Chancell were full of Gold and\nSilver, he would spend it all to be avenged of his Enemies, and that he\nwould never give over his Parishioners with Suits, untill he lay down\nlike a Hare before the Hounds.\n\n\u201cHe dealt with one Christopher Pugsley to poyson four of his\nParishioners, Thomas Vigers, Richard Facye, Robert Bishop, and Thomas\nBoundye, and gave 20^s 6^d to said Pugsley to buy Ratsbane with promise\nof Money upon the Fact committed, which Pugsley attempted three\nTimes, and besides there is more than Suspicion that he poysoned his\nPredecessor\u2019s Wife, whose Estate he had, and was tied to maintain her\nduring her Life.\n\n\u201cThat he Conspired to cause the Death of his Predecessor Twiggs.\n\n\u201cThat he carried a Pistoll to kill Mr. Thomas Vigurs then in Suit with\nhim, and did threaten Thomas Woodroffe, a Minister.\n\n\u201cThat he dealt with Pugsley to burn the Barn and Corn Mowes of Samuel\nChappell.\n\n\u201cThat he committed divers Forgeries since he hath been Vicar of\nBradworthie.\n\n\u201cThat during his Absence above 7 yeers since he left Matthew Lile, a\nMiller, to read Prayers in Church, and since then Philip Natt, a Taylor.\n\n\u201cThat he causeth Dorothie Lang, his daughter, to catechise in Church.\n\n\u201cThat being required to baptize a child, he bade the Woman to cast a\nDish of Water in the face of the child, and call it _John_ or _Joan_,\nin the Name of, etc., and this would be well enough. Which Child lived\nmore than 10 weeks after and died unbaptized.\n\n\u201cThat he obtained a Licence to sell Wine, and hath kept a Tavern in the\nVicarage for four yeers.\n\n\u201cThat a Child being baptized, the Woman that held the Child softly\nand modestly requested him to put back the Child\u2019s Head-covering; he\nanswered, \u2018Go thy Wayes home, and teach thy Maid to whip her Cat.\u2019\n\n\u201cThat being requested by a parent to christen her child, he answered,\n\u2018What, wilt thou have me christen thy Old Sow?\u2019\n\n\u201cThat he affirms the Book of Canticles to be but a kind of bawdy Song.\n\n\u201cThat he never preacheth or catechiseth in the Afternoon on Sabbath\nDays, but goes to the Alehouse, and makes himself so drunk that he\ncan neither go nor stand.\u201d When this was published William Lang was a\nprisoner in London.\n\nThat there is considerable exaggeration in these charges--I have\nnot given all--goes without saying, but that there was a strong\ncase against the vicar nevertheless cannot be doubted. The facts of\nhis legal proceedings against his parishioners were indisputable;\nthe surmises that he had poisoned Mr. and Mrs. Twigg are worthless.\nThat his daughter catechized in church is harmless enough; it is\nwhat is done by many a parson\u2019s daughter nowadays where there is no\nSunday-school room.\n\nReckless charges and complaints against the clergy whom their\nparishioners did not like were eagerly received by the Parliament on\none side and by the King on the other. Thus Larkham, the intruding\nvicar of Tavistock, was petitioned against, and the petition put into\nthe King\u2019s own hand, with twenty-four articles against him, imputing\nfaction, heresy, witchcraft, rebellion, and treason. This was in 1639\nor 1640.\n\nMark Twigg, the vicar, was buried on 9 November, 1622, and seems to\nhave been a son of Ralph Twigg, of Lawhitton, and Joan, daughter of\nJohn Cory, of Putford. His widow was buried by Lang in 1638, so that if\nLang had the charge of her he endured it for sixteen years. The wife of\nW. Lang was Helen Hockin; he married her in 1607.\n\nLang was succeeded by Elias Eastaway in 1641. He was buried 10 June,\n1646, when his son, of the same name, quietly stepped into his place.\nThis Elias married Penelope Cleverdon on 25 March, 1647-8; and his\ndaughter, Elizabeth, was baptized 23 January, 1647, before they were\nmarried, and she was buried 30 June. Elias had a son of the same name\nbaptized 14 November, 1649, and a daughter in 1652, another son, Elias,\nin 1653, and a son, Richard, in 1656, and a daughter, Margaret, 1659.\n\nElias was quite ready to conform, so as to retain his living, at the\nRestoration, though he had been a burning and a shining light among\nthe Puritans. He held the living till his death in 1680. He had been\ninstituted 10 January, 1648-9, only a few days before the execution of\nthe King.\n\n\n\n\nWILLIAM COOKWORTHY\n\n\nAugustus was about to indulge the Romans in a great series of\nspectacles, races in the circus, gladiatorial shows in the arena, and\ntheatrical performances, all gratis, free and for nothing. Down came\nthe rain in torrents all night. The streets were swimming, the Tiber\nswelled and rolled down a volume of yellow water. The good folks of\nRome were in despair. But when morning dawned the skies cleared, the\nsun shone forth, the streets dried as by magic, and the shows were\ncarried out with the utmost splendour. At night on the palace wall was\nscrawled in chalk:--\n\n    It rained all night, the day was bright,\n    Jove and Augustus share All-might.\n\nAugustus was flattered and asked who had written these lines. Presently\na poetaster, Bathylus, stood forward and confessed that he was the\nauthor, and was rewarded most liberally. Next night, the same lines\nwere written on the wall, and under them the line: \u201cI wrote the verse,\nanother claimed the fame,\u201d and underneath four times repeated \u201cSic vos\nnon vobis,\u201d or \u201cThus you, but not for you.\u201d Bathylus was sent for and\nrequired to complete the lines. He scratched his head, turned red, and\ndeclared his inability to do this. Then from the throng came a tall,\nswarthy man, modest in his bearing, and wrote in chalk:--\n\n    Sic vos non vobis nidificatis aves,\n    Sic vos non vobis velera fertis oves,\n    Sic vos non vobis melificatis apes,\n    Sic vos non vobis fertis aratra boves.\n\nThat may be rendered thus:--\n\n    Thus you, but not for you, birds build their nest,\n    Thus you, but not for you, ye sheep in fleeces drest,\n    Thus you, but not for you, ye bees the honey drain,\n    Thus you, but not for you, ye oxen ploughing strain.\n\nHe who wrote this was P. Virgilius Maro, and Bathylus became the\nlaughing-stock of Rome.\n\n[Illustration: WILLIAM COOKWORTHY OF PLYMOUTH\n\n_From the original portrait by Opie in the possession of Edward\nHarrison, Esq., of Watford_]\n\nI tell this story because up to a certain point it illustrates the\nfortunes of William Cookworthy. At the present day many hundreds of\nmen live in ease and happiness through the discovery of china-clay by\nCookworthy, but he himself reaped no advantage by what he discovered.\n\nThe town of St. Austell in Cornwall may be said to live on china-clay\nthat is exported to the Staffordshire potteries. Before the discovery\nby Cookworthy, it was not known that the kaolin, the essential\ningredient of porcelain, was to be found anywhere, except in China. But\nCookworthy, who has put bread into the mouths of thousands, who created\nthe manufacture of porcelain in England out of home-produced kaolin,\nreaped not a penny advantage from his discovery.\n\nKaolin is found elsewhere, in Devon, on the fringe of Dartmoor. Now,\nthe visitor to Plymouth, as he passes by the head of the Laira, will\nsee a milk-white stream flow past the line. It is the overflow from the\nkaolin works at Lee Moor. Cookworthy did not, however, discover the\nchina-clay on the borders of Dartmoor, where it abounds.\n\nChina-clay or kaolin is obtained from highly decomposed granite, and\nconsists of the disintegrated and metamorphosed felspar of that rock.\nOften on the outskirts of the granitic masses of Cornwall the rock is\nso decomposed by the percolation of rain-water holding carbonic acid\nin solution that the granite may be dug with a spade to the depth of\ntwenty feet or more. China-stone also is found similarly composed of\ndisintegrated granite, and contains quartz as well as kaolin. It is\nused in the manufacture of glaze for earthenware. From S. Austell,\nwhere three thousand persons are engaged in raising and cleaning the\nkaolin, something like forty thousand tons are annually exported to\nStaffordshire for the manufacture of porcelain. But it is employed also\nlargely in the calico-weaving districts as the principal ingredient in\nsizing and loading calico. It is also used in paper manufacture for the\nhighly glazed and smooth sheets employed for illustrations.\n\nBut to come to William Cookworthy. He belonged to a Quaker family of\nKingsbridge. His grandfather, William Cookworthy, married Susanna\nWearmouth in 1669, and died in 1708. His father, a weaver, also William\nCookworthy, born in 1670, married Edith Dobell in 1704, and died in\n1718. William the third Cookworthy was born in 1705. After the father\u2019s\ndeath the widow was left in straitened circumstances, and received\nassistance from the Friends\u2019 Monthly Meeting. Although reduced to\npoverty, with a family of seven children, the eldest only fourteen\nyears old, the widow struggled bravely through her difficulties.\nWilliam, the eldest son, was apprenticed after his father\u2019s death to\nthe firm of Bevan, chemists and druggists, London, also Quakers. At the\nclose of his apprenticeship, with the assistance of his employers, he\nset up for himself as a wholesale chemist and druggist at Plymouth, the\nfirm being entitled Bevan and Cookworthy, and the place of business was\nin Notte Street, and here he lived for many years, and there died.\n\n\u201cHe was in many respects a remarkable man, and his life is one of\nthe most illustrious examples of men who have risen of which England\ncan boast. Emphatically self-made, he had none of the foibles which\nfrequently mark the characters of those who have been the architects\nof their own fortunes. An industrious man of business, a shrewd\nand painstaking inventor, deeply versed in the science of the day,\nvalued in society for his geniality and power of conversation, he\nwas at the same time one of the simplest and devoutest of Quakers,\nand an enthusiastic believer in the views of Swedenborg. He was a\nfirm believer in the divining rod, and left a treatise on its uses.\nIn short, Cookworthy was a man of many sides, but always genial,\ncourageous, and persevering; a man who won the respect and esteem alike\nof high and low by his strict integrity, wide sympathies, and varied\npowers; one who, having set his hand to the plough, was not ready to\nturn back.\u201d[36]\n\nIn 1735, at the age of thirty, Cookworthy married Sarah Berry, of a\nSomerset Quaker family; and about this time he assumed the peculiar\ndress of the Society, a drab suit and a broad-brimmed hat, and became\nmore accentuated in the phraseology adopted by the sect. He was an\nabsent-minded man. One Sunday, in Exeter, on leaving the house of\na friend, a physician, to go to meeting, as the rain was streaming\ndown, he took down a cloak that was hanging in the hall and threw it\nover his shoulders, little noticing that this was not his own, but\nthat of the owner of the house. In those days a physician\u2019s walking\ncostume was a scarlet cloak, with a gold-headed cane. In this garb\nCookworthy strolled into meeting, and into the Ministers\u2019 Gallery to\nthe scandal of all the Friends assembled, but quite unconscious of his\ntransformation.\n\nOn another occasion he was on his way to attend the quarterly meeting\nof the sect at Exeter, and halted at Ashburton to refresh himself and\nhis horse. After having lunched, he took up a copy of _Sir Charles\nGrandison_, in seven volumes, began to read, read on and on, finished\none volume, took up the next, forgot all about his purpose of going\nto Exeter, and was found by the Friends on their return from that\ntown, and the conclusion of the meeting, still immersed in Samuel\nRichardson\u2019s novel. As novel-reading is forbidden in the Society, no\ndoubt but that poor Cookworthy was severely reprimanded, and prayed for\nas a back-slider.\n\nPorcelain in China has a high antiquity, and must have been made there\nat least 1250 years before it was manufactured in England; it was\nintroduced into Europe in 1518, when it acquired the name of _China_.\nFor a long period it was supposed that the fine white clay consisting\nof silica and alumina, and called by the Chinese _Kaolin_, was found\nonly in the Celestial Empire, and specimens brought to Europe fetched\na high price. At the beginning of the eighteenth century it was\ndiscovered in Saxony in an odd way. A merchant named Schnorr, being on\na journey, was struck with the whiteness of some clay near Schneeburg,\nand collecting some of it, thinking it might be employed instead of\nwheaten flour for the manufacture of hair powder, used it for this\npurpose. It succeeded, but had this disadvantage, that wigs dressed\nwith the new hair powder were very heavy. An apothecary named B\u00f6tcher\nnoticed the increased weight of his wig and instituted inquiries,\nwhen he found that the new material used was precisely that which\nwas required for the manufacture of porcelain; and Dresden china was\nbegun to be made by him in 1709, and was carried on with the greatest\nsecrecy, and the exportation of the earth was forbidden under heavy\npenalties.\n\nIn 1745, Cookworthy heard that a similar clay had been discovered\nin Virginia, and sent a Quaker to procure some for him. Somewhere\nabout 1748 he himself discovered it in Cornwall. He wrote: \u201cI first\ndiscovered it in the parish of Germo, in a hill called Tregonnin\nHill.\u201d After a long description of the properties of the clay and his\nexperiments upon it, he says: \u201cI have lately discovered that in the\nneighbourhood of the parish of S. Stephen\u2019s, in Cornwall, there are\nimmense quantities both of the Petunse stone and the Kaulin, and which\nI believe may be more conveniently and advantageously wrought than\nthose of Tregonnin Hill, as by experiments I have made on them they\nproduce a much whiter body, and do not shrink so much in baking, nor\ntake stains so readily from the fire. S. Stephen\u2019s lies between Truro,\nS. Austell and S. Columb; and the parish of Dennis, the next to S.\nStephen\u2019s, I believe, hath both the ingredients in plenty in it.\u201d\n\nThe same materials were afterwards found at Boconnoc, the seat of the\nHon. Thomas Pitt, afterwards created Lord Camelford. This discovery\nled to an acquaintance with Thomas Pitt, and together they obtained a\npatent in 1768 and started the Plymouth China Factory, that brought the\nmanufacture of porcelain to great perfection; but for some reason did\nnot yield profit to the patentees.\n\nIn precisely the same year kaolin was discovered at St. Yr\u012beix, near\nLimoges. The wife of a surgeon there had used it for the purpose of\nbleaching linen, when her husband, suspecting its real value, took it\nto Bordeaux, and on trial it was found to be the very thing needed as a\nbase to real hard porcelain. The manufactory of S\u00e8vres which had used\nimported Chinese clay, now employed that of St. Yr\u012beix; and the Limoges\nmanufacture of porcelain was then started.\n\nAfter six years\u2019 trial, outlay, and discouragement, the Plymouth\nChina Works were removed to Bristol and the patent was assigned to\nRichard Champion, a connexion by marriage of the Cookworthy family.\nThe endeavour to make the porcelain manufactures there a paying\nconcern failed as it had at Plymouth, and Champion removed his works\nto Staffordshire, where the fuel was close at hand. The Bristol\npatent-right was transferred to a company of six partners. Champion\nreceived through Burke, who was then in office, the appointment of\nDeputy-Paymaster of the Forces, in 1782, when he left Staffordshire,\nbut on a change of Ministry he lost the post, and went to America,\nwhere he died in 1787. Neither his family, nor that of Cookworthy,\never received any benefit from the important art and industry they had\nbeen the means of establishing. William Cookworthy died on the 17th\nOctober, 1780. Among the worthies celebrated in the memorial windows of\nthe Plymouth town hall is \u201cWilliam Cookworthy, Chemist and Potter, the\ndiscoverer of the English China-clay, and the first maker in England of\ntrue Porcelain.\u201d\n\nAbundant information relative to Cookworthy exists.\n\n_Memoir of William Cookworthy_, by his Grandson, G. H. Harrison.\nLondon, 1854.\n\n_Relics of William Cookworthy_, by John Prideaux. London, 1853.\n\n\u201cWilliam Cookworthy and the Plymouth China Factory,\u201d by R. N. Worth, in\nthe _Transactions_ of the Devonshire Association, 1876.\n\n_William Cookworthy_, by Theodore Compton. London, 1894.\n\nStrangely enough, though Cookworthy has not received the recognition\ndue to him as a discoverer. Ure, in his _Dictionary of Arts and\nManufactures_ (London, 1853), makes no mention of him. Nor does\nTomlinson in his _Cyclop\u00e6dia of Useful Arts and Manufactures_,\nLondon, 1854; nor did Marryatt in the first edition of his _History of\nPottery_ in 1850. But Cookworthy has received due acknowledgment in the\n_Dictionary of National Biography_.\n\n\n\n\nWILLIAM JACKSON, ORGANIST\n\n\nThe autobiography of William Jackson was printed and published for the\nfirst time in the _Leisure Hour_, 1882. It is not of much personal\ninterest, as it concerns almost exclusively his musical education\nand his travels abroad. For instance, concerning his marriage, it\nis dismissed with the curt remark, \u201cAt twenty-three I married.\u201d\nNevertheless it affords us some particulars which we might have sought\nfor in vain elsewhere.\n\nHe informs us: \u201cOf my family I know nothing but that for many\ngenerations they were farmers at Morleigh, an obscure place in the\nsouth-west of Devon. It seems trifling to add that all the Jacksons\nin Devonshire have a family face and person. What mine was may be\nknown by a picture by Rennell, painted at twenty years of age; one\nby Gainsborough at forty; another by Keenan at seventy. I recollect\nalso sitting for a miniature to Humphrey, for a portrait in crayon\nto Morland, and for two in oil to Opie.\u201d He goes on to say: \u201cMy\ngrandfather Richard Jackson was a serge-maker in Exeter, lived\ncreditably, and acquired what in those days was considered a fortune.\nHe left many children. My father, William, was his second son, to whom\nhe gave a good school education, but not inheriting the prudence of his\npredecessor, he soon dissipated his little fortune.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: _Mr. Jackson._\n\n_The celebrated Composer late Organist of the Exeter Cathedral._\n\n    _Enchanting harmonist the art is thine,\n    Unmatch\u2019d to pour the soul dissolving air\n    That seems poor weeping Virtues hymn divine,\n    Soothing the wounded bosom of Despair._\n\n_Published as the Act directs April 25, 1819 by Messrs. Hurst Robinson\n& Co. 90 Cheapside._]\n\nWilliam Jackson of Exeter was born on 28 May, 1730 and began his\neducation at seven, which was continued till he was sixteen. He did\nnot begin his musical studies till twelve years old, when he became a\nchorister in Exeter Cathedral. He displayed a decided taste for music.\n\n\u201cFrom a subordinate member of the choir at Exeter I learnt two or three\ncommon airs, such as are given to beginners. This was the whole of my\ninstruction for three years which I received from others; by my own\nassiduous practice I could perform Handel\u2019s organ concertos and some\nof Corelli\u2019s sonatas--in a wild, irregular manner, no doubt. As yet I\nwas a stranger to any but my own poor performance, when I was carried\nto hear a young lady, who, among other pieces, played the overture of\n_Otho_.\u201d\n\nIn 1748 he removed to London, where he passed two years under the\ntuition of John Travers, organist to the King\u2019s Chapel and to St.\nPaul\u2019s, Covent Garden, and an eminent song composer. He then returned\nto his native place, where he settled for life as a teacher, professor,\nand composer of music. He soon attained reputation and employment; but\nit was not till 1777 that he succeeded to the places of sub-chanter,\norganist, lay vicar, and master of the choristers in the cathedral. His\ntalents in musical composition were first made known in 1775, when he\nprinted a collection of twelve songs that speedily became popular.\n\nWhilst a boy in London, \u201cIn or about 1746,\u201d he says, \u201cthe oratorio of\n_Judas Maccabeus_ was first performed. I squeezed in among the chorus\nsingers, and was remarked by Handel when he entered, as a stranger.\n\u2018Who are you?\u2019 says he. \u2018Can you play? Can you sing? If not, open your\nmouth and pretend to sing; for there must be no idle persons in my\nband.\u2019 He was right. However, in the course of the evening, by turning\nhis leaf and some other little attentions, there became some sort\nof intimacy between us, so that I gained admittance to the frequent\nrepetitions of this oratorio.\u201d\n\nJackson made the acquaintance and gained the friendship of\nGainsborough. Of him he says: \u201cHis profession was painting, music\nwas his amusement,\u201d and the reverse might be said with equal truth\nof Jackson. Each undertook to instruct the other in his own art, and\nJackson rather prided himself on his paintings than on his music. In\nhis volume of essays, _The Four Ages_, he gives his reminiscences of\nGainsborough, and they are amusing. His account can here be briefly\nsummed up:--\n\n\u201cThere were times when music seemed to be his employment, and painting\nhis diversion. When I first knew him he lived at Bath, where Giardini\nhad been exhibiting his then unrivalled powers on the violin. His\nperformance made Gainsborough enamoured of that instrument; and\nconceiving, like the servant maid in the Spectator, that the music\nlay in the fiddle, he was frantic until he possessed himself of the\nvery instrument which had given him so much pleasure--but seemed much\nsurprised that the music of it remained behind with Giardini.\n\n\u201cHe had scarcely recovered this shock when he heard Abel on the\nviol-di-gamba. The violin was hung on the willow--Abel\u2019s viol-di-gamba\nwas purchased, and the house resounded with melodious thirds and\nfifths. Many an adagio and many a minuet were begun, but never\ncompleted. This was wonderful, as it was Abel\u2019s _own_ instrument, and\ntherefore _ought_ to have produced Abel\u2019s own music.\n\n\u201cFortunately, my friend\u2019s passion had now a fresh object--Fischer\u2019s\nhautboy; but I do not recollect that he deprived Fischer of his\ninstrument, though he procured a hautboy.\n\n\u201cThe next time I saw Gainsborough he had heard a harper at Bath. The\nperformer was soon left harpless, and now Fischer, Abel, and Giardini\nwere all forgotten--there was nothing like chords and arpeggios.\n\n\u201cMore years passed, when, upon seeing a Theorbo in a picture of Van\nDyck, he concluded that the Theorbo must be a fine instrument.\u201d But\nTheorbos were no more played. The nearest approach to one was a lute.\nOn inquiry Gainsborough ascertained that there was a poor German\nprofessor who performed on the lute, living in a garret. To him went\nthe artist full of eagerness. The lute he must have. The poor man was\nreluctant to part with it; but finally sold it for ten guineas.\n\n\u201cBut I must have the book of airs for the instrument,\u201d said\nGainsborough; \u201cthe instrument is no good without the book.\u201d After much\nhaggling, at last the German parted with the music-book for another ten\nguineas. \u201cIn this way,\u201d says Jackson, \u201cGainsborough frittered away his\nmusical talents, and though possessed of ear, taste, and genius, he\nnever had application to learn his notes.\u201d\n\nAnother acquaintance of Jackson\u2019s was Sir Joshua Reynolds. Of him\nhe says: \u201cWhatever defects a critical eye might find in his works,\na microscopic eye could discover none in his heart. If constant\ngood-humour and benevolence, if the absence of everything disagreeable,\nand the presence of everything pleasant, be recommendations for a\ncompanion, Sir Joshua had these accomplishments.\u201d\n\nOf Jackson\u2019s musical powers it is not necessary to speak. Details\nconcerning his compositions may be found in Grove\u2019s _Dictionary of\nMusic_, and his songs \u201cLove in thine eyes for ever dwells,\u201d \u201cTake, O\ntake those lips away,\u201d and \u201cTime hath not thinned my flowing hair,\u201d are\nstill not quite dead. His \u201cTe Deum in F\u201d rang through every village\nchurch in England.\n\nHe made many visits to London, and returned each time more dissatisfied\nwith Exeter, to which he was bound by his occupation as organist of the\ncathedral, and by his family.\n\nThe Literary Society of Exeter and its environs was not inconsiderable\nin number. Several of the resident clergy, some physicians and other\ngentlemen, had instituted what they called \u201cThe Exeter Society.\u201d\nThey proposed to rival, by volumes of their own, the _Transactions_\nof the Manchester Society, whose occasional appearance had attracted\nsome notice. But a committee sitting judicially on the contributions\nof their neighbours and of each other nearly broke up their friendly\nintercourse.\n\nIn this \u201cExeter Society\u201d from the first Jackson had declined to enrol\nhimself as a member. He kept aloof; he took no interest in their\nenterprise. He kept on good terms with the members, not entering into\nfriendship with any, but also keeping free from their rivalries and\ncontentions.\n\nHe was known throughout England as \u201cJackson of Exeter.\u201d This was\nbecause, on the publication of his first set of songs, he had described\nhimself as \u201cWilliam Jackson of Exeter\u201d to distinguish himself from\nanother Jackson who was a musician at Oxford. The last twenty years of\nhis life were passed in a voluntary seclusion. A good many regretted\nthis; he supposed that his talents made him an object of jealousy\nin the petty world of a cathedral city. He was not made as much of\nthere as he deemed that he deserved. Few strangers, however, visited\nExeter without seeking an introduction to this eminent man; and his\ndoor was always open to those young men who were of a poetical cast\nof mind. Even Dr. Wolcot, the venomous Peter Pindar, had a kindly\nword to say for him in verse. His favourite composer of words for his\nsongs was one Bampfylde, a Devonshire poet, whose sonnets have never\nbeen collected, and which would not commend themselves to modern\ntaste. Rendal, a polished versifier, composed for him a series of\nfairy personifications, with distinct scenery and appropriate action,\nto introduce new combinations of music. The fays were in caverns, on\nlakes, on a volcano, among glaciers, in the billows of the sea, in\ngroves lit by the evening star. The music of the \u201cFairy Fantasies,\u201d as\nthese were called, was one of the latest compositions of Jackson.\n\nJackson occupied and amused himself with literary compositions. His\n_Thirty Letters_ touched on many interesting points of art, literature,\nand philosophy.\n\nIn _The Four Ages_ he put together a collection of various articles and\nstories. The volume took its title from the leading essay, in which he\nshowed that the opinion of the Ancients as to a sequence of Golden,\nSilver, Brass, and Iron Ages should be inverted--that early man began\nin the Iron Age, and that society and culture were rapidly progressing\nto the Golden Age.\n\nDr. Burney said with severity, yet not without some truth, of Jackson:\n\u201cHe has never been remarkable for sailing with the tide of general\nopinion on any occasion. He would, perhaps, suppose the whole universe\nrather than himself to be in the wrong, in judging of any of the arts.\u201d\nThe critic ascribed his perverse ingenuity to \u201cprejudice, envy, a\nprovincial taste, or perhaps all together, which prevented his candid\nattention.\u201d\n\nHe possessed a certain amount of wit, but it was of a cumbrous nature.\nOn one occasion, being called upon at a public dinner for a toast, he\nsaid: \u201cI have great pleasure, Mr. Chairman, in complying with your\ncommand, and give you the opening words of the third Psalm.\u201d The\nchairman, astonished at the inappropriateness of the idea, stopped the\nmusician short by exclaiming: \u201cOh, fie, Mr. Jackson! the beginning of a\nPsalm as a convivial toast?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, sir, unless you can suggest a better. I give you _Lord How_.\u201d\n\nBut what humour he had acidulated into sarcasm, as he could not move\nmusically with the times. He could not advance out of the restricted\ncircle of his own ideals, which was very narrow. To such a mind, Gothic\narchitecture could only exhibit \u201can incongruous mass of absurdities--it\nis a false style, only showing the want of skill in the builders in\nmixing forms which cannot accord.\u201d\n\nHe was greatly incensed that the public appreciated the music of\nHaydn, Mozart, and even Handel, whose strains were \u201can imposition of\nthe feelings drawn from illegitimate sources.\u201d Why could not English\nears rest satisfied with Greene and Boyce and Blow? He affected to\nsmile on \u201cmusical expression,\u201d which he considered so contemptible\nthat fantastic Germans were only capable of attempting it. Did the\npoet ask, \u201cWhat passion cannot music raise or quell?\u201d I ask in turn,\nWhat passion _can_ music raise or quell? Poets or musicians can only\nproduce different degrees of pure pleasure, and when they have produced\nthis last effect they have attained the utmost in the power of poetry\nor music. Jackson published his _Observations on the Present State of\nMusic in London_ in 1791, in which he gave vent to his spleen. Dr.\nBurney replied, \u201cAnd must we go to Exeter to ask Mr. Jackson how to\nplease and be pleased? Are we to have no music in our concerts but\nelegies and balads? Mr. Jackson\u2019s favourite style of music has been\nelegies, but what is an elegy to a tragedy or to an epic poem? He sees\nbut one angle of the art of music, and to that all his opinions are\nreferred. His elegy is no more than a closet in a palace.\u201d\n\nThe great Handel Commemoration in Westminster Abbey in 1784 affected\nthe organist of Exeter Cathedral with an attack of the spleen, from\nwhich he seems never to have recovered. At first, when that gigantic\nproject was announced, he declared it to be impracticable, for that\nso stupendous a band, composed of many hundred instruments, could\nproduce only a universal and deafening clash. When, however, the\nmiracle succeeded, he took exception at the selection of pieces that\nhad been performed. Lest Handel should obtain an exclusive triumph, he\nprotested that there were other musicians beside Handel who deserved to\nbe heard, and merited as high honours as were accorded to him. In 1790\ncame Haydn to London, and the cup of Jackson\u2019s wrath overflowed. His\near could not endure the lively melodies and gorgeous effects of _The\nCreation_. It was then, in the rage of his heart, that he published his\n_Observations_. Artists and amateurs, according to him, who welcomed\nthe ravishing music of Haydn were taking \u201ctheir present musical\npleasure from polluted sources.\u201d And on his accustomed principle and\nin his usual style he declared that, \u201cjudging of the sensations of\nothers by his own, the public is not pleased with what it applauds with\nrapture.\u201d\n\nJackson entertained the greatest contempt for the physicians of his\nday, and perhaps not unjustly. He imagined that all the diseases to\nwhich man is heir are produced by misconduct and intemperance, and\nthat they could be resisted by sobriety; and prevention, said he,\nwas better than cure. His decision, persevered in, of using only\nabstinence, when his constitution was broken, precipitated his end. He\ndied of asthma on 5 July, 1803, and was buried in S. Stephen\u2019s Church,\nExeter, where is a tablet to his memory, with a eulogistic description\nof his talents and attainments, written by his friend, William Kendall.\nThe tablet also records the death of his widow, his daughter Mary, and\nfour sons. One of his sons was ambassador to the King of Sardinia, and\nafterwards to Paris and Berlin. His eldest son, William, at an early\nage entered the service of the East India Company, and was secretary\nto Lord Macartney in his embassy to China. He amassed a considerable\nfortune in India, and married Frances, the only plain daughter of\nCharles Baring, of Courtlands, near Exmouth. One of the other daughters\nmarried Sir Stafford Northcote, Bart., of Pynes, another Sir Samuel\nYoung, Bart., of Formosa Place, on the Thames. William purchased Cowley\nBarton, where he built Cowley House. The design is said to have been\nsuggested by his father, as bearing some resemblance to an organ front.\nHe was High Sheriff of Devon in 1806. He died in 1842, without leaving\nany issue.\n\nAmong William Jackson\u2019s musical compositions was a setting of Pope\u2019s\nelegy, _Vital Spark of Heavenly Flame_, which was sometimes used as\nan anthem, and has been known to be given out by a clerk in a village\nchurch thus: \u201cLet us sing to the praise and glory of God--Poppy\u2019s\nLegacy.\u201d\n\nThe authorities for Jackson\u2019s life are:--\n\nGrove\u2019s _Dictionary of Music_.\n\n_A Dictionary of Musicians._ London, 1827.\n\nThe autobiography already referred to in _The Leisure Hour_, 1882.\n\n\u201cJackson of Exeter,\u201d in the _New Monthly Magazine_ for 1832.\n\nG. Townsend, \u201cWilliam Jackson,\u201d in _Transactions_ of the Devonshire\nAssociation, 1882.\n\nThe _Dictionary of National Biography_, etc.\n\n\n\n\nJOHN DUNNING, FIRST LORD ASHBURTON\n\n\nAt Walkhampton is an old farm called Guatham that had pertained for\nseveral generations to the family of Dunning, originally well-to-do\nyeomen, but not dignified enough to be recorded as bearing arms at\nthe Heralds\u2019 Visitation of 1620. In 1661 Richard Dunning, in a deed,\nmentions his mother, Wilmot, his sister Mary, and his brother, John\nDunning. His wife was Mary, and he had besides his sister Mary another,\nMargaret, who married Edward Gould, gent., of Pridhamsleigh, in\nStaverton; the marriage settlement was dated 7 February, 14 Charles\nII (1662). She died shortly after her marriage, and was buried at\nStaverton 26 April, 1662, where was erected a brass to her memory\nbearing the inscription:--\n\n    Here lies the gentle Margaret\n    A pearl in Gold right meetly set.\n\nHer brother Richard held Guatham, and wrote himself \u201cGentleman.\u201d He was\nthe author of a tract published in the year 1686, in which he described\nthe condition of the poor of the county. Macaulay says:--\n\n\u201cThat he understood his subject well it is impossible to doubt; for a\nfew months later his work was reprinted, and was, by the magistrates\nassembled in quarter sessions at Exeter, strongly recommended to the\nattention of all parochial officers. According to him the wages of the\nDevonshire peasant were, without food, about five shillings a week.\u201d\n\nRichard died s.p.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n    _Sir Joshua Reynolds pinxt._      _F. Bartolozzi sculpt._\n\nLORD ASHBURTON]\n\nJohn Dunning, brother of the pamphleteer, lived with Mary, his wife, at\nGuatham. After eleven years of married life he died in 1706, leaving\nfour sons and three daughters. The second of their sons who attained\nmanhood was born in 1701, and bore his father\u2019s name of John. He was\nbred to the law, and having married Agnes, daughter of Henry Jutsham,\nof Old-a-Port, in Modbury, settled down as an attorney at Ashburton,\nprobably drawn there by the representations of his uncle Edward Gould.\nHe settled into a house at Gulwell, in the parish of Staverton, a\nstone\u2019s-throw from the boundary of Ashburton.\n\nThis attorney Dunning had a son John born on 18 October, 1731. Attorney\nDunning now moved into Ashburton into a house in West Street, where he\nresided till his death, which took place in 1780. Day by day in his\nyouth did the ugly, ungainly boy John Dunning trudge to the school\nof Ashburton, occupying the ancient chapel of S. James. This chapel\nhad been decorated with large coats-of-arms in plaster, coloured\nperiodically, of benefactors. Above the master\u2019s desk at the east\nend were the arms of Ashburton. The other coats were Harris, Gould,\nBlundell, and Young. As the urchin, ugly as an imp from the abyss,\nsat on his form looking up at the great blue and gold lion of the\nGoulds--his uncle\u2019s coat--did it ever flash across his mind that he\nmight eventually, like the cuckoo, kick them out of their nest and\ngather all their property into his own hands?\n\nAt the early age of thirteen he left school and was taken into the\npaternal office for five years\u2019 service as an articled clerk. Here\nhe acquired the neat and formal hand that distinguished his writing\nthrough life.\n\nOne of Attorney Dunning\u2019s clients was Sir Thomas Clarke, Master of\nthe Rolls, who employed him as agent to his property about Ashburton.\nAn incident in his stewardship led to important consequences. A legal\ninstrument was prepared by the young John Dunning, who forwarded it\nto Sir Thomas in his father\u2019s absence, and was accordingly taken to\ntask by his father for his presumption. A letter was dispatched in hot\nhaste to the client, apologizing for the errors which it was feared\nmust be found in a draft prepared by a lad under nineteen, and which\nhis father had not been allowed opportunity of revising. Greatly to the\nparent\u2019s relief, however, the distinguished lawyer expressed himself\nperfectly satisfied with the document, and volunteered to push the\nyoung man in his profession, and incur the sole charge of fitting him\nfor a career at the Bar. Under this patron\u2019s auspices young Dunning,\nin the twenty-first year of his age, was entered as a student at\nthe Middle Temple on 8 May, 1752. In turn he made acquaintance with\nKenyon, afterwards Lord Kenyon, who succeeded Lord Mansfield on the\nKing\u2019s Bench; also Horne Tooke, who addressed to Dunning that _Letter\non the English Particle_, which was afterwards expanded into _The\nDiversions of Purley_. Out of term these three friends dined together\nat a little eating-house near Chancery Lane at the modest charge of\n7-1/2d. each. Tooke and Dunning would generously add to this a penny\nfor the waitress; but the more thrifty Kenyon rewarded the girl with a\nhalfpenny, and sometimes with the promise to remember her next time.\n\nAfter four years Dunning was called to the Bar in July, 1756, and\nbetook himself to the Western Circuit, but with little success, owing\nmainly to his forbidding appearance. Polwhele declares that \u201chad\nLavater been at Exeter in 1759, he must have sent Counsellor Dunning\nto the hospital for idiots. Not a feature marked him for the son of\nwisdom.\u201d He was stunted in growth, his limbs were misshapen, and his\nfeatures mean and the general expression repellent. Horne Tooke was\nwont to tell a story illustrative of Dunning\u2019s personal appearance.\nOn one occasion Thurlow wished to see him privately, and went to the\ncoffee-house that he frequented and inquired of the waiter whether Mr.\nDunning was there. The waiter, who was new to the place, said that\nhe did not know him. \u201cNot know him!\u201d roared Thurlow with a volley of\noaths. \u201cGo into the room upstairs, and if you see a gentleman there\nlike the Knave of Clubs, tell him that he is particularly wanted.\u201d The\nwaiter did as desired, and returned promptly with Dunning. He alone\nseemed to be unaware of his own ungainly appearance. One story is\ntold of this when he was retained in defence in an assault case, and\nhis object was to disprove the identity of the person named by an old\nwoman as the aggressor. Abandoning his usual tactics of browbeating the\nwitness, he commenced the cross-examination with much gentleness.\n\n\u201cPray, my good woman,\u201d he inquired, \u201care you thoroughly acquainted with\nthis person?\u201d\n\n\u201cO, yes, sir; very well indeed.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome now, describe him to me. Was he short or tall?\u201d\n\n\u201cStumpy, sir; almost as much so as your honour.\u201d\n\n\u201cHumph! What kind of nose had he?\u201d\n\n\u201cSnubby, as I should say, just like your own, sir, only not cocked up\nquite so much.\u201d\n\n\u201cHumph! His eyes?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell now, he has a kind of cast in them, sir, a sort of a squint very\nmuch like your honour\u2019s eyes.\u201d\n\n\u201cPsha! You may go down.\u201d\n\nIn or about 1768 John Dunning was retained in a case of murder. The\nstory told is this:--\n\nEdward Gould, of Pridhamsleigh, died in 1736, and as he was the last\nof the elder branch of the family, he left all his lands in Staverton,\nAshburton, Holne, Widdecombe-on-the-Moor, and Chudleigh to William\nDrake Gould, of Lew Trenchard, the representative of the next branch,\nwho was then a minor. This William Drake Gould died in 1766, and all\nhis estates devolved on his only son Edward, born in 1740. Edward was\na spendthrift and a gambler. One evening he had been playing late and\ndeep, and had lost every guinea he had about him. Then he rode off, put\na black mask over his face, and waylaid the man who had won the money\nof him, and on his appearance, challenged him to deliver. The gentleman\nrecognized him and incautiously exclaimed, \u201cOh! Edward Gould, I did not\nthink this of you!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou know me, do you?\u201d was his reply, and Edward shot him dead. Then\nhe rode to Pridhamsleigh, reversed his horse\u2019s shoes, and sped across\nDartmoor to Lew Trenchard.\n\nNow there had been a witness, a man who had seen Edward take up his\nposition, and who, believing him to be a highwayman, had secreted\nhimself and waited an opportunity to effect his escape. Edward Gould\nwas tried for the murder. Dunning was engaged to defend him. It was\nessential to weaken or destroy the testimony of the witness. On the day\nof the trial he cross-questioned this same witness sharply.\n\n\u201cHow can you be sure that the man on the horse was Mr. Gould,\u201d asked\nDunning, \u201cwhen, as you say, it was past midnight?\u201d\n\n\u201cSir, the full moon shone on him. I recognized his horse. I knew his\ncoat. Besides, when he had shot the other he removed the mask.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe full moon was shining, you assert?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, your honour. I saw his face by the clear moonlight.\u201d\n\n\u201cPass me a calendar,\u201d said the judge. \u201cWho has got a calendar?\u201d\n\nAt that time almanacs were not so plentiful as they are now. As it\nhappened, no one present possessed one. Then Dunning said, standing\nup:--\n\n\u201cMy lord, I had one yesterday, and put it, I believe, in my overcoat\npocket. If your lordship will send an apparitor into the ante-room to\nsearch my pocket, it may be found.\u201d\n\nThe calendar was produced. There was no moon on the night of the\nmurder. The evidence against the prisoner broke down, and he was\nacquitted.\n\nDunning on the previous day had purchased an almanac, removed the\nsheets containing among others the month and those preceding and\nfollowing it, and had had the calendar reprinted, altering the moons so\nthat there might be none on the night in question.\n\nThis was considered at the time a clever and sharp bit of practice of\nMr. Dunning; it occurred to no one that it was immoral.\n\nThis story rests entirely on tradition, but the tradition lived both at\nLew Trenchard and at Ashburton. I have been unable to find any record\nin the Assize Rolls, but then I do not know whether the murder took\nplace in Devon, as the tale goes, or elsewhere, so that I cannot be\nsure that the trial took place in Exeter, or perhaps at Bath.\n\nDunning lent Edward Gould large sums. These were repaid every now\nand then by his mother, but they amounted to so great a sum, all\nthe estates about Ashburton, Widdecombe, Holne, and Staverton being\nmortgaged, that finally Dunning foreclosed and secured all. Edward\nGould retired to end his days in lodgings in Shaldon.\n\nLew Trenchard would have been lost like the rest had not Edward Gould\u2019s\nmother secured it by a lease of ninety-nine years.\n\nDunning had already made his mark before this came on to enhance his\nfame as an astute lawyer, if the story be true. He had made it in this\nway:--\n\nAfter the French had been driven from their settlements in Hindustan,\nthe Dutch East India Company, jealous of the advanced power of their\nEnglish rivals, addressed a remonstrance against the violation of\ntheir privileges as neutrals, alleging sundry acts of interruption of\ntheir trade that they held to be unjustifiable. This was presented to\nLord Bute, then Prime Minister, and he called on the English company\nto reply. The drawing up of the counter memorial was confided to John\nDunning as a subtle, shrewd, and not scrupulous pleader. It succeeded,\nand he was rewarded with a fee of five hundred guineas. Seven years had\nnow passed since Dunning\u2019s call to the Bar, and five of these had been\nyears of famine. In 1766 he became Recorder of Bristol, and in 1767 was\nappointed Solicitor-General. In 1768 he was elected member for Calne,\nand his entry into Parliament was hailed as a great gain to the Whig\nparty.\n\n\u201cAmong the new accessions to the House of Commons at this juncture,\u201d\nwrites Lord Mahon, \u201cby far the most eminent in ability was John\nDunning.... He was a man both of quick parts and strong passions; in\nhis politics a zealous Whig. As an orator, none ever laboured under\ngreater disadvantages of voice and manner; but those disadvantages\nwere most successfully retrieved by his wondrous power of reasoning,\nhis keen invective, and his ready wit. At the trial of the Duchess of\nKingston for bigamy, when he appeared as counsel against her Grace,\nHannah More, who was present, thus describes him: \u2018His manner is\ninsufferably bad, coughing and spitting at every word, but his sense\nand expression pointed to the last degree. He made her Grace shed\nbitter tears.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe case of the Duchess came on upon 17 April, 1776, in Westminster\nHall, and lasted five days. As a girl she had been married in a frolic\nat night in a ruined church; but the Spiritual Court had decreed that\nthis was no proper marriage.\n\nRegarding herself as free, she had married the Duke of Kingston,\nwho died and bequeathed his large fortune to her. At once those who\nhad expected to obtain the inheritance began to stir, and had the\nunfortunate Duchess tried for bigamy. John Dunning was counsel against\nher. She belonged to an ancient Devonshire family, but that did not\nconcern him; she was an unfortunate widow beset by foes--that mattered\nnot to him, he attacked her in the grossest manner. As the judges\nrefused to accept the sentence of the Spiritual Court, a conviction of\ncourse followed, and she fled from England secretly, to escape being\nbranded in the hand and imprisoned. The hawking and spitting of John\nDunning were not due to any complaint, but were tricks he had acquired\nand had not laboured to master. The herald to an approaching speech\nfrom Dunning was a series of laboured and noisy efforts to clear\nhis throat. When speaking his head waggled as if he were afflicted\nwith palsy, and he had the trick of raising his arms to his breast,\nextending his hands in front of him and flapping them, or paddling\nwith outspread palms, moving them with a rapidity corresponding to\nthe wagging of his tongue. \u201cWe have heard it said by those who have\nseen him while thus employed, that his whole appearance reminded them\nof some particular species of flat-fish which may occasionally be\nseen hanging alive outside the fishmongers\u2019 shops, the body wholly\nmotionless, but certain short fins in front vibrating up and down\nincessantly. To others the exhibition suggested the idea of a kangaroo\nseated on its hind legs, and agitating its forepaws in the manner\nthat animal is wont to do. All, however, add, that it is only at the\nfirst glance they are susceptible of anything about him approaching\nto the ridiculous. After listening to him for a very few minutes,\nthe attention became wholly engrossed by what he said, and all\nconsciousness of his awkward gesticulations was entirely absorbed in\nthe interest aroused by his discourse.\u201d[37]\n\nSir William Jones says of his oratory: \u201cHis language was always pure,\nalways elegant; and the best words dropped easily from his lips into\nthe best places with a fluency at all times astonishing, and when\nhe was in perfect health, really melodious. His style of speaking\nconsisted of all the turns, appositions, and figures which the old\nrhetoricians taught, and which Cicero frequently preached, but which\nthe austere and solemn spirit of Demosthenes refused to adopt from his\nfirst master, and seldom admitted into his orations.\u201d[38]\n\nIn the House of Commons, Dunning pursued an enlightened policy. He\nadvocated the Roman Catholic Relief Bill, he was opposed to the policy\nof the Government in prosecuting the war with America. He bitterly and\nsavagely opposed sinecure offices, yet no sooner was he raised to the\npeerage than he accepted one for himself, that of Chancellor of the\nDuchy of Lancaster, with the enormous pension of \u00a34,000 per annum. He\nhad as Solicitor-General acquired the then unprecedented sum of \u00a310,000\nper annum. As money-lender he had obtained estates that brought him in\nlarge sums; but he ravened for more.\n\nIt is not my purpose to follow his political career, but to confine\nmyself to his private life. The days of sevenpenny dinners in the\nChancery Lane eating-house were left behind. He unbent after labours\nof the day in the Literary Club founded by Johnson in 1764, where he\nmet Goldsmith and Sir William Jones, Reynolds, his fellow Devonian,\nwho twice painted his portrait, Gibbon, and Burke. That Johnson and he\nentertained a mutual admiration is evinced by a conversation recorded\nby Boswell. \u201cI told him,\u201d says the biographer, \u201cthat I had talked of\nhim to Mr. Dunning a few days before, and had said that in his company\nwe did not so much as interchange conversation as listen to him; and\nthat Dunning observed upon this, \u2018One is always willing to listen to\nDr. Johnson.\u2019 To which I answered, \u2018That is a great deal for you, Sir.\u2019\n\u2018Yes, Sir,\u2019 (said Johnson), \u2018a great deal indeed. Here is a man willing\nto listen, to whom the world is listening all the rest of the year.\u2019\u201d\n\nDunning now purchased for \u00a34700 the residue of a lease of ninety-nine\nyears of the manors of Spitchwick and Widdecombe. In a letter to his\nsister he says that the length to which his lease would run would be\nsixty-three years. It was actually eighty-eight; and he made a very\ngood bargain by the purchase. He built the ugly house at Spitchwick\nwhere had formerly stood a chapel of S. Laurence, and did much\nplanting. He had an old servant, John Hext, brought up to London by\nhim from Ashburton. One day the man was late in attendance. \u201cWhat has\ndelayed thee, John?\u201d asked Dunning. \u201cI was listening to a man playing\non the crowd.\u201d \u201cCrowd! crowd! John, that word is dead and buried; say\na violin.\u201d On another occasion John Hext, remembering his orders, was\nremonstrated with by his master for waiting about at the Temple Gate.\n\u201cI was only waiting,\u201d said John, \u201ctill the violin of the people had\ngone by.\u201d\n\nDunning was very proud of being lord of the manors of Pridhamsleigh,\nSpitchwick, and Widdecombe, and he was boasting of his possession to\nsome friends in London when \u201cJack Lee,\u201d afterwards Solicitor-General,\nsaid: \u201cAye, Dunning, you may have _manors_ in Devonshire. It is a pity\nyou did not bring your _manners_ up to Town and to Westminster.\u201d\n\nWhilst holding office as Solicitor-General, during a recess, he and\nColonel Isaac Barr\u00e9, his friend and colleague in the representation\nof Calne, visited Berlin. \u201cAs distinguished members of the British\nLegislature the two friends received marked attention at the Court\nof Frederick the Great. When presented by their proper titles, the\nmilitary chiefs surrounding the throne of the Soldier-King naturally\nconcluded that a Solicitor-General of England must occupy a high\nposition in the British Army. The latter part of the title they could\nunderstand, while the prefix \u2018solicitor\u2019 was doubtless some foreign\nequivalent to that of major or lieutenant. Clearly the proper way to\nentertain the English officers was to invite them to a grand review\nof the Prussian Army. The invitation was issued with a courteous\nintimation that suitable means of conveyance to the field would be\nduly provided. At the appointed hour the two guests of royalty were\nready--Col. Barr\u00e9 in full military costume, and Dunning fully arrayed\nin court suit, bag-wig, dress-sword, and silk hose, with brilliant\nbuckles at knee and instep. On descending to the door of the hotel the\nlatter shrank back with dismay at finding, instead of the expected\nchariot, two orderly dragoons holding the bridles of a couple of\nprancing chargers duly caparisoned for the field. Col. Barr\u00e9 was\nsoon in the saddle; but it was not without some hesitation and the\nundignified help of the soldiers that the great lawyer succeeded in\nattaining a like elevation. Once wedged in the hollow of the demi-pique\nsaddle, with its holsters in front and its raised cantle behind, he\nfelt tolerably secure. But your horse has a quick perception of the\ncapacity of his rider, and the proud steed on which Dunning rode chose\nto exercise his own discretion with regard to his movements. To their\nunconcealed amusement, the great Frederick and his staff were treated\nto an equestrian spectacle not set down in the programme of the day.\nFinding at last that these antics were getting somewhat too lively\nfor him to cope with, poor Dunning was fain to beg for assistance\nin escaping from the back of his wilful quadruped, and the Prussian\nmonarch and his suite became aware that their English allies had\ngenerals in Westminster Hall whose charges bore no affinity to charges\nin the field of war.\u201d\n\nIn London John Dunning was visited by his mother and father. The former\ndid not by any means approve of the luxury of his table, and scolded\nhim for extravagant housekeeping. But the father was puffed up with\nelation at seeing that his son had become so great a man. Neither lived\nto see him raised to the peerage.\n\nDunning was nearly fifty years old before he married, and then he took\nto him Elizabeth the daughter of John Baring, of Exeter, who was half\nhis age. They were married at St. Leonard\u2019s by Exeter on 31 March,\n1780, as at that time John Baring and his family resided at Larkbeare\nin that parish.\n\nLord North\u2019s Ministry fell, and a new administration was undertaken by\nthe Marquess of Rockingham. Lord Shelburne became Secretary of State,\nand at his recommendation Dunning was given a coronet. His patent of\nnobility bore the date 8 April, 1782, and the title he assumed was that\nof Baron Ashburton. There were hot jealousies in the party, and the\nMarquess of Rockingham was highly incensed at the coronet being granted\nto Dunning without his having been consulted. The Rockinghamites\ninsisted on peer for peer, and accordingly Sir Fletcher Norton was\nraised to the peerage in a very great hurry to keep them quiet.\n\nLord Ashburton\u2019s health began to fail almost as soon as he married.\nAt the age of fifty-one his constitution was completely broken, and\nLady Ashburton could look for a happy release from a very disagreeable\nhusband in a very short time. Dunning expired at Exmouth on 18 August,\n1783, after repeated attacks of paralysis, leaving one son, Richard\nBarr\u00e9, then fifteen months old, to be second Lord Ashburton, and last\nof the first creation.\n\nIn spite of a coarseness, almost brutality of manner, and his\nunpleasant tricks of hawking and spitting, Dunning managed to make\nfriends, and perhaps even inspire affection. Sir William Jones felt or\npretended to feel deep emotion at his death. He wrote: \u201cFor some months\nbefore his death the nursery had been his chief delight, and gave him\nmore pleasure than the Cabinet could have afforded. But his parental\naffection, which had been the source of so much felicity, was probably\nthe cause of his fatal illness. He had lost one son, and expected to\nlose the other, when the author of this painful tribute to his memory\nparted from him with tears in his eyes, little hoping to see him again\nin a perishable state.\n\n\u201cAs he perceives without affectation that his tears now steal from\nhim, and begin to moisten the paper on which he writes, he reluctantly\nleaves a subject which he could not soon have exhausted; and when he\nalso shall resign his life to the great Giver of it, he desires no\nother decoration of his humble gravestone than this honourable truth:--\n\n    With none to flatter, none to recommend,\n    Dunning approved and marked him as a friend.\u201d\n\nAfter the death of Dunning, his widow, Lady Ashburton, resided at\nSpitchwick, and on her decease it was occupied by Miss Baring.\n\nIf Dunning hoped to found a family and transmit his manors and lands\nand houses and wealth to a long line of descendants, his hope was\nfrustrated. His son, Richard Barr\u00e9, second Baron Ashburton, married\nin 1805 Anne Selby, daughter of William Cunninghame, of Lainshaw, co.\nAyr, and he died in 1823 without issue, and bequeathed his estates to\nhis wife for life, then to his wife\u2019s nephews for life, and then to his\nwife\u2019s nieces, Margaret, Elizabeth, Anna Maria Isabella Macleod, in\nsuccession for life, the survivor having the estates in fee simple. The\nnephew, James Edward, Baron Cranstoun, who died in 1869, and Charles\nhis brother, who succeeded to the title and died soon after, had but a\nlife interest in the estates. These now passed to Margaret, Baroness\nde Virte, daughter of Robert Macleod, of Cadboll, co. Cromarty, who\nhad married Isabella Cunninghame, sister of Lady Ashburton. Baroness\nde Virte died in 1904. Her youngest sister, Anna Maria Isabella,[39]\nwho had married John Wilson, of Seacroft, Yorkshire, had died the year\nbefore the Baroness, and left two sons; the eldest had died before her;\nand of those that survive, the senior inherited the Yorkshire estates,\nand the younger, Arthur Henry Wilson, Esq., now owns those obtained by\nJohn Dunning, and Sandridge Park by Totnes as well. John Dunning, first\nLord Ashburton, was buried in Ashburton Church, where is his monument,\nnow obscured by the organ which is planted before it.\n\nRichard Barr\u00e9, second Lord Ashburton, in bequeathing his estates to his\nwife\u2019s relations, excepted Guatham, the ancestral farm and acres. These\nhe left to any Dunning who could claim relationship, though he added\nthat he did not know that any such existed. However, one did appear and\nestablished his connexion and obtained Guatham, and it has been sold to\nthe Lopes family at Maristowe. The arms granted to John Dunning, first\nLord Ashburton, were: Bendy, sinister of eight, or and vert, a lion\nrampant sable--certainly a very ugly coat and bad heraldry. The crest,\nan antelope\u2019s head, couped proper, attired proper.\n\nFor much of the information contained in this article I am indebted to\nan admirable \u201cMemoir of John Dunning, First Lord Ashburton,\u201d by the\nlate Robert Dymond, in the _Transactions_ of the Devonshire Association\nfor 1876. Also to a \u201cLife of John Dunning\u201d in the _Penny Cyclop\u00e6dia_\nfor 1837.\n\n\n\n\nGOVERNOR SHORTLAND AND THE PRINCETOWN MASSACRE\n\n\nOn the 18th June, 1812, the United States of America declared war with\nGreat Britain. Since Napoleon\u2019s Edict of Berlin, 21 November, 1806,\nwhich had closed all the ports of Europe that he could control against\nEnglish merchandise, there had been considerable tension, breaking out\ninto ill-will, between the States and Britain. By Orders of Council,\nour vessels were empowered to stop and search American ships for\ndeserters from our navy, and for contraband of war, although the Orders\nwere relaxed as far as America was concerned for the ports of Germany\nand of the Baltic, yet our interference hampered her growing trade with\nFrance, and this was forbidden by the above Orders. The States cast a\ncovetous eye on Canada, and hoped to cripple our trade with the West\nIndian Islands. Indeed, the declaration of war was kept secret for some\ndays so as to afford opportunity for the armed vessels of the States to\nintercept the sugar fleet before it and its convoy had received news\nthat war was declared.\n\nPrisoners began to arrive at Plymouth, mainly seamen captured from\nmerchant vessels, and were sent to the _Hector_ and _Le Brave_, two\nline-of-battle ships unfit for service at sea and now anchored in the\nHamoaze. The officers were entitled to reside on parole in Ashburton,\nand were allowed by the British Government eighteenpence a day each\nman for their lodging and board and washing. They were suffered every\nday to walk a mile along the Exeter or the Totnes road, but were\nrequired every evening to return to their respective lodgings and\nthere remain till the next morning. But such officers as broke parole\nwere sent to the common sea-mess on board one or other of the ships\nabove-mentioned.\n\nThe French officers had shown conspicuous indifference about keeping\ntheir parole. Between 1809 and 1812 five hundred officers violated\ntheir paroles and effected their escapes. A good many American officers\nwere equally unscrupulous.\n\nWe have the journal of an American prisoner, Charles Andrews, who was\none of the first taken and who remained in durance till the end of the\nwar. His statement was countersigned as a genuine record of facts by\nfourteen captains, two lieutenants, one doctor, and forty-five others\nwho had shared the long captivity with him.\n\nThere were other American prisoners at Chatham and at Portsmouth, but\nwith them we have no concern.\n\nEvery prisoner sent to one of the two ships for their accommodation in\nthe Hamoaze was given a coarse hammock with a mattress, the latter with\nfrom 3 to 4 lb. of chopped rags and flock in it, \u201cone coarse and sleazy\nblanket,\u201d and these were to last for the twelvemonth. To each man was\nallowed 1-1/2 lb. of poor coarse bread, 1/2 lb. beef including bone,\n1/3 oz. of salt, and one or two turnips per man. These rations were\nfor five days in the week: the other two were fish days, 1 lb. salt\nhaddock, 1 lb. potatoes and bread as before, then constituted the fare.\n\nFrom the summer of 1812 to April, 1813, there were seven hundred\nprisoners on board these vessels at Plymouth. They suffered from want\nof many conveniences and comforts. They had no change of clothes and\nlinen, some had their garments completely worn out; they were not\nprovided with combs and brushes, tea, coffee, boots and shoes. The\nAmerican Government had appointed a Mr. Ruben G. Beasley as its agent\nin England to see to the comfort of the prisoners, and he was furnished\nwith money by that Government for the supply of all that was needful\nto make the captivity endurable by those who had to endure it. But\nhe pocketed the money and only doled out some to Jews who undertook\nto supply certain articles to the prisoners, few and bad, short in\nquantity and bad in quality. The American prisoners wrote repeatedly\nin complaint to Mr. Beasley, pointing out that they were half-starved,\nin bad health, shoeless, nearly naked. But he did not even trouble to\nanswer the letters and made no inquiry as to the real condition of the\ncomplainants. Added to their discomforts was the fact that they were\ndevoured by vermin, and had no means of keeping themselves clean.\n\nOn 2 April, 1813, an order was issued for the American prisoners to\nbe transferred to Princetown, with their hammocks, baggage, etc., and\non that day 250 men were so dispatched. \u201cOrders were given to march\nat 10.30 in the morning, with a positive injunction that no prisoners\nshould step out of or leave the ranks, on pain of instant death. Thus\nwe marched, surrounded by a strong guard, through a heavy rain, over a\nbad road, with only our usual and scanty allowance of bread and fish.\nWe were allowed to stop only once during the march of seventeen miles.\n\n\u201cWe arrived at Dartmoor late in the afterpart of the day, and found the\nground covered with snow.\n\n\u201cThe prison of Dartmoor is situated on the east side of one of the\nhighest and most barren mountains in England, and is surrounded on all\nsides as far as the eye can see by the gloomy features of a black moor,\nuncultivated and uninhabited, except by one or two miserable cottages,\njust discernible in an eastern view, the tenants of which live by\ncutting turf on the moor and selling it at the prison. The place is\ndeprived of everything that is pleasant or agreeable, and is productive\nof nothing but human woe and misery. Even riches, pleasant friends, and\nliberty could not make it agreeable. It is situated seven miles from\nthe little village of Tavistock.\n\n\u201cOn entering this dep\u00f4t of living death, we first passed through the\ngates and found ourselves surrounded by two huge circular walls, the\nouter one of which is two miles in circumference and 16 ft. high. The\ninner wall is distant from the outer 30 ft., around which is a chain of\nbells suspended by a wire, so that the least touch sets every bell in\nmotion and alarms the garrison. On the top of the inner wall is placed\na guard at the distance of every 20 ft. Between the two walls and over\nthe intermediate space are also stationed guards.\n\n\u201cThus much for the courtyard of this seminary of misery. We shall next\nproceed to give a description of the gloomy mansion itself. On entering\nwe find seven prisons enclosed in the following manner, and situated\nquite within all the walls before-mentioned. Prisons 1, 2, and 3 are\nbuilt of hard, rough, unhewn stone three storeys high, 180 ft. long\nand 40 ft. broad; each of these prisons on an average can contain 1500\nprisoners. There is also attached to the yard a house of correction,\ncalled a cachot; this is built of large stone, arched above and floored\nwith the same. Into this cold, dark, and damp cell, the unhappy\nprisoner is cast if he offend against the rules of the prison, either\nwillingly or inadvertently, and often on the most frivolous pretext.\nThere he must remain for many days, and often weeks, on two-thirds\nthe usual allowance of food, without a hammock or a bed, and nothing\nbut a stone pavement for his chair and bed. These three prisons are\nsituated on the north side of the enclosure, as is also the cachot, and\nseparated from the other prisons by a wall. Next to these is another,\nNo. 4, equally as large as any of the others, this is separated from\nall the rest by a wall on each side, and stands in the centre of the\ncircular walls.\n\n\u201cAdjoining this are situated prisons Nos. 5, 6, and 7, along the south\nside of the circular wall.\u201d\n\nThe prisons had been erected at a cost of \u00a3130,000 in 1809, and\nconsisted of five radiating blocks of buildings, like spokes of a\nwheel, and two other blocks nearer the entrance. These two constituted,\none the hospital, the other the residence of the petty officers. A\nsegment cut off from the inner circle contained the governor\u2019s house\nand the other buildings necessary for the civil establishment; and\ninto this part of the ground the country people were admitted and\na daily market was held, where vegetables and such other things as\nthe prisoners might care to purchase were provided, in part by the\nneighbouring farmers, but mainly by Jew pedlars. The barracks for the\ntroops was a detached building at a little distance.\n\n\u201cWe entered the prisons,\u201d continues Mr. Andrews, \u201cbut here the heart\nof every American was appalled. Amazement struck the unhappy victim,\nfor as he cast his hopeless eyes around, he saw the water constantly\ndripping from the cold stone walls on every side, which kept the floor,\nmade of stone, constantly wet and cold as ice. During the month of\nApril there was scarce a day but more or less rain fell.\u201d\n\nWhen the Americans arrived they found the prison already packed with\n8000 French captives. These were of various classes and characters.\nAmong these latter \u201cthe Seigneurs\u201d were such as received remittances\nfrom their friends, or had money of their own, and were able to draw\ncheques on Plymouth bankers, and these bought such luxuries as they\nwould in the market of the outer court. Those who worked at trades were\nknown as labourers, and they were employed in building the chaplain\u2019s\nhouse, etc. The inn, \u201cThe Plume of Feathers,\u201d the sole building in\nPrincetown which is not an architectural monstrosity, was erected\nby these French \u201clabourers.\u201d They also erected the cottage at Okery\nBridge, which was an extremely picturesque edifice till its balconies\nand galleries were removed. But there were others, the prisoners\nwho would do no work, who gambled for whatever they possessed, and\nquarrelled, fought, and were intolerable nuisances. These would gamble\nthe very clothes off their backs, and were reduced to blankets with a\nhole cut in the middle, through which they thrust their heads. As they\nwere denied knives, when they wanted to fight they attached one blade\nof a pair of scissors to a stick, and with these formidable weapons,\neach armed with one portion of the scissors, they were able to deal\neach other serious wounds.\n\nTo the great annoyance of the American prisoners they were thrust into\nNo. 4 ward, into which had been relegated the good-for-naught class of\nthe French. But here they did not live as brothers, for they drew a\nsharp line of demarcation between themselves, who were of white blood,\nand their negro brethren, fellow seamen captured with them under the\nsame banner.\n\nAt the end of May the Americans appealed respectfully, but urgently,\nto the U.S. agent, Mr. R. G. Beasley, complaining that the allowance\nmade them was scanty, that the whole day\u2019s pittance was scarcely enough\nfor one meal, that for the greater part the American prisoners were\nin a state of nakedness, and that a good many of them to escape from\na condition that was intolerable had volunteered to join the King\u2019s\nservice.\n\n\u201cTo these petitions, complaints, and remonstrances, Mr. Beasley\nreturned no answer, nor took any notice of them whatever.\u201d\n\nOn 28 May, 250 more American prisoners arrived, raising the total to\n500. Again they appealed to the agent of the U.S.A., informing him\nthat they were defrauded of half their rations by the contractor, that\nsmall-pox was raging among them, and that they were swarming with\nvermin.\n\n\u201cTo these complaints he paid no more attention, neither came to see\nwhether they were true or false, nor sent any answer either written or\nverbal.\u201d\n\nOn 16 September, 1813, to the immense relief of the Americans, all the\nFrench prisoners to the number of 436, who had herded with them in No.\n4, were turned out and placed elsewhere. Many of these had been in\nprison for ten years, and were in a condition of perfect nudity, and\nslept on the bare floor without any rug under them or covering over\nthem. This endured for so many years had caused their skin to acquire\na hardness like that of the stones. But this condition was entirely\ndue to the passion for gambling. Whenever they were supplied with\nclothes, instead of putting them on, they started playing and staking\nevery several article of clothing given them, till they had lost all.\nThey had often been supplied by their countrymen with hammocks, beds,\nand garments, but they no sooner were in possession of them than\nthey went to the grating, sold them to the Jews outside, and gambled\nthe whole proceeds away. Very different was it in the No. 6 ward,\noccupied by the industrious French prisoners. \u201cHere is carried on\nalmost every branch of the mechanic arts. They resemble little towns;\nevery man has his separate occupation, his workshop, his store-house,\nhis coffee-house, his eating-house, etc.; he is employed in some\nbusiness or other. There are many gentlemen of large fortune there\nwho, having broken their parole, were committed to close confinement.\nThese were able to support themselves in a genteel manner; though they\nwere prisoners, they drew upon their bankers in other parts of Europe.\nThey manufactured shoes, hats, hair, and bone-work. They likewise,\nat one time, carried on a very lucrative branch of manufacture; they\nforged notes on the Bank of England to the amount of \u00a3150,000 sterling,\nand made so perfect imitations that the cashier could not discover\nthe forgery. They also carried on the coining of silver, to a very\nconsiderable advantage. They had men constantly employed outside the\nyard, to collect all the Spanish dollars they could, and bring them\ninto the prison. Out of every dollar they made eight smooth English\nshillings, equally as heavy, and passed as well as any in the kingdom.\u201d\n\nWith regard to the forgery of bank-notes, something may be added. The\nmaterial for manufacturing the notes was imported from without, and\nthe Jews were largely involved in the matter. The method pursued was\nrevealed in 1809, before the American prisoners arrived, when two\nFrench captives, Charles Guiller and Victor Collas, who were berthed\non board _El Firm_, in the Hamoaze, made overtures for their transfer\nto the _G\u00e9n\u00e9reux_, from which they could direct their operations with\nmore freedom. They opened negotiations with the captain\u2019s clerk of the\n_G\u00e9n\u00e9reux_, candidly telling him that their object was the forgery\nand passing of \u00a35 bank-notes, and promising him a share of the spoils.\nThe man affected to entertain the proposition, but communicated the\nwhole to his captain, secured the transfers as desired, and supplied\nthe prisoners with all the necessary facilities. By means of fine hair\npencils and Indian ink they forged to a point of astonishing perfection\nnotes on the Bank of England, the Naval and Commercial Bank, and\nOkehampton one-pound notes. To compensate for the deficiency of the\nofficial perforated stamps, they set to work with smooth halfpennies\nand sail-maker\u2019s needles, and thus imitation was carried to perfection.\nWhen the prisoners had made sufficient progress, their trunk was seized\nwith the evidences of their guilt, and they were restored to closer\nsupervision, and visited with the usual corporal punishment.[40]\n\nOn the whole, the French prisoners, if they conducted themselves well\nand were industrious, did not suffer severely. A book was published\nin Paris by Le Catel, in 1847, entitled _La Prison de Dartmoor, un\nr\u00e9cit historique des Infortunes et Evasions des Prisonniers Fran\u00e7ais\nen Angleterre, sous l\u2019Empire, depuis 1809 jusqu\u2019en 1814_, but it is a\nromance, the \u201cfacts\u201d drawn out of the lively imagination of the author.\nThe only prisoners who really suffered were those who brought their\nsufferings on themselves. As Andrews says of the French, \u201cthey drink,\nsing, and dance, talk of their women in the day time and dream of them\nat night. But the Americans have not that careless volatility, like the\ncockle in the fable, to sing and dance when the house is on fire over\nthem.\u201d\n\nIn December, 1813, the cold was severe. Captain Cotgrave was governor\nof the prison, and he ordered the prisoners to turn out every morning\nat nine o\u2019clock and stand in the yard till the guards had counted them,\nand this usually took over an hour. Many of the prisoners were without\nstockings, and some without shoes, and many without jackets. They cut\nup their blankets to wrap round their feet and legs, that they might\nbe able to endure the cold and snow which lay thick whilst they were\nundergoing this ceremony. They complained to Captain Cotgrave, but\nhe replied that he was acting upon orders. Several of the naked men,\nchilled and half starved, fell insensible before him and the guards and\nturnkeys, and had to be removed to the hospital; but as soon as they\nwere brought round they were sent back to their prison.\n\nOn 22 December, 1813, Captain Cotgrave was superseded and Captain\nThomas G. Shortland was appointed governor. At first he seemed to be an\nimprovement on the former, who had been a harsh martinet; he stopped\nthe roll-call and required the surgeon to visit the prisons daily. But\nthe favourable impression he caused at first did not last long.\n\nHitherto, for some unaccountable reason, the licence to trade with the\ncountry-folk and pedlars in the outer court which had all along been\nallowed to the French had been denied to the American prisoners, but\non 18 March, 1814, this restriction was withdrawn, and the American\nprisoners were allowed greater privileges. They now began to receive\nmoney from home, to make shoes of list, to plait straw, make bracelets,\nand carve meat-bones. The French had been allowed to have plays with a\nstage and scenery once a month, good music and appropriate comic and\ntragic costumes. They had also had their schools for teaching the arts\nand sciences, dancing, fencing, and fiddling. But all these privileges\nhad been denied to the Americans occupying No. 4. Now these privileges\nwere extended to them, and they considered that this indulgence was due\nto Captain Shortland. Indeed, Shortland seems to have been on the whole\nmore humane than Cotgrave, and the final disaster which has blackened\nhis name was due to another cause, his moral and mental incapacity to\nfill the position into which he had been thrust.\n\nIn 1814, there were 1500 prisoners of American nationality in No. 4.\nThey despaired of freedom, and were rendered restless by the French\nprisoners evacuating the prison after the abdication of Napoleon, 4\nApril, 1814, and the end of the European war. Then there were 3500\nAmerican prisoners moved into No. 5, and by 31 December in that year\nthe number amounted to 5326, mainly in the buildings 4 and 5.\n\nThose in No. 4 now resolved on making an attempt at escape, and they\nbegan to excavate a tunnel that was to run 250 feet and enable those\nin the ward to escape, not only out of the block, but also beyond the\nouter wall. American blacksmiths among the prisoners furnished the\nnecessary tools, and correspondence was maintained with American agents\noutside, and a fleet of friendly fishing boats was hovering about in\nTor Bay to receive the prisoners. But they were betrayed by one of\ntheir number, who led the Governor to the excavation when it had been\ncarried as far as sixty feet. It was at once choked up with masses of\ngranite and cement, and those who had been engaged on it were put on\nshort commons. This was in the summer of 1814. The attempt completely\nupset Governor Shortland\u2019s nerves.\n\nOn 24 December, 1814, peace between England and America was signed at\nGhent, and the news speedily reached England, but did not arrive in the\nUnited States, and was not published there till 11 February, 1815.\nBy 1 January, 1815, the American prisoners in Princetown were aware\nthat the time of their incarceration was drawing to an end. Indeed,\nthey might have all been discharged, but that the Government waited\nfor the United States Government to send men-of-war or other vessels\nto convey the prisoners to America. A misunderstanding prevented their\nimmediate release. The American Government considered it the duty of\nthe British Government to reconvey the prisoners to the United States,\nand undertook in return to reconvey the British prisoners detained\nin their prisons to Bermuda or Halifax. Lord Castlereagh objected to\nthis as an unfair and unreasonable distribution of expenses, for Great\nBritain would be put to the expense, not only of conveying the American\nprisoners to the States, but also of bringing home from Bermuda and\nHalifax all the prisoners of her own nationality.\n\nAt the end of March, 1815, three months after peace had been concluded,\nthere were 5693 prisoners within the walls of Princetown Gaol. That\nthese were restless and impatient at their detention is not to be\nwondered at. But their chief irritation was against Mr. Beasley, the\nagent, whom they considered as dilatory, and who they supposed ought\nat once to have provided for their repatriation, they being unaware\nof the contention between the two Governments as to the cost of this\nrepatriation. They were further incensed against him because, according\nto the testimony of John C. Clement, one of them, made in Philadelphia:\n\u201cDuring our confinement, the American agent (Beasley) did not give us,\nsay from 2 April, 1813, to March, 1814, the 6s. 8d. sterling per month,\nas well as the suit of clothes allowed us annually by our Government,\nwhich money and clothes the prisoners have never received; and when\nI, with two hundred and fifty others, were released from prison, there\nwas likewise a shirt, a pair of shoes, and 6s. 8d. due to us, which we\nnever received. The prisoners had applied to Beasley repeatedly for\nwhat was due to them, but received no satisfaction. He never visited\nthe prisons but once during the two years and upwards I was there.\u201d\nOn 4 April the Governor went to Plymouth; and orders had been left\nthat the prisoners were to be given biscuit in place of bread. This\nthey resented, and refused the biscuit. Towards evening they broke out\nin mutiny and threatened to sack the stores unless they were at once\nprovided with bread, but this was done and they were satisfied.\n\nA messenger was at once dispatched to Plymouth to announce to Shortland\nthat the captives were in rebellion. When he received the news he\nrushed off to the Citadel and begged for a reinforcement of two hundred\nmen to be added to the five hundred Somersetshire and Derbyshire\nmilitiamen already at Princetown. Accordingly these soldiers, under\nMajor Joliffe, were accorded him. He returned with them to Princetown,\nand found that the rioters had peacefully retired to their beds after\nthe outbreak and promised to give no more trouble.\n\nGovernor Shortland was somewhat irritated against the Americans\non account of a practical joke they had recently played on him.\nOne evening they had attached a jacket and a pair of breeches to a\nstring, and had let them down over the outer wall. A turnkey saw what\nhe supposed to be a prisoner in the act of making his escape, and\ncommunicated with the Governor, who called out some warders, marched\nto within some yards of the spot, and ordered a volley to be fired at\nthe supposed escaping prisoner. As he did not fall, a little nearer\ninspection revealed that an April fool had been made of him.\n\nOn 6 April, at 6 p.m., Captain Shortland was informed that a hole had\nbeen discovered in the wall that separated the yard No. 6 from No. 7.\nThis hole, says Andrews, had been made that same afternoon by some of\nthe Americans out of mere mischief, and without any design of effecting\ntheir escape. Indeed, why should they attempt it, when their release\nwas at hand, and they were in daily expectation of receiving their\ncartels of discharge?\n\nOther prisoners state that the hole was made by some of the boys whose\nball, as they were playing, had flown over into the next yard, and they\nbored through so as to recover their ball. Directly it was discovered\na sentinel was placed by it to prevent its being enlarged; but it was\nthen no bigger than that a head could be thrust through; and afterward,\nthrough the hole in the wall, the sentinel remonstrated with the\nprisoners on the other side.\n\nAll the prisoners who were subsequently examined protested on oath\nthat the perforation was not made with intent to escape, or to get at\nthe armoury so as to provide themselves with weapons. This, however,\nwas the view taken of it by Shortland, and in a fit of nervous fear he\nordered the alarm bells to be pealed and the military to be called out.\nThese latter issued from their barracks with drums beating to arms.\nThis was at ten minutes to six in the evening.\n\nThis sudden and unexpected alarm excited the attention and curiosity of\nthe prisoners, and they poured forth from their wards, filled the inner\nyard and rushed to the outer gates. They suspected that fire had broken\nout.\n\n\u201cAmong so many as were in the dep\u00f4t,\u201d says Andrews, \u201cit is reasonable\nto suppose that some mischievous persons were among them, and among\nthose collected at the gate were some such persons who forced the\ngates open, whether by accident or design I will not attempt to say;\nbut without any intention of making an escape, and totally unknown to\nevery man except the few who stood in front of the gates. Those back\nnaturally crowded forward to see what was going on at the gates; this\npressed and forced a number through the gates, quite contrary to the\nintention of either these in front or those in rear.\n\n\u201cWhile in this situation Captain Shortland entered the inner square\nat the head of the whole body of soldiers in the garrison. As soon as\nthey entered Captain Shortland took sole command of the whole, and\nimmediately drew up the soldiers in a position to charge.\u201d\n\nHere ensues a difference between the report of the commissioners\nappointed later to investigate the matter and that drawn up by the\nprisoners. These latter assert that the officers of the regiment,\nseeing what was Shortland\u2019s intention, refused to act under him,\nand withdrew. The commissioners state that the hour was that of\nthe officers\u2019 mess, and that they were at dinner, and only two\nyoung lieutenants and an ensign were with the soldiers. But this is\nincredible. The alarm bell pealing and the drum calling to arms would\nhave summoned the officers from their mess, and we are rather inclined\nto believe that the account of the Americans is correct. The officers\nsaw that the Governor had lost his head and was resolved on violence,\nand they withdrew so as not to be compromised in what would follow. The\nofficers, says Andrews, perceiving the horrid and murderous designs\nof Captain Shortland, resigned their authority over the soldiers and\nrefused to take any part, or give any orders for the troops to fire.\nThey saw by this time that the terrified prisoners were retiring as\nfast as so great a crowd would permit, and hurrying and flying in\nterrified flight in every direction to their respective prisons.\n\n\u201cThe troop had now advanced within three yards of the prisoners, when\nCaptain Shortland gave them orders to charge upon them. At the same\ntime the prisoners had all got within their respective prison yards,\nand were flying with the greatest precipitation from the point of the\nbayonet, the doors being now full of the terrified crowd. They could\nnot enter as fast as they wished. At this moment of dismay, Captain\nShortland was distinctly heard to give orders to the troops to fire\nupon the prisoners, although now completely in his power, their lives\nat his disposal, and had offered no violence nor attempted to resist,\nand the gates all closed.\n\n\u201cThe order was immediately obeyed by the soldiers, and they discharged\na full volley of musketry into the main body of the prisoners on the\nother side of the iron railings which separated the prisoners from the\nsoldiers. The volley was repeated for several rounds, the prisoners\nfalling dead or wounded in several directions, while it was yet\nimpossible for them to enter the prisons on account of the numbers that\nfled there from the rage of the bloodthirsty murderers.\n\n\u201cIn the midst of this horrid slaughter, one man among the rear\nprisoners, with great presence of mind and undaunted courage, turned\nand advanced to the soldiers, amidst the fire of hundreds, and while\nhis fellow prisoners were falling around him, and in a humble and\nsuppliant manner implored mercy of Captain Shortland to spare his\ncountrymen. He cried, \u2018Oh, Captain! forbear--don\u2019t kill us all.\u2019 To\nthis supplication the cruel inexorable Shortland replied, \u2018Return, you\nd---- d rascal, I\u2019ll hear to nothing.\u2019 The soldiers then pricked him\nwith their bayonets, which compelled him to retreat to the prison door,\nwhere the soldiers who had now entered the prison yard were pursuing\nand firing.\n\n[Illustration: HORRID MASSACRE AT DARTMOOR PRISON, ENGLAND.\n\nWhere the unarmed American Prisoners of War were wantonly fired upon\nby the guard, under the command of the Prison Turn-key, the blood\nthirsty SHORLAND; Seven were killed, and about Fifty wounded, (several\nmortally,) without any provocation on the part of our unfortunate\nAmerican Citizens!----\u201cBlood has a voice to pierce the Skies!\u201d]\n\n\u201cThe soldiers advanced making a general massacre of men and boys,\nwhom accident or inability had left without the doors of the prison;\nthey advanced near to the crowded door, and instantly discharged\nanother volley of musketry on the backs of those furthest out. This\nbarbarous act was repeated in the presence of this inhuman monster,\nShortland--and the prisoners fell, either dead or severely wounded, in\nall directions before his sight.\n\n\u201cBut his vengeance was not glutted by the murder of innocent men and\nboys that lay weltering and bleeding in the agonies of death about\nthe prison door, but turned and traversed the yard, and hunted a poor\naffrighted wretch that had fled for safety close under the walls of\nPrison No. 1. This unhappy man was discovered by these hell-hounds,\nwith that demon at their head, and with cool and deliberate malice drew\nup their muskets to their shoulders and dispatched their victim in the\nact of imploring mercy from their hands. His only crime was not being\nable to get into the prison before without being shot.\n\n\u201cIn the yard of No. 7 they found another hopeless victim crouching\nalong the wall at the far end of the yard. Whereupon five of them drew\nup their instruments of death, and by the order of this fell murderer\ndischarged their contents into the body of the innocent man.\u201d\n\nAfter this the soldiery were withdrawn.\n\nThe account by Andrews is tinctured with animosity, and is not to be\ntaken _au pied de la lettre_. He is unquestionably wrong in stating\nthat these two crouching men were shot by Shortland\u2019s orders. The\nevidence taken later is contradictory. Shortland, by his own account,\nhad already retired from the yard.\n\nA dispatch was immediately sent to Admiral Sir J. T. Duckworth,\nCommander-in-Chief at Plymouth, who lost no time in directing\nRear-Admiral Sir Josias Rowley, Bart., and Captain Schomberg, the two\nsenior officers at that port, to proceed to Dartmoor and inquire into\nthe circumstances.\n\nIt was ascertained that seven of the prisoners had been killed\noutright, seven were so badly wounded that they had to have legs or\narms amputated, thirty-eight were dangerously wounded and fifteen\nslightly.\n\nBefore the two sent from Plymouth arrived, Shortland had asked for\na reinforcement, and a colonel at the head of more troops arrived.\n\u201cThe colonel came to the gate attended by the guilty Shortland,\u201d says\nAndrews, \u201cwho could not look a prisoner in the face, but walked towards\nthe prison bars with his face fixed on the ground.\u201d\n\nThe report of Sir J. Rowley and Captain Schomberg was to the effect\nthat \u201cthe rioters endeavoured to overpower the guard, to force the\nprison, and had actually seized the arms of some of the soldiers and\nmade a breach in the walls of the dep\u00f4t, when the guard found itself\nobliged to have recourse to firearms, and five of the rioters were\nkilled and thirty-four wounded ... that the Americans unanimously\ndeclared that their complaint of delay was not against the British\nGovernment, but against their own, which ought to have sent means for\ntheir early conveyance home; and in replies to distinct questions\nto that effect, they declared they had no ground of complaint\nwhatever.\u201d Governor Shortland, according to Andrews, in alarm lest the\nprisoners should attempt to retaliate on his family, hastily removed\nhis wife and children from the Governor\u2019s house. But, as Andrews\nasserts, such a dastardly thought as to revenge themselves on a woman\nand children never entered the heads of any of them--and this we may\nwell believe.\n\n[Illustration: PLAN OF DARTMOOR PRISON\n\n_A. The Doctor\u2019s House. B. The Governor\u2019s House. C. Hospital. D. Petty\nOfficer\u2019s Prison. E. Passage between outer wall and railway. F.F.F.\nTurnkey\u2019s Houses. G.G. Public Market and place where the prisoners\nreceive their daily allowances, 1-7. Prisons_]\n\nThe prisoners now formed a committee to draw up an account of the\ncircumstances, and to send it to the American agent, Beasley,\nfor transmission to the Government of the United States. It is\ncharacterized, naturally, with bitterness and resentment, such as were\nfelt in the heat of the moment.\n\nIt will be as well to give this textually.\n\n    \u201cWe the undersigned, being each severally sworn on the holy\n    Evangelists of Almighty God, for the investigations of the\n    circumstances attending the late Massacre, and having heard the\n    depositions of a great number of witnesses, from our own personal\n    knowledge, and from the depositions given in as aforesaid,\n\n    /Report as follows./\n\n    \u201cThat on the 6th of April, about 6 o\u2019clock in the evening, when\n    the prisoners were all quiet in their respective yards, it being\n    about the usual time for turning in for the night, and the greater\n    part of the prisoners being then in the prisons, the alarm bell was\n    rung. Many of the prisoners ran up to the Market Square (the outer\n    court) to learn the occasion of the alarm. There were then drawn\n    up in the square several hundred soldiers, with Captain Shortland\n    at their head; it was likewise observed at the same time, that\n    additional numbers of soldiers were posting themselves round the\n    walls of the prison yard. One of them observed to the prisoners\n    that they had better go into the prisons, for they would be charged\n    upon directly. This, of course, occasioned considerable alarm among\n    them. In this moment of uncertainty they were running in different\n    directions, inquiring of each other what was the cause of the\n    alarm, some towards their respective prisons, and some towards\n    the Market Square. When about one hundred were collected in the\n    Market Square, Captain Shortland ordered the soldiers to charge\n    upon them; which orders the soldiers were reluctant in obeying,\n    as the prisoners were using no violence; but on the order being\n    repeated, they made a charge, and the prisoners retreated out of\n    the square into their respective prison yards, and shut the gates\n    after them. Captain Shortland himself opened the gates, and ordered\n    the soldiers himself to fire in among the prisoners, who were\n    all retreating in different directions towards their respective\n    prisons. It appears that there was some hesitation in the minds\n    of the officers whether or not it was proper to fire upon the\n    prisoners in that situation; on which Shortland seized a musket\n    out of the hands of a soldier, which he fired. Immediately after\n    the firing became general, and many of the prisoners were either\n    killed or wounded; the remainder were endeavouring to get into the\n    prisons, when, going towards the lower doors, the soldiers on the\n    walls commenced firing on them from that quarter, which killed some\n    and wounded others. After much difficulty (all the doors being\n    closed in the interim, but one in each prison), the survivors\n    succeeded in gaining the prisons. Immediately after which parties\n    of soldiers came to the doors of Nos. 3 and 4 prisons, fired\n    several volleys into them, through the windows and doors, killed\n    one man in each prison, and wounded severely several others. It\n    likewise appears that the preceding butchery was followed up with\n    a disposition of peculiar inveteracy and barbarity. One man, who\n    had been severely wounded in No. 7 yard, and being unable to make\n    his way to the prison, was come up with by the soldiers, whom he\n    implored for mercy, but in vain; _five_ of the hardened wretches\n    immediately levelled their pieces at him, and shot him dead! The\n    soldiers who were posted on the walls manifested equal cruelty, by\n    keeping up a constant fire on every prisoner they could see in the\n    yard endeavouring to get into the prisons, when the numbers were\n    very few, and when not the least shadow of resistance could be made\n    or expected. Several of them got into No. 6 prison cook-house,\n    which was pointed out by the soldiers on the walls to those who\n    were marching in from the square; they immediately went up and\n    fired into the same, which wounded several; one of the prisoners\n    ran out with the intention of gaining his prison, but was killed\n    before he reached the door.[41]\n\n    \u201cOn an impartial(!) consideration of all the circumstances of the\n    case, we are induced to believe it was a premeditated scheme in the\n    mind of Captain Shortland, for reasons which we will now proceed\n    to give. As an elucidation of its origin, we will recur back to an\n    event which happened some days previous. Captain Shortland was, at\n    that time, absent in Plymouth, but before going, he ordered the\n    contractor or his clerk to serve out one pound of indifferent hard\n    bread, instead of one pound and a half of soft bread, their usual\n    allowance. This the prisoners refused to receive. They waited all\n    day in expectation of their usual allowance being served out; but\n    at sunset, finding this would not be the case, they burst open the\n    lower gates, and went to the store, demanding to have their bread.\n    The officers of the garrison, on being alarmed, and informed of\n    the reasons of this proceeding, observed that it was no more than\n    right the prisoners should have their usual allowance, and strongly\n    reprobated the conduct of Captain Shortland in withholding it from\n    them. They were accordingly served with their bread, and quietly\n    returned to their prison. This circumstance, with the censures that\n    were thrown on his conduct, reached the ears of Shortland on his\n    return home, and he must then have determined on the diabolical\n    plan of seizing the first slight pretext to turn in the military\n    to butcher the prisoners, for the gratification of his malice and\n    revenge. It unfortunately happened that in the afternoon of the 6th\n    of April, some boys who were playing ball in No. 7 yard knocked\n    their ball into the barrack yard, and on the sentry in that yard\n    refusing to throw it back to them, they picked a hole through the\n    wall to get in after it. This afforded Shortland his wished-for\n    pretext, and he took his measures accordingly. He had all the\n    garrison drawn up in the military walk, additional numbers posted\n    on the walls, and everything prepared before the alarm bell was\n    rung. This, he naturally concluded, would draw the attention of a\n    great number of prisoners towards the gate to learn the cause of\n    the alarm, while the turnkeys were dispatched into the yards to\n    lock all the doors but one of each prison to prevent the prisoners\n    retreating out of the way before he had sufficiently wreaked his\n    vengeance.\n\n    \u201cWhat adds particular weight to the belief of its being a\n    premeditated massacre are, _firstly_, The sanguinary disposition\n    manifested on every occasion by Shortland, he having, prior to\n    this time, ordered the soldiers to fire into the prisons, through\n    the windows, upon unarmed prisoners asleep in their hammocks, on\n    account of a light having been seen in the prisons, which barbarous\n    act was repeated several nights successively; that murder was not\n    committed was owing to an over-ruling Providence alone, for the\n    balls were picked up in the prisons, where they passed through\n    the hammocks of men asleep in them: he having ordered the soldiers\n    to fire upon the prisoners in the yard No. 7 prison, because they\n    would not deliver up to him a man who had made his escape from the\n    cachot, which order the Commanding Officer of the soldiers refused\n    to obey;[42] and generally he having seized on every slight pretext\n    to injure the prisoners, by his stopping the marketing for ten\n    days repeatedly, and once a third part of their provisions for the\n    same length of time. _Secondly_, He having been heard to say, when\n    the boys had picked the hole in the wall, and some time before\n    the alarm bell was rung, and while all the prisoners were quiet\n    in their respective yards as usual, \u2018I\u2019ll fix the d---- d rascals\n    directly.\u2019 _Thirdly_, He having all the soldiers on their posts,\n    and the garrison fully prepared before the alarm bell was rung. It\n    could not of course then be done to assemble the soldiers, but to\n    alarm the prisoners and create confusion among them. _Fourthly_,\n    The soldiers on the wall, previous to the alarm bell being rung,\n    informing the prisoners that they would be charged upon directly.\n    _Fifthly_, The turnkeys going into the yard and closing all the\n    doors but one in each prison, whilst the attention of the prisoners\n    was attracted by the alarm bell. This was done about fifteen\n    minutes sooner than usual, and without informing the prisoners\n    it was time to shut up. It was ever the invariable practice of\n    the turnkeys, from which they never deviated before that night,\n    when coming into the yards to shut up, to halloo to the prisoners\n    so loud as to be heard all over the yards, \u2018Turn in! turn in!\u2019\n    while on that night it was done so secretly, that not one man in\n    a hundred knew they were shut, and in particular their shutting\n    the door of No. 7, which the prisoners usually go in and out at\n    (and which was formerly always the last one closed), and leaving\n    one open in the other end of the prison, which was exposed to a\n    cross-fire from the soldiers on the walls, and which the prisoners\n    had to pass in gaining the prison.\n\n    \u201cIt appears to us that the foregoing reasons sufficiently warrant\n    the conclusions we have drawn therefrom. We likewise believe,\n    from the depositions of men who were eye-witnesses of a part of\n    Shortland\u2019s conduct on the evening of the 6th April, that he\n    was intoxicated with liquor at the time, from his brutality in\n    beating a prisoner, who was then supporting another, severely\n    wounded; from the blackguard and abusive language he made use of;\n    and from his having frequently been seen in the same state: his\n    being drunk was of course the means of inflaming his bitter enmity\n    against the prisoners, and no doubt was the principal cause of the\n    indiscriminate butchery, and of no quarter being shown.[43]\n\n    \u201cWe here solemnly aver, there was no preconcerted plan to attempt\n    breaking out. There cannot be produced the least shadow of a reason\n    or inducement for that intention, the prisoners daily expecting\n    to be released, and to embark on board cartels for their own\n    native country. And we solemnly assert, likewise, that there was\n    no intention of resisting, in any manner, the authority of the\n    government of this dep\u00f4t.\n\n    \u201cSigned by the Committee (ten names in all).\n\n      N.B.--7 were killed,\n           30 dangerously wounded,\n           30 slightly wounded.\n           --\n    Total  67 killed and wounded.\n\n    \u201c_Dartmoor Prison_, April 7, 1815.\u201d\n\nSome points in the above account deserve comment. It is obvious that it\nis an entirely one-sided version of what took place. The committee do\nnot mention that after the gates to the inner yard had been fastened,\nthe prisoners pressing against it, and by means of some iron tool,\nbroke the lock and burst the gate open. Nor do they state that the\nprisoners assailed the soldiery with abuse and with stones. They do not\nstate that Shortland gave the order to fire--only that he fired the\nfirst shot. There is conflicting evidence relative to the order given;\nbut there is good evidence that Shortland fired the first shot.\n\nThe charge of a prearranged massacre need not be seriously entertained.\nApparently Shortland was thoroughly frightened and lost his head and\nacted with extraordinary indiscretion.\n\nThe order of events seems to have been this:--\n\n1. A hole was knocked through a wall, not an outer wall of the prison,\nbut one dividing the yards, by some boys after their ball. This was\nreported to the Governor, who was alarmed, and fancied that an attempt\nwas being made by the prisoners to get at a few stacks of arms; but\nthere was no ammunition in the guard-house. There was a sentinel in\nthe yard, and there were soldiers about. That this hole-breaking was\ndone by the boys was proved afterwards by evidence taken. The hole was\nknocked in open daylight and in the afternoon, so that there could have\nbeen no sinister object contemplated.\n\n2. When Shortland saw the hole it was just about the time for locking\nup; and the warders had begun to do this, and had locked all the doors\nof the prison houses except one in each for the ingress of those who\nwere still in the yards. There was no evidence that this was done\npurposely before the proper time.\n\n3. He ordered the alarm bell to be pealed and kept ringing, so that the\nprisoners did not hear the summons to all to go within. This was the\nreal fact.\n\n4. Then, surprised by the ringing of the bell, the prisoners in the\nseveral houses ran out, and pressed against the gate fastened with\na chain; and one with a bolt or bar broke the chain, and with the\npressure of the crowd the gate was burst open, and the prisoners surged\nforth into the outer or market square, which was also supplied with an\niron gate, then open.\n\n5. Shortland thereupon drew up the militia across the yard, and going\nbefore the line of soldiers, remonstrated with the prisoners and urged\nthem to retreat; but this they were unable to do, owing to those who\nhad entered the outer yard being pushed forward by those behind.\n\n6. Thereupon he ordered the military to charge with fixed bayonets;\nand as the prisoners were slow in retiring, he or some one else or the\nsoldiers on their own initiative fired on the crowd, and drove them\nthrough the inner gate into the inner yard, where the soldiers were\nassailed with insulting epithets, and some stones were thrown at them.\n\n7. Some of the military ran up on the platform of the outer wall, and\nthence enfiladed the flying prisoners. There was no evidence that\nShortland had placed these men on the wall before this took place.\n\n8. Shortland then, possibly, retired into the outer yard and busied\nhimself with the wounded, and left the military to do as they thought\nbest in the inner yard, where they continued to fire volleys, driving\nthe frightened prisoners in at the doors of their respective houses,\nfired in on them huddled together inside through the doorways and\nwindows.\n\n9. Major Joliffe at the time was in the barrack half a mile from the\nprison, when news reached him, whilst at mess, that there was a riot\nin the prison. He at once called out his grenadiers and marched to the\nprison, where he found firing going on, and he entered the inner yard\nand stopped the firing. The firing was done by the Somersetshire and\nDerbyshire militia.\n\n10. Shortland at the same time or a little earlier, and conjointly with\nJoliffe, urged the soldiers to cease from firing.\n\nSuch, as far as can be made out from the account given by the witnesses\non oath, both before the coroner and, subsequently, before the\nmagistrates and the commissioners, appears to have been the sequence\nof events. Captain Shortland was not drunk at the time; indeed, as Dr.\nMagrath, the prison surgeon, testified that \u201chaving observed him on\nthe evening of the 6th, no man could be more free from it; and from my\nacquaintance with him and with his general habits in his family, I do\nnot think any man can be more abstemious.\u201d\n\nGovernor Thomas George Shortland, Captain, R. N., gave his account on\noath later, before the commissioners, and from it he appears to have\nbeen unarmed and in undress. His account is very confused, and speaks\nfor the condition of his mind at the time--that he had lost his head,\nand did not know well what he did or did not do. It shall be given\nverbatim, only omitting unimportant particulars:--\n\n    \u201cOn the evening of the 6th, a little before 7 o\u2019clock, Mr.\n    Holmsden, 1st clerk, came to my house and informed me there was a\n    disposition of the prisoners to be riotous, as they had got between\n    the railings and wall of No. 7 yard; in consequence, I walked down\n    to the upper gate. On coming there, I was informed the prison\n    barrack wall had been breached. I went to the yard and saw a large\n    hole, and the military guarding it under an officer whom I since\n    know to be Lieutenant Avelyn. On getting to the breach I observed\n    the prisoners using an iron bar to enlarge it. I remonstrated and\n    told them it was the prison barrack-yard, and that it would be\n    dangerous for them to attempt to force in; the prisoners shouted\n    and threw stones through the breach, and still continued at times\n    to enlarge it. I then heard some one say they were breaking the\n    wall above the cook-house in the prison barrack-yard, and nearly at\n    the same time there was a call out that they were forcing the lower\n    gates, while I was still in the lower barrack-yard. I immediately\n    left the yard and Lieutenant Avelyn followed me, leaving the breach\n    with a party and a sergeant. When I arrived at the blacksmith\u2019s\n    shop I saw a rush of prisoners between the iron rails under the\n    platform: the gate was at this time forced, and the prisoners\n    were without the gates in the market square, where they are not\n    allowed to be. Seeing this, and having in my mind the breach in\n    the barrack wall and the reported breach above the cook-house,\n    bearing this in mind with the reported threats that had been\n    constantly told me that the prisoners would liberate themselves\n    on or before the 10th April, I ordered the alarm bell to be rung.\n    At this time part of the west guard, which is called the piquet,\n    had gone round to turn the prisoners out of the railway in No. 7\n    yard, and another part of the same piquet was in the barrack-yard;\n    so that the force was reduced to the north guard only; Lieutenant\n    Avelyn formed that guard and marched down into the market square.\n    I preceded them, and about half-way down the guard formed in a\n    line, keeping their left close to the hospital wall. At this time\n    I should suppose there were from 4 to 500 prisoners in the market\n    square; I was perfectly unarmed, and went down to remonstrate with\n    them, using all persuasions in my power to make them return to\n    their prisons, stating that the military guard was formed about\n    them, and it was dangerous to attempt to use force. I was at this\n    time about six paces in front of the guard, and the prisoners kept\n    still pressing up, and pressing me on the military; they appeared\n    to want to get round the left of the military, keeping close to\n    the hospital wall. At this time I looked back,[44] and said, \u2018For\n    God\u2019s sake, soldiers, keep your ground!\u2019 bearing in mind that there\n    was not a single soldier above these to prevent escape through the\n    outer gates. Almost immediately, about twelve or fifteen soldiers\n    charged down towards No. 1, towards the hospital gates, about 5 or\n    6 paces, and they returned into line again. I was still at this\n    time in front and had gone forward again, urging the prisoners who\n    had retreated when a discharge of musketry took place. While I was\n    in that position, being to the right of the centre of the guard,\n    and not near the hospital wall, a musket ball grazed my temple\n    in that discharge, when I retreated into line with the soldiers;\n    the prisoners retreated and advanced again, and about this time\n    Major Joliffe gave the orders to fire, conceiving he had done so\n    from seeing the Major appear at the moment. Indeed in a former\n    conversation with General Brown, in the presence of Major Gladding,\n    being asked if an attempt were made to resist the authority of the\n    dep\u00f4t I should order the military to fire, I told General Brown\n    as well as the Major, that I did not think myself authorized to\n    command the military to fire, because it was their duty to do it\n    when they thought it necessary. I don\u2019t recollect a suspension of\n    the ringing the bell and then commencing again; it was a continual\n    ringing; I ordered it in consequence of seeing that the prisoners\n    had broken through the breach in the wall, and the other reported\n    breach. I did not hear any orders to fire. It must be understood\n    that I was with the prisoners, who were making a great noise,\n    hurrahing and rioting at the time.... I was not out of the market\n    square until all the firing had ceased. I was not in No. 7 yard\n    until an hour after the whole was over. I recollect a man coming\n    up the market square with a wounded man, and after being told to\n    go away he would not, and I gave him a push; he said that I must\n    recollect I had struck him, but I made him no answer. Taking into\n    consideration the apparent temper and resolution of the prisoners,\n    and my remonstrances having no effect, I do not think they could\n    have been driven back without firing.\u201d\n\nCaptain Shortland dated the commencement of the antipathy of the\nprisoners towards him from the time when he got the Transport Board to\nprosecute some men for tattooing others.\n\nThe evidence of Captain Shortland is remarkably meagre and\nunsatisfactory. According to him, every one acted on his own\ninitiative, and he himself had little to do in the matter but make\nuseless expostulations. He says nothing about the fastening of the\ninner gate being broken. The charge with bayonets took place without\nhis orders, as did also the firing on the prisoners. But he made the\nastounding statement that in his opinion the military might fire on the\nprisoners if they saw fit, without having received orders to do so. But\nhe believed that Major Joliffe had ordered the volleys, whereas Major\nJoliffe with the grenadiers did not arrive till the firing had begun\nand was in progress.\n\nOn 8 April, a coroner\u2019s inquest was held at the prisons, by Joseph\nWhitford, coroner; the jury consisted of Dartmoor farmers, and they\nreturned a verdict of \u201cJustifiable homicide.\u201d But the American\nrepresentative demanded a further examination, and accordingly Mr.\nLarpent, an Englishman, and Charles King, an American, were appointed\nto investigate the matter; and their investigation was made on 26\nApril. When their report was sent to Mr. Adams, the Minister of the\nUnited States to the British Court, it was accompanied by a letter from\nCharles King, in which he states his own independent opinion.\n\n    \u201cIn considering it of much importance that the report, whatever\n    it might be, should go forth under our joint signatures, I have\n    forborne to press some of the points which it involves, as far as\n    otherwise I might have done; and it therefore may not be improper\n    in this letter to enter into some little explanation of such parts\n    of the report. Although it does appear that a part of the prisoners\n    were, on that evening, in such a state and under such circumstances\n    as to have justified, in the view which the commander of the dep\u00f4t\n    could not but take it, the intervention of the military force, and\n    even in a strict sense the first use of firearms, yet I cannot\n    but express it as my settled opinion, that by a conduct a little\n    more temporizing this dreadful alternative of firing upon the\n    unarmed prisoners might have been avoided.... When the firing\n    became general, as it afterwards appears to have done, and caught\n    with electric rapidity from the square to the platforms, there\n    was no plea nor shadow of excuse for it, except in the personal\n    exasperation of the soldiers: nor for the more deliberate, and\n    therefore more unjustifiable, firing which took place into three\n    of the prisons ... after the prisoners had retired into them, and\n    there was no longer any pretence of apprehension as to their escape.\n\n    \u201cAs to whether the order to fire came from Captain Shortland, I\n    yet confess myself unable to form any satisfactory opinion, though\n    perhaps the bias of my mind is that he did give such an order.\u201d\n\nI now subjoin the report signed by both Commissioners:--\n\n    \u201cDuring the period which has elapsed since the arrival in this\n    country of the account of the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent,\n    an increased degree of restlessness and impatience of confinement\n    appears to have prevailed amongst the American prisoners at\n    Dartmoor; which, though not exhibited in the shape of any\n    violent excesses, has been principally indicated by threats of\n    breaking out, if not soon released. On the fourth of the month in\n    particular, only two days previous to the event, the subject of\n    this inquiry, a large body of the prisoners rushed into the Market\n    Square, from whence by the regulations of the prison they are\n    excluded, demanding bread instead of biscuit, which had on that day\n    been issued by the officers of the dep\u00f4t. Their demands, however,\n    having been then almost immediately complied with, they returned\n    to their own yards, and the employment of force, on that occasion,\n    became unnecessary.\n\n    \u201cOn the evening of the 6th, about six o\u2019clock, it was clearly\n    proved to us, that a breach or hole had been made in one of the\n    prison walls, sufficient for a full-sized man to pass; and that\n    others had been commenced in the course of the day, near the same\n    spot, though never completed; that a number of prisoners were\n    over the railing, erected to prevent them from communicating with\n    the sentinels on the walls, which was, of course, forbidden by\n    the regulations of the prison; and that, in the space between the\n    railing and these walls, they were tearing up pieces of turf, and\n    wantonly pelting each other in a noisy and disorderly manner. That\n    a much more considerable number of the prisoners were collected\n    together at that time, in one of their yards, near the place where\n    the breach was effected; and that, although such collection of\n    prisoners was not unusual at other times (the gambling tables\n    being commonly kept in that part of the yard), yet when connected\n    with the circumstances of the breach, and the time of day, which\n    was after the horn (the signal for the prisoners to retire to their\n    respective prisons) had ceased to sound;[45] it became a natural\n    and just ground of alarm to those who had charge of the dep\u00f4t.\n\n    \u201cIt was also in evidence, that in the building formerly the petty\n    officers\u2019 prison, but now the guard barracks, which stands in the\n    yard, to which the hole in the wall would serve as a communication,\n    a part of the arms of the guards who were on duty were usually kept\n    in the racks; and though there is no evidence that this was in any\n    respect the motive which induced the prisoners to make the opening\n    in the wall, or even that they were acquainted with the fact, it\n    naturally became at least a further cause for suspicion and alarm,\n    and an additional reason for precaution.\n\n    \u201cUpon these grounds Captain Shortland appears to us to have been\n    justified in giving the order, which about this time he seems\n    to have given, to sound the alarm bell, the usual signal for\n    collecting the officers of the dep\u00f4t, and putting the military\n    on the alert. However reasonable and justifiable this was, as a\n    matter of precaution, the effects produced thereby in the prisons,\n    but which could not have been intended, were most unfortunate and\n    deeply to be regretted. A considerable number of prisoners in the\n    yards where no disturbance existed before, and who were either\n    already within their respective prisons, or quietly returning as\n    usual towards them, immediately upon the sound of the bell, rushed\n    back, from curiosity, towards the gates, where, by that time, the\n    crowd had assembled; and many who were absent at the time from\n    the yards, were also, from the plan of the prison, compelled, in\n    order to reach their own homes, to pass by the same spot. And thus,\n    that which was merely a measure of precaution, in its operation\n    increased the evil it was intended to prevent.\n\n    \u201cAlmost at the same instant that the alarm bell rang (but whether\n    before or subsequent, is upon the evidence doubtful, though Captain\n    Shortland states it positively as one of his further reasons for\n    causing it to ring) some one or more of the prisoners broke the\n    iron chain which was the only fastening of No. 1 gate, leading into\n    the Market Square, by means of an iron bar; and a very considerable\n    number of the prisoners immediately rushed towards that gate, and\n    many of them began to press forward as fast as the opening would\n    permit into the square.\n\n    \u201cThere is no direct proof before us of previous concert or\n    preparation on the part of the prisoners, and no evidence of their\n    intention or disposition to effect their escape on this occasion,\n    excepting that which arose by inference from the whole of the above\n    detailed circumstances connected together.\n\n    \u201cThe natural and almost irresistible inference to be drawn,\n    however, from the conduct of the prisoners, by Captain Shortland\n    and the military, was, that an intention on the part of the\n    prisoners to escape was on the point of being carried into\n    execution, and it was at least certain that they were by force\n    passing beyond the limits prescribed to them at a time when they\n    ought to have been quietly going in for the night.\n\n    \u201cIt was also in evidence that the outer gates of the Market Square\n    were usually opened about the time to let the bread-wagon pass and\n    repass to the store, although at the period in question they were,\n    in fact, closed.\n\n    \u201cUnder these circumstances and with these impressions necessarily\n    operating upon his mind, and the knowledge that if the prisoners\n    once penetrated through the square the power of escape was\n    almost to a certainty afforded to them, if they should be so\n    disposed,--Captain Shortland, in the first instance, proceeded\n    down the square, towards the prisoners, having ordered a part of\n    the different guards, to the number of about fifty only at first\n    (though they were increased afterwards) to follow him. For some\n    time, both he and Dr. Magrath endeavoured by quiet means and\n    persuasion to induce the prisoners to retire to their own yards,\n    explaining to them the fatal consequences which must ensue if they\n    were refused, as the military would in that case be necessarily\n    compelled to employ force. The guard was by this time formed in\n    the rear of Captain Shortland, about two-thirds of the way down\n    the square: the latter is about one hundred feet broad, and the\n    guards extended nearly all across. Captain Shortland, finding that\n    persuasion was in vain, and that although some were induced by it\n    to make an effort to retire, others pressed on in considerable\n    numbers, at last ordered about fifteen file of the guard, nearly in\n    front of the gate which had been forced, to charge the prisoners\n    back to their own yards.\n\n    \u201cThe prisoners were in some places so near the military that, one\n    of the soldiers states, he could not come fairly to the charge, and\n    the military were unwilling to act as against an enemy.[46] Some\n    of the prisoners also were unwilling and reluctant to retire, and\n    some pushing and struggling ensued between the parties, arising\n    partly from intention, but mainly from the pressure of those behind\n    preventing those in front from getting back. After some little\n    time, however, this charge appears to have been so far effective,\n    and that with little or no injury to the prisoners, as to have\n    driven them for the most part quite down out of the square, with\n    the exception of a small number who continued their resistance\n    about No. 1 gate.\n\n    \u201cA great crowd still remained collected after this in the passage\n    between the square and the prisoners\u2019 yards, and in the part\n    of those yards in the vicinity of the gates. This assemblage\n    still refused to withdraw, and according to most of the English\n    witnesses, and some of the American, was making a noise, insulting\n    and provoking and daring the military to fire; and according to\n    the evidence of several of the soldiers, and some others, was\n    pelting the military with large stones, by which some were actually\n    struck. This circumstance is however denied by many of the American\n    witnesses; and some of the English, upon having the question put\n    to them, stated that they saw no stones thrown previously to the\n    firing, although their situation at the time was such as to enable\n    them to see most of the other proceedings in the square.\n\n    \u201cUnder these circumstances the firing commenced. With regard\n    to any order having been given to fire, the evidence is very\n    contradictory; several of the Americans swear very positively,\n    that Captain Shortland gave the order, but the manner in which,\n    from the confusion of the moment, they describe this part of\n    the transaction is so different in its details, that it is very\n    difficult to reconcile their testimony. Many of the soldiers and\n    other English witnesses heard the word given by some one, but no\n    one of them can swear it was by Captain Shortland or by any one\n    in particular, and some, amongst whom is the officer commanding\n    the guard, think if Captain Shortland had given such an order,\n    that they must have heard it, which they did not. In addition to\n    this, Captain Shortland denies the fact, and from the situation in\n    which he appears to have been placed at the time, even according\n    to the American witnesses, in front of the soldiers, it may\n    appear somewhat improbable that he should then have given such an\n    order.[47] But, however it may remain a matter of doubt whether the\n    firing first began in the square by order, or was a spontaneous act\n    of the soldiers themselves, it seems clear that it was continued\n    and renewed both there and elsewhere without orders, and that on\n    the platform, and about the prison, it was certainly commenced\n    without any authority.\n\n    \u201cThe fact of an order having been given at first, provided the\n    firing was under the existing circumstances justifiable, does not\n    appear very material in any other point of view, than as showing a\n    want of discipline and self-possession in the troops if they should\n    have fired without orders.\n\n    \u201cWith regard to the above most important consideration of whether\n    the firing was justifiable or not; we are of opinion, under all the\n    circumstances of the case, from the apprehension which the soldiers\n    might fairly entertain, owing to the number and conduct of the\n    prisoners, that their firing, to a certain extent, was justifiable\n    in a military point of view, in order to intimidate the prisoners,\n    and compel them thereby to desist from all acts of violence, and\n    to retire as they were ordered, from a situation in which the\n    responsibility of the agent and military could not permit them with\n    safety to remain.\n\n    \u201cFrom the fact of the crowd being so close and the firing at first\n    being attended with very little injury, it appears probable that\n    a large proportion of the muskets were, as stated by one or two\n    witnesses, levelled over the heads of the prisoners, a circumstance\n    in some respects to be lamented, as it induced them to cry out\n    \u2018blank cartridges,\u2019 and merely irritated and encouraged them to\n    renew the insults to the soldiery, which produced a repetition of\n    the firing in a manner much more destructive.\n\n    \u201cThe firing in the square having continued for some time, by\n    which several of the prisoners sustained injuries, the greater\n    part of them appear to have been running back with the utmost\n    confusion and precipitation to their respective prisons--and the\n    cause for further firing seems at this period to have ceased. It\n    appears accordingly, that Captain Shortland was in the Market\n    Square exerting himself and giving orders to that effect, and that\n    Lieutenant Fortye had succeeded in stopping the fire of his part of\n    the guard.\n\n    \u201cUnder these circumstances it is very difficult to find any\n    justification for the further renewal and continuance of the firing\n    which certainly took place both in the prison yards and elsewhere,\n    though we have some evidence of subsequent provocation given to the\n    military, and resistance to the turnkeys in shutting the prisons,\n    and of stones being thrown out from within the prison doors.\n\n    \u201cThe subsequent firing appears to have arisen from the state of\n    individual irritation and exasperation on the part of the soldiers\n    who followed the prisoners into their yards, and from the absence\n    of nearly all the officers who might have restrained it, as well as\n    from the great difficulty of putting an end to a firing when once\n    commenced under the circumstances. Captain Shortland was from this\n    time busily occupied with the turnkeys in the square receiving and\n    taking care of the wounded. Ensign White remained with his guard\n    at the breach, and Lieutenants Avelyne and Fortye, the only other\n    subalterns known to have been present, continued in the square with\n    the main bodies of their respective guards.\n\n    \u201cThe time of day, which was the officers\u2019 dinner hour, will in some\n    measure explain this, as it caused the absence of every officer\n    from the prison whose presence was not indispensable there. And\n    this circumstance, which has been urged as an argument to prove\n    the intention of the prisoners to take this opportunity to escape,\n    tended to increase the confusion and to prevent those greater\n    exertions being made, which might perhaps have obviated at least a\n    portion of the mischief which ensued. At the time that the firing\n    was going on in the square, a cross-fire was also kept up from\n    several of the platforms on the walls round the prison, where the\n    sentinels stand, by straggling parties of soldiers who ran up there\n    for that purpose.[48] As far as this fire was directed to disperse\n    the men assembled round the breach, for which purpose it was most\n    effectual, it seems to stand upon the same ground as that in the\n    first instance in the square. But that part which it is positively\n    sworn was directed against straggling parties of prisoners running\n    about the yards and endeavouring to reach the few doors, which the\n    turnkeys, according to their usual practice, had left open, does\n    seem, as stated, to have been wholly without object or excuse, and\n    to have been a wanton attack upon the lives of defenceless and, at\n    the time, unoffending individuals.\n\n    \u201cIn the same, or even in more severe terms, we must remark upon\n    what was proved, as to the firing into the doorways of the prisons,\n    more particularly into that of No. 3 prison, at a time when the men\n    were in crowds at the entrance.\n\n    \u201cFrom the position of the prison and of the door, and from the\n    marks of the balls, which were pointed out to us, as well as from\n    the evidence, it was clear the firing must have proceeded from\n    soldiers a very few feet from the doorway; and though it was\n    certainly sworn that the prisoners were at the time of part of the\n    firing, at least, continuing to insult and occasionally to throw\n    stones at the soldiers, and that they were standing in the way of\n    and impeding the turnkey who was there for the purpose of closing\n    the door--yet still there was nothing stated which could in any\n    view at all justify such excessively harsh and severe treatment of\n    helpless and unarmed prisoners, when all idea of escape was at an\n    end.\n\n    \u201cUnder these circumstances we used every endeavour to ascertain if\n    there was the least prospect of identifying any of the soldiers\n    who had been guilty of the particular outrages here alluded to, or\n    of tracing any particular death, at that time, to the firing of\n    any particular individual, but without success, and all hopes of\n    bringing the offenders to punishment should seem to be at an end.\n\n    \u201cIn conclusion, we the undersigned have only to add, that whilst we\n    lament, as we do most deeply, the unfortunate transaction which has\n    been the subject of this inquiry, we find ourselves totally unable\n    to suggest any steps to be taken as to those parts of it which seem\n    most to call for redress and punishment.\n\n      \u201c(Signed) /Charles King/,\n                /Francis Seymour Larpent/.\n    \u201c/Plymouth/, _26th April_, 1815.\u201d\n\nThis report was obviously drawn up so as to smooth the matter over,\nlest the newly established peace should be broken by the angry\nresentment of the Americans at the treatment which their fellow\ncitizens had received.\n\nThe prisoners at once presented a Remonstrance against the perfunctory\nway in which the investigation had been carried out. They indignantly\ncomplained that although their committee had named fifty men as\nwitnesses, only some of these were called, and these not the most\nimportant. They had written a letter of complaint to the Commissioners,\nwho did not even trouble themselves to answer it.\n\nThe British Government and the American agent now bestirred themselves\nto dispatch the prisoners to the States as speedily as might be. The\nAmerican Minister asked that Captain Shortland might be placed on his\ntrial, but did not press the demand, as this would have entailed the\nbringing back of the principal witnesses against him from their homes\nin the States. Lord Castlereagh promised on the part of the British\nGovernment ample indemnification in money to the wounded and maimed\nfor life, and to the widows of those who had been killed, but this the\nUnited States Government with dignity declined.\n\nIt is remarkable how reticent on the event were the English papers at\nthe time. Both England and America were heartily tired of the war which\nprofited neither, and were willing to let the unfortunate affair drop\nout of consideration. Before the prisoners departed from Princetown,\nthey held a mock trial and condemnation of Mr. Beasley, and hung him in\neffigy. Even when they departed, he took no pains to provide them with\nsuitable clothes, and some of them had to tramp barefooted to Plymouth.\nThey departed, marching under a banner on which was depicted Columbia\nweeping over her murdered citizens. They were dismissed from the prison\non 19th April, but the investigation into the whole affair was begun\nat Princetown and in Plymouth before the magistrates, on the 21st\nApril, and carried on to the 24th, Sunday included, in the presence of\ntwo Commissioners, who, as we have seen, drew up their report on the\n26th.\n\nIt will be well now to look at the depositions of such witnesses as the\nCommissioners were pleased to summon, and to see how far they confirm\nor contradict the account of the transaction as given by Captain\nShortland.\n\nAccording to the Governor of the prison, the part he played in the\n\u201cmassacre\u201d was almost _nil_. He was the angel of peace hovering about,\nsoothing excited feelings, urging a cessation of the firing, and\nministering to the wounded. He gave no further directions than that to\nring the alarm bell. He neither ordered the soldiery to form in line,\nnor to charge, nor to fire. It is impossible from his account to obtain\nany connected idea as to the sequence of events.\n\nI can only summarize the depositions in reference to the \u201cmassacre.\u201d\n\n_John Mitchell_, one of the clerks in the office of the Governor,\ndeposed \u201cthat this informant saw Capt. Shortland in the front of the\nprison.... That Capt. Shortland advanced towards the prisoners, calling\non the guard to follow, form and be steady, and directed them to keep\npossession of the Market Square. That this informant followed Capt.\nShortland, keeping between him and the military, and this informant\nheard Capt. Shortland desire the prisoners to return quietly to\ntheir prisons.... But they still continued advancing, speaking in a\nriotous manner. That this informant observed a large body of prisoners\nassembled at the other gate, at the opposite side of the Market\nSquare.... Hearing a noise he turned around and observed the prisoners\nwere much further up the square, and part of the guards had charged\ntheir bayonets towards the prisoners to force them down, and almost\nat the same moment he, this informant, heard the report of a musket\ndischarged.... That he, this informant, did not hear any person give\norders to fire. That several muskets were fired in the Market Square,\nand immediately after the firing had ceased he heard Capt. Shortland\ncall for turnkeys to take up the wounded.... That this informant did\nnot observe anything thrown by the prisoners at the military, nor see\nthe prisoners armed with any offensive weapons.\u201d\n\n_Richard Arnold_, one of the turnkeys, after stating the fact of the\nhole in the wall and Captain Shortland\u2019s examination of it: \u201cThis\ninformant then returned to the Market Square leaving Capt. Shortland\nin the barrack-yard, and the horn was then sounding for the prisoners\nto turn into their respective prisons,[49] when he observed a large\nbody of prisoners collected between the iron railing in the front of\nthe prisons, and they were attempting to force the gates.... That this\ninformant went away to call the guard, and met Capt. Shortland at the\nupper gate. That the guard was outside the guard-house drawn out,\nand Capt. Shortland called to them to follow him, and this informant\nreturned with him, and by this time the prisoners had forced the gate,\nand many hundreds had assembled in the Market Square. That Capt.\nShortland desired the soldiers to draw up, be steady, and keep their\nground, and the soldiers formed across the square. That this informant\nsaw Capt. Shortland go up in front of the military and heard him\ndesire the prisoners to go in, or otherwise he should be obliged to\nuse means which he should be very sorry for. That the prisoners were\nvery riotous, calling out \u2018Keeno\u2019 several times, and advanced instead\nof retiring, when some of the soldiers came to a charge, and this\ninformant made the best of his way to the rear, and just after he got\nin the rear he heard a single musket, and soon after he heard several\nmuskets discharged, but the muskets were at first elevated high, that\nhe does not think a single shot touched either of the prisoners ...\nwhen some of them called out, \u2018Fire, you----, you have no shot in your\nguns,\u2019 when the military fired again, ... and almost immediately he\nheard Capt. Shortland call for the turnkeys to help the wounded away.\nThat this informant did not hear any person give any orders to fire,\nthat he was near to Capt. Shortland when the firing first begun, and\nif Capt. Shortland had given any orders to fire he thinks that he\nmust have heard them.... That he did not see the prisoners armed with\nany offensive weapons, nor did he see them throw any stones at the\nmilitary.\u201d[50]\n\n_Stephen Hall_, one of the turnkeys, gave information almost identical\nwith that of Richard Arnold. He did not hear any orders given to fire.\n\n_Richard Cephus_, an American prisoner of war, gave no evidence of\nvalue, as he was not present in the affray.\n\n_George Magrath_, surgeon of the hospital at the prison. Hearing the\nalarm bell he ran from his dwelling into the Market Square, where he\nsaw a line of soldiers drawn up and the prisoners breaking out at the\ninner gate. \u201cHe advanced towards them and began to exhort them to\nreturn quietly into the prison ... that this informant observed to\nthem that their detention appeared to be entirely the fault of their\nown agent, Mr. Beasley ... that this informant heard a voice, but whose\nit was this informant did not know, ordering the soldiers to charge;\nthat at this time Captain Shortland was near to this informant, and he\nseemed to be employing means to induce the prisoners to return to the\nprison; that on hearing the word \u2018Charge\u2019 given, he looked round and\nfound himself on the point of the soldiers\u2019 bayonets ... that he found\nit necessary to attempt to extricate himself and succeeded in getting\nround the left wing, which rested on the wall.... Whilst this informant\nwas endeavouring to get around, the firing commenced, at first he\nheard two or three muskets, but afterwards the discharges became more\nfrequent, and almost amounted to a volley.\u201d He then retired to attend\nto the wounded.\n\nIt must be added that the prisoners unanimously speak of Dr. Magrath\nwith high praise, as most kind and attentive to their wants and\nailments.\n\n_John Odiorne_, a citizen of the United States. \u201cHe was at the store in\nthe Market Square, standing by the door; and the wagon with the bread\nwas partly unladen, when this informant heard some persons talking loud\nat the gate at the uppercut (i.e. the main entrance) and went round\nthe wagon to see who it was, and saw Captain Shortland advancing into\nthe yard; and he was giving his orders to the turnkeys at the lodge in\na loud voice; and Richard Arnold spoke to him, and told him something\nabout the wall, when Captain Shortland said, \u2018D---- you, why did not\nyou tell me about it before? Ring the bell, call the guard out.\u2019 That\nthe guard immediately followed Captain Shortland into the yard, when\nhe ordered them to form across the yard, about two-thirds of the way\ndown.... That just as Captain Shortland gave the orders, this informant\nsaw the prisoners force the gate No. 1, and before this time this\ninformant had not seen a single prisoner in the Market Square, except\nthose who were employed with him (in unlading the bread wagon). He was\non the steps, at the store, which is about ten feet high and commands a\ncomplete view of the square. That after the prisoners had advanced to\nthe distance of between twenty-five or thirty feet, Captain Shortland\nthen ordered the men to charge upon them, and the soldiers charged\nupon the prisoners, when they retreated into the yard. That after the\nprisoners had retreated within the prison ... he heard an order given\nto fire by Captain Shortland, as the informant supposed, for he was\nlooking directly at him. That the order was not instantly complied with\n... but in a few seconds a musket was fired by a person at the right of\nCapt. Shortland, a few paces in advance of the others, and immediately\nafter two muskets were fired to the left of Capt. Shortland, and after\nthat there was a general discharge. And immediately after the general\ndischarge a party of soldiers marched into No. 1 yard, through the\ngate, and fired a volley, and then wheeled about and returned into the\nsquare, and after the soldiers had returned into the square and formed\ninto line the officer ordered them to fire, and immediately the whole\nline across the square fired into the yard, after which the line broke\nup and advanced into the yard, and this informant could not see any\nfurther, but he heard the reports of guns in the yard.\u201d\n\nThe evidence of John Odiorne is of special value, as he and Arnold were\nthe only witnesses of what took place in the Market-yard, who were not\nactively engaged in the affray.\n\n_Addison Holmes_, citizen of the United States. \u201cUnderstanding that\na hole had been broken through the wall in the prison No. 7 by the\nboys, to get at their balls, he was going to see it; and hearing the\nalarm bell rung, he went into the Market Square, having found the gate\nopen,[51] and there were about a dozen prisoners in the square, and a\ngreat many more followed after him; he was going up to see what the\nalarm bell was rung for, when he saw the troops entering the outer gate\nof the square, and Captain Shortland was with them. That as the troops\ncame through the gate, they were paraded across the square; and this\ninformant saw Dr. Magrath at the left of the troops, talking to about\na dozen prisoners, advising them to go down to the prison quietly.\nThat at this time there was a considerable body of prisoners in the\nrear. That Captain Shortland was in front of the troops, speaking to\none man, who wanted to say something to him; but it appeared that the\ncaptain would have no conversation with him, and pushed him from him\ntwice, when the man turned about and was going down slowly.[52] The\ncaptain then turned him round and ordered the troops to charge their\nbayonets, twice; but they did not do so until they were ordered by\none of their own officers, and then the troops charged their bayonets\nand the prisoners were forced on before them, and Dr. Magrath, being\nin front, stepped in between two bayonets, and got to the rear. That\nthis informant stepped aside, and got between two sentry-boxes, and\nthe troops passed him; and by this time the prisoners were forced to\nthe gate, had got inside the prison, and shut the gate after them; but\nCaptain Shortland, who was in front of the troops, shoved the gate\nopen, and this informant thinking it was a good opportunity for him to\nget in, pushed on between two men, and then saw that Captain Shortland\nhad hold of a musket, and immediately that musket was discharged; but\nwhether Capt. Shortland pulled the trigger or not, this informant does\nnot know, and immediately after there was firing at the left. That\nCapt. Shortland had ordered the troops to fire before he took hold of\nthe musket, but he was not obeyed, and then took hold of the musket,\nand he believes the soldier had hold of it at the same time. That\njust after the firing at the left, as he, this informant, was passing\nbetween two men, one of whom had discharged his musket, this man was\nhauling his musket back to stab this informant, and before he drew it\npast this informant, he, this informant, unshipped the bayonet, and\nthrew it on the ground, and then pushed off the bayonet on the left,\nwith his arm, and got in round the gate, when the soldiers immediately\nfired another round, and he saw a man fall. That this informant stopped\na few minutes, and the soldiers fired several rounds, and the soldiers\nwere firing from the walls up the prison. That two rounds were fired\ninto the prison door, which killed one man and wounded another.\u201d\n\n_John Arnold_, steward of the prisoners, was engaged with Odiorne\nin unlading the bread-wagon, when he heard the alarm bell rung, and\nthe drums beat to arms, and the horns sounded; \u201cAnd soon after this\ninformant saw a great body of prisoners between the railing and the\nMarket Square.... That Captain Shortland came into the square, and the\nsoldiers marched in with their officers. That this informant ordered\nthe wagon away, and just then the prisoners burst open the gate and\nrushed into the Market Square in a very large body.... That the\nsoldiers were formed across the square, and had advanced in a body ...\nwhen the soldiers charged upon the prisoners, but this informant did\nnot hear any order to charge given, and this informant thinks, that\nfrom the noise made by the prisoners, it was impossible to hear any\nword of command.\u201d After describing the charge, he asserts that \u201cstones\nwere thrown at the military.... That this informant never heard Captain\nShortland give any directions to the soldiers to fire, and he was so\nnear Odiorne, that if orders had been given which he might have heard,\nhe, the informant, must have heard also. And this informant further\nsaith, that the firing was very irregular, and it did not seem like\nfiring in obedience to order; and this informant further saith, that it\nappeared to him the soldiers were in danger from the stones thrown at\nthem by the prisoners.\u201d\n\n_William Gifford_, private in the 1st Regiment of Somerset Militia,\nwas posted as sentinel at the inner gate. \u201cThat this informant saw\na prisoner who broke the lock of the gate, where this informant was\nsentinel, with an iron bar, and the prisoners rushed out as fast as\nthey could come, crying out \u2018Keeno\u2019; whereupon the alarm bell was\nrung, and part of the north guard came into the Market Square, and\nCapt. Shortland was with them ... that Capt. Shortland ordered the\nsoldiers to charge, which they did, and forced the prisoners almost to\nthe prison gate ... that the prisoners began to throw stones at the\nsoldiers, and this informant saw several of the men\u2019s caps knocked off\nwith the stones ... this informant heard the word \u2018Fire!\u2019 given by some\nperson, but by whom he does not know; that this informant immediately\nheard a discharge of musketry, and saw that the muskets were presented\nin the air; that the prisoners still continued throwing stones, when\nthe soldiers began to fire towards the prisoners, and this informant\nafterwards saw two men lying in the market-place, apparently dead.\nThat the soldiers then went into the different prison yards to turn\nthe prisoners in, and this informant heard some firing in the yards.\nThat Major Joliffe had the command of the 1st Somersetshire Regiment\nof Militia, but he was not present when the first firing commenced....\nThat this informant was near to Capt. Shortland, and he never saw Capt.\nShortland with a musket in his hand, or attempt to take a musket; if he\nhad, he, this informant, thinks that it was impossible for him not to\nhave seen it. That he never heard Capt. Shortland give any orders to\nfire, and the informant was so near him, that he thinks he must have\nheard him, if he had given any such orders.\u201d\n\n_James Groves_, private in the 1st Regiment of Somerset Militia, was\nsentinel in the barrack yard, and gave evidence that at 5 p.m. or\nthereabouts a ball was thrown over the wall. He was relieved at 6 p.m.,\nand by that time no attempt had been made to knock a hole in the wall.\n\n_David Spencer Warren_, citizen of the United States. On hearing the\nalarm bell he went to the gate, which was already burst open, and the\nprisoners had got into the Market-yard. \u201cA number of soldiers were in\nthe square, and Capt. Shortland was at the head of one party of them,\nand he was forming a line across the yard, which after he had done, he\ntold them to charge. That the soldiers did charge on the prisoners, who\nran back into the prison yard, and as they got inside the gate, they\nflung one of them to. That Capt. Shortland ordered one of the soldiers\nto fire, and immediately there was a soldier with his musket turned to\nthe right, and Capt. Shortland caught hold of the musket and pointed\nit towards a man that stood by the gate, and said, \u2018God d---- you,\nfire!\u2019 that directly after this a fire of musketry became general. That\nthis informant did not see any of the officers with the soldiers when\nCapt. Shortland gave the orders to fire. That after the firing began he\nsaw some stones thrown by the prisoners over the wall into the square.\u201d\n\n_James Greenlaw_, a citizen of the United States, heard the alarm bell\nring, and went to the railing giving admission to the Market Square,\nwhich was already burst open, and some prisoners in the square. \u201cAt\nthe same time he saw the troops coming through the market-gate, with\nCapt. Shortland at their head, and saw him form the men in one line,\nextending across the square, and he then ordered them to charge,\nwhereupon the prisoners retreated into the prison yard, when the\ninformant heard Capt. Shortland give orders for the soldiers to fire\nupon the prisoners, whereupon this informant ran into No. 4 yard, for\nshelter, and saw two black men fall. That as soon as this informant\nthought the firing had ceased, he ran up towards the grating to speak\nto Capt. Shortland, and asked him if he would allow him to speak to\nhim, when Capt. Shortland said, \u2018No, you d---- d rascal!\u2019 whereupon\ntwo soldier officers put their swords through the iron railing towards\nthe informant, and one soldier pricked him with his bayonet. That\nthis informant then retreated into No. 3 yard, and he then heard two\ndistinct volleys.... That this informant did not see any stones thrown\nuntil the firing had commenced, and then he saw two stones thrown over\nthe wall.\u201d\n\n_Thomas Burgess Mott_, citizen of the United States, gave evidence as\nto the firing on the prisoners from the walls, and at the door of No. 5\nprison.\n\n_Enoch Burnham_, citizen of the United States, gave very similar\nevidence. He confirmed the statement made by Andrews in his narrative\nof the murder of the man against the wall.\n\n_Robert Holmden_, first clerk to Captain Shortland, had informed the\nGovernor of the breach in the wall and went with him to inspect it.\n\u201cWhereupon Captain Shortland ordered the alarm bell to be rung; and as\nsoon as the guard could be collected, he went with them into the Market\nSquare.... He heard one shot fired, which was followed by several\nothers. He did not go down among the prisoners, or see what took place\nthere.\u201d\n\n_Homer Hull_, citizen of the United States, saw a man with a bolt in\nhis hand break the lock of the gate. \u201cJust at the time the gate was\nforced open, he saw some soldiers come into the Market Square; when\nCapt. Shortland gave the soldiers orders to charge, and the soldiers\naccordingly charged; when the prisoners retreated into the prisons, and\none of them shut to the gates; then the soldiers marched down a little\nfurther, when Capt. Shortland ordered them to fire.... That he did\nnot see any stones thrown before the musketry began to be discharged,\nbut afterwards he saw a stone thrown from the prison yard towards the\nsquare.\u201d\n\n_Robert McFarlane_, assistant surgeon at the prison, had assisted Dr.\nMagrath to persuade the prisoners to retire. \u201cThis informant heard no\norder to fire. Capt. Shortland was at the south end of the guard, and\nthis informant thinks if he had given orders to fire he must have heard\nit--that at the time the first musket was fired nearly one-third of\nthe Market Square was filled with the prisoners, making a great noise\nin a very riotous and disorderly manner, and stones were thrown by the\nprisoners from all quarters.\u201d\n\n_John Tozer_, turnkey, gave testimony of no importance.\n\n_Joseph Manning_, sergeant of the 1st Somerset Regiment of Militia, was\nsent by Captain Shortland to fetch Major Joliffe, \u201cwho put himself at\nthe head of the grenadiers, and before Major Joliffe had gone ten yards\nfrom the south guard gate the firing commenced. That it was impossible\nfor Major Joliffe to give orders to fire, as he was not near the spot\nwhen the firing first began.\u201d\n\nThese are all the depositions taken before the coroner. Others taken\nbefore the commissioners were as follows:--\n\n_John Rust_, one of the prisoners and one of the Committee that drew\nup the report already given. \u201cAbout 6 o\u2019clock in the evening I came\nfrom the place where I was taking supper, and persuaded the prisoners\nto leave the breach. At the time I went to the breach the horn had not\nsounded; it sounded but a few minutes before the firing. I heard the\nalarm bell ring before the firing took place. The firing continued at\nintervals about fifteen minutes.... I saw nothing of the firing in the\nMarket Square.\u201d\n\n_John T. Trowbridge_, another of the Prisoners\u2019 Committee, made no part\nof the report from his own knowledge.\n\n_John Boggs_, another of the Committee, \u201cmade no part of the report\nfrom my own knowledge.\u201d\n\n_Amos Wheeler_, sergeant of the north guard, \u201cwas ordered by Capt.\nShortland to march to the Market Square; the officer of the guard\nwas not then with it.... There were not many prisoners in the Market\nSquare when our guard entered. The alarm bell had rung before we\nmarched. When we entered, the prisoners were endeavouring to burst the\ngates below.... When they had succeeded in bursting them there was a\ngreat rush towards the soldiers. They threw stones at the soldiers\nbefore there was any firing. They were not armed with anything that I\nsaw.... Captain Shortland ordered the soldiers to bring their muskets\ndown to the charge. I believe Capt. Shortland was in front of the\nguard, at this time, desiring the prisoners to go back. I saw none\nof the prisoners wresting the arms from the soldiers. I saw none of\nthem attempt to seize the arms.... I heard no order to fire, nor do I\nknow how it began; did not hear any of the prisoners challenging the\nsoldiers to fire.... I did not see the officer of the guard at this\ntime. The firing was in an independent manner, three or four muskets\nbeing discharged at a time. After the firing commenced the prisoners\nbegan to retire towards their prisons. I did not hear any cheering\namong them, or see them rally after the fire.... I did not go into the\nprison yard.\u201d\n\n_John Saunders_, private in the 1st Regiment of Somerset Militia. \u201cI\nwas with the first party of soldiers that marched into the Market\nSquare; at that time the gate was broken open the prisoners were coming\nthrough in a crowd. The alarm bell rang at the time we reached the\nwest guard-house; the officer of the guard was with us, I believe. I\nbelieve it was he who ordered us into the square.... Capt. Shortland,\nafter some discourse with the prisoners, ordered to charge--with\nsome difficulty we got the prisoners back to the gates, some of them\nretiring through the gates.... The square was nearly clear of prisoners\nbefore the firing--they did not return into the square, but threw\nsome stones through the rails. I heard the word \u2018Fire!\u2019 given, but\ndo not know by whom. There were no prisoners in the Market Square\nwhen the first shots were fired. The prisoners had the command of the\ngates, so as to open them when they thought proper. I fired my musket.\nThe prisoners closed the gates after them, which we opened, and we\nreceived orders from the commanding officer to charge the men to their\nprisons. No muskets were fired in compelling them to their prisons.[53]\nJust before the firing the prisoners were throwing stones, and\ninsulting the soldiers. Saw no prisoners attempting to wrest the arms\nfrom the soldiers. Several shots were fired into No. 3--they were fired\ninto the doorway. I heard no order given for this fire, and heard none\nto cease firing; there was much disturbance among the prisoners going\nin, and a stone was thrown out.\u201d\n\n_William Smith_, private in the 1st Somerset Militia. \u201cI heard no order\nto fire. The firing was in an independent manner, one after another,\ntill nearly all the guard had fired, and then they loaded again. No\norder was given to fire.\u201d\n\n_John Tutt_, private. \u201cCan\u2019t say exactly who ordered us to charge, but\nthink it was Captain Shortland\u2019s voice.... While charging, a stone\nknocked off my cap.... I heard the order for the firing in the square;\nit commenced while I was picking up my cap.\u201d\n\n_William Rowles_, private. \u201cCaptain Shortland gave the order to\ncharge.... I heard an order to fire, but don\u2019t know from whom.... I\nentered the prison yard, saw a soldier level his musket into prison No.\n3. I heard no order to the soldier to fire into No. 3; saw no officer\nthere at this time.\u201d\n\n_John Hamlet_, private. \u201cI heard the order to charge by Capt.\nShortland.... I was struck by a stone in advancing.... I heard an order\nto fire given before any firing took place, but don\u2019t know by whom.\u201d\n\n_John Williams_, sergeant. \u201cI heard no order to fire; our guard seeing\nthe state the prisoners were in began firing of their own accord.\u201d\n\n_John Twyford Jolliff_, major commanding, handed in a written\nstatement, dated 7 April, 1815: \u201cYesterday evening, between the\nhours of six and seven o\u2019clock, soon after the officers\u2019 dinner,\nthe mess-waiter came into the mess-room and said that the American\nprisoners had broken out of the prison, and were attempting their\nescape. I immediately ordered the troops composing the garrison to fall\nin at the alarm post. Whilst the troops were forming, I heard several\nshots fired, upon which I immediately took the grenadiers and proceeded\nto the west guard.... Upon my arrival several of the troops were formed\nin the market-place, and had fired some shots. I immediately called\nout to them to cease firing, and finding that the prisoners still\nrefused to go into their prison, I took a party of grenadiers and went\ninto two of the prison yards, and told the soldiers [prisoners?] to go\ninto their prisons, which they very reluctantly did. Several stones\nwere thrown at the military.... The military fired a few shot at the\nprisoners in the yard, in consequence of their throwing stones and\nrefusing to go into the prison, but the firing was without any orders,\nand I conceive took place owing to the military being so exasperated.\nAs soon as the prisoners were all gone into their different prisons and\nproperly secured, I returned to the barracks.\u201d He added, \u201cSeveral shots\nwere fired in the prison yards, but entirely without any command.\u201d\n\n_George Pett_, sergeant, testified to the efforts made by Major Joliffe\nto put an end to the firing.\n\n_Henry Burgoyne_, private, was on the platform when the alarm bell\nrang, but left it for the Market Square. \u201cI heard an order to fire, but\ndon\u2019t know who gave it.\u201d\n\n_Edward Jackson_, private of the Derby Militia, was on the platform.\n\u201cI think there had been two volleys in the Market Square before the\nmen on the platform fired. No order was given to fire on my platform;\nto the best of my recollection I think I heard a command \u2018to commence\nfiring from the right.\u2019 I saw no tumult in the yard before the firing.\u201d\n\n_Thomas Burgess Mott_, prisoner, gave unimportant evidence. \u201cI did not\nhear the horn sound before the firing.\u201d\n\nWalter Cotton, prisoner and one of the Committee, did not hear the\nhorn. Entirely repudiated any intention on the part of the prisoners to\nbreak out; he complained of acts of barbarity committed previously by\nCaptain Shortland; but gave no evidence relative to the \u201cmassacre.\u201d\n\n_William Hobart_, one of the Prisoners\u2019 Committee, had not heard the\nhorn sound before the alarm bell rang. Hearing the bell, he went out to\nknow the cause, but did not pass into the Market Square, though within\na few yards of the gate; and finding there was danger returned to his\nward. He also complained of acts of barbarity previously committed by\nthe Governor.\n\n_William B. Orne_, one of the Committee, gave no evidence of importance.\n\n_Niel M\u2019Kinnon_, prisoner. \u201cI heard an order given to charge and fire,\nbut don\u2019t know by whom.\u201d Seeing a man, Haywood, killed, he went to the\ngate to speak to Captain Shortland, and begged him to make the firing\ncease. He told Orne to go to his prison. \u201cI went down to No. 4 yard;\nwhile going down the yard a volley was fired into it by the soldiers\nin the Market Square; there were many prisoners then in the yard....\nWas going up the yard, when I met a party of military with an officer,\ndriving along four or five prisoners. I went up to the officer, who I\nunderstood was Major Joliffe, and remonstrated with him on the harsh\ntreatment the prisoners were receiving. He put his fist in my face, and\nswore \u2018By God, they would not be trifled with any longer by us.\u2019 I was\ndriven with the rest into No. 4. I entered the prison with my face to\nthe soldiers ... at that moment a musket was fired close to me, which\nwounded a little boy, who screamed and dropped down; he died next day.\u201d\nHe repudiated any intent of the prisoners to escape.\n\n_John G. Gatchell_, prisoner. \u201cI heard an order to fire, but don\u2019t know\nby whom; the first volley one man fell. I went to him; he said he was\nwounded in the breast. I called assistance, and was trying to get him\nto the receiving-house, when Captain Shortland entered No. 7 gate with\ntwo soldiers, and said something which induced the two others to run\naway and leave the wounded man with me; upon which Captain Shortland,\nseeing I did not run, said, \u2018Kill the d---- d rascal!\u2019 The soldiers\ncharged on me, and a bayonet pierced my clothes and skin, going in\nabout a quarter of an inch. I was then forced to leave the wounded man\nand run, when a soldier followed me, and Capt. Shortland, urging him\non, repeated several times, \u2018Kill the d---- d rascal!\u2019 While running\non I was pricked three times, and would have been killed, but stepping\naside the bayonet ran under my arm, and the soldier with the force of\nthe thrust fell on his knees, by which means I escaped into the prison.\nWhile getting in No. 7 I saw Captain Shortland running down the yard\ntowards No. 5 with the soldiers, and heard him order them to fire. He\nwas facing me at the time; was running towards No. 5, and ordering them\nto fire as they ran, which they did. I did not see that the soldiers\nhesitated to fire when ordered; they did fire.... Two soldiers came\ninto the gate abreast of Capt. Shortland, but many followed him, thirty\nor forty perhaps. After the soldiers were in the yard those on the\nramparts did not fire.... While the prisoners were running to No. 7\nthey were cut off by a cross-fire from the ramparts.\u201d\n\n_Andrew Davis_, prisoner. \u201cI went up to No. 1 gate; when I got there,\nfive or six men were bringing a man, who appeared to be badly wounded,\ninto the Market Square. I heard Capt. Shortland order them to let go\nthe wounded man; one of them (this was John Hubbard) remonstrated\nagainst it, and Capt. Shortland struck him with his fist. The man then\nwent outside of the gate into the passage, between the two gates, and\nsaid to Capt. Shortland, \u2018You\u2019ll recollect you have struck me twice;\nand I\u2019ll have satisfaction for it?\u2019 Captain Shortland told him to go\ninto the prison, or he would order the men to fire on him.\u201d\n\n_John Odiorne_, prisoner, had given evidence before the coroner. He\nrepeated now: \u201cI heard an order to fire, which was from Capt. Shortland\nas near as I could judge of any man, who had his back to me; it was\nCaptain Shortland\u2019s voice; he was about 100 yards from me. I am as\npositive as I can be under such circumstances that the order came from\nhim. Captain Shortland appeared to be in a great passion. When entering\nthe square he looked very red, and spoke loud; am confident there was\nno disposition to break out.\u201d\n\n_Gerard Smith_, prisoner, gave no material evidence.\n\n_Robert Johnson_, prisoner. \u201cI know Gatchell; I was at the gate No. 7\nwhen Captain Shortland spoke to him. I ran directly into the gate from\nNo. 5; at the first firing a wounded man lay about five yards from the\ngate. Gatchell and two or three others came up to take him away to the\nreceiving-house. When he got into the passage, between the railings,\nCaptain Shortland came in with two or three soldiers, and told him to\ngo back or he would kill them; the soldiers followed. In rushing in,\nCapt. Shortland stumbled over the wounded man; Gatchell did not go away\nimmediately. Capt. Shortland ordered the soldiers to charge on him;\none did charge on him, and another on me. I then made my escape into\nthe prison. I am quite sure Captain Shortland ordered the soldiers to\ncharge. I heard no abusive language from Capt. Shortland.\u201d\n\n_James N. Bushfield_, prisoner, testified mainly to the making the hole\nin the wall. \u201cI do not suppose a man in the yard knew there was arms in\nthe barrack yard.\u201d\n\n_William Clements_, prisoner. \u201cI heard no order to fire.... I saw Capt.\nShortland in the yard, but whether it was him or the other officer who\nfirst came in I don\u2019t know.\u201d\n\n_John Hubbard_, prisoner. \u201cI was carrying a wounded man to the\nhospital. Capt. Shortland came up to me ... he ordered me to drop the\nman. I told him I should not, for I wanted to take him to the hospital.\nHe gave me a crack on the neck with his fist and ordered the soldiers\nto charge on us; I then went back and ran in. When I got in I called to\nCapt. Shortland and told him \u2018You will recollect, Sir, you struck me,\nif you are brought to account for this.\u2019\u201d\n\n_John Reeves_, prisoner. His evidence is not particularly trustworthy,\nas he admitted, \u201cI was rather groggy that evening.... I heard Captain\nShortland sing out \u2018Fire!\u2019 twice.... After we were inside No. 1 prison,\nbeing mad at being pricked (with a bayonet) I flung a stone myself out\nat the soldiers. The soldiers had fired into the prison before I did\nso.\u201d\n\n_William Mitchell_, prisoner, did not hear the horn or the alarm bell.\n\n_David Spencer Warren_, prisoner, who had given evidence before the\ncoroner, now added: \u201cI was within seven or eight feet of Captain\nShortland when I heard him give orders to fire. I was inside my own\nprison yard and Capt. Shortland was close to the gate; that was the\nfirst firing I heard; there had been none before. Soldiers had broken\nup their line when Captain Shortland led them into the prison yard.\nCaptain Shortland was at the head of them, when I heard him tell the\nmen to fire. They did not fire the first time he said \u2018Fire!\u2019; it was\nabout a minute afterwards before they fired. He said \u2018Fire!\u2019 three\ntimes.\u201d He repeated his story of Shortland taking hold of the musket.\n\n_Richard Walker_, private of the Derby Militia. \u201cI heard no order to\nfire; first one musket was fired; it was by a sentry posted at the\nbottom of the square, in consequence of the prisoners abusing him. I\nsaw this. I saw them throw no stones before, but after it was fired\nthey did. It might be two minutes before there was firing again.\nAs soon as the prisoners threw stones there was more firing. Don\u2019t\nrecollect I heard any order to fire. Heard several call out \u2018Fire!\u2019 and\nsupposed it might be the prisoners who were calling out.... Saw Capt.\nShortland come down, break through the guard, and heard him order them\nto cease firing.\u201d\n\n_William Ward_, private in the Derby Militia. \u201cI came up just after\n(the firing had begun). Capt. Shortland, after it had continued\nsome time, came up and ordered the soldiers to cease firing. They\nimmediately ceased.\u201d\n\nSome turnkeys were examined, but their evidence was immaterial, as\nthey were employed elsewhere or in taking the wounded to the hospital,\nexcept _James Carley_, who was with the bread-wagon; but he could say\nno more than that he saw Shortland come down \u201cwith his hands in his\nbreeches\u2019 pockets\u201d; and _William Wakelin_, who deposed to Shortland\npushing one of the prisoners (James Reeves).\n\n_John Bennett_, store clerk. \u201cI heard Captain Shortland tell the\nprisoners in the market-place to go back to their different prisons,\nand say how sorry he should be to use force.... Some minutes after a\nmusket went off, and soon after many others. I was then so near Capt.\nShortland that I am sure I should have heard it had he given the orders\nto fire; but I did not, nor did I hear an order from anybody. I did not\nsee the charge.\u201d\n\n_John Collard_, sergeant of the 1st Somerset Militia, heard Shortland\ngive the order to charge. \u201cAn order was then given to fire on them (the\nprisoners); I heard the word given to fire by some one; I think the\nword given was in my rear.... The prisoners were crying out \u2018Fire!\u2019\nI could not then see Captain Shortland. I did not look out for him.\nI had something else to think of when the order to fire was given.\nTwo or three men fired; immediately they obeyed the order; one musket\nwas discharged first, and one or two very soon after.... I think the\nsoldiers fired over their heads; then some prisoner or prisoners said,\n\u2018You---- why don\u2019t you fire? You have nothing but blank cartridges.\u2019\nAfterwards the firing became general, and the prisoners were driven\ninto the yard. I heard no word of command for the second firing; the\nfiring was not in a volley, but in small numbers at a time.... I know\nnothing of what happened afterwards in the prison yard.\u201d\n\n_Stephen Lapthorn_, private in the 1st Somersetshire Militia. \u201cI heard\nan order given to fire, but don\u2019t know who gave it. I can\u2019t say whose\nvoice it was; am not sure whether it was from the prisoners or the\nmilitary.... I heard Major Joliffe give orders to cease firing.\u201d\n\n_John Soathern_, private in the Derby Militia. \u201cWe went close to the\nrailings; my bayonet pricked them; when we got there, the prisoners\nbegan throwing stones; one stone struck me. Just then the firing\ncommenced. After some time Capt. Shortland came in front and said,\nholding his hands up, \u2018For God\u2019s sake, men, cease firing.\u2019 Captain\nShortland was not near me when it commenced. The order to fire was\ngiven on the left, and it passed through the ranks one after another.\u201d\n\n_Lieutenant Avelyne_, of 1st Somerset Militia. \u201cWhen I came into the\nMarket Square with Captain Shortland the prisoners had burst No. 1 gate\nand were rushing through in a crowd.... Capt. Shortland went forward\nto speak to them.... The soldiers did not charge by my order, nor\ndid I hear Capt. Shortland order it. I considered myself under Capt.\nShortland\u2019s orders.... I heard the first musket fired. I could not\nsee where it was fired from.... There was at first a single shot, and\nalmost instantly after several others were fired. I heard no distinct\norder to fire.... I did not go into the prison yard.\u201d\n\n_Lieutenant Fortye_, of 1st Somerset Militia. \u201cMy guard took up the\nfiring from others without any orders.\u201d\n\n_Cornelius Rowe_, prisoner. \u201cI saw the military come down the square\nand heard Capt. Shortland order them to charge.\u201d\n\n_Thomas Tindale_, prisoner. \u201cI heard Captain Shortland give orders\nto fire ... he gave orders twice to fire. I was not ten steps from\nhim when I heard him. I heard every word he said; I saw him plainly;\nthe firing commenced by one musket first, then two, and afterwards a\nwhole volley. The firing began when Captain Shortland gave the word\nthe second time. I heard him tell the soldiers to fire low. He was\nthen standing inside the muzzles of the foremost muskets. When I heard\nthe order to fire I was about the middle of gate No. 4; the soldiers\ncharged up to the railings and then fell back four or five paces, when\nCapt. Shortland gave the order to fire.\u201d\n\nThe evidence of Captain Shortland has been already given. He denied the\ntruth of Gatchell\u2019s statements that he had run down the yard; and as to\nthat of Hubbard, he would only admit that he had pushed, not struck him.\n\nIn reviewing the depositions it appears evident that the American\nwitnesses were hostile to the Governor, and that their bitterness\nof feeling coloured their testimony. There is evidence that Captain\nShortland entered the inner yard, though he denied it; but that Major\nJoliffe was there is certain, and it cannot be admitted that he acted\nwith the promptitude that he should have displayed. It is certain that\nby this time the soldiers had got out of control, and it was no doubt\ndifficult to restrain them.\n\nCaptain Shortland was not really a brutal Governor, and the barbarities\nof which he was accused were not barbarities at all, but the exercise\nof very necessary discipline. But he was lacking in capacity for such a\nresponsible post, at such a time.\n\nSo the British Government must have considered him, for he was promoted\nto be Superintendent of Port Royal Dockyard in Jamaica, where he died\nof yellow fever in 1825.\n\nThe most thoroughly reliable authority for the \u201cmassacre\u201d is the\n\u201cMessage from the President of the United States, transmitting a Report\nof the Secretary of State, prepared in obedience to a Resolution of\nthe House of Representatives of the 4th inst., in relation to the\nTransactions at Dartmoor Prison, in the month of April last, so far\nas the American Prisoners of war, there confined, were affected by\nsuch Transactions,\u201d January 31, 1816, \u201cRead and ordered to lie upon\nthe table,\u201d Washington, 1816. Next come \u201cThe Prisoners\u2019 Memoirs, or\nDartmoor Prison; containing a Complete and Impartial History of the\nentire captivity of the Americans in England, from the commencement\nof the late War between the United States and Great Britain, until\nall Prisoners were released by the treaty of Ghent. Also a particular\ndetail of all the occurrences relative to that Horrid Massacre at\nDartmoor, on the fatal evening of the 6th April, 1815. The whole\ncarefully compiled from the Journal of Charles Andrews, a Prisoner in\nEngland from the commencement of the War, until the release of all the\nPrisoners.\u201d New York, 1815.\n\nAccording to him 269 American prisoners died on Dartmoor between April,\n1813, and 20 April, 1815, and twenty-one succeeded in making their\nescape.\n\nWaterhouse (Henry), _Journal of a Young Man of Massachusetts, confined\nat Dartmoor Prison_. Boston, 1816.\n\nHe arrived at the Dartmoor Prison but a short while before the\noutbreak. His account confirms that of Andrews. He gives the\nRemonstrance of the prisoners on the hasty and hardly impartial manner\nin which the Commissioners investigated the circumstances.\n\n_The Dartmoor Massacre_, by I. H. W. (Isaac H. Williamson, of New\nJersey), 1815. This is, however, a mere rhymed account, based on the\nnarrative in the Boston papers and the _New York Commercial Advertiser_\nof 6 June, 1815. \u201cBeing the Authentic and Particular Account of the\ntragic Massacre at Dartmoor Prison in England, on the 6th April last\n(1815), in which sixty-seven American sailors, prisoners there, fell\nthe victims to the jailor\u2019s revenge, for obtaining their due allowance\nof bread which had been withheld from them by the jailor\u2019s orders.\u201d\n\nMelish (John), _Description of Dartmoor Prison_. Philadelphia, 1815.\n\nHe confirms the account of Andrews, and insists that the examination\nwas not properly and honestly carried out; and he asserts positively\nthat Capt. Shortland gave the order to fire.\n\nJustin Winsor, in his _Narrative and Critical History of America_, has\ntreated of the matter in a temperate spirit.\n\nI subjoin the names of those killed and those wounded.\n\n/Killed/: _John Haywood_, _Thomas Jackson_, _John Washington_,\n_James Mann_, _Joseph Toker Johnson_, _William Leverage_, and _James\nCampbell_.\n\n/Wounded/: _Thomas Smith_, needed amputation of the thigh.\n_Philip Ford_, severely wounded in the back. _John Gray_, arm had\nto be amputated. _Robert Willet Tawney_, required to have the thigh\namputated. _James Bell_, bayonet wound in the thigh. _Thomas Truely_,\ngun-shot wound in thigh and other serious injury. _Joseph Beyeck_,\ngun-shot wound in the thigh, through which the ball passed. _John\nWillet_, fractured hip and shattered upper jaw. _James Esdell_,\ngun-shot wound in the hip. _Henry Montcalm_, gun-shot wound in the\nknee. _Frederick Howard_, gun-shot wound in the leg. _William Penn_,\ngun-shot wound in the thigh. _Robert Fittey_, gun-shot wound in the\npenis. _Cornelius Garrison_, gun-shot wound in the thigh. _Edward\nWhittlebanks_, bayonet wound in the back, producing paralysis in the\nlower extremities. _James Turnbull_, amputated arm. _Stephen Phipps_,\nbayonet wounds in abdomen and thigh. _James Wells_, gun-shot fracture\nof sacrum and gun-shot fracture of both bones of the left arm. _Caleb\nCodding_, gun-shot wound of the leg. _Edward Gardner_, gun-shot\nfracture of left arm. _Jacob Davis_, gun-shot wound of the thigh. _John\nHagabets_, gun-shot wound of the hip. _Peter Wilson_, gun-shot fracture\nof the hand. _John Perry_, gun-shot wound of the shoulder. _John\nPeach_, gun-shot wound of the thigh. _John Roberts_, gun-shot wound of\nthe thigh. _John Gair_, amputated thigh. _Ephraim Lincoln_, gun-shot\nwound of the knee. _John Wilson_, bayonet wound. _William Blake_,\nbayonet wound.\n\nThe rest were not seriously wounded.\n\n\n\n\nCAPTAIN JOHN PALK\n\n\nIn the forties and fifties no man was better known as a character in\nTavistock and on the Moor than Captain Palk, or, as he was usually\ndesignated, Quaker Palk. He was a sturdy, thick-set man with a shrewd\nface, sharp keen eyes, and hair short cut and turning grey.\n\nHe began life as a miner on his own account at Birch Tor and Vitifer,\nbetween the Warren Inn and Moreton Hampstead. To any man travelling\nover Dartmoor along the main road to the latter town, crossing that\nportion of the Moor where rise the headwaters of the West Webburn, the\naspect of the valley and hillsides must appear strange, welted as they\nare with old streamworks and mine-heaps. Just beyond the inn are the\nremains of the King\u2019s Oven; this was the ancient _Furnum Regis_, the\ntin-smelting place, which tin was the royal due. Here there is a large\npound, in one portion of the arc of which are the remains of a circle\nof upright stones, enclosing a cairn and the relics of a kistvaen; a\nbeautiful flint scraper has been found wedged between the stones of the\nkistvaen. The oven itself has been destroyed, and the stones carried\noff for the construction of the buildings of Bush Down Mine, which are\nhard by, but are now in ruins. On the highest bit of the down is a rude\nancient cross called Bennett\u2019s Cross, with W.B. on the face, carved\nin modern letters, to indicate that it forms one of the boundaries of\nHeadland Warren. It is also a boundary mark of the parish of North\nBovey, and of the ground over which the rights belonging to Vitifer\nMine extended. The mine works are of many ages, some very ancient,\novergrown with heather and gorse bushes; others are more recent and\nshow raw and white against the turf and heather. Above the sources of\nthe Webburn rises Birch Tor, crowned by a grey cairn, its flanks dense\nwith whortle bushes, that supply richer and larger purple berries than\nalmost any Moor slope. Birch Tor is connected with Challacombe Common,\na swelling hill to the south, by a neck of land that has been cut\nthrough by miners, thereby destroying the first portion of a remarkable\nseries of stone rows leading to a menh\u00eer. The cuttings of the searchers\nafter tin to the west are deep, and here nest ravens to this day. The\nslender stream that trickles down the depression feeds the Webburn.\nFrom the neck of land can be discerned to the east the remarkable\nenclosure of Grimspound, pertaining to the Early Bronze period.\n\nAs already said, John Palk worked as a miner \u201con his own hook\u201d at Birch\nTor, and found a good deal of tin. Finding that he needed capital he\ninduced the Davys of Cornwall, who were his kinsmen, to enter into\npartnership with him. Richard Davy was subsequently M.P. for Cornwall.\nThe Davys became then possessors of the mines of Vitifer and Birch Tor.\nCall after call was made on them for money to develop the mines, and\nthe returns were insignificant. They became impatient, and considered\nthe venture unprofitable. On one occasion, when their patience was\nexhausted, Palk visited them, and showed as usual an unsatisfactory\nbalance sheet, and made a demand for more money.\n\nRichard Davy was angry, and exclaimed, \u201cHang it, Palk, I wish you\nwould take the confounded business off our hands, and make what you can\nof it,\u201d and they offered it to him for a ridiculously small sum.\n\nQuaker Palk hummed and hah\u2019d, said, \u201cFriend, I am a poor man, and\ncannot raise so much, but by the blessing of the Lord I would like to\ntry to earn a bit of bread from it to put into my mouth. Will thee not\nbate the price to the level of my means?\u201d\n\nEventually he bought the whole rights over Vitifer and Birch Tor. This\nwas precisely what he had been aiming at. He knew that there was plenty\nof tin there, but he had hitherto avoided following out the \u201ckeenly\u201d\nlodes, and exploited only the poor veins.\n\nNo sooner was the right his own than the complexion of the mine\naltered, and he is computed to have made from \u00a360,000 to \u00a380,000 out of\nit, and he retained Vitifer and Birch Tor mines to his death. He also\nsecured rights in Drake Walls, and he had a smelting house there and\nalso in Crown Dale, below Tavistock on the Tavy.\n\nBeing flush of money, he erected Palk\u2019s Buildings in Tavistock as well\nas several other houses, and he bought Baggator farm in Petertavy, and\nNarrator in Sheepstor parish.\n\nQuaker Palk was a sturdy teetotaller, and a lecturer on the subject,\nbut when he came out to Vitifer, he would call in at the Warren Inn,\nthen kept by a man named Warne, himself an interesting character, and\nmix himself a stiff glass of grog. On one occasion he had taken out\nwith him Mr. John Pearce of Tavistock, and they entered the tavern.\nPearce noticed that Captain Palk, in helping himself to brandy, put\nhis hand round the glass, to hide the quantity he poured in, but when\nthe brown liquid rose above his palm, Mr. Pearce stared and uttered an\nexclamation.\n\n\u201cAh, John Pearce,\u201d said Palk, \u201cI tell thee that the Warren Inn is the\nhighest public-house in all England, and one must live up to one\u2019s\nelevation.\u201d\n\nOn his return to Tavistock he would as likely as not appear on a\nplatform and harangue on total abstinence.\n\nThe story is told, I believe, of Captain Palk, that on his marriage he\nopened a drawer, drew out a pair of breeches, flung them to his wife\nwith, \u201cMolly, put them breeches on.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, John, be thou mazed?\u201d\n\n\u201cI tell thee, thou hast sworn to obey. Put them on this moment.\u201d\n\nAfter some further remonstrance and hesitation, the wife complied.\n\n\u201cHow dost thou think they fit thee, Molly?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, John, not at all.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, Molly, never thee try to wear \u2019em, as long as we are together.\nThe breeches pertain to me, and to me only.\u201d\n\nIn driving to Vitifer one winter\u2019s day, the snow came on, and on\nmounting Merripit Hill he and his horse were exhausted, and could no\nlonger face the snow-laden blast, and he drew aside into a sand-pit\nthat opened on to the road. The snow accumulated, a drift was formed,\nand they would have been buried, had not some miners passing come to\nthe rescue and extricated him and his trap and horse.\n\nHe had some stout Moor men working under him. Joe Hamlyn had mined at\nBirch Tor for seventy-five years in 1864. Jacob German had been on the\nsame works for sixty years, and had left them only once, and that for\na single month to do navvy\u2019s work on the line to Moreton from Newton\nAbbot.\n\nPalk liked a hare, when he could get one, and Jacob could generally\nprovide him with one.\n\n\u201cOh, Jacob,\u201d Palk would say, \u201cI hope thou hast not been poaching.\u201d\n\n\u201cPoaching!\u201d Jacob would exclaim; \u201cLord, sir, if a hare runs across the\nroad, I may knock un on the head, I reckon, and no one say nort.\u201d\n\n\u201cI should like to know just where it was--as a study in nat\u2019ral\nhistory.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, if you must know, Cap\u2019n, it were in Buckland-on-the-Moor, Squire\nBastard\u2019s woods.\u201d\n\n\u201cI dare say, friend, it will be all the fatter and better eating.\u201d\n\nIn these Buckland Woods larch grew finer than almost anywhere else in\nEngland, and the timber was obtained thence for Vitifer and Birch Tor\nmines. Some forty years ago, as much as a hundred and twenty feet of\ntimber was got out of a single tree.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said Palk, \u201cI\u2019ve had Squire Bastard\u2019s larch wood and obliged\nhim. The trees grew too thick. Hares there too thick. It\u2019s a favour to\nhim to thin them out for me. One hand washes the other.\u201d\n\nPalk was an assiduous attendant at the Quakers\u2019 Annual Meetings, both\nin Devon and in Cornwall. That of Cornwall was held at S. Austell, and\nit fell at the time when the hay was cut, and that was frequently wet,\nso that a rhyme was commonly repeated to caution the farmers:--\n\n            Now varmer, now varmer,\n            Take care ov your hye.\n    For \u2019tes the Quakkers\u2019 gurt meetin\u2019 to-dye.\n\nAt one of these gatherings, when the monthly advices to the members\nwere being read out, and there was one specially enjoining forbearance\nfrom \u201cvain sports,\u201d up rose a lately-joined member, and with an anxious\nvoice inquired what these vain sports embraced. \u201cNow,\u201d said he, \u201cDo\u2019ee\nreckon that kissing the mydens (maidens) in the hye (hay) be a vain\nsport?--vor my part I can\u2019t see it.\u201d\n\nThere was unquestionably a vast amount of roguery in the mining\nbusiness in Devon and Cornwall. Salting a mine, so as to induce\ncapitalists to embark their money in one, was by no means an uncommon\npractice. But occasionally a specialist was too sharp to be taken in.\n\u201cAh!\u201d said one, handling the ore that professed to have been raised in\na new mine on Dartmoor, \u201cCarnbrea tin. How the dickens did that find\nits way up here?\u201d\n\nOriginally the tin was worked by a small company of adventurers with\nvery simple machinery, and the adventurers shared the profits among\nthemselves. The tin lodes on Dartmoor are thin, and in my opinion and\nin that of those who know best, will never pay for expensive working\nwith costly plant. But little men, working for themselves, have made\nmining pay there. The abandoned engine-houses, huge wheels, and\nstamping pans show where large ventures have everywhere proved to be\nfailures.\n\nChaw Gully, that runs up between Birch Tor and Challacombe Down, is one\nof the most interesting examples of \u201cold men\u2019s workings\u201d that there\nare upon Dartmoor. It extends about half a mile. In places it is some\nforty feet deep, and two or three hundred feet wide. In the bottom are\nseveral circular shafts, lined with stones dry-laid, which communicate\nwith a dip formerly used for drainage purposes. There are no \u201cjumper\u201d\nmarks on the rocks in Chaw Gully. In following the shallow lode of tin\nthe old adventurers must have torn out the rock with wedges. Sometimes\nfire was applied to the rock and then water was dashed on it to crack\nit; as softened by the heat it was more easily worked. Another system\nof splitting the granite was to cut a groove on the surface of the\nrock, fill that with quicklime, and then throw on water. The swelling\nof the lime rent the rock.\n\nThe old works in Chaw Gully were taken in hand by Captain Palk, who\ndeepened and successfully worked a shaft there. A good deal of money\nwas made, but \u201cthe eyes of the mine were picked out,\u201d and it is now,\nlike nearly all the Dartmoor mines, a \u201cknacked bal,\u201d a picture of\ndesolation, and the ravens now build in the chasm, on a ledge of the\nrock.[54]\n\nPalk was intimate with Jonas Coaker, the \u201cPoet of the Moor,\u201d as he\nstyled himself. His poetry was, however, only rhyme, and that often bad.\n\n\u201cWhat\u2019s the difference between poetry and blank verse?\u201d asked one miner\nof another.\n\n\u201cWhy, the difference be this,\u201d was the reply. \u201cEf you say,\n\n    He went up to the mill-dam\n    And falled down slam,\n\nthat, I reckon, be poetry. But ef you say instead,\n\n    He went up to the mill-dam\n    And falled down wop,\n\nthat\u2019s blank verse. Knaw now, do \u2019ee?\u201d\n\nThis was Jonas Coaker\u2019s conception of poetry. He was born at Hartland,\nPost Bridge, on 23 February, 1801, as he sang:--\n\n    I drew my breath first on this moor;\n      There my forefathers dwell\u2019d.\n    Its hills and dales I\u2019ve traversed o\u2019er,\n      Its desert parts beheld.\n\nAs a young man he worked on the Moor building new-take walls, and he\nesteemed himself almost as highly in this capacity as in knocking out\nverse. Later he became taverner of the Warren Inn, that at that time\nstood on the opposite side of the road to its present position. The\nminers frequented it, and they were rough customers, drinking hard,\nfighting and dancing. On one occasion they broke out into mutiny\nagainst Jonas, because he would serve out no more drink; they drove\nhim from the house, and he was compelled to \u201chidey-peep,\u201d as he termed\nit, on the Moor, whilst they emptied his barrels. On another occasion\ntwo miners fought in the tavern, with a fatal result for one of them,\nbut the survivor was let off with three weeks\u2019 imprisonment, mainly on\nJonas\u2019s evidence, for he was able to establish gross provocation.\n\nIn an evil hour for himself, Jonas pulled down the old inn and built,\nat his own cost, the new Warren Inn on the opposite side of the road.\nNow it happened that the old inn had been on common land of the parish\nof North Bovey, but where he had built the new inn was on Duchy\nproperty. Down on him came the agent for the Duchy, but not till the\nhouse was complete, and the last slate nailed on, and said to him, \u201cNow\nyou are on Duchy land you shall pay rent for the inn you have built on\n_our_ land, without our gracious permission.\u201d\n\nTowards the end of his life Jonas became very infirm and blind;\nhis memory began to fail, and he accounted for this by saying that\nas he had always possessed a genius for poetry, he supposed he had\noverwhelmed his brain with too much study. He died on 12 February,\n1890, and is buried at Widdecombe. I say no more of him here, as I\ngave his life and stories about him in my _Dartmoor Idylls_, 1896.\nThere is as well a memoir with his portrait in Mr. Burnard\u2019s _Pictorial\nRecords_, already quoted.\n\nAfter having made such success with his mines about the Upper Webburn,\nQuaker Palk became reckless in his speculations, and was soon heavily\ninvolved. He was kept on his feet by Mr. Bailey, of Plymouth, and Joe\nMatthews, who bought Palk\u2019s holding of Birch Tor Mine. He died suddenly\n9 February, 1853, aged fifty-nine years.\n\nI think, but cannot be sure, that it was of John Palk that the story\nwas told of two old folks, returning from the funeral, when one said to\nthe other, \u201cSure and he was a very charitable man.\u201d\n\n\u201cI reckon he were,\u201d replied the other. \u201cHe always had three eggs boiled\nto his breakfast, and gave away the broth.\u201d\n\nHis wife survived him thirty-one years, and died in Plymouth 24 May,\n1884, aged eighty-five years.\n\n\n\n\nRICHARD WEEKES, GENTLEMAN AT ARMS AND PRISONER IN THE FLEET\n\n\nIn the parish of South Tawton, about three miles from the village\nand church, and midway on the west road to North Tawton, stands the\nancient and interesting mansion of North Wyke.[55] A house so named\nwas there as early as 1243,[56] but experts are at variance as to the\nage of the several parts of the existing structure. It formed an inner\ncourt, two sides of which were stables and offices, and a front court\nenclosed within high walls, and with gate-house, porter\u2019s lodgings, and\ndomestic chapel. Though the house itself lies in a somewhat sheltered\nsituation, the drive down from the lodge commands a lovely prospect;\nand from the top of North Wyke Quarry a panorama of three-quarters of a\ncircle extends over miles of undulating country, from the blue sky-line\nof Exmoor to the three conspicuous heights of the north-east angle of\nDartmoor--Yes Tor, Belstone, and Cosdon--the last crowned with a cairn\nfrom which beacon fires have flared out many a warning message to arm\nagainst a foe, both before and since the coming of the Armada. From\nBelstone Cleave bursts forth the river Taw that borders the North\nWyke lands for fully a mile and a half of its course. After rushing in\nfoaming stickles from under Peckettsford _alias_ Packsaddle Bridge, but\nbefore reaching Newlands Weir, the river is joined by a meeker stream\nthat bounds North Wyke on another side. There is said to have been much\nfine timber on the land before the alienation of the estate, the story\nof which may now be related.\n\nIn the history of the ancient family of Weekes, of North Wyke, and its\ncadet house of Honeychurch and Broadwood Kelly, Richard Weekes, of\nHatherleigh, of the latter branch, comes upon the scene at North Wyke\nin the character of the villain of the piece!--a crafty interloper,\nwho ousts those of the rightful line from their inheritance. He\nmakes a gallant appearance and brings with him some of the glamour\nof the Restoration Court, for he was a member of \u201cthe Honourable\nCorps of Gentlemen at Arms,\u201d or, as they were then called, \u201cGentlemen\nPensioners\u201d of Charles II--a band of \u201cfifty gentlemen of blood and\nfortune\u201d who formed the King\u2019s nearest guard.\n\nRichard was not, indeed, possessed of any estate; but he was related\nto the Grenvilles, Stukeleys, and other influential families. He\nprobably learned the trade of arms under his father, Francis Weekes,\nof Broadwood Kelly, who in 1635 commanded the 2nd Regiment of trained\nsoldiers of the North Division of county Devon.\n\nPossibly his uncle, Dr. John Weekes, Dean of Burian, chaplain to the\nDuke of Buckingham, or Dr. Jasper Mayne, the Court playwright (a native\nof Hatherleigh), may have had a hand in his promotion.\n\n[Illustration: NORTH WYKE]\n\nThe Merry Monarch was, however, a bad paymaster; and Richard focussed\na covetous gaze on the North Wyke property. The owner was a sickly\nyouth, ill qualified to cope with the entanglements of debts and\nmortgages with which his father and grandfather, in their devotion to\nthe Royalist cause, had encumbered the estate. His mother and sister,\nboth strong-willed women, wielded masterfully the reed they could not\nlean upon. Richard ingratiated himself with them, and making much of\nhis alleged \u201cnear relationship,\u201d which they afterwards repudiated, and\nwhich does not appear to have been established, seems to have persuaded\nthem that their own interests, and the desire of the childless young\nJohn, that North Wyke should continue in the name of Weekes, could\nbest be served by inducing the said John to constitute _him_, Richard\nWeekes, his heir, on condition of giving the mother an annuity of \u00a3100,\nand the sister a marriage portion of \u00a32000, besides paying young John\u2019s\ndebts, amounting to \u00a35000, and his funeral expenses.\n\nNow the rightful heir was young John\u2019s uncle, John Weekes of Blackhall,\nbut he had mortally offended Mistress Weekes immediately on her\nwidowhood, by contesting with her both the care of her children and the\ncustody of the family deed-box.\n\nThis latter he had violently raided, though he is said to have soon\nreturned it undespoiled, and without having mastered its contents, he\nbeing \u201ca man of very slender understanding in matters of the law.\u201d\nBut \u201chis specious pretence to do his nephew good and undertake his\ntuition,\u201d had been vehemently rejected by the mother, to whom it may\nhave occurred that if little John and his sister were to be confided\nto their grasping uncle\u2019s control, such another tragedy as that of the\n_Babes in the Wood_ might stain the annals of Dartmoor!\n\nMistress Weekes who, as Mary Southcote, had married before the\nsettlements were executed, had received no jointure. She could expect\nno generosity from uncle John, and was naturally anxious about her\nfuture.\n\nShe accordingly _preferred_--in both senses--Richard\u2019s claim,\nand--apparently by mutual understanding--the deed by which young John\u2019s\ngrandfather had entailed the estate on the heirs male was suppressed.\n\nIn the summer of 1661, young John being evidently in a rapid decline,\nwas persuaded to ride to Plymouth to be treated by Dr. Anthony Salter,\nand his son-in-law Dr. William Durston, Richard\u2019s cousin. When young\nJohn was in Salter\u2019s house, another cousin of Richard\u2019s, a barrister,\nwas introduced, and by his advice--and it is more than insinuated under\nundue pressure--on 29 August John signed a conveyance of his estates\non the prearranged lines, to Salter and Durston as trustees on behalf\nof Richard Weekes of Hatherleigh and his heirs for ever. But John had\nsufficient wit to insist upon endorsing the settlement with a clause\ngiving him power of revocation.\n\nShortly after the execution of this deed, at his urgent request, John\nwas carried home to North Wyke on a horse-litter, accompanied by\nRichard of Hatherleigh, Dr. Durston, and others, and three days later,\ni.e. on or about 1 September, he departed this life. By that time,\nthe attitude of Katherine Weekes, the sister of John, had undergone\na complete _volte-face_. This defection may safely be attributed to\nthe treacherous influence of Dr. Salter, who, having seen North Wyke,\nevidently thought that it might as well come into his family as go to\nRichard Weekes; for at this period he began to make strenuous efforts\nto bring about a marriage between Katherine and his son, and she, it\nis said, \u201cdid entertain his son to be a suitor.\u201d The plan was now to\nsecure the whole estate to herself. She accordingly declared that\nyoung John had always promised that _she_ should be his heir, and that\non his death-bed he had repented of his conveyance to Richard, and had\nby word of mouth, in the presence of several witnesses, revoked it.\n\nScarcely was the breath out of the body of young John, says one\ndeponent, before she drew from beneath his pillow a \u201cportmantea\u201d\ncontaining the said writing, and concealed it with intention to burn\nit; but Richard came upstairs into the room where she was with this\ndeponent and others, and took it from where it was hidden, \u201cand _did\nkeep_ the same.\u201d Thus was war openly declared between Richard Weekes on\nthe one side, and his quondam confederate Salter and Katherine on the\nother.\n\nThe funeral did not take place till three weeks after the decease, a\nfact somewhat remarkable, but not extraordinary.[57] To do Richard\njustice, he had the funeral conducted with all the pomp befitting the\nold position of the family, and \u201cwas at about \u00a3400 or \u00a3500 charges over\nit.\u201d\n\nOn \u201cthe day after the day of the funeral,\u201d i.e. on Sunday, 22\nSeptember, Richard proceeded in a very practical manner to take\npossession. A company of fifteen or sixteen persons, mostly relations\nof the deceased, had been invited by him to sup in the hall, and\nscarcely was the meal over when Richard, proclaiming that he was \u201cnow\nto do the Divell\u2019s work and his own,\u201d rose, and drawing his sword,\ncommanded all to quit the house, saying that, as God was his judge,\nif they did not presently depart he would run them through. Several\nresisted, including Mr. Richard Parker, of Zeal Monachorum, Katherine\u2019s\ntrustee, whose brother, Edmund Parker, of Boringdon (ancestor of Lord\nMorley) she eventually married. Katherine, her mother, and the other\nladies endeavoured to return to their chambers, but Richard Weekes,\nwith bared sword, stood in the doorway of the parlour, from which\nroom the stairs ascended to that part of the house in which the deeds\nwere kept, and swore that he would suffer no one to go up the said\nstairs. On Katherine\u2019s making a second attempt to do so, he \u201cthrew her\nviolently on the ground upon her head.\u201d Mr. Parker, seeing this done\nin the presence of a justice of the peace, Alexander Wood, of North\nTawton, rightly apprehended that he was a partisan of Richard, and\ndetermined to ride off in quest of a more impartial justice.\n\nStepping out of the house in his \u201c_pantables_\u201d (pantoufles, slippers)\nto get his horse in readiness, and returning to the hall door for his\nboots, Parker was refused admittance, \u201cand his boots denied to be\ndelivered to him, although he desired they might be delivered to him\nout of the window, so that he was forced, having been indisposed that\nday, and by that means in his pantables, to take his servant\u2019s boots,\nwhich he caused to be pluckt off on purpose.\u201d\n\nRichard then turned the guests out into the dark, many of whom, \u201cthough\ngentlewomen of quality,\u201d were forced to sleep \u201cat mean houses, and\nsome to lie in hay-lofts.\u201d But Katherine, her mother, and grandmother\nwere allowed to sit up all night in the hall. At about midnight, to\ntheir dismay, Katherine and her companions heard Richard Weekes and his\nmyrmidons go up the stairs and smash open, \u201cwith hatchet and iron bar,\u201d\nthe locked doors of her own chamber and of the muniment-room.\n\nAmong the \u201cwritings\u201d that Richard thus got hold of was the deed of\nentail, which was her last weapon against him, albeit a double-edged\none that might be turned against herself, since by virtue of that deed\nthe estates should revert to the inimical uncle John.\n\nIn the morning Richard finally ejected the ladies, and barred the house\ndoors against them.\n\nThe story of the legal proceedings that ensued is too long and too\ncomplicated for these pages, but may be summed up in the moral that\n\u201cpossession is nine points of the law.\u201d Katherine and her mother\nobtained a judgment against Richard for detention of their personal\neffects, etc., for \u00a3900, plus costs, which sum he never paid. He\nperhaps counted on immunity from imprisonment by reason of his position\nin the King\u2019s service. From a \u201cState paper\u201d it appears that the Earl\nof Cleveland, Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners, was applied to for\nleave to arrest Richard, at the suit of his creditors, and refused\npermission; notwithstanding which Richard was arrested and committed to\nthe Fleet Prison for debtors. From the moment of his incarceration all\nresentment of Richard\u2019s iniquities may well be quenched in compassion,\nso grievous were the sufferings and degradations undergone by the\ninmates of those noisome and infectious precincts.\n\nThe old Fleet Prison was destroyed by the Great Fire of London on 4\nSeptember, 1666; and Richard was probably among the prisoners who\nwere temporarily accommodated in Caron House, South Lambeth, and\nconveyed back to the Fleet on its re-erection, 21 January, 1668.\nBut--though it may seem somewhat audacious to controvert on this point\nthe deposition of his own son--he did not die therein. A \u201cCoram Rege\nRoll\u201d of the King\u2019s Bench, dated 22-23 Charles II, bears record that\nRichard Weekes, of North Weeke, in county Devon, was then in custody\nfor debt to one William Jolly, to whom he had given a bond for \u00a340.\nNow the prison pertaining to the King\u2019s Bench at that time became the\nMarshalsea Prison in 1811. It adjoins the burial-ground of St. George\u2019s\nin the Borough; and in the registers of that church, under Burials,\n5 February, 1670-1, is \u201cRichard Week\u2019s, /K.B./\u201d His relations\ndeclare that he \u201cdied not worth a groat,\u201d and that a \u201cgathering\u201d (i.e.\na collection) was made to defray the expenses of his funeral.\n\nThe demands of poetic justice are met by the fact that Richard Weekes,\nthough virtually possessor of North Wyke, never reaped a penny from it.\nAll that it brought in was consumed by the lawyers and his creditors;\nand Chancery suits between the several claimants to the estate were\nwaged over it down to the eighteenth century.\n\nThe rightful line of Weekes proprietors had ended in John, the wrongful\nline ended in another John, Richard\u2019s grandson, who is accused of\nhaving practised the \u201cblack arts,\u201d and who, after a roving life, was\nburied at Lezant in Cornwall. The little boys of the neighbourhood,\never since his time, have found his tombstone a convenient surface for\nthe game of marbles; but there is a crack in it through which one of\nthese treasures occasionally disappears, so that the cry has become\ntraditional, \u201cThere goes another down to old Weekes!\u201d This John sold\nNorth Wyke, in consideration of an annuity, to George Hunt of North\nBovey, who had married his sister Elizabeth, and Hunt\u2019s grandsons\ndivided the property and house into two, and sold the eastern moiety to\none Tickell, of Sampford Courtenay, and the western, in 1786, to one\nAndrew Arnold, yeoman. Thus North Wyke was completely alienated from\nthe race that had built and, for many centuries, had owned it. It has,\nhowever, returned by purchase to one of the old blood (on the distaff\nside), the Rev. William Wykes-Finch, who, by his extensive restorations\nand additions, is giving the time-worn place a fresh start in local\nhistory.\n\n    /Ethel Lega-Weekes./\n\n\n\n\nSTEER NOR\u2019-WEST\n\n\nI have seen a water-colour drawing made by a great-aunt of mine,\nMiss Marianne Snow, of Belmont, near Exeter, of Torquay before it\nwas \u201cinvented\u201d and turned into a fashionable winter residence and\nwatering-place. It was a quiet fishing-village, consisting of a few\ncottages, under richly wooded hills.\n\nIn one of these cottages, at the close of the eighteenth century, at\nthe time when this water-colour was made, lived a sailor named Robert\nBruce.\n\nBruce is not a Devonshire name, and we may shrewdly suspect that he\nwas a Browse, and that his shipmates called him by the better-known\nScottish name, which sounds almost identical with Browse. The Browses\nformed a considerable clan about Torquay and Teignmouth. But whether\nof Scotch origin or not, he was a native of Torquay. When he reached\nthe age of thirty he became first mate of a ship sailing between\nLiverpool and St. John, New Brunswick. On one of these periodical\nvoyages westwards, after having been at sea six weeks, and being near\nthe Banks of Newfoundland, the captain and mate, after having taken an\nobservation, went below into the cabin to calculate their day\u2019s work.\n\nThe mate, Robert Bruce, absorbed in his reckonings, which did not\nanswer his expectations, had not noticed that the captain had risen and\nleft the cabin as soon as he had completed his calculations. Without\nraising his head, he called out, \u201cI say, cap\u2019n, I make the latitude and\nthe longitude to be so-and-so. Not what it ought to be. What is your\nreckoning?\u201d\n\nAs he received no reply, he repeated the question, and glancing over\nhis shoulder and seeing, as he supposed, the captain figuring on his\nslate, he asked a third time, and again without eliciting a reply.\nSurprised and vexed, he stood up, and to his inexpressible astonishment\nsaw that the seated man, engaged on the slate, was not the captain, but\nan entire stranger. He noted his features and his garments, both wholly\ndifferent from those of his superior officer. At the same moment the\nstranger raised his head and looked him full in the eyes. The face was\nthat of a man he had never seen before in his life. Much disturbed, he\nslipped up the ladder, and seeing the captain, went to him, and in an\nagitated voice told him that there was a total stranger in the cabin,\nat the captain\u2019s desk, engaged in writing.\n\n\u201cA stranger!\u201d exclaimed the captain. \u201cImpossible! You must have been\ndreaming. The steward or second mate may have gone down for aught I\nknow.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, sir; it was neither. I saw the man occupying your arm-chair. He\nlooked me full in the face, and I saw him as plainly as I see you now.\u201d\n\n\u201cImpossible!\u201d said the captain. \u201cDo you know who he is?\u201d\n\n\u201cNever saw the man in my life before--an utter stranger.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou must be gone daft, Mr. Bruce. Why, we have been six weeks at sea,\nand you know every man Jack who is on board.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know that, sir; but a stranger is there, I assure you.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo down again, Mr. Bruce, and ask his name.\u201d\n\nThe mate hesitated. \u201cI\u2019m not a superstitious man,\u201d said he; \u201cbut, hang\nit, I don\u2019t relish the idea of facing him again alone.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, well,\u201d said the captain, laughing, \u201cI don\u2019t mind accompanying\nyou. This is not like you, Bruce, not like you at all--you\u2019re not in\nliquor. It is a mere delusion.\u201d\n\nThe captain descended the stairs accompanied by the mate; and, sure\nenough, the cabin was empty.\n\n\u201cThere you are, convicted of dreaming,\u201d said the former. \u201cDid not I\ntell you as much?\u201d\n\n\u201cI can\u2019t say how it was, sir,\u201d replied Bruce, \u201cbut I could take my oath\non the Gospels that I saw a man writing on your slate.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf he wrote, there must be something to show for it,\u201d said the\ncaptain, as he took up the slate, and at once exclaimed, \u201cWhy--good\nGod! there is something here. Is this your fist, Mr. Bruce?\u201d\n\nThe mate examined the slate, and there in plain, legible characters\nstood the words \u201c/Steer to the Nor\u2019-West/.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have been playing tricks,\u201d said the captain impatiently.\n\n\u201cOn my word as a man and a sailor, sir,\u201d replied Bruce, \u201cI know no more\nabout this matter than just what I told you.\u201d\n\nThe captain mused, seated himself, and handing over the slate to\nthe mate, said, \u201cYou write on the back of this slate, _Steer to the\nNor\u2019-West_.\u201d\n\nBruce did as required, and the captain narrowly compared the two\nwritings; they differed entirely.\n\n\u201cSend down the second mate,\u201d he ordered.\n\nBruce did as required. On entering the cabin, the captain bade him\nwrite the same words, and he did so. The handwriting was again\ndifferent. Next, the steward was sent for, as also every one of the\ncrew who could write, and the result was the same. At length the\ncaptain said, \u201cThere must be a stowaway. Have the ship searched. Pipe\nall hands on deck.\u201d Every corner of the vessel was explored, but all\nin vain. The captain was more perplexed than ever. Summoning the mate\nto attend him in the cabin, and holding the slate before him, he asked\nBruce what he considered this might mean.\n\n\u201cThat is more than I can say, sir,\u201d replied Bruce, \u201cI saw the man\nwrite, and there you see the writing. There must be something in it we\ndon\u2019t understand.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the captain, \u201cIt does look like it. We have the wind fine,\nand I have a good mind to keep her away and see what comes of it all.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I were in your place, sir, that is what I would do. It\u2019s only a few\nhours lost, at the worst.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall be so. Go and give the course _Nor\u2019-west_, and, Mr. Bruce,\nhave a good look-out aloft; and let it be a hand you can depend upon.\u201d\n\nThe mate gave the required orders; and about 3 p.m. the look-out\nreported an iceberg nearly ahead, and shortly after, that he observed\na vessel of some sort close to it. As they approached, by aid of his\ntelescope, the captain discerned a dismantled ship, apparently wedged\ninto and frozen to the ice, and he was able to distinguish a good many\nhuman beings on it. Shortly after, he hove to, and sent out boats to\nthe relief of the sufferers.\n\nThe vessel proved to be one from Quebec, bound to Liverpool, with\npassengers on board. She had become entangled in the ice, and finally\nfrozen fast, and had been in this condition for several weeks. She\nwas stove in, her decks swept, and was, in fact, a mere wreck. All\nher provisions and almost all her water had been consumed, and crew\nand passengers had despaired of being saved, and looked out for a\nwatery grave. Their gratitude for this unexpected deliverance was\nproportionately great.\n\nAs one of the men, who had been brought away in the third boat that had\nreached the wreck, was ascending the ship\u2019s side, the mate, catching\na glimpse of his face, started back in astonishment. He recognized\nthe identical face that he had seen in the cabin, three or four hours\nbefore, looking up at him from the captain\u2019s desk. When the man stood\non the deck, Bruce examined him closely. Not only was the face the\nsame, but in person and dress he corresponded exactly with his vision.\n\nSo soon as the exhausted crew and passengers had been fed and cared\nfor, and the bark was on her course again, the mate called the captain\naside, and said, \u201cThat was no ghost, sir, that I saw this morning. The\nman is here, alive, and on board our boat.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said Bruce very gravely. \u201cOne of the passengers we have just\nsaved is the very same person that I saw writing on your slate at noon.\nI would swear to the identity in any court of justice.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is becoming more strange and inexplicable every minute,\u201d said the\ncaptain; \u201clet us go and have a look at the man.\u201d\n\nThey found him in conversation with the captain of the derelict vessel,\nwhen both expressed their warmest gratitude for deliverance from a\nterrible fate, either starvation and exposure, or drowning should the\niceberg capsize.\n\nThe captain replied that he had done no more than was his duty, and\nthat he was quite sure that they would have done the same for him\nunder similar circumstances; and then he requested both to step down\nwith him into his cabin.\n\nWhen that was done, turning to the passenger he said: \u201cWill you excuse\nthe liberty I am taking with you, if I desire you to write a few words\non the slate?\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly I will do so,\u201d said the passenger. \u201cWhat shall I write?\u201d\n\n\u201cNothing more than this: _Steer to the Nor\u2019-West_.\u201d\n\nThe passenger looked amazed and puzzled; however, he held out his\nhand for the slate. This the captain extended to him, with that side\nuppermost on which Bruce and the crew had written, and which writing\nhe had effaced with a sponge. The man wrote the required words. The\ncaptain took back the slate, stepping aside whilst the passenger was\nnot observing, turned the slate over, and presented it to him, with the\nside uppermost on which was the mysterious inscription.\n\nTendering the slate again to him, he said: \u201cYou are ready to swear,\nsir, that this is your handwriting?\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course it is; you saw me write.\u201d\n\n\u201cLook at it attentively and make sure that it is the same.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have no doubt about it. I make my _s_ in the midst of a sentence in\nthe old-fashioned way, long. And there it is, attached to the _t_ at\nsteer and west.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd this also?\u201d asked the captain, turning the slate over.\n\nThe passenger looked first at one writing, then at the other, quite\nconfounded. \u201cI don\u2019t understand what this can mean,\u201d said he; \u201cI wrote\nthe words once only. Who wrote the other?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat, sir, is more than I can say. My mate informs me that _you_\nwrote it, sitting at my desk at noon to-day.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is impossible. I was on the wreck miles away.\u201d\n\n\u201cI saw you there writing it, as distinctly as I see you now,\u201d put in\nBruce.\n\nThe captain of the wreck turned to the passenger, and said: \u201cDid you\ndream that you wrote on a slate?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot that I can recall,\u201d replied he.\n\n\u201cNow you speak of dreaming,\u201d said the skipper, \u201cmay I inquire what the\ngentleman was about at noon to-day?\u201d\n\n\u201cCaptain,\u201d said the other, \u201che had become greatly exhausted, and\nfell into a heavy sleep, some time before noon, and remained in that\ncondition for over an hour. When he awoke he said to me, \u2018Captain, I\nam confident that we shall be relieved this very day.\u2019 When I asked\nhim his reason for so saying, he replied that he had dreamt that he\nwas on board a vessel, and that he was convinced she was coming to\nour rescue. He described her appearance and outward rig, and, to our\nastonishment, when your vessel hove in sight, she corresponded exactly\nto his description. We had not, I must admit, much confidence in his\nassurance. As it has happened, it looks uncommon like as if Providence\nhad interfered to save us in a very mysterious manner.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere can be no doubt about that,\u201d replied the other captain. \u201cIt is\ndue to that writing on the slate, however it came about, that all your\nlives are saved. I was steering at the time considerably south of west,\nand I altered my course to nor\u2019-west, on account of the writing on the\nslate.\u201d Then, turning to the passenger, he inquired, \u201cDid you dream of\nwriting on a slate?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot that I am aware of. I have no recollection of _that_; but I may\nsay that everything here on board seems to me familiar; yet I am\ncertain that I was never in your vessel before. It is very perplexing.\nMay I ask what your mate saw?\u201d\n\nThereupon Bruce related the circumstances already detailed.\n\nThe above extraordinary account was related to Mr. Robert Owen,\nformerly American Minister at Naples, by Captain J. S. Clarke, of the\n_Julia Hallock_, a schooner trading in 1859 between New York and Cuba,\nwho had received it directly from Robert Bruce himself. They sailed\ntogether for nearly two years, in 1836 and 1837; so that Captain Clarke\nhad the story from the mate about eight years after the occurrence.\nBruce after that became master of the brig _Comet_, trading to New\nBrunswick, and she was eventually lost at sea, and Bruce is believed to\nhave perished in her.\n\nIn reply to a question as to the character which Bruce bore for\nuprightness, Captain Clarke replied: \u201cAs truthful and straightforward a\nman as ever I met in my life. We were as intimate as brothers; and two\nmen can\u2019t be together, shut up for nearly two years in the same ship,\nwithout getting to know whether they can trust one another\u2019s word or\nnot. He always spoke of the circumstance in terms of reverence, as of\nan incident that seemed to bring him nearer to God and to another world\nthan anything that had ever happened to him in his life before. I\u2019d\nstake my life upon it that he was speaking the truth, the whole truth,\nand nothing but the truth, in the very extraordinary account which I\nhave related to you just as he delivered it to me.\u201d\n\nSuch is the story, and it is much to be regretted that there is no\nconfirmation or other testimony from the two captains, or from any\nothers who were in the vessel.\n\nIt is given by the Rev. Bourchier Wrey Savile, in his _Apparitions: a\nNarrative of Facts_. London, 1874.\n\n\n\n\nGEORGE PEELE\n\n\nPeele, a poet and dramatist, was a Devonshire man by birth, but of no\nfamily of consequence in the county, as the name does not once occur in\nthe _Heralds\u2019 Visitations_, either as a family entitled to bear arms\nor in the alliances of such. He became a student of Christ Church,\nOxford, about the year 1573, where he studied to good effect and took\nhis Master\u2019s degree in 1579. Although he unquestionably studied, yet\nhe also spent his spare time in revelry. He was always hard up for\nmoney, and was quite unscrupulous how he procured it. On one occasion,\nbut later, when in middle life, he was riding to Oxford on a borrowed\nhorse, and stayed the night at Wycombe, where the landlady of the inn\nwas a great woman for herbs and nostrums of all sorts for the cure of\nevery kind of disease. George Peele fell in with her humour, admired\nher prescriptions, and said:\n\n\u201cI am a doctor and surgeon myself, and am on my way to visit a\ngentleman of large estate in Warwickshire, who is fallen into a\nconsumption.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy--bless my heart,\u201d exclaimed the hostess, \u201cour squire here is very\nbad, and supposed to be in a consumption. The surgeons have given him\nup.\u201d\n\nNext morning at daybreak away runs the good-natured woman to the Hall,\nrouses the squire\u2019s wife, and tells her that a notable London doctor\nis staying at her inn. The lady at once penned a note, entreating the\nlearned leech to visit her husband; and the hostess carried this to\nPeele and urged him to visit the patient.\n\nGeorge was taken aback, he had not meant his words to be taken _au\ngrand s\u00e9rieux_, and he tried to get out of the visit, but a servant\nfrom the great house arrived to conduct him to it, and Peele went with\nhim. On his arrival he was gratefully received by the squire\u2019s wife,\nwho conducted him to her husband\u2019s room. George felt his pulse and\ntemples, and shook his head: \u201cHe is far spent,\u201d said he, \u201cbut under\nHeaven, I will do him some good, if nature be not quite extinct.\u201d He\nthen asked to be shown into the garden, where he cut a handful of every\nflower and herb and shrub the garden contained, brought them into the\nhouse in the lappet of his cloak, boiled them in ale, strained them,\nboiled them again; and when he had all the juice out of them, made a\nhot draught and bade the patient drink a cupful, and ordered the wife\nto administer the same to the squire morning, noon, and night, and to\nkeep the sick man warm. Then when he took his leave the lady pressed\ninto his hand a couple of brace of angels, or about forty shillings.\nAway went _Le M\u00e9decin malgr\u00e9 lui_ to Oxford, where he roystered so long\nas the money lasted. Then he had to return to London and by the same\nway, and was not a little shy of showing in Wycombe, for he did not\nknow but that some of the herbs he had boiled and administered might\nbe poisonous, and have killed the gentleman. So, as he approached the\nplace, he inquired of a country bumpkin how the gentleman was. The\nfellow told him, that his good landlord, Heaven be praised, had been\ncured by a wonderful doctor who had come that way by chance.\n\n\u201cArt thou sure of this?\u201d quoth George, \u201cYes, believe me,\u201d answered the\nman; \u201cI saw him in fields this morning.\u201d\n\nGeorge Peele now set spurs to his horse, and rode to the inn, where\nhe was cordially received: the hostess clapped her hands; the ostler\nlaughed; the tapster leaped; the chamberlain ran to the gentleman\u2019s\nhouse, and told him of the arrival of the doctor. The squire sent for\nPeele at once, and forced him to accept twenty pounds for having cured\nhim of his consumption. But whether the cure was the result of some\nherbs that chanced to go into the pot, or was due to the confidence the\nsick man had in the science of George Peele, none can say.\n\nGeorge Peele took up his residence in London, on the Bank side, over\nagainst Black Friars, and picked up a livelihood by writing interludes,\nand the ordering of pageants. Anthony \u00e0 Wood says that his plays were\nnot only often acted with great applause in his lifetime, but also\ndid endure reading, with due commendation, after his death. He was a\nvoluminous writer, and would turn his hand to any kind of literary\nwork. On one occasion a gentleman from the West Country engaged him to\ntranslate some Greek author into English for him. During the process\nof the work, Peele applied repeatedly to his patron for advances; but\nthe more Peele was supplied with coin, the slacker he became in his\nwork, and at last the gentleman lost all patience with him. Next time\nPeele called with the usual request for an advance, he was invited to\nstay for dinner. During the meal, George incautiously let out that he\nhad not done a line of translation for two months. The gentleman, very\nincensed, ordered his servants to bind the author hand and foot into a\nchair. This done a barber was sent for, and by order of the gentleman\nshaved Peele\u2019s chin, lip, cheeks, and head, and left him as bare of\nhair as he was of money.\n\n\u201cGeorge,\u201d said the gentleman, \u201cI have always used you as a friend; my\npurse hath been open to you; you know that I highly value the book I\ncommitted to you to translate, and I want it done. I have used you in\nthis fashion so as to force you to stay at home till the translation\nis completed; for I know you will be ashamed to show in the streets\nthe ridiculous figure you now are. By the time the book is done, your\nbeard will have grown again.\u201d Then he put in his hand forty shillings,\ndetained him till nightfall, and sent him home.\n\nNext morning there was a hubbub in the street, crying and shouting,\nand a mob collected. The gentleman looked out of his window, and saw a\ngirl with dishevelled hair, wringing her hands and screaming, \u201cOh! my\nfather! my good--my dear father!\u201d and the people around were clamouring\nto know what was the matter. Then the girl burst forth into \u201cWoe to\nthis place, that my dear father ever saw it! I am now an orphan, a\ncastaway, and my mother a widow.\u201d The servants of the gentleman came\nupstairs to him in concern, saying that George Peele\u2019s daughter was on\nthe doorstep calling down imprecations on the house and all within. The\ngentleman in a mighty quaking sent for the girl, who came in sobbing\nand crying. When she saw him she screamed, \u201cOut on thee! thou cruel\nman! Thou hast made my father--my good father--drown himself.\u201d Then she\nfainted. The gentleman was in serious alarm. He sent his servants at\nonce to buy a new and smart suit of clothes for the girl, as the best\nway to console her, and gave her five pounds; then, as she recovered,\nhe bade her return home, and tell her mother that he would visit her in\nthe evening.\n\nThe gentleman was so crossed in mind, and disturbed in thought at\nhaving involuntarily caused a man to commit suicide, that his soul\ncould not be quiet till he had seen the woeful widow. So towards\nevening he hired a boat and was rowed from the Old Bailey, where he\nlived, to Black Friars, and went directly to Peele\u2019s house, where he\nfound the wife plucking larks, the orphaned daughter turning the spit,\nand George, pinned up in a blanket, hard at work at the translation.\nThe gentleman, more relieved at the sight of Peele alive and well\nthan grieved at being cheated out of his money, accepted George\u2019s\ninvitation, and gull and gulled had a merry supper together off roast\nlarks and canary.\n\nOne day Peele invited half a score of his friends to a great supper,\nwhere all was passing merry; no cheer was lacking; there was wine\nflowing and music playing. As the night was passing a reckoning was\ncalled for. The guests, being well-to-do citizens, insisted that Peele\nshould not treat them all. He, as they were well aware, was not well\noff, so they threw down their contributions to the feast--some two\nshillings, some five, some more. \u201cWell,\u201d said George, \u201cas you seem so\ndetermined I will submit,\u201d and he gathered the money into his cloak.\n\u201cBut,\u201d said he, \u201cbefore we part, let us drink a couple of bottles\nof hippocras and have a caper.\u201d Whilst all were taking the final\ndraught and dancing about the room, George Peele decamped with the\ncontributions, and left his guests to pay the reckoning.\n\nPeele and four of his companions supping together found that they had\nspent all their cash, save five pounds between them. Holiday time was\ncome, Whitsuntide, and it must be enjoyed, but how was enjoyment to be\nhad for five mates, for four or five days, on five pounds? \u201cI have\nit,\u201d said Peele. \u201cTrust your money to me, and I will go to the Jew\nclothes dealer, get a handsome black satin suit and good boots, and you\nmust all be put in livery and pass as my servants.\u201d\n\nThus costumed, and taking a pair of oars with them, the party ascended\nthe Thames to Brentford, where they entered the inn of the \u201cThree\nPigeons.\u201d George called for the host, said he was a big squire in Kent,\nand that he had come up the river to make merry at Brentford. And he\nthereupon ordered supper and wine, and paid down out of the money he\nhad in hand.\n\nAt dinner, Peele asked the host about the tide. When he heard that the\ntide did not set out till evening, \u201cConfound it,\u201d said he, \u201cI intended\nto stay here a few days, but I have not money enough with me to pay. I\nwant to send a lackey to London for a bag of ten pounds that have not\nseen the sun and begun to melt. Have you a horse?\u201d \u201cCertainly I have,\u201d\nanswered the taverner, \u201cand I can lend it your man.\u201d\n\nAccordingly, one of the good comrades was mounted and sent off to\nLondon. Presently in came the hostess with a petition. One of Mr.\nPeele\u2019s lackeys had been at her to beg his master to allow him to go as\nfar as Kingston to visit a sweetheart he had there. If Mr. Peele would\nallow him to go he would promise to be back by nightfall.\n\n\u201cHow can he?\u201d asked George: \u201cthe distance is too great--if he runs, he\ncannot do it.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor the matter of that,\u201d replied the landlady, \u201cI have a mare, and\nwill lend it him.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, let the rogue go.\u201d\n\nSo away went the fellow with the mare, but not to Kingston--he rode to\nLondon, where he met his fellow on the landlord\u2019s other horse. George\nPeele now sent for the barber to do his hair, and he was to mind and\nbring his lute with him. In Queen Elizabeth\u2019s time a lute was one of\nthe necessary bits of furniture of a barber\u2019s shop.\n\nThe man arrived, and Peele entreated him of his courtesy to leave the\nlute with him, that he might amuse himself with it in the evening. The\nbarber consented, and departed. George was now left alone with two of\nhis comrades, and he bade them clear out of the house speedily. Then\ngoing down into the court he looked at the clouds, and complained\nof the weather. He was inclined for a stroll. Thereupon the hostess\nfetched her husband\u2019s best holiday cloak. George thanked her for\nthe loan, called for a cup of sack, tossed it off to success to the\n\u201cThree Pigeons,\u201d and walked away--to the river where his comrades were\nawaiting him, and they rowed down to London, where they all met, and\nsold the horse and the mare, the gown and the lute.\n\nAnthony Nit, the barber, was not satisfied to lose his lute, made\ninquiries, and found out who had cheated him of it; and pursued\nGeorge Peele to Town and lighted on him in an alehouse in Seacoal\nLane. Peele was shabbily dressed in a worn green jerkin, and had on\nhis head a Spanish platter-fashioned hat, and was then engaged on a\npeck of oysters. George was not a little abashed at the sight of the\nbarber, but showed no signs of being disconcerted. On the contrary he\nat once said, \u201cMy honest barber, welcome to London. I partly know your\nbusiness; you come for your lute, do you not?\u201d \u201cIndeed, sir,\u201d quoth\nAnthony Nit, \u201cthat is the purpose of my coming.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd believe me,\u201d said Peele, \u201cyou shall not lose your labour; I pray\nyou fall to and eat an oyster, and I will go with you presently; for a\ngentleman in the city, a man of great worship, borrowed it of me for\nthe use of his daughter. But, sir, if you will go along with me to the\ngentleman\u2019s house you shall have your lute. Had you not come to reclaim\nit I assure you I would have sent it to you; for you must understand\nthat all that was done at Brentford among us mad gentlemen was but a\njest.\u201d\n\nThen Peele said to Barber Anthony, \u201cI really am not in a fit costume\nto appear in a gentleman\u2019s house. I pray you let me have your cloak\nand hat, and you put on my green jerkin and the Spanish hat. I doubt,\naccoutred as I am, that I would be allowed admittance.\u201d The barber\nagreed, and changed garments with Peele, who led him to an alderman\u2019s\nhouse, and knocked at the door, and asked to see the master. Peele was\nwell known there as master of the revels and overseer of the pageants,\nand was readily admitted.\n\n\u201cPorter,\u201d said he, \u201clet my friend remain with you till I have done my\nbusiness with the master.\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly,\u201d said the porter, \u201cand he shall take a small dinner with\nme.\u201d\n\nPeele was shown into the alderman\u2019s room, and he said to him, \u201cI want\nyou to do me a favour. There is a bum-bailiff in your hall, who has me\nunder arrest for a little sum. Allow me to slip out at your garden door\nunperceived.\u201d The alderman laughed and consented. So Peele evaded in\nthe cloak and hat of the barber, who failed to get them as well as his\nlute.\n\nHere is a specimen of manners in the reign of Elizabeth. Peele was\ninvited to supper at the White House in Friday Street, London, by some\nof his friends. On his way he met an old comrade who was \u201cdown on his\nluck\u201d and had not a shilling wherewith to get his supper.\n\n\u201cI wish that I could take you with me, but I cannot,\u201d said George. \u201cI\nam an invited guest, and besides, you are in rags. However, I will get\nyou a supper if you will do what I bid.\u201d\n\nWhilst seated at the entertainment, his needy friend pushed into the\nroom and made up to Peele.\n\n\u201cYou scoundrel,\u201d shouted the latter, \u201cwhat are you doing here?\u201d\n\n\u201cI pray you, sir, hear my errand,\u201d pleaded the man.\n\n\u201cNot I, you slave; get you gone!\u201d and snatching a roasted rabbit from\nthe dish, he threw it at him.\n\n\u201cYou use me very rudely,\u201d said the man.\n\n\u201cYou dunghole--will you outface me!\u201d roared Peele, and snatching up a\nsecond rabbit threw it at his head, and then a loaf. After that he drew\nhis dagger and made as though he would stab the man, but his friends\ninterposed. The fellow picked up the rabbits and the bread and ran away\nwith them. So, by this shift, Peele helped his friend to a supper, and\nwas not suspected by the company.\n\nPeele\u2019s _Merry Conceited Jests_ was first published in 1607. Other\neditions appeared in 1626, 1627, 1657, and 1671. There is also an\nundated edition. The latest reprint is in Bullen\u2019s _Works of George\nPeele_, London, J. C. Nimmo, 1878.\n\nHis _Merry Conceited Jests_ shows him to have been a great rogue. That\nhe was a clever man and well educated is undoubted. He wrote several\nplays, but only some have been preserved, such as _The Arraignment\nof Paris_, 1584; _The Old Wives\u2019 Tale_, 1595; _Edward I_, 1593;\n_David and Bathsheba_, 1599; _The Turkish Mahomet and Hiren the Fair\nGreek_, not published at the time. _The Battle of Alcazar_ has been\nalready mentioned. He also composed pageants that were performed at\nthe inauguration of the chief magistrates of the city of London. One\ncomposed for Sir Wolstone Dixie, Lord Mayor of London, 29 October,\n1595, is curious, as it describes the flourishing condition of the\nmetropolis in the days of Queen Elizabeth. About 1593 Peele seems to\nhave been taken into the patronage of the Earl of Northumberland, to\nwhom he dedicated in that year _The Honour of the Garter_. In _The\nPuritan_, a play attributed but erroneously to Shakespeare, and acted\nby the children of S. Paul\u2019s, printed in 1607, is a character, George\nPieboard, that was meant to be George Peele. Peele died before the year\n1598, and left behind him a widow and a daughter.\n\nIn 1591 Queen Elizabeth visited Theobalds. Lord Burleigh had lost\nhis mother in 1587, and his wife, to whom he was deeply attached, in\n1589; and his daughter, Lady Oxford, had also expired, and depressed\nby his misfortunes, he retired in 1591 to Theobalds. Queen Elizabeth,\nto revive his spirits, visited him there; and Peele was commissioned\nto write the speeches delivered by Robert Cecil, dressed as a hermit,\nand others, to be addressed to the Queen. Besides the hermit, another\nperformer was the gardener, and a third the molecatcher. The latter\nbegins, \u201cGood Lady, and the best that ever I saw, or any shall, give\nme leave to tell a plain tale in which there is no device, but desert\nenough,\u201d and it ends, \u201cNow, for that the Gardiner twitteth me with my\nvocation, I could prove it a mystery not mechanical, and tell a tale\nof the Giant\u2019s daughter which was turned to a mole because she would\neat fairer bread than is made of wheat, wear finer clothes than is made\nof wool, drink sweeter wine than is made of grapes; why she was blind,\nand yet light of hearing; how good clerks told me that moles in fields\nare like ill subjects in commonwealths, which are always turning up the\nplace in which they are bred. But I will not trouble your Majesty, but\nevery day pray on my knees that those that be heavers at your state may\ncome to a mole\u2019s blessing--a knock on the pate and a swing on a tree.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nPETER PINDAR\n\n\nJohn Wolcot, who published his poems under the sobriquet of Peter\nPindar, was perhaps the most scurrilous poet in a scurrilous age. If\nthis were a book of Minor Worthies of Devon, I should hesitate about\nadmitting one who was in nothing worthy, but possessed wit caustic and\ncutting. He was as witty and not so coarse as Swift; witty but not so\nterse as Pope, and also without Pope\u2019s fine touch.\n\nJohn Wolcot was the fourth child of Alexander Wolcot by Mary Ryder\nhis wife, and was born at Dodbrooke by Kingsbridge, baptized 9 May,\n1738. His father was a country surgeon and the son of a surgeon. The\nWolcot family was ancient; it had its origin at Wolcot in Thrushelton,\nwhere a moor still bears the name of Wollacot from a farm near by; the\nheiress of the eldest branch carried Wollacot to the family of Bidlake\nof Bidlake. A junior branch settled at Chagford, where \u201cJohn Wolcot for\nhis good service in ye Warres had an addition given him to his Armes,\non Chief or, a lis betw. 2 Annulets.\u201d One branch had a residence at\nButterstone in Hemyock, where it remained for several generations. The\nlineal descent of John Wolcot, son of Alexander, from the heraldic\nfamily of that name has not been made out, but there can be little\ndoubt that he was so descended.\n\nAlexander Wolcot died 14 June, 1751, and John was left to the care of\nhis uncle, John Wolcot, of Fowey. He was educated at the Kingsbridge\nGrammar School, and afterwards at Liskeard and Bodmin. In or about 1760\nhe was sent to France for a twelvemonth to acquire French. He does not\nseem to have been comfortable there, and he retained through life a\ndistaste for the Gallic people:--\n\n    I hate the shrugging dogs,\n    I\u2019ve lived among them, ate their frogs.\n\nIt was decided that he should be a surgeon, as had been his father and\ngrandfather before him, and he went in 1762, to London, and lodged\nwith his maternal uncle, Mr. Giddy, of Penzance. In 1764 he returned\nto his uncle at Fowey, with whom he lived as assistant till 1767. On 8\nSeptember of this year he graduated M.D. at Aberdeen.\n\nWolcot was connected, it is not clear how, with Sir William Trelawny of\nTrelawny, Bart., and on Sir William\u2019s appointment in 1767 as Governor\nof Jamaica, Wolcot was, by his influence, appointed to accompany him\nas physician. Sir William had succeeded to the baronetcy in 1762, on\nthe death of his cousin Sir Harry Trelawny. Sir Harry had married his\ncousin Letitia, daughter of Sir Jonathan Trelawny, and Sir William\nmarried Letitia, daughter of Sir Harry and Letitia. There was a saying--\n\n    Trelawne, her course \u2019mid cousins run,\n    Shall weep for many a first-born son,\n\nand when Captain William fell in love with his cousin Letitia he and\nshe knew that their union would be strongly opposed, indeed certainly\nforbidden, by her parents. Accordingly he prevailed on her to marry him\nin private, and this was done by her disguising herself in male attire,\nand being married to him privately one evening in the church, she\ndressed as a boy.\n\n[Illustration: DR. WOLCOT]\n\nIn Jamaica Wolcot found that there was but little opportunity for him\nto earn much by his profession, and Sir William proposed to him to\ntake Holy Orders, so that he might appoint him to the rich benefice\nof S. Anne in the island. Wolcot, without the smallest vocation for\nOrders, looking only to the monetary value of the living, practically\na sinecure, returned home in 1769 and was ordained deacon 24 June in\nthat year, and priest on the following day, by the Bishop of London.\nThus equipped he returned to Jamaica in March, 1770, hoping to find the\nincumbent of S. Anne\u2019s dead--he had left when the man was ailing. But\nto his vast disgust the rector of S. Anne\u2019s had taken on a new spell\nof life, and did not at all see his way to vacate the fat benefice to\noblige Wolcot. John Wolcot was now given the incumbency of Vere, but\nlived most of his time in the Governor\u2019s house, leaving a hired deputy\nto perform the duties of his cure.\n\nFinding that there was little prospect of getting S. Anne\u2019s he threw\naside his Orders, reverted to his profession, and was appointed\nPhysician-General to the troops on the island 21 May, 1770. He lived\non terms of close friendship with the Trelawny family, where his\nbroad humour, his sarcastic sallies, and his witty stories made him a\ndelightful companion at the table over the wine.\n\n\u201cI was invited,\u201d said he, \u201cto sup with a rich planter and his wife.\nDuring the repast, my friend desired a female slave in waiting to mix\nsome toddy, on which the black girl, in her peculiar way, asked him if\nit was \u2018to be drinkey for dry, or drinkey for drunkey.\u2019 When our supper\nwas ended, and our water being exhausted, the planter sent his wife\na short distance from the house for a fresh supply. The thunder and\nlightning being excessive during her absence, I said to him, \u2018Why did\nyou not send that girl (the slave) for water on such a night as this,\ninstead of exposing your wife to the storm?\u2019 \u2018Oh, no,\u2019 replied he,\n\u2018that would never do. That slave cost me forty pounds.\u2019\u201d\n\nMiss Anne Trelawny was not a little simple and credulous, and Wolcot\ndelighted in hoaxing her. On one occasion, he informed her that a\ncherub had been caught in the Blue Mountains, and had been put in a\ncage with a parrot. Before morning, unhappily, the parrot had pecked\nout the eyes of the poor cherub, all which the lady believed as an\nindisputable fact. \u201cThe Nymph of Tauris,\u201d which was printed in the\n_Annual Register_ for 1773, was written by Wolcot on the death of this\nyoung lady, which occurred in Jamaica.\n\nSir William Trelawny also died in Jamaica on 11 December, 1772,\nwhereupon Wolcot obtained leave from the new Governor, Dalling, 20\nFebruary, 1773, to return to England, accompanying Lady Trelawny, and\nit was thought not improbable by some that the lady would dry her tears\nand take Wolcot as her second husband, but death put an end to this\nscheme, if ever entertained, as she died in the month of August ensuing.\n\nDr. Wolcot had now entirely dropped his clerical character. He settled\nat Truro, where he established himself with a view to practising as a\ndoctor. His peculiar treatment, which consisted in giving his fever\npatients doses of cold water, and his openly proclaimed opinion that\na physician did more harm than good by cupping, bleeding, clystering,\nand by the administration of boluses and draughts, as also that the\nonly good he could effect was by nudging on Dame Nature in the back\nwhen slow in recovering the sick, raised a storm against him among his\nfellow practitioners, and involved him in disputes. Polwhele speaks\nhighly of his medical abilities. \u201cI can say with truth that he had the\ncredit not only of a skilful, but of a benevolent physician. In fevers,\nhe was uncommonly successful. From consumption many were rescued by\nhis hand who had been given up as irrecoverable. As a physician he\nprescribed medicines; he did more, he examined them, not trusting\nto the apothecary; and sometimes detected with indignation a cheap\nmedicine substituted for a costly one. He was no favourite with the\napothecaries and druggists of the place; but his merit, bearing all\nbefore it, showed the impotence of their resentment.\u201d\n\nHe quarrelled also with the Corporation of Truro, and when that body\nattempted to avenge the lampoons he had written upon their vindictive\nmanagement in planting parish apprentices on him, he removed to Helston\nin 1779, leaving behind him a characteristic letter: \u201cGentlemen, your\nBlunderbuss has missed fire.--Yours, John Wolcot.\u201d\n\nAt Truro he had been allowed to drop in occasionally at Polwhele, but\nthe old Mr. Polwhele was always uneasy with him at table, lest he\nshould launch out into gross and unseemly jests and tales.\n\nFrom Helston he moved to Exeter, practising, but meeting there with\nsmall success. At Exeter he made the acquaintance of William Jackson,\nthe organist of the cathedral, and composer, and for him he wrote songs\nto set to music.\n\nOwing to the success of his songs, Wolcot shifted to London in 1778,\nto devote himself wholly to the Muse. He took with him young Opie,\nwhose abilities he had recognized; and it really was a token of great\ngood nature that he endured the society of that \u201cunlicked cub of a\nCarpenter Opie,\u201d as Polwhele calls him, \u201cwho was seen now ludicrously\nexhibited by his keeper, Wolcot,--a wild animal of St. Agnes, caught\namong the tin works. Not to pick his teeth with a fork at dinner-time,\nnor at breakfast to \u2018clap his vingers\u2019 into the sugar-basin, etc.,\nwere instructions of Wolcot at a subsequent stage of Opie\u2019s life when\nbreakfast-rooms and saloons and drawing-rooms were thrown open to his\n_excellence_.\n\n\u201cAt his first setting out at Falmouth, where it was Wolcot\u2019s pride to\nexhibit him, he collected upwards of thirty guineas; and Wolcot was one\nday surprised to see him rolling about on the floor, where a quantity\nof money lay scattered. \u2018See here (says Opie), here be I, rolling in\ngold.\u2019\u201d\n\nWolcot had never cared for his profession of medicine, and he was glad\nto shake it off. And now young Opie was ready for making his way in\nTown. Wolcot had first become acquainted with the young painter at the\nhouse of Mr. Zankwell, at Mithian, in 1775; he took him to his own\nhouse at Truro, provided the necessary material, gave him instructions\nand advice, for Wolcot himself handled the brush and palette, and\nwhen fully satisfied with the developing genius of Opie, persuaded\nhim to move with him to London in 1781. An agreement was entered into\nbetween him and his prot\u00e9g\u00e9, by which both were to share equally in the\nprofits made by the artist by the sale of his pictures. This was not an\narrangement likely to last. Wolcot very highly estimated, and justly\nso, the advantage he had been to Opie, not only in providing for his\nartistic training, but also by getting him orders in Town; but Opie,\nas his fame grew, and his prices rose, was reluctant to continue the\nbargain and halve his profits with Wolcot. The origin of the quarrel is\nsometimes attributed to Opie\u2019s having passed disparaging criticism on\nsome of Wolcot\u2019s paintings; but this was, if it took place, only one\nelement in the contention that caused a final breach. Wolcot had indeed\nlaid the foundation of Opie\u2019s success, by introducing him to Mrs.\nBoscawen, and extolling his merits in verse.\n\n    Speak, Muse, who formed that matchless head,\n    The Cornish Boy, in tin mines bred;\n    Whose native genius, like diamonds shone\n    In secret, till chance gave him to the sun?\n    \u2019Tis Jackson\u2019s portrait--put the laurel on it.\n\nIn 1782 appeared \u201cLyric Odes to the Royal Academy, by Peter Pindar,\nEsq., a distant relative of the Poet of Thebes, and Laureat of the\nAcademy.\u201d They were clever and discriminating. Wolcot recognized the\nsplendid genius of Sir Joshua Reynolds, and the merits of Gainsborough\nand Wilson. He made merry over a picture by Gainsborough in the Academy\nthat year; but it was good-humouredly done.\n\n      And now, O Muse, with song so big,\n      Turn round to Gainsborough\u2019s Girl and Pig,\n    Or Pig and Girl I rather should have said;\n      The pig is white, I must allow,\n      Is really a well-painted sow:\n    I wish to say the same thing of the maid.\n\nThe success of these lyrics was immediate, and induced Wolcot to\ncontinue the publication in 1783, 1785, and 1786. Having hit out at\nthe Academicians and finding that this paid, he now struck at higher\ngame. He knew that any miserable back-stairs gossip about the King and\nthe Court would be greedily devoured. There was in London and in the\ncountry a sentiment of Jacobitism. The cause of the Stuarts was dead as\nHerod, but the prejudice against the House of Hanover continued strong.\nThe German proclivities of George I and George II, who never liked\nEngland and the English, had alienated even those who sympathized with\nthe claims of the House of Hanover. The simple life of George III,\nwithout state, with little dignity, and so homely as not to appeal\nto the imagination of the people, served as an admirable field for\nridicule. There is not any evidence that Peter Pindar personally hated\nthe King, and that his politics were anti-Hanoverian or anti-royal.\nHe attacked the King and Court because he knew it would pay--that was\nhis main inducement, another was equally unworthy. He hoped that the\nGovernment would give him some sinecure office, or some bribe in money\nto silence his slanderous tongue.\n\nHe began his assault on the private life of the King in the _Lousiad_,\na poem in five cantos, the first four published in 1785, and the last\nin 1795. The subject was disgusting. It turned upon the King having\ndiscovered a specially nasty parasitical insect on his plate, and on\nthereupon ordering the shaving of the heads of his cooks and scullions,\ngrooms of the kitchen, servants of the pantry, etc., to the number of\nfifty-one. A young man in the kitchen, John Bear, refusing to submit to\nthis indignity, was dismissed his place.\n\nThe subject was inexhaustible, and these attacks on Royalty sold and\nbrought in much money. Accordingly he worked indefatigably at it. He\nwas supplied with plenty of information by the favourites of the Prince\nof Wales, who himself relished these attacks upon his father.\n\nPeter Pindar jeered at the King\u2019s little note-book in which he dotted\ndown his observations.\n\n           Now Majesty, alive to knowledge, took\n           A very pretty memorandum-book,\n           With gilded leaves of asses\u2019 skin so white;\n           And in it lightly began to write:--\n    _Mem._ A charming place beneath the grates\n           For roasting chestnuts or potates.\n    _Mem._   \u2019Tis hops that give a bitterness to beer--\n             Hops grown in Kent, says Whitbread, and elsewhere.\n    _Queen._ Is there no cheaper stuff? where does it dwell?\n             Would not horse-aloes do as well?\n    _Mem._   To try it soon on our small beer--\n             \u2019Twill save us sev\u2019ral pounds a year.\n    _Mem._   To remember to forget to ask\n             Old Whitbread to my house one day.\n\n           *       *       *       *       *\n\n    To Whitbread now deigned Majesty to say,\n    \u201cWhitbread, are all your horses fond of hay?\u201d\n    \u201cYes, please your Majesty\u201d--in humble notes,\n    The Brewer answer\u2019d--\u201calso, Sir, of oats;\n    Another thing my horses too maintains,\n    And that, an\u2019t please your Majesty, are grains.\u201d\n    \u201cGrains, grains,\u201d said Majesty, \u201cTo fill their crops?\n    Grains? Grains?--that come from hops--yes, hops, hops, hops?\u201d\n    Here was the King, like hounds sometimes at fault--\n    \u201cSire\u201d cry\u2019d the humble Brewer, \u201cgive me leave\n    Your sacred Majesty to undeceive:\n    Grains, Sire, are never made from hops, but malt.\u201d\n    \u201cTrue,\u201d said the cautious Monarch, with a smile;\n    \u201cFrom malt, malt, malt--I meant it all the while.\u201d\n    \u201cYes,\u201d with the sweetest bow, rejoined the Brewer.\n    \u201cAn\u2019t please your Majesty, you did I\u2019m sure.\u201d\n    \u201cYes,\u201d answered Majesty, with quick reply,\n    \u201cI did, I did, I did, I, I, I, I.\u201d\n\nPeter Pindar scoffed at the parsimony of George III. He scoffed at his\npersonal appearance, his simple tastes, his attempt to enforce respect\nfor the Sunday, his admiration for the music of Handel, above all his\npatronage of Benjamin West.\n\n    E\u2019en with his painter let the King be blest;\n    Egad! eat, drink, and sleep, with Mister West.\n\nLet the Court, the fashionables, the vulgar populace admire West and\npurchase his wretched pictures, Peter will have none of him or of\nthem. Then he tells an amusing tale of a Toper and the Flies. A group\nof topers sat about the table drinking punch. Flies joined the party,\nsipped the grog, fell by hundreds into the bowl.\n\n    Wanting to drink--one of the men\n    Dipp\u2019d from the bowl the drunken host,\n    And drank--then taking care that none were lost,\n    He put in ev\u2019ry mother\u2019s son agen.\n    Up jump\u2019d the bacchanalian crew on this,\n    Taking it very much amiss--\n    Swearing, and in the attitude to smite:\n    \u201cLord!\u201d cry\u2019d the man with gravely lifted eyes,\n    \u201cThough _I_ don\u2019t like to swallow flies,\n    I did not know but _others_ might.\u201d\n\nThe Queen had removed the cartoons of Raphael from Hampton Court to\nSt. James\u2019s, and had them cut down so as to fit the place which she\ndesigned them to occupy. This exasperated Peter to the last degree:\nit reminded him of a cutting story. In the last war the French\nprisoners died by scores, and the Mayor of Plymouth to accommodate a\nfirst cousin, a carpenter, gave him a contract for their coffins. The\ncarpenter, thinking to save some pence on each coffin, made every one\ntoo short; and so as to accommodate the dead to the receptacles made\nfor them, cut off the heads of the deceased prisoners and tucked them\n_en chapeau bas_ under their arms.\n\nTo a Devonshire man one of the most amusing compositions of Peter\nPindar is an account of the royal visit to Exeter in 1788, supposed to\nbe written by a farmer of Moreton Hampstead to his sister Nan:--\n\n    Now meend me, Nan! all Ex\u2019ter town\n    Was gapin\u2019, rennin\u2019 up and down,\n      Vath, just leek vokes bewitch\u2019d!\n    Lord! how they laugh\u2019d to zee the King;\n    To hear un zay zum marv\u2019lous thing!\n      Leek mangy dogs they itch\u2019d.\n\n    Leek bullocks sting\u2019d by appledranes (wasps),\n    Currantin\u2019 it about the lanes,\n      Vokes theese way dreav\u2019d and that;\n    Zum hootin\u2019, swearin\u2019, scraimin\u2019, bawlin\u2019!\n    Zum in the muck, and pellum (dust) sprawlin\u2019;\n      Leek pancakes all zo flat.\n\nOn the occasion of the visit of the King, Queen, and the Royal\nPrincesses, the Bishop of Exeter, John Ross, begged to be excused the\nhonour of entertaining Majesty--the palace was not roomy enough, he was\ninfirm, and so on; accordingly their Royal Highnesses were received by\nDean Buller at the Deanery. Ross seems to have been a screw, and he\ndreaded the expense of entertaining Royalty. It was said of him that\nwhen his clergy were entertained by him there was no wine on the table,\nand they begged to be allowed to taste \u201chis charming water.\u201d The King\nand Royal Family went to the cathedral for Morning Prayer, after which\nDean Buller showed them over the church; the King looked about\n\n      And zoon beginn\u2019d to speak;\n    Zo zaid, \u201cNeat, neat--clean, very clean;\n    D\u2019ye mop it, mop it Measter Dean;\n      Mop, mop it every week?\n\nWolcot adds in a note that the King actually did make this observation\nat Exeter, as well as at Salisbury some years later.\n\nThe royal entry into the city is most humorously described, and Mr.\nRolle\u2019s active attention to the King is hit off:--\n\n    Wipin\u2019 his zweatty jaws and poull\n    All over dust we spy\u2019d Squire Rolle,\n      Close by the King\u2019s coach trattin\u2019:\n    Now shovin\u2019 in the coach his head,\n    Meaning, we giss\u2019d, it might be zed,\n      The Squire and King be chattin\u2019.\n\n    Now goed the Aldermen and May\u2019r,\n    Zum wey cropp\u2019d wigs, and zum wey hair,\n      The Royal Voke to ken;\n    When Measter May\u2019r, upon my word,\n    Pok\u2019d to the King a gert long sword,\n      Which he pok\u2019d back agen.\n\nIt had been hoped that the King would make the round of the city and\nvisit the Guildhall and Castle, but he declined to do this. The Mayor\nand Alderman had proposed a sumptuous repast at the Guildhall for His\nMajesty, but he declined to attend, much to their disappointment.\n\n    But this a did--now this was kind--\n    Knowin\u2019 the people\u2019s longing mind,\n      And being pretty tall,\n    A stude \u2019pon tiptoes, it is zed;\n    And, condescending pok\u2019d his head\n      Over the Bishop\u2019s wall.\n\n    Zum of the Ex\u2019ter vokes suppose\n    They plainly zeed his royal nose,\n      And zum his royal eyes;\n    And, Lord! whatever peart they zeed,\n    In this they one and all agreed,\n      \u2019Twas glorious, gert, and wize.\n\nThere is a rollicking swing about the whole composition, which keeps\nthe narrative going like the steady onward pace of a racing eight-oar.\n\nThe conclusion at which Jan Ploughshare arrives is vastly droll:--\n\n    Theeze once I\u2019ve made myzelf a vool\n    And now I feel my courage cool\n      For zeeing Royal things;\n    And whan my Bible next I read,--\n    Zo leet I worship all the breed,\n      I\u2019ll skep the Book of Kings.\n\nBut among offensive things written on George III, perhaps the most\noffensive is his \u201cLetter from Brother Peter to Brother Tom,\u201d in which\nhe contrasts the Prince of Wales with his father. In this and in his\n\u201cExpostulary Odes\u201d he treats the vices of the Prince as virtues--an\nobvious bid made for his favour. The good old King\u2019s homely ways are\ndrawn in the Letter with a pen dipped in gall, whereas it is plunged in\nhoney for the Prince.\n\n    Whene\u2019er he hunts, the Monarch is thrown out,\n      As in his politics--a common thing!\n    With searching eyes he stares at first about,\n      Then faces the misfortune as a king.\n    Hearing no news of nimble Mister Stag,\n    He sits like Patience grinning on his nag.\n    Thus, wisdom-fraught, his curious eye-balls ken\n      The little hovels that around him rise:\n      To these he trots--of hogs surveys the styes,\n    And nicely numbers every cock and hen.\n    Then asks the farmer\u2019s wife or farmer\u2019s maid,\n    How many eggs the fowls have laid.\n    What\u2019s in the oven--in the pot--the crock;\n    Whether \u2019twill rain or no, and what\u2019s o\u2019clock.\n    Thus from poor hovels gleaning information,\n    To serve as future treasure for the nation.\n    There, terrier-like, till pages find him out,\n    He pokes his most sagacious nose about;\n      And scenes in Paradise--like that so fam\u2019d;\n    Looking like Adam too, and Eve so fair;\n    Sweet simpletons! who, though so bare,\n      Were (says the Bible) not asham\u2019d.\n    No man binds books so well as George the Third.\n    By thirst of leather glory spurr\u2019d,\n    At bookbinders he oft is seen to laugh--\n    And wond\u2019rous is the King in sheep or calf!\n    _But see! the Prince upon such labour looks\n    Fastidious down, and only readeth books.\n    Here by the Sire the son is much surpast;\n    Which fame should publish on her loudest blast!_\n    The King beats Monmouth-street in cast-off riches;\n    That is, in coats, and waistcoats, and in breeches;\n    Which, draughted once a year for foreign stations,\n    Make fine recruits to serve some near relations.\n    _But lo! the Prince, shame on him! never dreams\n    Of petty Jewish, economic schemes!\n    So very proud (I\u2019m griev\u2019d, O Tom, to tell it)\n    He\u2019d rather give a coat away than sell it!_\n    Fair justice to the Monarch must allow\n    Prodigious science in a calf or cow;\n      And wisdom in an article of swine.\n    What most unusual knowledge for a King!\n    Because pig-wisdom is a thing\n      In which no Sov\u2019reign e\u2019er were known to shine.\n    _Yet who will think I am not telling fibs?\n      The Prince, who Britain\u2019s throne in time shall grace,\n    Ne\u2019er finger\u2019d, at a fair, a bullock\u2019s ribs,\n      Nor even ogled a pig\u2019s face!\n    O dire disgrace! O let it not be known\n    That thus a Father hath excell\u2019d a Son._\n\nPeter Pindar spared few. Pitt he hated, because he had not bribed him;\nSir Joseph Banks, Boswell--fair game--Hannah More, Bishop Porteus, who\nhad ventured in a sermon to speak highly of Hannah; James Bruce, and\nmany another.\n\nTo Lady Mount Edgcumbe he wrote a consolatory stanza on the death of\nher favourite pig.\n\n    O dry that tear, so round and big;\n      Nor waste in sighs your precious wind!\n    Death only takes a single Pig--\n      Your lord and son are still behind.\n\nIn 1793, Wolcot sold the copyright of his public works to J. Walker for\nan annuity of \u00a3200, and it was stipulated that any future work should\nbe offered to the same publisher.\n\nOn this occasion he craftily overreached the publisher. When Walker\nmade the proposition to the doctor by letter it was with an offer of\nan annuity of two hundred pounds. Wolcot replied by appointing the\npublisher to call on him, that day week. He received him in deshabille,\neven in his nightcap; and, from having purposely abstained from shaving\nfor four days, together with the naturally cadaverous complexion,\nhis appearance was unhealthy; added to which, he assumed a hollow\nsepulchral cough. Walker had determined not to make any advance on the\nsum he had named, but when the doctor was again taken with a fit of\ncoughing he was induced to make it two hundred and fifty pounds. This\nWolcot peremptorily refused, and was seized with an attack of coughing\nthat nearly suffocated him. The publisher, thinking it impossible that\nhe could last long, agreed to make the annuity three hundred. But some\ntime after, Pitt having passed a Bill through both Houses to restrain\nsuch libellous writings as those of Peter Pindar, the publisher,\nconsidering that the restraint thereby imposed would militate against\nhis profits, filed a bill in Chancery against him, and got the sum\nreduced to two hundred. Wolcot was furious, and vowed vengeance against\nWalker, which he eventually accomplished, by living nearly twenty years\nafterwards.\n\nBut he presently met his match, William Gifford, also a Devonshire man;\nin his \u201cAnti-Jacobin,\u201d Gifford fell upon the poet, and in a review of\nhis life called him \u201chis disgustful subject, the profligate reviler\nof his Sovereign and impious blasphemer of his God.\u201d Peter Pindar was\nquite unable to stand his ground against Gifford, whose \u201cEpistle to\nPeter Pindar\u201d was savage and caustic in the extreme (1800).\n\n    Lo, here the reptile! who from some dark cell,\n    Where all his veins in the native poison swell,\n    Crawls forth a slimy toad, and spits and spews\n    The crude abortions of his loathsome muse\n    On all that genius, all that worth holds dear--\n    Unsullied rank, and piety sincere.\n\n           *       *       *       *       *\n\n    Lo, here the brutal sot! who drench\u2019d with gin,\n    Lashes his wither\u2019d nerves to tasteless sin;\n    Squeals out (with oaths and blasphemies between)\n    The impious song, the tale, the jest obscene;\n    And careless views, amidst the barbarous roar,\n    His few grey hairs strew, one by one, the floor.\n\n           *       *       *       *       *\n\n    Oh! check, a moment check, the obstreperous din\n    Of guilty joy, and hear the voice within;\n    The small, still voice of Conscience, hear it cry:\n    An atheist thou mayst live, but canst not die.\n\n           *       *       *       *       *\n\n    For me--why shouldst thou with abortive toil,\n    Waste the poor remnant of thy spluttering oil\n    In filth and falsehood? Ignorant and absurd!\n    Pause from thy pains, and take my closing word;\n    Thou canst not think, nor have I power to tell,\n    How much I scorn and loathe thee--so--Farewell.\n\nWolcot was so infuriated that he sought to meet Gifford. They happened\nto meet in Wright\u2019s shop in Piccadilly in the same year in which\nthe epistle had appeared. A scuffle ensued, in which Wolcot was the\naggressor, and got the worst of it. Peter retaliated with \u201cA Cut at a\nCobbler,\u201d but it fell flat.\n\nThe Prince of Wales, that \u201cFirst Gentleman in Europe,\u201d had encouraged\nPeter, and is said to have had the poet\u2019s proof sheets forwarded to\nhim before publication. Peter had licked the Prince\u2019s dirty boots,\nand hoped for his reward. But when the Prince became Regent he cooled\ntowards the savage yet servile poet, and the indignant Peter gave vent\nto his feelings of disappointment and resentment in a poem in 1811,\n\u201cCarlton House, or the Disappointed Bard.\u201d\n\nIn Wolcot\u2019s later years his sight was affected, and in May, 1811,\nhe was almost totally blind. He still, however, continued to write\nand publish. Four volumes of his works had been published by Walker\nin 1794, a fifth was added in 1801. He died 14 January, 1819, in\nSomerstown, and was buried 21 January, in S. Paul\u2019s Church, Covent\nGarden. By his own expressed wish, his coffin was placed beside that of\nSamuel Butler, author of _Hudibras_.\n\nIn appearance Wolcot was \u201ca thick, squat man, with a large dark and\nflat face, and no speculation in his eye.\u201d His portrait, by Opie, is\nin the National Portrait Gallery, where is also a miniature of him by\nLethbridge.\n\nHe was never married. Indeed, he flouted at marriage. He was a\nsensualist. In an \u201cApology for Keeping Mistresses\u201d he wrote:--\n\n    O Love! for heaven\u2019s sake, never leave my heart;\n    No! thou and I will never, never part:\n    Go, Wedlock, to the men of leaden brains,\n    Who hate variety, and sigh for chains.\n\nWhen Wolcot sought to be sentimental, he was unreal. One piece does\nshow real tenderness of feeling, and that must be given in conclusion,\nto show that he had a glimmering now and then of better feelings than\nspite, envy, and resentment.\n\n    The old shepherd\u2019s dog, like his master, was gray;\n      His teeth all departed, and feeble his tongue;\n    Yet where\u2019er Colin went, he was follow\u2019d by Tray.\n      Thus happy through life did they hobble along.\n\n    When fatigued on the grass the shepherd would lie\n      For a nap in the sun, \u2019midst his slumbers so sweet,\n    His faithful companion crawl\u2019d constantly nigh,\n      Placed his head on his lap, and lay down at his feet.\n\n    When winter was heard on the hill and the plain,\n      And torrents descended, and cold was the wind,\n    If Colin went forth \u2019midst the tempests and rain,\n      Tray scorned to be left in the chimney behind.\n\n    At length in the straw Tray made his last bed;\n      For vain, against death, is the stoutest endeavour--\n    To lick Colin\u2019s hand he rear\u2019d up his weak head,\n      Then fell back, clos\u2019d his eyes, and, ah! clos\u2019d them for ever.\n\n    Not long after Tray did the Shepherd remain,\n      Who oft o\u2019er his grave with true sorrow would bend;\n    And, when dying, thus feebly was heard the poor swain,\n      \u201cOh bury me, neighbours, beside my old friend.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nDR. J. W. BUDD\n\n\nThe Budd family was one of tenants under the earls of Bedford in\nGoodleigh, Landkey, and Swymbridge parishes. Parkham and Newton St.\nPetrock also contained Budds, the name occurring in the registers as\nfar back as 1563. The name does not occur in the _Heralds\u2019 Visitation_\nof Devon as of a family possessing a right to bear arms. Nor does the\nname occur in Lysons\u2019 _Devon_. A Budd was Master of Caius College in\nthe time of James I. John Turnarine Budd lived at Tancreek, in the\nparish of St. Columb Minor. His father before him, the Rev. Richard\nBudd, was perpetual curate of St. Columb Minor, and married Gertrude,\ndaughter of John Turnarine. He died in 1787. John Turnarine Budd was\nthe father of Samuel Budd, educated at Truro Grammar School. Samuel\nsettled as a doctor at North Tawton, and there brought up his nine\nsons, all intended by him for the medical profession. Five of them\nwent to Cambridge, every one of whom became a Wrangler, and four\nobtained fellowships. The most famous of these was William Budd, born\nin 1811, who died in 1880. On one occasion typhoid fever broke out in\nNorth Tawton, and caused many deaths. Dr. Budd at once divined the\ncause; indeed, he was the first man thoroughly to trace the fever to\nits source, and he persisted in his urgency to have the water supply\nthoroughly overhauled, and, succeeding, put a stop to the fever. He\npublished a work on typhoid fever in 1873, and proved beyond dispute\nhow it originated, how it was communicated, and how alone it could\nbe arrested. When the terrible rinderpest broke out in England in\n1866, Budd was loud in his recommendations of \u201ca poleaxe and a pit of\nquicklime\u201d as the true solution of the difficulty, and although derided\nat first, this view was ultimately and successfully adopted.\n\n[Illustration: DR. JOHN W. BUDD\n\n_From a photograph by his brother, Dr. Richard Budd of Barnstaple_]\n\nRarely has a whole family proved so able--and, what is more, proved the\nexcellence of a home education, where the father is competent to give\nit. Samuel Budd, the surgeon of North Tawton, managed to teach his nine\nsons himself in the intervals of his professional calls; and he taught\nthem so well that not one of his sons but made his mark in the world.\n\nSamuel, the eldest son, was born in 1806. He was one of the seven who\nembraced the medical profession. He became a member of the College of\nPhysicians in 1859. He died, aged seventy-nine, in 1885. George was\nborn in February, 1808, and became a Fellow of the College in 1841. He\ndied in March, 1882. Richard was born in April, 1809, became a Fellow\nof the College of Physicians in 1863, and died in February, 1896.\nWilliam has been already mentioned.\n\nJohn Wreford, the subject of this memoir, was born in 1813, practised\nat Plymouth, and died 11 November, 1873. The other sons were Charles\nOctavius, Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge; Dr. Christian Budd,\nof North Tawton; and Francis Nonus, born 1823, became eighth Wrangler\nin 1846, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, called to the Bar,\nLincoln\u2019s Inn, 1848, practised as barrister for many years at Bristol,\nbought a little property at Batworthy, Chagford, on the Teign, where he\nmade a fine collection of flint weapons and tools found in his fields,\nwhere was once a \u201cstation\u201d for their manufacture.\n\nDoctor John Wreford Budd, as already said, practised in Plymouth. He\nwas a man of rough manners, blunt and to the point in all he said. When\nRoundell Palmer was electioneering in Plymouth in 1847 he stayed with\nBudd, who was very proud of his guest. Meeting Mr. William Collier in\nthe street, he stopped him, and without any preliminaries said: \u201cCan\nyour cook make soup as clear as sherry? Mine can, sir--soup like that\nevery day, whilst Mr. Palmer was staying with me.\u201d\n\nAnother time, when he had some friends to lunch, there was some delay.\nHe took out his watch, placed it before him on the table, and turning\nto Mrs. Budd, said: \u201cWhat a thing this onpunctuality is! If it be not\nbrought to table in two minutes, I\u2019ll dra\u2019e it all out at the window,\u201d\nspoken in the broadest Devonian dialect.\n\nA gentleman writes: \u201cAn excellent cook came to us from the service of\nDr. Budd. She was epileptic, and the Doctor\u2019s violence increased her\ntrouble. With us she remained for many years until age made her unfit\nfor work. She told me that once preparations were well advanced for\na dinner party, when the Doctor came down to the kitchen, as was his\nwont. She had been plucking a brace of pheasants, and some blood from\nthe beaks had stained her apron. This defilement roused the Doctor\nto such frenzy that he seized and flung out of the window or smashed\nup all the prepared dishes. As the guests were due to arrive very\nshortly, Mrs. Budd, in a state of distraction, sent all over the town\nfor such cold joints, sweets, etc., as could be obtained from hotels,\nconfectioners, and other caterers. With this scratch meal she was\nobliged to regale her guests, without being able to explain the reason\nof the novelty. But some inkling of the truth came to be known or was\nguessed by her visitors.\n\n\u201cDr. Stewart, of Plymouth, told me one day that a friend of his passing\nDr. Budd\u2019s house was startled by the sudden descent of a leg of mutton\nin the street, flung out of the window by the irate Doctor because\neither somewhat over-or underdone.\n\n\u201cDr. Budd would often, when giving a dinner party, rise at the\nconclusion of the first courses, saying \u2018I shan\u2019t take any sweets,\u2019\nwould go to the fireside and fill a long \u2018churchwarden\u2019 clay, then,\nleaning against the mantelpiece, calmly smoke and join in the\nconversation of the guests as they continued at table.\n\n\u201cHe was a tall, heavily-built man, with a full, high-coloured face, not\nintellectual in appearance, and with warm brown hair and side whiskers.\u201d\n\nHe was out shooting one day with Mr. Calmady. A pheasant rose, and both\nmen raised their guns, and the bird came down like lead.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s my burd,\u201d shouted Budd.\n\n\u201cI really think not; I am sure I brought it down,\u201d said Mr. Calmady.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s my burd, I zay. I\u2019ll swear to it. Never missed in my life, any\nmore than blundered in my profession. It\u2019s mine.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well. Yours it shall be.\u201d\n\nUp rose another pheasant. Each hastened to load, when it turned out\nthat the Doctor\u2019s gun had not been discharged at all.\n\nA gentleman writes me: \u201cMy mother remembers travelling by train in the\nsame carriage with the Doctor. Two other men also got in; and one, who\nmay have been the worse for liquor, began grossly to insult the other;\nwhereupon the Doctor interfered and took the part of the insulted\nman. \u2018What business is this of yours?\u2019 shouted the offender. At this\nmoment the train drew up in the Plymouth station. Dr. Budd jumped out,\nturned up his sleeves, squared his fists, and shouted, \u2018Now then, you\nblackguard, I\u2019ll show you what I have to do with it,\u2019 and knocked him\ndown on the platform.\u201d\n\nA friend took Budd out in his yacht. As the vessel skimmed through the\nsmooth waters of the Sound--\u201cHe\u2019s a fool, a cursed fool,\u201d said Budd,\n\u201che who has the means and don\u2019t keep a yacht.\u201d\n\nPresently the boat shot out beyond the breakwater, and began to pitch.\nBudd turned livid, and his lips leaden. \u201cHe\u2019s a fool, a cursed fool,\u201d\nsaid he, after he had stooped over the side, \u201che who, having the means,\nkeeps a yacht; and he\u2019s a cursed fool who, having a friend that has a\nyacht, allows himself to be over-persuaded to go out with him.\u201d\n\nMrs. Calmady was in a very poor way. The doctors had bled her and\nallowed her only slops, and the poor lady was reduced to death\u2019s door.\nAs a last resource Dr. Budd was called in. \u201cChuck the slops away, and\nchuck the doctors after them, with their pills and lancets,\u201d roared\nBudd. \u201cGive her three or four glasses of champagne a day, a bowl of\nbeef-tea every three hours, beefsteaks, mutton-chops, and oysters.\u201d\n\nIn fact, Dr. J. W. Budd broke through the wretched system that\nprevailed of bleeding and giving lowering diet for every kind of\nmalady, which was the Sangrado system of the day.\n\nA girl was shown to him in a sort of box, almost like a coffin. He had\nbeen called in to examine her, and he said that he would undertake to\ncure her if she were taken to his house and his treatment were not\ninterfered with.\n\n\u201cBut, oh! Doctor,\u201d said the mother, \u201cdearest Evangeline can eat nothing\nbut macaroons.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn--deed!\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd, oh! Doctor, she cannot bear the light; and the shutters have to\nbe kept fast, and even the blinds down. The least ray of light causes\nher excruciating pain.\u201d\n\n\u201cHa! Humph!\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd, Doctor Budd, she cannot stand; she lies always in that box; and,\nwhat is more, she can\u2019t speak, only moans and mutters.\u201d\n\n\u201cI understand. Send her to me.\u201d\n\nSo the box was brought. To accommodate it a hearse was hired--no cab or\ncarriage would contain it in a horizontal position.\n\nThe chest with the hysterical girl in it was carried into one of Budd\u2019s\nrooms in his house, where the shutters were closed and the curtains\ndrawn.\n\nThe weeping mother departed after giving strict injunctions to the\nDoctor not to allow any noise to be made in the house, no doors to\nbe slammed, or poor darling Evangeline would go into convulsions--so\nhighly strung were her sensitive nerves.\n\n\u201cHumph!\u201d said Budd, and saw the good lady depart. He allowed ten\nminutes to elapse, and then he went upstairs, stamping on each step,\nthrew open the door of the room in which his patient lay, and shouted--\n\n\u201cHalloo! What tomfoolery is this? I\u2019ll soon make an end to it.\u201d He went\nto the window, drew back the curtains, threw open the shutters, and let\nthe sun stream into the apartment.\n\nThe girl began to moan and cry.\n\n\u201cStop that nonsense!\u201d said he. \u201cI\u2019m not like that fool of a mother of\nyours to believe in your whims. Get out of that box this instant.\u201d\n\nThe girl began to tremble, but made no attempt to obey.\n\nBudd went to a drawer and pulled out a pistol. Then to a cupboard and\nemptied a draught into a glass.\n\n\u201cNow, then,\u201d said he, \u201cwhich shall it be, pistol or poison? I\u2019ll gripe\nyou with the dose till you squeal with good reason, or put a bullet\ninto you--whichever you prefer. It\u2019s all one to me, but out of that box\nyou jump.\u201d\n\nAnd jump she did, and fell on her knees before Dr. Budd.\n\n\u201cOh! please, please, do not kill me!\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not going to kill you if you do what you are told. Sit down\nthere,\u201d indicating a chair.\n\nThe girl complied. He rang the bell, and when a servant appeared he\nordered a beefsteak and a small bottle of porter and bread. These were\nspeedily brought into the room.\n\n\u201cNow, then,\u201d said the Doctor, \u201ceat and drink and enjoy yourself.\u201d\n\n\u201cI--I--I can only eat macaroons.\u201d\n\n\u201cMacaroons be d---- d. You eat that steak and you drink that porter,\u201d\nroared Budd, \u201cor\u201d--and he proceeded to cock and present the pistol.\n\nThe girl tremblingly obeyed, but presently became interested in the\nsucculent beef and some crisp potatoes, and the porter she sipped\nfirst, and then drank, and drained the tumbler.\n\n\u201cThat will do for to-day,\u201d said Budd. \u201cI have sent for your out-of-door\nclothes, and to-morrow morning you shall trundle a hoop round Princess\nSquare. Now I leave you a packet of illustrated books. You dine with me\nthis evening at seven.\u201d\n\nAnother hysterical girl he dealt with and cured even more\nexpeditiously. He was shown into the room where she lay in bed, and was\ninformed that she could not rise. The Doctor begged to be left alone\nin the room with her.\n\nWhen all were gone forth, he locked the door; then proceeded to divest\nhimself of his coat, next of his waistcoat, and when he began to\nunhitch his braces--\n\n\u201cNow, then, make room--I\u2019m coming to bed!\u201d\n\n\u201cMamma! Mamma! Mamma!\u201d screamed the girl, and pulled violently at the\nbell.\n\n\u201cAll right, madam,\u201d said Budd when the mother arrived on the spot;\n\u201cshe\u2019s cured now. Get this little maid up instantly, and vacate the bed\nfor me. If there be any more nonsense, madam, send for me.\u201d\n\nA small girl had a tiresome nervous cough. Dr. Budd was called in. He\nheard her cough. Then he suddenly took her up in his arms and planted\nher on the mantelshelf.\n\n\u201cThere!\u201d said he. \u201cBalance yourself here for half an hour.\u201d He pulled\nout his watch. \u201cIf you cough you will infallibly tumble over among\nthe fire-irons and cut your head. You are a nice little girl, you are\nan active little girl, you are a pretty little girl; but you have one\ncussed fault which makes every one hate you, and I\u2019m going to cure you\nof that. No coughing. The fire is burning, and if you do fall I suspect\nyour skirts will catch fire, and you will be frightfully burnt, besides\nhaving your cheek cut open by the fender.\u201d\n\nA young lady was one day brought to the Doctor by her parents, who were\nvery anxious about her, as she was in a depressed condition of mind,\nout of which nothing roused her. Budd promised to give every attention\nto the case, and requested the parents to leave her with him at his\nresidence in Princess Place. Soon afterwards he bade his coachman\nput to and take the young lady out for a drive. \u201cAnd mind,\u201d said the\nDoctor, \u201cyou upset the carriage.\u201d\n\nHis orders were obeyed. The landau was upset in a ditch, and the young\nlady appeared screaming at the window to be extricated. \u201cNo more apathy\nnow,\u201d said Budd; and sent her home cured.\n\nBudd, with all his roughness, was a kind-hearted and liberal man.\nHis surgery was at the \u201cCottage,\u201d in Westwell Street, and thousands\nstreamed there every year full of implicit faith in Budd\u2019s powers. A\nchild was one day brought to the \u201cCottage,\u201d a puny little sufferer.\nThe Doctor, with his quick eye, saw that the case was critical; and\nalthough this was a free patient, he immediately had it sent to his own\nhome in Princess Square, with strict orders that it was to be well fed\nand cared for; and it remained there for several days under his care\nwithout fee or reward.\n\nA tradesman in Plymouth, living not long ago and in good circumstances,\nwas at that time a man of straitened means. He was attacked by Asiatic\ncholera. Dr. Budd was called in, and saw that the case was severe and\nrequired every care; and he attended morning, noon, and night--on some\ndays almost hourly--for a fortnight or three weeks, and at last the\npatient was cured. Then, with trembling lips, he asked Dr. Budd for his\nbill, thinking he would have to pay thirty or forty pounds. The Doctor\nreplied: \u201cYou are a struggling tradesman, and cannot afford to pay\nmuch; if you cannot rake together five pounds, pay me what you can.\u201d\n\nA girl suffering from S. Vitus\u2019s dance was brought to him. He looked\nhard at her. \u201cHumph! Every time you make one of those jerks, I\u2019ll force\nyou to kiss me,\u201d said the Doctor. This succeeded--for, according to the\ngeneral opinion, Dr. Budd was \u201cmortal ugly.\u201d\n\nA boy patient was fencing with his questions. Budd put the poker in\nthe fire, and when it was red-hot took it to the bedside, and with a\nsevere look and voice declared that he would at once apply it if the\nlad did not answer fully to his questions. The threat produced the\nimmediate result of eliciting the replies he required, so as to enable\nhim to diagnose the case.\n\nDr. Budd had an aptitude to diagnose his patient at a glance. At one\ntime a young schoolmaster of Willinghull, aged twenty-two, named\nHorswell, visited him. He had formerly been in Plymouth, and knew the\nfame of Dr. Budd. As he had broken down in health, he returned to\nPlymouth. Two doctors had assured him that he would soon recover, but\nhe thought he would obtain an opinion from Dr. Budd. This physician\nexamined him, and told him in his usual blunt manner that he was food\nfor worms. His right lung was gone, and his left was affected. \u201cI\nshan\u2019t give you medicine. Eat and drink well, and keep out of the cold,\nand you will hold on for ten months--no longer.\u201d\n\nHorswell got better and returned to his duties at the Wesleyan School\nat Willinghull. He wrote frequently to his friends, and told them how\nmuch better he was, and jeered at Budd\u2019s prediction.\n\nAbout eight months after his return he announced to his friends in\nPlymouth that he was about to be married, and again alluded to Budd\u2019s\nprediction, and promised to write announcing his wedding. That letter\nnever came; but instead of it one with a black edge, informing his\nfriends that Horswell had broken a blood-vessel and had died suddenly;\nand a _post-mortem_ examination proved that the right lung had long\nbeen gone, and a portion of the left.\n\nA drunken man fell into Sutton Pool. It was late in the evening, and\nvery dark at the time, but a tradesman in the locality happening to\nhear the splash, raised the alarm. With great presence of mind, he\nlaid hold of a number of newspapers, set them on fire, and threw\nthem into the water. By this light the drowning man was seen and\nrecovered, and taken into a public-house. Every means was adopted to\nrestore animation. Several medical men were soon in attendance, and\nthey pronounced the man out of danger. Dr. Budd put in his appearance\nsomewhat late, and, shaking his head, pronounced the man\u2019s condition\nto be hopeless. The man slept well that night, and next day ate his\nbreakfast and dinner as usual. The doctors all called to see him in\nthe morning, and all, with the exception of Dr. Budd, pronounced him\nout of danger; but Budd stepped forward and asked the man if he was\nprepared to die, \u201cfor,\u201d said he, \u201cyou will be dead before six o\u2019clock\nthis evening.\u201d No one present, not even the man himself, believed the\nstatement, as all was going on so favourably. But Budd was right, and\nbefore sundown the man was dead. Dr. Budd considered it impossible that\nhe should recover from the blood-poisoning caused by taking into his\nstomach the poisonous deposits in Sutton Pool.\n\nA miserly old fellow who was well off in worldly goods visited Dr. Budd\nat his \u201cCottage\u201d in Westwell Street, and, thinking to save the guinea\nfee, dressed himself in rags. The Doctor recognized him, but listened\npatiently to the old man\u2019s tale, and then asked him where he lived, to\nwhich the man replied by naming a very poor part of the village near\nhis own residence and using a feigned name.\n\nThe Doctor said: \u201cDo you know who lives in that big house in the place\nwith the door that has a pediment over it?\u201d To which the old man\nreplied \u201cYes,\u201d and mentioned his own name.\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said Dr. Budd, \u201ccall on that gentleman on your way home and\ntell him that the devil will have him in a fortnight.\u201d\n\nA few days beyond the fortnight the old gentleman actually died.\n\nA Dartmoor small farmer came to him one day, suffering from congestion\nof the lungs. \u201cYou go home, and to bed at once,\u201d said Dr. Budd; \u201cand\nhere\u2019s a draught for you to take internally, and here are some leeches\nto apply externally.\u201d\n\n\u201cPlease, your honour, to write it down,\u201d said John.\n\n\u201cCan you read?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I reckon, but my Mary can\u2019t.\u201d\n\nSo Dr. Budd wrote the instructions.\n\nA week or fortnight later the patient called again. He was recovered.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the Doctor, \u201cyou took my prescriptions?\u201d\n\n\u201cAye, I reckon I did--and drashy things they were.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou put the leeches on?\u201d\n\n\u201cI reckon I put \u2018em in, sir. I read what you\u2019d wrote and we understood\nyou to say that they was to be fried, so my Mary, her put the pan on\nth\u2019 vire, and a pat o\u2019 butter and a shred o\u2019 onion, and fried \u2019em, live\nas they were. But they was cruel nasty, like bits of leather. But Lord!\nfor mussy\u2019s sake, Doctor, don\u2019t ax me to ate any more o\u2019 them things.\nI\u2019d rayther take a whole box o\u2019 pills all to wance.\u201d\n\nA gentleman called on him one day just before Budd sat down to dinner,\nand brought with him his brother suffering from lock-jaw.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m not going to be interfered with at my dinner for you or the King,\u201d\nsaid Budd; then to his servant, \u201cHere, George, lay two plates for these\ngentlemen, the one who can\u2019t speak place opposite me at the bottom of\nthe table, and for the other gentleman in the middle on my left.\u201d\n\nWhether they would or no, the two visitors were obliged to comply;\nthey knew the imperious nature of the Doctor, and that unless he were\nhumoured, he would kick them out of the house and refuse to attend to\nthe patient.\n\nA roast leg of mutton was placed before Dr. Budd; he proceeded to carve\na great slice, then took it and threw the slab of meat in the face of\nthe gentleman on his left, who staggered back and hastily seized his\nnapkin to wipe his face and sweep the juice from his shirt-front and\nwaistcoat. But before he had cleansed himself, slap came another slice\nof mutton in his face, and then a third. At this the man with the\nlock-jaw burst into a roar of laughter.\n\n\u201cThere,\u201d said Budd, \u201cI have cured you: you will have to pay for a new\nwaistcoat for your brother, it\u2019s messed with grease.\u201d\n\nBudd was sent for to visit a poor man who was bad with quinsy, could\nnot swallow, could not even speak. Said the Doctor to the patient\u2019s\nwife, \u201cI be coming to dine with you, I and my assistant John.\u201d\n\n\u201cLor\u2019 a mussy, sir, I ain\u2019t got nothing fit for gentlevolks to dine on\nhere,\u201d said the amazed woman.\n\n\u201cHere\u2019s a guinea,\u201d said Budd. \u201cGo and get us a bottle of wine and make\nus apple dumplings, and plenty of these latter. Will be here at one\no\u2019clock.\u201d\n\nAt the appointed hour, Budd and his assistant arrived. The table was\nspread with a clean cloth, and humble but neat ware was placed on\nit--all in the room where the patient was lying gasping for breath.\nBudd and John seated themselves one at each end of the table; and the\ndumplings were produced, round, hard, hot, and steaming. Budd took\none up in his hands, turned it about, and, all at once, threw it at\nthe head of his assistant, and caught him full crash between the\neyes. John sprang up. \u201cTwo can play at that game!\u201d shouted he, and\ncatching up another dumpling threw it at the Doctor, who dodged, and\nthe apple burst its crust and remained clinging to the wall. This was\nthe beginning of a war of pelting with dumplings; and it so tickled the\npatient that he burst out laughing and burst the quinsy.\n\nHe was visiting a labouring man who was weak, and Budd saw that what he\nneeded more than physic was good nourishing diet. Now that day he was\nhaving mock-turtle soup at his table, so he sent a bowl of it to his\npatient. The man looked into the bowl, saw the pieces of calf\u2019s head\nfloating in it, shook his head, thrust it away, and said, \u201cI can\u2019t take\nthat, there\u2019s too much of a surgeon\u2019s trade in it to suit my stomach,\nsure \u2019nuff.\u201d\n\nBudd was visiting a farmer in the country. Every time he left, a\nprentice boy on the farm came with an anxious face to inquire how his\nmaster was.\n\nThe Doctor was touched with the intense interest the lad took in the\ncondition of his master. One day as he left and the boy asked after the\nfarmer, Budd shook his head and said, \u201cI fear it\u2019s going bad with him.\u201d\n\nThereupon the boy burst out into a loud bohoo of tears and sobs.\n\n\u201cThere, there,\u201d said the Doctor, \u201cdon\u2019t take on so, my lad. It can\u2019t be\nhelped.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, you\u2019d take on if you was in my place,\u201d sobbed the youth, \u201cfor\nmissus makes us eat all the stock, pigs and what not, as dies on the\nfarm.\u201d\n\nHe was visited in his consulting room by a patient who had lock-jaw.\n\n\u201cCome upstairs,\u201d said he; \u201cI can do nothing with you here.\u201d He threw\nopen the door and preceded the man up the flight of stairs. When he had\ngot some way up he suddenly lurched against his patient, upset him,\nand sent him rolling heels over head to the bottom of the staircase.\n\nThe man yelled out from the bottom, \u201cConfound you, Doctor, you\u2019ve\nbroken my arm!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! is that all? I can set that. I have already loosened your jaw.\u201d\n\nHe visited the late Mrs. Radford, an aged lady.\n\n\u201cWhat you want,\u201d said he, \u201cI\u2019ll tell you. Get a boat and a pair of\nsculls and row round Plymouth Sound; do that or be d---- d.\u201d\n\n\u201cDoctor,\u201d replied she, \u201cI can\u2019t do one--and I won\u2019t be the other, not\neven to please you.\u201d\n\nWhen he resided in George Street, Devonport, the young officers often\ncame to him to try, as the saying is now, \u201cto pull his leg\u201d; but they\nrarely got the better of him. Once a couple called with grave faces to\ninform him that a comrade had swallowed a blue-bottle fly, and that it\nwas buzzing about in his interior and made him feel very ill. Doctor\nJohn went to an outhouse and returned with a fat spider, and gave it\nto the young officers. \u201cThere,\u201d said he; \u201ctell your friend to swallow\nthat, and it will soon settle the blue-bottle.\u201d\n\nOn another occasion, some officers whom he had served invited him to\ndine at the mess with them, but, \u201cNo,\u201d said he; \u201cI never dine from\nhome.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said they, \u201cdine with you we will; and, if you will allow\nus, we will order a dinner to be served in your own house.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo objection to that,\u201d said Budd, and he protested afterwards that\nthey had given him the best dinner and the best wine he had ever eaten\nand drunk in his life.\n\nFrom Devonport he removed to Westwell Street, Plymouth, and this became\nthe Mecca of the poor, whom he attended with as much consideration as\nthe richest patients; and everyone took his or her turn; no favour was\nshown to one who could pay above another who could not.\n\nDr. John Budd would attend at the workhouse, to see the sick there. One\nday the master said to him, \u201cThere is Jose here again. He pretends that\nhe is doubled up with lumbago, or something of that sort. The fellow,\nI believe, is a malingerer; he hates work, and he loves to be in the\ninfirmary and have extra rations.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll deal with him,\u201d said Budd; and he was shown into the ward where\nJose lay groaning and crying out.\n\n\u201cWhere is it, man?\u201d asked the Doctor.\n\n\u201cOh, sir! cruel pains right across my body. I can\u2019t walk; I can scarce\nbreathe. Oh! oh! oh!\u201d and he began to howl.\n\n\u201cI must examine your back,\u201d said the Doctor. \u201cYou must be placed on the\ntable and your spine bared.\u201d\n\nSo the moaning rascal was placed, face downwards, on the board, and his\nhands and feet tied. He did not like that; he said it hurt him \u201ccruel\nbad.\u201d But it had to be done, and he was stripped to the waist.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll try Carne\u2019s Balls on him,\u201d said Dr. Budd. The fellow, looking out\nof the corners of his eyes, saw an apparatus introduced, a couple of\niron balls like large bullets, with handles to them; then a spirit lamp\nwas lighted, and the balls were heated in the flame.\n\n\u201cI think I feel easier, sir,\u201d said Jose, who did not relish the\npreparations.\n\n\u201cBut we\u2019re going to make you quite well,\u201d said the medical\npractitioner; and flinging his leg across Jose\u2019s hams he sat astride on\nhim, and signed to his assistant to hand him the heated balls.\n\nWith these he began to pound the patient in the small of the back. They\nwere not red hot, but nearly so, and the purpose of the application\nwas to raise round blisters.\n\nJose yelled. \u201cTake it patiently,\u201d said Budd; \u201cit will do you good. Heat\nthe balls again.\u201d\n\nFurther dabbing with the implement; vociferous yells from the patient.\n\u201cI am well! I\u2019ve no more pain. Have mercy on me!\u201d\n\nAt last he was disengaged and sent back to bed. Next day away went\nJose blistered in the back; not another visit from the Doctor would he\nabide. Nor did he appear again in the Plymouth workhouse. The man was\nwell known elsewhere, and the master had communicated with other heads\nof workhouses in Devon. A few weeks later Jose turned up at Newton\nAbbot, and applied for admission into the workhouse; he was suffering\nbadly, very badly, with spasms in the heart. He was taken to the\ninfirmary, at once recognized, and the surgeon sent for.\n\n\u201cHumph!\u201d said the medical man. \u201cThis is a case for Carne\u2019s Balls, I\nsee. I\u2019ve heard of him from Dr. Budd.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll be shot if you try them on me!\u201d roared Jose. \u201cLet me go--I\u2019m\nbetter--I\u2019m well.\u201d\n\nHe was dismissed. About a fortnight later he appeared at Exeter\nworkhouse, with his leg contracted, tottering and scarce able to walk.\nHe was put into the infirmary. Said the master, \u201cThis is a more serious\ncase than is apparent. We must send for Dr. Budd.\u201d There was then a Dr.\nBudd of Exeter.\n\n\u201cBudd! Budd!\u201d shouted the man. \u201cI\u2019ll have no Budds about me. Let me go.\nMy leg is well.\u201d\n\nOne day, at North Tawton, a man doubled up with pain and reeling in his\nwalk applied at several houses for relief, got some coppers, and came\nto the respectable house of evidently a well-to-do man, and rang the\nbell.\n\nThe servant at once opened and asked what he wanted. He stated his case\nand his need of help. \u201cI\u2019ll go and call Dr. Budd,\u201d said the maid.\n\n\u201cBudd here! Budd there! Budd everywhere! I\u2019ll be off!\u201d And, completely\ncured, away went the sick man as hard as his legs could carry him.\n\nWhether he became a steady working man, or whether he fled the county\nand the region of Budds to malinger elsewhere, was never known, but the\nDevon workhouses saw him no more.\n\nBudd was called to see a lady one night after dinner. As soon as he\nreached the room, feeling his own condition, he staggered to the foot\nof the bed, clung to a bedpost, and exclaimed, \u201cDrunk, by Gad!\u201d and\nwalked or reeled out of the room. Next morning a letter came from the\nlady, with a handsome cheque, and a petition that he would not mention\nthe condition in which he had found her.\n\n\n\n\nREAR-ADMIRAL SIR EDWARD CHICHESTER, BART.\n\n\nThe Chichesters are an ancient, and in North Devon an all-pervading\nfamily, that has overflowed into South Devon.\n\nThe original name was Cirencester, but in the fifteenth century Sir\nJohn de Cirencester married the heiress of Sir John Raleigh, Knight, of\nRaleigh near Barnstaple, whereby the estate passed to the Cirencester\nfamily, and the name slid imperceptibly into Chichester, just as\nCirencester in Gloucestershire is now pronounced Cicester.\n\nFrom Raleigh the Chichesters radiated on all sides, married heiresses,\nand settled into snug nests. Of the Hapsburgs it was said \u201cFelix\nAustria nube,\u201d and the same with a change of name might be said of the\nChichesters.\n\nThere are Chichesters of Youlston, of Hall, Chichesters of Arlington,\nof Widworthy; there were Chichesters of Eggesford, who choked up the\nlittle church with their monuments; Chichesters of Calverleigh, and\nChichesters of Grenofen by Tavistock. What is more, the Chichesters\nhave made their mark in history. Sir Arthur Chichester, Lord Deputy of\nIreland, was created Baron Chichester of Belfast in 1612; his brother,\nSir Edward, had a son who was made first Earl of Donegal; and the\npresent Marquess of Donegal is a Chichester.\n\n[Illustration: REAR-ADMIRAL SIR EDWARD CHICHESTER, BART.]\n\nSir John Chichester, sergeant-major of the army in Ireland and Governor\nof Carrickfergus, fell into the hands of Sir James MacDonnell, and was\nbeheaded on a stone in Antrim. Sir Thomas Chichester, his brother, was\ngranted one thousand acres in Rathdonnell, in Ireland. So Chichesters\ncrossed the stormy streak and settled down in the Emerald Isle.\n\nIt is really remarkable how many Devonshire families did the same in\nthe reigns of Elizabeth and James I, and families of old county repute\nand of acres sent their younger branches thither, where they rooted\nthemselves and became vigorous; whereas in a good many cases, the\nparent stock in Devon decayed and disappeared. It does seem that just\nas certain plants need transplantation, to maintain their vigour and to\navoid degeneration, the same should be the law with families.\n\nSir Edward Chichester, ninth Baronet, the subject of this memoir, was\nthe second son of Sir Arthur Chichester, whose eldest son, Arthur, died\nwithout issue in 1898.\n\nYoulston, the family seat, is in the parish of Sherwill, about four\nmiles from Barnstaple. Youlston itself is not beautiful externally. It,\nhowever, has fine ceilings in some of the rooms, and Grinling Gibbons\u2019\ncarving in the library. It stands in a fine park of one hundred and\nfifty acres, on high ground between the two streams of the Bradiford\nand the Youlston waters. Youlston at the time of the Domesday inquest\nwas held by Robert de Beaumont, but a lucky, keen-sighted Chichester\nsnapped up the heiress of Beaumont and so settled himself into the\nproperty. The old park and the old house were near the little river\nthat bears the name of Yeo, but these sites have been abandoned and\nhouse and park shifted further to the west.\n\nBorn in 1849, Sir Edward began his preparation for service in the\nRoyal Navy by entering as a cadet when he was thirteen years old. In\nJanuary, 1865, he joined the _Victoria_ in the Mediterranean, was\nappointed in 1868 to the _Constance_ on the west coast of America, and\nin 1869 passed as sub-lieutenant to the _Donegal_ for service in the\n_Ocean_ off China. He was gazetted commander, captain, and rear-admiral\nrespectively in 1882, 1889, and 1902.\n\nHe was too candid a man to attempt to conceal his political faith in\nany way. A stauncher Conservative it would have been hard to find,\nand he followed the political life in North Devon with the keenest\ninterest, wherever his work took him or however great its pressure. He\ntook an active part in the political struggles of Barnstaple in the\neighties. Severe contests were fought by the late Sir Robert Carden and\nLord Lymington, now the Earl of Portsmouth. Excitement led enthusiasts\nto extremes. The head-quarters of the rival candidates adjoined. After\na public meeting the candidates had a rough time on their way from the\nhall to their several hotels. Edward Chichester and his brother one\nevening escorted the aged Sir Robert Carden. Stones were thrown and\nthe little party hustled. A Radical crowd blocked the main entrance to\nthe Tory candidate\u2019s head-quarters, and threatened to maltreat him. By\ngreat efforts, and after frequent assaults, the two Chichesters got\nSir Robert safely indoors. A moment later and they emerged from the\nentrance without their coats and with their sleeves turned up. \u201cNow,\u201d\nshouted Edward Chichester, \u201csome of you fellows assailed my brother and\nmyself; come out and face us like men, if you be such!\u201d\n\nThere were groans and cheers; but no man accepted the challenge.\nEdward Chichester and his brother did not look inviting, as they stood\nin the street with teeth and fists clenched, and \u201ctheir tails were up.\u201d\nAfter this they escorted Sir Robert Carden many times, but there were\nno further molestations.\n\nFor a considerable number of years Captain Chichester was on the\nunemployed list, eating out his heart in his bungalow at Instow. But\nto every man at least once in life comes a chance, and the unlucky and\nunsuccessful man is he who, seeing it, does not recognize and grasp the\nchance.\n\nIt so fell out that the gunboat _Banterer_ was caught in a storm, and\nwas supposed to have foundered in the Bristol Channel. No tidings had\nbeen heard of her, and the Admiralty and the Duke of Edinburgh, then\nin command at Devonport, were greatly alarmed. However, she managed to\nrun into Bideford estuary, but was there in a deplorable condition, and\nthreatened to become a total wreck by running on some of the sandbanks\nthat obstruct the channel. Captain Chichester, who was on the beach\nwith telescope to his eye, saw the peril, called together at once a\nscratch crew, manned a boat, and at great personal risk, for the wind\nwas on shore and huge rollers were coming in, made his way to the\n_Banterer_, and himself piloted her into anchorage at Appledore, and\nwas able to wire to the Admiralty that she was safe. This got him the\ncommand of the troopship _Himalaya_.\n\nDuring the operations against the Boers in the Transvaal he was naval\ntransport officer, till the ignominious surrender by Mr. Gladstone in\n1881. Whenever that was mentioned in Sir Edward\u2019s hearing, his colour\nwould mount in cheek and temple, and he would lower his eyes, feeling\nthe dishonour done to his country as if it were a personal offence.\n\nIn 1881-2 he was lieutenant of the _Thalia_ during the war in Egypt. In\n1882 he was promoted for his services and received the Egyptian medal\nand the Khedive\u2019s bronze star, and was again employed in the transport\nservice.\n\nIn 1884-5 he was engaged on the same work in Egypt.\n\nIn 1887 he was a member of a Committee of Inquiry on British Drift-net\nFisheries, and the following year received the thanks of the Board\nof Trade for the judgment and tact he displayed as senior officer\nin command of the ships employed in protecting North Sea Fisheries;\nwhile in 1891 he served on a Board of Trade Committee on Fishing\nBoats\u2019 Lights. In 1895 he was sent with the _Immortalit\u00e9_ to the\nChina station. On inspecting a ship on the China station he was\naccompanied by a major of the Royal Marines; the latter had forgotten\nhis inspection papers, and asked leave to go back to his ship to fetch\nthem. When he returned he apologized to the captain for the delay and\nfor having forgotten the papers. \u201cYou\u2019ve forgotten something else,\u201d\nsaid Captain Chichester, looking up and down at the Marine officer, who\nwore the official spurs; \u201cwhy, you\u2019ve forgotten the \u2019oss.\u201d He was there\nin 1898 when the Spanish-American war broke out.\n\nWhen, after destroying the Spanish squadron at Cavite, Commodore\nDewey blockaded Manila, the _Immortalit\u00e9_ and three other men-of-war\nwere dispatched thither to protect English interests. Ships of other\nnations also assembled there, and amongst these the Germans with such\nan assumption of menace, that Commodore Dewey fired a shot across\nthe bows of the flagship of Admiral Dietrich, commanding the German\nsquadron. It was well known that the Germans were desirous of putting\na stop to the war, and that the Kaiser had no desire to see the Stars\nand Stripes wave over any possession in the Eastern Archipelago. He had\nbut just before used the expression \u201c_the Mailed Fist_\u201d in reference\nto his squadron in the Far East. The Emperor\u2019s royal brother was in\ncommand of one of the German ships. The American fleet was employed in\nManila Bay in keeping the Spanish squadron inside. The Germans were\napproaching menacingly, and showed signs of irritation at the prospect\nof the Americans taking active and decisive measures with the enemy. It\nbecame necessary for the American admiral to restrict the movements of\nthe foreign men-of-war in the circumstances. It seemed probable that\nDietrich had received secret instructions to fire on the American fleet\nin the event of its bombarding Manila, but only on the condition that\nthe English remained neutral. Be that as it may, the disposition of the\nGerman squadron drawing in upon that of the American looked suspicious.\nBut before opening fire the German admiral went to the _Immortalit\u00e9_ in\na boat to sound the disposition of the English commander.\n\nOn meeting in the cabin, Dietrich inquired, \u201cWhat attitude are you\nlikely to take up in the event of the Americans bombarding Manila?\u201d\n\u201cThat,\u201d replied Chichester, \u201cis a matter known only to Dewey and me.\u201d\n\nDietrich, somewhat disconcerted, paused, and then asked, \u201cWhere, sir,\ndo you intend the English squadron to be, should, unhappily, a conflict\nensue between the American Navy and that of his Imperial Majesty?\u201d \u201cAsk\nDewey,\u201d was the only answer vouchsafed, and the German retired down the\nside of the vessel growling in his beard.\n\nImmediately significant orders were issued, and the four British\nmen-of-war steamed across the line of the German vessels, the\n_Immortalit\u00e9_ leading, and the others following in line, and when\nthe senior vessel was about two ship-lengths off, the band of\nthe _Olympia_ played \u201cGod Save the Queen,\u201d and the band of the\n_Immortalit\u00e9_ responded with \u201cThe Star-spangled Banner.\u201d It was but a\ncommon, everyday act of courtesy, but it was vastly appreciated by the\nAmericans who witnessed it, and it was a significant hint of \u201chands\noff\u201d to the Germans.\n\nTowards nightfall, when it was evident that the American fleet was\nnot going into action, the French cruisers _Bayard_ and _Pascal_, and\nthe German cruisers _Kaiser_ and _Kaiserin Augusta_ returned to their\nformer anchorage. The American cruisers _Concord_ and _Petrel_ steamed\nslowly up the bay in front of the city, and anchored between it and\nthe foreign warships, but all through the night kept the searchlight\ntravelling over the water between them.\n\nNext morning Dietrich sent an apology to the Yankee admiral.\n\nThe exact details were never officially divulged. The significance of\nthis dramatic action was that it convinced the world that England was\non the side of the United States, and that, to use the old familiar\nphrase, \u201cBlood is thicker than water.\u201d Hitherto, the Americans had been\njealous and suspicious of Great Britain, and believed it possible that\nEngland might have sided with the Germans in the negotiations which it\nwas understood were then taking place in Europe for the combination\nof the Old World forces against the States in favour of Spain. As a\ncontemporary writer had it: \u201cIt was the first signal demonstration\nwhich the Americans received that the sympathies of their kith and\nkin were with them, and that the jealousy of no third Power would be\nallowed to interfere with the just retribution which they were about\nto exact from their enemy. Sir Edward made history that day. He wiped\nout the memories of Bunker Hill and New Orleans--so far as they were\nbitter memories.\u201d That his conduct was approved at home was shown by\nthe Government conferring on him the C.M.G. On another occasion, when\nin the China seas, Captain Chichester had an opportunity of making\nhistory, and make it he would have had he been supported by the\nGovernment at home. The incident shall be given in his own words:--\n\n\u201cI ran into Port Arthur one morning and anchored alongside a Russian\ncruiser. Well, there was the devil of a to-do. The Port Admiral put off\nand told me I could not anchor there. I said I was already anchored.\nHe said I must weigh again and get out. I told him I wouldn\u2019t budge\nan inch until it suited me, and in the meantime I must have fresh\nprovisions and vegetables. Then there was no end to the excitement,\nRussian pinnaces and Chinese pinnaces darting all over the harbour. I\nwent quietly about my business. The Chinese said they would complain\nto my Government. I grinned. This went on for some time, and then I\ngot orders from home--Salisbury was getting old then, and probably a\nlittle weak--to leave Port Arthur and sail for Chefoo. When I reached\nChefoo, the Russians took possession of Port Arthur. Had I remained,\nthe history of the Far East would have changed for all time.\u201d\n\nWith all officers with whom he had been shipmates, as with the men\nof the lower deck, the feeling entertained for Sir Edward was one of\nreal affection. He was a sailor after the sailor\u2019s own heart--bluff,\nhearty, and just and generous to a degree, and as fearless as he was\njust. In his manner of bearing there was an entire absence of that\ncharacteristic which in the service as in civil life is generally known\nas _side_. To his great disappointment he was never engaged in naval\nwarfare; but there can be no manner of doubt that he would have proved\na brilliant commander in an engagement at sea.\n\nDuring the South African war in 1899 to 1900, he was again employed as\nTransport Officer, this time at Cape Town. It was no light matter to\ntransport a quarter of a million men over five thousand miles of sea,\nand to land them at the Cape without a hitch. It was no fault of his\nthat the troops were dumped down in chaotic groups and in unsanitary\nspots. All he had to do was to convey these men who were sent to him\nfrom England to Africa.\n\nAs the _Morning Chronicle_ said:--\n\n\u201cDuring the South African war, Sir Edward Chichester, as Chief Naval\nTransport Officer, superintended the disembarkation of the troops,\nhorses, guns, and provisions, which the country poured into the\nsubcontinent. The smoothness and the skill and the absence of casualty\nwith which that difficult work was carried through, won for the gallant\nofficer universal approbation.\u201d\n\nChichester was a man of blunt speech, and most of the stories told of\nhim illustrate this roughness. Sir Edward ordered, on one occasion, the\ncaptain of one of the transports lying in Cape Town docks to move his\nship out, in order to make room for another. The captain did not want\nto go, and raised difficulties. \u201cHe had not his steam up--could not\npossibly change quarters that night.\u201d Sir Edward remarked, \u201cGive him an\nhour, and if he is not out by then, we will shift him.\u201d\n\nThe hour elapsed without a move being made. Then, at a signal, two\nGovernment tugs shot out, ran alongside, and in twenty minutes the\nsteamer was had out and anchored in the bay.\n\nInto his room at Cape Town one day burst a Volunteer colonel, swelling\nwith importance. \u201cWho are you, sir?\u201d asked Sir Edward.\n\n\u201cI am Colonel Blank,\u201d was the reply, given with much pomposity.\n\n\u201cOh, indeed, is that all?\u201d said Sir Edward. \u201cI thought at least you\nwere an admiral.\u201d\n\nHe was busy writing in his office on the quay on another occasion, and\ntook no notice of a ponderous person waiting impatiently.\n\n\u201cWill you please to attend to me?\u201d the man asked at length.\n\nSir Edward looked up and inquired, \u201cHave you bought these docks, sir?\u201d\n\n\u201cMost certainly not. I do not know what you mean.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen go to the devil,\u201d Sir Edward remarked, going on with his writing.\nThen, summoning his clerk, he said: \u201cHere! stick up on my door the\nnotice in big letters, \u2018Office of the Chief Transport Officer, and _not\na general inquiry office_.\u2019\u201d But he had also inscribed on his office\ndoor, \u201cWalk right in; no Red Tape here.\u201d\n\nOn one occasion the captain of a big Union-Castle liner came in to\nmake a report. Chichester had a great objection to the uniforms worn\nby the officers of these ships, because he thought they were modelled\ntoo closely on the lines of the naval uniforms. Seeing this gorgeously\nclad individual in his office he stood up, and gravely saluting him\nremarked:--\n\n\u201cI am sorry, _Admiral_, that the Government have thought it necessary\nto send you out to supersede me in my duties. I hoped that I was giving\nsatisfaction, but----\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is some mistake, Sir Edward,\u201d was the reply. \u201cI am Captain----,\nof the _---- Castle_.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! Then why the devil do you deck yourself up in that rig?\u201d roared\nout the Chief Transport Officer. \u201cIf that is all you are, you can wait\ntill I\u2019ve finished my letter.\u201d\n\nBored on another occasion by some officer over a trumpery affair, he\nburst out, \u201cLook here, sir! you are sent out to South Africa to kill\nBoers, and not to kill time. Anyhow, you shall not kill mine.\u201d\n\nMr. Douglas Story tells the following: An an\u00e6mic officer came to Sir\nEdward one day during the Boer war, and demanded attention.\n\n\u201cH\u2019m, what do you want?\u201d growled the Chief Naval Transport Officer.\n\n\u201cFood, sir, for my men.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, haven\u2019t they got any? What are they living on?\u201d\n\n\u201cBiscuits, sir; beastly dry biscuits.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan\u2019t they live on biscuits? The Navy men manage to subsist on them.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey are used to \u2019em; our Tommies are not. Theirs is a better stomach\nfor biscuits than that of the men in the army.\u201d\n\n\u201cAye, and they have a d---- d better stomach for fighting, too!\u201d roared\nthe Captain, and resumed his work.\n\nWhen the Devon Volunteers landed in South Africa, Sir Edward saw to\ntheir disembarkation, and also saw them leave for the front. One of the\nBarnstaple men relates that as they moved away Sir Edward put his hands\nto his mouth, funnel-wise, and shouted: \u201cMind, you Devon chaps, give\nthe Boers a d---- d good hiding.\u201d\n\nDuring the war Sir Edward stayed in one of the smallest hotels in Cape\nTown, near the docks, as more convenient to his work than one that\nwas larger and up town. But the food provided there was execrable.\nSir Edward, unable to stomach this, one day provided himself with a\ngigantic cheese that he had purchased, and entered the coffee-room\ncarrying it, and thereon he made his lunch.\n\nAt the same time there was staying in the hotel a Dutchman whom\nevery one looked upon as a spy. In the evening Sir Edward was late\nfor dinner, and the Hollander early. Imagine, therefore, the gallant\ncaptain\u2019s disgust when on entering the room he found the Dutchman\ntucking into his cheese. He paused in the doorway, stared, and then\nthundered out: \u201cI say, waiter, look there! I\u2019m d---- d if that Boer spy\nisn\u2019t eating my cheese! By heavens, it\u2019s a bullet or two he should have\ninside him and not my cheese!\u201d\n\nEvery one but the Dutchman burst into a roar of laughter.\n\nHe was made C.B. in October, 1900, and was naval A.D.C. to Queen\nVictoria, and afterwards to the King, from 1899 to 1904. On his return\nfrom South Africa he took command of the fleet reserve at Devonport. He\nwas promoted to Rear-Admiral in January, 1902, and on June 10th, 1904,\nwas appointed Admiral-Superintendent, with charge of His Majesty\u2019s\nnaval establishments at Gibraltar. He had married the daughter of the\nlate Commander R. C. Whyte, /R.N./, of Instow, in 1880, and by\nher had four sons and six daughters.\n\nHe returned to England hale and cheerful in 1900. On arriving in North\nDevon he was welcomed by his tenantry with great rejoicings, and was\npresented with an illuminated address, which was read in the presence\nof a large assembly of local notabilities by his brother, the rector\nof Sherwill. His first words in reply were, \u201cYou said that very well,\nPass\u2019n Charles.\u201d\n\nHe went back to his duties at Gibraltar, where he died on September\n17th, 1906. The body was brought to Plymouth in the _Formidable_, and\nthence conveyed by train to North Devon, and the obsequies took place\nat Sherwill. Sir Edward had seldom resided at Youlston when in England,\nbut at his bungalow, Instow.\n\n\u201cOutside his own country and navy,\u201d said the Paris edition of the\n_New York Herald_, \u201cthe untimely death of Rear-Admiral Chichester,\n/R.N./, cannot be more regretted than by the American people\nand its naval service. During the critical period succeeding the\ncapture of Manila, this British officer proved himself a steadfast\nsupporter of our rights in those waters. While scrupulously observing\nthe obligations imposed on him as a neutral, his official and personal\nconduct strengthened the hands of Admiral Dewey, harassed as he was by\nthe inexplicable and annoying performances of the German admiral on\nthat station. The prompt and graceful action of Rear-Admiral Brownson\non his arrival off Gibraltar, with the American armoured cruiser\ndivision, in furnishing an escort for the funeral of this distinguished\nofficer, will therefore be earnestly approved by our Government and\npeople. It was both a recognition of the personal esteem in which\nRear-Admiral Chichester was held, and a fitting official testimony to\nthe services rendered by him when our friends were few and far between.\u201d\n\nThe _Morning Chronicle_ said: \u201cAdmiral Sir Edward Chichester was a\nsplendid specimen of the British naval officer. In physique, in his\nbluff heartiness of manner, in his racy conversation, in the very roll\nof his walk, he was every inch a sailor. Wherever he went he carried\nwith him the savour of the sea. A thorough West-countryman--a man \u2018of\nBideford in Devon\u2019--he preserved the traditions of the old Elizabethan\nsailors, and seemed indeed to be in the lineal succession to Grenville\nand Hawkins, to Drake and Raleigh.\u201d\n\nEqually sympathetic was a notice in the _Standard_:--\n\n\u201cIn Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Chichester there has passed away a sailor\nafter Lord St. Vincent\u2019s own heart. We had said after Nelson\u2019s, but\nNelson had no hand in the administrative work of the Navy, in which\nSir Edward took so great, if subordinate, a share. He belonged to a\nclass which will probably become more and more rare in the Navy--the\ntype of blunt sailor who is a sailor first, second and last, but who,\njust because he is all a sailor, is also an inimitable diplomatist,\nprompt and resolute, seeking no quarrel, but fearing no responsibility.\nWe do not for a moment imply that these qualities are not to be found\nin abundance in the new Navy; but the naval officer of to-day has the\nhabits and manners of the world in a degree to which a sailor of the\nschool of Sir Edward Chichester did not attain.\u201d\n\nAt a dinner given in honour of Sir Redvers Buller in Exeter, in\nNovember, 1900, the late Lord Clinton, in the course of a speech on\nthat occasion, said:--\n\n\u201cI believe if ever there was the right man in the right place, it was\nSir Edward Chichester. Go outside England--go to America, and ask\nwhat is thought of him there. We know that the opinion is very high.\nI believe if the American Navy were at war, and found Sir Edward\nChichester on the high seas without an escort, they would kidnap him,\nand place him at the head of the American Navy. Many American stories\nare told about Sir Edward. They are perhaps not all true. But if not\nall true, I think they are well conceived. There is one I have heard\nabout an admiral who greatly admired Sir Edward, and greatly admired\nEngland. The admiral bought a lion cub, and wishing always to have\nthe type of Britain before him, he called it _Chichester_. Sir Edward\nChichester, I dare say to his sorrow, was never a combatant officer in\nthis war, but his heart was with his gallant comrades who arrived so\nopportunely at Ladysmith.\u201d\n\nSome remarkable coincidences were noted on the occasion of the death of\nAdmiral Chichester.\n\nHis flagship, the sloop _Cormorant_, was formally paid off on the date\nof his death, and recommissioned for similar service under Rear-Admiral\nJ. G. C. Goodrich, who left Plymouth for Gibraltar to take up his\nappointment. In accord with an arrangement made some weeks before, the\nbattleship _Formidable_ was directed to call at Gibraltar and embark\nthe paid-off men of the _Cormorant_ for passage home. The _Formidable_\non reaching Gibraltar received the news of Sir Edward\u2019s death, and was\nat once ordered to arrange for the body to be received on board, so\nthat the late admiral and the crew of his flagship came home in the\nsame vessel--a vessel which was also bound to her paying-off port. The\npaying-off of a flagship on the same day as that on which the death\ntook place of the admiral whose flag she bore was probably unique in\nthe annals of the British Navy. It was also a noteworthy circumstance\nthat Rear-Admiral Goodrich, who in the ordinary way would have\nsucceeded Admiral Chichester early in the ensuing month, left Plymouth\nSound on the very same day as that on which the body of his predecessor\narrived at that port from Gibraltar.\n\nThe speech of Captain Chichester to the German admiral--\u201cThat is a\nmatter known only to Dewey and me\u201d--may be seen inscribed in the\nNaval School in Annapolis, U.S.A., where it embellishes one of the\nwalls of the academy. It may be noted that Annapolis is one of the\nmost British towns in the United States, in the style of its streets\nand architecture generally, and there is surely no English name\nmore beloved in the American Navy than that of bluff old Admiral\nChichester.\n\n\n\n\nINDEX\n\n\n    Abbott, Mr. Frank, 54\n\n    Abbott, Mrs., 197, 200, 202\n\n    Abdul Gopher, 381\n\n    Abede, 118, 119\n\n    Aberdeen, 356, 738\n\n    Aberystwyth, 429\n\n    Abingdon, Lord, 256\n\n    _Account of the Religion and Manners of the Mohammetans_, 169\n\n    Ackermann, 572\n\n    Acland, Sir Thomas, 479, 533\n\n    Adams, Jane, 215\n\n    Adams, Mr., 663\n\n    Addison, Joseph, 245, 246, 247\n\n    Admirable Crichton. _See_ James Wyatt\n\n    Affeton, 262, 278, 285\n\n    Aix, 419\n\n    Albemarle, Duke of, 242\n\n    Albury, 256, 257\n\n    Aldgate Workhouse, 367\n\n    Algiers, 84, 152-158, 167\n\n    Alley, Daniel, 192, 193\n\n    Almondsbury, 35, 39, 41\n\n    Alphington, 17\n\n    Alphington Ponies, the, 16-20\n\n    ---- strange appearance of, 16, 18, 20\n\n    ---- excuses of the impecunious, 18\n\n    Alquenezes, Marquess, 91, 92\n\n    Altarnun, 302\n\n    Amery, Mr. J. S., 456\n\n    American prisoners, 634-699\n\n    ---- are shot down, 646\n\n    ---- mutiny, 645, 653\n\n    ---- report on massacre, 674\n\n    Anderson, Lord, 104\n\n    Andrews, Charles, 634, 637, 641, 646, 647, 650, 697, 698\n\n    Andrews, William, 64\n\n    _Annals of the East India Company_, 381\n\n    Annapolis, 787\n\n    Anne, Queen, 48, 233, 243, 415\n\n    Annery, 182, 183\n\n    _Annual Register_, 67, 68, 368, 400, 524 _note_\n\n    Anstey, Bat, 540, 558\n\n    _Antiquities_, 226, 232\n\n    Antongil Bay, 386\n\n    Apparitions, 725\n\n    Appledore, 235, 775\n\n    Apples, 14\n\n    ---- at a Church Congress, 2\n\n    ---- grown by Stafford, 2\n\n    ---- in church, 50\n\n    ---- Royal Wilding, 6-9, 12, 13\n\n    Arber, Mr., 94\n\n    _Architectural Antiquities_, 571\n\n    Architecture, Gothic, 574, 614\n\n    Architecture, painter of. _See_ Samuel Prout\n\n    Architecture, Works on, 575\n\n    Argyll, Duke of, 417\n\n    Arlington, 772\n\n    Arms of Lord Ashburton, 632\n\n    ---- Bidlake family, 217\n\n    ---- Blundell family, 619\n\n    ---- Gould family, 619\n\n    ---- Harris family, 619\n\n    ---- Kelloway family, 1\n\n    ---- Prowse family, 565\n\n    ---- Raleigh family, 281\n\n    ---- Stafford family, 1\n\n    ---- Young family, 619\n\n    Arnold, Andrew, 716\n\n    Arnold, John, 680\n\n    Arnold, Richard, 675, 677, 678\n\n    Arnull, Mrs., 563\n\n    Arscott, 47\n\n    Arscott family, the, 47, 57\n\n    Arscott, John, 47-57\n\n    ---- his characteristic kindness, 49\n\n    ---- his conduct in church, 50\n\n    Arscott, John, his jester, 53\n\n    ---- his toad, 49, 53\n\n    Arscott, \u201cthe wicked,\u201d 49\n\n    Ash, Dr. Linnington, 544, 563\n\n    Ashburton, first Lord, 630\n\n    Ashburton, 279, 370, 436, 437, 440, 442, 445, 447, 452, 478, 604,\n    619, 622-624, 628, 633\n\n    _Ashburtonian_, 456\n\n    Ashprington, 371\n\n    Ashton, John, 277\n\n    Ashwater, 371\n\n    Aspect, reason for north, 223\n\n    Assassination of Henry III, attempted, 226\n\n    _As You Like It_, 514\n\n    Audley End, 196\n\n    Aurungzebe, 381\n\n    Austen, Rudolphus, 13\n\n    Austin, Alfred, 329\n\n    Austin, Tom, 175, 176\n\n    Avelyn, Lieutenant, 656 _note_, 660, 670, 695\n\n    Averie, Elizabeth, 251\n\n    Avery, Captain John, 375-389\n\n    ---- autocracy in Madagascar, 376, 386, 388\n\n    ---- as pirate, 381\n\n    ---- captures Great Mogul\u2019s daughter, 381\n\n    Aveton Gifford, 520, 524\n\n\n    Baba Hasan, 159\n\n    Babbage, Jack, 553, 554, 556, 557, 562\n\n    Babley, 414\n\n    Badger, John, 65\n\n    Baggator, 702\n\n    Bagnal, Sir Nicholas, 268\n\n    Bagshot, 203, 281\n\n    Bailey, Mr., 708\n\n    Baker, Archdeacon, 372\n\n    Baker, Bessie, 73\n\n    Baker, J., 334, 375\n\n    Baker, Mary. _See_ Caraboo\n\n    Baker, Sir Richard, 183\n\n    _Baker\u2019s Chronicle_, 183\n\n    _Ballads and Songs_, 328\n\n    _Ballads, A Century of_, 277\n\n    Ballad of Cyder, 15\n\n    ---- of Dick Simmins, 524\n\n    ---- of Lady Howard, 210\n\n    ---- of \u201cLusty\u201d Stucley, 273\n\n    ---- of the Bideford Witches, 277\n\n    ---- of Wrestling, 515\n\n    _Ballads_, 244, 417, 503, 615\n      \u201cThe Bay of Biscay,\u201d 354\n      \u201cThe Death of the Smuggler,\u201d 354\n      \u201cThe Death of Parker,\u201d 364-368\n      \u201cDear Catholic Brother,\u201d 243\n      \u201cThe Fish on the Coast,\u201d 253\n      \u201cThe Hunting of Arscott, of Tetcott,\u201d 54, 243\n      \u201cJoy to Great C\u00e6sar,\u201d 245\n      \u201cJust Like Love,\u201d 353\n      \u201cThe Lamentation of Strangwidge,\u201d 103\n      \u201cThe Little Girl down the Lane,\u201d 445\n      \u201cMay We Never Want a Friend,\u201d 354\n      \u201cMrs. Page\u2019s Lament,\u201d 102\n      \u201cNice Young Maidens,\u201d 423\n      \u201cOne Long Whitsun Holiday,\u201d 245\n      \u201cThe Scotch Yoke,\u201d 5\n\n    Ballard, Joseph, 415\n\n    Baller, Anthony, 422\n\n    Bampfylde, Mr., 613\n\n    Bancroft, Mr. and Mrs., 33\n\n    Banks, Sir Joseph, 750\n\n    _Banterer_, 775\n\n    Barclay, 133\n\n    Baring, Charles, 616\n\n    Barker, Hon. Charles, 257\n\n    Barnes, Grace, 276\n\n    Barnes, John, 320-324\n\n    ---- taverner to highwayman, 321\n\n    ---- executed, 324\n\n    Barnstaple, 102-104, 224, 230-234, 326, 414, 417, 422, 543, 561,\n    772, 774, 782\n\n    _Barnstaple, Literary History of_, 103\n\n    Baron, John, 222\n\n    Barr\u00e9, Colonel Isaac, 628, 629\n\n    Barry, Mr., 472\n\n    Barum ware, 234\n\n    Baskerville, Mary, 458\n\n    Bastard, Colonel, 482, 483, 704\n\n    Batavia, 38, 387\n\n    Bateman, Mary, 394\n\n    Bath, 40, 45, 420, 429\n\n    _Bath Chronicle_, 40\n\n    Bath, Earl of, 231\n\n    Bathurst, Lord, 418\n\n    _Battle of Alcazar_, 272, 273, 734\n\n    Battyn, 47\n\n    Batworthy, 755\n\n    _Baviad_, 451, 453, 455\n\n    Bawden the Mole-catcher, 520\n\n    Bayard, 238\n\n    Bay of Biscay, 86\n\n    Beaford, 541\n\n    Bear, John, 744\n\n    Beare, Dr., 274\n\n    Beasley, Reuben G., 635, 639, 673\n\n    Beaumont, Robert de, 773\n\n    _Beauties of England and Wales_, 568, 571\n\n    Bebb, Mr., 27\n\n    Becket, Thomas \u00e0, 549\n\n    Bedford, Earl of, 204, 209, 754\n\n    Beer, 308, 309, 318\n\n    Beggar, a disguised, 432, 433\n\n    _Beggars\u2019 Opera, The_, 414-421\n\n    ---- complete success of, 419\n\n    Belgrave, Lord, 448\n\n    Bell, Mr., 241\n\n    Bell, James, 698\n\n    _Belle\u2019s Stratagem, The_, 31\n\n    Bell-ringing, contests in, 370\n\n    ---- songs of, 370, 371\n\n    Belmont, 716\n\n    Belstone, 709\n\n    Beltrees, 241\n\n    Bennett, John, 694\n\n    Bennett\u2019s Cross, 700\n\n    Benson, Thomas, 233\n\n    ---- donor of bowl and ladle, 234\n\n    ---- King of Lundy, 234-237\n\n    ---- M.P. for Barnstaple, 234\n\n    Bent, Dr., 256\n\n    Berkeley, Colonel, 24-26\n\n    Berkeley, Earl of, 24\n\n    Berlin, 616, 628\n\n    Bermondsey, 393\n\n    Bernasconi, Miss, 563\n\n    Berry, 251\n\n    Berry, Sarah, 603\n\n    Bertie, Dr., 256\n\n    Berwick, 266, 483\n\n    Bevan, 602\n\n    Bewick, 578\n\n    Beyeck, Joseph, 698\n\n    Bible, value of the, 341\n\n    Bickford, William, 47\n\n    Bickleigh, 188, 189, 426, 435, 568\n\n    Bicton, 591\n\n    Bideford, 233, 234, 274, 276, 327, 329, 330, 384, 385, 389, 414,\n    417, 436, 775, 785\n\n    Bidlake, 212, 217, 223, 737\n\n    Bidlake, Dr., 459, 566, 567, 568\n\n    Bidlake family, the, 212-223, 737\n\n    Bidlake, Henry, 215, 219, 222\n\n    ---- fights for Royalists, 220\n\n    Bidlake, Henry, hides in a clock, 220\n\n    Bidlake, John, 219\n\n    Bidlake, William, 215, 218\n\n    Bilbao, 152\n\n    Binus, 469\n\n    Birch Tor, 700, 701, 705\n\n    Bird, Mr. E., /R.A./, 41, 46\n\n    Bird of the Oxenhams, the, 249-261\n\n    ---- appears to foretell death, 249, 254, 256, 258-261\n\n    ---- probable origin of legend, 254, 255\n\n    Birds of the Crozet Islands, 342\n\n    Birdwood, Miss, 133\n\n    Birmingham, 62, 68, 329\n\n    Bisett, Margaret, 227\n\n    Bishops, bad character of, in 16th century, 214\n\n    Bishop, John, 597\n\n    Bishop, Robert, 597\n\n    Bishops of Exeter, 48, 124, 125, 214, 217, 218, 249, 529, 531, 532,\n    538, 556, 557, 558, 583, 590, 747\n\n    Bishop of Limoges, 239\n\n    Bishop of London, 43, 739\n\n    Bishop of Saint Flores, 239\n\n    Bishopstawton, 104\n\n    \u201cBlack Assize, The,\u201d 103\n\n    Blackabrook, 186\n\n    Blackhall, 711\n\n    Black Horse, Captain of the, 207\n\n    \u201cBlack Horse Tavern,\u201d 320, 321, 323\n\n    Black John, 52-55\n\n    Blackmail, 383\n\n    Blackmore, Robert D., 528, 549, 556, 561\n\n    Blake, Admiral, 158, 377\n\n    Blake, William, 699\n\n    Blisland, 56\n\n    Bliss, Mr. Joe, 502\n\n    Bloomers introduced by the Alphington Ponies, 20\n\n    Blore, Mr., 564\n\n    _Bloudie Booke, The_, 193\n\n    Blow, Dr. John, 241, 614\n\n    Blundell, Peter, 438, 619\n\n    Blundell\u2019s School, 426, 535\n\n    Board of Trade, 776\n\n    Boconnoc, 605\n\n    Bodleian Library, 324\n\n    Bodmin, 317, 525, 738\n\n    Bodmin Moors, 302\n\n    Body-snatching, 365, 405-413\n\n    Boer War, 780, 782\n\n    Boggs, John, 685\n\n    Boleyn, Mary, 263\n\n    Bolton, Duke of, 418\n\n    Bombay, 381\n\n    Boogoos, the, 38\n\n    _Book of the West, The_, 6, 14\n\n    Bordeaux, 268, 309, 605\n\n    _Borders of the Tamar and the Tavy_, 95\n\n    Boringdon, 713\n\n    Borrow, George, 466, 469, 471\n\n    Boscastle, 302\n\n    Boscawen, Mrs., 743\n\n    Boston, 384, 697\n\n    Boswell, James, 627, 750\n\n    B\u00f6tcher, 604\n\n    Boughthayes, 187\n\n    Boulogne, siege of, 263\n\n    Boundye, Thomas, 597\n\n    Bovey, 535\n\n    Bovey Heathfield, 482\n\n    Bowring, Benjamin, 510\n\n    Boyce, John, 533\n\n    Boyle, Robert, 489\n\n    Brabant, 205\n\n    Braddons, The, 18\n\n    Bradford, 68\n\n    Bradiford stream, 773\n\n    Bradmore, 524\n\n    Bradstone, 213, 222\n\n    Bradworthy, 594, 595\n\n    Bratton Clovelly, 97\n\n    Braunton, 329\n\n    Bray, Mrs., 95, 96\n\n    Bray, Rev. E. A., 95\n\n    _Brazen Mask, The_, 353\n\n    Breeches fit the man, 703\n\n    Brentford, 281, 731\n\n    Brest, 206\n\n    Brice, Andrew, 389, 480, 502-513\n\n    ---- reprimanded by Parliament, 504\n\n    ---- publishes _Weekly Journal_, 504\n\n    ---- publishes _The Grand Gazetteer_, 509\n\n    Bridestowe, 212, 213, 221\n\n    Bridewell, 393\n\n    Bridport, 308\n\n    Brightleigh, 436, 437\n\n    Brighton, 44\n\n    Brimblecombe, 540, 541\n\n    Brimpton, 185\n\n    Bristol, 37, 39, 41, 45, 378, 384, 393, 420, 431\n\n    British Museum, 52, 180, 329\n\n    Britton, John, 568, 569\n\n    Brixham, 308, 317, 440\n\n    Brixton, 572\n\n    Broadbury Down, 371\n\n    Broadly, Mr. A. M., 404 _note_\n\n    Broad Street, 282\n\n    Broadwood, 371\n\n    Broadwood Kelly, 710\n\n    Broeck, Adrian Van, 376, 388\n\n    Bromefield, 266\n\n    Brooke, Mr., 42\n\n    Brooking-Rowe, Mr., 94\n\n    Brooks, James, 62, 63\n\n    Brothers, Richard, 393\n\n    Brouchet, 66\n\n    Broughton, 66\n\n    Broughton, Sir John, 466\n\n    Brown, General, 661\n\n    Brown, Tom, 241\n\n    Brownson, Rear-Admiral, 784\n\n    Browse family, the, 718\n\n    Bruce, John, 381\n\n    Bruce, Robert, 718-725\n\n    Bruges, 207\n\n    Brunton, Misses, 450\n\n    Brushfield, Dr., 506, 510, 511\n\n    Brushford, 42\n\n    Brussels, 265\n\n    Buckerell, 543\n\n    Buckingham, 85, 243\n\n    Buckingham, Duke of, 85, 196, 710\n\n    Buckland Brewer, 182, 327, 330\n\n    Buckland-on-the-Moor, 704\n\n    Buckner, Admiral, 357, 358\n\n    Budd, Dr., of North Tawton, 81, 770\n\n    Budd, Dr. J. W., 754-771\n\n    ---- his summary treatment of patients, 759, 760, 761, 762, 766,\n    768, 769\n\n    ---- his kindness to the poor, 762, 766, 767\n\n    ---- his accurate diagnosis, 763, 764\n\n    ---- ubiquitous, 771\n\n    Budd family, the, 754\n\n    Budleigh Salterton, 318\n\n    Bulkworthy, 182, 184\n\n    Buller, Dean, 747\n\n    Buller, Sir Redvers, 785\n\n    Bunker Hill, 779\n\n    Buoncompagni, Giacomo, 272\n\n    Burdeson Park, 28\n\n    Burdett-Coutts, Baroness, 329\n\n    Burgess, Mary, 45. _See_ Caraboo\n\n    Burghley, Lord, 271 _note_, 272\n\n    Burgoyne, Henry, 688\n\n    Burian, 710\n\n    Burke, Edmund, 405, 409, 606, 627\n\n    Burkett, Rev. T., 254\n\n    Burleigh, Lord, 735\n\n    Burleigh Wood, 220\n\n    Burnby, Mrs., 207\n\n    Burney, Dr., 613, 614\n\n    Burnham, Enoch, 684\n\n    Burns, the Devonshire. _See_ Edw. Capern\n\n    Burritt, Elihu, 330\n\n    Burroughs, Mr., 115, 117\n\n    Burrow, Mrs., 590\n\n    Bury, Admiral, 536\n\n    Bush Down Mine, 700\n\n    Bushell, Thomas, 232\n\n    Bushfield, James N., 692\n\n    Bute, Lord, 3, 4, 6, 624\n\n    ---- burnt in effigy, 4\n\n    Butler, Mr., 160, 161\n\n    Butler, Samuel, 752\n\n    Butterstone, 737\n\n    Byron, Lord, 450, 453\n\n\n    Cadboll, 631\n\n    Cadhay, 457, 458\n\n    Cadiz, 86, 87, 93, 267\n\n    Cain, Elizabeth, 437\n\n    Calais, 264\n\n    Callington, 81, 371, 535\n\n    Calmady family, the, 217\n\n    Calmady, Mr., 757\n\n    Calne, 624, 628\n\n    Calverleigh, 772\n\n    Calvinists, 42\n\n    Camberwell, 571\n\n    Cambridge, 754\n\n    Camden, 2\n\n    Camden Society, 324\n\n    Camelford, 605\n\n    Camley, 226\n\n    Campbell, James, 698\n\n    Campion, 481\n\n    Canaletti, 571\n\n    Canary Islands, 108, 152\n\n    Cann, Abraham, 519-523\n\n    Cann, William, 597\n\n    Canterbury, 66, 105\n\n    Cape Bojadore, 115\n\n    Cape Finisterre, 138, 268\n\n    Cape La Hogue, 311\n\n    Cape of Good Hope, 349\n\n    Cape Town, 780, 781, 783\n\n    Capern, Edward, 325-331\n\n    ---- artificial as poet, 325, 328\n\n    ---- described by Burritt, 330\n\n    ---- praised by Froude and Landor, 329\n\n    ---- the postman poet, 327\n\n    _Captives, The_, 415\n\n    Caraboo, 35-46\n\n    ---- her supposed history, 38\n\n    ---- her real identity, 41\n\n    ---- is brought to Knole, 35\n\n    Carden, Sir Robert, 774, 775\n\n    Carew, 268, 527, 528\n\n    Carew, Bampfylde-Moore, 425-435, 437\n\n    ---- life as a beggar, 427-432\n\n    Carew, Rev. Theodore, 426\n\n    Carew, Sir Walter, 556\n\n    Carey, Bishop of Exeter, 595\n\n    Carey, William, 263\n\n    Carley, James, 661 _note_, 693\n\n    Carlile, Mr., 439, 440\n\n    Carlisle, 67\n\n    Carlow, 270\n\n    Carmarthen, Marquess of, 151\n\n    Carnbrea, 705\n\n    Carne\u2019s Balls, 769, 770\n\n    Carolina, 377\n\n    Caroline, Queen, 415\n\n    Caron House, 715\n\n    Carpenter, Elias, 393\n\n    Carrickfergus, 773\n\n    Carrington, Chancellor, 352\n\n    Carswell, 584, 590\n\n    Carteret, Lord, 235\n\n    Cary family, the, 565\n\n    Cary, Philippa, 292-300\n\n    ---- executed, 299\n\n    ---- exhorted by Quicke, 295-297\n\n    Cashel, Archbishop of, 269, 270\n\n    Castlereagh, Lord, 644, 673\n\n    Catdowne, 298\n\n    Cater, Mr., 565\n\n    Cathedral Close Gates, Exeter, 485\n\n    Catwater, 298\n\n    Cavite, 776\n\n    Cawley, Mr., 495, 499\n\n    Cecil, Robert, 735\n\n    Cecil, Sir Edward, 85, 86, 93, 264, 267, 272\n\n    _Century of the Names and Scantlings of Inventions_, 487\n\n    Cephus, Richard, 676\n\n    Chagford, 65, 737, 755\n\n    Chair, Gay\u2019s, 414, 415, 421\n\n    Challacombe, 701, 705\n\n    Challoner, 265\n\n    Champernowne, Margaret, 189\n\n    Champernowne, Rev. F., 372\n\n    Champion, Richard, 606\n\n    Channel Islands, 306, 308, 309, 314, 315\n\n    Chanter, Mr. J. R., 103, 224, 225 _note_, 237 _note_, 422, 423\n\n    Chappell, Samuel, 597\n\n    Chapple, William, 241, 256, 543\n\n    Charles I, 85, 93, 219\n\n    Charles II, 158, 241, 242, 243, 245\n\n    Chartres, Cathedral of, 579\n\n    Chaster, 479\n\n    Ch\u00e2teau Morand, 239\n\n    Chatham, 634\n\n    Chave, Mr., 286-291\n\n    Chaw Gully, 705\n\n    Chefoo, 779\n\n    Chee-ming, 38\n\n    Cheltenham, 24\n\n    Cherbourg, 306, 308\n\n    Chiche, 195\n\n    Chichester, Baron, 772\n\n    Chichester family, the ubiquitous, 772\n\n    ---- famous members of, 772, 773\n\n    Chichester, Rear-Admiral Sir Edward, 772-787\n\n    ---- a staunch Conservative, 774\n\n    ---- his death at Gibraltar, 784\n\n    ---- his difficulties as transport officer, 780-783\n\n    ---- his diplomacy, 777, 784, 787\n\n    ---- promotions of, 774, 775, 776, 779, 783\n\n    _Child of Nature, The_, 23\n\n    Chimsworthy, 97\n\n    China, 36, 616, 776\n\n    China-clay discovered, 605\n\n    Chope, R. Pearse, 234 _note_, 237 _note_\n\n    Chowne, Parson, 549, 551, 556\n\n    Christchurch, 315, 373\n\n    _Chronicles of Crime_, 355, 368\n\n    Chudleigh, 622\n\n    Chumleigh, 262, 510\n\n    Church Congress at Plymouth, 2\n\n    Churchill, Mr., 107\n\n    Cibber, Colley, 416\n\n    Cirencester, 772\n\n    Cirencester, Sir John de, 772\n\n    Citadel, The, 298\n\n    Civita Vecchia, 272\n\n    _Clandestine Marriage, The_, 509\n\n    Clarendon, 195, 197, 199, 211, 415, 487\n\n    Clarke, Capt. J. S., 725\n\n    Clarke, Mr., 422\n\n    Clarke, Sir T., 620\n\n    Clement, John C., 644\n\n    Clements, William, 692\n\n    Clergy, corrupt state of the, 214, 562, 594\n\n    Cleveland, Earl of, 715\n\n    Cleverdon, Penelope, 599\n\n    Clifford, Lord, 435\n\n    Clinton, Lord, 785\n\n    Cloberry, John, 222\n\n    Clock, grandfather, 220\n\n    Clode, Braddon, 56\n\n    Clovelly, fishermen of, 229\n\n    Clutterbuck, Richard, 249\n\n    Coaker, Jonas, poet, 706\n\n    Cobbett, William, 454\n\n    Cobley, John, 583\n\n    Cobley, Miss, 458\n\n    Cobley, Mr., 461\n\n    _Cobley, Uncle Tom_, 583\n\n    Cockburn, Mr., 551\n\n    Codding, Caleb, 699\n\n    Codmore, John, 62\n\n    Coham, William Holland, 47\n\n    Cohen, Israel, 407\n\n    Cohorn, 499\n\n    Coining, counterfeit, 640\n\n    Coin clipping, 265, 283-285\n\n    Coke, Sir Edmund, 195\n\n    Cole, James, 60\n\n    Cole, Mary, 24\n\n    Colebrook, 519\n\n    Collard, John, 694\n\n    Collas, Victor, 640\n\n    Colchester prison, 168\n\n    Coleman, Dorcas, 274\n\n    _Collections_, 254\n\n    Collier, Jeremy, 241, 242\n\n    Collier, W. F., 516 _note_, 525, 756\n\n    Collumpton, 175, 321, 322\n\n    Cologne, 167\n\n    Colton, Rev. C., /M.A./, 286, 289, 290\n\n    Combe, 212\n\n    Combe, William de, 213\n\n    Combmartin, 537\n\n    Compton, Theodore, 606\n\n    Congo Free State, 386 _note_\n\n    Congreve, W., 417\n\n    Constantinople, 159, 162\n\n    Consul, English, 155\n\n    Consul, French, 157\n\n    Cooke, John, saddler, 478-486\n\n    ---- his conduct during elections, 481\n\n    ---- his services to Exeter, 483-485\n\n    Cookesley, Rev. John, 454\n\n    Cookesley, William, 445-448\n\n    Cookworthy, William, 600-607\n\n    ---- absent-minded Quaker, 603\n\n    ---- discoverer of china-clay, 605\n\n    Cooper, Sir Astley, 405\n\n    Copenhagen, 309\n\n    Corelli, 609\n\n    Cork, 268, 384, 439\n\n    Cork, Earl of, 45\n\n    _Cornish Magazine_, 516 _note_\n\n    Cornwood, 290\n\n    Corry, 322\n\n    Corunna, 378\n\n    Cory, John, 598\n\n    Coryton, 222\n\n    Cosdon, 709\n\n    Cotgrave, Captain, 641, 642, 643\n\n    Cott, Miss, 393\n\n    Cotton, Mr., 230 _note_, 258, 260\n\n    Cotton, Walter, 689\n\n    Cotton, William, 217\n\n    Council of Trent, 238\n\n    Courtenay, 545\n\n    Courtenay, Sir William, 187, 191, 208\n\n    Courtlands, 616\n\n    Courtney, Hon. Elizabeth, 371\n\n    Courtney, Kelland, 372\n\n    Courtship, an uncertain, 25-30\n\n    Covent Garden, 353\n\n    Coventry, 228\n\n    Coventry, Lord, 199\n\n    Cowes, 312\n\n    Cowley Barton, 616\n\n    Cox, Captain, 332, 337\n\n    Cox, Mr., 414\n\n    Crackington Cove, 56\n\n    Cranstoun, Baron, 631\n\n    Craven, Countess of, 450\n\n    Crediton, 44, 173, 351-353, 431, 583, 593\n\n    Creedy Park, 431\n\n    Creedy River, 351\n\n    Cresford, Mr., 133, 134\n\n    Crolly Bridge, 77\n\n    Cromwell, Henry, 244\n\n    Cromwell, Oliver, 490, 544\n\n    Cromwell, Richard, 223\n\n    Cromwellian barbarity, 222\n\n    Crook, Mr., 422\n\n    Cross, Mr., 189, 463, 464, 465\n\n    Crowd, a London, 484\n\n    Crowe, Mrs., 174\n\n    Crown Dale, 702\n\n    _Crown\u2019s Too Weighty, The_, 243\n\n    Crozets, The, 333, 344\n\n    Crusoe, a new Robinson. _See_ G. M. Goodridge\n\n    Cudmore, Mr. Henry, 162\n\n    Culham, 373\n\n    Cumberland, Duke of, 416\n\n    Cunninghame, William, 631\n\n    Curate and the pig, the, 560\n\n    Curate, how to select a, 543\n\n    Curson, 478\n\n    Curtis, Anne, 265\n\n    Curtis, Sir Thomas, 265\n\n    Cutteford, George, 199, 202, 204\n\n    Cyder, 3, 13, 14\n\n    ---- how made, 3, 6, 11\n\n    ---- tax on, 3, 6\n\n    ---- Royal Wilding, 8, 10\n\n    ---- Whitesour, 10, 13\n\n    _Cyder, Dissertation on_, 1, 6, 10, 13\n\n\n    _Daily Graphic_, 70, 80\n\n    Dalling, Governor, 740\n\n    Dally, Mr., 505\n\n    Daman, 381\n\n    Darcy, Thomas, 195\n\n    Dartington, 545\n\n    Dartmoor, 521, 601, 700, 705, 709\n\n    Dartmoor, ancient remains on, 700\n\n    _Dartmoor Idylls_, 707\n\n    _Dartmoor Pictorial Records_, 706 _note_\n\n    Dartmoor Prison, described, 635\n\n    ---- massacre in, 648\n\n    ---- official report on massacre, 664\n\n    ---- prisoners\u2019 depositions concerning massacre, 674\n\n    Dartmouth, 264, 304, 316, 317, 334, 370, 428, 429, 440, 494, 591\n\n    Dart River, 301\n\n    _David Copperfield_, 444\n\n    Davie, Humphry, 431\n\n    Davie, Sir John, 431\n\n    Davie, John, 274\n\n    Davies, 361\n\n    Davies, Annie, 451 _note_\n\n    Davis, Andrew, 691\n\n    Davis, Jacob, 699\n\n    Davy, John, 351-354\n\n    ---- passion for music, 351\n\n    ---- wonderful proficiency, 352\n\n    ---- ruined by success, 353\n\n    Davy, Rev. C., 127\n\n    Davy, Rev. W., 123-127\n\n    ---- a mechanical genius, 123\n\n    ---- encounter with his bishop, 124, 125\n\n    ---- turns printer, 125\n\n    Davy, Richard, 701\n\n    Dawlish, 592\n\n    Dazzard, 57\n\n    Death Coach, the, 211\n\n    Defoe, Daniel, 375, 376\n\n    Delaware, Lord, 93\n\n    Demon of Spreyton, the, 170-174\n\n    Denbury, 446\n\n    Dennis, 605\n\n    Dennis, John, 377 _note_\n\n    Dennis, Lewis, 597\n\n    Dennis, Prebendary Jonas, 581-590\n\n    ---- Church disciplinarian, 582, 583\n\n    ---- list of his works, 589\n\n    Dennis, Sir Thomas, 581\n\n    Dent, Captain, 120\n\n    Deptford, 162\n\n    Derby, U.S.A., 430\n\n    Desaguliers, 492\n\n    _Descriptive Sketch of Sidmouth_, 257\n\n    Despenser, 229\n\n    D\u2019Estr\u00e9e, 157, 158\n\n    De Valle, 229\n\n    Devil, encounter with the, 395\n\n    ---- various forms assumed by, 275, 276\n\n    Devon, Earl of, 209\n\n    _Devon Notes and Queries_, 1850, 105;\n      1903, 403;\n      1905, 94;\n      1906, 64;\n      1906, 79\n\n    Devonport, 64, 411, 412, 521, 768, 774, 782\n\n    _Devonshire Melodist, The_, 328\n\n    _Devonshire Parishes_, 494 _note_\n\n    _Devonshire Woman, The: or a Wonderful Narrative of Frances Flood_,\n    180\n\n    Dewey, Admiral, 776, 777, 784\n\n    Diamond, Captain, 314\n\n    Dickenson, Captain Harvey, 47\n\n    _Dictionary of National Biography_, 238, 282, 285, 414, 607, 617\n\n    Dietrich, Admiral, 776, 777\n\n    Dilwyn, 14\n\n    Dinan, 137, 138, 139\n\n    _Dissertation on Cyder and Cyder Fruit_, 1, 6\n\n    Divorce, plea to obtain, 198\n\n    Dixie, Sir Wolstone, 735\n\n    Dobell, Edith, 602\n\n    Doctors\u2019 Commons, 28\n\n    Dodbrooke, 737\n\n    Doggett, Simon, 53, 54\n\n    Dolmen of Shilstone, 127\n\n    Dolton, 1\n\n    Donegal, Marquess of, 773\n\n    Don Juan de Cadiz, 87, 88\n\n    Don Mathias Caster, 113, 114\n\n    Dorset, Earl of, 243\n\n    Dover, 44\n\n    Dowie, Dr., 402\n\n    Dowland, 540\n\n    Downhouse, 123\n\n    Drake, Sir Francis, 101, 200, 204, 248, 785\n\n    Drake Walls, 702\n\n    _Drama, The_, 23, 30\n\n    Dreams, warnings by, 219, 591, 592, 724\n\n    Drewsteignton, 124, 127, 593\n\n    Dublin, 269, 384\n\n    Duckworth, Admiral Sir J. T., 650\n\n    Dudley, 68\n\n    Duncan, Admiral, 360\n\n    _Dunciad, The_, 245\n\n    Dunning, John, 1st Lord Ashburton, 618-632\n\n    ---- his early days, 619, 620\n\n    ---- his repellent appearance, 621, 625, 630\n\n    ---- his sharp practice, 623, 624\n\n    ---- Solicitor-General, 624\n\n    ---- his _manors_ in Devonshire, 628\n\n    ---- in Berlin, 629\n\n    Dunsland, 47, 57\n\n    Duntze, Sir John, 479\n\n    Durant, 217\n\n    D\u2019Urfey, Tom, 52, 57, 238, 247\n\n    ---- is popular at Court, 242\n\n    ---- his _Pills to Purge Melancholy_, 246\n\n    Durnford, the Misses. _See_ Alphington Ponies\n\n    Durston, Dr. William, 712\n\n    Dyer, Mr., 510\n\n    Dymond, Robert, 324, 632\n\n\n    Earthworks, Saxon, 212\n\n    Eastaway, Elias, 599\n\n    Eastchurch, Elizabeth, 275\n\n    Eastchurch, Thomas, 275\n\n    Eastcott, Rev. Mr., 352\n\n    East India Company, 380, 388\n\n    Eastlake, Sir C. L., 572\n\n    Ebford, 458\n\n    Ebsworthy family, the, 213, 217, 218\n\n    Ebsworthy, 213, 217\n\n    Ebsworthy, Peter, 217\n\n    Ecclesiastical Court at Lyons, 239\n\n    Economy, false, 746, 747\n\n    Eddy, Mrs., 402\n\n    Edgecombe, Richard, 222\n\n    Edinburgh, 356, 405, 485\n\n    Edinburgh, Duke of, 775\n\n    Edmonds, 216\n\n    Edward II, 229\n\n    Edward IV, 183\n\n    Edward VI, 229, 265, 369\n\n    Edward VII, 783\n\n    Edwards, Dr., 354\n\n    Edwards, Susannah, 274, 275\n\n    Eggesford, 546, 772\n\n    Egyptian Hall, 473\n\n    Elford, Robert, 61\n\n    Elford, Susannah, 61\n\n    Eliot, Lord, 569\n\n    Eliot, Nicolas, 596\n\n    Elizabeth, Queen, 185, 230, 262-270, 735, 773\n\n    Elliott, Mr., 162, 164\n\n    Elworthy, Mr. F. T., 513\n\n    _English Garner, The_, 94\n\n    _Epistol\u00e6 Ho-Elian\u00e6; or Familiar Letters_, 251\n\n    Epitaph on Andrew Brice, 511\n\n    ---- on F. Flood\u2019s legs, 180\n\n    ---- on Joanna Southcott, 400\n\n    ---- on John Gay, 424\n\n    ---- on Margaret Gould, 618\n\n    ---- on Sir W. Jones, 631\n\n    Epsom, 241\n\n    Esdell, James, 698\n\n    Essex, Earl of, 204\n\n    Eumer, 159\n\n    Evans, Anne, 292-300\n\n    ---- executed, 299\n\n    Evelyn\u2019s _Diary_, 514\n\n    _Examiner, The_, 21, 30\n\n    Excise Bill, the, 4\n\n    Exe River, 107, 150\n\n    Exeter, 4, 7, 8, 13, 19, 42, 65, 71, 79, 80, 101, 103, 105, 123,\n    131, 152, 162, 168, 169, 176, 212, 214, 223, 231, 238, 239, 252,\n    257, 260, 274, 276, 295, 296, 298, 302, 320, 321, 323, 324, 332,\n    352, 353, 356, 366, 367, 368, 373, 390, 391, 393, 423, 430, 431,\n    437, 441, 442, 445, 458, 463, 478, 479, 481, 482, 483, 484, 485,\n    502, 503, 508, 511, 529, 534, 551, 558, 581, 582, 591, 592, 603,\n    604, 608, 609, 612, 615, 618, 623, 630, 634, 718, 741, 746, 747,\n    770, 785\n\n    Exeter Grammar School, 123, 437, 592\n\n    Exmoor, 225, 426, 533, 539, 546\n\n    _Exmoor Scolding and Courtship_, 510, 513\n\n    Exmouth, 150, 583, 584, 587, 616, 630\n\n    _Experiment, The_, 107\n\n    Eynesso, Manuel, 37\n\n\n    _Fables_, 416\n\n    Facye, Richard, 597\n\n    Fairfax, Sir Thomas, 487\n\n    Falconbridge, Lady, 263\n\n    Falkener, Sir William, 168\n\n    Falkirk, 375\n\n    Falmouth, 264, 302, 317, 742\n\n    Farinelli, 246\n\n    _Farinelli\u2019s Ground_, 245\n\n    Farley, Samuel, 504, 511\n\n    Farmer, Thomas, 240\n\n    Fellow, Anne, 276\n\n    Fellowes, Hon. Newton, 546\n\n    Fenton, Lavinia, 418-420\n\n    Fey, Francis, 171-173\n\n    ---- is ill-treated by ghosts, 171\n\n    Fig, Dr. Kennicott\u2019s, 373\n\n    Fielding, Henry, 51, 425\n\n    Figuier, Louis, 499\n\n    Fisher, Dr., Bishop of Exeter, 125, 590\n\n    Fishley, 540\n\n    Fittey, Robert, 698\n\n    Fitzford, 185, 186, 187, 188, 190, 195, 196, 197, 199, 200, 202,\n    204, 206, 208, 209, 210\n\n    _Fitz of Fitzford, Notes to_, 209\n\n    Fitz, Mary, 185, 187, 193-210\n\n    ---- four times married, 195-196\n\n    ---- an unnatural mother, 208, 209\n\n    ---- appears after death, 209, 210\n\n    Fitz, John, 185-187\n\n    Fitz, Sir John, 186-193\n\n    ---- becomes insane, 191, 193\n\n    Fleet Prison, 200, 248, 715\n\n    Fleet Street, 248, 249\n\n    Flood, Frances, 177-180\n\n    Florida, 266, 267\n\n    Flower, 518, 519\n\n    Floyd, 552\n\n    Foley, Rev. T. P., 392, 396, 404 _note_\n\n    _Fond Husband, The, or the Plotting Sisters_, 240, 247\n\n    Fontelautus, 581-589.\n\n    ---- a vain child, 585\n\n    ---- obsessed by evil spirits, 586\n\n    ---- his voice heard after death, 587, 588\n\n    Fontenoy, 434\n\n    Foote, Maria, 21-34\n\n    ---- a second-rate actress, 23\n\n    ---- her benefit, 30\n\n    ---- her connexion with Col. Berkeley, 24-26\n\n    ---- her marriage, 33\n\n    ---- wooed by Hayne, 25-29\n\n    Foote, Mr., 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30\n\n    Foote, Mrs., 21, 22, 25, 26, 30\n\n    Foote, Samuel, 21\n\n    _Footprints of Former Men in Far Cornwall_, 52\n\n    Ford, 451\n\n    Ford, Philip, 698\n\n    Forez, 239\n\n    Forked Way, The, 212\n\n    Fort Sainte Marie, 388\n\n    Fort St. George, 388\n\n    Fortye, Lieutenant, 670, 695\n\n    Foundling Institution, The, 44\n\n    Fowey, 93, 737\n\n    Fox, Charles James, 5\n\n    Francemass, or Franken Days, 6\n\n    Francis, Mrs., 133, 134\n\n    Frankfort, 166\n\n    Frankin, 6\n\n    Franklyn, 591\n\n    _Fraser\u2019s Magazine_, 329\n\n    Free-traders. _See_ Smuggling\n\n    Freeman, 21\n\n    French prisoners, 639, 746\n\n    Friar\u2019s Green, 80\n\n    _Friend\u2019s Adventure, The_, 136, 138, 139, 151\n\n    Frise, Henry, the village poet, 59;\n      buys a wife, 59\n\n    Frithelstock, 414\n\n    Frost, 520, 523\n\n    Frost, Elizabeth, 251\n\n    Froude, Hurrell, 545\n\n    Froude, J. A., 271 _note_, 329, 545\n\n    Froude, Rev. John, 544-562\n\n    ---- encounters his bishop, 532, 557\n\n    ---- as horse-dealer, 536, 553\n\n    ---- his knavish tricks, 548-550, 555, 560\n\n    ---- \u201conly drunk,\u201d 561\n\n    _Froudiana_, 563\n\n    Fuller, 266\n\n    _Fun_, 329\n\n    Furze, Mr. Philip, 170, 171\n\n    Fuseli, 462\n\n\n    Gadshill, 322\n\n    Gainsborough, Thomas, 608, 610, 611, 743\n\n    ---- an amateur musician, 610\n\n    Gair, John, 699\n\n    Galaford, 212\n\n    Gambia, 116, 120, 121\n\n    Gambling, mania for, 639\n\n    _Gardeners\u2019 Magazine, The_, 12\n\n    Gardiner, 282, 285\n\n    Gardner, Edward, 699\n\n    Garrick, David, 509\n\n    Garrison, Cornelius, 698\n\n    Garrow, Mr., 18\n\n    Gascoigne, Judge, 181-182\n\n    Gatchell, John G, 690, 691, 692, 696\n\n    Gatti, Messrs., 420\n\n    Gaudry, J. E., 511\n\n    Gavulford, 212\n\n    Gay, John, 245, 414-424\n\n    ---- writes The Beggars\u2019 Opera, 416\n\n    ---- writes his own epitaph, 424\n\n    Gayer, Sir John, 380, 382\n\n    _Gazetteer, The Grand_, 509, 513\n\n    _General System of Divinity_, 124, 125, 127\n\n    _Gentleman\u2019s Magazine, The_, 256, 257\n\n    _Geographical Dictionary_, 389\n\n    George III, satirized by Peter Pindar, 745\n\n    Georgenympton, 535, 536\n\n    German, Jacob, 703, 704\n\n    Germo, 605\n\n    Germyn, Gilbert, 213\n\n    ---- charges against, 215\n\n    ---- his heresies, 217, 218\n\n    Ghent, 207, 643\n\n    Ghosts, 57, 129, 170-173, 209, 286-291, 586-592, 719\n\n    Ghost, the Sampford, 286-291\n\n    ---- noisy manifestations of, 287\n\n    ---- probably caused by maid-servants, 291\n\n    Giardini, 610\n\n    Gibbon, 627\n\n    Gibbons, Grinling, 773\n\n    Gibraltar, 107, 783, 784, 786\n\n    Gibson, Captain, 377, 378, 379\n\n    Giddy, Mr., 738\n\n    Gidleigh, 565\n\n    Gidley, Mrs., 171\n\n    Giffard, Baron, 590\n\n    Giffard family, the, 414, 436\n\n    Gifford, Edward, 437, 438\n\n    Gifford, William, 436-456, 751\n\n    ---- edits _The Quarterly_, 452\n\n    ---- his education, 438, 440, 446\n\n    ---- his hardships, 439, 440, 441\n\n    ---- his love of mathematics, 443\n\n    ---- satires, writer of, 443, 444, 450\n\n    Gifford, William, 681\n\n    Gilbert, Sarah, 123\n\n    Giles, Sir Edward, 218\n\n    Gill, Mr., 27\n\n    Gillespie, Elizabeth, 572\n\n    Gist, Thomas, 274\n\n    Gittisham, 177, 390\n\n    Gladding, Major, 661\n\n    Gladstone, W. E., 775\n\n    Glandfeeld, Mr. _See_ Glanville\n\n    Glanville, John, 97\n\n    Glanville, Judge, 95-106\n\n    ---- M P. for Tavistock, 97\n\n    Glanville, Mr. George, 505, 506, 508\n\n    Glanville, Nicholas, 102\n\n    _Glimpses of the Supernatural_, 258\n\n    Glubb, Mr., 541\n\n    Goddess of Death, the, 211\n\n    Godolphin, Sir Francis, 97\n\n    Goldsmith, Oliver, 327, 627\n\n    Goldsworthy, 414\n\n    Goletta, 158\n\n    Gomera, 108, 111, 112\n\n    Goodleigh, 754\n\n    Goodrich, Rear-Admiral J. G. C., 786\n\n    Goodridge, George Medyett, 332-350\n\n    ---- goes sealing in the Pacific, 333\n\n    ---- is shipwrecked, 335\n\n    ---- his life on the island, 383\n\n    ---- is rescued, 347\n\n    Gorges, Sir Arthur, 187\n\n    Gorham, Rev. G. C., 48\n\n    Gosling, Mr., 410, 411, 412\n\n    Gould, Edward, 438, 619, 622\n\n    Gould, W. Drake, 622\n\n    Gower, Lord, 234, 236\n\n    Gravesend, 281\n\n    Gray, John, 698\n\n    Greathead, Bertie, 450\n\n    Greenhithe, 362\n\n    Greenlaw, James, 679 _note_, 683\n\n    Greenwich, 484\n\n    Grenofen, 772\n\n    Grenville, Elizabeth, 206-209\n\n    Grenville family, the, 565, 710, 785\n\n    Grenville, Lord, 418\n\n    Grenville, Sir Bernard, 232\n\n    Grenville, Sir Richard, 197-207, 279\n\n    ---- imprisoned, 200, 206\n\n    ---- hanged in effigy, 203\n\n    ---- takes possession of Fitzford, 204\n\n    Grey, James, 158\n\n    Grey, Miss, 429\n\n    Grey Woman, The, 129-135\n\n    Grills, William, 196\n\n    Grimspound, 701\n\n    Grose, 226, 232\n\n    Grosvenor, Earl, 448, 450, 451, 452\n\n    Groves, James, 682\n\n    Grunsall, George, 162, 164\n\n    Guatham, 618, 632\n\n    Guildhall, Plymouth, 63, 96\n\n    Guiller, Charles, 640\n\n    Gulwell, 619\n\n    Gunstone, Sir Thomas, 235\n\n    Gutch, 46\n\n\n    Hagabets, John, 699\n\n    Halberton, 490\n\n    Halhead, Mr., 393\n\n    Hall, 772\n\n    Hall, Bishop, 249\n\n    Hall, Mr. S. C., 576\n\n    Hall, Stephen, 676\n\n    Halley, Dr., 126\n\n    Halsbury, 414, 436\n\n    Halse, Miss, 558\n\n    Hamlet, John, 687\n\n    Hamlyn, Joe, 703\n\n    Hammett, Sir Benjamin, 105\n\n    Hamoaze, 633, 634, 640\n\n    Hampton Court, 499, 746\n\n    Handel, 609, 614, 615\n\n    Hankford, Sir William, succeeds Judge Gascoigne, 182\n\n    ---- at Annery, 182\n\n    ---- his accidental death, 183\n\n    ---- his monument, 184\n\n    Hanmer, Rev. John, 414, 415\n\n    Harborne, 329\n\n    Hare, 405\n\n    Harkett, 133\n\n    Harrington, Countess of. _See_ Maria Foote\n\n    Harrington, Earl of, 33\n\n    Harris, Sir Christopher, 187, 280\n\n    Harris, Mrs., 100, 133\n\n    Harris family, the, 217\n\n    Harrison, G. H., 606\n\n    Hart, Mr. Charles, 21\n\n    Hartland, 236\n\n    _Hartland Chronicle, The_, 234 _note_, 237 _note_\n\n    Harwood, Colonel, 399\n\n    Hastings, 577\n\n    Hatherleigh, 54, 539, 540, 710, 712\n\n    Hatton, Lady Elizabeth, 195\n\n    Hawker, John H., 459, 460\n\n    Hawker, Rev. R. S., 52, 53\n\n    Hawker, Rev. T., 456\n\n    Hawkins, Daniel, 222\n\n    Hawkins, John, 514\n\n    Hawkins, Sir John, 785\n\n    Haydon, Benjamin, 400, 457-477, 566, 567\n\n    ---- and David Wilkie, 462\n\n    ---- commits suicide, 474\n\n    ---- his inordinate vanity, 472, 477\n\n    ---- imprisoned for debt, 471, 473\n\n    Haydon family, the, 457, 458\n\n    Hayes, Catherine, 105\n\n    Haymarket, 353\n\n    Hayne, Joseph, 25-30\n\n    Haywood, John, 689, 698\n\n    Hazlitt, William, 454\n\n    Headland, Warren, 700\n\n    Heanton, Punchardon, 329\n\n    Heath, Justice, 482\n\n    Heathfield, Lord, 479\n\n    Heavitree, 105\n\n    Heideloff, 565\n\n    Hele, Colonel Sir Thomas, 220\n\n    Hele, Eliseus, 369\n\n    Hele, Walter, 196\n\n    Hell described, 53\n\n    Hellier, Elizabeth, 250\n\n    Hellier, Mary, 502\n\n    Helmore, \u201cOld,\u201d 210\n\n    Helston, 741\n\n    Hemyock, 737\n\n    Hennock, 123\n\n    Henry II, 549\n\n    Henry III, 226-228, 248\n\n    _Henry IV_, 181\n\n    Henry V, 181, 182, 183\n\n    Henry VI, 182\n\n    Henry VII, 47\n\n    Henry VIII, 194, 229, 262, 490, 581\n\n    Heralds\u2019 Visitation, 97, 102, 726, 754\n\n    Herbert, Lord, 487, 498\n\n    Herefordshire, 4\n\n    Heron, Sir Nicholas, 269\n\n    Heywood, John Modyford, 189\n\n    Hext, John, 628\n\n    Highway robbery, 322, 622\n\n    Hill, Hilary, 97\n\n    _Himalaya_, 775\n\n    Hine, Mr. J., 577, 580\n\n    _History of Devonshire_, 254\n\n    _History of England_, 271 _note_\n\n    _History of the Great Rebellion_, 211\n\n    Hobart, William, 689\n\n    Hockin, Helen, 599\n\n    Hodge, William, 64\n\n    Hogarth, William, 420, 469, 472\n\n    Holcombe Burnell, 581\n\n    Hole, Mary, 125\n\n    Holdsworth, Mr., 440\n\n    Hollar, 196\n\n    Holman, Mr., 353\n\n    Holmden, Robert, 659, 684\n\n    Holmes, Addison, 679\n\n    Holmes, John, 48\n\n    Holne, 622\n\n    Holsworthy, 47, 50, 563\n\n    Holwell, 86, 97\n\n    Homan, Rev. C. S., 261\n\n    Honeychurch, 710\n\n    Honiton, 103, 177, 322\n\n    _Hood\u2019s Comic Annual_, 329\n\n    Hook, 520\n\n    Hooke, Dr., 495, 496\n\n    Hooker, Mr., 543\n\n    Hooper, 334\n\n    Hoppner, 442, 455\n\n    Hore, David, 222\n\n    Horoscopes, 186\n\n    Horse-dealing, all fair in, 536, 553\n\n    Horswell, Mr., 763\n\n    Houlditch, Mr., 553, 554\n\n    House-hunting, 130\n\n    How, 495\n\n    Howard, Elizabeth, 196\n\n    Howard, Frederick, 698\n\n    Howard, George, 201, 207, 208\n\n    Howard, Lady. _See_ Mary Fitz\n\n    Howard, Mary, 196, 199, 209\n\n    Howard, Sir Charles, 196, 201\n\n    Howard, Sir Thomas, 195, 196\n\n    Howe, Mr., 398\n\n    Howell, James, 86, 248, 249, 251, 252, 257\n\n    Hubbard, John, 692, 696\n\n    Hubbard, Richard, 403\n\n    Hull, Homer, 684\n\n    Hume, Lady Elizabeth, 201\n\n    Humphrey, 608\n\n    Hunny, Nicholas, 595\n\n    Hunt, George, 716\n\n    Hunt, William, 578, 580\n\n    Hunting, by parsons, 529\n\n    ---- worship subservient to, 533, 534\n\n    Huntsman, the Wild, 57\n\n    Huxtable, 520\n\n    Hysteria cured, 759\n\n\n    Ibrahim, 154, 155\n\n    Iddesleigh, 535, 539, 540, 542\n\n    Iddesleigh, Earl of, 1. _See also_ Sir S. Northcote\n\n    Ide, 458\n\n    Ilbert, Roupe, 533\n\n    Ilfracombe, 231\n\n    Ilsington, 482\n\n    Inglett family, the, 217\n\n    _Inn Play, or Cornish Hugg Wrestler._, 524\n\n    _Introduction to Knowledge_, 441\n\n    Instow, 775, 784\n\n    Invention due to accidents, 497\n\n    ---- of steam-propelled fountain, 487\n\n    ---- paddle boat, 490, 493\n\n    ---- pumping engines, 492, 493\n\n    ---- steam engine, 498, 501\n\n    Ireland, Dr. John, 442, 453, 456\n\n    \u201cIrish Gaffney,\u201d 523\n\n    Isle de Laon, 86\n\n\n    Jackman, 519\n\n    Jackson, Edward, 688\n\n    Jackson, Thomas, 698\n\n    Jackson, William, 352, 608-617, 741\n\n    ---- his sons, 616\n\n    ---- musical education, 609\n\n    ---- life in Exeter, 612\n\n    ---- vanity, 614, 615\n\n    Jago, Dr., 209\n\n    Jamaica, 120, 121, 189, 696, 738\n\n    James I, 84, 190, 278-285, 773\n\n    James II, 241, 243\n\n    Jarvis, Captain, 310\n\n    Javasu, 38, 45\n\n    Javasu, Princess of. _See_ Caraboo\n\n    Jedda, 382\n\n    Jekyll, Parson, 551, 552\n\n    Jennings, Sir John, 107\n\n    Jerrold, Douglas, 368\n\n    Jesus Christ, 77\n\n    Jesus, son of Sirach, 71\n\n    Jezreelites, the, 402\n\n    Joannites, the, 392, 394, 398, 400, 401\n\n    Johns, Ambrose Bowden, 566, 568\n\n    Johnson, Captain Charles, 375, 382, 387, 389\n\n    Johnson, Dr. Samuel, 627\n\n    Johnson, Joseph Toker, 698\n\n    Johnson, Robert, 691\n\n    Joliffe, Major, 645, 658, 659, 662, 682, 685, 688, 689, 695, 696\n\n    Jones, Sir William, 626, 627, 630\n\n    Jonson, Ben, 451, 491, 514\n\n    Jordan, Johnny, 518, 519, 520\n\n    _Journal, Brice\u2019s Weekly_, 504, 506\n\n    ---- _Farley\u2019s Exeter_, 504, 510\n\n    Judd, Robert, 596\n\n    Junket, Devonshire, 176\n\n    _Justice of the Peace_, 60\n\n    Jutsham, Henry, 619\n\n\n    Kaolin, 601, 605\n\n    Karslake, Prebendary, 547\n\n    Kavanagh, 269, 270\n\n    Keenan, Mr., 608\n\n    Keinsham, 179\n\n    Kelloway, 1. _See_ Stafford\n\n    Kelly, 78, 219, 222\n\n    Kelly, Philippa, 219, 222\n\n    Kelly, William Kelly of, 219, 220\n\n    Kendall, William, 616\n\n    Kenn, 257\n\n    Kennicott, Benjamin, D.D., 369-374\n\n    ---- master of charity school, 369\n\n    ---- bell-ringer, 370, 371\n\n    ---- education, 372\n\n    ---- his fig, 373\n\n    ---- revisits Totnes, 373\n\n    Kennicott family, the, 369\n\n    Kensington, 258\n\n    Kenyon, Lord, 620\n\n    Keppel Street, 25, 27, 29\n\n    Kilkenny, 226\n\n    Kilkhampton, 232\n\n    Kilworthy, 95\n\n    King, Captain, 280, 281\n\n    King, Charles, 663, 672\n\n    King, Humphrey, 251\n\n    King, Mr., 509\n\n    King, O., 271 _note_\n\n    King\u2019s Bench Prison, 471\n\n    King\u2019s evil, 80\n\n    King of the Beggars. _See_ Bampfylde-Moore Carew\n\n    Kingsbridge, 123, 602, 737\n\n    Kingsley, Charles, 255\n\n    Kingston, Duchess of, 625\n\n    Kingston-on-Thames, 191, 731\n\n    Kingswear, 317\n\n    Kinsale, 267, 270\n\n    Kitson Hall, 25\n\n    Knighton, 123\n\n    Knock, William, 110\n\n    Knole Park, 35-41, 45, 243\n\n    Knowstone, 532, 544\n\n    Knowstone-cum-Molland, 545, 552, 554, 558, 560, 563\n\n    K\u00f6rner, 174\n\n\n    La Chesn\u00e9e, 281\n\n    Ladysmith, 786\n\n    Laguna, 112\n\n    Lainshaw, 631\n\n    Laira, 601\n\n    Lake, Dr., 324\n\n    Lambhay, 298\n\n    Lamerton, 222\n\n    Landkey, 531, 542, 543, 754\n\n    Landor, Walter Savage, 329\n\n    Land\u2019s End, 570\n\n    Lane, Mr. John, 563, 580 _note_\n\n    Lanes, Devonshire, 303\n\n    Lang, Dorothy, 598\n\n    Lang, William, 594-599\n\n    ---- misdemeanours of, 594-598\n\n    Langdon, Anne, 171\n\n    Langford, 97\n\n    Langford, Margaret, 97\n\n    Langford, Moses, 97\n\n    Lansdowne, Lord, 207, 211\n\n    Lanyon, Mr. Charles, 505\n\n    Lapthorn, Stephen, 694\n\n    Larder, Robert, 115, 117, 120\n\n    Larkbeare, 630\n\n    Larpent, Francis Seymour, 663, 672\n\n    La Rochelle, 239\n\n    Las Rozas, 269\n\n    Launceston, 14, 210, 212, 302, 565, 570\n\n    Lawhitton, 222, 599\n\n    Lawrence, Sir Thomas, 442\n\n    Lawrence, William, 586, 587\n\n    Le Catel, 641\n\n    Le Clerc, 281, 282\n\n    Le Duc, Viollet, 564\n\n    Lee, Mr. Henry, 422\n\n    Leeds, 394, 400, 401, 499\n\n    Lee Moor, 601\n\n    Lega-Weekes, Ethel, 717\n\n    _Legends and Superstitions connected with the Sacraments_, 58\n\n    Leghorn, 165\n\n    Leicester House, 415\n\n    _Leisure Hour_, 608\n\n    Leith, 356\n\n    Le Keux, 575\n\n    Leman, Mr., 439\n\n    Lennard, Captain, 207\n\n    Lepanto, 271\n\n    Le Puy, 239\n\n    Lethbridge, 752\n\n    _Letters of Nathan Hogg_, 71\n\n    Levant, 35\n\n    Leverage, William, 698\n\n    Lew River, 212\n\n    Lew Trenchard, 80, 622, 624\n\n    Ley, 189\n\n    Lezant, 716\n\n    Lidstone, Mr. Thomas, 495\n\n    _Life and Adventures of Captain John Avery_, 375\n\n    _Life and Death of Captain Thomas Stukeley_, 273\n\n    _Life and Surprising Adventures of James Wyatt_, 122\n\n    _Life and Times of Sir Peter Carew, Knight_, 230\n\n    Lifton, 222\n\n    Lightfoot, Mr., 377\n\n    Lile, Matthew, 598\n\n    Lile, Prudence, 222\n\n    Lile, Robert, 597\n\n    Lilly, William, 203\n\n    Limehouse, 332\n\n    Limoges, 605\n\n    Lincoln, Ephraim, 699\n\n    Lisbon, 93, 107, 272\n\n    Liskeard, 64, 517, 570, 738\n\n    _Literary History of Barnstaple_, 103\n\n    Little Horton, 68\n\n    \u201cLittle Jan,\u201d 515\n\n    Liverpool, 718, 721\n\n    Lloyd, Temperance, 274, 275, 276\n\n    Lock, Mrs., 133\n\n    Lockjaw cured, 765, 767\n\n    London, 3, 4, 42, 51, 98, 169, 174, 191, 193, 200, 226, 249, 262,\n    269, 276, 279, 280, 285, 291, 302, 329, 350, 358, 366, 368, 375,\n    396, 401, 403, 408, 413, 425, 449, 462, 472, 483, 493, 499, 510,\n    514, 520, 548, 571, 572, 594, 596, 602, 609, 728, 732, 738, 742\n\n    Longabrook, 123\n\n    Lopes, Sir Manasseh, 189\n\n    _Lord How_, 614\n\n    Lorkin, Rev. T., 285 _note_\n\n    Lott, Susannah, 105\n\n    Lourdes miracles, 81\n\n    Lovell, Mrs., 96\n\n    Luck, Robert, 415\n\n    Lundy Island, 224, 225, 236, 285\n\n    ---- occupied by French, 233\n\n    ---- ---- Mariscoes, 225, 228, 229\n\n    ---- ---- Spanish, 232\n\n    ---- ---- Turks, 231\n\n    ---- refuge of pirates, 231, 233\n\n    _Lundy Island, a History of_, 225 _note_\n\n    Lustleigh, 124, 125, 127\n\n    Luttrell, Mr. H. Fownes, 372\n\n    Lyde, Robert, 136-151\n\n    ---- a frequent captive, 137, 138\n\n    ---- overcomes his captors, 142\n\n    Lydford, 205, 212\n\n    Lyme, 310, 314\n\n    Lymington, 393\n\n    Lymington, Lord, 774\n\n    Lympston, 152\n\n    Lyons, 239\n\n    Lysons, Mr., 95, 103, 248-250, 253, 255, 414, 754\n\n\n    _Mabinogion_, the Welsh, 225\n\n    Macartney, Lord, 616\n\n    Mace, 417\n\n    Maclean, Sir John, 229\n\n    Macleod family, the, 631\n\n    Madagascar, 379, 387, 388, 389\n\n    _Madame Pickle_, 240\n\n    Madeira, 115, 315\n\n    Madness, homicidal, 176\n\n    Madras, 388\n\n    Madrid, 92, 269\n\n    _M\u00e6viad_, 450, 451, 455\n\n    Magdalen Reformatory, 43\n\n    _Magna Britannia_, 248, 250, 414\n\n    Magna Charta, 5\n\n    Magrath, Dr., 656 _note_, 659, 667, 676, 677, 679, 684\n\n    Mahometan cruelty, 156\n\n    Mahon, Lord, 624\n\n    Maiden Bradley, 431\n\n    _Maid of Sker_, 549, 556, 561\n\n    Malaga, 108\n\n    Malborough, 494\n\n    Manchester, 570\n\n    _Mandins, The_, 38\n\n    Mania, religious, 390, 392-398\n\n    Manila, 776, 777, 784\n\n    Mann, James, 698\n\n    Manning, Mr., 28\n\n    Manning, Joseph, 685\n\n    Mannourie, 280, 283\n\n    Manse, Mr., 26\n\n    Mansell, Sir Robert, 84, 85\n\n    Mansfield, Lord, 620\n\n    Marburg, 489, 493\n\n    Margate, 405\n\n    \u201cMarianne, Old,\u201d 75-78\n\n    ---- her recipes, 77\n\n    Marisco, William de, 225, 228\n\n    ---- Jordan de, 225, 226\n\n    ---- family, 229, 285\n\n    Maristowe, 189\n\n    Marlborough, 26\n\n    Marlborough College, 564\n\n    Marmion, Frances, 239\n\n    Marriage, conceptions of, 69\n\n    Marriott, Mr., 290, 291\n\n    Marryatt, Mr., 607\n\n    Marshall, Edward, 249\n\n    Marshalsea, 284, 716\n\n    Marston, Chancellor, 214\n\n    Mary, Queen, 151, 263, 265\n\n    Mary, Queen of Scots, 33\n\n    Maryland, 234, 235, 430, 431, 434\n\n    Mary Tavy, 61, 514\n\n    Massinger, 451\n\n    Mathews, Joe, 708\n\n    Mathews, Mrs., 42, 43\n\n    Mathews, Prebendary, 556, 563\n\n    Maxwell, Hon. Mr., 133\n\n    Mayne, Dr. Jasper, 710\n\n    Mayoralty House, Plymouth, 95\n\n    Mazora, 332, 349\n\n    McFarlane, Robert, 684\n\n    McHardy, Anne, 356\n\n    Mears, Henry, 68\n\n    Mecca, 159, 381\n\n    Medical advice, 726, 740, 754, 758, 761, 768, 769\n\n    ---- misinterpreted, 765\n\n    Medina, Duke of, 88, 91\n\n    Medina, first described by Pitts, 159\n\n    Meggor, Captain, 232\n\n    Melish, John, 698\n\n    _Memoirs and Correspondence of John Murray, the Publisher_, 456\n\n    _Memoirs of Jack Rattenbury_, 307\n\n    _Memoirs of the Life and Mission of Joanna Southcott_, 403\n\n    _Memoirs of Prout_, 577\n\n    _Memorials of Old Devonshire_, 319 _note_\n\n    Menhirs, 127\n\n    Mentz, 167\n\n    _Mercurius Rusticus_, 221\n\n    _Mercury_, 502\n\n    Mere, 289\n\n    Merripit Hill, 703\n\n    _Merry Conceited Jests_, 734\n\n    Merry, Robert, 450\n\n    Meshaw, 548\n\n    Methodist preacher and Black John, 55\n\n    Methodist revivalistic preaching, 390, 508\n\n    Metz, 264\n\n    Mevagissey, 318\n\n    Mile Hill, 431\n\n    Milford Haven, 231\n\n    Milford, Mr. S. F., 485\n\n    Mill Bridge, 409\n\n    Milton Abbot, 209, 222\n\n    _Miners\u2019 Friend, The_, 492\n\n    Mining, tin, 491, 701, 705\n\n    Minorca, 420\n\n    Miraculous cures. _See_ White Witches\n\n    Mitchell, John, 674\n\n    Mitchell, William, 692\n\n    Mithian, 742\n\n    M\u2019Kinnon, Kiel, 689\n\n    _Mobiad, The_, 510\n\n    \u201cMock Election in Prison,\u201d 471\n\n    Modbury, 63, 189, 489, 490, 619\n\n    Mogridge, Mr., 257, 258\n\n    Mogul, the Great, 376, 380, 384\n\n    Mole-catcher, spectre of, 170\n\n    Moles, 735\n\n    Molesworths, family of, 47, 48, 56\n\n    Molesworth, the Rev. Paul W., 48, 51, 53\n\n    Molesworth, Sir John, 56\n\n    Molesworth, Sir W., Bart., 48\n\n    Molesworth, William, 50\n\n    Molland, 545, 551, 561\n\n    Molt, Thomas Burgess, 683\n\n    Money, by fair means or foul, 729, 730, 750\n\n    Monk, Anthony, 278\n\n    Monk, Frances, 278\n\n    Monk, General, 242, 590\n\n    Monkleigh, 182, 184\n\n    Monmouth, Duchess of, 415\n\n    Montbrison, 238\n\n    Montcalm, Henry, 698\n\n    Moon, Mr., 42\n\n    Moonshine, Mr., 451\n\n    Moore, Thomas, 67\n\n    Moorhead, Mr., 353\n\n    More, Hannah, 625, 750\n\n    Morgan, Colonel, 487\n\n    Moreton Hampstead, 79, 123, 127, 186, 517, 700, 703, 746\n\n    Morice Town, 520\n\n    Morland, Sir Samuel, 489\n\n    Morland, William, 608\n\n    Morleigh, 608\n\n    Morley, Lord, 714\n\n    _Morning Chronicle, The_, 396, 780, 784\n\n    Morris, Mr., 540\n\n    Morshead, William, 56\n\n    Mortimer, Mr., 41\n\n    Mott, Thomas Burgess, 689\n\n    Mountain, Mr., 353\n\n    Mount Edgcumbe, Earl of, 567\n\n    Mount Edgcumbe, Lady, 750\n\n    Mount Pleasant, 409, 410\n\n    Mumper, a professional. _See_ B.-M. Carew\n\n    Murray, 450\n\n    Mutiny at the Nore, 356, 358, 359, 368\n\n    ---- of American prisoners, 645\n\n    ---- on the high seas, 379\n\n    _Mutiny at Spithead and the Nore_, 368\n\n\n    Nankevill, 306\n\n    Nan Tap, 71\n\n    Nantes, 206\n\n    Naples, 725\n\n    \u201cNapoleon Musing,\u201d 457\n\n    Napp, 235\n\n    Nares, George, 256, 257\n\n    Narracott, 73\n\n    Narrator, 702\n\n    _Narrative of a Singular Imposition_, 46\n\n    _Narrative of the Demon of Spraiton, A_, 174\n\n    Natt, Philip, 598\n\n    Navy, unsatisfactory condition of the, 355\n\n    Neale, Mrs., 41\n\n    Nelson, Lord, 484, 785\n\n    Newark, 400\n\n    New Brunswick, 725\n\n    Newcastle, 429\n\n    Newcastle, Penn., 430\n\n    _New Collection of Songs and Poems_, 241\n\n    Newcomen, Thomas, 487-501\n\n    ---- his family history, 494\n\n    ---- his secrecy in experimenting, 495\n\n    ---- patents with Savery, 497\n\n    Newell, 115\n\n    New England, 384\n\n    Newfoundland, 152, 428, 440, 718\n\n    Newgate, 105, 416\n\n    New Jersey, 697\n\n    Newlands Weir, 710\n\n    New London, 430, 431\n\n    Newlyn, 505\n\n    New Orleans, 779\n\n    Newquay, 318\n\n    Newton Abbot, 703, 770\n\n    Newton St. Petrock, 754\n\n    New York, 309\n\n    _New York Herald_, 784\n\n    Nicholl, Anthony, 596\n\n    _Night her Blackest Sables Wore, The_, 241\n\n    Nimmo, J. C., 734\n\n    Nit, Anthony, 732, 733\n\n    Noake\u2019s _Worcestershire Relics_, 13\n\n    Nore, the, 356, 357, 360, 363\n\n    Norris, Mrs., 377\n\n    North, Lord, 630\n\n    North Bovey, 64, 65, 701, 716, 707\n\n    Northcote, 571, 572\n\n    Northcote, Sir Henry, Bt., 1\n\n    Northcote, Sir Stafford, 479, 616\n\n    Northcote, Mr., 462\n\n    Northcott, John, 187\n\n    _North Devon Journal_, 543\n\n    Northernhay, 79\n\n    Northesk, Lord, 360\n\n    North Lew, 371\n\n    North Tawton, 81, 251, 709, 714, 754, 755, 770\n\n    Northumberland, Earl of, 193, 194, 263, 264, 735\n\n    North Wyke, 709\n\n    ---- forcible possession taken of, 713\n\n    Norton, Sir Fletcher, 630\n\n    _Notes and Gleanings_, 368, 403\n\n    Nottingham, Earl of, 231, 283\n\n    Nutt, Captain Robert, 231\n\n\n    _Observations on the Present State of Music in London_, 614, 615\n\n    Ockment, 540\n\n    Oddy, Mrs., 260\n\n    Odiorne, John, 677, 678, 680, 681, 691\n\n    Okehampton, 7, 59, 209, 210, 218, 570\n\n    Okery Bridge, 638\n\n    Old-a-Port, 619\n\n    Old Bailey, 105, 730\n\n    _Old Dartmoor Days_, 544\n\n    \u201cOld Dawty,\u201d 53\n\n    _Old England for Ever_, 478, 486\n\n    _Old English Home, An_, 74\n\n    Old Swinford, 392\n\n    Oliver, Dr., 509, 512\n\n    Oliver, Mr. Francis, 8\n\n    Olver, Francis, 519\n\n    _On and Off the Stage_, 33\n\n    Opie, John, 566, 608, 741, 752\n\n    Oporto, 11, 138, 313\n\n    Orchards neglected, 12, 13\n\n    Orinoco, 278, 279\n\n    Orne, William B., 689\n\n    _Orpheus Caledonicus_, 241\n\n    O. T. D., 48\n\n    Otter, 322\n\n    Otterton, 584, 590\n\n    Ottery St. Mary, 390, 451\n\n    Ovid, 244\n\n    Owen, Mr. Robert, 725\n\n    Oxenford, John, 325\n\n    Oxenham family, the, 249-254, 257-261\n\n    ---- fictitious members of, 250, 252\n\n    Oxenham, Miss Anne, 260\n\n    Oxenham, G. N., 258, 260\n\n    Oxenham, Rev. Henry Nutcombe, 258\n\n    Oxford, 13, 123, 202, 203, 324, 372, 448, 547, 612, 726\n\n    Oxford, Lady, 735\n\n\n    Packsaddle Bridge, 710\n\n    Paganel, Sir William de, 62\n\n    Page, Eulalia, 95-106\n\n    ---- executed, 96\n\n    ---- omitted from pedigree, 97\n\n    ---- privy to her husband\u2019s death, 100\n\n    Page, Mr., 95, 98\n\n    ---- strangled, 96, 99\n\n    Paignton, 332, 333, 350\n\n    Painsford, 371\n\n    Palk, Captain John, 700-708\n\n    ---- exacts obedience, 703\n\n    ---- buys Vitifer mine, 702\n\n    Palk, Governor, 447\n\n    Palk, Mr., 20\n\n    Palk, Sir Lawrence, 20, 479, 482, 483\n\n    Palk, Sir Robert, 479\n\n    Palladio, 575\n\n    Palma, 108\n\n    Palmer, Roundell, 756\n\n    Papin, Denis, 489, 492, 496, 497, 499\n\n    Paris, 281, 434, 499, 616, 641\n\n    Paris, Matthew, 227\n\n    Parker, \u201cAdmiral\u201d Richard, 355-368\n\n    ---- executed, 363\n\n    ---- is ringleader of mutiny, 356, 361\n\n    ---- his wife\u2019s distress, 363\n\n    Parker, Edmund, 713\n\n    Parker, John C., 367\n\n    Parkham, 414, 436, 754\n\n    Parkins, Sir Thomas, 516, 517, 524\n\n    Parnel, 334\n\n    Pasley, Sir Thomas, 361\n\n    Passaford, 540\n\n    Passports for heaven, 392\n\n    _Pastorals_, 447\n\n    Patch, Claude, 430\n\n    Payne, 34\n\n    Peace of Ryswick, 377\n\n    Peach, John, 699\n\n    Peachum, Polly, 417, 418\n\n    Pearce, Mr. John, 591, 702, 703\n\n    Peckettsford, 710\n\n    Peckham, 590\n\n    Peeke, \u201cManly\u201d Richard, 84-94\n\n    ---- his pamphlet, 94\n\n    ---- is freed for prowess, 91\n\n    ---- wounds and is wounded, 87\n\n    Peele, George, 726-736\n\n    ---- a quack, 727\n\n    ---- is compelled to work, 728\n\n    ---- a rogue at large, 730\n\n    Pelham, Camden, 355, 367, 368\n\n    Pell, Mr. Sergeant, 481\n\n    Pencarrow, 54, 56\n\n    Pendennis Castle, 220\n\n    Pengelly, William, 221, 500 _note_\n\n    Penguins, 342\n\n    Penkenner, 56\n\n    Penn, William, 698\n\n    Pennington, John, 232\n\n    Penzance, 260, 483, 505, 738\n\n    Pepusch, 417\n\n    Perceval, Isaac, 347, 348, 349\n\n    Percy, Sir Allan, 195\n\n    Perigo, Mr. and Mrs., 394\n\n    Perim, 382\n\n    _Perouse_, 353\n\n    Perrot, Sir John, 262\n\n    Perry, John, 699\n\n    Perry, Mr., 109\n\n    Peter, Mrs. Thomas, 259\n\n    Peter Pindar. _See_ John Wolcot\n\n    Petersham, Viscount, 33\n\n    Petertavy, 702\n\n    Petherbridge, 349\n\n    Pett, George, 688\n\n    Philadelphia, 45, 430, 644, 698\n\n    Philip II of Spain, 267-272\n\n    Philip\u2019s Norton, 177\n\n    Phillpotts, Henry, Bishop of Exeter, 48, 529, 531, 538, 556, 557\n\n    Phipps, Stephen, 699\n\n    Picard, 388\n\n    _Picaroons_, 301\n\n    _Pills to Purge Melancholy_, 52, 57, 244, 246\n\n    Pilton Bridge, 2\n\n    Piozzi, Mrs., 450\n\n    _Pirates, King of. See_ Captain John Avery, 375\n\n    Pirates, Algerine, 84, 152\n\n    ---- English, 267\n\n    Pirates on Lundy, 228\n\n    ---- in Madagascar, 388, 389\n\n    Pitt, Captain, 388\n\n    Pitt, Hon. Thomas, 605\n\n    Pitt, William, 3, 6, 481-484, 750\n\n    Pitts, John, 152\n\n    Pitts, Joseph, 152-169\n\n    ---- turns Mohammedan perforce, 153, 156, 159\n\n    ---- his escape, 165\n\n    Plague at Exeter, 103\n\n    Plancy, Colin de, 58\n\n    Playford, publisher, 244\n\n    _Plotting Sisters, The_, 247\n\n    Plumleigh, Captain, 231\n\n    Plymouth, 2, 21, 62, 81, 89, 93, 96, 101-103, 106, 108, 204, 278,\n    283, 292, 296, 298, 300, 377, 385, 407, 440, 458, 463, 520, 565,\n    568, 570, 578, 602, 606, 633, 645, 673, 708, 712, 746, 755, 757,\n    770, 784, 786\n\n    _Plymouth and Devonport, in Times of War and Peace_, 62, 64 _note_,\n    106, 300, 641\n\n    Plymouth Sound, 93, 280, 786\n\n    Plymtree, 392\n\n    Pocahontas, 278\n\n    Pocket-boroughs, 189\n\n    Poetry and blank verse, difference between, 706\n\n    Poisoning, cases of, 293, 597\n\n    Pole, Sir W. T., 584\n\n    Polkinghorne, 518-523\n\n    Pollard, Mark, 232\n\n    Pollard, Sir Lewis, 262\n\n    _Poltergeist_, 174, 291\n\n    Polwhele, 254, 511, 621, 741\n\n    Pomeroy, Mr., 391\n\n    Pomeroy, Mrs., 391-393\n\n    Ponies, Alphington, 17\n\n    Pontefract, 66\n\n    Poole, 428\n\n    Pop, Ashburton, 478\n\n    Pope, Alexander, 244, 416, 736\n\n    Pope Pius V, 271\n\n    Pope Gregory XIII, 272\n\n    Porcelain, 604\n\n    Porchester, 429\n\n    Porlock, 533\n\n    Port Arthur, 779\n\n    Port Eliot, 569\n\n    Porter, Captain Thomas, 86, 88\n\n    Porteus, Bishop, 750\n\n    Portland Bill, 311\n\n    Porto Farino, 158\n\n    Portsmouth, 350, 440, 634\n\n    Portsmouth, Earl of, 546, 774\n\n    Port St. Maria, 86\n\n    Post Bridge, 706\n\n    Postman Poet, the. _See_ Edward Capern\n\n    Potheridge, 278\n\n    Potter, Humphrey, 498\n\n    Poughill, 534\n\n    Poundstock, 56\n\n    Powell, Mr., 98\n\n    Powlett, 419\n\n    Praed, Mr., 18\n\n    Prat, Rev. R., 584\n\n    Pratt, Miss, 484\n\n    Press-gang, 313, 314\n\n    Pressoville, Captain, 232\n\n    Preventive men, 307\n\n    ---- outwitted, 303, 304, 305\n\n    Prideaux, John, 606\n\n    Prideaux, Robert, 97-104\n\n    Pridhamsleigh, 438, 618, 622, 628\n\n    Prince, 182, 183, 191, 257\n\n    _Prince Charles and the Spanish Marriage_, 285\n\n    Prince Rock, 298\n\n    Princess Sophia, Electress Dowager of Hanover, 243\n\n    Princetown, 186, 407\n\n    Prisons, state of, 485, 505\n\n    ---- debtors in, 505\n\n    ---- _See_ Dartmoor, Fleet, etc.\n\n    Probus, 569\n\n    Prouse family, arms of, 565\n\n    Prout, Samuel, 564-580\n\n    ---- delicate health of, 566\n\n    ---- his passion for music, 567\n\n    ---- his piety, 577\n\n    ---- his _Studies_ and other works, 572\n\n    ---- in Cornwall with Britton, 568, 570\n\n    ---- painter of architecture, 568\n\n    Puckering, Sir T., 283, 285 _note_\n\n    Pugin, Augustus, 575\n\n    Pugin, A. Welby, 575\n\n    Pugsley, Christopher, 597\n\n    _Punch_, 420\n\n    Puntal, 86\n\n    Purcell, Henry, 240, 245\n\n    Putford, 599\n\n    Pycroft, George, 580\n\n    Pynes, 1, 12, 616\n\n\n    Quaker meetings, 603, 704\n\n    _Quarterly Review, The_, 452\n\n    Quarter-staffe, 90, 94\n\n    Queensberry, Duke of, 421\n\n    Quicke, John, 295-300\n\n    Quebec, 721\n\n\n    Radford, 187, 194, 279\n\n    Radford, Mrs., 194, 209, 211, 768\n\n    Radish, Captain, 107\n\n    Raglan Castle, 487\n\n    _Raleghana_, 285\n\n    Raleigh, 772\n\n    Raleigh, Sir John, 772\n\n    Raleigh, Sir Walter, 278-284, 785\n\n    ---- arrested, 279\n\n    ---- plans escape, 280\n\n    Rattenbury, Jack, 301-319\n\n    ---- deserter, 313, 318\n\n    ---- his hairbreadth escapes, 314, 317, 318\n\n    ---- turns smuggler, 315\n\n    Recipe for burns or scalds, 77, 78\n\n    ---- a sprain, 77\n\n    ---- stanching blood, 77\n\n    ---- toothache, 77\n\n    ---- whooping cough, 77\n\n    ---- eczema, 77\n\n    Redruth, 520\n\n    Reece, Dr. Richard, 396, 397, 404\n\n    Reeves, James, 694\n\n    Reeves, John, 692\n\n    Reeves, Sims, 420\n\n    Reinagle, 469\n\n    _Reminiscences of an Old West-country Clergyman_, 64, 537 _note_,\n    550, 563\n\n    Rendal, Mr., 613\n\n    Rendall, George, 232\n\n    Rennel, Dr., 593, 608\n\n    Resurrection of J. Southcott, the expected, 398-401\n\n    Resurrectionists, the Stoke, 405-413\n\n    Resurrections, unexpected, 55, 593\n\n    _Revenge, The_, 108, 121\n\n    Reynolds, Rev. Mr., 592\n\n    Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 442, 611, 627, 743\n\n    Rhodes, 162-164\n\n    Rich, Mr., 417, 418\n\n    Richard II, 182\n\n    Richards, Dr., 535\n\n    Richardson, Captain, 45\n\n    Richardson, Rev. J., 472\n\n    Richmond, Duke of, 263\n\n    Rickman, Mr., 564, 575\n\n    Riots in Exeter, 482\n\n    Risdon, 183, 254\n\n    Risdon family, the, 414\n\n    Rivers, Earl, 195\n\n    Roberts, John, 699\n\n    Roberts, Miss, 259\n\n    Roberts, Mr., 65\n\n    Robertson, Mrs., 450\n\n    Robins, Mr., 27\n\n    Rochester, 364, 366\n\n    Rock, Mr. W. F., 327\n\n    Rockingham, Marquess of, 630\n\n    Rogers, Captain Woods, 387, 389\n\n    _Roland for an Oliver, A_, 34\n\n    Rolfe, Thomas, 278\n\n    Rolle, Lady, 20, 591\n\n    Rolle, Lord, 319, 479\n\n    Rolle, Mr., 747\n\n    Roman road, 212\n\n    Rome, 240, 271\n\n    Romero, Julian, 270\n\n    Roscoff, 306\n\n    Ross, 109, 272\n\n    Ross, Dr., 112, 113\n\n    Ross, John, Bishop of Exeter, 747\n\n    Rotterdam, 168\n\n    Rouen Cathedral, 573\n\n    Rowe, Cornelius, 695\n\n    Rowe, Nicholas, 222\n\n    Rowles, William, 687\n\n    Rowley, Rear-Admiral Sir Josias, 650\n\n    _Royal George_, 126\n\n    Royal Wilding, 6-9, 12, 13\n\n    _Royal William_, 313\n\n    Roy Cades, 104\n\n    Ruan-Lanyhorne, 570\n\n    _Rudiments of Landscape_, 572\n\n    Runt, Mrs., 133\n\n    _Rural Sports_, 415\n\n    Ruskin, John, 573, 575, 577, 578, 580\n\n    Russell, Parson Jack, 530-544, 556\n\n    ---- encounters his bishop, 531, 532\n\n    ---- his schooldays, 535\n\n    ---- tests a curate, 543\n\n    ---- his views on sport, 540-542\n\n    Rust, John, 685\n\n    Ryan, William, 111\n\n    Ryde, 451\n\n    Ryder, Mary, 737\n\n\n    Saddles, a judge of, 479\n\n    Sadler\u2019s Wells, 353\n\n    Sales, M. de, 388\n\n    Salisbury, 21, 43, 280, 281, 590, 747\n\n    Salisbury, Marquess of, 45, 779\n\n    Salisbury Plain, 43\n\n    Salkeld, Captain, 231\n\n    Salmon, 389\n\n    Salter, Dr. Anthony, 712, 713\n\n    Saltfleetby, 494\n\n    Salford Museum, 396\n\n    Saltford, 177\n\n    Salthill, 465\n\n    Sampford Courtenay, 716\n\n    Sampford Ghost, The, 286-291\n\n    Sampford Peverell, 286, 291\n\n    Sandridge Park, 301, 632\n\n    Santa Cruz, 111-114\n\n    Sanxay, James, 48\n\n    Satires on King and Court, 744\n\n    Satirists, two eminent. _See_ John Wolcot and William Gifford\n\n    Saunders, John, 686\n\n    Savery, Mr., 458\n\n    Savery, Rev. S., 448\n\n    Savery, Thomas, 487-501\n\n    ---- his family history, 489\n\n    ---- invents paddle-boat, 490\n\n    ---- patents with Newcomen, 496\n\n    Savile, Rev. Bourchier Wrey, 725\n\n    Savoy, Duke of, 265\n\n    Saxon conquest, site of, 212\n\n    Scarlett, Mr., 29\n\n    Schaggel, Mr. Peter, 292\n\n    Schneeburg, 604\n\n    Schnorr, 604\n\n    Schomberg, Captain, 650\n\n    _School of Shakespeare, The_, 262\n\n    Scilly Islands, 136\n\n    Scio, 161, 163, 164\n\n    Scorrier, 544\n\n    Scott, Sir Gilbert, 564\n\n    Scott, Sir Walter, 451, 452, 455\n\n    Seacroft, 632\n\n    Seal-hunting, 333, 339, 349\n\n    Sea-sickness, 758\n\n    Seaton, 310\n\n    Seddons, Mr., 395\n\n    Selby, Anne, 631\n\n    Semple, Francis, 241\n\n    Senegal, 119, 120, 121\n\n    S\u00e8vres, 605\n\n    Seymour, Lord, 229\n\n    Seymour, Sir Edward, 432\n\n    Shakespeare, William, 181, 273\n\n    _Shakespeare Society\u2019s Papers_, 97\n\n    Shaldon, 624\n\n    Shan O\u2019Neil, 266, 267, 268\n\n    Sharp, the engraver, 393, 400\n\n    Sheepstor, 517, 702\n\n    Sheerness, 358, 359, 361, 363, 364\n\n    Sheppard, Rev. H. H., 210, 371\n\n    Sherborne, 280\n\n    Sherwell, 533\n\n    Sherwill, 773, 784\n\n    Shiloh, the expected, 394, 395, 401, 404\n\n    Shilston, 217, 490\n\n    Shilstone, dolmen of, 127\n\n    Shipwreck, 333\n\n    Shore, Juliana Susannah, 584\n\n    Short, Anthony, 196\n\n    _Short History of Social Life in England_, 51\n\n    Short, J., 256, 257\n\n    Shortland, Capt. Thomas G., 642, 643, 650, 666, 696\n\n    ---- charges against, 653\n\n    ---- his account of the massacre, 659\n\n    ---- orders massacre of prisoners, 646\n\n    ---- practical joke on, 645\n\n    _Short View of the Profaneness and Immorality of the English\n    Stage_, 242\n\n    Shute, 367\n\n    Sibley, 402\n\n    Sidmouth, 257, 307\n\n    Sidney, 269\n\n    _Siege of Memphis, The_, 240\n\n    Simmins, Dick, 525\n\n    Simpson, Richard, 262\n\n    Sims, Dr., 396\n\n    Skellum Grenville. _See_ Sir Richard\n\n    Skirrett, John, 97\n\n    Skisdon, 56\n\n    Skynner, William, 232\n\n    Slade, 458\n\n    Slanning, Gamaliel, 191\n\n    Slanning, Nicholas, 188-191\n\n    Slaughter, 315\n\n    Sleeman, Mr., 531, 532, 543\n\n    Smerdon, Hugh, 438, 440, 444\n\n    Smerdon, Rev. Thomas, 446\n\n    Smiles, Samuel, 454, 456, 490, 498\n\n    Smith, Gerard, 691\n\n    Smith, Mr., 115, 592\n\n    Smith, Sarah, 590\n\n    Smith, Thomas, 698\n\n    Smith, William, 687\n\n    Smugglers, 301-319\n\n    ---- desperate, 306, 318\n\n    Smuggling, 301, 378\n\n    ---- adventures while, 315\n\n    ---- conveniences for, 301-305\n\n    Smyrna, 84, 160, 161, 162\n\n    Snell, Mr., 319 _note_\n\n    Snow, Miss Marianne, 718\n\n    Snow, Mistress, 72\n\n    Snowe, Richard, 597\n\n    Soathern, John, 695\n\n    Somerset, Duke of, 263, 264\n\n    Somerstown, 752\n\n    _Songs of the West_, 57, 210, 368 _note_\n\n    \u201cSons of the Blue,\u201d 56\n\n    Soper, John, 345, 346, 347, 348\n\n    Sourton Down, 212\n\n    South Brent, 210\n\n    Southcott, Joanna, 390-404\n\n    ---- authorities for the life of, 403\n\n    ---- comes under Methodist influence, 390\n\n    ---- expected resurrection of, 398\n\n    ---- issues certificates for the millennium, 394\n\n    ---- mother of Shiloh, 394\n\n    ---- prophetess, 391\n\n    Southcote, Mary, 711\n\n    Southey, 392\n\n    Southgate, Exeter, 320, 504, 505\n\n    South Hams, 9-11\n\n    Southill, 535\n\n    Southmolton, 285, 437, 519, 536, 538, 544, 546, 555, 560\n\n    South Tawton, 248, 250, 253, 254, 709\n\n    Southwark, 185\n\n    South Zeal, 250\n\n    _Speedwell_, 152\n\n    Spesinick, Dominic, 345-348\n\n    Spitchwick, 627\n\n    Spithead, 313, 359\n\n    Sport advocated by Parson Russell, 540, 541\n\n    Spreyton, 170, 171\n\n    Spry, Mr., 508\n\n    Spry, Thomasine, 52\n\n    Stafford, Bridget Maria, 1\n\n    Stafford family, the, 1\n\n    Stafford, Hugh, 1-15\n\n    ---- experiments in cyder, 11\n\n    Stage, licentiousness of the, 23, 242\n\n    ---- defended by Brice, 508\n\n    Stamford, the Earl of, 221\n\n    _Standard, The_, 785\n\n    St. Andrew\u2019s Church, Plymouth, 36, 567, 578\n\n    Stanhope, Charles, 33\n\n    Stanwich, George, 95-104\n\n    Stapeldon, Bishop, 438\n\n    Starcross, 150\n\n    St. Austell, 524, 570, 601, 602, 605, 704\n\n    Staverton, 618, 622, 624\n\n    St. Bartholomew\u2019s Hospital, 413\n\n    St. Columb, 518, 520, 524, 605, 754\n\n    St. Dunstan\u2019s, 251\n\n    Steam-propelled fountain, 487\n\n    Steam pumping-engines, 492, 496\n\n    Stephens, Mary, 251\n\n    Stewart, Dr., 757\n\n    St. Genny\u2019s Church, 56\n\n    St. German\u2019s, 569\n\n    St. Giles\u2019 Hospital, 42\n\n    St. James, Westminster, 247\n\n    St. John, Sir William, 281\n\n    St. John\u2019s College, Cambridge, 564\n\n    St. Just, Count of, 239\n\n    St. Lawrence\u2019s Chapel, 438\n\n    St. Leger, 268\n\n    St. Leger, Frances, 278\n\n    St. Malo, 136, 137, 139, 141\n\n    St. Martin\u2019s, 353\n\n    St. Mary Major, 356\n\n    St. Michael\u2019s Mount, 206\n\n    Stockleigh English, 533\n\n    Stockleigh Pomeroy, 533\n\n    Stoke Church, 409-411\n\n    Stoke Fleming, 494\n\n    St. Omer, 265\n\n    Stone, James, 519\n\n    Stone, Tom, 97-104\n\n    Stoneham, Isaac, 136\n\n    Stonehouse, 459\n\n    Stonehouse Creek, 409\n\n    Story, Mr. Douglas, 782\n\n    Stourbridge, 404 _note_\n\n    Stow, 231\n\n    Stowford. _See_ Stafford\n\n    Stowford, Sir John, 2\n\n    ---- builder of Pilton Bridge, 2\n\n    St. Paul\u2019s, 401, 609, 752\n\n    St. Peter, 77, 246\n\n    St. Peter\u2019s Hospital for Vagrants, 37\n\n    St. Quintin, 265\n\n    Strangwidge. _See_ Stanwich\n\n    Strode, William, 200\n\n    St. Sebastian, 231\n\n    St. Sidwell, 19\n\n    St. Stephen\u2019s, 371, 565, 605, 616\n\n    St. Thomas\u2019s, 505, 507, 591\n\n    Stucley family, the, 262, 278, 710\n\n    Stucley, Thomas, 262-273, 278, 285\n\n    ---- rumoured illegitimacy of, 262\n\n    ---- escapes arrest, 265, 269\n\n    ---- as a pirate, 267\n\n    ---- character of, 272, 278\n\n    Stukeley, Sir Lewis (\u201cJudas\u201d) 278-285\n\n    ---- arrests Raleigh, 279\n\n    ---- his madness and death, 285\n\n    ---- robs and betrays his cousin, 280, 282\n\n    St. Vincent, Lord, 785\n\n    St. Yr\u012beix, 605\n\n    _Successful Pyrate, The_, 377\n\n    Suffolk, Earl of, 196, 199, 200-202, 207, 263\n\n    Sumatra, 37\n\n    _Sunday Monitor_, 398\n\n    _Sun-gleams and Shadows_, 329\n\n    Superstition concerning death, 255\n\n    Surat, 380, 381\n\n    Sussex, Earl of, 267\n\n    Sutton Pool, 763\n\n    Swanage, 311, 312\n\n    Swanwick, Mr., 115, 118\n\n    Swift, Jonathan, 416, 737\n\n    Switzer, 492, 496\n\n    Swymbridge, 530, 531, 534, 542-544, 754\n\n    Sydenham, 222\n\n    Sydenham, Mary, 185, 186\n\n    Sydenham, Sir John, 185\n\n    Synge, M. B., 51\n\n\n    Tailbois, Elizabeth, 263\n\n    Tally, Mr., 286, 290\n\n    Tamar Green, 520, 521\n\n    Tamerton Foliot, 189\n\n    _Tappa-Boo_, 38\n\n    Tar Steps, 551, 552\n\n    Taunton, 42, 291\n\n    _Taunton Courier, The_, 286, 287, 290\n\n    Taunton Dean, 175\n\n    Tavistock, 85, 94-98, 102, 104, 123, 185-190, 198, 201, 204, 209,\n    570, 599, 636, 700, 702, 708, 772\n\n    Tavy River, 702\n\n    Taw River, 2, 710\n\n    Tawney, Robert Willet, 698\n\n    Taylor, Mr. Thomas, 446, 459\n\n    Teignmouth, 591, 718\n\n    Teignmouth, Lord, 584\n\n    Teign River, 755\n\n    Temple, Lord, 6\n\n    Templer, Colonel, 591\n\n    Tenby, 310\n\n    Teneriffe, 108, 111-113, 315\n\n    Terdrew, Robert, 597\n\n    Tetcott, 47, 54\n\n    ---- register of, 48, 49\n\n    Tew, Captain, 385\n\n    Thackeray, W. M., 105\n\n    Theatres, Cheltenham, 24\n\n    ---- Covent Garden, 23, 420\n\n    ---- Drury Lane, 377 _note_, 416\n\n    ---- Gaiet\u00e9, 499\n\n    ---- Haymarket, 353, 418\n\n    ---- Lincoln\u2019s Inn Fields, 417\n\n    ---- Olympic, 32\n\n    ---- Plymouth, 21\n\n    Thomas, Grace, 274, 275\n\n    Thomas, Hannah, 276\n\n    Thomas, Mr., 353\n\n    Thompson, Hartley, 68\n\n    Thomson, James, 241\n\n    Thomson, Joseph, 67\n\n    Thorncombe, 430\n\n    Thorne, 518\n\n    Thornton, Rev. W. H., 64, 537 _note_, 550, 563\n\n    _Three to One, Being an English-Spanish Combat_, 94\n\n    Thrushelton, 737\n\n    Thurlow, Mr., 621\n\n    Thynne, Thomas, Lord Weymouth, 433\n\n    Tickell, Mr., 716\n\n    Ticknor, George, 453\n\n    Tilbury, 207\n\n    Tindale, Thomas, 695\n\n    Tiverton, 14, 72, 81, 286, 291, 318, 326, 426, 438, 535, 553, 556\n\n    Tomlinson, Mr., 606\n\n    Tom Thumb, 474\n\n    Tooke, Horne, 620\n\n    Tooker, Joan, 251\n\n    Topsham, 136, 138, 150, 168\n\n    Tor Abbey Avenue, 16\n\n    Torbay, 150, 350, 643\n\n    Tordown, 542\n\n    Torgate, 16\n\n    Torquay, 16-18, 332, 418\n\n    Torridge River, 182\n\n    Torrington, Black, 544, 563\n\n    Torrington, Great, 65, 103, 182, 370, 597\n\n    Tosse, Mr., 19\n\n    Totnes, 170, 171, 369-373, 490, 520, 632, 634\n\n    Tower Hill, 366\n\n    Tozer, John, 685\n\n    Tozer, Rev. W., 399, 403\n\n    _Transactions_ of the Devonshire Association, 1870, 225 _note_\n\n    ---- 1874, 423\n\n    ---- 1876, 456, 603 _note_, 606, 632\n\n    ---- 1878, 374\n\n    ---- 1879, 94\n\n    ---- 1880, 324\n\n    ---- 1882, 258, 500 _note_, 617, 354\n\n    ---- 1886, 230 _note_\n\n    ---- 1888, 510 _note_, 513\n\n    ---- 1890, 195 _note_, 211\n\n    ---- 1900, 261 _note_\n\n    Transvaal, 775\n\n    Travers, John, 609\n\n    Treason, petty, 104\n\n    Trefry, Will, 515\n\n    Tregonnin Hill, 605\n\n    Trelawny family, the, 738\n\n    Trembles, Mary, 274, 276\n\n    Trowbridge, 107\n\n    Trowbridge, John T., 685\n\n    Truely, Thomas, 698\n\n    Truro, 508, 570, 605, 740, 741, 754\n\n    Tucker, Mistress, 71, 72\n\n    Tuckfield, Mr. 593\n\n    Tunis, 154, 158\n\n    Turnarine, John, 754\n\n    Turnbull, James, 699\n\n    Turner, J. M. W., 578\n\n    Tutt, John, 687\n\n    Twickenham, 192, 194\n\n    Twigg, Mark, 597, 599\n\n\n    Ulph\u00e9, Pierre, 238\n\n    Underhill, J., 414\n\n    Underwood, Ann, 399\n\n    _Universal Magazine_, 502 _note_\n\n    _Universal Traveller_, 389\n\n    Upton Hellions, 351, 352\n\n    Ure, Mr., 606\n\n    Urf\u00e9, Peter, 238. _See_ D\u2019Urfey\n\n\n    Van Diemen\u2019s Land, 350\n\n    Vandyke, 196\n\n    Vane, Sir Ralph, 264\n\n    Vanity, inordinate, 475, 585\n\n    Veale, Captain, 332, 334, 340, 345\n\n    Veale, Mr., 540\n\n    Veale, Mrs., 220\n\n    Veitch, Messrs., 12\n\n    Venice, 577\n\n    Vernon, 209\n\n    Vestris, Madame, 32\n\n    _Vetus Testamentum Hebraicum_, 372\n\n    Victoria, Queen, 783\n\n    Vigers, Thomas, 597\n\n    Vigo, 270, 313\n\n    _Vindication of Sir Richard Grenville,_ 211\n\n    Vines, Rev. Mr., 577\n\n    Virginia, 136, 234, 236, 237, 279, 605\n\n    Virte, Baroness de, 631\n\n    Visions, 583, 725. _See also_ Warnings\n\n    Vitifer mines, 700-704\n\n\n    Wakelin, William, 694\n\n    Walker, J., 750\n\n    Walker, Richard, 693\n\n    Walkhampton, 618\n\n    Walpole, Sir Robert, 4, 419, 420\n\n    Walreddon, 187, 196, 202, 208, 209\n\n    Want, Mr., 397\n\n    Wapping, 230\n\n    Warburton, Mr., 405, 412\n\n    Ward, William, 693\n\n    Wardship, law of, 194\n\n    Warminster, 434\n\n    Warne, Mr., 702\n\n    Warnings of death, 586, 590, 591, 719.\n      _See also_ Bird of the Oxenhams\n\n    Warren, David Spencer, 669, 682, 693\n\n    Warren Inn, 700, 702, 703, 707\n\n    Warren, James, 520\n\n    Washfield, 14\n\n    Washington, 697\n\n    Washington, John, 698\n\n    Waterford, 269\n\n    Waterhouse, Henry, 697\n\n    Watts, G. F., 457, 476\n\n    Waugh, Edwin, 326, 328\n\n    Waymouth, Peter, 494\n\n    _Wayside Warbles_, 328\n\n    Wearmouth, Susanna, 602\n\n    Webber, Simon, 519\n\n    Weekes, Katherine, 712-715\n\n    Weekes, Richard, 709-717\n\n    ---- takes possession of North Wyke, 713\n\n    Weekes family, the, 710\n\n    _Weekly Times, The_, 558\n\n    Weeks, William, and family, 292-296, 300\n\n    Welcombe, 534\n\n    Welland, 135\n\n    Welland, Anna Maria, 133, 134\n\n    Welland, John, 133\n\n    Wellington, 175, 553\n\n    Wellington, Duke of, 18, 19\n\n    Wells, 463\n\n    Wells, James, 699\n\n    Wemble, Captain, 108\n\n    Wembury, 107\n\n    Wesley, John, 508\n\n    West, Benjamin, 571, 745\n\n    Westbury, 41\n\n    West Combe Park, 419\n\n    Westcote, 183\n\n    _Western Antiquary, The_, 502 _note_\n\n    West Indies, 387\n\n    Westminster, 373\n\n    Westminster Abbey, 421, 456\n\n    Weston, Mrs. Elizabeth, 257\n\n    West Webburn, 700\n\n    West Worlington, 262\n\n    Wexford, 269\n\n    Weymouth, 158, 314, 315\n\n    Weymouth, Lord, as a beggar, 432, 433, 434\n\n    Wharton, 418\n\n    Wharton, Duke of, 243\n\n    _What a Blunder_, 353\n\n    Wheal Fortune, 499\n\n    Wheeler, Amos, 685\n\n    Whimple, 14\n\n    Whitaker, Rev. John, 511, 570\n\n    Whitbread, 745\n\n    Whitchurch, 97, 532\n\n    White, Ensign, 670\n\n    White, Nicholas, 269\n\n    Whitechapel Churchyard, 367\n\n    Whitefield, George, 430\n\n    Whiteford, S. T., 368\n\n    White-Sour cyder, 10, 13\n\n    Whitestone, 7, 8, 56\n\n    Whiteway, Mr. H., 13, 14 _note_\n\n    _White Witches_, 70\n\n    ---- Mistress Tucker of Exeter, 71\n\n    ---- Mistress Snow of Tiverton, 72, 80\n\n    ---- Old Marianne, 74\n\n    ---- at Callington, 81\n\n    ---- their wonderful perception, 73\n\n    ---- levy blackmail, 74\n\n    ---- their recipes, 77, 79\n\n    ---- modern instances of their craft, 82\n\n    Whitfeld, Mr. F., 62, 64, 106, 300, 641\n\n    Whitford, Joseph, 662\n\n    Whittlebanks, Edward, 698\n\n    Whyte, /R.N./, Commander R. C., 783\n\n    Widdecombe-on-the-Moor, 518, 622, 624, 627, 707\n\n    Widworthy, 772\n\n    Wife-sales, 58-69\n\n    ---- advertisement of, 60\n\n    ---- rules for, 64, 69\n\n    Wilkie, David, 462\n\n    Wilkinson, Dr., 40, 41\n\n    Willcocks, Mary. _See_ Caraboo\n\n    Willcocks, Mr., 44\n\n    Willet, John, 698\n\n    William III, 232-234, 242, 243, 384, 388, 492\n\n    William IV, 367\n\n    Williams, Gabriel, 597\n\n    Williams, John, 687\n\n    Williams, Mr., 544\n\n    Williams, Mrs., 422\n\n    Williams, Sir Trevor, 487\n\n    Williamson, Isaac H., 697\n\n    Willinghull, 763\n\n    Willis, Captain, 312\n\n    Willmead, 126\n\n    Wilmot, Sir Zachary, 175\n\n    Wilson, John, 632, 699\n\n    Wilson, Peter, 699\n\n    Wimbledon, Lord, 85, 93\n\n    Wincherdon, 243\n\n    Winchester, 105\n\n    Winde, Sir Robert, 283\n\n    Windeatt, Mr. Edward, 374\n\n    _Wine of the West Country_, 14\n\n    Winkleigh, 126\n\n    Winsford, 552\n\n    Winsor, Justin, 698\n\n    Winter, Captain, 115, 120\n\n    _Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy_, 244\n\n    Witches, the Bideford, 274-276\n\n    ---- meet the devil, 275, 276\n\n    ---- inflict injuries, 274, 275, 276\n\n    ---- executed, 274, 276\n\n    ---- _See also_ White Witches\n\n    Witheridge, 42, 44\n\n    Wolborough, 65\n\n    Wolcot, John, 451, 613, 737-753\n\n    ---- as painter, 742\n\n    ---- as parson, 739\n\n    ---- as satirist, 743\n\n    ---- as surgeon, 738, 739, 741\n\n    Wollacott, 737\n\n    Wollocombe, 1\n\n    Wollocombe family, the, 1\n\n    Wollocombe, Rev. J. H. Bidlake, 221\n\n    Wollocombe, Rev. John Stafford, 221\n\n    Wollocombe, Rev. Robert, 8, 9, 11, 14\n\n    Wolverhampton, 499\n\n    Wood, Alexander, 714\n\n    Wood, Anthony \u00e0, 728\n\n    Wood, Mr., 248\n\n    Woodall, Mrs., 591\n\n    Woodbury, 107\n\n    Woodley, Robert, 251\n\n    Woodroffe, Thomas, 597\n\n    Woodstock, 227\n\n    Woolton, John, Bishop of Exeter, 215\n\n    Woolwich, 282\n\n    Worall, Mrs., 35-45\n\n    Worall, Samuel, 35, 37\n\n    Worcester, Marquess of, 487, 489, 491, 498\n\n    Worcester opposes cyder tax, 4, 5\n\n    _Worcestershire Relics_, 13\n\n    Worcester, William of, 229\n\n    Worth, R. N., 603 _note_, 606\n\n    _Worthies of Devon_, 182\n\n    Wrays, William, 215\n\n    Wreford, William, 519\n\n    Wrestlers, Devonshire, 518-520\n\n    Wrestling, notice of match, 534\n\n    ---- matches, 518-523\n\n    ---- rules for, 515, 522, 527, 528\n\n    ---- song of, 525\n\n    Wyatt, James, 107-122\n\n    ---- an Admirable Crichton, 112-114\n\n    ---- fights against Moors, 116-118\n\n    ---- his adventures on the _Revenge_, 108\n\n    ---- his escape, 115\n\n    Wyatt, Mr., 472\n\n    Wycombe, 726\n\n    Wyke, Thomas, 225\n\n    Wykes-Finch, Rev. William, 717\n\n    Wyot, Philip, 103, 104\n\n\n    Xeres, 88\n\n\n    Yarmouth Roads, 360\n\n    Yeo, 2, 545, 774\n\n    Yeo, John, 595\n\n    Yeo, Robert, 595\n\n    Yes Tor, 709\n\n    York Minster, 574\n\n    Youlston, 772, 773, 784\n\n    Young family, arms of, 619\n\n    _Young Neptune_, 115\n\n    Young, Sir Samuel, 616\n\n    Young, William, 231\n\n\n    Zankwell, Mr., 742\n\n    Zeal Monachorum, 249, 250, 253, 713\n\n    Zemzem, 393\n\n\n\n\nBOOKS OF THE WEST COUNTRY\n\n\nTHE LIFE AND LETTERS OF ROBERT STEPHEN HAWKER\n\nSometime Vicar of Morwenstow. Compiled by his Son-in-Law, /C. E.\nByles/, from hitherto unpublished manuscripts. With numerous\nIllustrations, including Lithographs by /J. Ley Pethybridge/,\ntwo Sketches by the /Earl of Carlisle/, reproductions from\ncontemporary Prints, Portraits, Photographs, etc. Crown 8vo. Price 7s.\n6d. net.\n\n    _TIMES._--\u201cA well-written life is not, as Carlyle declared it to\n    be, almost as rare as a well-spent one; it is a much rarer thing\n    indeed. Mr. Byles has given us a book which will earn the gratitude\n    of those whose love of poetry urges them to a knowledge of the\n    poet.... Hawker dedicated his works to Prince Posterity, and the\n    dedication will be accepted by many readers of the new biography,\n    who will find in Robert Hawker one of the knights of his own\n    Sangraal, \u2018thorough men.\u2019\u201d\n\n    _MORNING POST._--\u201cGratitude is distinctly due to Mr. Byles for\n    his new life of his father-in-law.... There are many excellent\n    illustrations.... Mr. J. Ley Pethybridge has the very spirit of the\n    West Country.\u201d\n\n    _DAILY TELEGRAPH._--\u201cAs soon as the volume is opened one finds\n    oneself in the presence of a real original, a man of ability,\n    genius, and eccentricity, of whom one cannot know too much.... He\n    was every inch a man.... No one will read this fascinating and\n    charmingly produced book without thanks to Mr. Byles and a desire\n    to visit--or revisit--Morwenstow.\u201d\n\n    _DAILY NEWS._--\u201cHere at length is the authentic life--the record,\n    mainly in his own letters, of one of the most fascinating, wayward,\n    independent personalities of the nineteenth century. The man here\n    wrote out his heart\u2019s confession.... The comparison is, indeed,\n    with Carlyle.... Each possessed a spiritual vision denied to the\n    common crowd; each mingles passages of eloquence and lamentation\n    with outbreaks of fury and a shaggy, boisterous humour. Hawker was\n    a unique figure in Victorian England.\u201d\n\n    _STANDARD._--\u201cA breezy book, with plenty of salt in it--of the sea\n    and of common-sense.\u201d\n\n\nCORNISH BALLADS AND OTHER POEMS\n\nBy ROBERT STEPHEN HAWKER\n\nEdited, with a Preface, by /C. E. Byles/. With numerous\nIllustrations by /J. Ley Pethybridge/ and others, and a special\nbinding designed from oak carvings in the churches of Morwenstow and\nWelcombe.\n\nCrown 8vo, 5s. net.\n\n    _This book contains Hawker\u2019s complete poetical works, including\n    several pieces previously uncollected._\n\n    _TIMES._--\u201c\u2018The Quest of the Sangraal\u2019 is an exquisitely moulded\n    torso ... the fragment of his epic gives him a sure place among the\n    poets who are only minor because their supreme moments are few.\u201d\n\n    _ACADEMY._--\u201cHis fragment of the \u2018Sangraal\u2019 is worthy to be\n    compared with Tennyson\u2019s treatment of the subject.... The excellent\n    popular edition.... Essential to every lover of the Cornish poet.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\nFOOTPRINTS OF FORMER MEN IN FAR CORNWALL\n\nBy ROBERT STEPHEN HAWKER\n\nEdited, with an Introduction, by /C. E. Byles/, and containing\nnumerous Illustrations by /J. Ley Pethybridge/. Crown 8vo, 5s.\nnet. [Uniform with \u201cCornish Ballads.\u201d]\n\n    _LITERARY WORLD._--\u201cReading these sketches, we come upon passages\n    which Ruskin himself might have written. There is in them a rare\n    rich flavour of the author\u2019s individuality, something of the\n    atmosphere, the colour, the rugged grandeur of the coast.\u201d\n\n    _WORLD._--\u201cHis book is a peculiarly delightful one, full of that\n    indescribable charm which permeates Scott\u2019s novels.... The style\n    is inimitable, the anecdotes are quaint and original, and the\n    illustrations are well chosen and excellently reproduced; and a\n    word of praise is due to the tasteful binding.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\nTHE WINGLESS VICTORY. By /M. P. Willcocks/. Crown 8vo, 6s.\n\n    _TIMES._--\u201cSuch books are worth keeping on the shelves, even by the\n    classics, for they are painted in colours that do not fade.\u201d\n\n    _OUTLOOK._--\u201cA very remarkable work, which places Miss Willcocks in\n    the first rank ... a novel built to last.\u201d\n\n    _TRIBUNE._--\u201cMiss Willcocks\u2019s splendid book ... a very strong and\n    able novel, deserving high praise and wide popularity--a novel to\n    read and to remember.\u201d\n\n    _DAILY MAIL._--\u201c\u2018The Wingless Victory\u2019 stands out as something\n    quite out of the common.... In its grasp of character and\n    circumstance, in its rare wisdom, and, above all, in its unerring\n    insight into the deep springs of human action, it is a remarkable\n    achievement which entitles its author to a first place in the ranks\n    of contemporary novelists. This is high praise, but we venture to\n    prophesy it will be endorsed by critics and readers alike.\u201d\n\n    _STANDARD._--\u201cIt is an excellent thing for any reader to come\n    across a book so fresh and fervent, so instinct with genuine\n    passion and emotion, and all the fierce primitive joys of\n    existence, as is the \u2018The Wingless Victory\u2019 ... really a book of\n    remarkable strength and glow and insight.\u201d\n\n    _DAILY NEWS._--\u201cMiss Willcocks shows wonderful insight into\n    character ... and her skill in this regard and in her descriptions\n    of the wild beauty of the Cornish scenery often make us feel that\n    she is a novelist with a great future.\u201d\n\n    _ACADEMY._--\u201cMr. John Lane is to be congratulated on having\n    discovered Miss Willcocks, and if her latest work is not a great\n    success, it will not be creditable to the discernment of the\n    reading public.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\nWIDDICOMBE: A Novel. By /M. P. Willcocks/. Crown 8vo, 6s.\n\n    _MORNING POST._--\u201cThe characterisation is both discriminating and\n    subtle.\u201d\n\n    _EVENING STANDARD._--\u201cWonderfully alive ... a fine, rather unusual\n    novel. There are some striking studies of women.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\nA CHILD OF THE SHORE: A Romance of Cornwall. By S. M. Fox. Crown 8vo,\n6s.\n\n    _MORNING LEADER._--\u201cA remarkable book, glowing, fanciful, and\n    fantastic by turns.\u201d\n\n    _OUTLOOK._--\u201cAn unusually good piece of imaginative work.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\nTHE FISHERS: A Novel. By /J. H. Harris/. Crown 8vo. 6s.\n\n    _MORNING POST._--\u201cA notable book.\u201d\n\n    _TIMES._--\u201cA fascinating story; the author is thoroughly well\n    informed as to his subject.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\nTHE CHRONICLE OF A CORNISH GARDEN. By /Harry Roberts/. With 7\nFull-page Illustrations and a Cover Design by _F. L. Griggs._ Crown\n8vo, 5s. net.\n\n    _THE LITERARY WORLD._--\u201cThe Chronicle is written in a frank,\n    unaffected style, and will suggest useful ideas to other garden\n    lovers.\u201d\n\n\nSIR BEVILL\n\nBy ARTHUR CHRISTOPHER THYNNE\n\nWith 7 Illustrations by /J. Ley Pethybridge/, and a Portrait of\nSir Bevill Granville after Vandyck.\n\nCrown 8vo, 6s.\n\n    _ACADEMY._--\u201cAltogether delightful, setting the reader amid broom\n    and heather on the Devon moors, or by the sounding sea on the\n    Cornish coast.... All the everyday life is admirably rendered, and\n    many of the side characters are brilliantly sketched.\u201d\n\n    _SATURDAY REVIEW._--\u201cMaster Teague is almost as magnificent in\n    his hypocritical villainy as our old friend Trusty Tomkins of\n    \u2018Woodstock.\u2019 ... The stag hunt, the witch hunt, the gipsy camp, the\n    Court masque, and the battle are admirable.\u201d\n\n    _OUTLOOK._--\u201cA very living and lovable bit of work, sweet with the\n    scent of heather and breath of the sea.\u201d\n\n    _DAILY MAIL._--\u201cA rollicking good romance of Stuart days.\u201d\n\n    _DAILY EXPRESS._--\u201cWell written, exciting, and breezy of the\n    western moors.\u201d\n\n    /Mr. G. R. SIMS/, in _REFEREE_.--\u201cA most delightful book,\n    the work of an old friend of mine, Canon Thynne, who has, in \u2018Sir\n    Bevill,\u2019 told with skill and charm and authority, a story of\n    the days of Charles I. I have spent some sleepless nights very\n    pleasantly with \u2018Sir Bevill.\u2019\u201d\n\n    _DAILY CHRONICLE._--\u201cThe author describes well, and has the gift of\n    telling incident.\u201d\n\n\nCORNISH SAINTS AND SINNERS\n\nBy J. HENRY HARRIS\n\nWith upwards of 70 Drawings by _L. Raven Hill._\n\nCrown 8vo, 6s.\n\n\nLONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD, VIGO ST., W.\n\n\n\n\n_NOTICE_\n\n\n_Those who possess old letters, documents, correspondence, MSS., scraps\nof autobiography, and also miniatures and portraits, relating to\npersons and matters historical, literary, political and social, should\ncommunicate with Mr. John Lane, The Bodley Head, Vigo Street, London,\nW., who will at all times be pleased to give his advice and assistance,\nas to their preservation or publication._\n\n\n\n\nLIVING MASTERS OF MUSIC\n\n    An Illustrated Series of Monographs dealing with\n    Contemporary Musical Life, and including Representatives\n    of all Branches of the Art. Edited by\n    /Rosa Newmarch/. Crown 8vo. Cloth, 2_s._ 6_d._ net\n    each volume.\n\n\n    HENRY J. WOOD. By /Rosa Newmarch/.\n    SIR EDWARD ELGAR. By /R. J. Buckley/.\n    JOSEPH JOACHIM. By /J. A. Fuller Maitland/.\n    EDWARD MACDOWELL. By /L. Gilman/.\n    EDVARD GRIEG. By /H. T. Finck/.\n    THEODOR LESCHETIZKY. By /A. Hullah/.\n    GIACOMO PUCCINI. By /Wakeling Dry/.\n    ALFRED BRUNEAU. By /Arthur Hervey/.\n    IGNAZ PADEREWSKI. By /E. A. Baughan/.\n\n    _The following Volumes are in preparation_:\n\n    RICHARD STRAUSS. By /A. Kalisch/.\n    CLAUDE DE BUSSY. By /Franz Liebich/.\n\n\n\n\nSTARS OF THE STAGE\n\n    A Series of Illustrated Biographies of the Leading\n    Actors, Actresses, and Dramatists. Edited by /J. T.\n    Grein/. Crown 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ each net.\n\n    \u2042 _It was Schiller who said: \u201cTwine no wreath for the actor, since\n    his work is oral and ephemeral.\u201d \u201cStars of the Stage\u201d may in some\n    degree remove this reproach. There are hundreds of thousands of\n    playgoers, and both editor and publisher think it reasonable to\n    assume that a considerable number of these would like to know\n    something about actors, actresses, and dramatists, whose work they\n    nightly applaud. Each volume will be carefully illustrated, and as\n    far as text, printing, and paper are concerned will be a notable\n    book. Great care has been taken in selecting the biographers, who\n    in most cases have already accumulated much appropriate material._\n\n\n_First Volumes._\n\n    ELLEN TERRY. By /Christopher St. John/.\n    HERBERT BEERBOHM TREE. By /Mrs. George Cran/.\n    W. S. GILBERT. By /Edith A. Browne/.\n    CHAS. WYNDHAM. By /Florence Teignmouth Shore/.\n    GEORGE BERNARD SHAW. By /G. K. Chesterton/.\n    ARTHUR WING PINERO. By /E. A. Baughan/.\n    HENRY ARTHUR JONES. By /Anthony Ellis/.\n\n\n\n\n_A CATALOGUE OF MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, ETC._\n\n\n\n\n_WORKS UPON NAPOLEON_\n\n\nNAPOLEON & THE INVASION OF ENGLAND:\n\nThe Story of the Great Terror, 1797-1805. By /H. F. B. Wheeler/ and /A.\nM. Broadley/. With upwards of 100 Full-page Illustrations reproduced\nfrom Contemporary Portraits, Prints, etc.; eight in Colour. Two\nVolumes. 32_s._ net.\n\n    \u2042 _Hitherto no book dealing exhaustively with Napoleon\u2019s colossal\n    plans for invading the United Kingdom, and our own strenuous\n    measures to resist his coming, has appeared in the English\n    language. This work, which has been in preparation for several\n    years, is a careful study of this neglected phase of Napoleonic\n    history. It not only deals with the military and naval preparations\n    made by both nations, but with the more picturesque side of\n    their campaign. While Napoleon was riding along the sands of\n    Boulogne encouraging the shipbuilders and organising the Army of\n    England--which was to conquer half Europe as the Grand Army--Pitt\n    was drilling Volunteers at Walmer Castle, Fox was exercising as a\n    private in the Chertsey Volunteers, and the peace-loving Addington\n    appeared in the House of Commons in military uniform. The churches\n    were stored with arms, and two hours\u2019 drilling was undergone every\n    Sunday, to say nothing of week-days. Never before or since has\n    the pencil of the cartoonist played so important a part in the\n    formation of public opinion. Patriotism on paper was rampant. From\n    1798 till 1805, when Trafalgar lifted the war-cloud which hung over\n    the Kingdom, pen and press were turning out history in pictures\n    by hundreds, as well as popular songs. Caricatures, squibs, and\n    broadsides against Napoleon and the threatened invasion did much\n    to encourage the population to prepare to resist the legions of\n    France. The facile pencils of Gillray, the Cruikshanks, Ansell,\n    Rowlandson, West, Woodward, and a score of lesser lights, were\n    never idle. Many unique cartoons and other illustrations appear in\n    these volumes, which also include important letters, never before\n    published, of George III, the Duke of Buckingham, Lord Brougham,\n    Decies, Richard Cumberland, Thomas Order Powlett, Mrs. Piozzi, and\n    other celebrities._\n\n\nTHE FALL OF NAPOLEON. By /Oscar Browning/, /M.A./, Author of \u201cThe\nBoyhood and Youth of Napoleon.\u201d With numerous Full-page Illustrations.\nDemy 8vo (9 \u00d7 5-3/4 inches). 12_s._ 6_d._ net.\n\n    \u2042 _The story of the fall of Napoleon has never been adequately\n    written for English readers, and great misconception still exists\n    in this country even with regard to the most material facts. The\n    present volume attempts to supply this omission, and makes use\n    of the copious recent literature on this portion of Napoleon\u2019s\n    life, which adds so largely to our knowledge of the subject.\n    The narrative begins with Napoleon\u2019s return to Paris after the\n    Russian disaster. It gives a complete account of the campaigns\n    of 1813 and 1814, based very largely upon personal knowledge\n    of the battlefields. The events connected with the abdication\n    at Fontainebleau are carefully described. The life in Elba is\n    painted, and the marvellous march to Paris dealt with in detail.\n    In treating of the Hundred Days the attitude of the English\n    Government has received much attention, and the Waterloo campaign\n    has been dealt with from the point of view of the best and most\n    recent authorities. The book concludes with a minute account of\n    Napoleon\u2019s surrender at Aix, which has never before been properly\n    presented in an English dress, and leaves Napoleon on board the\n    \u201cNorthumberland.\u201d The book will form a companion volume to \u201cThe\n    Boyhood and Youth of Napoleon,\u201d by the same author._\n\n\n    THE BOYHOOD &. YOUTH OF NAPOLEON, 1769-1793. Some Chapters on the\n    early life of Bonaparte. By /Oscar Browning/, /M.A./ With\n    numerous Illustrations, Portraits, etc. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net.\n\n    _Daily News._--\u201cMr. Browning has with patience, labour, careful\n    study, and excellent taste given us a very valuable work, which\n    will add materially to the literature on this most fascinating of\n    human personalities.\u201d\n\n    _Literary World._--\u201c ... Mr. Browning has examined all the\n    available sources of information and carefully weighed his\n    historical evidence. His discriminating treatment has resulted in a\n    book that is ... one that arrests attention by the conviction its\n    reasoned conclusions carry.\u201d\n\n    _World._--\u201cThe story of Napoleon\u2019s childhood could not have had an\n    abler or more sympathetic narrator than the author of this very\n    fascinating work.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    THE DUKE OF REICHSTADT (NAPOLEON II.) By /Edward de\n    Wertheimer/. Translated from the German. With numerous\n    Illustrations. Demy 8vo. _21s._ net. (Second Edition.)\n\n    _Times._--\u201cA most careful and interesting work which presents\n    the first complete and authoritative account of the life of this\n    unfortunate Prince.\u201d\n\n    _Westminster Gazette._--\u201cThis book, admirably produced, reinforced\n    by many additional portraits, is a solid contribution to history\n    and a monument of patient, well-applied research.\u201d\n\n    _Public Opinion._--\u201cNo student of Napoleon\u2019s life can afford to\n    miss this book, which tells the story of his son, who was variously\n    known as King of Rome, the Duke of Parma, Napoleon II, and the Duke\n    of Reichstadt.... The story of his life is admirably told.\u201d\n\n    _Bookman._--\u201cThis is the first authoritative book on the subject\n    of the Duke of Reichstadt (Napoleon II) and his short, dramatic\n    life. The present biography is full of fresh interest, and is\n    exceptionally valuable owing to the numerous portraits which are\n    included.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    NAPOLEON\u2019S CONQUEST OF PRUSSIA, 1806. By /F. Loraine Petre/,\n    Author of \u201cNapoleon\u2019s Campaign in Poland, 1806-7.\u201d With an\n    Introduction by /Field-Marshal Earl Roberts/, V.C.,\n    K.G., etc. With Maps, Battle Plans, Portraits, and 16 Full-page\n    Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 \u00d7 5-3/4 inches). 12_s._\n    6_d._ net.\n\n    _Scotsman._--\u201cNeither too concise, nor too diffuse, the book is\n    eminently readable. It is the best work in English on a somewhat\n    circumscribed subject.\u201d\n\n    _Outlook._--\u201cMr. Petre has visited the battlefields and read\n    everything, and his monograph is a model of what military history,\n    handled with enthusiasm and literary ability, can be.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    NAPOLEON\u2019S CAMPAIGN IN POLAND, 1806-1807. A Military History\n    of Napoleon\u2019s First War with Russia, verified from unpublished\n    official documents. By /F. Loraine Petre/. With 16 Full-page\n    Illustrations, Maps, and Plans. New Edition. Demy 8vo (9 \u00d7 5-3/4\n    inches). 12_s._ 6_d._ net.\n\n    _Army and Navy Chronicle._--\u201cWe welcome a second edition of this\n    valuable work.... Mr. Loraine Petre is an authority on the wars of\n    the great Napoleon, and has brought the greatest care and energy\n    into his studies of the subject.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    RALPH HEATHCOTE. Letters of a Diplomatist During the Time of\n    Napoleon, Giving an Account of the Dispute between the Emperor and\n    the Elector of Hesse. By /Countess G\u00fcnther Gr\u00f6ben/. With\n    Numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 \u00d7 5-3/4 inches). 12_s._ 6_d._\n    net.\n\n    \u2042 _Ralph Heathcote, the son of an English father and an Alsatian\n    mother, was for some time in the English diplomatic service as\n    first secretary to Mr. Brook Taylor, minister at the Court of\n    Hesse, and on one occasion found himself very near to making\n    history. Napoleon became persuaded that Taylor was implicated in a\n    plot to procure his assassination, and insisted on his dismissal\n    from the Hessian Court. As Taylor refused to be dismissed, the\n    incident at one time seemed likely to result to the Elector in the\n    loss of his throne. Heathcote came into contact with a number of\n    notable people, including the Miss Berrys, with whom he assures his\n    mother he is not in love. On the whole, there is much interesting\n    material for lovers of old letters and journals._\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    MEMOIRS OF THE COUNT DE CARTRIE. A record of the extraordinary\n    events in the life of a French Royalist during the war in La\n    Vend\u00e9e, and of his flight to Southampton, where he followed the\n    humble occupation of gardener. With an introduction by /Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric\n    Masson/, Appendices and Notes by /Pierre Am\u00e9d\u00e9e Pichot/,\n    and other hands, and numerous Illustrations, including a\n    Photogravure Portrait of the Author. Demy 8vo. 12_s._ 6_d._ net.\n\n    _Daily News._--\u201cWe have seldom met with a human document which has\n    interested us so much.\u201d\n\n    _Dundee Advertiser._--\u201cThe identification and publication of the\n    Memoirs of Count de Cartrie are due to as smart a piece of literary\n    detective work as has been reported for many years.\u201d\n\n    _Liverpool Courier._--\u201cMr. Lane and his French coadjutors are\n    entitled to the utmost credit for the pains which they have taken\n    to reconstruct and publish in such complete form the recollections\n    of an eyewitness of important events concerning which even now no\n    little dubiety exists.\u201d\n\n    _Athen\u00e6um._--\u201cAs a record of personal suffering and indomitable\n    perseverance against opposing circumstances the narrative of De\n    Cartrie\u2019s escape to the Eastern frontier, in the disguise of a\n    master-gunner, could not easily be surpassed.\u201d\n\n    _World._--\u201cThe book is very entertaining, and will be read with\n    pleasure by all who delight in the byways of history.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    WOMEN OF THE SECOND EMPIRE. Chronicles of the Court of Napoleon\n    III. By /Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Loli\u00e9e/. With an introduction by\n    /Richard Whiteing/ and 53 full-page Illustrations, 3 in\n    Photogravure. Demy 8vo. 21_s._ net.\n\n    _Standard._--\u201cM. Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Loli\u00e9e has written a remarkable\n    book, vivid and pitiless in its description of the intrigue\n    and dare-devil spirit which flourished unchecked at the French\n    Court.... Mr. Richard Whiteing\u2019s introduction is written with\n    restraint and dignity.\u201d\n\n    Mr. /James Douglas/ in the _Star_.--\u201cAt a moment when most\n    novels send you to sleep, let me whisper the name of a book which\n    will amuse you in most melancholy mood. One of the freshest,\n    gayest, and wittiest volumes of gossip and anecdote I have ever\n    read.\u201d\n\n    _Sunday Times._--\u201cA delicious banquet of scandal, contributions to\n    which have been secured by the artful device of persuading ladies\n    not so much to make their own confessions as to talk about their\n    friends.... The illustrations present us with a veritable galaxy of\n    beauty.\u201d\n\n    _Daily Telegraph._--\u201cIt is a really fascinating story, or series\n    of stories, set forth in this volume.... Here are anecdotes\n    innumerable of the brilliant women of the Second Empire, so that\n    in reading the book we are not only dazzled by the beauty and\n    gorgeousness of everything, but we are entertained by the record\n    of things said and done, and through all we are conscious of the\n    coming \u2018gloom and doom\u2019 so soon to overtake the Court. Few novels\n    possess the fascination of this spirited work, and many readers\n    will hope that the author will carry out his proposal of giving us\n    a further series of memories of the \u2018Women of the Second Empire.\u2019\u201d\n\n\n    MEMOIRS OF MADEMOISELLE DES \u00c9CHEROLLES. Translated from the French\n    by /Marie Clothilde Balfour/. With an Introduction by /G.\n    K. Fortescue/, Portraits, etc. 5_s._ net.\n\n    _Liverpool Mercury._--\u201c ... this absorbing book.... The work has a\n    very decided historical value. The translation is excellent, and\n    quite notable in the preservation of idiom.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    JANE AUSTEN\u2019S SAILOR BROTHERS. Being the life and Adventures of\n    Sir Francis Austen, /G.C.B./, Admiral of the Fleet, and\n    Rear-Admiral Charles Austen. By J. H. and /E. C. Hubback/.\n    With numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 12_s._ 6_d._ net.\n\n    _Morning Post._--\u201c ... May be welcomed as an important addition to\n    Austeniana ...; it is besides valuable for its glimpses of life in\n    the Navy, its illustrations of the feelings and sentiments of naval\n    officers during the period that preceded and that which followed\n    the great battle of just one century ago, the battle which won so\n    much but which cost us--Nelson.\u201d\n\n    _Globe._--\u201cThe book is doubly fortunate in its appearance, for it\n    appeals not only to the lovers of Jane Austen\u2019s novels, but also to\n    those who value sidelights on the most stirring times of the Navy.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    POETRY AND PROGRESS IN RUSSIA. By /Rosa Newmarch/. With 6\n    full-page Portraits. Demy 8vo (9 \u00d7 5-3/4 inches). 7_s._ 6_d._ net.\n\n    \u2042 _This book deals with an aspect of Russian literature hitherto\n    unjustly neglected in favour of the school of realistic fiction.\n    Nevertheless, the poets of the earlier half of the 19th century\n    were the pioneers of the intellectual progress which culminated\n    in the work of that Pleiad of novelists: Gogol, Tourgeniev,\n    Dostoievsky, and Tolstoi. The spirit of Russia can never be more\n    than imperfectly understood by those who, without preparation,\n    plunge straightway into this tide of realism which marks only\n    the second stage in the evolution of the national genius. Mrs.\n    Newmarch\u2019s volume covers a period extending from the first\n    publications of Poushkin, in 1814, to the death of Nadson, in\n    1886, and consists of an Introduction and six studies, as follows:\n    Poushkin, the first and greatest of the Russian national poets;\n    Lermontov, the meteoric poet of the Romantic School; Koltsov,\n    the Russian Burns; Nikitin, the singer of Russian rural life;\n    Nekrassov, the poet of revolution; and Nadson, whose work is\n    characteristic of the decadence of Russian poetry._\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    THE LIFE OF PETER ILICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893). By his Brother,\n    /Modeste Tchaikovsky/. Edited and abridged from the Russian\n    and German Editions by /Rosa Newmarch/. With Numerous\n    Illustrations and Facsimiles and an Introduction by the Editor.\n    Demy 8vo. 21_s._ net. Second edition.\n\n    _The Times._--\u201cA most illuminating commentary on Tchaikovsky\u2019s\n    music.\u201d\n\n    _World._--\u201cOne of the most fascinating self-revelations by an\n    artist which has been given to the world. The translation is\n    excellent, and worth reading for its own sake.\u201d\n\n    _Contemporary Review._--\u201cThe book\u2019s appeal is, of course,\n    primarily to the music-lover; but there is so much of human and\n    literary interest in it, such intimate revelation of a singularly\n    interesting personality, that many who have never come under the\n    spell of the Pathetic Symphony will be strongly attracted by what\n    is virtually the spiritual autobiography of its composer. High\n    praise is due to the translator and editor for the literary skill\n    with which she has prepared the English version of this fascinating\n    work.... There have been few collections of letters published\n    within recent years that give so vivid a portrait of the writer as\n    that presented to us in these pages.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    COKE OF NORFOLK AND HIS FRIENDS: The Life of Thomas William Coke,\n    First Earl of Leicester of the second creation, containing an\n    account of his Ancestry, Surroundings, Public Services, and Private\n    Friendships, and including many Unpublished Letters from Noted Men\n    of his day, English and American. By /A. M. W. Stirling/.\n    With 20 Photogravure and upwards of 40 other Illustrations\n    reproduced from Contemporary Portraits, Prints, etc. Demy 8vo. 2\n    vols. 32_s._ net.\n\n    \u2042 _The name of Coke of Norfolk was once known throughout the\n    civilized world, now it is familiar to very few. Coke occupied\n    a unique position in his generation: as a landlord-owner he\n    was credited with having transformed the agriculture of both\n    hemispheres; as a politician he remained for over half a century\n    the \u201cFather\u201d of the House of Commons, exercising by the force of\n    his example a peculiar influence upon the political world of his\n    day. He was offered a peerage seven times for his services by seven\n    different Prime Ministers. Coke was especially fortunate in his\n    friendships, and he preserved his correspondence. The letters of\n    the noted men of his day recreate Coke\u2019s generation for us, and\n    we see many famous men in a guise with which we are but little\n    acquainted. We see Lafayette as the humble farmer, absorbed in\n    rearing his pigs and his cattle; Lord Hastings as a youth climbing\n    a volcano during an eruption; George IV as the fickle friend,\n    pocketing humiliation in order to condone deceit, or, at a period\n    of exciting national danger, filling his letters to Coke with\n    characteristically trivial speculations whether the Sergeant whom\n    he was sending to recruit the Holkham Yeomanry would, or would\n    not, get drunk. Again, we see Fox as a slovenly schoolboy playing\n    pitch-and-toss at Eton; Nelson, but as the delicate son of an\n    obscure Norfolk clergyman. Incongruous in their endless variety,\n    the characters move across the pages--Pope Clement XIV, Louise of\n    Stolberg, Dr. Parr, Amelia Opie, Honest King William, the Duke of\n    Sussex, Chantrey, Lord Erskine, Gainsborough, Roscoe, Sir James\n    Smith, Sir Humphry Davy--statesmen, scientists, artists, literati,\n    a great international train, amongst whom, and perhaps more\n    remarkable than all at that especial date, are celebrities from\n    the United States--at a date when, be it remembered, all who came\n    thence were looked at askance as the recent foes of England, and\n    were, as Raitres remarks--\u201cForeigners, and of a nation hitherto but\n    little known in our circles.\u201d And for all this we have had to wait\n    sixty-five years, because, of the many biographies commenced, the\n    one that swallowed up all the rest was eventually lost. A feature\n    of this book is the wealth of illustrating material, including many\n    hitherto unpublished pictures by famous hands._\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    DEVONSHIRE CHARACTERS AND STRANGE EVENTS. By /S. Baring-Gould/,\n    /M.A./, Author of \u201cYorkshire Oddities,\u201d etc. With 58\n    Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 21_s._ net.\n\n    \u2042 _Notices of some of the most singular characters and events\n    connected with the County of Devon--a county that has been\n    exceptionally prolific of such. The personages named, and whose\n    lives are given, belong to a lower plane than the great men of\n    the county who have made their mark in history. But the range of\n    characters is really wonderful. The volume is profusely illustrated\n    with reproductions from old and rare prints._\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    THE HEART OF GAMBETTA. Translated from the French of /Francis\n    Laur/ by /Violette Montagu/. With an Introduction by\n    /John Macdonald/, Portraits and other Illustrations. Demy\n    8vo. 7_s._ 6_d._ net.\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    THE MEMOIRS OF ANN, LADY FANSHAWE. Written by Lady Fanshawe. With\n    Extracts from the Correspondence of Sir Richard Fanshawe. Edited by\n    /H. C. Fanshawe/. With 38 Full-page Illustrations, including\n    four in Photogravure and one in Colour. Demy 8vo (9 \u00d7 5-3/4\n    inches). 16_s._ net.\n\n    \u2042 _This Edition has been printed direct from the original\n    manuscript in the possession of the Fanshawe Family, and Mr. H. C.\n    Fanshawe contributes numerous notes which form a running commentary\n    on the text. Many famous pictures are reproduced, including\n    paintings by Velazquez and Van Dyck._\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    THE TRUE STORY OF MY LIFE: an Autobiography by /Alice M.\n    Diehl/, Novelist, Writer, and Musician. Demy 8vo. 10_s._ 6_d._\n    net.\n\n    \u2042 _These confessions, written with a na\u00efve frankness rare in\n    present times, have been pronounced by an authority to be a\n    human document of utmost importance to all interested in the\n    great subjects of life and genius. During the years following\n    a remarkable childhood of prodigies of literary and musical\n    attainments, the Author made brilliant careers, first in the world\n    of music, then in that of literature. An intimate friend of the\n    late Sir Henry Irving, his confidences to her throw a new light\n    on the inner life of this somewhat enigmatical man. But the same\n    may also be said of her friendship or acquaintance with many other\n    personages of world-wide renown. In music, we read of Berlioz,\n    Ferdinand Hiller, Jenny Lind, Sivori, Thalborg, Henselt (her master\n    in his Silesian Castle), Piatti, Sainton and his wife, Pietzius,\n    Cruvelli, the Princess Czartoryska, and other eminent pupils of\n    Chopin, as well as a host of others known in all countries and\n    climes. In literature, besides such stars as Robert Browning, Bret\n    Harte, \u201cOuida,\u201d Miss Braddon, Mrs. Riddell, Amelia B. Edwards, R.\n    E. Hichens, the work abounds in familiar sketches of former men\n    and women whose names are so well known that any information about\n    their personalities is of absorbing interest._\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    THE LIFE OF ST. MARY MAGDALEN. Translated from the Italian of an\n    Unknown Fourteenth-Century Writer by /Valentina Hawtrey/.\n    With an Introductory Note by /Vernon Lee/, and 14 Full-page\n    Reproductions from the Old Masters. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net.\n\n    _Daily News._--\u201cMiss Valentina Hawtrey has given a most excellent\n    English version of this pleasant work.\u201d\n\n    _Academy._--\u201cThe fourteenth-century fancy plays delightfully\n    around the meagre details of the Gospel narrative, and presents\n    the heroine in quite an unconventional light.... In its directness\n    and artistic simplicity and its wealth of homely detail the story\n    reads like the work of some Boccaccio of the cloister; and fourteen\n    illustrations taken from Italian painters happily illustrate the\n    charming text.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    MEN AND LETTERS. By /Herbert Paul/, /M.P./ Fourth\n    Edition. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net.\n\n    _Daily News._--\u201cMr. Herbert Paul has done scholars and the reading\n    world in general a high service in publishing this collection of\n    his essays.\u201d\n\n    _Punch._--\u201cHis fund of good stories is inexhaustible, and his\n    urbanity never fails. On the whole, this book is one of the very\n    best examples of literature on literature and life.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    HUBERT AND JOHN VAN EYCK: Their Life and Work. By /W. H.\n    James Weale/. With 41 Photogravure and 95 Black and White\n    Reproductions. Royal 4to. \u00a35 5_s._ net.\n\n\n/Sir Martin Conway\u2019s Note./\n\n    _Nearly half a century has passed since Mr. W. H. James Weale,\n    then resident at Bruges, began that long series of patient\n    investigations into the history of Netherlandish art which was\n    destined to earn so rich a harvest. When he began work Memlinc was\n    still called Hemling, and was fabled to have arrived at Bruges as\n    a wounded soldier. The van Eycks were little more than legendary\n    heroes. Roger Van der Weyden was little more than a name. Most of\n    the other great Netherlandish artists were either wholly forgotten\n    or named only in connection with paintings with which they had\n    nothing to do. Mr. Weale discovered Gerard David, and disentangled\n    his principal works from Memlinc\u2019s, with which they were then\n    confused. During a series of years he published in the \u201cBeffroi,\u201d\n    a magazine issued by himself, the many important records from\n    ancient archives which threw a flood of light upon the whole origin\n    and development of the early Netherlandish school. By universal\n    admission he is hailed all over Europe as the father of this study.\n    It is due to him in great measure that the masterpieces of that\n    school, which by neglect were in danger of perishing fifty years\n    ago, are now recognised as among the most priceless treasures of\n    the Museums of Europe and the United States. The Publication by\n    him, therefore, in the ripeness of his years and experience, of the\n    result of his studies on the van Eycks is a matter of considerable\n    importance to students of art history. Lately, since the revived\n    interest in the works of the Early French painters has attracted\n    the attention of untrained speculators to the superior schools of\n    the Low Countries, a number of wild theories have been started\n    which cannot stand upright in the face of recorded facts. A book is\n    now needed which will set down all those facts in full and accurate\n    form. Fullness and accuracy are the characteristics of all Mr.\n    Weale\u2019s work._\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    /VINCENZO FOPPA OF BRESCIA, Founder of the Lombard School, His\n    Life and Work./ By /Constance Jocelyn Ffoulkes/ and\n    /Monsignor Rodolfo Majocchi/, /D.D./, Rector of the Collegio\n    Borromeo, Pavia. Based on research in the Archives of Milan, Pavia,\n    Brescia, and Genoa, and on the study of all his known works. With\n    over 100 Illustrations, many in Photogravure, and 100 Documents.\n    Royal 4to. \u00a35. 5_s._ net.\n\n    \u2042 _No complete Life of Vincenco Foppa, one of the greatest of the\n    North Italian Masters, has ever been written: an omission which\n    seems almost inexplicable in these days of over-production in the\n    matter of biographies of painters, and of subjects relating to\n    the art of Italy. In Milanese territory--the sphere of Foppa\u2019s\n    activity during many years--he was regarded by his contemporaries\n    as unrivalled in his art, and his right to be considered the head\n    and founder of the Lombard school is undoubted. His influence was\n    powerful and far-reaching, extending eastwards beyond the limits\n    of Brescian territory, and south and westwards to Liguria and\n    Piedmont. In the Milanese district it was practically dominant for\n    over a quarter of a century, until the coming of Leonardo da Vinci\n    thrust Foppa and his followers into the shade, and induced him to\n    abandon Pavia, which had been his home for more than thirty years,\n    and to return to Brescia. The object of the authors of this book\n    has been to present a true picture of the master\u2019s life based upon\n    the testimony of records in Italian archives; all facts hitherto\n    known relating to him have been brought together; all statements\n    have been verified; and a great deal of new and unpublished\n    material has been added. The authors have unearthed a large amount\n    of new material relating to Foppa, one of the most interesting\n    facts brought to light being that he lived for twenty-three years\n    longer than was formerly supposed. The illustrations will include\n    several pictures by Foppa hitherto unknown in the history of art\n    and others which have never before been published, as well as\n    reproductions of every existing work by the master at present\n    known._\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    JUNIPER HALL: Rendezvous of certain illustrious Personages\n    during the French Revolution, including Alexander D\u2019Arblay and\n    Fanny Burney. Compiled by /Constance Hill/. With numerous\n    Illustrations by /Ellen G. Hill/, and reproductions from\n    various Contemporary Portraits. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net.\n\n    _Daily Telegraph._--\u201c ... one of the most charming volumes\n    published within recent years.... Miss Hill has drawn a really\n    idyllic and graphic picture of the daily life and gossip of the\n    stately but unfortunate dames and noblemen who found in Juniper\n    Hall a thoroughly English home.\u201d\n\n    _The Times._--This book makes another on the long and seductive\n    list of books that take up history just where history proper leaves\n    off.... We have given but a faint idea of the freshness, the\n    innocent gaiety of its pages; we can give none at all of the beauty\n    and interest of the pictures that adorn it.\u201d\n\n    _Westminster Gazette._--\u201cSkilfully unified and charmingly told.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    JANE AUSTEN: Her Homes and Her Friends. By /Constance Hill/.\n    With numerous Illustrations by /Ellen G. Hill/, together\n    with Reproductions from Old Portraits, etc. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net.\n\n    _World._--\u201cMiss Constance Hill has given us a thoroughly delightful\n    book....\u201d\n\n    _Spectator._--\u201cThis book is a valuable contribution to Austen lore.\u201d\n\n    _Daily Telegraph._--\u201cMiss Constance Hill, the authoress of this\n    charming book, has laid all devout admirers of Jane Austen and her\n    inimitable novels under a debt of gratitude.\u201d\n\n    _Manchester Guardian._--\u201cThe volume is the most valuable accession\n    made since the publication of her Letters, to our knowledge, of\n    Jane Austen.\u201d\n\n    _The Times._--\u201cRelated with an engaging _na\u00efvet\u00e9_.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    THE HOUSE IN ST. MARTIN\u2019S STREET. Being Chronicles of the Burney\n    Family. By /Constance Hill/, Author of \u201cJane Austen,\n    Her Home, and Her Friends,\u201d \u201cJuniper Hall,\u201d etc. With numerous\n    Illustrations by /Ellen G. Hill/, and reproductions of\n    Contemporary Portraits, etc. Demy 8vo. 21_s._ net.\n\n    _World._--\u201cThis valuable and very fascinating work.... Charmingly\n    illustrated.... Those interested in this stirring period of history\n    and the famous folk who were Fanny Burney\u2019s friends should not fail\n    to add \u2018The House in St. Martin\u2019s Street\u2019 to their collection of\n    books.\u201d\n\n    Mr. /C. K. Shorter/ in _Sphere_.--\u201cMiss Hill has written a\n    charming, an indispensable book.\u201d\n\n    _Graphic._--\u201cThis is the most interesting, as well as the most\n    charming collection of Fanny Burney\u2019s letters that we remember to\n    have seen. Miss Constance Hill has written and compiled this volume\n    in a truly admirable manner, and all readers owe her a deep debt of\n    gratitude.\u201d\n\n    _Bookman._--\u201cTo lay down this book is like being forced to quit a\n    delightful and congenial company.\u201d\n\n    _Morning Post._--\u201c ... the authoress of this book has made a\n    compilation which is full of charm and entertainment, and she may\n    fairly be said to have succeeded in her object of recreating some\n    of the domestic atmosphere of a very delightful family.\u201d\n\n    _Globe._--\u201cThis is a thoroughly engaging book, bright and\n    thoughtful, and delightful in its simple humanness.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    STORY OF THE PRINCESS DES URSINS IN SPAIN (Camarera-Mayor). By\n    /Constance Hill/. With 12 Illustrations and a Photogravure\n    Frontispiece. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net.\n\n    _Truth._--\u201cIt is a brilliant study of the brilliant Frenchwoman\n    who in the early years of the eighteenth century played such a\n    remarkable part in saving the Bourbon dynasty in Spain. Miss Hill\u2019s\n    narrative is interesting from the first page to the last, and the\n    value of the book is enhanced by the reproductions of contemporary\n    portraits with which it is illustrated.\u201d\n\n    _British Weekly._--\u201cWe rejoice to see this new and cheaper edition\n    of Miss Hill\u2019s fascinating and admirable book.\u201d\n\n    NEW LETTERS OF THOMAS CARLYLE. Edited and Annotated by\n    /Alexander Carlyle/, with Notes and an Introduction and\n    numerous Illustrations. In Two Volumes. Demy 8vo. 25_s._ net.\n\n    _Pall Mall Gazette._--\u201cTo the portrait of the man, Thomas, these\n    letters do really add value; we can learn to respect and to like\n    him the more for the genuine goodness of his personality.\u201d\n\n    _Morning Leader._--\u201cThese volumes open the very heart of Carlyle.\u201d\n\n    _Literary World._--\u201cIt is then Carlyle, the nobly filial son,\n    we see in these letters; Carlyle, the generous and affectionate\n    brother, the loyal and warm-hearted friend, ... and above all,\n    Carlyle as the tender and faithful lover of his wife.\u201d\n\n    _Daily Telegraph._--\u201cThe letters are characteristic enough of\n    the Carlyle we know: very picturesque and entertaining, full of\n    extravagant emphasis, written, as a rule, at fever heat, eloquently\n    rabid and emotional.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    THE NEMESIS OF FROUDE: a Rejoinder to \u201cMy Relations with\n    Carlyle.\u201d By /Sir James Crichton Browne/ and /Alexander\n    Carlyle/. Demy 8vo. 3_s._ 6_d._ net.\n\n    _Glasgow Herald._--\u201c ... The book practically accomplishes its task\n    of reinstating Carlyle; as an attack on Froude it is overwhelming.\u201d\n\n    _Public Opinion._--\u201cThe main object of the book is to prove that\n    Froude believed a myth and betrayed his trust. That aim has been\n    achieved.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    NEW LETTERS AND MEMORIALS OF JANE WELSH CARLYLE. A Collection of\n    hitherto Unpublished Letters. Annotated by /Thomas Carlyle/, and\n    Edited by /Alexander Carlyle/, with an Introduction by Sir /James\n    Crichton Browne/, /M.D./, /LL.D./, /F.R.S./, numerous Illustrations\n    drawn in Lithography by /T. R. Way/, and Photogravure Portraits\n    from hitherto unreproduced Originals. In Two Volumes. Demy 8vo.\n    25_s._ net.\n\n    _Westminster Gazette._--\u201cFew letters in the language have in such\n    perfection the qualities which good letters should possess. Frank,\n    gay, brilliant, indiscreet, immensely clever, whimsical, and\n    audacious, they reveal a character which, with whatever alloy of\n    human infirmity, must endear itself to any reader of understanding.\u201d\n\n    _World._--\u201cThrows a deal of new light on the domestic relations\n    of the Sage of Chelsea. They also contain the full text of Mrs.\n    Carlyle\u2019s fascinating journal, and her own \u2018humorous and quaintly\n    candid\u2019 narrative of her first love-affair.\u201d\n\n    _Daily News._--\u201cEvery page ... scintillates with keen thoughts,\n    biting criticisms, flashing phrases, and touches of bright comedy.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    /\u00c9MILE ZOLA: Novelist and Reformer./ An Account of his Life,\n    Work, and Influence. By /E. A. Vizetelly/. With numerous\n    Illustrations, Portraits, etc. Demy 8vo. 21_s._ net.\n\n    _Morning Post._--\u201cMr. Ernest Vizetelly has given ... a very true\n    insight into the aims, character, and life of the novelist.\u201d\n\n    _Athen\u00e6um._--\u201c ... Exhaustive and interesting.\u201d\n\n    _M.A.P._--\u201c ... will stand as the classic biography of Zola.\u201d\n\n    _Star._--\u201cThis \u2018Life\u2019 of Zola is a very fascinating book.\u201d\n\n    _Academy._--\u201cIt was inevitable that the authoritative life of Emile\n    Zola should be from the pen of E. A. Vizetelly. No one probably\n    has the same qualifications, and this bulky volume of nearly six\n    hundred pages is a worthy tribute to the genius of the master.\u201d\n\n    Mr. /T. P. O\u2019Connor/ in _T.P.\u2019s Weekly_.--\u201cIt is a story of\n    fascinating interest, and is told admirably by Mr. Vizetelly. I can\n    promise any one who takes it up that he will find it very difficult\n    to lay it down again.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    MEMOIRS OF THE MARTYR KING: being a detailed record of the last\n    two years of the Reign of His Most Sacred Majesty King Charles the\n    First, 1646-1648-9. Compiled by /Allan Fea/. With upwards\n    of 100 Photogravure Portraits and other Illustrations, including\n    relics. Royal 4to. 105_s._ net.\n\n    Mr. /M. H. Spielmann/ in _The Academy_.--\u201cThe volume is a\n    triumph for the printer and publisher, and a solid contribution to\n    Carolinian literature.\u201d\n\n    _Pall Mall Gazette._--\u201cThe present sumptuous volume, a storehouse\n    of eloquent associations ... comes as near to outward perfection as\n    anything we could desire.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    AFTER WORCESTER FIGHT: being the Contemporary Account of King\n    Charles II.\u2019s escape, not included in \u201cThe Flight of the King.\u201d By\n    /Allan Fea/. With numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 15_s._\n    net.\n\n    _Morning Post._--\u201cThe work possesses all the interest of a\n    thrilling historical romance, the scenes of which are described by\n    the characters themselves, in the language of the time, and forms a\n    valuable contribution to existing Stuart literature.\u201d\n\n    _Western Morning News._--\u201cMr. Fea has shown great industry in\n    investigating every possible fact that has any bearing on his\n    subject, and has succeeded in thoroughly establishing the incidents\n    of that romantic escape.\u201d\n\n    _Standard._--\u201c ... throws fresh light on one of the most romantic\n    episodes in the annals of English History.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    KING MONMOUTH: being a History of the Career of James Scott,\n    the Protestant Duke, 1649-1685. By /Allan Fea/. With 14\n    Photogravure Portraits, a Folding-plan of the Battle of Sedgemoor,\n    and upwards of 100 black and white Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 21_s._\n    net.\n\n    _Morning Post._--\u201cThe story of Monmouth\u2019s career is one of the most\n    remarkable in the annals of English History, and Mr. Fea\u2019s volume\n    is singularly fascinating. Not only does it supplement and correct\n    the prejudiced though picturesque pages of Macaulay, but it seems\n    to make the reader personally acquainted with a large number of the\n    characters who prominently figured in the conspiracies and in the\n    intrigues, amorous and political, when society and politics were\n    seething in strange cauldrons.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    FRENCH NOVELISTS OF TO-DAY: Maurice Barres, R\u00e9n\u00e9 Bazin, Paul\n    Bourget, Pierre de Coulevain, Anatole France, Pierre Loti, Marcel\n    Pr\u00e9vost, and Edouard Rod. Biographical, Descriptive, and Critical.\n    By /Winifred Stephens/. With Portraits and Bibliographies.\n    Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net.\n\n    \u2042 _The writer, who has lived much in France, is thoroughly\n    acquainted with French life and with the principal currents of\n    French thought. The book is intended to be a guide to English\n    readers desirous to keep in touch with the best present-day\n    French fiction. Special attention is given to the ecclesiastical,\n    social, and intellectual problems of contemporary France and their\n    influence upon the works of French novelists of to-day._\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF ROBERT /Stephen Hawker/, sometime\n    Vicar of Morwenstow in Cornwall. By /C. E. Byles/. With\n    numerous Illustrations by /J. Ley Pethybridge/ and others.\n    Demy 8vo. 7_s._ 6_d._ net. (Popular Edition.)\n\n    _Daily Telegraph._--\u201c ... As soon as the volume is opened one finds\n    oneself in the presence of a real original, a man of ability,\n    genius and eccentricity, of whom one cannot know too much.... No\n    one will read this fascinating and charmingly produced book without\n    thanks to Mr. Byles and a desire to visit--or revisit--Morwenstow.\u201d\n\n    _Pall Mall Gazette._--\u201cThere is scarcely a page of this book that\n    does not tingle with the ruddy and exuberant vitality of one of the\n    most living men of his day. Those who want the portrait of Hawker\n    the man, not the poet merely, or the eccentric, or the \u2018theologian\u2019\n    (if he can be said to have had a theology), must in future come to\n    Mr. Byles\u2019s work.... It is Hawker the poet, in his life more poetic\n    than in his writings, that will live long in the memory of Cornwall\n    and of England.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    THE LIFE OF WILLIAM BLAKE. By /Alexander Gilchrist/. Edited\n    with an Introduction by /W. Graham Robertson/. Numerous\n    Reproductions from Blake\u2019s most characteristic and remarkable\n    designs. Demy 8vo. 10_s._ 6_d._ net. New Edition.\n\n    _Birmingham Post._--\u201cNothing seems at all likely ever to supplant\n    the Gilchrist biography. Mr. Swinburne praised it magnificently in\n    his own eloquent essay on Blake, and there should be no need now\n    to point out its entire sanity, understanding keenness of critical\n    insight, and masterly literary style. Dealing with one of the most\n    difficult of subjects, it ranks among the finest things of its kind\n    that we possess.\u201d\n\n    _Daily Mail._--\u201cIt would be difficult to name a more fascinating,\n    artistic biography in the language.\u201d\n\n    _Western Morning News._--\u201cThis handsome volume should direct\n    attention anew to a man whose work merits remembrance.\u201d\n\n    _Public Opinion._--\u201c ... The form in which this Life is now\n    published calls for the warmest praise.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    MEMOIRS OF A ROYAL CHAPLAIN, 1729-63. The correspondence of\n    Edmund Pyle, /D.D./, Domestic Chaplain to George II, with\n    Samuel Kerrich, /D.D./, Vicar of Dersingham, and Rector\n    of Wolferton and West Newton. Edited and Annotated by /Albert\n    Hartshorne/. With Portrait. Demy 8vo. 16_s._ net.\n\n    _Truth._--\u201cIt is undoubtedly the most important book of the kind\n    that has been published in recent years, and is certain to disturb\n    many readers whose minds have not travelled with the time.\u201d\n\n    _Westminster Gazette._--\u201cHow the world went when George II was\n    king, and what the Church made of it, are matters revealed with\n    a good deal of light in this entertaining volume, edited and\n    annotated by Mr. Hartshorne.\u201d\n\n    _Great Thoughts._--\u201cThe Pyle letters, though not so well known as\n    other similar correspondence of a public nature, are well worth the\n    vast amount of labour and care bestowed upon their publication.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    GEORGE MEREDITH: Some Characteristics. By /Richard Le\n    Gallienne/. With a Bibliography (much enlarged) by /John\n    Lane/. Portrait, etc. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net. Fifth Edition.\n    Revised.\n\n    _Punch._--\u201cAll Meredithians must possess \u2018George Meredith; Some\n    Characteristics,\u2019 by Richard Le Gallienne. This book is a complete\n    and excellent guide to the novelist and the novels, a sort of\n    Meredithian Bradshaw, with pictures of the traffic superintendent\n    and the head office at Boxhill. Even Philistines may be won over by\n    the blandishments of Mr. Le Gallienne.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    LIFE OF LORD CHESTERFIELD. An account of the Ancestry, Personal\n    Character, and Public Services of the Fourth Earl of Chesterfield.\n    By /W. H. Craig/, M.A. Numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo.\n    12_s._ 6_d._ net.\n\n    _Daily Telegraph._--\u201cMr. Craig has set out to present him (Lord\n    Chesterfield) as one of the striking figures of a formative period\n    in our modern history ... and has succeeded in giving us a very\n    attractive biography of a remarkable man.\u201d\n\n    _Times._--\u201cIt is the chief point of Mr. Craig\u2019s book to show the\n    sterling qualities which Chesterfield was at too much pains in\n    concealing, to reject the perishable trivialities of his character,\n    and to exhibit him as a philosophic statesman, not inferior to any\n    of his contemporaries, except Walpole at one end of his life, and\n    Chatham at the other.\u201d\n\n    _Daily Graphic._--\u201cReparation was due to Lord Chesterfield\u2019s\n    memory; and this book which at last does him justice is a notable\n    contribution to historical biography.\u201d\n\n    _Saturday Review._--\u201cMr. W. H. Craig\u2019s book is the first connected\n    account of the public life of Lord Chesterfield, and the most\n    elaborate attempt to appreciate his value as a serious statesman.\u201d\n\n    _Standard._--\u201cMr. Craig has written an interesting book.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    A QUEEN OF INDISCRETIONS. The Tragedy of Caroline of Brunswick,\n    Queen of England. From the Italian of /G. P. Clerici/.\n    Translated by /Frederic Chapman/. With numerous\n    Illustrations reproduced from contemporary Portraits and Prints.\n    Demy 8vo. 21_s._ net.\n\n    _The Daily Telegraph._--\u201cIt could scarcely be done more thoroughly\n    or, on the whole, in better taste than is here displayed by\n    Professor Clerici. Mr. Frederic Chapman himself contributes an\n    uncommonly interesting and well-informed introduction.\u201d\n\n    _Westminster Gazette._--\u201cThe volume, scholarly and well-informed\n    ... forms one long and absorbingly interesting chapter of the\n    _chronique scandaleuse_ of Court life ... reads like a romance,\n    except that no romancer would care or dare to pack his pages so\n    closely with startling effects and fantastic scenes.\u201d\n\n    _The Times._--\u201cSignor Clerici has brought to his task immense\n    pains, lucidity, and an impartiality of mind which does not prevent\n    a definite view from emerging. Mr. Chapman has done the translation\n    admirably well, and his own introduction is a careful assistance to\n    thoroughness.\u201d\n\n    _Academy._--\u201cCaroline\u2019s life was an astounding romance, ... Mr.\n    Chapman especially lends colour to her adventures in his clever\n    introduction by the way in which he shows how, for all her genius\n    for mischief, and for all her tricks and wantonness, Caroline never\n    lost a curious charm which made her buoyancy and reckless spirit\n    lovable to the last.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    LETTERS AND JOURNALS OF SAMUEL GRIDLEY HOWE. Edited by his Daughter\n    /Laura E. Richards/. With Notes and a Preface by /F. B.\n    Sanborn/, an Introduction by Mrs. /John Lane/, and a\n    Portrait. Demy 8vo (9 \u00d7 5-3/4 inches). 16_s._ net.\n\n    _Outlook._--\u201cThis deeply interesting record of experience. The\n    volume is worthily produced and contains a striking portrait of\n    Howe.\u201d\n\n    _Dundee Advertiser._--\u201cThe picturesque, animated, and deeply\n    interesting story of his career is now open in a considerable\n    volume entitled \u2018Letters and Journals of Samuel Gridley Howe during\n    the Greek Revolution.\u2019 This is helpfully edited by his daughter\n    Laura E. Richards, and has an introduction and notes by his old\n    friend, F. B. Sanborn, besides an illuminating preface by Mrs.\n    John Lane.... The journals are written with sincerity and realism.\n    They pulsate with the emotions of life amidst the difficulties,\n    privations, and horrors of the battle march, siege and defeat.\u201d\n\n    _Daily News._--\u201cDr. Howe\u2019s book is full of shrewd touches; it seems\n    to be very much a part of the lively, handsome man of the portrait.\n    His writing is striking and vivid; it is the writing of a shrewd,\n    keen observer, intensely interested in the event before him.\n    Whenever his attention is arrested he writes with living force.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    A LATER PEPYS. The Correspondence of Sir William Weller Pepys,\n    Bart., Master in Chancery, 1758-1825, with Mrs. Chapone, Mrs.\n    Hartley, Mrs. Montague, Hannah More, William Franks, Sir James\n    Macdonald, Major Rennell, Sir Nathaniel Wraxall, and others.\n    Edited, with an Introduction and Notes, by /Alice C. C.\n    Gaussen/. With numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo. In Two\n    Volumes. 32_s._ net.\n\n    /Douglas Sladen/ in the _Queen_.--\u201cThis is indisputably a\n    most valuable contribution to the literature of the eighteenth\n    century. It is a veritable storehouse of society gossip, the art\n    criticism, and the _mots_ of famous people.\u201d\n\n    _Academy and Literature._--\u201cThe effect consists in no particular\n    passages, but in the total impression, the sense of atmosphere,\n    and the general feeling that we are being introduced into the very\n    society in which the writer moved.\u201d\n\n    _Daily News._--\u201cTo Miss Alice Gaussen is due the credit of\n    sorting out the vast collection of correspondence which is here\n    presented to the public.... Her industry is indefatigable, and\n    her task has been carried out with completeness. The notes are\n    full of interesting items; the introduction is exhaustive; and the\n    collection of illustrations enhances the value of the book.\u201d\n\n    _World._--\u201cSir William Pepys\u2019s correspondence is admirable.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, AN ELEGY; AND OTHER POEMS, MAINLY PERSONAL.\n    By /Richard Le Gallienne/. Crown 8vo. 4_s._ 6_d._ net.\n\n    _Daily Chronicle._--\u201cFew, indeed, could be more fit to sing the\n    dirge of that \u2018Virgil of Prose\u2019 than the poet whose _curiosa\n    felicitas_ is so close akin to Stevenson\u2019s own charm.\u201d\n\n    _Globe._--\u201cThe opening Elegy on R. L. Stevenson includes some\n    tender and touching passages, and has throughout the merits of\n    sincerity and clearness.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    RUDYARD KIPLING: a Criticism. By /Richard Le Gallienne/.\n    With a Bibliography by /John Lane/. Crown 8vo. 3_s._ 6_d._\n    net.\n\n    _Guardian._--\u201cOne of the cleverest pieces of criticism we have come\n    across for a long time.\u201d\n\n    _Scotsman._--\u201cIt shows a keen insight into the essential qualities\n    of literature, and analyses Mr. Kipling\u2019s product with the skill\n    of a craftsman ... the positive and outstanding merits of Mr.\n    Kipling\u2019s contribution to the literature of his time are marshalled\n    by his critic with quite uncommon skill.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    ROBERT BROWNING: Essays and Thoughts. By /J. T. Nettleship/.\n    With Portrait. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ 6_d._ net. (Third Edition.)\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    POEMS. By /Edward Cracroft Lefroy/. With a Memoir by /W.\n    A. Gill/, and a Reprint of Mr. /J. A. Symonds\u2019/ Critical\n    Essay on \u201cEchoes from Theocritus.\u201d Photogravure Portrait. Crown\n    8vo. 5_s._ net.\n\n    _The Times._--\u201c ... the leading features of the sonnets are the\n    writer\u2019s intense sympathy with human life in general and with young\n    life in particular; his humour, his music, and, in a word, the\n    quality which \u2018leaves a melody afloat upon the brain, a savour on\n    the mental palate.\u2019\u201d\n\n    _Bookman._--\u201cThe Memoir, by Mr. W. A. Gill, is a sympathetic sketch\n    of an earnest and lovable character; and the critical estimate, by\n    J. Addington Symonds, is a charmingly-written and suggestive essay.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    BOOKS AND PERSONALITIES: Essays. By /H. W. Nevinson/. Crown\n    8vo. 5_s._ net.\n\n    _Daily Chronicle._--\u201cIt is a remarkable thing and probably unique,\n    that a writer of such personality as the author of \u2018Between the\n    Acts\u2019 should not only feel, but boldly put on paper, his homage and\n    complete subjection to the genius of one after another of these\n    men. He is entirely free from that one common virtue of critics,\n    which is superiority to the author criticised.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    BOOKS AND PLAYS: A Volume of Essays on Meredith, Borrow, Ibsen, and\n    others. By /Allan Monkhouse/. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net.\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    /LIBER AMORIS; or, The New Pygmalion./ By /William\n    Hazlitt/. Edited, with an introduction, by /Richard Le\n    Gallienne/. To which is added an exact transcript of the\n    original MS., Mrs. Hazlitt\u2019s Diary in Scotland, and Letters never\n    before published. Portrait after /Bewick/, and facsimile\n    Letters. 400 copies only. 4to. 364 pp. Buckram. 21_s._ net.\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    TERRORS OF THE LAW: being the Portraits of Three Lawyers--the\n    original Weir of Hermiston, \u201cBloody Jeffreys,\u201d and \u201cBluidy\n    Advocate Mackenzie.\u201d By /Francis Watt/. With 3 Photogravure\n    Portraits. Fcap. 8vo. 4_s._ 6_d._ net.\n\n    _The Literary World._--\u201cThe book is altogether entertaining; it\n    is brisk, lively, and effective. Mr. Watt has already, in his two\n    series of \u2018The Law\u2019s Lumber Room,\u2019 established his place as an\n    essayist in legal lore, and the present book will increase his\n    reputation.\u201d\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\n    CHAMPIONS OF THE FLEET. Captains and Men-of-War in the Days that\n    Helped to make the Empire. By /Edward Fraser/. With 16\n    Full-page Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net.\n\n    \u2042 _Mr. Fraser takes in the whole range of our Navy\u2019s story. First\n    there is the story of the \u201cDreadnought,\u201d told for the first time:\n    how the name was originally selected by Elizabeth, why she chose\n    it, the launch, how under Drake she fought against the Armada, how\n    her captain was knighted on the quarter-deck in the presence of\n    the enemy. From this point the name is traced down to the present\n    leviathan which bears it. This is but one of the \u201cchampions\u201d dealt\n    with in Mr. Fraser\u2019s volume, which is illustrated by some very\n    interesting reproductions._\n\n\nJOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD, VIGO STREET, LONDON, W.\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 1: Whiteway\u2019s _Wine of the West Country_.]\n\n[Footnote 2: They are not so represented in the three lithographs that\nwere published at Torquay. But two others beside this correspondent\nmention their appearance in \u201cbloomers.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 3: M. B. Synge, _A Short History of Social Life in England_.\nLondon, 1906.]\n\n[Footnote 4: Whitfeld, _Plymouth and Devonport, in Times of War and\nPeace_, 1890, pp. 296-7.]\n\n[Footnote 5: \u201cVenez en bas, et montez le \u2018Scuttle\u2019 et allez en bas.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 6: \u201cLady Howard, of Fitzford,\u201d in _Transactions_ of the\nDevonshire Association, 1890.]\n\n[Footnote 7: Mr. J. R. Chanter, \u201cA History of Lundy Island,\u201d in the\n_Transactions_ of the Devonshire Association, 1871. Reprinted in _Lundy\nIsland_, 1877.]\n\n[Footnote 8: W. Cotton, \u201cAn Expedition against Pirates,\u201d in\n_Transactions_ of the Devonshire Association, 1886.]\n\n[Footnote 9: R. Pearse Chope, \u201cBenson, M.P. and Smuggler,\u201d in the\n_Hartland Chronicle_, 1906.]\n\n[Footnote 10: Chanter, _Lundy Island_, 1877. Besides Mr. Chanter\u2019s\nHistory, my authority is Mr. R. P. Chope\u2019s articles on \u201cLundy Pirates\u201d\nand on \u201cBenson\u201d in the _Hartland Chronicle_, 1906.]\n\n[Footnote 11: In the tract, twenty-two.]\n\n[Footnote 12: For this last instance, see _Transactions_ of the\nDevonshire Association, 1900, p. 84.]\n\n[Footnote 13: Depositions relating to Mr. Stucley\u2019s doings in Spain,\nAugust, 1571, quoted by Froude in his _History of England_.]\n\n[Footnote 14: O. King to Burghley, 18 February, 1572. _Ibid._]\n\n[Footnote 15: Letter from T. Lorkin to Sir T. Puckering.]\n\n[Footnote 16: The ballad, with its melody, is given in _Songs of the\nWest_, 2nd ed., 1905.]\n\n[Footnote 17: This play was by Charles Johnson--not the author of the\nLives of the Pirates. It was acted at Drury Lane in 1713. John Dennis\nwrote to the Master of the Revels to expostulate with him for having\nlicensed this play, which he considered as a prostitution of the stage,\nan encouragement to villainy, and a disgrace to the theatre.]\n\n[Footnote 18: We might be led to suppose that we were reading of the\nproceedings of the Belgians in the Congo Free State.]\n\n[Footnote 19: \u201cThe Early Poetry of Devonshire\u201d in the _Transactions_ of\nthe Devonshire Association for 1874.]\n\n[Footnote 20: She was daughter of George Cain, carpenter, and was\nbaptized 8 December, 1728.]\n\n[Footnote 21: Annie Davies, died 6 February, 1815; buried in South\nAudley Street Church.]\n\n[Footnote 22: His pupils paid him \u00a3210 each.]\n\n[Footnote 23: His grammar is here perplexed.]\n\n[Footnote 24: Reprinted in the _Journal_ of the Royal Institute of\nCornwall, 1904.]\n\n[Footnote 25: Worthy (C.), _Devonshire Parishes_, II, pp. 371-4. Exon.,\n1888.]\n\n[Footnote 26: Switzer, _Introduction to Hydrostatics and Hydraulics_,\np. 342.]\n\n[Footnote 27: Smiles, _Lives of Boulton and Watt_, pp. 62-8. London,\n1865.]\n\n[Footnote 28: Pengelly (W.), \u201cNotes on Slips,\u201d in _Transactions_ of the\nDevonshire Association, 1882.]\n\n[Footnote 29: Entries in an old Bible, in the _Western Antiquary_,\n1885, p. 196.]\n\n[Footnote 30: _Universal Magazine_ for 1781.]\n\n[Footnote 31: _Memoirs of P. Stockdale_, I, 313-14. London, 1809.]\n\n[Footnote 32: \u201cThe Exmoor Scolding and Courtship,\u201d by T. N. Brushfield,\n/M.D./, in the _Transactions_ of the Devonshire Association for\n1888.]\n\n[Footnote 33: See W. F. Collier, \u201cWrestling,\u201d in the _Cornish\nMagazine_, Vol. I, 1898.]\n\n[Footnote 34: For a full account, most graphically written, and from\nwhich I have quoted, see Mr. Whitfeld\u2019s _Plymouth and Devonport, in War\nand Peace_, Plymouth, 1900; also the _Sporting Magazine_ for 1826-7;\nthe _Annual Register_, 1826.]\n\n[Footnote 35: Thornton (Rev. W. H.), _Reminiscences of an Old\nWest-country Clergyman_, 1897.]\n\n[Footnote 36: R. N. Worth, _Transactions_ of Devonshire Association,\n1876.]\n\n[Footnote 37: _Law Magazine_, Vol. VII, p. 331.]\n\n[Footnote 38: Sir W. Jones\u2019 Works (1799), Vol. IV, p. 577.]\n\n[Footnote 39: Mackenzie\u2019s _History of the Macleods_, p. 431, says it\nwas Anna Maria who married John Wilson. He does not mention her sister\nIsabella at all. Burke\u2019s _Landed Gentry_ of 1846 mentions Isabella but\nnot Elizabeth.]\n\n[Footnote 40: Whitfeld, _Plymouth and Devonport, in War and Peace_, p.\n244.]\n\n[Footnote 41: This is probably the second man shot when crouching\nagainst the wall mentioned by Andrews.]\n\n[Footnote 42: Neither of these charges was investigated by the\nCommissioners, as beyond the scope of their inquiry, which was confined\nto the actual \u201cmassacre.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 43: Both Dr. Magrath and Lieut. Avelyn deny in their\ndepositions that on this occasion Captain Shortland was intoxicated.]\n\n[Footnote 44: \u201cHe went down with the military with both hands in his\nbreeches pockets.\u201d Evidence of James Carley, turnkey.]\n\n[Footnote 45: This contravenes the statement made by the prisoners in\ntheir memorandum.]\n\n[Footnote 46: Captain Shortland pretended that the soldiers charged\nwithout his having given the command--all evidence to the contrary. The\nCommissioners did not believe him.]\n\n[Footnote 47: David Spencer Warren, one of the witnesses, said:\n\u201cCaptain Shortland, when he told them to fire, was in front, one\nsoldier beside him. They might have fired at his side or over him\nwithout hurting him.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 48: This disposes of the allegation of the prisoners that\nShortland had placed the soldiers there before the ringing of the alarm\nbell.]\n\n[Footnote 49: This disposes of the charge made by the prisoners that no\nproper notice was given them that they were to turn in.]\n\n[Footnote 50: The stone-throwing did not take place in the outer yard\nor Market Square where these two warders were, but later in the inner\nyard.]\n\n[Footnote 51: This is disingenuous. He says nothing about the forcible\nbreaking open of the gate.]\n\n[Footnote 52: This was James Greenlaw.]\n\n[Footnote 53: This is contrary to the general evidence, and contrary to\nhis subsequent admission.]\n\n[Footnote 54: Burnard (R.), _Dartmoor Pictorial Records_, IV. Plymouth,\n1894.]\n\n[Footnote 55: For fuller accounts of the house and family see\n_Transactions_ of the Devonshire Association, Vols. XXXII and XXXV.]\n\n[Footnote 56: For in that year \u201cRoger de Nort\u2019 Wyke\u201d appears in the\njury list of S.T. Hundred (Assize Roll, Devon, 175, m. 35).]\n\n[Footnote 57: See _Notes and Queries_, 10, S. VIII, pp. 9, 73, 74.--E.\nL.-W.]","title":"Devonshire Characters and Strange Events","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":254953}