No More Learning

Nicholas Hart liecame the subject of'general notice ahd conversation, frPm the circumstance of a lethargic fit, that bim on the 5th of August,
1711, tb theWth of the. 'same month. His friends, ,after haviri^'"tried eVery theans in their power to rouse him from the dormant state he lav. in, had him, conveyed 'to St. BarthoJomew's hospital, where he remained dUriiig thc^^abovfe pieriidd,'#ithdut taking the least refreshment of any kind whatever^ esjccepting sleep; thpugh'. several, experiments;, were maide on his persoh' tbprbtobte resfisei tation ; • It 'appears,
however, there . . was a greater, portion of. art than nature in: this unnatural slumberi >and thiEct he had purpPsely taken iiarcPtic drugs, to' produce the effect desired, namely, to procure money to be raised for him, by confederate knaves, as an object of charity and commisseration. In this speculation, Mr. Hart entirely succeeded ; and, it seems, from the symptoms of his periodical sleeping fit, faithfully detailed by a
HAUT, f The Great Sleeper. )
IS^ICHOLAS
annb. ]
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 118
gentleman of Lincoln's-inn,* that Hart slept, in order to be maintained in ease and comfort when he awoke, and that he gained more by his rest than others by their industry ; and, in short, wealth flowed so fast upon him, that he obtained sufficient to support others, besides saving his own provisions, while he carried on his profitable farce ! What use Hart put
the money to he had thus raised we are not informed;
• The symptoms this gentleman observed in Hart were, that
" On the first of the month he grew dull, On the second appeared drowsy.
On the third fell a yawning,
On the fourth began to nod.
On the fifth dropped asleep.
On the sixth was heard to snore,
On the seventh turned himself in his bed.
On the eighth recovered his former posture.
On the ninth'fell a stretching.
On the tenth about midnight awaked.
On the eleventh in the morning, called for a little small beer. "
The same gentleman observes, " He believes it a very extraor dinary circumstance for a man to gain his livelihood by sleeping, and that rest should procure a man sustenance, as well as indus try ; yet so it is, that Nicholas Hart got last year enough to sup port himself for a twelvemonth ;" and adds, " he is informed that he has had this year a very comfortable nap. "
VOL. I. Q
114 MEMOIRS OF [anne.
but Mr. Addison, in noticing the circumstance, says, " Nicholas Hart, who slept last year in St. Bartholo mew's Hospital, intends to sleep this year at the
Cock and Bottle, in Littie Britain," probably glanc ing at a similar attempt to raise contributicns on the
credulous part of the community.
Stow, in his Summarie, gives an account of a still
greater sleeper than Hart, but it is tP be hpped with different views. He infprms us, that '* The 27th pf April, 1546, being Wednesday in Easter-week, W. Foxlei, pot-maker for the mint in the Tower of Lon- dpn,* fell asleep, who could not be wakened with
* M. Brady, Physician to Prince Charles of Lorrain, gives the following particulars of an extraordinary sleeper : —
" A woman named Elizabeth Alton, of a healthful strong con
stitution, who had been servant to the curate of St. Guilain, near
the town of Mons, about the beginning of 1738, when she was
about thirty-six years of age, grew extremely restless and melan
choly.
year 1753, which is fifteen years, she fell asleep daily about three o'clock in the morning, without waking until about eight or nine at night. In 1754, indeed, her sleep returned to tlie natural
In the month of August, in the same year, she fell into a sleep which held four days, notwithstanding all possible endea vours to awake her. At length she awaked naturally, but became more restless and uneasy than before ; for six or seven days, how ever, she resumed her usual employments, until she fell asleep again, which continued eighteen hours. From that time to the
ANNE. ]
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 115
pricking, cramping, or otherwise, till the first day of the next tearm, which was full xiiij dales and xv,
nights.
The cause of his thus sleeping coulde not be knowen, though the same were diligently searched for by the physicians, and other learned men ; yea, the king himself examined the said W. Foxlei, who was in all points found as he had slept but one night ; and was living till the year of our Lorde 1587. "
periods for four months, and, in 1748, a tertian ague prevented her sleeping for three weeks. On February 20, 1755, M. Brady, with a surgeon, went to see her. About five o'clock in the even ing, they found her pulse extremely regular; on taking hold of her arm it was so rigid, that it was not bent without much trouble. They then attempted to lift up her head, but her neck and back were as as her arms. He hallooed in her ear as loud as his voice could reach ; he thrust a needle into her flesh up to the bone ; he put a piece of rag to her nose flaming with spirits of wine, and let it burn some time, yet all without being able to dis turb her in the least. At length, in about six hours and a-half, her limbs began to relax; in eight hours she turned herself in the
bed, and then suddenly raised herself up, sat down by the fire,
eat heartily, and began to spin. At other times, they whipped
her till the blood came ; they rubbed her back with honey, and
then exposed it to the stings of bees ; they thrust nails under her
finger-nails ; and it seems these triers of experiments consulted
more the gratifying their own curiosity than the recovery of the unhappy object of the malady.
Q2
116 MEMOIRS OF [anne.
1i$mt tfie aSrVinmv,
This man, who resided at Oxfprd,
nature an extreme ordinary physiognomy, turned it to the best account in his ppwer, by niaking it still more disgusting, and set up the trade of a public grinner, and was in his way allowed to be master of a great deal pf. Priginal grimace: it is still the custom, in hnany parts pf the country, particularly at fairs, to have a grinning-ma,tch throfigh a horse-collajf, >vhich is by many thought to be' adding a whimsical frame to an ugly picture. Isaac was hot the original in-
ventpr pf thi^ elegant art, but he brought it to more
than nibst of his predecessors, or subse
perfection
quent successors. The public are generally indulged
in these genteel sights by several performers, who are stimulated ta excel by the prize of a gold-laced hat, gloves, stockings, garters, or other articles of trifling value. The practice is much conimended by Mr.
Addison, in the Spectatorj and, as a personal accom plishment, he thinks it far more agreeable than burn ing the raputh with eating hpt hasty-pudding, or
having by
» »¦
ISAAC THE OXFORD
GTLUNTN'EK,
ANNE. }
REMARKABLE PERSONS. UT
running in a sack over hillocks, or a ploughed field,
or vaulting to seize the suspended soap-lathered goose,
plunging the head into a tub of water with the hands
tied behind, to catch with the teeth the floating
oranges or apples that elude the nimblest bite, or any other ingenious invention, to provoke a laugh.
About thirty years since, Mr. Astley, of the amphi theatre, Westminster-road, engaged an Italian buffoon, who appeared under the title of the celebrated grima- cier, and distorted his face into thirty different charac
ters, totally dissimilar one with another ; the salary of this man was ten pounds per week. Isaac of Oxford was thought of sufficient consequence to have his likeness handed down to ppsterity, and the print has
been said very much to resemble him.
118 MEMOIRS OF [annb.
:-*
BLIND JACK.
'¦ The streets '"of London, in the reigns of Queen Anne, iGePrge' the First and Second, were infested with alfsorts of paupers,,-vagabbnds, impostors, and
cotnmon adventurers ; 'and many, who. otherwise might "be' considered real cbjects of charity, by their disgusting" manners and general appearance in public
placies, rather- merited the. interference of the parish
beadles, and the disciphrie-of Bridewelli than the countenance and encouragemept-bf such persons as
mps'tly congregate: around common . street-exhibitions. One,-eyed Granny and Blind > Jack were particular nuisances to the: neighbourhoods in which they first
practiced her mad-drunk gambols, and the latter his beastly manner pf performing on the flageolet. —John Keiling, alias Blind Jack, having the misfortune to lose his sight, thought of a strange method to insure himself a livelihood. He was constitutionally a hale, robust fellow, without any complaint, saving blind-
alias
ANNE. ]
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 119
ness, and having learnt to play a little on the flageolet, he conceived a notion that, by performing on that instrument in a different way to that generally practiced, he should render himself more noticed
by the public, and be able to lay larger contributions on
their pockets.
The manner of Blind Jack's playing the flageolet was by obtruding the mouth-piece of the instrument Up one of his nostrils, and, by long custom, he could produce as much wind as most others with their lips into the pipe ; but the continued contortion and gesti
culation of his muscles and countenance, rendered him an object of derision and disgust, as much as that of charity and commisseration.
The original print of John Keiling, which is a 4to. done in mezzotinto, is in the RadcUffe collection, and very rare to be seen in any other.
120 MEMOIRS OF [anne.
COMMONLY Called toby.
Edward King was the son of a farrier, in High- street, Coventry, an honest and industrious mtan ; his mother was Mrs. Ruth Roper, sister to Abel Roper, the celebrated bookseller ; his' uncle, Abel, having been very successful in trade, and probably remem- ^ring the kindness dohe him In early hffe by an uncle, sent for his nephew to London, and bound him ap-
prehtjce to himself as a bookseller : but soon after, leaving Pff shop-keeping, and tnaking it his whple business tp collect news for his PPst-bPy, he wanted some one to attend him, and carry his copy to the printer; and in this capacity he^&Spl:^ed his nephew, who, having a remarkable cast iri each of his eyes, and a face covered with warts, was particularly noticed
wherever he. went. One day going up-stairs at the Tilt-yard Coffee-hbuse, Whitehall, to speak with his uncle, his singular phiz attracted the attention of Cap tain Drake, one of the clerks of the Adtniralty-office,
ANNE. ]
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 121
who spontaneously ejaculated, here comes Toby f though he had never seen his comical face before. And, from that moment, Edward King hardly went by any other name than the captain's adoption to his^ dying day.
The post assigned him by his uncle Abel continu ally involved him in broils and vexation ; being sent one evening from the Rummer-tavern, Charing-cross, with some copy for the printer, at Northumberland- house he was accosted by a common-street-walker, pretty well dressed, with a how do you do. Country
says I you countrywoman manP Toby, Whyare my ?
gentlewom,an. So Tofty could no longer doubt of her being his country-woman. By this time they drew pretty near to Exeter Change, and Toby had agreed to give madam a pint of ale at the upper end of Exeter-street ; but, as ill-luck would have some of the reformers of that age, knowing the woman to be common strumpet, seized both her and her gallant;
vol. I. R
am. So jogging on
Yes, answered madam,
together, says Toby, do you know Coventry? —Aye, very well, said she ! And do you know my Lady HalesP—says Toby. Aye, God bless her, replied the pretended Coventry woman, for she is a very good
lovingly
it, a
122 MEMQJftS PF [anne.
Toby, though in a fright, had the presence of mind tp
run for it : Bqt, O grievqus misfortune I Toby was no
racer, so they soon retpok him, and as flight shews
guilt, these myroiidons conveyed him and his Ic^dy
prisoners
However, to preserve his tender reputatipn, which till now had been unspotted, he resolved to send fqr ^i^ uncle Abpl, tQ help him put pf his trouble, and giving a poor woman the qnly twp-pence he had in the WQ? ld, he dispatches her to the Rammer, but, unfortunately, Al^el was gone ; the wpnaan being unlucky in her en quiry, Mr. Crofts, the inaster pf the house, had . the curiosity to enquire what Uu§iness she had with Mr.
Jloper ? — " Why, says the woms^n, I cpme from his
kinsman ; he is in St. Martin's watch-house, and ws^ats to speak with him directly. " Toby in the watch-
hoiise, wopian ? No, no, it cannot be ; nay, feplie*^ the wonian, call him Toby, or what you pl^^iie, I do not know his nanjie ; byt he s^ys Mr. Roper i§ bis uncle ; and I t^l you he was bfOugh|t tp the watch-
hpuse with a wpfflanabiove an houragp, WeU, ^ays the vintner, Mr- Rpper is not in the house, but an't please God, I will go my^^elf, ^d kftow the truth of this matter. Accordingly he went, ^qd folding -the
to the watch-house in St. Martin's-l? ne.
ANNE. ]
REMAB^fcA^lifi PBftSONS. 1! ^^
riiessenger had n'b't decefived him, he vi^rbught Toby's
delive'rarice, by engaging to see him forth-coining wh^ri ^erit for, which he never was.
Some time after this, Toby being in haSte, and the evening dark, Mr. Evans, who was at that time under secretary to the lord^chanibferlain, and Toby happen ing to cortie in contact, unfortunately blundered against him, who, taking it for an assault, called at the lodge, in Whitehall, whei'e Toby was kept prisoner all night ; but the next mormng, his uncle, who was acquainted with Mr. Evans, wbnt and told him the misfortune of his kinsttian'S eye-sight, whereupon he was discharged without paying fees.
Sir Richard Steele was judged to be of great use to the public by his writings; particularly with regard to the dismantling and siiri^erider of Dunkirk, &c. But as it was impossible to please every body, there appeared a pamphlet uhder the following title, '• The Character of Richard S le, Esq;, with some re
marks. By Toby, Abel's kinsnian ; or, according to Mr. Calairiy, A. F. & N. in a letter to his godfather.
Price 6d. " Now this pariiphlet was not written Toby, as triany people irhagined ; what induced then! to believe it was, they knew his uncle had been at the
charge bf teaching Hihi to translate FreWch and Dutch ; R3
by
184 MEMOIRS OF [anne.
which in a year's time he did pretty well, and in a tolerable good style ; but for politics, he understood them no more than the Pestle and Mortar Apothe cary, or the Virtuoso Doctor, that- made it his busi|- ness to catch butterflies, and afterwards dissect them. The real author was Dr. Wagstaffe, Physician of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, a very ingenious, facetious, and pleasant gentleman, who was likewise author of that excellent piece, " A Comment upon the Hi-story of Tom Thumb. " —However, when Toby was asked whether he wrote Mr. Steele's character, he would shake his head, squint, and say nothing.
But now, having enjoyed a profound quiet for a
considerable time, poor Toby is called out once more to suffer. He had undertaken, to print and disperse a
pamphlet, entitled, "An English Merchant's Re marks upon a scandalous Jacobite Paper published in the Post-boy, under the name of a Memorial pre sented to the Chancery of Sweden, by the Resident of Great Britain. " It never could be learnt where Toby had the copy of this pamphlet ; and it died a se cret in his own breast. Though the government came
very artfully into the knowledge of the Printer and Publisher, they could never learn, by any art or stra
tagem, who was the Author of
those Remarks. ^
ANNB. ]
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 125
When Toby was trudging about the town to disperse
this pamphlet, a friend of his asked / how
him, he durst
venture to do it ? 0, says Toby, disguise myself. Disguise yourself, replied the other. How ? By pul ling my perruque on one side, answered Toby, and
flopping my hat over my eyes. Well, it is certain, he did this for some days before the government knew any thing of it ; at last a pretended friend of Toby's, but employed underhand by those at the helm, came tptake a night's lodging with him ; and Toby coming home pretty much in drink, (for he was a great lover of strong liquor,) and taking his friend to be one of the same principles with himself, he made no scruple of telling' him in bed, that he handed that pamphlet to
the press. Thereupon the other asked him who printed it ; and Toby told him, the widow Beardwell. The next news heard was, that Mrs. Beardwell and Toby were taken into custody, upon the information of that very bedfellow of his, though the man always denied it. After a few days, the widow was admitted to bail, but poor Toby was continued in custody, be cause he would not tell where he had the copy ; and the messengers thought themselves sure of this point, if they could but make him drunk. They, therefore, tried the experiment, for Toby would be as drunk as
126
MB5M0IRS OF [anne.
they pleaS^dj but in his cups they cbuld get no more out of him than when be was- sbbfer, excepting, that he returtted into their laps part df the liquor, of which they bad been so liberal. Thus continuing bbstinatle and inflexible to the last, he was kept in custody si±
or seven months, at tbe expiration whereof ari aet bf indentnifiication' Came out, and Toby, taking advantage
of escaped otit of their hands.
Upcti Toft^^s being taken intb custody, his uricfe
and he p'Etttedf and poor Toby Was forced to fbr hiflffseifr So, to- get pentfy, rd% caused the dying speeehes pf Jiifetice Hall and Parspn' Paul, (two Pres ton rebels', hawged at TybUrn,) to be printed poni'- pously in a la'rge brPad sheet, with theii* effigies at top, curiously engi'SVed in chopper the design answered so
wel'l^ that Toby got a new suit of clothes by and
money in his- pocket; which last being in time pretty.
wdl' exhausted', and not knowing how to get more iri
an honest; way, Toby takes trip to CdveAtry, the
place of his nativity, where his father-iri-law,- farrier,
ga'Ve hiM'
him, whicli in shoirt time was launched under the
kind reception, and tobk little hoUsie fbr
name of Toby's €oj! fee-Ao««'se;- and here
T&by sold sttiong ale, coffee, and dramsj and entertained hi^
friends with his squints arid Conundrums.
Neither,
a a
a
a
a
:
it,
a
it,
ANNB. ]
REMARi;AgJL-^ PJP^ONS. 127
to speak truth, did be want for encpuragenient, but fell at once into a very gppd train of bqsiness ; all the
of the city and cpiintry, (of the Tory party,) frequented his house, chiefly on account of his principles, but more particularly for his fidelity in standing to his text, and not discovering the author of the Swedish pamphlet above-mentioned ; and, observ
ing that poor Toby had no sign, they thought none so fit to hang at the dpor as his own sweet phiz, which they therefore desired Mr. Fry, who drew all their
ctures, to take upon a board of Toby's providing ; which he did accordingly, and hit his likeness so exactly, that he gained a great deal of reputation by it.
When Toby took his coffee-house, he Ukewise took a wife ; the object of his love was his father-in-law's housekeeper, who proved a very notable woman ; but he, like an imprudent man, drank hard.
His uncle generaUy went once a-year to visit him, but had the mortification to see him sometimes drink to excess. He advised him all he could against but to no purpose at last he said, once for all, to him,
Toby, find you have a mind to make your wife a widow soon will not speak to you any more about drinking, and so fare you well. As he said, so
gentlemen
it
it,
I
I;
;
128 MEMOIRS OF [anne.
proved, for about two months after, he departed this mortal life, of the distemper called the jaundice. So for' poor Toby there was finis.
Edward King died some time about 1796.
anne]
remarkable PERSONS. 129
^amejS :|^oro<
James Poro, the son of Paul Poro, was born at Genoa, in the year 1686, and was doomed, by one of the sports of Nature, to drag about with him a monstrous excrescence; which grew from his body,
of the form and feature of the human kind, which possessing an independent ani
mated nature to himself, was considered as a twin- brother, and was as such ' baptized by the name of Matthew. This unfortunate object made a show of himself, in London, in the year 1714, and was particularly noticed by Sir Hans Sloane, who caused
his portrait to be painted, which , is' still preserved in the Brirish Museum. The Rev. J. Greene, of Wilford, near Stratford-upon-Avon, gave an account in the Gentleman's Magazine, for October, 1777, of Lazarus Coloredo, a Gfenoese, who, in the reign of King Charles the First, was piibUcly exhibited for sight, with a much more perfect twin-brother than that of Pore's, •which Thomas Bartholine, an accu rate and judicious naturalist, of the seventeenth cen-
VOL. I. • s
having something
130 MEMOIRS OF
[anne.
tury, and royal professor of anatomy at Copenhagen, saw twice ; first at Copenhagen, when Coloredo was twenty-eight years of age; and afterwards at Basil, in Switzerland. Bartholine noticed this deviation of nature, and also gave a print of it in the first
volume of his " Historiarum Anatomicarum Rario- rum, I. et II. " dedicated to Frederick III. King Pf Denmark, printed at the Hague, in 1654. The " Gentleman's Magazine" contains an engraving of Coloredo, in the dress of the times, with a cloak and band, boots, spurs, and sword ; his breast open, with the monster hanging from him, whose head is
much larger than his own. In the " Philosophical
Transactions,*'
is a description of twin-sisters, Hun garians, who were publicly shown in London, about the year 1708, when they were about eight years
old. They were united behind, from the small of the back to the parting of the legs, so that when one went forward, the other went backward ; and when one stooped she Ufted the other from the ground.
They were very active, and one of them talked a good deal ; they had not the sense of feeling in common, any where but in the parts that Joined. They could read, write, and sing, very prettily ; they could also speak three languages, Hungarian,
ANNE. ]
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 131
High and Low Dutch, and French : and while they were here, they learned English. Their faces were very beautiful, and they were well-shaped ; they Ibved each other with great tenderness, and one of them dying in her twenty-second year, the other did not long survive.
The portrait of Coloredo is engraved both Hollar and Marshall, and were probably given or sold to those persons whose curiosity led them to visit him, when in England, where he was publicly shown, as he was afterwards in Scotland. In the reign of James II. , Sir Thomas Grantham having purchased a negro in the West Indies, with an ex
crescence projecting frpm his breast like a child,
brought
the negroe having escaped, professing him. self a
christian, and being baptized, he claimed his habeas
him over to England, to exhibit him, but
when seized, and was allowed it. It does his native country.
corpus
not appear when Poro died, or whether he returned to
s2
by
132
MEMOIRS OF
[anne.
*
¦>'. -,
PRINCE George's cap woman.
" Amorigst the Females of a modern. Fame, Nan justly does our admiltation claim :
Some pebpliB yet her Sex cou'd never scan,
Five! Voyages she madealid^passed for Man ;
At Cudgel she mankind defies,
And with disoourseshe will them exercise ;
She hath two Kaces run, it is well known.
And won them both, as Luke at Bear will own.
But that so few her real sex yet knows,
Is one great sign she keeps her Leggs too close. Then at her skill, we need the less to wonder, Whoe'er would Conquer Nan, must keep her under.
From the above Unes, an inference is plain, that Nan was a fprnale, virago, the connterpart of Mary Frith, comnionly cailled Moll Cut-purse, Ann Mills,
Hannah SneU, and Other women ,of masculine habits and propensities. In what capacity, she made her five voyages, we are uninformed. ; but it is by no means unlikely, in a similarCway with her two co-
tempories, Mary Read and Anne Bbnny, the no torious female pirates. The Rev. Mark Noble
jp. c. . ^^. yi^
(Ptin. ce Georg-e's Cap-Wbmaji. )
ANNE. ]
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 133
judged, from the appearance and occupation of
Nan, she was an harmless maniac,
suffered to go about with her wares, hats, and caps ; but that she was for a short time confined in Bedlam. In all probability, he formed his ideas on this woman's character, from the sight of an imperfect print wanting the descriptive lines, otherwise it is
not likely a reverend divine would construe cudgel- matches, foot-races, or sea-adventures, harmles recrea- tions for a female.
Her title of Cap woman to Prince George, (of
Denmark,) consort to Queen Anne, was doubtless of her own adoption.
that was
134 MEMOIRS OF ^
^iv WiilUeLm 91dleatr.
[anne.
Sir: William Read was orie of those extraordi nary per'^ons, who, from the lowest stations in life, by their:own perseverance, achieve both fame and for tune ; he was originally a tailorj or a cPbler, and became progressively a mountebank, and a quack-doctor ; and
though he could not readj he could spell weU enough to ride in his pwn chariot,; and entertain his friends with the- greatest delicacies the season afforded, arid treat them with copiPus libations frotti golden vessels. Impudence is the great suppprt of the quack pro
fession, and of that Read had an uncommon share. A few scraps pf Latin, in his bills, made the igno rant suppose him to be wonderfully learned ; indeed, the very air of Oxford infused knpwledge into him, when he resided there, in his last profession ; and
in one bf his addresses, he, called upon the vice- chancellor, university, and the city, tp vouch for his cures, as indeed he did upon the good people of the three kingdoms. Blindness
vanished before him, and he even deigned to practice in other dis-
! IB. ^ril^lrlAM
'^^i^jiyi'vt. '.
RKAH, f Ocxnli st .
ANNE. J
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 135
tempers ; but he defied all competition as an oculist.
Queen Anne and George I. honored him with the
care of their eyes ; from which, one would have
thought
as dark as Taylor, his brother quack's coach-horses,
the rulers, like the ruled, wished to be
five of which were blind, because he exercised his skill upon animals that could not complain.
Read died at Rochester, May 24, 1715; and the next day was deposited in the cemetery of St. Ni cholas, in that city. After Queen Anne had knighted Read and Dr. Hans Sloane, Mr. Gwinnet sent the
lines, in a letter, to his beloved Mrs. Thomas :—
" The Queen, like heaven, shines equally on all,
Her favors now without aistinction fall ;
Great Read and slender Haniies, both knighted, show That none their honors sliall to merit owe.
That popish doctrine is exploded quite,
Or Ralph had been no diiKe,* and Read no knight.
following
That none may virtue or their learning plead, 1-'^ ii:'J7 Ki,^t iaSf,. read. '
This has no grace, and that can hardly
The most fortunate however of eye-doctors is the present Sir William Adami/^^erly a little apothecary
Ralph, Duke of Montagup.
136 MEMOIRS OF [anne.
in Devonshire; but luckily taking to the study of the diseases of the eye, and making a few successful cures, has jumped over the heads of the first ocu lists of the present day ; his practical success is not diminished, by having married a lady of consi
derable fortune. He has, beside, been lucky enough to find a recipe for the cure of opthalmia, and suc ceeded in restoring to sight two and twenty old Greenwich pensioners, for which the governors of that hospital liberally made him a present of a piece of plate, valued at five hundred guineas.
ABEL
ROPER.
anne. ]
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 137
^htl i^oper*
Abel Rope. r w'as born'af Atherston, in War wickshire, of parents not in the most flourishing cir cumstances, who, having many; children to prPvide
for, an uncle, who was a bookseller 'in London, took him home, and adopted him at; twelve years of age, and sent him to school. He. took very ready to learn ing, and is said to speak Greek by rote, when he did not understand Latin. He did not continue long at school,, being bound apprentice, at the age of fourteen, to his uncle, who then lived in Fleet-street, but died within a;year and a halfafter; when Abel was turned
over to Christopher 'Wilkinson, of the same trade, resident in the sairie street. . Afterheattained the age of twenty-one, he . received. 100/. ' Ieft;ham. by his
uncle, and the copy-rights of various- ; works, . worth much more ; and his prospects were further improved by marrying his last master's widow. He 'then. ' cbm- menced business, by taking one side of a saddler's shop, near Bell-yard, opposite the Middle Temple gate ; tut he afterwards' removed next door to the
VOL. I. T
138 MEMQIM OF
[anne.
Devil tavern; — his sign was the "Black Dog. "— Those who had determined to expel James II. from the throne, fixed upon Roper as the distributor of pamphlets, written to pave the way for the revolution, in which he was indefatigable ; and was the original printer of the famous ballad of " Lillyburlero," after wards reprinted with a tune set by Richard Baldwin^
it sold . with wonderful rapidity. At length Abel thought it of little importance what he sold, so that he gained by it ; or whether it was subversive of religion, morals. , or the government. His unequalled impudence, and unmoved countenance, carried him through many difficulties with impunity. He pub lished the "Post-boy," in which he a,ttaeked the
Tories, and even the Whigs, just as he was hired. Swift, threatened to be revenged for his. abuse, though be bad joined in that of Marlborough, more hateful to h,im than even Roper or his "Post-boy," or any other of his writings. He published the. ribaldry , of Tom Brown, and UbeUed Lewis XIV- besides which, he Jampopned the, celebrated women of his. day, m "The
Auction. of Ladiea;" and thus exposed several young persona, especially tradesn^en'Si daughters* to ridicule and contempts The vignet,te affiled tp this pefiqdical
paper was, a black ram^ alluding tfi, tlie^ Wtellrk^aoJWf
when
ANWE. ]
REMARKABLE PERSONS. fS^
custom of frail matrons bestriditig that animal to Save their lands. But this Scandalous paper, to the credit of the publifc, did not extend to more than eight or nine numbers. The unwarrantable Ubertiies of his pen ofteri brbught <hiin into danger t tiis "News Letters ioto the Country," procured him a severe reprimand
from the Earl of Nottingham, secretary 'of state. He
was compelled to appear before Mr. Secretary TrUWi-
buU, for printing Mr. Southwell's play without
licence ; before Mr. Secretary Boyle, afterwards Lorti
Carlton, for some misdemeanour: ahd he Was sum
moned before the Lord-mayor and Court of Alder-
metl, for reflecting upon the " Society for the Refor mation of Manners. " He was afterwards prosecuted
for an obscene pamphlet, entitled " The Art of Cockoldom;" but a bribe saved hiiii fronl the sevfei i^ty of the daw ; though it fell upon hiiii for publishing Dr. Drake's work, who disowning Roper Was fbr a Shoit time in the custody of nilessenger. Tom Brown attempted to cane him, for publishing Dr. Kingston's attick upoii him; but end6d in box- ing*nnatch> when Abel beat Tomi. From enemies Ihey becianae friends^ and Tbift assisted hirn in his
" Auction of LadieSi"
a it
it.
a
140 MEMOIRS OF [anne.
An obscure Frenchman, the quondam master of the " Post Man," a writer and translator of the lowest description, frcm an assistant, was at length taken into partnership by Roper, who would not change the title ofhis paper, but retained that ofthe "Post Boy. "
George Ridpath, a Scotchman, and editor of the " Flying Post," was tried at Guildhall, for inserting some scandalous reflections in his paper upon Queen Anne, but had not the temerity to wait in court till the jury brought in their verdict ; on the contrary, wisely retired ; nor stopped, when he was informed bf the result, till he found himself safe in Holland. Such were the editors of the " Post Boy," the " Post Man," and the " Flying Post. "
Abel Roper died in I716. It has been remarked of him, that "like many others of his brethren of the quill, he had an excellent talent at a specious lie, and
knew how to make vice of virtue, or virtue of vice,
according as they clashed or coincided with party. "
It was Roper that persuaded
graver) to erase the head of Cromwell in the eques
trian print of him, and to substitute that of the Prince of Orange, afterwards William III.
Faithorne (the en
his
ANNE. ] REMARKABLE PERSONS. IM:
29i% Itencg Sh^ctttUvtlf
Henry , Sacheverel, . a mian whose . history;
affords ; a very striking exannple of the folly of party-
spirit,, was the son of Joshua Sacheverel, of Marl-
^Iprough,' clerk, who died rector of St. Peter^s chjurch,
in ^Marfbprough, leaving d numerous ; family,- in very
lowiicirdufnstances. By a . letter ;: to, him frpm ihiis
uncle, in 171 1, it . appears that he had a brother, named,Thpmas,. and'a sister, Susannah. ; Henry was
put to' schodl'at: Mariborough, ¦ at the ; of Mr. Edward Hearstj: apothecary,' whoi being his god
father, . adopted' hiiri as his son. Hearst's
bim afterwards to 'Magdalen College, Oxford. . . Here he soon distinguished himself by a regularibbservation of the duties of the house, by his compositions, good manners, and genteel behaviour. ; quaUfications vyhich j:ecoirimended-him. to that society, of ^vbich he became fellow ; and, as a, public tutor, had the care of the edu- cation ofmost of the young gentlemen of quality and fortune that were admitted of the college ; and was
widow, put
MEMOIRS OF [anne.
and chamber-fellow with Addison, and one of his chief intimates till the time of his famous
trial.
Much has beelti said by Safcheverei's enemies of his
ingratitude to his relations, and of his turbulent beha viour at Oxford ; but these appear to have been ^oundless calumnies, circulated/ only by the spirit of party. . In his younger years he wtote some excellent
Latin poems, besides several ia the second and third volumes of the Musae Anglicanoej" ascribed to big pupils; and there is a good, one of some length in the second volume, under his own name, (transcribed from the Oxford collection, on Queen Mary's death, 1695^). He took the degree bf M. A. May; 16", 1 696 ; B. D. Feb. 4, 1707 ; D. D» July 1» IfOS. His first preferment was Carinock, or Cank, in the, bounty of Stafford. He was appointed/ preacher ofStiiSaviout's^ Southwark, iri 1705 ; and, while in this station^ preached his famous serriions J(at Derby, August 14-^ 1709, and at St. Paul's, November in the sanae year and, in one of thenii was supposed to point at Locd Godolphin, Under the name df . Vdlpotae. It 'has been suggested*, that to this circutnstance, as much as to tbe idoGtrines contained in his sermons, he Was indebted for his proseeution, and, eventually, for his
contemporary
;)
9! ,
A N N E. 1 REM AIIKiteM4B ^m^O^^
preferment. Being itapeaclinsd by the Houae^f C&vsn^ mons, his trial began Februairy 37, 1709-10, and ooa- tinned unril the; asd of March, when, h© vwas senl- tejjced to assuspeusipn frjon^. preachj&g' foP'threei yeara, and his two sermons iordieredi to be; bunqt. This pro*- secutipn, however,. ovCT. threw the. ' mihibtiy, and kid the fojundation; of hisfbrtUnei! Toi Sir Simon : Hat'- court,. w^JO wasicounsel for him, he presented: a sdlver
bason, giltj with an elegant inscription, written pro bably by his friend Dr. Atterbury.
HiSi enemies triumphed;, yet dkred not venture abroad. He was. disgraced by the legislaturey. but
tens of thsousands bent as lowly before him as the Thibetians to the Grand I^^ia- He. went on a tour
of triurijphi tlirough the cosuntry; and was received with splendour and respectful pomp atieveiy place he
visited. Magistsratea,; in their f<E»rmalitiesi v^jelcomed him into their corporations ; and his griard of honour was^ frequently a thpuaa^ gentlemen' on horsebacki At Bridgenorth, he was met by Mr. CresweU, at the head;0f fourJthoHsand horse, and the same Bumbep of persons/ on foot, wearing white knots edged with gold, andsthree leavesi of gilt laurel in their hats. The hedges. ; for sevleral tmilea: were dressed' with >gi»landH
144 MEMOIRS OF [anne.
offlowers, and the steeples covered with flags. In this manner he passed through Warwick, Birming ham, Bridgenorth, Ludlow, and Shrewsbury, on his
to his Welch living, with a cavalcade better suited to a prince than a priest. Ridiculous as this farce was, it did some good, as it kept up the respect due to the national church, by engaging the voice of
the people at large in its favour, and discouraging any attempts to lower or innovate upon in the smallest degree.
In the month that his suspension ended, he had the valuable rectory of St. Andrew's, Holborn, given him by the Queen and the House of Commons, his pro secutors, ordered him to preach before them, and thanked him for his discourse. At that time his repu tation was so high, that he was enabled to sell the first sermon (preached after his sentence expired on. Palm Sunday) for the sum of one hundred pounds and upwards of forty thousand copies, said, were soon sold.
way
We find, " Swift's Journal to Stella,"
22, 171 1-12, that he had also interest enough with the
ministry to provide very amply forone of his brothers
" they hated and
yet, as the dean had said befbre,
January
;.
by ;
it is
it,
;
ANNE. ]
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 145
affected tP despise him. " A considerable estate at Callow, in Derbyshire, was soon after left to him by his kinsman, George Sacheverel, Esq. After this we
hear littie of him, except by quarrels with his parish
ioners. He died June 5, 1724 ; and, by his will,
bequeathed to Bishop Atterbury, then in exile, who
was supposed to have penned for him the defence he
made before the House of Peers, the sum of five hun dred pounds.
The Duchess of MarlborPiigh describes Sacheverel
as " an ignorant, impudent incendiary ; a man who
was the scorn even of those who made use of him as a
tool. "
insolent man, with a very small measure of religion,
virtue, learning, or ^ood sense ; hut he resolved to
force himself int<) ipopularity and ^eferment by the
most petulant railings at dissenter-S and low-church
men, in several seWspns and libels, written without
either chastenesS of style, or liveliness of expres sion. "
Whatever his character, it is evident he owed every thing to an injudicious prosecution, which defeated the purposes of those who instituted and for many
VOL. I. u
And, Bishop Burnet says^ "he was a bold,
it,
146 MEMOIRS OF
[anne.
years continued those prejudices in the pubUc mind,
which a wiser administration would,have been anxious . to dispel.
H^--^^. ^. . ^. . '-^^ ^'^ #,^^,ffi. ,v! =^s,>,^^, -N:^,immu. . u. ^,^:sss:;;^^s^ Jla^dffc^ . tvw^f
JANE
SCROISHAA\ .
AN>JE. ] REMARKABLE PERSONS. 147
^mt Scctm0^atai
Jane Scrimshaw is no other way recbrd'ed, than
as having lived tb the advanced age ofone'huhdred and twenty-seven. She was the daughter' bf 'Mr. '
Thomas Scrimshaw, wpolstapler, and born in Ldndbbr in the parish of St. Mary-le-Bbw, Aprif 3, 1584'.
She was never married; and, when 'little rrioire than thirty years old, found a cPmfbrtable'asylum in MW-
chant Taylors' Alms-house, near Little Tower-hill'. ; Her portrait, which was taken in April,' 1711, at Alms-house, bears an inscription, deiiScribing her aar then in a good state of health. It appears, however, she was shortly after removed to Rosemary-lane Work house, where she 'died, December 25, the same year. Vexation, perhaps, in leaving 'the Alms-Chouse, where she-had resided ei'ghty years, might' havte 'accelerated
'
which must have passed immediately under her view, how many interesting particulars might have been recorded during* the reigns of eight sovereigns, Eliza- u2
—
her'death.
Had Jane Scrimshaw kept a diary of transactipris
'
148
MEMOIRS OF
[ANWfE.
beth to Anne, That persons greatiy advanced in age
retain their health and faculties, is evident from prbofs
meet with. Mr. Noble saw a woman, named Boston, aged one hundred and six years, who had resided fifty years in the hospital at Temple-
Balsal, Warwickshire ; she was tall and upright, and, only a fortnight before her death, she had performed her usual Saturday's task, of carrying a pail of water, from a well at a considerable distance, to wash her rooms. He saw her in the last week of her life, when
she had in her hands a large water jug, complaining she was not so well as usual, and therefore could not carry the pail ; but she had used great exertion some day before, in walking several miles to visit a grand daughter, which had exhausted her strength.
Elizabeth Alexander, who resided many years in Han way-street, Tottenham-court-road, in the year 1810, when past the age of one hundred and eight, would, when walking in the street, if looked after,
quickly turn to observe if any part of her <^ess was in disorder, or accidentally soiled ; and frequently has; walked to Camden Town, a distance of nearly two miles, to visit some friends who resided there.
we daily
JOHN TUT CHIN.