No More Learning

209
COMMONLY CALLED THE STRONG MAN.
Thomas Topham was born in London, about the
His father was a carpenter, and brought his son up to the same business, which he followed until he was about twenty-four years of age ; when, having saved a little money, he took a public-house, the sign of the Red Lion, at the corner of the City- road, opposite St. Luke's Hospital. Here he might have done well, and have saved money ; but his wife, from her coquettish behaviour, caused them to lead a very unhappy life ; and he, in consequence, neglect ing the business of his house, shortly failed .
He had often displayed amazing proofs of his strength ; and necessity now prompted him to adopt some plan whereby he might turn this qualification to account ; to which purpose he proposed to perform in public such feats as astonished every one who heard of the undertaking; doubting the thing as im possible to accomplish. His first public exhibition
year 1710.
210 MEMOIRS OF [ceorge 11.
was in Moorfields, where he opposed his own personal strength against that of a young and vigorous horse, which he accomplished, by placing his feet against the dwarf-wall, dividing Upper from the Lower Moor fields; nor could the whipping and urging the horse on, remove Topham from his position, but he com- pletly kept the animal in restraint by his powerful hold. Heafterwards pulled against two horses, but as his legs were placed horizontally, instead of rising parallel to the traces of the horse, he was jerked from his seat, and had one of his knees much bruised and hurt. By t\\e strength of his fingers he rolled up a very strong and large pewter dish ; and broke seven or eight short pieces of a tobacco-pipe by the force of his middle finger, having laid them on his first and third. He thrust the bowl of a strong tobacco-pipe under his garters, and his legs being bent, he broke it
to pieces by the tendons of his hams. —Another bowl
of this kind he broke between his first and second
finger, by pressing them together sideways. — He lifted a table six feet long, with half-a-hundred weight hanging at the end of holding in an horizontal position, with his teeth, considerable time. —These, and many other feats of strength, he exhibited at the price of one shilling admission for each person.
a
it,
it
cteoKbtaih]
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 211
" When- «t' Derby,- he applied to Alderman Cooper forpermission to display the different feats he pro posed;- : The alderman was surprised at his perform- aftce> and requested him to strip, that he might examine whether he was made like other men; when he disco
vered, that the usual cavities under the arms and hams of others were in him supplied with ligaments.
The injury he received from the two horses caused
him to limp a little in his walk. He was a well-made
man, but had nothing singular in his appearance. — The performances he exhibited at Derby, where the rolling up of a pewter-dish, of seven pounds weight, with as much apparent ease as a man rolls up a sheet of paper ; holding a pewter quart-pot at arm's length, and squeezing the sides together like an egg-shell ; lifting two hundred weight with his little finger, and moving it gently over his head : he also broke a rope fastened to the floor, that would have sustained twenty hundred weight. Holding11TM his teeth a piece of leather fixed to one end of an oak-table, which had
half-a-hundred weight suspended to and with two of the feet resting upon his knees, he raised the end with the weight higher than the part he held near his mouth. Mr. Chambers, vicar of All Saints, in Derby, who weighed twenty-seven stone, he took and raised
it,
212 MEMOIRS OP [GEORGE II.
with one hand, his head being laid on one chair, and his feet on another. Four persons, of fourteen stone each, sat upon Topham's body, and these he heaved at
At a blow he struck a round bar of iron, one inch in diameter, against his naked arm, and bent it like a bow. Knowing a little of music, he enter tained the company at Derby with Mad Tom; he also sung a solo, accompanied on the organ in St.
pleasure.
church ; and though he performed it with judgment, yet his voice seemed infinitely more terrible than mellow, and, in some instances, scarcely human. The ostler at the Virgin-inn, where Topham lodged, having insulted him, he took one of the spits from the kitchen mantle-piece, bent it round his neck
like a handkerchief, and left the ends sticking out; the man appeared so awkward in his iron cravat, as to excite the mirth and laughter of all who saw the in cumbrance he laboured under ; nor could he extricate himself until Topham condescended to relieve him. But these were only the common-place performances, when he went about purposely to exhibit; by way of frolic he would accomplish more surprising feats. — One night, observing a watchman fast asleep in his box, in Chiswell-street, he took both, and carrying
the load with the greatest ease, dropped the watch
Werburgh's
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 213
'man, box and all, over the wall of Tindall's burying- ground, leaving the man to extricate himself as well as he could. Sitting once at the window of a public- house, in the same street, a butcher going by from a slaughter-house, with nearly half an ox upon his back, Topham relieved him of his load, with so much ease and dexterity, that the fellow astonished, swore nothing
but the devil could have flown away with the beef. Observing some bricklayers removing part of a scaf
fold, previous to striking from small building, he, towards assisting them, grasped hold of one of the poles so rudely, that part of the front wall followed his Herculean tug the fellows conceiving had been
the effects of an earthquake, ran without looking be hind them into an adjoining field. Mr. Topham's joke had nearly proved of serious consequence, for one
of the poles in falling hurt him severely on his side.
gborgb ii. ]
an acquaintance of his on-board West Indiaman, in the river, and being presented
with cocoa-nut, he astonished one of the sailors by
Accompanying
close to his ear, with the same ease as we crack an egg-shell. A race taking place on the Hackney-road, fellow, with horse and cart, an
noyed the spectators much, by attempting to keep close to the contending parties; Topham, who was
VOL. IV.
cracking
2 F
it, a
a
a
a it
a
:
a
it
214 MEMOIRS OF [oborgbii.
into the road, seized the tail of the cart, and, in spite of all the fellow's exertions, in whipping his horse to get forward, drew them both back, with the greatest ease possible, to the
mortification of the man, who would have resented the indignity, but was naturally dismayed. At the
time he kept a public-house, two fellows, extremely quarrelsome, could not be appeased without fighting the landlord. Topham, to satisfy their desire, seized them both by the nape of the neck, and knocked their heads together, till they were perfectly sensible of their error, and very humbly begged his pardon.
But the greatest of all his exploits was performed in Bath-street, Cold-bath-fields, on the 28th of May, 1741, when, in honor of Admiral Vernon's taking
of Porto-Bello, he lifted three hogsheads of water,
weighing 1,836 pounds, in the presence of some thousands of persons.
The levity of his wife, and her illicit attachment to another person, were the source of much uneasiness to him; and, unfortunately, becoming the slave to
jealous passions, in a fit of frenzy, after beating her very severely, he put a period to his own existence, in the very flower of his age, not having completed,
his thirty-third year.
present, stepped
oeorob ». ] REMARKABLE PERSONS. 215
The impression he left on the minds of the people
in London was such, that his portrait,
some one or other of his feats, was painted on various
the metropolis ; there were many remaining, even up to the year 1 800 ; one in particular, over a public-house near the May-pole, in East
Smithfield, representing him in the act of pulling against two dray-horses.
signs throughout
displaying
2f2
216 MEMOIRS OF [otOROB n.
This Frenchman was master of a smuggling-vessel, that conveyed to the different shores of England con traband and exciseable articles; which, from the heavy customs imposed on them, rendered it a most profit
able trade to those who could, with impunity, import them free of duty. In one of these illicit trips, from Boulogne to the coast of Kent, while his vessel was hovering near Margate, for the purpose of landing his commodities as secret as possible, it was observed by some pilots, and mistaken for a ship in distress. To this end, and with a view of rendering any assistance that might be wanting, several of these pilots took a
boat, and made towards the vessel. De-la-Tour, conceiving them to be officers of the customs, with out any warning whatever, fired several shots into the boat, which killed one man, and desperately
wounded two others ; and then, without attempting to make a landing, stood out to sea.
On the boat's return to the land, with the dead body and wounded men, the survivors reported the
JEAN DE L. A
TOTTR, (Tried far Kracy. )
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 217
transaction, and described the ship in the best way they could; but, notwithstanding an armed vessel was immediately dispatched in pursuit of this supposed pirate, De-la-Tour contrived to elude the vigilance of his pursuers for a considerable length of time. The circumstance becoming widely known, every one was made acquainted with the description of the ship ; and De-la-Tour still carrying on his nefarious traffic, though he had changed the scene of his former trade, was taken, about four months after, by an English vessel, and brought to England, in order to undergo his trial for the murder. The identity of his person being ascertained by some of the men who were in
the boat at the time of the outrage, he was upon their evidence found guilty, and hanged in the year 1744.
ceorge ii. ]
MEMOIRS OF
[oBOBOsn.
These persons are associated together, on account of their being tried, condemned, and of suffering at the same time. Mr. Townley was descended from an ancient and honorable family, of some centuries resi
dence in Lancashire, and was the son of Richard Townley, of Townley-hall, in that county, who was tried for the share he had in the rebellion of 1715, but acquitted.
Young Mr. Townley being educated in the rigid principles of popery,* went abroad early in life, and, entering into the service of France, distinguished himself in his military capacity, particularly at the
siege of Philipsbourg. Coming to England, in 1742,
* The Townley family have suffered great persecution on the account of religion ; in the early part of the reign of Queen Eliza beth, one of their ancestors, living at Townley-hall, was compelled, for a considerable time, to pay a heavy monthly fine, to escape im prisonment as a recusant, and for having suffered the celebration of mass in his house, before his children and domestics.
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 219
he associated chiefly with those of the catholic reli gion ; and it was thought that he induced many of them to take an active part in the rebellion. When the Pretender came to Manchester, Townley offered his services ; when, being accepted, he was commis sioned to raise a regiment, which he soon completed; and, from his knowledge of military tactics, might have done the royal cause much mischief, but being made a prisoner at Carlisle, he was conducted to London, in order to take his trial for high-treason.
An act of parliament having passed in the year 174-6,
" to empower the king to remove the cause of action
against persons apprehended for high-treason, out of the county where the crime was committed;" his majesty granted to the judges commissions to try, in the counties of Cumberland, York, and Surrey, such rebels as had been committed to the prisons of those counties respectively.
On the 23d of June, 1746, at the Sessions held at St. Margaret's Hill, for the trials of the rebels, Colonel Francis Townley, of the Manchester regiment, was indicted for the part he had acted in the rebellion.
His counsel insisted that he was not a subject of Great Britain, being an officer in the service of the French king but this, the judges observed, was a cir
george ii. ]
220 MEMOIRS OF [george n.
cuinstance against him, as he had quitted his native country, and engaged in the French service, without the consent of his lawful sovereign. Some other mo tions, equally frivolous, being over-ruled, he was capitally convicted, and adjudged to die. After con viction, he behaved in the most reserved manner, scarcely speaking to any one but his brethren in
misfortune.
George Fletcher had been a linen-draper, at Strat
ford, near Manchester, managing the business for his mother, who, on her knees, endeavoured to persuade him not to engage with the rebels ; and offered him 1000/. on the condition that he would not embark in so desperate an enterprize ; but he was deaf to her entreaties, and so ambitious of serving the Pretender, that he gave his secretary, Mr. Murray, fifty pounds
for a captain's commission. Fletcher having induced a man named Maddox to enlist, he afterwards would have deserted; but Fletcher produced a handful of gold, and said he should not want money if he would fight for the Pretender, which induced Maddox to keep his station.
There were six others tried with Townley and Fletcher, at the Surrey Sessions, and after the sentence
of the law was passed, they all declared that they had
ceorgbii. ] REMARKABLE PERSONS. 221
acted according to the dictates of their consciences, and would again act the same parts, if they were put to the trial. When the keeper informed them, that the following day was ordered for their execution, they expressed a resignation to the will of God ; em braced each other, and took an affectionate leave of their friends.
On the following morning they breakfasted together, and having conversed till near eleven o'clock, were conveyed on three sledges from the New Goal, Southwark, to Kennington-common. The gibbet was surrounded by a party of the guards, and a block
and a pile of faggots were placed near it. The faggots were set on fire while the proper officers were removing the malefactors from the sledges.
After near an hour employed in acts of devotion, these unhappy men, having delivered to the sheriffs some papers, expressive of their political sentiments, then underwent the sentence of the law. They had not hung above five minutes, when Colonel Townley, yet alive, was cut down, and being placed on the block, the executioner, with an axe, separated his head from the body; his heart and bowels were then
taken out, and thrown into the fire ; and the other VOL. IV. 2 G
MEMOIRS OF [georce ii.
parties being severally treated in the same manner, the executioner cried out " God save King George. "
The bodies were quartered, and delivered to the keeper of the New Goal, who buried them : the heads of some were sent to Carlisle and Manchester, where they were exposed ; but those of Townley and
Fletcher were fixed on Temple-Bar, where they re mained until within these few years, when they fell down.
Among the rest that suffered with Townley and Fletcher, on Kennington-common, July 20, 1746, was young Dawson, so pathetically recorded by Shenstone. The print of the exposure of these persons' heads is extremely scarce ; the one copied in this work is in the collection of J. Goodford, Esq. of Yeovil, Somersetshire.
JAMES TURNER.
george ii. ]
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 223
Same* burner*
James Turner, a common beggar, whose sil vered locks and flowing beard gave him a patriarchal appearance, raised a considerable sum of money by the veneration generally directed towards aged people in distress. Turner, though an old man, was so well experienced in his profession, that he deemed it no trifling advantage to appear still older than he really was. To form some estimate of how much money this man obtained daily, it is necessary to state that Sir Joshua Reynolds, Mr. Nathaniel Hone, and many other celebrated painters, struck with the singularly reverend character of his aspect, wished to make studies from his head, and solicited him to sit to them. He, however, would not consent, unless
paid at the rate of one shilling per hour, which he asserted he always got by his profession of begging. Sir Joshua has often introduced the portrait of
Turner into his pictures, particularly in that of Count Uglioni, and his children, starved to death.
9o2
224 MEMOIRS OF [gkoboe ii.
Hone, likewise, made Turner the prominent feature in his picture of the Conjuror;* and painted his
portrait as he generally appeared, in the year 1751, which was engraved by Captain Baillie, in the year 1762.
One White, a paviour, getting far advanced in years, suffered his beard to grow to an immense size, and became the successor to Turner, in the service of portrait and historical painters. The Rev. Mr. Peters has introduced White's likeness in his pic ture of the Resurrection of a Pious Family. And Alefounder, the miniature-painter, has palmed on
the public White's portrait for that of Peter the
* Some difference existing between Sir Joshua Reynolds and Mr. Hone, the latter, in revenge, painted the figure of an old man, with a magic wand, conjuring from the flames various designs from old masters, which Sir Joshua had taken for models of some of his best pictures; and had afterwards destroyed the originals. On the death of Mr. Hone, in 1784, the whole of his collection of paintings, prints, and drawings, were sold by auction,
at Hutchins' rooms, in King-street, Covent-garden, when the picture of the Conjuror was purchased for sixty guineas, by an agent of Sir Joshua's, and consigned to the same destructive element that had consumed the old masters.
reorgb ii. ] REMARKABLE PERSONS. 225
Wild-boy, which is engraved as such by Bartolozzi,
though there are not less than three original resem
blances of that singular person, preserved by Falconet, Kent, and Drost.
MEMOIRS OF [george II.
Richard Turpin was the son of John Turpin, a farmer, at Hempstead, in Essex, and having received a common school-education, was apprenticed to a butcher in Whitechapel. His early youth was dis tinguished by the impropriety of his behaviour and the brutality of his manners; and, on the expiration of his apprenticeship, he married a young woman of
East Ham, in Essex, named Palmer ; but he had not long been married before he took to the practice of stealing his neighbours' cattle, which he used to kill and cut up for sale.
Having stolen two oxen belonging to Mr. Giles, of Plaistow, he drove them to his own house ; two of Giles's servants suspecting the robber, went to Turpin's, where they saw two beasts in size agreeing with those that had been lost. They could not iden tify their property, as the hides were stripped off ; but, understanding that Turpin was accustomed to dispose of his booty at Waltham-Abbey, they went thither, and saw the hides of the stolen cattle. No doubt
turpin, I Executed at York, 1733. )
Richard
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 227
now remained of Turpin being the robber, and a warrant was accordingly procured for his apprehen
sion ; but he, learning that the peace-officers were in search of him, made his escape from the back-window of his house, at the very moment they were entering at the door. He retreated to a place of security, and found means to inform his wife where he was con cealed ; on which she furnished him with money,
when he travelled into Essex, and connected himself with a gang of smugglers. For some time he was successful, but, by the vigilance of the excise-officers, he was ultimately deprived of all his ill-acquired gains.
Thrown out of this kind of business, he joined a gang of deer-stealers, whose depredations were principally committed on Epping- forest, and the parks in its neighbourhood ; but this not succeeding to the expectation of the robbers, they determined, as a more profitable pursuit, to commence house breakers. Their plan was to fix on houses that they presumed contained valuable property: and, while one of them knocked at the door, the others were to rush in, and seize whatever they might deem worthy of their notice. The first attack of this kind was at the house of Mr. Strype, an old man, who kept a
georqe iu]
2-28
MEMOIRS OF [george Ii.
chandler's shop at Watford, whom they robbed of all the money in his possession, without offering him any personal abuse. Turpin now acquainted his asso ciates that there was an old woman at Loughton, who was in possession of seven or eight hundred pounds ;
whereupon they agreed to rob her. On coming to the door, one of them knocked, and the rest forcing their way into the house, tied handkerchiefs over the eyes of the old woman and her maid. Turpin then demanded what money was in the house ; and the
owner hesitating to tell him, he threatened to set her on the fire if she did not make an immediate disco very. Still, however, she declined to give the desired information, when the villains actually placed her on the fire, where she sat till the tormenting pain com pelled her to discover her hidden treasure ; and they, taking possession of above 400/. , made their escape.
Some little time after this, they agreed to rob the house of a farmer, near Barking ; and, knocking at the door, the people declined to open it ; on which they broke it open, and, having bound the farmer, his wife, his son-in-law, and the servant-maid,
robbed the house of above 700/. Turpin was so much delighted, that he exclaimed, "Aye, this will
do, if it would always be so ;" and the robbers retired
they
GEOHQBii. ]
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 229
with tlieir prize, which amounted to above eighty pounds for each of them. This desperate gang, now flushed with success, determined to attack the house of Mr. Mason, the keeper of Epping-forest ; and the time was fixed when the plan was to be carried into execution ; but Turpin having gone to London, to
spend his share of the former booty, intoxicated himself to such a degree, that he totally forgot the appointment. Nevertheless, the rest of the gang resolved that the absence of their companion should not frustrate the proposed design ; and, having taken a solemn oath to break every article of furniture in Mason's house, they set out on their expedition. On
gaining admission, they discovered an old man sitting by the fire-side, whom they suffered to remain unmo lested; but Mr. Mason they kicked and treated in a very severe manner. His daughter escaped their notice and fury, by running out of the house, and taking shelter in a hog-stye. After ransacking the lower part of the house, and doing great mischief, they went up-stairs, where they broke every thing that fell in their way, and, among the rest, a china punch-bowl, from which dropped one hundred and
twenty guineas; this they made a prey of, and effected their escape. They now went to London in
vol. iv. 2 H
230 MEMOIRS OF [george n.
search of Turpin, with whom they shared the booty, though he had not taken an active part in the exe cution of the villany.
On the 11th of January, 1735, Turpin and five of his companions went to the house of Mr. Saunders, a rich farmer at Charlton, in Kent, between seven and eight in the evening, and having knocked at the door, asked if Mr. Saunders was at home. Being an swered in the affirmative, they rushed into the house, and found Mr. Saunders, with his wife and friends,
at cards in the parlour. They told the company that they should remain uninjured if they made no disturbance. Having made prize ofa silver snuff-box, which lay on the table, a part of the gang stood guard over the rest of the company, while the others attended Mr. Saunders through the house, and, breaking open his escritoirs and closets, stole above 100/. exclusive of plate. During these transactions, the servant-maid ran up-stairs, barred the door of her room, and called out " Thieves,"
with a view of alarming the neighbourhood ; but the robbers broke open the door of her room, secured her, and then robbed the house of all the valuable property they had not before taken. Finding some mince-pies, and bottles of wine, they sat down to
playing
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 231
regale themselves ; and, meeting with a bottle of brandy, they compelled each of the company to
drink a glass of it. Mrs. Saunders fainting through terror, they administered some drops in water to her, and recovered her to the use of her senses. Having staid in the house a considerable time, they packed up their booty, and departed, first declaring that if any of the family gave the least alarm within two hours, or advertised the marks on the stolen plate, they would return at afuture period and murder them. Retiring to a public-house at Woolwich, where they had concerted the robbery, they crossed the Thames
to an empty house in Ratcliffe Highway, and depo sited the stolen effects till they found a purchaser to take them off their hands.
ceorqe ik]
On the 18th of the same month, they went to the house of Mr. Sheldon, near Croydon, in Surrey, where they arrived about seven in the evening. They found the coachman in the stable,
attending his horses, and, after having secured him, they quitted the stable, and meeting Mr. Sheldon in the yard, they compelled him to conduct them into the house, where they stole eleven guineas, with the
jewels, plate, and other things of value, to a consider 2H2
232 MEMOIRS OF
[g EOUGK II.
able amount. They then returned Mr. Sheldon two guineas, and apologized for their conduct.
The next robbery they committed was upon the house of Mr. Lawrence, of Edgware, near Stanmore, in Middlesex, for which place they set out on the 4th of February, and arrived at a public-house in that village about five o'clock in the evening. From this place they went to Mr. Lawrence's, where they arrived
about seven o'clock, just as he had discharged some people who had worked for him. Having quitted their horses at the outer gate, one of the robbers going forward found a boy, who had just returned
from folding his sheep : the rest of the gang following, a pistol was presented, and instant destruction threat ened if he made any noise. They then took off his garters, tied his hands, and desired him to direct them to the door, and when they knocked to answer and bid the servant open it, in which case they would not hurt him. But, when the boy came to the door, he was so terrified that he could not speak ; on which, one of the gang knocked, and a man-servant opening the door, imagining it was one of the neighbours, they all rushed in, armed with pistols. Having seized Mr. Lawrence and his servant, they threw a
george n. J REMARKABLE PERSONS. 233
cloth over their faces, and taking the boy into another room, demanded what fire-arms were in the house ; he replied, only an old gun, which they discovered and broke in pieces. They then bound Mr. Law rence and his man, and made them sit by the boy ; and Turpin searching the gentleman, took from him a guinea, a Portugal piece, and some silver ; but, not being satisfied with this booty, they forced him to conduct them up-stairs, where they broke open a closet, and stole some money and plate. This was not sufficient to satisfy them, and they threatened to murder Mr. Lawrence, each of them destining him to a different death, as the savageness of his own na ture prompted him. At length one of them took a kettle of water from the fire, and threw it over him : but it providentially happened not to be hot enough to scald him.
In the interim the maid-servant, who was churning butter in the dairy, hearing a noise in the house, apprehended some mischief ; on which she blew out the candle, to screen herself; but being found in the course of their search, one of the miscreants com pelled her to go up-stairs, where he gratified his
brutal passion by force. They then robbed the house of all the valuable effects they could find, locked the
234 MEMOIRS OF ({george it.
family into the parlour, threw the key into the garden, and took their plunder to London.
The particulars of this atrocious robbery being re presented to the king, a proclamation was issued for the apprehension of the offenders, promising a pardon to any one of them who would impeach his accom plices, and a reward of fifty pounds was offered, to be paid on conviction.
This, however, had no effect; the robbers continued their depredations as before ; and, flushed with the success they had met with, seemed to bid defiance to the laws.
On the 7th of February, six of them assembled at the White-bear Inn, in Drury-lane, where they agreed to rob the house of Mr. Francis, a farmer, near
Mary-le-bone. Arriving at the place, they found a servant in the cow-house, whom they bound fast, and threatened to murder him if he was not perfectly silent. This being done, they led him into the stable, where finding another of the servants, they bound him in the same manner. In the interim Mr. Francis happening to come home, they presented their pistols to his breast, and threatened instant des truction to him, if he made the least noise or opposi tion. Having bound the master in the stable with his
servants, they rushed into the house, tied Mrs. Fran
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 235
ciSj- her daughter, and the maid-servant, and beat them in a most cruel manner. One of the thieves stood as a sentry, while the rest rifled the house, in which they found a silver tankard, a medal of Charles the First, a gold watch, several gold rings, a consider able sum of money, and a variety of valuable linen,
and other effects, which they conveyed to London. Hereupon a reward of 100/. was offered for the
apprehension of the offenders ; in consequence of which, two of them were taken into custody, tried
george ii. ]
and convicted on the evidence of an
and hanged in chains ; and, the whole gang being dis persed, Turpin went into the country to renew his
depredations on the public.
On a journey towards Cambridge, he met a man
genteelly dressed, and well mounted ; and expect ing a goodbooty, he presented a pistol and demanded his money. The person he stopped happened to be King, a celebrated highwayman, who knew Turpin ; and, when the latter threatened instant death, if he did not deliver his money, King burst intoafit of laughter, and said, " What ! dog eat dog ? —come, come, brother Turpin; if you don't know me, I know you, and shall be glad of your company. "
accomplice,
236
fcEMOtaS OP
. & u.
These brethren in iniquity soon struck a bargain,
and immediately entering on business,
number of robberies ; till at length they were so well known, that no public-house would receive them as
guests. Thus situated, they fixed on a spot between the King's-oak and the Lough ton -road, on Epping Forest, where they made a cave, which was large
enough to receive them and their horses.
was inclosed within a sort of thicket of bushes and
brambles,
passengers on the road, while themselves
through which they could look, and see
remained From this station they used to issue, and robbed such a number of persons, that at length
committed a
This cave
unobserved.
the very pedlars, who travelled the road, carried fire arms for their defence : and, while they were in this
retreat,
Turpin's wife used to supply them
with frequently remained in the cave
necessaries, and during the night.
Having taken a ride as far as Bungay, in Suffolk,
they observed
pounds for corn ; on which, Turpin resolved
two young women receive
fourteen to rob King objected, saying, it was a
them of the money.
pity to rob such pretty girls ; but Turpin was ob stinate, and obtained the booty. Upon their return
ceorge it. ] REMARKABLE PERSONS. 237
home, on the following day, they stopped a Mr. Bradele, of London, who was riding in his chariot with his children. The gentleman seeing only one robber, was preparing to make resistance, when King called to Turpin to hold the horses. They took from this gentleman his watch, money, and an old mourn
ing ring ; but returned the latter, as he declared that its intrinsic value was trifling, yet he was very unwil ling to part with it. Finding that they readily parted with the ring, he asked them what he must give for the watch: on which King said to Turpin, "What say ye, Jack? " a name by which he always called him, " here seems to be a good honest fellow ; shall we let him have the watch? " Turpin replied, "Do as you please:" on which, King said to the gentleman,
"You must pay six guineas for it: we never sell for more, though the watch should be worth six and thirty. " The gentleman received the watch back, and promised that the money should be left at the Dial, in Birchin-lane, where they might receive and no questions would be asked.
Not long after this, Turpin was guilty of mur der, which arose from the following circumstance: reward of 100/. having been offered for appre hending him, the servant of gentleman, named
vol. iv.
2I
a
it, a
238 MEMOIRS OF [gborge ii.
Thompson, went out with a higgler, to try ifthey could take this notorious offender. Turpin seeing them approach near his dwelling, Mr. Thompson's man having a gun, he mistook them for poachers ; on which he said, there were no hares near that thicket : " No," said Thompson's servant, " but I have found a Turpin ;" and presenting his gun, required him to surrender. Hereupon Turpin spoke to him in a friendly manner, and gradually retreated at the same time, till having seized his own gun, he shot him dead on the spot, and the higgler ran off with the
utmost precipitation.
This transaction making a great noise in the neigh
bourhood, Turpin went further into the country, in search of his old companion King; and, in the mean time, sent a letter to his wife, to meet him at a public- house at Hertford. The woman attended
according to this direction; and her husband coming into the
house soon after she arrived, a butcher, to whom'he owed five pounds, happened to see him ; on which he said, "Come, Dick, I know you have money now ; and if you will pay me, it will be of great service. "
Turpin told him that his wife was in the next room; that she had money, and that he should be paid immediately: but while the butcher was hinting.
george ik] REMARKABLE PERSONS. 239
to some of his acquaintance, that the person present was Turpin, and that they might take him into cus tody after he had received his debt, the highwayman made his escape through a window, and rode off with
the greatest expedition.
Turpin having found King, and a man named
Potter, who had lately connected himself with them, they set off towards London in the dusk of the even ing ; but, when they came near the Green Man, on Epping-forest, they overtook a Mr. Major, who riding on a very fine horse, and Turpin's being very much jaded, he obliged the rider to dismount, and exchanged horses. The robbers now pursued their journey towards London, and Mr. Major going to the Green Man, gave an account of the affair ; on which it was conjectured that Turpin had been the robber, and that the horse which he had exchanged must have been stolen. It was on a Saturday evening that this rob bery was committed ; but Mr. Major being advised to print hand-bills immediately, notice was given to
the landlord of the Green Man, that such a horse as Mr. Major had lost had been left at the Red Lion, in Whitechapel. The landlord going there, deter mined to wait till some person came for it; and,
about eleven at night, King's brother came to pay for 2I2
240 MEMOIRS OF [george
the horse, and to take him away on which he was immediately seized, and conducted into the house. Being asked what right he had to the horse, he said he had bought but the landlord examining whip which he had in his hand, found button at the end of the handle, half broken off, and the name of Major on the remaining half. Hereupon he was given into custody of constable but as was not supposed he was the actual robber, he was told he should have his liberty, he would discover his employer; whereupon he said that stout man, in white coat, was waiting for the horse in Red-lion-street. The company going there, saw King, who drew pistol, and attempted to fire but flashed in the pan he then endeavoured to pull out another pistol, but could not, as got
in his pocket. At this time, Turpin was watching at short distance and riding towards the spot, King cried out, " Shoot him, or we are taken:" on which Turpin fired, and shot his companion, who called out, " Dick, you have killed me," which the other hearing, rode off at full speed. King lived week after this affair, and gave information that Turpin might be found at house near Hackney- marsh and, on inquiry, was discovered that Turpin had been there on the night that he rode off, lamenting;
entangled
;
it,
if
it
a
a
; it
a
it.
a it a
a
;
a
it
a
;
a
;
it ;
george ii. ] REMARKABLE PERSONS. 241
that he had killed King, who was the most faithful associate he ever had in his life.
For a considerable time did Turpin skulk about the forest, having been deprived of his retreat in the cave, since he shot the servant of Mr. Thompson. On the examination of this cave, there were found two shirts, two pair of stockings, a piece of ham, and part of a bottle of wine. Some vain attempts were made to take this notorious offender into custody; and, among the rest, the huntsman of a gentleman in the neigh bourhood went in search of him with bloodhounds. Turpin perceiving them, got into a tree, under which the hounds passed, to his inexpressible terror, so that he determined to make a retreat into Yorkshire.
Going first to Long Sutton, in Lincolnshire, he stole some horses, for which he was taken into custody ; but he escaped from the constable, as he was con ducting him before a magistrate, and hastened to Welton, in Yorkshire, where he went by the name of John Palmer, and assumed the character of a gen tleman. He now frequently went into Lincolnshire, to steal horses, and either sold or exchanged them in Yorkshire. He often accompanied the neighbouring gentlemen on their parties of hunting and shooting; and one evening, on a return from an expedition of
'242 MEMOIRS OF
[GEORGE II.
the latter kind, he wantonly shot a cock belonging to his landlord. On this, Mr. Hall, a neighbour, said,
" You have done wrong in shooting your landlord's cock," to which, Turpin replied, that if he would stay while he loaded his gun, he would shoot him also. Irritated by this insult, Mr. Hall informed the land lord of what had passed, and application being made to some magistrates, a warrant was granted for the
apprehension of the offender ; who being taken into custody, and carried before a bench of justices, then assembled at the quarter-sessions at Beverley, they demanded security for his good behaviour, which he being unable or unwilling to give, was committed to Bridewell.
On inquiry, it appeared that he made frequent
into Lincolnshire, and on his return he always abounded in money, and was likewise in pos session of several horses; so that it was conjectured he was a horse-stealer and highwayman. The magis trates, in consequence, went to him on the following day, and demanded whom he was, where he had lived, and his employment. He replied in substance, " That about two years ago he had lived at Long
Sutton, in Lincolnshire, and was by trade a butcher; but that having contracted several debts for sheep that
journeys
george i! . ] REMARKABLE PERSONS. 243
proved rotten, he was obliged to abscond. " The
not being satisfied with this tale, com missioned the clerk of the peace to write into Lin colnshire, and make the necessary inquiries respecting the supposed John Palmer. The letter was carried by a special messenger, who brought an answer from a magistrate in the neighbourhood, importing that John Palmer was well known, though he had never carried on trade there : that he had been accused of sheep-stealing, for which he had been in custody, but had made his escape from the peace-officers ; and that there were several informations lodged against him for horse-stealing. Hereupon the magistrates thought it prudent to remove him to York-castle,
where he had not been more than a month, when two persons from Lincolnshire came and claimed a mare and foal, and likewise a horse, which he had stolen in that county. After he had been about four months in prison, he wrote the following letter to his brother in Essex :—
" Dear Brother, York, Feb. 6, 1739. " I am sorry to acquaint you that I am now under
" confinement in York-castle, for horse-stealing. If " I could procure an evidence from London to give
magistrates
244 MEMOIRS OF [george n.
" me a character, that would go a great way towards
" dear brother, do not neglect me; you will know " what I mean, when I say
"Iam, your's,
"John Palmer. "
Thebrother refusing to pay the postage of the letter* returned it to the post-office; and Mr. Smith, a schoolmaster, who had taught Turpin to write, acci dentally seeing it, immediately recognised his hand, on which he carried the letter to a magistrate, who breaking it open discovered that the supposed John Palmer was no less than the real Richard Turpin. Hereupon the magistrates of Essex dispatched Mr. Smith to York, who immediately selected Turpin
from all the other prisoners in the castle; and, with
another gentleman, afterwards proved his identity on his trial. The rumour that Turpin was a prisoner in York-castle, was no sooner circulated than per sons flocked from all parts of the country to take a view of the noted highwayman, and debates ran very high, whether he was the real person or not.
" my being acquitted.
I had not been long in this " country before my being apprehended, so that it " would pass off the readier. For heaven's sake, my
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 245
Among others who visited him was a young fellow who pretended to know the famous Turpin, and having regarded him a considerable time, with looks of great attention, he told the keeper he would bet him half-a-guinea that he was not Turpin ; on which the prisoner, whispering the keeper, said, "Lay him the wager, and I'll go your halves. "
When this notorious malefactor was brought to trial, he was convicted on two indictments, and received sentence of death. After conviction, he wrote to his father, imploring him to intercede with a
gentleman and lady of rank, to make interest that his sentence might be remitted ; and that he might be
geoikje ii. ]
The father did what was in his power ; but the notoriety of his character was such that no persons would exert themselves in his favor. He
lived in the most gay and thoughtless manner after conviction, regardless of all consideration of futurity, and affecting to make a jest of the dreadful fate that awaited him. Not many days before his execution, he purchased a new fustian frock and a pair of pumps, in order to wear them at the time of his death ; and on the day before, he hired five poor men, at ten shillings each, to follow the cart as mourners. He gave hat
bands and gloves to several other persons ; and left a VOL. IV. 2 K
transported.
246 MEMOIRS OF [George n.
ring, and some other articles, to a married woman in Lincolnshire, with whom he had been acquainted.
On the morning of his death he was put into a cart, and drawn to the place of execution, followed by his mourners as above-mentioned ; in his way he bowed to the spectators with the most astonishing indif ference and intrepidity. Arriving at the fatal tree, he ascended the ladder; when his leg trembling, he stamped it down with an air of assumed courage, as if he were ashamed of discovering the least signs of fear. Having conversed with the executioner about half-an-hour, he threw himself off the ladder,
expired in a few minutes.
The spectators of the execution seemed to be much
affected at the fate of this man, who was distinguished by the comeliness of his appearance. The corpse was brought to the Blue Boar, in Castle-gate, York, where it remained till the next morning, and then interred in the church-yard of St. George's parish, with an inscription on the coffin, bearing his age, and the initials of his name. The grave was made remark ably deep, and the people who acted as mourners took such measures as they thought would secure the body :
yet, about three o'clock on the following morning, some persons were observed in the church-yard, who ,
and
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 247
carried it off ; and the populace, having an intimation whither it was conveyed, found it in a garden belong ing to one of the surgeons of the city. Having reco vered the coffin with the body, they laid it on a board, and, after carrying it through the street, in a trium phant manner, filled it with unslacked lime, and buried
it in the grave where it had been before deposited. Turpin suffered at York, on the 10th of April,
oeorge ii. ]
1739.
2k 9
248 MEMOIRS OF [george it.
We are frequently furnished, in the monthly obi tuaries, with instances of persons who have lived to very extraordinary ages ; and the various country, as well as London, newspapers are carefully consulted, for the purpose of perpetuating, through the medium
of the Annual Registers and Monthly Magazines, the name and character of such as have arrived to the age of one hundred years, and upwards. William Walker, born in the year 1613, in a village near Ro chester, Lancashire, claims particular attention, from the circumstance of the many singular transactions he must have witnessed in the course of his very long life ; together with the diversity of scene he expe rienced in the turbulent times in which he lived, and the different governments he saw constantly rise about him. He saw the vicissitudes of royalty, and of government, in the coronation and execution of Charles L; the rise and decline of the Protectorate,.
REMARKABLE PERSONS. 249
under Oliver and Richard Cromwell ; the exile and restoration of Charles II. ; the succession and abdica tion of James II. ; the revolution ; the end of the Stuart line in Queens Mary and Anne ; with the settlement of the crown of England in the House of Brunswick ; and the coronation of two of its so vereigns. On the breaking out of the civil war, he
joined the royal standard, and greatly distinguished himself in the service ; he performed at the memora ble battle of Edge-hill, where he was wounded in the arm, and had two horses shot under him. From his portrait, painted in his one hundred and twenty- third year, he exhibits every appearance of health, and the vigour of matured good old age; without the debility that generally characterizes even the ad vanced period of one hundred ; for though we have
instances of persons who exceeded Walker in lon
george ii. ]
it is recorded of Old Parr, that he was blind for many years previous to the deceit he prac tised on the son of his landlord, for the renewal of
his lease, including, with his own, the interest of his wife, in the succession for her life.
Carew, in his survey of Cornwall, assures us, upon his own knowledge, that fourscore and ten years of
gevity,
2. yj
ME3I0IRS OF [george it.
age is ordinary there in every place, and in most accompanied with an able use of the body and senses. One Polezew, he says, lately living, reached to one hundred and thirty; a kinsman of his to one hundred and twelve. One Beauchamp, to one hun dred and six ; and in the parish where he dwelt, he
to have remembered the decease of four within fourteen weeks space, whose years added
professes
made up the number of three hundred and
together,
forty.
Brawne, an Irishman, but a Cornish beggar :—
The same Gentleman made this epitaph upon
Here Brawn the quondam beggar lies, Who counted by his tale
Some sixscore winters, and above, Such virtue is in ale.
Ale was his meat, his drink, his cloth, Ale did his death deprive:
And could he still have drunk his ale, He had been still alive.
Whatever may have been William Walker's mode of living, it evidently appears to have had the effect of conducing to health ; and the patriarchal appear ance of his hair, and flowing beard, must have ex cited in every person who saw him a feeling of
george ii. J REMARKABLE PERSONS. 251
veneration and respect. He died in 1736, aged one hundred and twenty-three years, witnessing
eight reigns, exclusive of the protectorate of the Cromwell's; from James the First to King George the Second. .
252 MEMOIRS OF [george n.
Joshua Ward was one of the younger sons of an ancient and respectable family, settled at Chiis- borough, Yorkshire, where he was born, at some period in the seventeenth century. He seems, from every description of him, to have had small advan
tages from education, though he indisputably pos sessed no mean natural parts. The first account we have of him is, that he was associated in partnership with a brother, named William, as a dry-salter, in
Thames-street. After they had carried on this busi ness some time, a fire broke out in an adjoining house, which communicating itself to their warehouses, en tirely destroyed all their property. On this occasion, Mr. Ward, with a gentleman, who was on a visit to him, escaped over the tops of the houses, almost in a state of nudity. In the year 1717, he was returned member for Marlborough; but, by a vote of the
House of Commons, dated May 13, was declared not duly elected. It is imagined that he was in some
! >? JOSHUA
WARD.
george ii. ] REMARKABLE PERSONS. 253
measure connected with his brother, John Ward, (who is stigmatized by Mr. Pope, Dunciad iii. 34. ) in
secreting and protecting illegally the property of some of the South-sea directors. Be this as it may, he soon after fled from England, resided some years abroad, and was supposed to have adopted the Roman Catholic faith. During his exile, he acquired the
knowledge of medicine and chemistry, which after
wards enabled him to rise to a condition of affluence.
About the'year 1733, hebegan:to practise physic, and combated for some time the united efforts of wit,
learning, argument, ridicule, malice, and jealousy, by all of which he was opposed in every shape that can be suggested. At length, by some cures, and parti cularly one which he happily effected on a relation of
Sir Joseph Jekyl, master of the rolls, he got the better of his opponents, and was suffered to practise undisturbed. From this time his reputation was established: he was exempted, by a vote of the House of Commons, from being visited by the censors of the College of Physicians ; and was even called in to the assistance of King George II. , whose hand he cured, and received, as a reward, a commission for his nephew, the late General Gansel. He acquired con
to
siderable popularity, by distributing gratuitously vol. iv. 2 r.
254 MEMOIRS OF [georceii.
the poor his medicines and advice, and on many occasions pecuniary assistance. Indeed, in these par ticulars, his conduct was entitled to every degree of praise; and though his deportment was rough and forbidding, he was not wanting in the true benevo lence of mind. After a continued series of success, he died, Dec. 21, 1761, at a very advanced age, and left the secret of his medicines to Mr. Page, member for Chichester, who bestowed them on two charitable institutions. His will is printed in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1762, p. 208.
SAMUEL.
WOOD, I The MilleT. )
george n. j REMARKABLE PERSONS. 256
This man, a native of Worcestershire, was em ployed by a miller on the Isle of Dogs, nearly oppo
site Greenwich. On the 15th of August, 1737, being engaged as usual in the duty of the mill, he, unfortu nately, at the time it was in full action, became
entangled in the cogs of the wheel, which, carrying him completely round, placed him in the most immi nent peril of his life, and lacerated his arm from his body. He was providentially thrown on a quantity
of meal, but'lay for a considerable time in a helpless condition before he was discovered ; and, on the day following the accident, was conveyed to St. Thomas's Hospital, Southwark, where he remained until a per
fect cure was effected by surgeon Feme.
With the money he collected, and the assistsnce of
some friends, he was enabled, after his discharge from the hospital, to open a public-house in the Mile-end- road, and was living there in the year 1763. He also obtained the situation of a custom-house-officer.
9L2
Etttie mau WAITER AT TJIE TURK. 's-HEAD
COFFEE-HOCSE.
MEMOIRS OF [george it
In almost every coffee-house or tavern within the metropolis, there is in general some one or other of the attendants more particularly a favourite with the frequenters of the house than the rest ; and it is not an uncommon circumstance for a principal waiter to take his master's place in the event of his decease, or in case of failure in business. Little Will was waiter at the Turk"s-head Coffee-house, which in his time was very much noted for the free discussion of politics ; and where the affairs of the nation agitated the brains of the company, beyond the consideration of their own private concerns. Little Will was in his person a perfect Ragotin, of a squat figure, large head, awkward, and very clumsily limbed ; and, as if to render himself more particularly noticed, had a trick of continually playing with his thumbs ; yet, with all these personal disadvantages, Little Will was a man of sound sense and discernment. The Rev. Mr.
WILL, (At the Turks Head Coffee-house. )
LITTLE
george ii. ] REMARKABLE PERSONS. 257
Htiddesford, of Trinity College, Oxford, writing to Granger, author of the Biographical History of Eng land, says, " Little Will, as I have heard, was a great favorite with the gentlemen of the coffee-house ; there is a print representing him in his constant attitude,
insensible to every thing around him ; but swallowing every article of politics that'dropped, which, I am told, he understands better than any of his masters. "
In Will's time, waiters were not the smart spruce fellows as they are of the present day ; a clean white apron served all the purposes of a napkin to wipe the glasses ; and it is with this insignia of office, and a pair of snuffers pendent from the apron-string, that
our little coffee-house politician is delineated.