THE DAILY EVENING TELEGRAPH. PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 18CC.
MODERN ECCENTRICS.
J101 ADAMS, THB AflTKOLOOVB
ten the calebritieB of Clerkenwell Green
Jack Adams; bis nativity was calculate!
toj Partridge, who affirmed that be was born on
e 3d of December, 1625, and that be was so
yreat a natural or simpleton as to be obliged to
wear long coats, besides other marks of itu
Uity; and that the parish not only maintained
Mat, bat allowed a nurse to attend him to pre
mmt bun from barm. Allusion is made to blm
t satincal ballad oi 1655:
"Jek Adams sura was pawet (poet) by the vein."
And to the WUs; or Sport Upon fiport, 1682,
-w read of his visit to the lied Bull play
konee, where "Simpleton, the raith, appearing
a tbe atajre with a larite piece ot bread-and-Better,
Jack Adams, knowing him. cried out,
3uz. Cue, give me some, "to tne great pleasure
f the audience. Ned Ward thus nipnticns his
lebrity:
"What mortal that has senso or thought
WonlU strip Jack Adams ot his coatf
Or who would be iy lrlond decoyed
To wear a badge he would avoid?"
Jack Adams became a conjuror and professor
f the celestial sciences at Clerkenwell Green;
lie was "a blind buzzard, who pretended to have
ta eyes ol an eagle." lie was chiefly employed
In horary question, relative to love and inai
jtace; and knew, upon proper occasions how to
soothe and natter the expectations ot thene who
onsulted him, a a man mipbt have much
setter fortune from him lor five guineas than lor
the same number of shillings, lie atlected a
singular dres, and cast horoscopes with great
solemnity. When h? failed in hit predictions he
declared that the stars did not absolutely per
form, but power! ully incline, and threw the
biame upon wayward ami perverse late. He
assumed the character of a learned and cunning
loan, but was not o'herwise cunning than as he
bmew how to overreach those ere lulotn mortals
-who were as willing to be cheated as he was to
cheat them, and who relied implicitly upon his
rt Mr. Warner says: "'A short time alter we
removed into the house (No. 7 Clerkenwell
Sreen) two young women applied to have
their "fortunes told. Upon heing informed
-they were utder some mistake, one ex
pressed great surprise, and stated that
was the pl:ice she always came to, and
afce thought some of Mr. Adams' family always
vesided there. This was the first time I ever
beard anythmeol Jack Adams. Severnl familiar
Applications were made by other persons, and
me afterwards learnt, that 'it had been occupied
by persons of that profession lor rnanv vears.
and they generally went by the name of Adams."'
In an old print we have Jack Adams In a tan
laetic drees, with a tobacco-pipe in his girdle,
standing at a table on which lies ajborn-book
and "Poor Robin's Almanack." On one shelf is
a row ol books: and on another several boys'
playthings, particularly tops, marbles, and a
email drum. Bclore him is a man genteelly
slrefsed, presenting live eiiinons: from his mourn
proceeds a label inscribed, '-Is she a princess V
This is meant (or Carleion, who married the
pretended German prncess. Behind him is a
Tagged slatternly woman, who has also a label
in her mouth, with these words, '8ir, can you
ell my fortune f In "Poor Eobin's Almanack"
lor 1785, are these linen
Now should 1 choose to invoke a muse,
Muses are tickle madams;
Else I eonid so my poem tbroujrb,
tre you could iay Jack Adams."
In the City of London library is an original
rial ol Jack Adams, and a copy by Caulficld.
LADY ARCHER.
This lady, formerly Miss West, lived to a good
age--a proof that cosmetiss are not so fatal as
erne would have us suppose. Mature had given
ier a fine aquiline nose, like the princesses of
atae House of Austria, and she did not fail to give
berself a complexion. She resembled a tine old
-wainscoted painting, with the face and features
shining through a thick incrustation of copal
-varnish.
Her ladyship was for many year.s the wonder
I the fashionable world, envied by all tbe
ladies of the Court of George the Third.
Bbe bad a well-appointed house in Port
land Place. Her .equipage was, with her, a
sort of scenery. She gloried in milk-white
bones to her carriage; the coachman and foot
aaau wore very showy liveries; and the carriage
-was lined with silks oi a tint to exhibit her com
plexion to advantage.
Alexander Stephen;, amongst whose papers
vas found this account ot may Archer, tells
ms that he recollected to have seen Mrs. Kobin
?on (the PerdUa ot the Prince of Wales' lock)
0 far beyond all this iu the exuberance of ber
genius, with a yellow lining to ner landau, with
black footman, to contrast with her beautiful
ecwplexl n and fascinating figure, and thus
Tender both more lovely. Lady Archer lived
at Earn Elms Terrace, and her house bad the
most elegant ornaments and draperies to strike
the senses, and yet powerfully aidress the
imagination. She could give an insinaatiug
Interest to the scenes about her. Her kitchen
garden and pleasure grounds, of five acres
the Thames flowing In iront, or uo a
pottion of the estate the apartments deoo
jrated in the Chinese style, and opening into
hot-houses stored with fruits ot the richest
PTwth, and green-houses with plants of great
xarity and beauty, and superb couches and
draperies, effectively placed, rendered her home
a sort of elysium oi luxury.
COLLEV CIBBEB'8 DACGHTEH.
This unfortunate person was the youngest
mild ot Colley Clbber, and married a singer
jsamed Charke. There seems to have been a
teach of insanity, certainly there was no
power of self-control, in this poor woman.
Jrom her childhood she had been wild, way
ward, and rebellious; self-taught, as a boy might
be, and with nothing feminne in her character
rpursuits. With sell-assertion, too, she w as weak
nougb to be won by a knave with a sweet voice,
-whose cruel treatment drove his intractable
yrife to the 6tage, where she failed to profit
"by ber fine opportunities. Mrs. Charke loved
to play male characters, and of the many, that
f "Plume" was her favorite. At the Haymarket
Theatre, in 1745, she played "Captain Macheath"
and other masculine Daits. before she attemnted
to pass herself off upon the world, or hide ber
self Irom it. as a man.
Dr. Doran. in his amusing book, 'Their Ma
jesties' Servants," writing or the year 1757, that
cf Colley Cibber's deatb, says: "While the body
of the Poet Laureate was tieinir carried to West
minster Abbey, there was up away iu a street in
then desolate Clerkenwell, aud starving, Colley's
only daughter, Charlotte Charke. Seven and
twentv ears before, sbe had lust come upon
tbe etaee.feiiter a stormy girlhood, and she had a
mania for appearing in male characters on, and
in male attire off the stage. By some terrible
eilense she fortcited the recognition of ber
father, who wus otberwisu of a benevolent dis
position; and friendless, she fought a series of
battles with the world, but came otf In all more
and more damaged. Sbe starved with strollers,
iaucu as a grocr in Long Acre, Decamu bank
rupt asapuipet-bhow proprietor in James street.
Haymarket; rotnuiried, became a widow a second
time, was plunaed iuto deeper ruin, thrown
1b prison for debt, and released only by the
nDscnptions oi trie lowest, but not least chart
table, sisterhood of Drury Lane Assuming
male attire, she hung about the theatres tor
casual hire, went on tramp with itinerants.
burrered dally, and was weeklv cheated; but
vet kept up such an appearance that an heiress
nil in love with her, who was reduced to despair
-when Charlotte Charke reveale.rijher story, and
abandoned the place. Her next post was that
I a valet to an Irish lord; forfeiting which she
and ber child became sau? age-makers, but eoulJ
net obtain a living; and then Charlotte Charke
cried 'Cominp. coming, sir,' as a waiter at the
King's Head tavern, Marylebone. Thence
b was drawn by an oiler to make ber
manager of a company of strolling players, with
whom she epioyed more appetite than means to ,
appease it. Sbe endured sharp distress, again
and again: but was relieved by an nncle, who
furnished her with funds, w ith which she opened
a tavern In Dniry Lane, where, alter a brief
career of success, she again became bankrupt.
To the regular stage sbe once more returned,
under her brother Theophilus, at the Haymar
ket; but the Lord Chamberlain closed the house,
and Charlotte Charke took to working the wires
of Russell's famous puppets, In the Great Room,
still existing In Brewer street. There was a
gleam of gx fortune lor her; but it soon faded
away; atid then for nine wretched years this
clever bnt most wretched ol women struggled
Irantically for bare existence, amongst the
most wretched of strollers, with whom she
endnred unmitigated misery. And yet,
Gibber's erring and haples daughter contrived
to reach London, where, in 1765, she pub
lished her remarkable autobiography, the
details or which make the heart ache, in spite of
the small sympathy of the reader lor the half
mad creature. On the proliU of this book, sbe
was enabled to open, as landlord, a tavern at
Islington; but, of course, ruin ensued; and A a
hut, amid the cinder heaps and wor-e refuse, in
the desolate fields, she found a refuge, and even
wrote a novel, on a pair of bellows in her lap,
by way of desk I Here she lived with a squalid
handmaiden, a cat, dog, magpie, and monkey.
Humbled, disconsolate, abandoned, she readily
accepted from a pub'isher who visited her 11)
lor her manuscript. This was at the close of the
year 1755, and I do not meet with ber again till
17H9, two years after her lather's death, when
she played 'Marplot.' in the Iiu&ibodu, for her
own benefit at the Haymarket. with this adver
tisement: 'As I am entirely dependent on
chance for a subsistence, and desirous of eetting
into business, I humbly hope the town will lavor
me on the occasion, which, added to the rest of
tbeir indulgence, will be ever gratefully acknow
ledged bv their truly obliged and obedient
servant, Charlotte Charke.' She died on tbe
6th of April, 17C0.
"She is said to have once given imitations of
her father on the staitc; to have presented a
pistol at, and robbed him on the highway, and
to have smacked his face with a pair of soles out
of her own basket."
busby's folly, ud bcll feather ball.
At Busby's Folly, a bowling-green and house
of public entertainment, upon the site of the
Belvedere Tavern, Pentonville, there met, on
the 2d of May, 1644, a fraternity ot Odd Fel
lows, members of tbe Society of Bull Feathers
Hall, who claimed, among other things,
the toll ot all the gravel carried up High
gate Hill. In a rare tract entitled, " Bull
Feather Hall, or the Antiquity of Horns amply
shown," 1664, is related the manner of going
from BiiBbv's Folly to Ilighgate. "On Monday,
being the 2d day of May, some part of the frater
nity met at Busby's Folly, in Islington, where,
after they had set all things in order, they thus
marched" out, or dine qutsqne mo first a set of
trumpets, then a controller or captain of tbe
pioneers, with thirty or forty following him
with pickaxes and spades to level the hill, and
baskets withal to carry travel. Attcr them an
other set of trumpeters, and also lour that did
wind the horn: alter them, the standard, alias
an exceeding large pair ol horns fixed on a pole,
which three men carried, with pennants on
each tip, the masier ol the ceremonies attending
it with other officers. Then followed the flag,
wit h the arms of ihe Society, with borne J beasts
drawn thereon, and this moitor
" 'To have and not to use the same.
Is not tbeir glory but tacir shame.'
After this came the Mace Bearer, then the
Hcrald-a'-Arms. with the arms of the Society.
the coat I cannot rightly blazon, but I remember
tbe stippoiters were on ono side, a woman with
a whip in ner nana, besides that ot her tongue,
with a menacing look, and underneath the
motto, Ut tolo. sic jubeo; on the other side, a
man in a wotul plight, ana underneath hi in,
Patienlia patimvr." In this order they marched.
attended by multitudes of people. This Club, as
the tract informs us, used to meet in Chequer
Yard, in Whitechapcl, their president being
arrayed in a crimson satin gown and a furred
cap, surmounted by a pair ot antlers; and on a
cushion lnyacornetea sceptre and crown; the
brethren drank out ot horn cups, and were
suorn. on admission, upon a blank horn-book.
They met twice a week, "to solace themselves
with harmless merriment, and promote good fel
lowship among tbeir neighbors."
Busby's Folly was afterwards called "Penny's
Folly." Here Tucker, a high German, who had
performed before their Majesties and the Royal
Families, exhibited his Learned Little Horse
irom Lowland, who was to be seen looking out
ot the window, up two pair or stairs, every
evening before the performance began. Curious
deceptions, "Comus's philosophical perform
ances," ana tne musical g'usses, were also ex
hibited here.
ABRAHAM NEWLAND.
Abraham Newland, who was nearly sixty years
in the service of the Bank of England, and
whose name became a synonym for a bank-note,
was one oi a family of twenty-five children, and
was born in Southward in 1730. At the age of
eighteen ho entered the Bank service as lunior
clerk. He was very fond ot music, which led
him into much dissipation. Still, he was very
attentive to business, and rose to be appointed;
in 1782, he was appointed chief cashier, with a
suite of rooms for residence in the Bank, and
for flve-and-twenty years he never once slept
out of the building. The pleasantest version of
bis importance is contained in the famous song
in the Whims of the Day:
Ihcre ne'er was a name so handed by fame,
'lhro' air, thro' ocean, and thro' laud,
As one that is wrote upon every bunk note,
And you an most auow ADranain newiaud.
O, Abraham Newiund I
Notified Abraham Newland.
I have beard people say, sham Abraham you may,
Bat yon mast not sham Abraham Newlaud.
"For fashion or arts should yon seek foreign parts,
it mattvrn not wherever von land :
Jew, i.hnatiau, or GrtKk, the kiu language thoy
SUL'UK,
lhat'i the language ot Abraham Newlaud.
O, Abraham Newland!
Wouirlul ADiuham Newland.
Tbo' with compliments eramm'd, j ou may die and
be aa.
If you haven't an Abraham Newland.
"The world U Inclm'd to think Justice is b'ind,
Lawver kuow very well tnev ouu view laud;
But, lord, what oi mat. she'll biiuk uke a bat,
it thtt sight oi an ADrauaiu aewianu,
U, Abraham JSowlanUl
lluirical A Drab a in .Newland 1
Tlio' Justice 'tis known, can see throuzb a mill.
none,
She can't ece thiouch Abraham Nowlaud.
Yonr natrion who bawl tor the rood of a all.
Kind touts! here Uke mushrooms 'hey strew land;
Tbo' loud as a ilium each proves oiatur mum,
if atiack'd bv au At.ranam isewiaua.
O, Abraham New. aud !
li.vuuMiilo Aurauain Ne viand!
No argument '( iound iu the world halt so sound,
As tut j o io of Abraham Newiana.
"The French say thoy 're coining, but sure they aro
uuuiimUK-
1 know writ ihnv want if thev do land :
We'll muke their ears riug in doieuae of our king,
Uur country, aud Abiauaiu Newiaud.
O, Abraham Newland !
lailkiir Abraham Newland!
No t'leoior, no ell, uo tho devil Imuteli,
Sua 1 e'er tub uioi Abraham Newland."
In 1807 he retired from the office of chief
cachier. alter docliniug a pension. He had
hlibeito been accustomed, atter the business at
the Bank, tn his department had closed and he
had dine. i mouetatcly, to order his carriage ana
riiive to dllehbnry. where he drank tea at a
n ull maire. llioi.e who lived in that neicn
borhood long recollected Newiand's daily
walk- hail. rain, or sunshine, nlons iiignuury
pine. It was suld that he regretted his retire
ment from the Bank; but he used to say that not
ior 20.000 a year would he return. He then
retired to No. 88 Highbury Pmce. His health
and strength decliued, it is said, through the
distress ol mlnd oronaht upon him bv tbe for-
crenes of liobert Atien, a cierk in the bank,
whom Newland had treated as his own son. It
was well known that Newland bad accumulated
a large fortune legacy hunters came about
him, and an acquaintance tent him a ham as m
present; bnt Newland despised the mercenary
motive, and next time' he saw the donor he said,
I have received a bam from you; 1 thank you
for U," said he; bnt (raising his ringer In a sig
nificant manner) added, "1 lell you It won't do,
it won't do."
Newland bad no extravagant expectatlona
that the world would be drowned in sorrow
when it should be his turn to leave it; and he
wrote this ludicrous epiUph on himself shortly
betore his death:
"Retrain this stone old Abraham hes,
Nobody laufhn, and nobody cre,
Where he's pone, and bow be far,
No one knows, and no ns caret."
His thvsician. in one ot his latest visits,
found him reading the newsnnDer. when the
doctor expressing his surprise, Newland replied,
smiling: "I am only looking in tbe paper in
order to see what l am reading to the world I
am going to." He died November 21, 1H07,
without any apparent pain of body or anxiety
of Kind, and nis remains were depositea in ine
Chuich ot bt. saviour, bombwark.
Newiand's property amounted to lzw.wv,
besides a thousand a year landed estates. It
must not be supposed that this was saved from
bis salary. During the whole of bis career the
loans lor the war proved very prolific. A cer
tain amount of them was always reserved lor
the cashier's office (one Parliamentary Report
names XlOG-,000), and as they generally come
out at a premium, the profits were grout. The
lamiiy oi the (ioidsmld, then tbe icaaers oi
ihe Htock Exchange, contracted lor many of
these loans, and to each of them ho left 500 to
pun-case a mournicg ring. Newiand's large
tunds, it Is said, were occasionally lent to the
ColdRmids to asbist their varied speculations.
LI8TON IN TBAOEPY.
Playgoers of the present century narrate the
early seriousness ot Litton the comedian, and
his subsequent turn lor tragedy; predilections
which the experience ot the next generation
may have thrown into the shade of doubt. The
facts are, however, well authenticated. Li-ston
was lineally descended from Johan de L'Estonne,
who came over with the Norman William, and
had lands awarded him at Lupton Magna in
Kent. The more immediate ancestors of Mr.
Liston were Puritans, and his lather, Habakuk,
was an Anabaptist minister. At the age of
nine young Liston was placed under the tui
tion of Rev Mr. Goodenough, whose decease
was attended with these awful circum
stances: It Bcems that the old gentleman and
his pupil had been walking out together, in a
line sunset, to the distance of three quarters of
a mile west of Lupton, when a sudden curiosity
took Mr. Goodenough to look down upon a
chiu-m where a mining shait bud been lately
sunk, but soon aiterwards abnndoned. The old
clergyman, leaning over, either with lncautiou
or siidden giddiness (pronably a mixture of
both), suddenly lost his moling, and, to use Mr.
Liston's pnruse, disappeared, and was doubtless
broken into a tnousuna pieces. The sound ot
his bead, etc., dashing successively upon the
projecting masKes ot the cnasni, bad such an
cflcct upon the youth Liston that a sickness
ensued, and even lor many yeura after his re
covery he was not once scih so much as to smile.
ihe io. nt deatb ot both his parents, which
happened not many months alter ihi.n disastrous
accident, and were piobuuiy (one or Doth ot
them) accelerated by tt, threw our youth upon
the protection ol his maternal great aunt, Mrs.
Sittingbouru, whom he loved almost to reveience.
To the influence of her early counsels and
manners he tilwavs attributed the firmness with
which, iu maturer years, thrown upon a way of
life cuiumonly net the best adapted to gravity
and Eclt-retirenient, he was able to maintain a
serious character, nntincturcd with tbe levities
incident to his profession. Ann Sitlingbourn
(her portrait wus painted by Huoson) wasstatcly,
still, and tall, with a cast oi leuturcs strikingly
resembling these of Liston. Her eFtate in Kent
was spacious aud well wooded; and here, in the
veneiuble solitudes of Charnwood, amid thick
thartee ot the oak and beech (the last his lavorite
tree), Liston cultivated those contemplative
habits which never entirely deserted him in
atter jenrs. Here he was commonly in summer
montDs to bo met, book in nana not a Dlav
book meditating. Boyle's "Reflections" was at
one time his darling volume, which. In its turn.
whs superseded by Young's "Night Tnoughts",
which continued its bold upon him through
out hie. He carried it always about him;
and it was no uncommon thing tor him to be
seen, in the refreshing intervals ol his occupa
tion, leaning against a siue-scene, in a sort of
Lord Herbert oi Cnerbury posture, turning over
a pocket edition ot his favorite author.
Tbe piemature death ot Mrs. Sittingbourn.
cccaMoued by incautiously burning a pot of
charcoal in her sleeping chamber, left Liston,
in his nineteenth year, nearly without resources.
mat the stage at ail snouia nave presented
itsell as an eligible scope for his talen's, and
in particular, that he should have chosen a line
ho foreign to what appears to have been his turn
ot nnnct. admits ot explanation.
At Charnwood, then, we behold him thought
ful, grave, ascetic, fioni his eradle averse to
flesh, meats, and strong drinkt: abstemious
even bejond the genius of the place; ana almost
in spue ot tne remonstrances ot his great
aunt. who. though strict, was not rigid:
water was his habitual drink, and his tood little
be? end the mast ana oeech-nutsoi his favorite
giove. It is a medical tact that this kind of
diet, however favorable to the contemplative
bowers ot tbe primitive hermits, etc.. is but ill
adapted to tne less robust mtnds and bodies ot a
later genet ation. Hypochondria almost con
etantly ensues, and joung Liston was subject to
Fignte, ana naa visions, tuoee aria oeecn-nuts,
distilled by a complexion naturally adroit,
mouuted into a brain already prepared to
kindle by long seclusions, and the fervor of
strict Calvinistic notions. In tbe gloom of
Ciiarnwood he was assailed by illusions similar
in kind to those which are related ot the famous
Anthony of Padua. Wild antio laces would
ever and auon protrude upon his senso-
num. Whether he shut his eyes or kept
them open, the Fame illusions operated. Tbe
darker and more profound were his cogitations
tbe dioiier ana more whimsical became the
apparitions. They buzzed about him, tuickas
una. napping at mm. tiouting at mm. nootmg
in bis ear, yet with sueh comic appendages, that
what at erst was his bane became at length his
solace, and he desired no better society than
that of bis merry phantasmata. We shall
presently find in what way this remarkable
phenomenon muuenccu ms tuture aestiny.
On the death of Mrs. Sittingsburn Liston was
received into the taimly of Mr. Willoughby, an
eminent Turkey merchant in Birchin lane. He
was more treated like a son than a clerk, though
he wus nominally but the latter. Ditlerent
avocations, chnnge ot scene, with alternation of
business and recreation, appear to have weaned
him in a short time Irom tbe hypochondriacal
aliectious which hud beset him at Charnwood
Within the next three years wo tind him making
more than one vo.vage to the Levant, as chief
factor lor Mr. Willoughby, at the Porte; he used
to relate passages ot nis Having been taken up
on a suspicion of a design of penetrating the
seraclio. etc.; but some ot these stone are
whimsical, and others of a romantic nature.
We will now bring him over the seas again,
and snnnose him in the countinc-house in Bir-
ch'm Lane, bis iactorace satisfactory, and all
going on so smoothly that we may exnect to
hnd Mr. Listen at last an opuleut merchant
upon 'Change. B'lt see the turns of destiny I
Upon a summer's excursion into Norlolk, in the
year 1801, the accidental sight of pretty Sally
Parker, as be was then called, in the Norwich
company, diverted his inclinations at once from
commerce, and he became siage-etruck. Happy
for tho lovers of mirth was it that he took this
turn. Shortly after, he made Lis debu'. on the
Norwich boards, in bis twenty-second year.
Having a natural bent to tragedy, be chose tbe
part of "Hyrrhus,"in the Distressed Motlter, to
Sally Parker's "Uermione." We find him aiter
wards as "Georee Barnwell," "Altamont." "Char
mont,"etc; but as if nature hud destined him
to the wok, an unavoidable Infirmity absolutely
Incapacitated him for tragedy, nis person, at
this latier per. on. was grueeUil and even com
manding; his countenance t to pravity; be
bad the power ef arresting the attention or an
audience at cm stent almost beyond any other
trail ic actor, but he could not hold it. To un-
deiatana this obstacle we n ust go back a tew
yesis tn those appalling reveries at Charnwood.
Those illusions whica bad vantobed betore tbe
dissipation of a less recluse life, and more free
tociety, now in bis solitary tragic studies, ana
mid the Intense call upon feeling Incident to
tragic acting, came back upon him with tenfold
vividne. In the midst ol some most pathetic
passages the parting ot "Jaffier" with bis dying
friend, tor instance he would suddenly be sur
prised with a nt of violent horse-lauehter.
While the rpectators were ail sobbing before
blm with emotion, suddenly one of those gro
tesque laces would peep out upon hlui. and be
could not resist the impulse. A timely excuse
once or twice served his purpose, but no audi
ence ecu in be expected to bear repeated! v
this violation of the continuity of Iceling.
He describes them (the illusions) as so
many demons haunting bim. and para
lyzing every effort. It was said that he
could not recite the famous soliloquy in
hamkl even in privaro without immoJerate
fits ot laughter. However, what be had not
force of reason tifiloieut to overcome, be had
good icne enough to turn Into emolument, and
determined to make a commodity of his dtt-tcm-peT.
He prudently exchanged the buskin for
the sock, and tbe illusions instantly ceased; or.
it the" occurred lor a short seeon, by their
very co-operation added a zest to his comic vein;
sscme ot bis most catching faces being (as he
expressed it) little more than transcripts and
copies oi these extraordinary phantasmata.
v e nave now drawn Liston to tne period when
he was about to make bis first appearance in
London. These details have been condensed from
a paper in tne London Magazine, Januaiy, 1824;
they are not reterred to m'the sketch of Liston's
caieer, written a lew days atter bis death, Morch
2i, iH-iti, by his son-in-law, tieorce Herbert
Rodwell. the musical composer, and published
in the luwtrate.d London Jvews, March 28. There
we are told that Liston was born 1776; that his
father lived in Norris street, llaymnrkct; and
that young John was educated at Br. Barrow's
8oho School, and subsequently became second
nianer in Archbishop Tent son a school. Rod
well relates tbat early in his theatrical hie Liston
went lor cheapncen, by sea. to Nowcastle-unon-
Tyne, and was beaten about by adverse winds
ior a lortnight; provisions rati so Miort that
Liston was reduced to his Inst inch of dry
cheese. At Newcastle, through the above del iy,
he was roughly received by Stephen Kemble,
ine luuuttger. oiiiiuu; iu uwmi nuue iu tuecenire
ot the stage, directing u rehearsal, Kemble eyed
him several times before he spoke: at last he
eiowled out, "Well, young man, you are come."
air. Listen oowea. "men now vou may go
oacKBga ni you nave oroken your engagement
oy oemg too 'ate." "it's very easy to sav go
back," replica Liston, with one ot his peculiar
looks, "but here I am and here I must stay, for
i nave not alarming leit in the world." Kemble
relented, and Liston remained at Newcastle
until he came to London lor good. The first
comic part he evir pcrlormed was "liigeory," in
She stoops to Conquer, lie took a fancy io tho
character, and kept secret his intentions as to
the manner he meant to play it in, and the style
of dress he should wear. When he came on. so
original was nis wnoie coLception ot tho thing,
that not au nctor on the stage could speak tor
lauguing. When he came off, Mr. Kemble
said: "Young man, it strikes me you have
mistaken jour forte; there's something comic
about you." "I've not mistaken mv larte."
replied Liston, "but you never before allowed
me to try. 1 don't think myself 1 was made for
the heavy Barons !" iie nrst appeared in Lon
don as "yheeptace" in the Village Lartnjer, June
10, lt-05. "That Mr. Liston did really imagine
ne couia do a tragic actor," savs uoawcli, "is
partly borne out by his actually havintr at
tempted 'Octavian,' tn the Mountaineers, tl&y
17. JbU."
Latterly he went Iltt'e into society. His
attenticn to his icligious duties was always
marked by devout sincerity, and his knowledge
ot tne scriptures was very extensive. When
Liston first came to London he generally wore
a pea-urcen coat, aud wus everywhere accom-
naniea by an ugiy mtie pug aog. Ton pug dog,
like bis master, soon made himself a lavorite.
go where he would, and seemed exceedingly
proud that he could make almost as many laugh
as coma nis roaster, inc pug aog acted as Mr.
Listen's avant couner, alnays trotting on before
to announce nis inend and master. The fre
quenters of the Orange Coffee House. Cockspur
stieet, wnere Lifcton resiaea. usea to sav.
lauphlng, "Oh, Liston will be here in a moment,
ior ncre is nis ueaumui pug."
MODERN ASTROLOGY "WITCH PICKLES."
It would be an acquisition to our knowledge if
some one competent to t he task would collect
materials for the history of the men who, within
the present century, have made a profession of
judicial astrology. Attention is occasioually
drawn to the practices of itinerant fortune
tellers, many of whom still procure a livelihood.
The astrologer, however, or, as be is denomi
rated in some districts ot England, more
particularly in Yorkshire, "a planet ruler," and
sometimes "a wise man," is of a higher order,
He does not itinerate, is generally a man of some
education, possessed of a good deal of fragmen
tary knowledge, and a smattering of science. He
very often conceals bis real profession by prac
tising as a "Water Doctor," or as a "Bone
Better," and some possess a considerable amount
ot skill in the treatment of ordinary diseases
The more lucrative paitoi tne business was
that which they carried on in a secret way.
Tbey were consuitea in cases ot dtmcuity by a
emus ot suncrstitious nersons. ana an imp icit
faith was placed in their statements and pre
dictions. The "wise man" was sought in all
cases ot accident, aisasier, or toss, ite was
consulted as to the probabilities of tbe return
r . II Jl.i J 1 it
ana suieiy oi iue uisiuni auu uuseui; oi tne
chances oi the recovery of the sick, and of the
destiny of some beloved lrlend or relative. Tbe
consultation with these men would oi ten have
a sinister aim to discover by the stars
whether an obnoxious husband would survive,
or whether tbe anections ot a courted or
inconstant lover could be secured. Very
niten long-continued diseases and inve
terate maladies were ascribed to an "ill wisn,"ana
the planet ruler was sought to discover who waa
ths ill-wisher, and what charm would remove
the spell. It is needless to say thot the practices
ol these astrologers were productive, in a large
number of cuses, of much disturbance among
neighbors and relatives, ana great miscmer to
all concerned, except me man wao prontea oy
the credulity of his duces.
Some oi these charlatans, no doubt, were
believers in the imooture.butthe greater num
ber weie ariant cheats, in Leeds aud us neign-
borhood, there were, some five and-thirty years
ago, several "wise men." Among tne nuraoer
vt as a man known by no other name than that
ot "Witch Pickles." He was avowedly an astro
logical doctor, and rulea tne planets ior tnose
v. ho sought nim ior mat purpose, no uwcit
in u TPtii-cd house on the road from Leeds to
York, about a mile troru the Shoulder of Mut-
tnn nnblio house, at the top of Marsh Lane.
His celebnty extended for above fifty miles,
atwi npiaons came Irom the Yorksnire Wolds to
consult him, The man and the house were held
In awe by boys and even older persons, who bad
bcliet in nis powers, ijiiue was mown oi nis
tiuhits. and he had few visitors but those who
sought his professional assistance. He never
eommitted anything to writing. He was par-
llCUiar in IllMOll iuk mm on iuo uui;uillBl.rtui'CT9
nf an v case on which he was consulted before
. i : l.t 1 1 . V. .. 1 .
be pronounced. He then, as he termed it, pro
ceeded to draw a figure in order to discover the
coniunction of tbe planets, and then entered
upon tbe explanation of what the stars pre-
OlCieu. dlallC lUUHja MI1U VI ftliui, owv,
as that he performed Incantations at midnight
on certain days in the year, when particular
placets were in the ascendant; and tbat on such
occasions strange hi:uib uuu buuuui wuuni w
seen and heard by persons passing the house.
These were the embellishments of vulgar rumor.
The man was quiet and inoffensive in his
demeanoi, and a fully sensible of the neces
sity ot a lite ot secluhion. He is believed to
have praet'nd a lew tricks to awe bis visitor
such as lighting a candle or fire without visible
agency, and ntber tricks-far more ingenious
tit an the niedern able-rapping.
"Witch Pirki' wi on It one among the
number who derived a lurge proiit from tbli
kinder occupation, lie was one ot tno more
Tejpectanle of the clws, and he never de
scend d to the vile tricks of other of the pro
fession tr ck practiced on weak and credulous
women and girls, which .will not beardescilp
tion. One of the roost celebrated works on astrology
Is that ot Di. Sibly, twelfth edition, 1H17, in
two octavo volumes containing Biore than
1100 pages. '"The lo'lowing will give an idea
ol the pretensions of the book, which is a re
maikabie book, if it really went through twelve
edu'.rnr. The owner of a privateer which had
not been beard ot, called io know her fate.
Dr. Sibly gave lodgment on a figure "recti-
lied to tee precise tim tne question was pro
pounded.' The ship itself appeared well formed
and substantial, but not a swift sailer, as g
demonstrated by an earthy sign possessing tbe
ensp of tbe ascendant, aud the situation of tho
Dragon's Head In five degrees of the same sign."
The ship ltseit was pronouncea to nave ocen
captured.
"From the whole account it is clear thit Dr.
Sibly's syetem how now esteemed by astrolo
gers l oo not know has out tnis alternative.
Fither one and the some figure will tell tbe fate
of all the ships which have not been heard of,
including their sailing qualities, or the stars
will never send an owner to ask for news, except
Just at the moment wben they are in a position
to describe this particular ship."
HANNAH ORBEN, OR "LINO BOB WITCH."
This noted sibyl lived in a cottage on the edce
of the moor on the left of the old road from
Otley toBradlord, between Carlton and Yeadon,
and eight miles from Leeds. She was popularly
known as "The Ling bob Witch," a name given
her, it is supposed, from living among the ling
bobs, or heather-tubs. Sbe was resorted to on
account ot her supposed knowledge of future
events; but like the rest of her eluss, ber prin
cipal forte was fortune-telling, from which, it is
said, she herself realized a handsome fortune.
Many strange tales have been told of her, such
as bur power ot transforming herself, after
nightfall, into the shape ot any sbe list; and of
her odd prank in her nightly rambles, her
favorite character being that ot the hare, in
which peisonation she was unluckily shot by
an unsuspecting poacher, who was almost ter
rified out of his senses by tbe awful screams
which followed tbe sudden death of the
Ling-bob Witch. In the year 17S5. Dr.
, of Sheffield, being at Leeds, had the
curiosity to pay a visit to me noted uannah
Ureen. Ho lirst questionea her respecting the
future fortunes of a near relative ot his, wbo
was then in circumstances of distress, aud in
deed in prison. She told him immediately that
his friend's trouble would continue J'uU tree
times tirec mars, and he would then experience
a (,rfac ddiveranee, which. In lact, was on the
point ol being literally venucd, for he was then
in the Court of Ki.ig's Bench.
He then aked her It she possessed any tore-
knowledge ot what was about to come to puss
ou the great staco ot the world. To winch
she replied in the affirmative. She said, War
would be inrtatenea once, out woma vol nap-
pen; but the second time it would blaze
out in an its honors, ana extend to all
the neighbouring cout tries; und that the
two countries (these appear to be France and
Poland), at a great distance one from the other,
would in consequence obtain their Ireedoni,
althcutth attcr bard f-truggles. After the year
17'JU, sne observed, many great persons, even
kings and queens, would lose their lives, and
that io by fair means. In 1794, a great warrior
ol high blood is to fall in the held ot battle: and
in 17!).r), a distant nation (thought to be negro
slaves), wno have been drugged from their own
country, will rise, as one niuu, aud deliver
themselves irom tneir oppressors.
Hannah appears to have been one ot a some
what numerous class, many of whom were icsi
dent in Yorkshire. Very lew of them went
beyond the attempt to toretell the future events
in the lives of individuals; they did not aim at
such nigh aniD'tion as drawing the Horoscopes
of nations. Their predictions were always
vague, and so lrumed as to cover a nurabc of
the most probable events in the life of every
individual.
Hannah really died on the 12th of Mav. 1810.
after having practised her art about lortv
years; and Ling-bob became a haunted and
dreaded place. The house remained some years
untenanted and ruinous, but was afterwards
repa'red and occupied. Her daughter and suc
cessor, Hannah Spence, laid claim to tbe snuie
spence, but. It need hardly be added, without
tne same success.
MR. JOHN SCOTT (LORD EL DON) IN PARLIAMENT,
Mr. Scott broke ground in Parliament in oppo
sition to the fiimous East India bill, and began
with his favorite topic, the honesty of his own
intentions and the purity of his own conscience
He spoke in respectful terms ot Lord North
and more highly still of Mr. Fox; but even to
Mr. Fox it was not fitting that so vast an
influence should be intrusted. As Brutus said
of Ccesar:
he would be erown'd!
How tbat might obauae his naturef-there's the
question.
It was an aggravation of tbe affliction he felt
that the cause of it should originate with one
to whom the nation had so long looked uo
a wound Irom him was doublv painful. Like
Joab, he gave the shake of friendship, but
the other nand held a dagger, with which be
despatched tbe constitution. Here Mr. Scott,
after an apology for alluding to sacred writ,
read from the book of Revelations some verses
which be ieearded as typical of the intended
innovations in the affairs ot the English East
India Company : " 'And I stood upon the sand
ot tne sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the
sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and
ULon his horns ten crowns. And they worshipped
the dragon which gave power unto the beast
and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who
is like unto the beast? who is able to make
war with him ? And there was given unto him
a mouth speaking great, things; and power was
given unto him to continue forty and two
months.' Here," said Mr. Scott. "I believe there
is a mistake of six months the proposed uura-
tion of the bill being lour years, or forty-eight
months. 'And be caused all, both small and
great, rich and poor, tree and bond, to receive a
mark in their right hand, or in tneir foreheads.'
Here places, pensions, and peerages are clearly
marked out. 'And he cried mightily with a
strong vo;cc, saying, Babylon the Great' plainly
the Last inaia company n iaiien. is fallen
iue jjuob iiiuilft vuuipnui - it... vu, iniicii,
and is become the habitation ot devils, and tbe
hold ol every foul spirit, ana tne cage ot every
unclean ana hatelul bird.'"
He read a passage from Thucydides to prove
that men are more irritated by injustice than by
violence, and described the country crying out
lor a respite, use -io.-aemona:"
"Kill me to morrow let me live to night
But ball au hour!
This strange tumble was well quizzed by
Sheridan, and Mr. Scott appears to nave Iound
out that rhotorical embellishment was not his
line, lor his subsequent speeches ar less ornate.
In tbe squibbsot the period the!r obscurity
forms the point of tho jokes levelled at him.
Thus, among tbe pretended translations of Lord
Uelgrave's fumous Creek quo'ation, rhe follow
ing couplet was attributed to him:
"Wiih meiaphyne ait his ipeeoh he plann'd,
And aid whai nobody cou d andemtaud."
Temple Bar,
Boy, with ragged trowers and rimless chip
hat, rung into Dr. Fuller's drug store with a
dirrer in hia hand
"Doctor, mother sent me to tbe shottlcary pop
qulcker'n blazes, cos bub's sick with the picken
chox, and sbe wants a thimbleful of pollygollio
in this din tipper, ccaae hadn't botagottle,
and the kint pup's got the bine witters in't-got
any ?
WATCHES, JEWELRY ETC.
DIAMOND DEALER k JirLriiAV
WATCIIFS, W tLBt MtLTt Win. 1?
vWATCH
ID3 and JSWSLI
Owing to dtrltna oi Gold, feat mtat a inat
dactloa la pries or alalarae sad wall aMortcd. ttect
Diamonds,
Watob.,
Jewelry,
Sllverwar, 15 to
Tb pnblle ir mpsctfall turned to call and txamta
or tteek before purchasing aiicwherf. 14
SILVER AND PLATED GOODS
OF THB
Most Superior Workmanship,
AT TBI
NEW STORE
No' 704 "ARCH STREET.
Tlis ntderstgned lal "file famoni ftora Broa
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tl"'iLtT Pnti a ni w and bau1llui store lortheaaltt
ot B1LVKK and 1 LATKIi Vt ARK, at o 7oVa HUM
Mm-t. Our long expnlenca aa nianaiaclnrera wU
enable u to keep nothing but nmt-clae Oooda. and
tnofe bo may patronize our a orewili find oumutod
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26S BO WM AS LEOHARDw
WATCHES, JEWELRY, &c.
A lull Mtortmentot aLovo rood eontni
baud at moderate nricen tha liuaieal hn.iil..in.
from 2 to 10 tx sutital Airs.
FAUK & BROTHER, Importers,
Ho. 824CHK,2iUT 6TREKT,
llllamUirp Below Konrtn,
HENRY HARPER,
No. 520 AllCIi STREET
llanulactu and Scaler in
Watches
P'ine Jewelry,
Silver-P luted Ware, '
A.ND
81$
Solid Silver-Ware.
G. RUSSELL & CO ; . ,
No. 22 North SIXTH St.,
IIST1TE ATTENTION TO 1I1LIK V'LI. STOCK
FANCY AND PLAIN '
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01 the Finest Quality. (526
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9 20 KO. 18 S. KIGHTtt SXiUCJhiT, FhiiAda,
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