The Book Of Curiosities Part 87

After a variety of other extraordinary performances, the Indian places a stone of fourteen pounds weight, about the size and shape of a Dutch cheese, between his feet. With an apparently slight exertion, he kicks up his heels, and the stone, performing a parabola over his head from behind, alights upon the bend of his arm, where it rests. He then tosses it to the same part of the other arm, where it rests, as if held by the hand, or caught by magic; thence he throws it to various parts of his frame, to his wrist, and the back of his neck. At this latter point it might be supposed it would be stationary, as one feels very little capacity of twisting any weighty body from the neck in a direction different from what it would take on being shaken off. But even here our juggler commands its obedience. He again tosses it to his arm; back again to his neck; and after a few gambols of this sort, he finally, by a masterly jerk, throws the stone of fourteen pounds weight round his head.

The famous feat of swallowing the sword closes this wonderful exhibition; for a description of which, the reader is referred to page 63.

JOHN METCALF, or Blind Jack of Knaresborough.--This extraordinary character was born in 1717, and died in 1798. When four years old, his parents, who were working people, put him to school, soon after which he was seized with the small-pox, by which he became totally blind, though all possible means were used to preserve his sight. Recovering from the small-pox, he found that he was able to go from his father's house to the end of the street, and return, without a guide; and, in the s.p.a.ce of three years, he could find his way to any part of the town, which gave him much satisfaction. In process of time, he began to a.s.sociate with the neighbouring boys, of his own age, and went with them to take birds'

nests. For his share of the eggs and young birds, he was to climb the trees, whilst his companions waited at the bottom to receive what he should throw down. After that, he could ramble into the fields alone, frequently to the distance of two or three miles; and, his father keeping horses, he in time became an able horseman, and a gallop was his favourite pace. At the age of thirteen, being taught music, he became very expert, though he had more taste for the cry of the hounds than for any instrument. A Mr. Woodburn, of Knaresborough, master of a pack of hounds, used to take young Metcalf to hunt with him; and he having a couple and a half of good ones of his own, used to go out at a night when the hares were feeding; but one of his young dogs happening to worry a couple of lambs, Metcalf was obliged to discontinue this practice. At about fourteen years of age he learned to swim in the river Nidd; but few of his companions liked to come near him in the water, it being his custom to seize them, send them to the bottom, and swim over them by way of diversion.

Having practised on the violin till he could play country dances, he attended several a.s.semblies, and to his fondness for hunting, added that of c.o.c.k-fighting; and, if at any time he heard of a better game-c.o.c.k than his own, he would be sure to get him by some means or other, though at ever so great a distance. In fact, his fame began to spread to such a degree, that when any arch trick was done, inquiry was sure to be made, where Blind Jack was at the time. In 1732, Metcalf succeeded the fiddler at Harrowgate, who died in the 102d year of his age; after this he bought a horse, and often ran him for small plates; and for some time, hunting by day, and fiddling by night, were his princ.i.p.al occupations. Soon after this, as Metcalf had learned to walk and ride very readily through most of the streets in York, he one evening offered himself as a guide to a gentleman who wanted to go to Knaresborough that night, and absolutely performed it, the gentleman not even suspecting that he was blind till they came to their journey's end. This the gentleman was told at the sign of the Granby, just as he had entered the parlour. Expressing some doubt of this to the landlord's question, "Do you not know that he is blind?" he exclaimed, "What do you mean by that?"--"I mean sir, that he cannot see."--"Blind! gracious G.o.d!"--"Yes sir, as blind as a stone." Metcalf was then called in, and the gentleman's doubts were immediately dissipated.

In 1745, during the rebellion, as Captain Thornton undertook to raise a company at his own expense, and knowing Metcalf's turn of mind, engaged him as a musician to his corps. As Metcalf was then nearly six feet two inches high, and being, like his companions, dressed in blue and buff, with a large gold-laced hat, the captain was so well pleased with him, that he said he would give one hundred guineas for only one eye to be put into the head of his dark companion. During the rebellion, after _seeing_ much service, and being particularly noticed by the duke of c.u.mberland, he was discharged, and being at liberty to choose his occupation, he attended Harrowgate as before; but having, in the course of his Scotch expedition, become acquainted with the various articles manufactured in that country, he provided himself with several in the cotton and worsted way, especially Aberdeen stockings, for all which he found a ready sale in the extensive county of York. Among a thousand articles, he never was at a loss to know what each had cost him, from a particular mode of marking. It was also customary with him to buy horses for sale in Scotland, bringing back galloways in return. In this traffic he depended on feeling the animals to direct his choice. In 1754, Metcalf set up a stage waggon between York and Knaresborough, being the first of the kind known on that road. This he constantly conducted himself, going twice a week in summer, and once in the winter; but at length, turning his attention to the making of roads, he disposed of his waggon, &c. His first undertaking of this kind was three miles of the new turnpike road from Harrowgate to Boroughbridge; and for this he was actually appointed foreman to the surveyor.

He often walked from Knaresborough in the morning, with four or five stone of meat on his shoulders, and joined his men by six o'clock. By the means he used, he completed the work much sooner than was expected, to the entire satisfaction of the surveyor and the trustees. During his leisure hours he studied measurement in a way of his own; and, when certain of the girth and length of any piece of timber, he was able to reduce its true contents to feet and inches, and could bring the dimensions of any building into yards or feet. In fact, he contracted for, and constructed several roads, in a manner superior to the method of making them at that time. He built various bridges in difficult situations, in a manner that astonished those that employed him, and afterwards undertook the erection of houses. One of his bridges, it was remarked, had stood thirty years, and the foundation never cost one penny in repairs.

In 1792, having been some time absent, he returned to Yorks.h.i.+re, and, having no engagement, he bought hay to sell again: he used to measure the stacks with his arms, and knowing the height, could readily tell what number of square yards were contained in hay, from five to one hundred pounds value; with equal facility he could calculate the solid contents of standing wood. Having known the streets of York very accurately in the earlier part of his life, he determined to visit that ancient city, where he had not been for the s.p.a.ce of thirty-two years. He found alterations for the better in Spurrier-gate, Blake-street, the Pavement, &c. and so retentive was his memory, that, though so many years had elapsed since he had been that way before, he discovered an alteration in the hanging of two gates by a wall-side near the house of a Mr. Barlow. His wife died in 1778, in her 61st year, leaving him four children, after 39 years of conjugal affection and felicity.

Mrs. VAN BUTCh.e.l.l.--In 1775, died the wife of an eccentric empiric, Dr.

Martin Van Butch.e.l.l; and the singular mode employed for the preservation of her body merits notice. On her death taking place, he applied to Dr.

Hunter, to exert his skill in preventing, if possible, the changes of form usual after the cessation of life. Accordingly, the doctor, a.s.sisted by the late Mr. Cruikshank, injected the blood-vessels with a coloured fluid, so that the minute red vessels of the cheeks and lips were filled, and exhibited their native hue; and the body in general, having all the cavities filled with antiseptic substances, remained perfectly free from corruption, or any unpleasant smell, and as if it was merely in a state of sleep. But to resemble the appearance of life, gla.s.s eyes were also inserted. The corpse was then deposited in a bed of thin paste of plaster of Paris, in a box of sufficient dimensions, which subsequently crystallized, and produced a pleasing effect. A curtain covered the gla.s.s lid of the box, which could be withdrawn at pleasure; and which box being kept in the common parlour, Mr. Van Butch.e.l.l had the satisfaction of retaining his departed wife for many years, frequently displaying the beautiful corpse to his friends and visitors. A second marriage, some years afterwards, is said to have occasioned some family difference, and it was found expedient to remove the preserved body.

HARRISON, a Penurious Character.--This person died in November, 1821, in Bennett-street, Rathbone-place, Oxford-road, London, where he had lodged 20 years. The furniture of his room consisted of one old chair, a table, a trunk or two, an old stump bedstead, and a bed of straw; in one corner was a heap of ashes; and the cupboard, the day after his decease, contained a few potato-peelings and a stale roll. His body presented a picture of the most extreme misery and starvation, though he had no family, and had property in the funds to the amount of 1500. A female friend who lived at Putney, and was in the habit of calling on him when she came to town, deposed, that he would let no person but her enter his room, which he always kept padlocked inside, for fear of being robbed: he lay on his bed in the day-time, and sat up at night without any fire, always burning a lamp. A few evenings before his death, he told the female before-mentioned, that many persons wanted to finger his cash, but they should not. He then desired her to lock him in, and take the key with her, which she did; but, on going again next day, she found him lying on his bed with his clothes on, quite dead. He had made his will several months before, and left her executrix of his property, which was to be divided between herself, his nephew, and niece. He had been married, and had a daughter, who, with his wife, were both dead. He carried large sums of money sewed up in different parts of his clothes, for which reason he never pulled them off. Upwards of 100 was found upon him at the time of his death, on the night previous to which he sent for one oyster, half a pint of beer, and a pennyworth of figs, which he ate. For nearly four years previous to his decease, he appeared almost childish. The jury that sat upon the body, brought in their verdict,--_Died by the visitation of G.o.d_.

THE BLIND CLERGYMAN.--The following very interesting account was published in the Morning Chronicle of Jan. 21, 1791. It bears all the marks of authenticity.

"In my rambles (says the writer) last summer, on the borders of Wales, I found myself one morning on the banks of the beautiful river Wye, alone, without a servant or guide. I had to ford the river at a place where, according to the instructions given me at the nearest hamlet, if I diverged ever so little from the marks which the ripling of the current made as it pa.s.sed over a ledge of rock, I should sink twice the depth of myself and horse. While I stood hesitating on the margin, viewing attentively the course of the ford, a person pa.s.sed me on the canter, and the next instant I saw him plunge into the river. Presuming on his acquaintance with the pa.s.sage, I immediately and closely followed his steps. As soon as we had gained the opposite bank, I accosted him with thanks for the benefit of his guidance; but what was my astonishment, when, bursting into a hearty laugh, he observed, that "my confidence would have been less, had I known that I had been following a blind guide." The manner of the man, as well as the fact, attracted my curiosity. To my expressions of surprise at his venturing to cross the river alone, he answered, that he and the horse he rode had done the same every Sunday morning for the last five years; but that in reality, this was not the most perilous part of his hebdomadal peregrination, as I should be convinced, if my way led over the mountain before us. My way was _ad libitum_, at pleasure; I therefore resolved to attach myself to my extraordinary companion, and soon learned in our chat, as we wound up the steep mountain's side, that he was a clergyman, and of that cla.s.s which is the disgrace of our ecclesiastical establishment; I mean the country curates, who exist upon the _liberal_ stipend of thirty, twenty, and sometimes fifteen pounds a year! This gentleman, of the age of sixty, had about thirty years before been engaged in the curacy to which he was now travelling; and though at the distance of eight long Welsh miles from the place of his residence, such was the respect of his Sunday flock towards him, that at the commencement of his calamity, rather than part with him, they sent regularly, every Sunday morning, a deputation to guide their old pastor along a road, which, besides the river we had just pa.s.sed, led over a craggy mountain, on whose top innumerable and uncertain bogs were constantly forming, and which, nevertheless, by the instinct of his Welsh pony, this blind man has actually crossed alone for the last five years, having so long dismissed the a.s.sistance of guides.

"While our talk beguiled our road, we insensibly arrived within sight of his village church. It was seated in a deep and narrow vale. As I looked down upon it, the bright verdure of the meadows, which were here and there chequered with patches of yellow corn, the moving herds of cattle, the rich foliage of the groves of oak, hanging irregularly over its sides, the white houses of the inhabitants, which sprinkled every corner of this peaceful retreat; and above all, the inhabitants themselves, a.s.sembled in their best attire round their place of weekly wors.h.i.+p; all this gay scene rus.h.i.+ng at once on the view, struck my senses and imagination more forcibly than I can express. As we entered the church-yard, the respectful "How do you do?" of the young, the hearty shakes by the hand of the old, and the familiar gambols of the children, shewed how their old pastor reigned in the hearts of all. After some refreshment at the nearest house, we went to church, in which my veteran priest read the prayers, the psalms, and chapters of the day, and then preached a sermon in a manner that would have made no one advert to his defect of sight. At dinner, which it seems four of the most substantial farmers of the vale provided in turn, he related the progress of his memory. For the first year he attempted only the prayers and sermons, the best readers of the parish making it a pride to officiate for him in the psalms and chapters. He next endured the labour of getting these by heart; and at present, by continual repet.i.tion, there is not a psalm or chapter of the more than two hundred appointed for the Sunday service, that he is not perfect in. He told me also, that having in his little school two sons of his own, intended for the university, he has, by hearing them continually, committed the greatest part of Homer and Virgil to his memory."

We shall now introduce to the notice of the reader, a living character,--a child, a little girl,--the most extraordinary that ever appeared in the world.

MISS CLARA FISHER.--This little lady, the youngest daughter of Mr. G. F.

Fisher, a respectable auctioneer, of London, was born in Covent-garden, on the 14th of July, 1811. At a very early age, she evinced powers of intellect and genius very unusual in infants. A pa.s.sionate fondness for music was a first characteristic; and while yet in the arms of a nurse, she was excited to pleasurable emotions, when tunes which she liked were played, but shewed the most determined opposition in her power, to the continuance of those to which she had conceived an aversion. This fact is recorded in the writings of Anthony Pasquin, in his Dramatic Censor, as an instance of wonderfully premature infantine endowment.

The fame which Miss O'Neil had acquired soon after her appearance in London, induced Mr. Fisher to take his family to Covent-garden theatre, to witness her performance of Jane Sh.o.r.e; and to the impression made that night on the mind of little Clara, may be ascribed the wonderful turn for theatrical exhibition, which has ever since characterized this juvenile candidate for histrionic fame. On the same evening, after returning from the theatre, Clara retired to a corner of the room, and, as she thought, unseen, went through, in dumb show, a great part of the performances she had witnessed at the theatre. These evident symptoms of dramatic genius in a child, then under four years of age, excited much surprise and pleasure amongst the family circle. A few evenings afterwards, she was persuaded to repeat this primary exhibition before some private friends, and the applause which she elicited seemed to implant in her young mind that ardent love for the stage, which thenceforward has guided all her thoughts and actions.

In the autumn of 1817, Dr. D. Corrie, the celebrated musician, and composer of the music of the Travellers, solicited and received permission for little Clara to appear in a private performance with his juvenile pupils in music. A short character was a.s.signed to little Clara to learn; and she performed it with an effect which excited the astonishment and admiration of a select and fas.h.i.+onable company, who had met to witness the efforts of the juvenile performers. From the success of this evening's amus.e.m.e.nt, may be dated Miss Clara's introduction to public notice. On the 10th of December following, she appeared in Drury-lane theatre, in Garrick's romance of Lilliput; revived and altered, with songs, prologue, epilogue, and a masque, written by Mr. Fisher; and in which was introduced the last act of Shakspeare's Richard III. in order to bring forward the little Clara in the character of the crookbacked tyrant. Her success in this arduous character was beyond all antic.i.p.ation: for seventeen nights the house was crowded in every part, and the applause bestowed on the extraordinary infant, then only six years and a half old, was enthusiastic and incessant. The public journals published in London during the run of the piece, bear ample testimony of the high estimation in which the best critics of the day held the talents of the young actress. Immediately after the close of her engagement at Drury-lane, she was applied for by Mr. Harris, of Covent-garden theatre, where she performed with equal success and approbation. On one occasion, his present Majesty, then Prince of Wales, honoured the theatre with his presence, and was pleased cordially to join in the general plaudits of the audience. After the part of Richard III. was concluded, she appeared in her own infantine character, and delivered the following epilogue, written by her father, with a pathos and feeling which powerfully affected the auditors:--

Well, Sirs, what say you to our little play-- Must it expire, or live another day?

Will you permit once more our group to try To raise your laughter, or to make you cry?

My spangled robes laid by, and waving plume, In muslin frock my s.e.x I re-a.s.sume; And though in simple dress I'm now array'd, I hope you'll not reject a little maid, Who sues for favour, for herself, and those, Who, like herself, are now in common clothes.

And I a.s.sure you, ladies, from my heart, I like my robes much better than my part; The s.h.i.+ning spangles are to me so dear, I'm come to ask--may I again appear?

O! pray indulge me in this one request, And I will strive to please you,--and be drest!

On leaving Covent-garden, she was engaged by Mr. Elliston to perform at the Birmingham theatre, as a star, for some nights; after which she appeared in Bath, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, York, Doncaster, Hull, Brighton, and every theatre of consequence, in the kingdom.

Miss Clara Fisher has at this time, 1822, been on the boards more than four years, and has already performed in about one hundred theatres. She has travelled through various parts of Great Britain, a distance of upwards of ten thousand miles; and she has performed in Shakspeare's character of Richard III. more than two hundred and fifty times, besides other arduous parts in the various departments of the English drama. Her singing and dancing are equal to her other accomplishments, and yield delight to all who witness them. Bring yet but eleven years of age, she will furnish for the future historian a rare instance of precocity of intellect. She is gracefully formed, but not tall of her age; her face is oval, and full of expression; her eyes blue, large, and animated; her mouth particularly well moulded; and her hand and arm are considered by artists as uncommonly beautiful for her years. The general opinion of critics is, that she resembles in voice, and manner of acting, the late celebrated Mrs. Jordan.

An authentic anecdote is related of our heroine, which places, in a strong point of view, her felicitous conception of character, and her extraordinary collectedness and presence of mind, under circ.u.mstances, which, in all probability, would confuse and flutter even a long-experienced actor. Immediately after leaving Drury-lane, she performed for Mr. Elliston, at Birmingham. A new and elegant crown was there made for her, that she might appear to advantage in the character of Richard III. The crown was accidentally made too small, and was with difficulty kept on the head. When Richard (personated by this little lady) descended from the throne, in the presence of his n.o.bles, and was delivering one of his most impa.s.sioned speeches, the crown fell off upon the stage. Contrary to the natural expectation of all, little Clara took no notice of the circ.u.mstance, but concluded her speech with the same energy and commanding deportment with which it commenced; and then beckoning to Catesby to approach, "Catesby!" said she, pointing to the fallen diadem, and stood erect and motionless, with the haughty dignity of monarchy, until, the brief mandate understood, he lifted it, and solemnly replaced it upon her brows. Thus, when a less-gifted performer would have found it difficult to save the whole scene from derision, did she sternly maintain the regal character she had a.s.sumed; and commanded the respect, surprise, and admiration of the audience.

EARTH EATERS; from Humboldt's Personal Narrative.--"The inhabitants of Umana belong to those nations of the savannas, [_Indios andantes_,] who, more difficult to civilize than the nations of the forest, [_Indios del monte_,] have a decided aversion to cultivate the land, and live almost exclusively on hunting and fis.h.i.+ng. They are men of a very robust const.i.tution; but ugly, savage, vindictive, and pa.s.sionately fond of fermented liquors. They are omnivorous _animals_ in the highest degree; and therefore the other Indians, who consider them as barbarians, have a common saying, 'Nothing is so disgusting, that an Otomac will not eat it.'

While the waters of the Oroonoko and its tributary streams are low, the Otomacs subsist on fish and turtles; the former they kill with surprising dexterity, by shooting them with an arrow, when they appear at the surface of the water. When the rivers swell, which in South America, as well as in Egypt and in Nubia, is erroneously attributed to the melting of the snows, and which occurs periodically in every part of the torrid zone, fis.h.i.+ng almost entirely ceases. It is then as difficult to procure fish in the rivers, which are become deeper, as when you are sailing on the open sea.

It often fails the poor missionaries, on fast-days as well as flesh-days, though all the young Indians are under the obligation of 'fis.h.i.+ng for the convent.' At the period of these inundations, which last two or three months, the Otomacs swallow a prodigious quant.i.ty of earth. We found heaps of b.a.l.l.s in their huts, piled up in pyramids, three or four feet high.

These b.a.l.l.s were five or six inches in diameter. The earth which the Otomacs eat is a very fine and unctuous clay, of a yellowish gray colour; and, being slightly baked in the fire, the hardened crust has a tint inclining to red, owing to the oxide which is mingled with it. We brought away some of this earth, which we took from the winter provision of the Indians; and it is absolutely false that it is steat.i.tic, and contains magnesia. Mr. Vanquelin did not discover any traces of this earth in it; but he found that it contained more silex than alumine, and three or four per cent. of lime.

"The Otomacs do not eat every kind of clay indifferently; they choose the alluvial beds or strata that contain the most unctuous earth, and is the smoothest to the feeling. I inquired of the missionary, whether the moistened clay were made to undergo, as Father Gumilla a.s.serts, the peculiar decomposition which is indicated by a disengagement of carbonic acid and sulphuretted hydrogen, and which is designated in every language by the term _putrefaction_; but he a.s.sured me, that the natives neither cause the clay to rot, nor do they mingle it with flour of maize, oil of turtles' eggs or fat of the crocodile. We ourselves examined, both at the Oroonoko, and after our return to Paris, the b.a.l.l.s of earth which we brought away with us, and found no trace of the mixture of any organic substance, whether oily or farinaceous. The savage regards every thing as nouris.h.i.+ng that appeases hunger; when, therefore, you inquire of an Otomac on what he subsists during the two months when the river is the highest, he shews you his b.a.l.l.s of clay. This he calls his princ.i.p.al food; for at this period he can seldom procure a lizard, a root of fern, or a dead fish swimming at the surface of the water.

"If the Indian eats earth through want during two months, and from three-quarters to five-quarters of a pound in twenty-four hours, he does not the less regale himself with it during the rest of the year. Every day, in the season of drought, when fis.h.i.+ng is most abundant, he sc.r.a.pes his b.a.l.l.s of poya, and mingles a little clay with his other aliment. What is most surprising, is, that the Otomacs do not become lean by swallowing such quant.i.ties of earth; they are, on the contrary, extremely robust, and far from having the belly tense and puffed up. The missionary, Fray Ramon Bueno, a.s.serts, that he never remarked any alteration in the health of the natives at the period of the great risings of the Oroonoko.

"The following are the facts, in all their simplicity, which we were able to verify. The Otomacs, during some months, eat daily three-quarters of a pound of clay slightly hardened by fire, without their health being sensibly affected by it. They moisten the earth afresh when they are going to swallow it. It has not been possible to verify hitherto with precision how much nutritious vegetable or animal matter the Indians take in a week at the same time; but it is certain that they attribute the sensation of satiety which they feel to the clay, and not to the wretched aliment which they take with it occasionally.

"I observed every where within the torrid zone, in a great number of individuals, children, women, and sometimes even full-grown men, an inordinate and almost irresistible desire of swallowing earth; not an alkaline or calcareous earth, to neutralize, as it is vulgarly said, acid juices, but a fat clay, unctuous, and exhaling a strong smell. It is often found necessary to tie the children's hands, or to confine them, to prevent their eating earth, when the rain ceases to fall. At the village of Banco, on the bank of the river Magdalena, I saw the Indian women who make pottery, continually swallowing great pieces of clay."

The celebrated DR. GRAHAM.--About the year 1782, there appeared in London one of the most extraordinary empirics of modern times. His name was Graham. He was a graduate of Edinburgh, wrote in a bombastic style, and possessed a great fluency of elocution. He opened in Pall-Mall, a mansion, which he called the "Temple of Health." The front was ornamented with an enormous gilt sun, a statue of Hygenia, and other attractive emblems; the suit of rooms, in the interior, was superbly furnished; and the walls were decorated with mirrors, so as to confer on the place an effect like that from an enchanted palace. Here he delivered lectures on health, &c. at the extravagant price of two guineas per lecture; and the price, together with the novelty of his subjects, drew considerable audiences of the wealthy and dissipated. He entertained a female, of beautiful figure, whom he called the G.o.ddess of Health, and it was her business to deliver a concluding discourse after the Doctor himself had finished his lecture. As a further means of attraction, he hired two men of extraordinary stature, provided with enormous c.o.c.ked hats, and with showy and bulky liveries, whose business it was to distribute bills from house to house through the town. Graham became, therefore, an object of universal curiosity. But, as his two-guinea auditors were soon exhausted, he dropped his lectures successively to one guinea, half-a-guinea, five s.h.i.+llings, and (as he said, "for the benefit of all,") to half-a-crown; and, when he could no longer draw this price, he exhibited the temple itself for one s.h.i.+lling, to daily crowds, for several months.

Among his furniture was a Celestial Bed, as he called it, standing on gla.s.s legs, provided with the richest hangings, and possessing properties peculiar to itself. For sleeping in this bed, he demanded one hundred pounds per night; and such is the folly of wealth, that heirless persons, of high rank, were named, who acceded to his terms. He also pretended to have discovered the "Elixir of Life," by taking which, a person might live as long as he pleased, and he modestly demanded one thousand pounds for a supply of it; and more than one n.o.ble person was reported to have paid this enormous price to be cured of folly.

Having worn out his character in these various projects, he then recommended Earth-bathing, and undertook to sanction it by his own practice. During one hour every day, he, therefore, admitted spectators, at first at a guinea, and then descended, as in a former instance, to a s.h.i.+lling, to view him and the G.o.ddess of health immersed naked in the ground to their chins; the Doctor having his hair full-dressed and powdered, and the lady's head being dressed also in the best fas.h.i.+on of the times. When no more money was to be drained from the population of London, the Doctor visited the great provincial towns, and lectured and exhibited in the same manner whenever he could obtain permission of the magistrates. In the end, the G.o.ddess of health nearly fell a victim to the practice; and the Doctor retired from public notice, and died in poor circ.u.mstances a few years afterwards, in spite of his "Elixir of Life," at the early age of fifty-two. His brother married the celebrated Mrs.

Macauley Graham, and his sister was married to Dr. Arnold, of Leicester, the respectable author of a very able treatise on insanity.

It is generally understood, that the lady who performed the singular part of the G.o.ddess of health, was Emma, afterwards wife of Sir W. H. and a personal favourite of a late celebrated naval character.

THE ADMIRABLE CRICHTON.--Mr. James Crichton, according to the generality of his biographers, was born in the year 1551; but Lord Buchan fixes the time of his nativity in the month of August, 1560. It is admitted by all, that this celebrated man was a native of Scotland; but although Perth has in general been considered as his birth-place, even this circ.u.mstance has been perplexed with conflicting opinions. Of his ancestors, the accounts are equally diversified. Some a.s.sert that his father, Robert Crichton, commanded the army of Queen Mary at the battle of Langside: others state, with equal confidence, that he was Lord Advocate of Scotland from 1560 to 1573. His mother's name was Elizabeth Stewart, the only daughter of Sir James Stewart, of Beath, a descendant of Robert, duke of Albany, the third son of king Robert the Second. Relying on his pedigree, he was accustomed to boast, when he displayed his astonis.h.i.+ng acquirements in foreign countries, of his lineal descent from the Scottish kings.

At what time Mr. James Crichton began his studies, we are not informed; neither have we any satisfactory accounts when those diversified powers of his mind, on which all Europe gazed with admiration, first appeared to excite attention. The primary rudiments of his grammatical education were received at Perth; after which he studied philosophy in the University of St. Andrew. In that University, his tutor was the celebrated John Rutherford, a professor, famous for his learning, and distinguished by four books, which he had written on Aristotle's Logic, and a commentary on his Poetics. But it is not to this professor alone, that the honour of forming this extraordinary character is to be ascribed. Manutius, who calls Crichton first cousin to the king, says, that he was educated with James I. under Buchanan, Hepburn, and Robertson, as well as under Rutherford. We cannot doubt, from the favourable circ.u.mstances under which Crichton entered life, that the best masters were a.s.signed him that could be procured in every department of learning.

Under their tuition, and through the native vigour of his understanding, he had acquired a knowledge of ten different languages, and had run through the whole circle of the sciences, by the time he had attained the twentieth year of his age. Arduous, however, as these varied pursuits may seem to common minds, they occupied a part only of Crichton's attention. A portion of his time was devoted to music, in the knowledge of which he made an astonis.h.i.+ng proficiency. He learnt to play on various instruments; and improved himself, to the highest degree, in dancing, fencing, singing, and horsemans.h.i.+p.

Having made himself master of these various acquirements, he left his native land, and, proceeding to Paris, introduced himself to the literati of that city in the following manner. On his arrival, he caused six placards to be fixed on the gates of the schools, halls, and colleges, belonging to the University, and on all the pillars and posts of the houses inhabited by men most renowned for literature and science, inviting all who thought themselves well versed in any art, to meet and dispute with him in the college of Navarre, on that day six weeks, by nine in the morning. In this challenge, which was according to the practice of the age, he declared himself ready to answer any question which should be proposed to him, on any art or science, in any of the twelve following languages, viz. Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic, Greek, Latin, Spanish, French, Italian, English, Dutch, Flemish, and Sclavonian; and this either in prose or verse, at the choice of his antagonist.

Bold as this challenge may appear, instead of devoting himself to the minute examination of the various articles contained in its comprehensive embrace, upon the issues of which he had risked his reputation, his time was chiefly spent in hunting, hawking, tilting, vaulting, riding, tossing the pike, handling the musket, and such military feats and athletic exercises; and, when tired with these, the interim was filled up in domestic engagements, such as b.a.l.l.s, concerts of music, vocal and instrumental, cards, dice, and tennis, together with such diversions as frequently occupy the mind of youth. A mode of conduct, apparently so inconsistent with the character he had a.s.sumed in his placards, the students of the University were at a loss how to interpret. And so provoked were they at the insolence of this daring foreigner, that, beneath the placard which was fixed on the gate at Navarre, they caused the following words to be written:--"If you would meet with this monster of perfection, to make search for him either in the tavern or the brothel is the readiest way to find him."

But notwithstanding this dissipation, when the appointed day arrived, Crichton appeared in the college of Navarre, and engaged in a disputation, which lasted from nine in the morning until six in the evening. And so well did he acquit himself, that the President, after expatiating on the many rare and excellent endowments which G.o.d had bestowed upon him, rose from his chair, and, accompanied by four of the most eminent professors of the University, presented him with a diamond ring, and a purse full of gold, as a testimony of their high approbation. On what subjects these antagonists disputed, we have not been informed; neither is it known with certainty in what languages they addressed each other. We are only told, that the interview ended amidst the reiterated acclamations and huzzas of the spectators; and that this conquest obtained for him the appellation of "THE ADMIRABLE CRICHTON." It has been added, to the preceding account, that so little was he fatigued with the dispute, that he went to the Louvre, on the ensuing day, and engaging in a tilting match, an exercise then much in use, carried off the ring fifteen times successively, and broke as many lances, in the presence of some princes of the French court, and of a great many ladies, whose applauses were deemed a glorious reward, by all the heroes of chivalry.

Of Crichton's exploits in Paris, the following account has been given by Mackenzie, and translated by Pennant, from the testimony of an author whom they consider as an eye-witness.

"There came to the college of Navarre, a young man of twenty years of age, who was perfectly well seen in all the sciences, as the most learned masters of the University acknowledged. In vocal and instrumental music, none could excel him; in painting and drawing in colours, none could equal him. In military feats he was most expert; and could play with the sword so dexterously with both his hands, that no man could fight him. When he saw his enemy or antagonist, he would throw himself upon him at one jump of twenty or twenty-four feet distance. He was master of arts, and disputed with us in the schools of the college, on medicine, the civil and canon law, and theology. And, although we were above fifty in number, besides about three thousand who were present, so pointedly and learnedly he answered to all the questions which were proposed to him, that none but they who were present can believe it. He spoke Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and other languages, most politely. He was likewise a most excellent horseman; and, truly, if a man should live a hundred years, without eating, drinking, or sleeping, he could not attain to this man's knowledge, which struck us with a panic fear, for he knew more than human nature can well bear. He overcame four of the doctors of the church; for in learning none could contest with him; and he was thought to be Antichrist."

Having thus obtained in Paris the victory for which he contended, Crichton next repaired to Rome, where he affixed a placard upon all the eminent places of the city, in the following terms:--"_Nos Jacobus Crictonus Scotus, cuicunque Rei propositae ex improviso respondebimus_." In a city which abounded with scholastic learning and wit, this challenge, bearing all the marks of presumption, soon became the subject of a pasquinade.

Rome, it has been said, was at this time much infested with mountebanks, jugglers, and other empirics; and those who felt indignant at the placard of Crichton, endeavoured to ridicule him, by cla.s.sifying him with the quacks. Designating him by the neuter gender, their pasquinade was to the following effect:--"And he that will see _it_, let him repair to the sign of the Falcon, and _it_ shall be shewn." Boccalini, who was then at Rome, says, that the appearance of this paper had such an effect upon him, that, with indignant feelings, he almost immediately left the city, where he had been so grossly insulted, in being compared to the impostors who could only amuse the vulgar. Mackenzie, however, a.s.serts, that instead of being discouraged, he appeared at the time and place appointed; and, in the presence of the Pope, many Cardinals, Bishops, and Doctors of Divinity, and Professors of all the Sciences, displayed such wonderful proofs of his universal knowledge, that he excited a degree of astonishment equal to that which had marked his career in Paris.

From Rome, Crichton proceeded to Venice, in which place he appears to have been reduced to much distress; but whether this arose from any mental depression, from bodily indisposition, or from embarra.s.sment of circ.u.mstances, is not clearly expressed. The reality of his distress he has stated in a poem, the princ.i.p.al design of which was, to obtain a favourable reception in the city; and more particularly so, with Aldus Manutius, a celebrated critic. On presenting his verses, Manutius was struck with an agreeable surprise, at the comprehensiveness of thought, the display of intellect, and the brilliancy of genius, which they exhibited. And, upon conversing with the author, he was so filled with admiration on finding him intimately acquainted with almost every subject, that he introduced him to the acquaintance of the princ.i.p.al men of learning and note in Venice.

Thus recommended, he contracted an intimate friends.h.i.+p with Manutius, Ma.s.sa, Speronius, Donatus, and various others, to whom he presented several poems, in commendation of the university and city. Three of these odes are still preserved. After some time he was introduced to the Doge and Senate, in whose presence he delivered a speech, fraught with so much beauty and eloquence, and accompanied with such gracefulness of person and manners, that he received the thanks of that ill.u.s.trious body; and nothing was talked about for some time, through the city, but this _rara avis in terris_,--this prodigy in nature. In this city, also, he held various disputations, on theology, philosophy, and mathematics, with the most eminent professors, and before vast concourses of people. The talents which he displayed on these occasions, gave such publicity to his reputation, that mult.i.tudes repaired to Venice from distant parts, that they might have an opportunity of seeing and hearing a man, whose abilities were considered as almost super-human.