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diff --git a/43691.txt b/43691.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 38a5c91..0000000 --- a/43691.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9487 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The History of the Catnach Press, by Charles Hindley - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The History of the Catnach Press - at Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Alnwick and Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, - in Northumberland, and Seven Dials, London - -Author: Charles Hindley - -Release Date: September 10, 2013 [EBook #43691] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF THE CATNACH PRESS *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive.) - - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: THE HISTORY OF THE CATNACH PRESS, AND THE TWO CATNACHS, -JOHN & JAMES, FATHER & SON, _Printers_, 1769-1841.] - - - - - THE HISTORY OF THE CATNACH PRESS. - - LARGE PAPER COPY. - - Only Two Hundred and Fifty Printed. Each Copy - numbered and Signed - - [Signature: Charles Hindley.] - - - No. ________ - - _Purchased by_ - - ____________________________________________________ - - _of_ - - ____________________________________________________ - - - _on the ___________ day of ____________ 18_____ - - - - - THE HISTORY OF THE CATNACH PRESS, - AT BERWICK-UPON-TWEED, - ALNWICK AND NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, - IN NORTHUMBERLAND, AND - SEVEN DIALS, LONDON. - - - BY CHARLES HINDLEY, ESQ., - - _Editor of "The Old Book Collector's Miscellany; - or, a Collection of Readable Reprints of Literary - Rarities," "Works of John Taylor--the Water Poet," - "The Roxburghe Ballads," "The Catnach Press," "The - Curiosities of Street Literature," "The Book of - Ready Made Speeches," "Life and Times of James - Catnach, late of the Seven Dials, Ballad Monger," - "Tavern Anecdotes and Sayings," "A History of the - Cries of London--Ancient and Modern," etc._ - - - London: - CHARLES HINDLEY - [THE YOUNGER,] - BOOKSELLERS' ROW, ST. CLEMENT DANES, - STRAND, W.C. - 1886. - - - - - TO - MR. GEORGE SKELLY, - of - THE MARKET PLACE, - and - MR. GEORGE H. THOMPSON, - of - BAILIFFGATE, ALNWICK, - _In the County of_ - NORTHUMBERLAND, - THE - HISTORY OF THE CATNACH PRESS. - - IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY - THE AUTHOR - - [Signature: Charles Hindley.] - - _St. James' Street, Brighton. - Lady Day, 1886._ - - - - -[Illustration: - - HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION - - OR - - A Pursuit of Knowledge - under Difficulties.] - - - - -[Illustration: THE CATNACH PRESS.] - - "'Tis education forms the common mind; - Just as the twig is bent the tree's inclined."--_Pope._ - - -----There can be little doubt that Jemmy Catnach, the printer, justly -earned the distinction of being one of the great pioneers in the cause of -promoting cheap literature--he was for a long time the great Maecenas and -Elzevir of the Seven Dials district. We do not pretend to say that the -productions which emanated from his establishment contained much that was -likely to enlighten the intellect, or sharpen the taste of the ordinary -reader; but, to a great extent, they served well in creating an impetus in -the minds of many to soar after things of a higher and more ennobling -character. Whilst for the little folk his store was like the conjuror's -bag--inexhaustible. He could cater to the taste and fancies of all, and it -is marvellous, even in these days of a cheap press, to look back upon the -time when this enterprising man was by a steady course of action, so -paving the way for that bright day in the annals of Britain's history, -when every child in the land should be educated. - - - - -[Illustration] - - -HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION OR A PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE UNDER DIFFICULTIES. - - ----Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know - where we can find information upon it.--BOSWELL, _Life of Johnson_. - - -That history repeats itself is fairly and fully exemplified by the -reproduction of "THE CATNACH PRESS," the _first_ edition of which was -published in 1869, and "GUARANTEED ONLY TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY COPIES -PRINTED."--Namely: 175 on fine, and 75 on extra-thick paper. _Each copy -numbered._ The outer and descriptive title set forth that the work -contained:-- - - "A COLLECTION of Books and Wood-cuts of James Catnach, late of Seven - Dials, Printer, consisting of Twenty Books of the Cock Robin-Class, - from, 'This is the House that Jack Built,' to 'Old Mother Hubbard,' - (printed with great care) _specialite_ at THE CATNACH PRESS, from the - old plates and woodcuts, prior to their final destruction, to which is - added a selection of Catnachian wood-cuts, many by Bewick, and many of - the most anti-Bewickian character it is possible to conceive." - -The announcement of the publication of the work was first made known -through the medium of the metropolitan press, some few days prior to the -copies being delivered by the book-binders, and so great was the demand -of the London and American trade, that every copy was disposed of on the -day of issue. - -The work is now eagerly sought after by book collectors who indulge in -literary rarities. - -While engaged in collecting information for "The Catnach Press," and -interviewing the producers of ballads, broadsides and chap-books, we met -with a vast assemblage of street-papers and of a very varied character, -which we proposed to publish in quarto form under the title of "The -Curiosities of Street Literature," and when in London in 1869, still -seeking for information on the subject, met by mere chance in the Strand -with the street ballad singer of our youth, one Samuel Milnes, who used -between the years of 1835 and 1842 to visit Fetter Lane every Thursday -with the newest and most popular ballad of the day. We so often met with -him at other times and places in and about London in after years that a -peculiar kind of a friendly feeling grew up towards him in preference to -all other street ballad singers of the time, so much so that at our -meetings--and friendly greetings, we invariably purchased the ballad he -was singing, or, gave him a few halfpence as a fee for having detained him -from his calling--or shall we say bawling, for to tell the truth, Samuel -Milnes was but a very indifferent vocalist. - -Time rolled on--"still on it creeps, each little moment at another's -heels"--and we continued to meet our old ballad singer either in London or -Brighton. The meeting with him on this particular occasion was most -opportune for we wanted him. First we obtained from him "Wait for the Turn -of the Tide," and "Call her back and kiss her," then the following -information:-- - - "Oh, yes, I remember you, remember you well; particularly when I see - you down at Brighton: when you treated me to that hot rum and water; - when I was so wet and cold, at a little snug public-house in one of - the streets that leads off the main street. I don't remember the name - on it now, but I remembers the rum and water well enough; it was good. - You said it would be, and so it was, and no mistake. How old am I now? - Why, 59. How long have I been at it? Why, hard on fifty years. I was - about nine or ten year old--no, perhaps I might have been 12 year old, - when I come to think on it. Yes, about 12 year old; my mother was a - widow with five children, and there was a boy in our street as used to - go out singing ballads, and his mother said to my mother, 'Why don't - you let your boy (that's me) go out and sing ballads like my boy.' And - I said I didn't mind, and I did go out, and I've been at it ever - since, so you see 'aint far short of 50 year. How many do I sell in a - day? Well, not so many as I used to do, by a long way. I've sold me - four and five quires a-day, but I don't sell above two and three dozen - a-day now. That's all the difference you see, sir--dozens against - quires. How do I live then? Why, you see I am so well-known in - different parts of London, that lots and lots of people comes up to me - like you always do--and say's--'How do you do, old fellow? I remember - you when I was a boy, if it's a man, and when I was a girl, if it's a - woman.' And says, 'So you are still selling songs, eh?' Then they give - me a few coppers; some more and some less than others, and says they - don't want the songs. Some days--very often--I've had more money given - me than I've took for the ballads. Yes, I have travelled all over - England--all over it I think--but the North's the best--Manchester, - Liverpool, and them towns; but down Bath and Cheltenham way I was - nearly starved. I was coming back from that way, I now remember, when - I met you, sir, at Brighton that time. I buy my ballads at various - places--but now mostly over the water, because I live there now and - it's handiest. Mr. Such, the printer, in Union-street in the Borough. - Oh! yes, some at Catnach's--leastways, it ain't Catnach's now, it's - Fortey's. Yes, I remember 'old Jemmy Catnach' very well; he wa'n't a - bad sort, as you say; leastways, I've heard so, but I never had - anything of him. I always paid for what I had, and did not say much to - him, or he to me--Writing the life of him, are you indeed? No, I can't - give you no more information about him than that, because, as I said - before, I bought my goods as I wanted them, and paid for them, then - away on my own account and business. Well he was a man something like - you--a little wider across the shoulders, perhaps, but about such a - man as you are. I did know a man as could have told you a lot about - "old Jemmy," but he's dead now; he was one of his authors, that is, he - wrote some of the street-ballads for him, and very good ones they - used to be, that is, for selling. Want some old 'Dying Speeches' and - 'Cocks,' do you indeed; well, I a'nt got any--I don't often 'work' - them things, although I have done so sometimes, but I mostly keep to - the old game--'Ballads on a Subject.' You see them other things are no - use only just for the day, then they are no use at all, so we don't - keep them--I've often given them away. You'd give sixpence a piece for - them, would you, indeed, sir; then I wish I had some of them. Now I - come to think of it I know a man that did have a lot of them bye him, - and I know he'd be glad to sell them, I don't know where he lives, but - I sometimes see him. Oh! yes, a letter would find me. My name is - Samuel Milnes, and I live at No. 81, Mint-street, that's in the - Borough; you know, Guagar is the name at the house. Thank you, sir, - I'm much obliged. Good day sir." - -Our next adventure--in pursuit of knowledge under difficulties--occured at -Brighton in the month of August, 1869, and when we were winding our way -through a maze of small streets lying between Richmond and Albion Hills, -in the Northern part of the town, our ears voluntarily "pricked up," on -hearing the old familiar sounds of a 'street, or running patterer' with -the stereotyped sentences of "Horrible."--"Dreadful."--"Remarkable letters -found on his person."--"Cut down by a labouring man."--"Quite -dead."--"Well-known in the town."--"Hanging."--"Coroner's -Inquest."--"Verdict."--"Full particulars."--"Most determined -suicide."--"Brutal conduct."--&c., &c., _Only a ha'penny!--Only a -ha'penny!_ Presently we saw the man turn into a wide court-like place, -which was designated by the high-sounded name of "SQUARE," and dedicated -to RICHMOND; hither we followed him, and heard him repeat the same -detached sentences, and became a purchaser for--'_only a ha'penny!_' when -to our astonishment we discovered a somewhat new phrase in cock or -catchpenny selling. Inasmuch as our purchase consisted of the current -number (253) of the _Brighton Daily News_--a very respectable looking and -well printed Halfpenny Local Newspaper, and of that day's publication, and -did in reality contain an account of a most determined suicide of an old -and highly respected inhabitant of Brighton and set forth under the -heading of:-- - - THE DETERMINED SUICIDE OF AN AGED ARTIST. - REMARKABLE LETTERS OF DECEASED. - -Calling the man aside, we ventured upon a conversation with him in the -following form:-- - - ----"Well, governor, _how does the cock fight?_" "Oh, pretty well, - sir; but it ain't a cock; its a genuine thing--the days for cocks, - sir, is gone bye--cheap newspapers 'as done 'em up." "Yes; we see this - is a Brighton Newspaper of to-day." "Oh, yes, that's right enough--but - its all true." "Yes; we are aware of that and knew the unfortunate man - and his family; but you are vending them after the old manner." - "That's all right enough, sir,--you see I can sell 'em better in that - form than as a newspaper--its more natural like for me: I've sold - between ten and twelve dozen of 'em to-day." "Yes; but how about - to-morrow?" "Oh, then it will be all bottled up--and I must look for a - new game, I'm on my way to London, but a hearing of this suicide job, - I thought I'd work 'em just to keep my hand in and make a bob or two." - To our question of "Have you got any real old 'cocks' by you?" He - replied, "No, not a bit of a one; I've worked 'em for a good many - years, but it 'aint much of a go now. Oh, yes, I know'd 'old Jemmy - Catnach' fast enough--bought many hundreds, if not thousands of quires - of him. Not old enough? Oh, 'aint I though; why I'm turned fifty, and - I've been a 'street-paper' seller all my life. I knows Muster Fortey - very well; him as is got the business now in the Dials--he knows his - way about, let him alone for that; and he's a rare good business man - let me tell you, and always been good and fair to me; that I will say - of him." - -Having rewarded the man with a few half-pence to make him some recompense -for having detained him during his business progress, we parted company. - -While still prosecuting our enquiries for information on the literature of -the streets, we often read of, and heard mention made of, a Mr. John -Morgan, as one of the "Seven Bards of the Seven Dials" and his being best -able to assist us in the matter we had in hand. The first glimpse we -obtained of the Poet! in print was in an article entitled "The Bards of -the Seven Dials and their Effusion" and published in "THE TOWN," of 1839, -a weekly journal, conducted by the late Mr. Renton Nicholson, better known -as "Baron Nicholson," of Judge and Jury notoriety:-- - - REVIEW. - - _The Life and Death of John William Marchant_, who suffered the - extreme penalty of the law, in front of the Debtor's door, Newgate, on - Monday, July 8th, 1839, for the murder of Elizabeth Paynton, his - fellow servant, on the seventeenth of May last, in Cadogan Place, - Chelsea. By John Morgan. London: J. Catnach, 2 and 3, Monmouth Court, - 7 Dials. - - The work is a quarto page, surrounded with a handsome black border. - "Take no thought for to-morrow, what thou shalt eat, or what thou - shalt put on," says a certain writer, whose wisdom we all reverence, - and then he adds "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof"--a - remark particularly applicable to the bards of Seven Dials, whose pens - are kept in constant employment by the fires, rapes, robberies, and - murders, which, from one year's end to the other, present them with a - daily allowance of evil sufficient for their subsistence. But, at - present, it is only one of these poets, "John Morgan," as he modestly - signs himself, whom we are about to notice; and as some of our readers - may be curious to see a specimen of the poetry of Seven Dials, we - shall lay certain portions of John Morgan's last effusion before them, - pointing out the beauties and peculiarities of the compositions as we - go along. After almost lawyer-like particularity as to dates and - places, the poem begins with an invocation from the murderer in - _propria personae_. - - "Oh! give attention awhile to me, - All you good people of each degree; - In Newgate's dismal and dreary cell, - I bid all people on earth farewell." - - Heaven forbid, say we, that _all_ the people on earth should ever get - in Newgate, to receive the farewell of such a blood-thirsty - miscreant. - - "John William Marchant is my name, - I do confess I have _been to blame_." - - And here we must observe that the poet makes his hero speak of his - offence rather too lightly, as if, indeed, it had been nothing more - than a common misdemeanour. - - "I little thought, my dear parents kind, - I should leave this earth with a troubled mind." - - Now this _is_ modest; he is actually surprised that his parents are at - all grieved at the idea of getting rid of such a scoundrel, and well - he might be. - - "I lived as servant in Cadogan Place, - And never thought this would be my case, - To end my days on the fatal tree: - Good people, pray drop a tear for me." - - There is a playfulness about the word "drop," introducing just here - after "the fatal tree," which, in our mind, somewhat diminishes the - plaintiveness of the entreaty; but we must not be hypocritical. - - * * * * * - - Then comes his trial and condemnation, the account of which is most - remarkable precise and pithy. - - "At the Old Bailey I was tried and cast, - And the dreadful sentence on me was past - On a Monday morning, alas! to die, - And on the eight of this month of July." - - A marvellous particularity as to dates, intended, doubtless, to show - the convicts anxiety that, although he died young, his name should - live long in the minds of posterity. Then follows his farewell to - father and mother, and an impudent expression of confidence that his - crime will be forgiven in heaven, an idea, by-the-by, which is - reported to have been confirmed by the Ordinary of Newgate, who told - him that the angels would receive him with great affection; and this - it was, perhaps, which induced our bard of Seven Dials to represent - his hero as coolly writing poetry up to the very last moment of his - existence; taking his farewell of the public in these words:-- - - "Adieu, good people of each degree, - And take a warning, I pray, by me; - The bell is tolling, and I must go, - And leave this world of misery and woe." - - But we cannot exactly see what business the fellow--"a pampered - menial," had to speak ill of the world, when he was very comfortably - off in it, and might have lived long and happily if it had not been - for his own wickedness; a hint which we throw out for the benefit of - Mr. John Morgan, in his future effusions, trusting he will not make - his heroes die grumby, when poetic justices does not require it. - - But we must now take our leave, with a hearty wish to the whole - fraternity of Seven Dials' bards, that they may never go without a - dinner for want of the means of earning it, or that, in other words, - though they seem somewhat contradictory, "Sufficient unto the day may - be the evil thereof." - -Again, the writer of an article on "Street Ballads," in the "National -Review," for October, 1861, makes the following remarks:-- - - "This Ballad--'Little Lord John out of Service'--is one of the few - which bear a signature--it is signed 'John Morgan' in the copy which - we possess. For a long time we believed this name to be a mere - _nom-de-plume_; but the other day in Monmouth Court, we were informed, - in answer to a casual question that this is the real name of the - author of some of the best comic ballads. Our informant added that he - is an elderly, we may say old, gentleman, living somewhere in - Westminster; but the exact whereabouts we could not discover. Mr. - Morgan followed no particular visible calling, so far as our informant - knew, except writing ballads, by which he could not earn much of a - livelihood, as the price of an original ballad, in these buying-cheap - days, has been screwed down by the publishers to somewhere about a - shilling sterling. Something more like bread-and-butter might be made, - perhaps, by poets who were in the habit of singing their own ballads, - as some of them do, but not Mr. Morgan. Should this ever meet the eye - of that gentleman (a not very probable event, we fear), we beg to - apologise for the liberty we have taken in using his verses and name, - and hope he will excuse us, having regard to the subject in which we - are humble fellow-labourers. We could scarcely avoid naming him, the - fact being that he is the only living author of street-ballads whose - name we know. That self-denying mind, indifferent to worldly fame, - which characterised the architects of our cathedrals and abbeys, would - seem to have descended on our ballad-writers; and we must be thankful, - therefore, to be able to embalm and hand down to posterity a name here - and there, such as William of Wykeham, and John Morgan. In answer to - our inquiries in this matter, generally, we have been told, 'Oh, - anybody writes them,' and with that answer we have had to rest - satisfied. But in presence of that answer, we walk about the streets - with a new sense of wonder, peering into the faces of those of our - fellow-lieges who do not carry about with them the external evidence - of overflowing exchequers, and saying to ourselves, 'That man may be a - writer of ballads.'" - -At every enquiry we made for information in regard to street-literature, -we still continued to be referred to Mr. John Morgan as the most likely -person living to supply what we needed on the subject. - -But the grave question arose in our own minds of the How, When, and Where: -could we find out and interview this said Mr. John Morgan, Poet! First we -made enquiry at the office of Mr. Taylor, Printer of Ballads, &c., 92 and -93, Brick Lane, Spitalfields, but, they "had not the least idea where we -could find him. In fact they had only heard of him as a ballad-writer, and -knew nothing about where he lived, never having employed him: had perhaps -printed some of his ballads. Thought Mr. Such, of the Borough, might give -some information, but, sure to find out all about him in the Seven Dials -district." - -Mr. H. Such, Machine Printer and Publisher, 177, Union Street, Borough, -S.E., on being applied to could give us no positive information as to the -whereabout of Mr. John Morgan--he knew him, but where he lived he could -not tell. Mr. Fortey or Mr. Disley, in the Dials-way, would be most likely -to know. - -Mr. William S. Fortey, (late A. Ryle, successor to the late J. Catnach), -Printer, Publisher, and Wholesale Stationer, 2 and 3, Monmouth Court, -Seven Dials, London, W., on being applied to could not exactly tell where -Mr. John Morgan did live, it was somewhere Westminster-way: it was very -uncertain when he should next see him, because he did not sometimes call -in for weeks together, yet he might by chance see him to-morrow, or the -next day. Anyway, we felt that we had no right to press the question any -further, more particularly so because Mr. Fortey had been very civil and -obliging to us on other occasions--in fact we have been under great and -lasting obligations to him, so changed the conversation. - -Mr. Henry Disley, Printer, 57, High Street, St. Giles', London, who we -found to be a very genial sort of a man, and that he had formerly been in -the service of James Catnach; he was working in his front shop at a small -hand-press on some cards relative to a forthcoming FRIENDLY LEAD,[1] to be -held at a public-house in the immediate neighbourhood, while Mrs. Disley -was hard at work colouring some Christmas Carols, and which she did with a -rapidity that was somewhat astonishing. In answer to our inquiry whether -he knew of one John Morgan--who was--as we described him, "something of a -song writer." Well! both Mr. and Mrs. Disley together--"did know -him--should think they did." But when we came to enquire about his private -address they knew nothing about that. He (Mr. Morgan) wrote ballads for -them at times: often called on them--whenever he did it was always to sell -a _good_ ballad he had on hand, or to tell them what _bad_ times it was -with him: but as to where he lived, beyond that it was somewhere -Westminster-way, they did not know--in fact, had not the least idea. But, -most likely, Mr. Fortey, him in Monmouth Court, did. Yes! come to think of -it, he would be sure to know. - -The very unsatisfactory and evasive answers received in reference to the -address of Mr. John Morgan gave a zest to our zeal in the matter--so much -so, that we then determined "to work the oracle" out in our way. - -At this time we had a near relative occupying chambers in Barnard's Inn, -which we held to be a good central and lawyer-like address--one that had -the "true ring," of business and substantiality about it. Yes! Barnard's -Inn, Holborn, London, E.C., looked to our mind to be likely to serve our -stratigical purpose to the point we desired. Having made all the -preparatory arrangements, we then procured from a neighbouring stationer's -shop a sheet of mourning note-paper and an envelope of large proportions, -each having the very blackest and broadest of black borders we could find -in stock. Then we wrote in a law-like hand:-- - - _No. 6, Barnard's Inn, - Holborn, London, E.C., - February 26, 1870._ - - _THIS IS TO GIVE NOTICE:--If Mr. John Morgan, ballad-writer, &c., will - call at the above address on or after Wednesday next. He will hear - something greatly to his advantage._ - - _(Signed)_ - [Signature: Charles Hindley.] - - _Mr. John Morgan, - care of............ - ..............London._ - -The above document having been duly intrusted to Her Majesty's Post Master -General for delivery, we had to abide our time for the result. We had not -to wait long, for although we had appointed the next following Wednesday -to communicate "_something greatly to the advantage of Mr. John Morgan_," -he turned up a little sooner than we expected, or desired, by reason of -his putting in an appearance at Barnard's Inn on Tuesday evening, where he -arrived "happy and glorious," and made earnest enquiries for "the -gentleman who had sent him a letter to say he had got a something to his -advantage--perhaps a fortune! For sometimes he thought somebody would die -and leave him one. Where was the gentleman who wrote him the letter? He -says that I am to call here. He sent it in a black-bordered envelope for -him. Where is the gentleman? See here is the letter, and all in -black--black as your hat--look for yourself, sir." - -All the above was spoken to a friend of ours who lived on the ground-floor -at the particular house in Barnard's Inn, where Mr. John Morgan had been -requested to call on Wednesday. It was then only Tuesday, and that fact -had to be explained; also, that the gentleman in question was not at -present in his chambers on the third-floor, but would be in the morning up -to 10 o'clock. Our friend on the first-floor--who had received -instructions from us in the event of Mr. John Morgan turning-up while we -were not at home--informed us of all that had taken place when we arrived -a little later on in the evening. - -On the next morning preparations were made for the reception of our -expectant friend--a good fire, a good breakfast, and a half-pint of "Old -Tom" from Carr's well-known Establishment, St. Clement Danes, Strand. - -Very soon after the old clock of the ancient hall of Barnard's Inn, and -all the public clocks in the surrounding neighbourhood had proclaimed -aloud that the hour of 10 a.m. of that Wednesday morning had arrived, -there was heard a knock at the outer door of our chamber-rooms, and on the -same being opened, Mr. John Morgan announced himself as the party to whom -the gentleman had sent a black-bordered letter and envelope for him to say -there was a something to his advantage to be had. Then Mr. John Morgan, -full of bows and scrapes, was ushered into our presence.--He was the party -who had received the letter. Oh! yes, Mr. Morgan we added: take a seat -sir. Yes, sir, and thank you to, he replied, at the same time sitting down -and then very carefully despositing his somewhat delapidated hat -under--far under--the chair. We then enquired whether he would have -anything to eat, or have a cup of coffee. No! it was a little too early in -the morning for eating, and coffee did not always agree with him. Or, a -drop of good "Old Tom," we somewhat significantly suggested. Mr. John -Morgan would very much like to have a little drop of gin, for it was a -nasty raw cold morning: In answer to our enquiry whether he would prefer -hot or cold water, elected to have it neat if it made no difference to us. - -Mr. John Morgan at our suggestion having "wet the other eye," _i.e._, -taken the second glass, the real business part of the question we had met -upon commenced thus:--"We have been informed that you were acquainted -with, and used to write for the late James Catnach, who formerly lived in -the Seven Dials, and that you can give us much of the information that we -require towards perfecting a work we have in hand treating on Street -Literature. If you are willing to do so, we are prepared to treat with you -in a liberal manner, and that, please to at once to understand is the -'_Something greatly to your advantage_ that is mentioned in the note we -addressed to you.'" Here Mr. John Morgan hinted that he thought it was--or -he had hoped it was, a little fortune some one had been kind enough to -leave him, he always expected that old Jemmy Catnach would--after what he -had done for him, have left him a bit, however small, but no such luck. - -Mr. Morgan expressed his willingness to give all the information he could -on the subject and leave it to our generosity to pay him what we pleased, -and adding that he had no doubt that we should not fall out on that score. -And so we proceeded, we talked and took notes. Mr. Morgan talked and took -gin. Mr. Morgan got warm--warmer and warmer--and very entertaining, his -conversational powers increased wonderfully, he became very witty and -laughed _ha! hah!!_ he joked and made merry at some old reminiscences in -connection with old Jemmy Catnach--and admitted, that after all old Jemmy -wasn't a particular bad sort--that is, when you knew him, and could handle -him properly--then old Jemmy was as right as my leg! Still we continued to -talk and take notes, still Mr. Morgan talked and took gin, until he -emulated the little old woman who sold "Hot Codlings," for of her it is -related that--"the glass she filled and the bottle she shrunk and that -this little old woman in the end got----." - -At length it became very manifest that we should not be able to get any -more information out of Mr. John Morgan on that day, so proposed for him -to call again on the morrow morning and at the same time and place to -pursue the thread of our narrative. Then having presented him with a -portrait of Her most gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, set in gold, we -volunteered to see him down stairs which we observed were very -crooked--Mr. Morgan thought they were very old and funny ones: up and down -like--in fact what old Charley Dibdin would have called regular "whopping -old stairs!" Being safely landed from the last stone step on to the -stone-paved way, we thought it advisable, for appearance sake, to conduct -our friend out of Barnard's Inn by a sideway leading into Fetter-lane. -After that it occurred to us that it would perhaps be better to see him to -the Fleet-street end of the lane and then to put him into a Westminster -omnibus, but we had reached Somerset House before one going that way came -in sight. Then it was Mr. John Morgan suddenly recollected that he could -not pass his old friend Short--who was Short? why surely you know -Short--old Short, him as sells the wine so good and so cheap, there over -the way--that's Short's--"WINES FROM THE WOOD," that's out of the cask you -know, you remind me to-morrow, sir, and I'll tell you a good tale about -old Short before he made such a lot of money as he has got now.--Capital -chap old Short, he knows me--it's all about a song I wrote--but I'll tell -you all about it to-morrow. Besides I must have change ye know for there's -no one got any at my home--my landlord--There's no change about him, Oh! -dear no--He's never got any change but he's always got an old account, do -you see? an old account--but no matter let's go in! - -Respectfully, but firmly declining the kind and very pressing invitation -to have "only just one drop with old Short." We left Mr. John Morgan to -take care of himself for the day and to be sure to meet us on the next -morning in Barnard's Inn at 10 o'clock--sharp. - -At length the wishful morrow came, also ten of the clock, but not so Mr. -John Morgan, nor did he call at any hour during the day. But soon after 11 -o'clock the next day he made his appearance, but being so stupidly drunk -we gave him some money and told him to call again to-morrow. And he did, -but still so muddled that we could make nothing out of him, so we somewhat -curtly dismissed him and returned to Brighton. - -The next day the letter--of which we give a _verbatim et literatim_ -copy--was received and then forwarded on to us. - - 90 Great Peter Street - Westminister, S.W. - - Saturday the 5th of March 1870. - - My Dear and Kind Sir:--I return you my most sincere and heartfelt - thanks for the Kindness I received from you and deeply I regret if I - caused you any displeasure the fact is I have been greatly put about - And you having been so kind as to give me refreshments it overpowered - me I fell and hurt myself. And I am now destitute without a penny in - the world or a friend to help me. I feel as though I offended you I - hope not I think by the Little conversation we had I may be able to - please you I have been considering in my doleful moments matters of - importance if my kind and good friend you can favour me with a Line - this Saturday Evening I will be most grateful I shall not go out - waiting to hear from you I am placed in a most Sad position accept my - thanks write Me a Line in answer to this Befriend me if it is possible - And I will make all right and with gratitude, - - Anxiously waiting your kind and I trust favourable reply. - - [Signature: Your Hum{ble} Servt - John Morgan] - - Charles Hindley, Esq - 6 Barnard's Inn - Holborn - W.C. - -Having no desire to incur the expense of another journey to London in the -matter, and believing that we had obtained sufficient information on the -subject, we published, in the year 1871, a limited number of copies of our -work under the title of:-- - - CURIOSITIES OF STREET LITERATURE: - COMPRISING "COCKS," OR "CATCHPENNIES," - A Large and Curious Assortment of - STREET DROLLERIES, SQUIBS, HISTORIES, COMIC STORIES - IN PROSE AND VERSE, - - BROADSIDES ON THE ROYAL FAMILY, - - POLITICAL LITANIES, DIALOGUES, CATECHISMS, ACTS OF PARLIAMENT, - STREET POLITICAL PAPERS. - - A VARIETY OF "BALLADS ON A SUBJECT," - _DYING SPEECHES AND CONFESSIONS_, - TO WHICH IS ATTACHED THE ALL-IMPORTANT AND NECESSARY - AFFECTIONATE COPY OF VERSES, AS - - "Come, all you feeling-hearted Christians, wherever you may be, - Attention give to these few lines, and listen unto me; - It's of this cruel murder, to you I will unfold, - The bare recital of the same will make your blood run cold." - - - "What hast here? ballads? I love a ballad in print, or a life; for then - we are sure they are true."--_Shakespeare._ - - "There's nothing beats a stunning good murder, after all."--_Experiences - of a Running Patterer._ - - - LONDON: - REEVES AND TURNER - 196, STRAND, - 1871. - - - CURIOSITIES OF STREET LITERATURE. - - Guaranteed only Four Hundred and Fifty Six Copies Printed, - - NAMELY,-- - - L s. d. - - 250 on Fine Toned Demy 4to Published at 1 1 0 - 100 on Large Post 4to, printed on one side of the - paper only " 1 5 0 - 100 on Fine French Linear Writing Paper, printed - on one side only, - and in imitation of the Catnachian tea-like - paper of old " 1 11 6 - 6 on Yellow Demy 4to paper " 2 2 0 - --- - 456 - - [Symbol: Pointing hand] EACH COPY OF EACH EDITION NUMBERED. - -Our work on the Curiosities of Street Literature soon ran out of print. -But we continued to gather from time to time fresh information on the -subject of the "Two Catnachs--John and James," and in the early part of -1876 we determined on publishing a work, to be entitled "The Life and -Times of James Catnach--late of Seven Dials--Ballad Monger." And for the -purpose of obtaining the verification, amendment, or denial to the several -scraps of information we had obtained, we wrote to our old friend, Mr. -John Morgan, on the subject, and from him we received the letters that -follow:-- - - No. 1, Model Cottages, Little St. Anne's Lane, - Great Peter Street, Westminster, - London, S.W. - - _16th February, 1876._ - - Sir, - - I received your Letter this Morning: I have removed to above address - two years and seven months, I have been in Bed seven weeks suffering - from Bronchitis; but am now recovering and shall get up to-day, but - the Doctor will not permit me to go out. - - Whatever you may require I am ready and willing to do to the utmost of - my abilities, and be happy to serve you, and much regret I have not - the strength to venture to ---- Street. If anything can be done by - Letter or otherwise, I will willingly attend to your request, your - reply will greatly oblige, - - [Signature: Your Hum{ble} Servt - John Morgan] - - P.S.--Please excuse the illegible scribble as I write this in Bed. - - Charles Hindley, Esq., - 76, Rose Hill Terrace, Brighton. - - - No. 1, Model Cottages, Little St. Ann's Lane, - Great Peter Street, Westminster, London, S.W. - - _17th February, 1876._ - - Sir, - - I have just received yours, 7 p.m., and in reply I beg to say that - when I came to London in 1818 Catnach's Father was not living. - - Catnach, his Mother, and Sister Julia the youngest, resided at 2, - Monmouth Court, the old woman and Julia worked at a small hand - press--I joined him about 1818--his father died before.--I understood - Julia went astray--the Mother Died about 1826. Anne Ryle was the widow - of an Officer: a Waterloo man--with one child--had a pension. - - Catnach had but little type, and no stock to speak of: he had a Sister - at Portsea the wife of a mate of a ship in harbour, and kept a - song-shop. His Mother lived with him 7 or 8 years.--I understand about - the "Horses-heads." Cox and Kean, I forget except the title and - chorus:-- - - COX _versus_ KEAN; - OR - LITTLE BREECHES. - - "With his ginger tail he did assail, and did the prize obtain, - This Merry Little Wanton Bantam Cock of Drury Lane-- - LITTLE BREECHES." - - Ann Stanton was tried for cutting the Cock's Head off there was no - verses. - - As regards the Sausages, Catnach printed a few lines on a - quarter-sheet, that caused a great uproar, he was taken to Bow Street. - Catnach had six months. There was no verses, it was quickly done. He - printed the life of Mother Cummins, of Dyot Street--now, George - Street, and that was knocked into "pye" in quick sticks. There was a - change after he went to Alnwick in Northumberland, where he carried a - small press and printed the state of the poll every day, while there - he took up his freedom.[2] He came home and printed "Cubitt's - Treadmill":-- - - "And we're all treading, tread, tread, treading, - And we're all treading at fam'd Brixton Mill." - - and kept going forward--retired and went to Barnet, left the business - to James Paul and Ann Ryle. That is many years ago. I seldom go near - the Seven Dials, perhaps once in 3, 4, 5, or six months. I remember - many occurrances but 56 years is a long time, I have just entered my - 77th year. Anything you require as far as I can I will send and - remain, - - [Signature: Your Hum{ble} Servt - John Morgan] - - Charles Hindley, Esq., - 76, Rose Hill Terrace, Brighton. - - - 1 Model Cottages, Little Ann's Lane, - Great Peter Street, Westminster, London, S.W. - - _29th February, 1876._ - - Dear Sir:-- - - If I was to go back and think of passing events it would fill a - volume. First in 1820--Catnach then being very poor--at the death of - George the third, and the Duke of Kent he printed an Elegy: - - "Mourn, Britons mourn! Your sons deplore, - Our royal Sovereign is now no more." - - Then comes the election for Westminster: Burdett, Hobhouse, and Lamb. - He had a song:-- - - "Oh, Cammy Hobby is the man, - And so is daddy Sir Franky, O; - The Hon. W. Lamb is going mad - And kicking like a donkey, O." - "Oh, the naughty Lamb-- - The miserable sinner, O - We'll have him roast and boil'd - And cut him up for dinner, O." - - During the whole time of the election party spirit ran very high. A - real lamb's head with a real rat in its mouth, was stuck upon the top - of a pole. From the rat's tail hung a cock's comb. On the lamb's head - was placed a lawyer's wig, surmounted with a fool's cap. On a board - immediately below the head, was inscribed in front--"Behold the - ratting lamb, with a cock's comb at his tail." On the other side, the - inscription was-- - - "If silly lambs will go ratting, - 'Tis fit they get this sort of batting."[3] - - Then came The Dog's Meat Man-Founded on fact:-- - - In Gray's Inn Lane, not long ago. - An old maid lived a life of woe; - She was fifty-three, with a face like tan, - When she fell in love with a dogs'-meat man. - Much she loved this dogs'-meat man, - He was a good-looking dogs'-meat man; - Her roses and lilies were turn'd to tan, - When she fell in love wi' the dogs'-meat man. - - Every morning when he went by, - Whether the weather was wet or dry, - And right opposite her door he'd stand, - And cry "dogs'-meat," did this dogs'-meat man. - Then her cat would run out to the dogs'-meat man, - And rub against the barrow of the dogs'-meat man, - As right opposite to her door he'd stand, - And cry "Dogs' Meat," did this dogs'-meat man. - - He said his customers, good lord! - Owed him a matter of two pound odd; - And she replied, it was quite scan- - Dalous to cheat such a dogs'-meat man. - "If I had but the money," says the dogs'-meat man, - "I'd open a tripe-shop," says the dogs'-meat man, - "And I'd marry you to-morrow."--She admired the plan, - And she lent a _five-pound note_ to the dogs'-meat man. - - He pocketed the money and went away, - She waited for him all next day, - But he never com'd; and then she began - To think she was diddled by the dogs'-meat man; - She went to seek this dogs'-meat man, - But she couldn't find the dogs'-meat man; - Some friend gave her to understan' - He'd got a wife and seven children--this dogs'-meat man. - - Mother Cummins lived and kept Brothels in Dyot Street, Bloomsbury - Square, after, and still called George Street, named after the Prince - Regent George 4th, at that time "Beggar's Opera" where the Prince and - nobles resorted was at the Rose and Crown, Church Lane, St. Giles. - Catnach printed her life. In the Beggar's Opera, were assembled - matchmakers, beggars, prigs and all the lowest of the low. There was - old black Billy Waters, with his wooden leg, dancing and playing his - fiddle, and singing:-- - - Polly will you marry me--Polly don't you cry, - Polly come to bed with me; and get a little boy. - - some were dipping matches, some boiling potatoes and salt herrings, - some swearing, some dancing--all manners of fun, _&c._ - - Then comes Queen Caroline's trial; Catnach gets out a song:-- - - As I walked down the Greenwich-road one evening in June, - I never saw so fine a sight as on that afternoon. - I never saw so fine a sight, or, one half so good, - As for to see Queen Caroline supported by a Wood. - That Wood shall never be cut down, but stand for ever more; - And he'll protect our innocent Queen Sweet Caroline on our shore. - - which was followed by a skit on George IVth called:-- - - "THE GREAT BABE IN A MESS." - - then another on Queen Caroline's _crin con_ case with Bergami who - couldn't _remember_ nothing at all. - - "BERGAMI, THE _Non mi recordo_." - -[Illustration] - - Who are you? "_Non mi recordo._" - - What countryman are you--a foreigner or an Englishman? "_Non mi - recordo._" - - There was something fresh everyday until the end of the Trial. Catnach - then prints some "papers" belonging to J. Pitts, Printer, Gt. Saint - Andrew-street, which causes a flare-up and a bother. - - Then comes the sheet of "Horses Heads" which heads were like Eldon, - Peel, Canning, &c. Just before they were out Mr. Rockcliff, a Printer - in Old Gravel Lane, Radcliff-Highway sends for me--there was bottles - of whisky. Rockcliff had engaged with a man called Oliver Cromwell to - get him one of the first sheets printed off Catnach's press of the - "Horses Heads" and he would give him half-a-crown. Rockcliff then - requested me to bring him the first sheet of "Horses Heads" and get - the half-a-crown. I went and got the sheet and meets Oliver Cromwell - going into Catnach's as I came out, so I got the half-a-crown. - Rockcliff copies the sheet, then engaged with Lowe the Printer in - Compton-street to supply all the West-end. So it went on and made - plenty of bother between them. - - Catnach got on like a house on fire printing Religious Sheets, then - came the murder of William Weare Esq. by John Thurtell, Hunt and - Probert. I remember all that affair well,--Then the execution of - Thurtell. A twelve-month after Probert was hanged for horsestealing. - Then came the trial of Henry Fauntleroy a banker in Berner's Street - Oxford Street executed for forgery. Then came Corder and Maria Marten - and the Red Barn, so that is the way Catnach got on from a poor man to - be a gentleman. There is many little things I may think of but close - for the present and remain:-- - - [Signature: Your Hum{ble} Servt - John Morgan] - - - 1, Model Cottages, Little St. Ann's Lane, - Great Peter Street, Westminster, - London. _17th March, 1876._ - - Sir, - - I received yours. My recollection is not so good as I would wish. - - I think to the best of my recollection in 1819 there were some old men - who had been forty-years in the streets at that time, their names were - old Jack Smith, Tom Caton, old Jack Rush, Tom Anderson and a few - others. When they wanted anything they made up fresh reports, and - things were done without the least hesitation. As respects Mr. Pizzy - the Pork Butcher, it was some of these men that went to Blackman - Street, Clare Market, and created an uproar about the sausages, crowds - assembled, and windows were broken, they were charged with rioting and - taken to Bow Street, before--as they told me, Sir Richard Burnie, and - I think Mr. Minshull. Catnach was sent to Clerkenwell for trial, and - was afterwards sentenced to six months, and he served the full time. - Then there was the trial of the four poor Irishmen for coining, in the - first year of the mayorality of the late Sir Matthew Wood, and a lot - of other things which I think would answer the purpose. - - About twenty-six years ago Henry Mayhew sent for me, and he began a - work something like yours, but by some means it stopped. There is - matters that would help to fill up a Book without going to much - expense. - - [Signature: Your Hum{ble} Servt - John Morgan] - - Charles Hindley, Esq., - 76, Rose Hill Terrace, Brighton. - -At this date we were through the instrumentality of Mrs. Paul, widow of -Mr. James Paul--formerly in the service of Catnach, introduced to Mrs. -Elizabeth Benton, the last surviving daughter of John and Mary Catnach. -Mr. Benton was assistant treasurer, and box-book keeper to Mr. Alfred -Bunn, of Covent Garden and Drury Lane Theatres, Mrs. Benton, at the time -being wardrobe-mistress and _costumier_. At one period Mr. and Mrs. Benton -lived with Mr. Bunn in St James' Place, St. James' Street, Mrs. Benton -acting in the capacity of housekeeper. During several seasons Mr. Benton -was also treasurer for the proprietors of Vauxhall Gardens, afterwards he -filled the same office for E. T. Smith--_Dazzle Smith!_ at Cremorne -Gardens. He died abroad in 1856. The interview we had with Mrs. Benton led -up to receiving the two letters that follow:-- - - 5, Sonderburg Road, - Seven Sisters' Road, Holloway. - London. _November, 13th, 1876._ - - Dear Sir, - - In reply to your letter, in which you ask if I know where my Father - and mother were married, I regret to say I do not know for certain if - it was in Edinburgh or Berwick-on-Tweed, but I am certain it was not - in Alnwick. - - * * * * * - - I shall feel obliged for the [Alnwick] Journal, and also for the - Register of Baptisms. - - I always understood that my father was a descendant of Catnach, King - of the Picts. - - [Signature: I remain yours & - E Benton] - - P.S.--The paper has not arrived--shall be glad to hear from you by - return of Post. - - Charles Hindley, Esq., - 76, Rose Hill Terrace, Brighton. - - - 5, Sonderburg Road, - Seven Sisters' Road, Holloway, - London. _November 18, 1876._ - - Dear Sir, - - I am sorry I have not answered your letter before, but I have been - very ill. - - I am sorry I can give you no more information than I have already - given you, but about Mrs. Ryle and Mr. ---- I cannot exactly say, and - as my niece Mrs. Harding was but a girl when her uncle died I should - not like to apply to her as it would be painful. - - My father was dead when the Battle of Waterloo was fought, but was in - Alnwick at the Battle of Trafalgar, and for some time after. My Father - had 3 residences in London. 1. (only a shop) in Wardour Street, Soho - Square, and ditto also Gerrard Street, and also in Charlotte Street, - Fitzroy Square (apartments). - - My Father had a severe illness, also a fever of which he died. I - should feel very much obliged if you could find me a copy of the - Hermit of Warkworth, and I will willingly pay for it, and also Blair's - Grave. - - I am very much obliged for the Registers, and if I can supply you with - further information I will do so with pleasure. I have not heard from - Mr. [Mark] Smith. - - [Signature: I remain Yours &c. - E Benton] - - P.S.--I received the Paper [Alnwick Journal] with thanks. - - C. Hindley, Esq., - 76, Rose Hill Terrace, Brighton. - -It was at this particular date of our history--1876--that we had the good -fortune to get acquainted with Mr. George Skelly, of Alnwick--who, like -ourselves, is possessed of the _cacoethes scribendi_, and was at the time -supplying, _con amore_, an article to the _Alnwick Journal_, entitled -"John and James Catnach," which we found to contain certain information -relative to the elder Catnach, and also of the earlier portion of the life -of James, of which we had no previous knowledge. At our solicitation to be -allowed to make a selection from the same, we received a most courteous -and gentlemanly letter, which, in addition to containing several pieces of -information and answers to many queries we had put to Mr. Skelly, he wound -up by saying:--"You have full liberty to make use of anything that I have -written, and it will afford me much pleasure if I can further your -intentions in any way." - -From that date, Mr. George Skelly continued to correspond with us on the -subject of the "Two Catnachs," nearly up to the last moment of our going -to press with our own "Life and Times of James Catnach," and to him we are -greatly indebted for much of the information therein contained. And it was -at his suggestion that we wrote the following letter to the _Alnwick -Journal_--Mr. Skelly at the same time furnishing the local paragraph. - - Letter to the Editor. - - _To the Editor of the Alnwick Journal._ - - 76, Rose Hill Terrace, Brighton, - June 16th, 1876. - - SIR,--Your townsman, Mr. George Skelly, in the concluding chapter of - his excellent article of "John and James Catnach," makes mention of my - name as being engaged in preparing for publication "The Life and Times - of James Catnach, formerly of Seven Dials, printer of ballads, &c." - Such being the fact, I shall therefore be glad if you would allow me - sufficient space in the _Alnwick Journal_, to ask your readers and - correspondents who possess any additional facts, sayings, doings, or - letters of the two Catnachs--John and James--to supply me with the - same, when I shall have much pleasure in assigning to any such - contributions a proper chronological place in my work, and of - acknowledging the source of the same, while all documents or books - will be faithfully returned by yours, &c., &c., - - CHARLES HINDLEY. - - * * * * * - - JOHN AND JAMES CATNACH.--It will be seen by a correspondence in - another page that Mr. Charles Hindley, of Brighton, is preparing for - publication the "Life and Times of James Catnach," and he respectfully - solicits from our readers any facts and scraps they may be possessed - of, also the loan of any letters or books suitable for the extention - of the life of the celebrated and withal eccentric printer, who, - although a native of Alnwick, settled in London, and occupied a - peculiar position for upwards of a quarter of a century in the Seven - Dials district. We trust that our correspondent may be enabled to add - to his all ready large stock of material in hand a few more items, by - the publication of his letter in our columns. Mr. Hindley's work, - will, it is expected, be published by Messrs. Reeves and Turner, of - the Strand, London, during the coming autumn. - -The above letter to the _Alnwick Journal_ was the means of obtaining -another valuable correspondent--Mr. George H. Thompson, also of Alnwick, -who volunteered his services to aid and assist, to the best of his time -and ability, in supplying all the information he possessed or could glean -from his friends and acquaintances in the good old borough of Alnwick, or -the county at large. And _inter alia_ copied out _verbatim_ from the -Parish Register of Baptisms in St. Michael's Church all the entries in -connection with the family of John and Mary Catnach and which will be -found _in extenso_ at pages 2-3 of this work. - -Mr. George Skelly and Mr. G. H. Thompson are fortunate by their residence -in Alnwick in having had the acquaintance and friendship of the late Mr. -Mark Smith--James Catnach's fellow apprentice, Mr. Thomas Robertson, Mr. -Tate, the local historian, and several other _Alnwick-folk_. And they have -made the best possible use of the circumstance to supply us with -information on the subject of our enquiry. - -Recently Mr. Geo. Skelly has forwarded to us an original trade invoice of -John Catnach of which we here append a _fac-simile_ copy:-- - - [Illustration] _ALNWICK_ - - _Mr. Smart_, - _Bought of_ J. CATNACH, - - 1807. - _July 29._ _L s. d._ - - _Printing 500 Bills_ 8 ,, 6 - ---------- - - [Signature: Paid - J. Catnach] - -We have now brought up the history of our pursuit of knowledge to the eve -of the publication of the Life and Times of James Catnach--late of Seven -Dials, Ballad-monger--which was first announced in 1878 in the manner -following. - - YE LIFE OF JEMMY CATNACH. - - [Illustration] - - Now, my friends, you have here just printed and pub--lish--ed, the - Full, True, and Particular account of the Life, Trial, Character, - Confession, Condemnation, and Behaviour, together with an authentic - copy of the last Will and Testament: or DYING SPEECH, of that - eccentric individual "Old Jemmy Catnach," late of the _Seven Dials_, - printer, publisher, toy-book manufacturer, dying-speech merchant, and - ballad-monger. Here, you may read how he was bred and born the son of - a printer, in the ancient Borough of Alnwick, which is in - Northumberlandshire. How he came to London to seek his fortune. How he - obtained it by printing and publishing children's books, the - chronicling of doubtful scandals, fabulous duels between ladies of - fashion, "cooked" assassinations, and sudden deaths of eminent - individuals, apocryphal elopements, real or catch-penny accounts of - murders, impossible robberies, delusive suicides, dark deeds and - public executions, to which was usually attached the all-important and - necessary "Sorrowful Lamentations," or, "Copy of Affectionate Verses," - which, according to the established custom, the criminal composed, in - the condemned cell, the night before his execution. - - Yes, my customers, in this book you'll read how Jemmy Catnach made his - fortune in Monmouth Court, which is to this day in the Seven Dials, - which is in London. Not only will you read how he did make his - fortune, but also what he did and what he didn't do with it after he - had made it. You will also read how "Old Jemmy" set himself up as a - fine gentleman:--JAMES CATNACH ES--QUIRE. - - And how he didn't like it when he had done it. And how he went back - again to dear old Monmouth Court, which is in the Seven Dials - aforesaid. And how he languished, and languishing, did die--leaving - all his old mouldy coppers behind him--and how being dead, he was - buried in Highgate Cemetery. - - Furthermore, my ready-money customers, you are informed that there are - only 750 copies of the work print-ed and pub-lish-ed, viz., namely - that is to say;--500 copies on crown 8vo, at 12/6 each. - - 250 copies on demy 8vo., at 25/- each. - - LONDON: - REEVES AND TURNER, - 196, STRAND, W.C. - 1878. - -The Seven Dials!--Jemmy Catnach and Street Literature are, as it were, so -inseparably bound together that we now propose to give a short history of -the former to enable us to connect our own history with the later:-- - -The Seven Dials were built for wealthy tenants, and Evelyn, in his -_Diary_, 1694, notes: "I went to see the building near St. Giles's, where -Seven Dials make a star from a Doric pillar placed in the middle of a -circular area, in imitation of Venice." The attempt was not altogether in -vain. This part of the parish has ever since "worn its _dirt_ with a -difference." There is an air of shabby gentility about it. The air of the -footman or waiting-maid can be recognised through the tatters, which are -worn with more assumption than those of their unsophisticated neighbours. - - "You may break, you may shatter the vase if you will; - But the scent of the roses will hang round it still." - -The Seven Dials are thus described in Gay's Trivia:-- - - "Where famed St. Giles's ancient limits spread, - An in-railed column rears its lofty head; - Here to seven streets, seven dials count their day, - And from each other catch the circling ray; - Here oft the peasant, with inquiring face, - Bewildered, trudges on from place to place; - He dwells on every sign with stupid gaze-- - Enters the narrow alley's doubtful maze-- - Tries every winding court and street in vain, - And doubles o'er his weary steps again." - -This column was removed in July, 1773, on the supposition that a -considerable sum of money was lodged at the base; but the search was -ineffectual. - -Charles Knight, in his "London," writes thus of Seven Dials:-- - - "It is here that the literature of St. Giles's has fixed its abode; - and a literature the parish has of its own, and that, as times go, of - a very respectable standing in point of antiquity. In a letter from - Letitia Pilkington, to the demure author of 'Sir Charles Grandison,' - and published by the no less exemplary and irreproachable Mrs. - Barbauld, the lady informs her correspondent that she has taken - apartments in Great White Lion Street, and stuck up a bill intimating - that all who have not found 'reading and writing come by nature,' and - who had had no teacher to make up the defect by art, might have - 'letters written here.' With the progress of education, printing - presses have found their way into St. Giles's, and what with - literature and a taste for flowers and birds, there is much of the - 'sweet south' about the Seven Dials harmonising with the out-of-door - habits of its occupants. It was here--in Monmouth Court, a - thoroughfare connecting Monmouth Street with Little Earl Street--that - the late eminent Mr. Catnach developed the resources of his genius and - trade. It was he who first availed himself of greater mechanical skill - and a larger capital than had previously been employed in the - department of THE TRADE, to substitute--for the excrable tea-paper, - blotched with lamp-black and oil, which characterised the old - broadside and ballad printing--tolerably white paper and real - printer's ink. But more than that, it was he who first conceived and - carried into effect, the idea of publishing collections of songs by - the yard, and giving to purchasers, for the small sum of one penny (in - former days the cost of a single ballad), strings of poetry, - resembling in shape and length the list of Don Juan's mistresses, - which Leporello unrolls on the stage before Donna Anna. He was no - ordinary man, Catnach; he patronised original talents in many a bard - of St Giles's and is understood to have accumulated the largest store - of broadsides, last dying speeches, ballads and other stock-in-trade - of the flying stationer's upon record." - -Douglas Jerrold in his article on the Ballad Singer, published in "Heads -of the People; or Portraits of the English"--1841, writes thus of Seven -Dials and its surroundings:-- - - "The public ear has become dainty, fastidious, hypercritical; hence - the Ballad-Singer languishes and dies. Only now and then, his pipings - are to be heard * * * With the fall of Napoleon, declined the English - Ballad-Singer. During the war, it was his peculiar province to vend - halfpenny historical abridgments to his country's glory; recommending - the short poetic chronicle by some familiar household air, that fixed - it in the memory of the purchaser, who thus easily got hatred of the - French by heart, with a new assurance of his own invulnerability. No - battle was fought, no vessel taken or sunken, that the triumph was not - published, proclaimed in the national gazette of our Ballad-Singer. If - he were not the clear silver trump of Fame, he was at least her tin - horn. It was he who bellowed music into news, which, made to jingle, - was thus, even to the weakest understanding, rendered portable. It was - his narrow strips of history that adorned the garrets of the poor; it - was he who made them yearn towards their country, albiet to them so - rough and niggard a mother. - - Napoleon lost Waterloo, and the English Ballad-Singer not only lost - his greatest prerogative, but was almost immediately assailed by - foreign rivals, who had well-nigh played him dumb. Little thought the - Ballad-Singer, when he crowed forth the crowning triumphs of the war, - and in his sweetest possible modulations breathed the promised - blessings of a golden peace, that he was then, swan-like, singing his - own knell; that he did but herald the advent of his own provencal - destroyers. - - Oh muse! descend and say, did no omen tell the coming of the fall? Did - no friendly god give warning to the native son of song? Burned the - stars clearly, tranquilly in heaven,--or shot they madly across - Primrose-hill, the Middlesex Parnassus? - - * * * * * - - Evening had gathered o'er Saint Giles's, and Seven Dials. So tranquil - was the season, even publishers were touched. Catnach and Pitts sat - silent in their shops; placing their hands in breeches-poke, with that - serenity which pockets best convey, they looked around their - walls--walls more richly decked than if hung with triumphs of Sidonian - looms, arrayed with Bayeux stitchings; walls, where ten thousand - thousand ballads--strips harmonious, yet silent as Apollo's unbraced - strings,--hung pendulous, or crisply curling, like John Braham's hair. - Catnach and Pitts, the tuneful masters of the gutter-choir, serenely - looked, yet with such comprehensive glance, that look did take their - stock. Suddenly, more suddenly than e'er the leaves in Hornsey wood - were stirred by instant blast, the thousand thousand ballads swung and - rustled on the walls; yet wind there was not, not the lightest breath. - Still like pendants fluttering in a northern breeze, the ballads - streamed towards Catnach, and towards Pitts! Amazing truth--yet more; - each ballad found a voice! 'Old Towler' faintly growled; 'Nancy - Dawson' sobbed and sighed; and, 'Bright Chanticleer' crowed weakly, - dolorously, as yet in chickenhood, and smitten with the pip. At the - same instant, the fiddle, the antique viol of Roger Scratch, fell from - its garret-peg, and lay shivered, even as glass. - - A cloud fell upon Seven Dials; dread and terror chilled her many - minstrels: and why--and wherefore? - - At that dread moment, a ministrel from the sunny south, with - barrel-organ, leapt on Dover beach! Seven Dials felt the shock: her - troubadours, poor native birds, were to be out-carrolled and - out-quavered, by Italian opera retailed by penn'orths to them, from - the barrel-organs: and prompt to follow their masters, they let the - English ballad singer sing unheard. - - The Ballad-Singer has lost his occupation; yet should he not pass away - unthanked, unrecompensed. We have seen him a useful minister in rude - society; we have heard him a loud-mouthed advocate of party zeal, and - we have seen him almost ground into silence by the southern - troubadour. Yet was he the first music-seller in the land. Ye - well-stocked, flourishing vendors of fashionable scores, deign to cast - a look through plate glass at your poor, yet great original, - bare-footed and in rags, singing, unabashed, amidst London - wagon-wheels: behold the true decendant of the primative - music-seller." - -Charles Dickens, as Boz, long since "sketched" the Seven Dials, and at the -same time and place given us his--"Meditations in Monmouth Street":-- - - "Seven Dials! the region of song and poetry--first effusions, and last - dying speechees: hallowed by the names of Catnach and Pitts--names - that will entwine themselves with costermongers, and barrel-organs, - when penny magazines shall have superseded penny yards of song, and - capital punishment be unknown." - -Several years ago Mr. Albert Smith, who lived at Chertsey, discovered in -his neighbourhood part of the Seven Dials--the column doing duty as a -monument to a Royal Duchess--when he described the circumstance in a -pleasant paper, entitled "Some News of a famous Old Fellow," in his "Town -and Country Magazine." The communication is as follows:-- - - "Let us now quit the noisome mazes of St. Giles's and go out and away - into the pure leafy country. Seventeen or eighteen miles from town, in - the county of Surrey, is the little village of Weybridge. - - One of the lions to be seen at Weybridge is Oatlands, with its large - artificial grotto and bath-room, which is said--but we cannot - comprehend the statement--to have cost the Duke of Newcastle, who had - it built, L40,000. The late Duchess of York died at Oatlands, and lies - in a small vault under Weybridge Church, wherein there is a monument, - by Chantrey, to her memory. She was an excellent lady, well-loved by - all the country people about her, and when she died they were anxious - to put up some sort of a tribute to her memory. But the village was - not able to offer a large some of money for this purpose. The good - folks did their best, but the amount was still very humble, so they - were obligated to dispense with the service of any eminent architect, - and build up only such a monument as their means could compass. - Someone told them that there was a column to be sold cheap in a - stonemason's yard, which might answer their purpose. It was - accordingly purchased; a coronet was placed upon its summit; and the - memorial was set up on Weybridge Green, in front of the Ship Inn, at - the junction of the roads leading to Oatlands, to Shepperton Lock, and - to Chertsey. This column turned out to be the original one from Seven - Dials. - - The stone on which the dials were engraved or fixed, was sold with it. - The poet Gay, however, was wrong when he spoke of its seven faces. It - is hexagonal in its shape; this is accounted for by the fact that two - of the streets opened into one angle. It was not wanted to assist in - forming the monument, but was turned into a stepping stone, near the - adjoining inn, to assist the infirm in mounting their horses, and - there it now lies, having sunk by degrees into the earth; but its - original form can still be easily surmised. It may be about three feet - in diameter. - - The column itself is about thirty feet high and two feet in diameter, - displaying no great architectural taste. It is surmounted by a - coronet, and the base is enclosed by a light iron railing. An - appropriate inscription on one side of the base indicates its erection - in the year 1822, on the others are some lines to the memory of the - Duchess. - - Relics undergo strange transpositions. The obelisk from the mystic - solitudes of the Nile to the centre of the Place de la Concorde, in - bustling Paris--the monuments of Nineveh to the regions of Great - Russell Street--the frescoes from the long, dark, and silent Pompeii - to the bright and noisy Naples--all these are odd changes. But in - proportion to their importance, not much behind them is that old - column from the crowded dismal regions of St. Giles to the sunny - tranquil Green of Weybridge." - -We are now approaching--"The beginning of the end"--of our history. We -were not taken by surprise as we know that "coming events cast their -shadows before," and that:-- - - Often do the spirits - Of great events stride on before the events, - And in to-day already walks to-morrow. - -Therefore we were well prepared to read in the newspapers of October, -1883, the following paragraph:-- - - The old-established printing and publishing house formerly occupied by - James Catnach, 2, Monmouth-court, Seven Dials, will soon be amongst - the lost landmarks of London. The Metropolitan Board of Works have - purchased the house, and it is to be pulled down to make the new - street from Leicester-square to New Oxford-street. The business of the - literature of the street was founded by James Catnach in 1813, who - retired in 1840. The ballads and broadsides he printed, many of them - illustrated with cuts by Bewick, helped to furnish the people with - news and political and social ballads for generations. - -All that is fortold in the above has since taken place, Monmouth-court and -the house and shop wherein old Jemmy Catnach established the "Catnach -Press" in the year 1813 has disappeared to make way for the "New -Thoroughfare" from Leicester-square to New Oxford street, and:-- - -THE CATNACH PRESS - -removed by Mr. W. S. Fortey--Catnach's successor--to Great St. -Andrew-street, Bloomsbury, W.C. - -_O tempora! O mores!_ - - - - -[Illustration: THE HISTORY OF THE CATNACH PRESS, AND THE TWO CATNACHS, -JOHN & JAMES, FATHER & SON, _Printers_, 1769-1841.] - - -[Illustration] - -THOMAS BEWICK, - -Thomas Bewick died at his house on the Windmill-Hills, Gateshead, November -the 8th, 1828, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, and on the 13th he -was buried in the family burial-place at Ovingham, where his parents, -wife, and brother were interred. - - -[Illustration] - -THE CATNACH PRESS. - -In addition to the full title of our work--"The History of the Catnach -Press"--the two Catnachs--John and James--father and son, we deem it -necessary to incidentally introduce into our pages some notice of Alnwick, -an ancient borough, market-town and parish of Northumberland, also a few -passing remarks on the life and doings of Mr. William Davison, who, in -conjunction with the elder Catnach as a business partner and subsequent -successor, employed Thomas Bewick--an English artist, who imparted the -first impulse to the art of wood-engraving--for many of their -publications. - -Of the early life of John Catnach, (_Kat-nak_), the father, we have little -information. He was born in 1769, at Burntisland, a royal burgh and parish -of Fifeshire, Scotland, where his father was possessed of some -powder-mills. The family afterwards removed to Edinburgh, when their son -John was bound apprentice to his uncle, Sandy Robinson, the printer. After -having duly served out his indentures, he worked for some short time in -Edinburgh, as a journeyman, then started in a small business of his own in -Berwick-upon-Tweed, where he married Mary Hutchinson, who was a native of -Dundee, a seaport-town in Scotland. While at Berwick a son and heir, John, -was born. In 1790 they removed their business to Alnwick, and during their -residence there seven children were born to them and from the Register of -Baptisms in St. Michael's Church we glean that four of them were baptised -at one time, viz., September 24, 1797, and there described as "of John -Catnach, printer, and Mary his wife: Dissenter."[?] John Catnach had been -brought up in the Roman Catholic faith, and his wife as a Presbyterian. -The following is taken _verbatim_ from the Parish Register:-- - - Sep{t.} 24, 1797. - - Margaret, Daug{r.} of John Catnach, printer, and Mary his Wife. Born - Dec{r.} 26{th}, 1790. Dissenter. - - James, son of John Catnach, printer, and Mary his Wife. Born August - 18{th}, 1792. Dissenter. - - Mary, Daug{r.} of John Catnach, printer, and Mary his Wife. Born - February 26{th}, 1794. Dissenter. - - Nancy, Daug{r.} of John Catnach, printer, and Mary his Wife. Born - Sep{r.} 2{nd}, 1795. Dissenter. - - May 23, 1798. - - Elizabeth Catnach. Born March 21, 1797, 4{th} Daughter of John - Catnach, printer, native of Burnt Island, Shire of Fife, by his wife - Mary Hutchinson, Native of Dundee, Angus Shire, Scotland. - - Dec{r.} 14, 1798. - - Isabella Catnach. Born Nov{r.} 2, 1798. 5th Daughter of Jn{o.} - Catnach, Stationer, Nat. of Scotland, by his wife, Mary Hutchinson, - Nat. of Dundee, Angus Shire, Scotland. - - March 28, 1800. - - Jane Catnach, 6{th} Daughter of John Catnach, printer, Native of - Edinburgh (_sic_) by his wife Mary Hutchinson, Native of Dundee, - Scotland. - -To the above we have to add that there were two sons--John, born to John -and Mary Catnach. John I. who was born at Berwick-upon-Tweed, died August -27, 1794, aged 5 years and 7 months, and we find him duly recorded in the -Register of Deaths. John II., whose name appears at the end of the -inscription on a tombstone in Alnwick churchyard, and of which further -mention will be made in another portion of our work, died, presumably -unbaptized, March 5, 1803, aged 4 months. - -John Catnach was not long a resident in the borough of Alnwick before he -became acquainted with many of the principal tradesmen in the place. -Naturally he was of a free-and-easy disposition, and, like many of his -kinsman on the Borders, was particularly fond of the social glass. The -latter practice he allowed to grow upon him in such a way that it -ultimately interfered very much with his business prospects, and finally -hastened his death. - -The shop that he commenced business in, was situated in Narrowgate-street, -and adjoining the old Half-Moon hostelry. In gaining access to the place -one had to ascend a flight of steps. Whilst in this shop he secured a fair -amount of patronage, and the specimens of printing that emanated from his -press are of such a character as to testify to his qualifications and -abilities in the trade which he adopted as his calling. He possessed a -fond regard for the traditions and customs which for centuries had been so -closely associated with the Border country. - -When the printing press was first introduced into Alnwick is not exactly -known; but that it was considerably before the time of Catnach is certain. -John Vint, the bookseller and author of the "Burradon Ghost," for several -years used a press for printing purposes in the town, and Thomas Lindsay -carried on a similar business at a still earlier period. - -John Catnach had a great relish for printing such works as would admit of -expensive embellishments, which, at the time he commenced business, were -exceedingly rare. The taste he displayed in the execution of his work will -be best exemplified in examining some of the printed editions of the -standard works which emanated from his press; and in no instance is this -more characteristically set forth than in those finely printed books which -are so beautifully illustrated by the masterly hand of Thomas Bewick and -his accomplished and talented pupil, Luke Clennell. Notably among which -are:-- - -1.--"The Beauties of Natural History. Selected from Buffon's History of -Quadrupeds, &c. Alnwick: J. Catnach, [n. d.] _Circa_ 1790, 12mo., pp. 92. -With 67 cuts by Bewick."--Another edition. Published and Sold by the -Booksellers. By Wilson and Spence, York, and J. Catnach, printer, Alnwick. -(Price 1_s._ 6_d._ sewed, or 2_s._ half-bound.) [n. d.] _Circa_ 1795. - -The embellishments of "The Beauties of Natural History" form an unique and -valuable collection. They are very small and were done at an exceedingly -low price, yet every bird and animal is exquisitely brought out in the -minutest detail; whilst many of the illustrations which served as "tail -pieces" are gems of art. - -2.--"Poems by Percival Stockdale. With cuts by Thomas Bewick. Alnwick: -printed by J. Catnach. 1800." - -3.--"The Hermit of Warkworth. A Northumberland Ballad. In three Fits. By -Dr. Thos. Percy, Bishop of Dromore. With Designs by Mr. Craig; and -Engraved on Wood by Mr. Bewick. Alnwick: Printed and Sold by J. Catnach. -Sold by Lackington, Allen, and Co., London; Constable and Co., Edinburgh; -and Hodgson, Newcastle. 1806." The Arms of the Duke of Northumberland -precedes the Dedication, thus:-- - - [Illustration] - - TO HER GRACE FRANCES JULIA, - DUCHESS OF NORTHUMBERLAND, - _This Edition of_ - THE HERMIT OF WARKWORTH, - Is respectfully Inscribed - By Her Grace's Obliged and Humble Servant, - J. CATNACH - - ALNWICK, _October, 1805_. - -4.--A Second Edition; of which a few copies were printed on extra thick -paper, royal 8vo., to match with some of his other works, illustrated by -Bewick, pp. xiv., 182, with 13 cuts. At the end of the Poem are a -Postcript, a Description of the Hermitage of Warkworth, Warkworth Castle, -Alnwick Castle, Alnwick Abbey, and A Descriptive Ride in Hulne Park, -Alnwick: Printed and Sold by J. Catnach. Sold by Wilson and Spence, York. -1807. - - -THE HERMIT OF WARKWORTH. - -[Illustration] - - "And now, attended by their host, - The hermitage they view'd." - -[Illustration] - - With hospitable haste he rose, - And wak'd his sleeping fire: - And snatching up a lighted brand, - Forth hied the reverend sire. - - * * * * - -[Illustration] - - He fought till more assistance came; - The Scots were overthrown; - Thus freed me, captive, from their bands, - To make me more his own. - -The illustrations of "The Hermit of Warkworth" are, upon the whole, very -creditable, and are well calculated to enhance the value of the book, but -as works of art some few of them fall far short of many of Craig or -Bewick's other productions. - -John Catnach also printed and published a series of Juvenile Works, as -"The Royal Play Book: or, Children's Friend. A Present for Little Masters -and Misses." "The Death and Burial of Cock Robin, &c. ADORNED WITH -CUTS.--Which in many cases were the early productions of Thomas -Bewick.--Alnwick: Sold Wholesale and Retail by J. Catnach, at his Toy-Book -Manufactory." - -[Illustration] - - -In the year 1807, John Catnach took an apprentice--a lad named Mark Smith, -of whom more anon; a few months afterwards he entered into partnership -with a Mr. William Davison, who was a native of Ponteland, in the county -of Northumberland, but he duly served his apprenticeship as a chemist and -druggist to Mr. Hind, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and for whom he ever -cherished a fond regard. The union was not of long duration--certainly -under two years--but it is very remarkable that two such men should have -been brought together, for experience has shown that they were both -morally and socially, the very opposite of each other. - -During the partnership: Mr. Davison held his business of chemist, &c., in -Bondgate-street; while the printing and publishing continued at -Narrowgate-street, and among the works published by the firm of CATNACH -and DAVISON we may record:-- - -"The Minstrel; or, The Progress of Genuis. In Two Parts. With some other -Poems. By James Beattie, LL.D. With sixteen Cuts from Designs by Mr. -Thurston; and engraved on Wood by Mr. Clennel, Alnwick. Printed by Catnach -and Davison. Sold by the Booksellers in England and Scotland. 1807. 12mo. -and Royal 8vo., pp. 142." - -"The Grave. A Poem. By Robert Blair. To which is added Gray's Elegy. In a -Country Church Yard. With Notes Moral and Explanatory. Alnwick: Printed by -Catnach and Davison. Sold by the Booksellers in England, Scotland, and -Ireland. 1808. 12mo., pp. xiv., 72. With a frontispiece and other cuts by -Thomas Bewick." - -[Illustration: _T. Bewick._] - -THE GRAVE. - - "Prone, on the lowly grave of the dear man - She drops; whilst busy meddling Memory, - In barbarous succession, musters up - The past endearments of their softer hours - Tenacious of its theme." - -After the dissolution of the strange partnership, Mr. Davison still -prosecuted with vigour the several departments of the business; for -although reared to the prescribing of physics, he had a fine taste and -relish for the book trade, and the short time that he was with Catnach -enabled him to acquire a good amount of valuable information on this -subject. Be this as it may, he soon laid the basis of a large and -lucrative business. About the first work Mr. Davison issued on his own -account was:-- - -[Illustration] - -THE REPOSITORY OF SELECT LITERATURE. - -Being an Elegant Assemblage of Curious, Scarce, Entertaining and -Instructive Pieces in Prose and Verse. Adorned with beautiful Engravings -by Bewick, &c. Alnwick: Printed by W. Davison. Sold by the Booksellers in -England and Scotland. 1808. - -This work is a fine specimen of provincial book-printing; its pages are -adorned with some of Bewick's excellent cuts. There is one that we would -particularly refer to, and that is "Shepherd Lubin." In size it is very -small, but, like most of Bewick's pieces, sufficiently large to show the -inimitable skill of the artist. The picture tells its own tale:-- - - "Young Lubin was a shepherd's boy, - Who watched a rigid master's sheep, - And many a night was heard to sigh, - And may a day was seen to weep." - -[Illustration: _And for whole days would wander in those places she had -been used to walk with Henry._] - -"The History of Crazy Jane, by Sarah Wilkinson, with a frontispiece by -Bewick: Alnwick. Printed by W. Davison; _and Sold by all the Principal -Booksellers in England and Scotland_. 1813." - -[Illustration: "WILLIE BREW'D A PECK O'MAUT."] - -"The Poetical Works of Robert Burns. Engravings on Wood by Bewick, from -designs by Thurston. Alnwick: Printed by Catnach and Davison, 1808." And -London: Printed for T. Cadell and Davis, Strand, 1814. With cuts -previously used in Davison's publications. - -[Illustration] - -"Many of the engravings produced for Burns' Poems, are of a very superior -class, and cannot be too highly commended."--_Hugo._ - -[Illustration: "SANDIE AND WILLIE."] - -"The Poetical Works of Robert Ferguson, with his Life. Engravings on Wood -by Bewick. ALNWICK: Printed by W. Davison." - -Mr. Davison, following up the actions of his former partner, had a great -regard for the standard poets. Previous to the issuing of the poems of -Ferguson they had tried to imbue a better taste into the minds of the -general reader, by means of publishing nothing but what was of an -elevating character. And this will be seen by examining such works as -Buffon, Beattie, Percy, Burns, &c. Almost simultaneously with the poems of -Burns appeared those of Ferguson. Both works are uniform in size and -price--_viz_: 2 vols., Foolscap 8vo.--12s. in boards; they contain some of -Bewick's choicest and most exquisite wood-engravings. - -"The Northumberland Minstrel: A Choice Selection of Songs. Alnwick: -Printed by W. Davison." - -There were only three numbers of this work published,[4] each of which -contained 48 pages. The object of this undertaking was for the carrying -out a project which at that time was becoming very popular, and consisted -in bringing together in a collected form some of the best and most admired -of our ballad-poetry. In fact, the object Mr. Davison had in view was only -to extend what had been so successfully accomplished by Herd, Ramsay, -Motherwell, Ritson, and others. - -Mr. Davison continued in business at Alnwick up to the time of his death, -in 1858, at the ripe age of 77. He was by far the most enterprising -printer that had settled in the North of England. His collection of wood -blocks was very large, and it is hardly possible to form an adequate -conception of the many hundreds of beautiful specimens which he possessed. -He stated that he had paid Thomas Bewick upwards of five hundred pounds -for various woodcut blocks. With a view of disposing of some of his -surplus stock, he printed and published in 4to., a catalogue:--"NEW -SPECIMENS OF CAST-METAL ORNAMENTS AND WOOD TYPES, SOLD BY W. DAVISON. -ALNWICK. With impressions of 1,100 Cast Ornaments and Wood Blocks, many of -the latter executed by Thomas Bewick." This Catalogue--now exceedingly -rare--is of the greatest interest and utility, as it embraces a series of -cuts dispersed, as Mr. Hugo plainly shows, among a considerable number of -publications, and enables those who collect Bewick's pieces to detect the -hand of the Artist in many of his less elaborated productions. - -Those of our readers who desire more information as to the many books -printed by W. Davison, the Alnwick publisher, are referred to "The Bewick -Collector," and the Supplement thereto, by the Rev. Thomas Hugo, M.A., &c. -London: 1866-68. These volumes, illustrated by upwards of two hundred and -ninety cuts, comprise an elaborate descriptive list of the most complete -collection yet formed of the works of the renowned wood-engravers of -Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Not only to Bewick collectors, but to all persons -interested in the progress of Art, and especially of wood-engraving, these -volumes, exhibiting chronologically the works of the Fathers of that Art -in England, cannot fail to be of the highest interest. - -Mr. Davison printed and published a series of Halfpenny Books; they are -not only well printed, but in addition to this it is not unusual to see -them illustrated by some of Thomas Bewick's choicest engravings. Mr. Hugo -possessed twenty-seven in number, the titles of which he enumerates in his -"Bewick Collector" and the Supplement thereto: adding the remarks that -follow:-- - - "The cuts in these little publications are for the most part the same - which were used by Davison in the other and more important works which - issued from his press. The volumes are in 32mo, and in typographical - excellence are far in advance of all other children's books of the - period of their publication with which I am acquainted." - -Herewith we publish one of the series from our own private collection. The -justness of Mr. Hugo's opinion will be at once seen. - - - - - THE GUESS BOOK, - A COLLECTION OF - _INGENIOUS PUZZLES_. - - [Illustration] - - ALNWICK: - Published and Sold by W. Davison. - - _Price One Halfpenny_, - - -2 - - a b c d e - - f g h i j k - - l m n o p - - q r s t u v - - w x y z & - - -3 - -THE - -GUESS BOOK. - -[Illustration] - -THE MOON. - - There was a thing a full month old, - When Adam was no more; - But ere that thing was five weeks old, - Adam was years five score. - - -4 - -_Guess Book._ - -[Illustration] - -A CAT. - - In almost every house I'm seen, - (No wonder then I'm common), - I'm neither man, nor maid, nor child, - Nor yet a married woman. - - -5 - -_Guess Book._ - -[Illustration] - -A CANNON. - - I am the terror of mankind, - My breath is flame, and by its power - I urge my messenger to find - A way into the strongest tower. - - -6 - -_Guess Book._ - -[Illustration] - -AN OWL. - - My patron is Wisdom--if Wisdom you prize, - In me put your confidence, borrow my eyes, - Who into a mill-stone can see quite as far - As the best of you all, by the light of a star. - - -7 - -_Guess Book._ - -[Illustration] - -A TOP. - - I ne'er offend thee, - Yet thou dost me whip, - Which don't amend me, - Though I dance and skip; - When I'm upright, - Me you always like best, - And barbarously whip me - When I want rest. - - -8 - -_Guess Book._ - -[Illustration] - -BOOKS. - - With words unnumber'd I abound; - In me mankind do take delight; - In me much learning's to be found; - Yet I can neither read nor write. - - -9 - -_Guess Book._ - -[Illustration] - -A DRUM. - - My sides are firmly - Lac'd about, - Yet nothing is within: - You'll think my head - Is strange indeed, - Being nothing else but skin. - - -10 - -_Guess Book._ - -[Illustration] - -A SAND-GLASS. - - Made of two bodies join'd, - Without foot or hand; - And yet you will find - I can both run and stand. - - -11 - -_Guess Book._ - -[Illustration] - -TIME. - - Ever eating, never cloying, - All devouring, all destroying, - Never finding full repast - Till I eat the world at last. - - -12 - -_Guess Book._ - -[Illustration] - -DEATH. - - The gate of life, the cause of strife, - The fruit of sin, - When I appear, you drop a tear, - And stay within. - - -13 - -_Guess Book._ - -[Illustration] - -A PAIR OF SHOES. - - To rich and poor - We useful are; - And yet for our reward, - By both at last - We're thrown away, - Without the least regard. - - -14 - -_Guess Book._ - -[Illustration] - -A SQUIRREL. - - I am a busy active creature, - Fashion'd for the sport of nature, - Nimbly skip from tree to tree, - Under a well-wrought canopy; - Bid Chloe then to Mira tell - What's my name and where I dwell. - - -15 - -_Guess Book._ - -[Illustration] - -A FISH. - - Though it be cold I wear no clothes, - The frost and snow I never fear; - I value neither shoes nor hose, - And yet I wander far and near. - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration] - -[Signature: John Catnach] - -AT NEWCASTLE. - - "There is no fooling with Life, when it is once turned forty: the - seeking of a Fortune then is but a desperate after-game: it is a - hundred to one if a man fling three sixes, and recover all; if his - hand be no luckier than mine."--_Cowley._ - -In or about the latter part of the year 1808, John Catnach, with his wife -and family, left Alnwick for Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and commenced business -in a small shop in Newgate-street, and among other Works which he printed -there, mention may be made of "The Battle of Chevy Chase," a selection -from the works of "Dr. Samuel Johnson, in two volumes," and "The Life of -John Thompson, Mariner. Written by Himself: Also, his Divine Selections, -in Prose and Verse. _From esteemed Authors._ Embellished with steel -Engravings. Newcastle: _Printed for the Author_. By J. Catnach, -Newgate-street. 1810. 12mo., pp. lxxvi., 214. With two tail-pieces by -Thomas Bewick." - -John Thompson, _alias_ Godfried Thomas Leschinsky, born at Riga, 1782, was -a seaman. He sailed with Nelson's fleet to Copenhagen, 1801. Continuing at -sea he endured many hardships from severe accidents and ill health, and -was at length discharged as not being fit for his Majesty's service. In -1806, while in the Infirmary at Newcastle, one of his legs--from old -injuries, rapidly mortified and had to be amputated. Subsequently, in -consequence of the bones and joints of his right hand decaying, his arm -was taken off below the elbow. He for years made a living out of his -misfortunes and assumed piety. Catnach was induced, by specious reasoning, -to undertake the printing of the book, but the eleemosynary author dying -just as it was all worked off but not bound, he had the whole of the stock -thrown on his hands to do the best he could with. There were between fifty -and sixty claims set up by persons who averred that they had in part, or -whole, paid for a copy each to the author on signing his subscription -list, and most of these claims were allowed on the payment of sixpence -extra: the work was subscribed for at 3s. 6d., but being extended to 20 -pages more than was expected, the price was advanced to 4s. - -John Catnach, at Newcastle, worked attentively for awhile, but without -finding his expectations realised. Alas! time and the change of scene and -companions had not improved the man. He contrived to get into a great -amount of debt, without the least possible chance, from his irregular mode -of living, of being able to pay it off. Eventually, he made up his mind -for the worst, and the downward course would seem to have been the only -way open to him. From bad to worse, and from one extreme to the other, he -rapidly drifted. The loose and irregular manner in which he had existed -was beginning to tell upon his constitution. His business had been -neglected, and his adventures were nearly at a climax. The wreck came, -with a terrific blow; but it was not unlooked for. Poor Catnach was a -bankrupt, and as such sent to the debtor's gaol. But just before, he had -managed to send his wife and daughters to London, together with a wooden -printing press, some small quantity of type, and other articles of his -trade that could be hurriedly and clandestinely got together. - -During the five years' residence of John and Mary Catnach in Newcastle, -they had one child, Isabella, burned to death, and another, Julia Dalton, -born to them. - -Mr. Mark Smith, who had been bound apprentice to John Catnach, but by -reason of whose removal from the Borough of Alnwick, the indentures had -been rendered void, was then in London, serving out his time as a turnover -and improver with Mr. John Walker, of Paternoster Row, and on being made -acquainted with the arrival of Mrs. Catnach and her family, paid them a -visit at their lodgings in a court leading off Drury-lane, and assisted in -putting up the press and arranging the other few matters and utensils in -connection with their tiny printing office, there to await John Catnach's -release from prison and arrival in the metropolis. - -London life to John Catnach proved very disastrous, matters never went -smoothly with him. It was evident to all his friends that he had made a -great mistake in leaving the North of England. Mr. Mark Smith continued to -visit the family as opportunities presented themselves. On one occasion he -found them in extremely distressed circumstances, so much so, that he had -to afford them some temporary relief from his slender earnings and then -left the northern sojourners for the night, promising that he would return -to see them at an early date. Anxious to learn how they were succeeding in -the crowded metropolis, it was not many days before he again visited them, -but this time he found them in a sorry plight; the landlady had distrained -upon their all for arrears of rent. This was an awkward predicament; but -the indomitable young Northumbrian, like the more burly Dr. Johnson of -old, when his friend Oliver Goldsmith was similarly situated, resolved to -do all he could to rescue him from the peril in which he was placed. Not -being prepared for a case of such pressing emergency, the full debt and -costs being demanded, he was compelled to borrow the required amount of -Mr. Matthew Willoughby, a native and freeman of the Borough of Alnwick, -then residing in London, and once more his old master was free. - -John Catnach then removed his business to a front shop in Soho, when, in -the absence of work of a higher class, he had to resort to printing -quarter-sheet ballads, here is the title and imprint of one example:-- - -[Illustration] - -TOM STARBOARD AND FAITHFUL NANCY. - - Tom Starboard was a lover true, - As brave a tar as ever sail'd; - The duties ablest seamen do - Tom did, and never had fail'd. - -LONDON.--Printed by J. Catnach, and Sold Wholesale and Retail at No. 60, -Wardour-street, Soho-square. - -For his wife and family he took apartments in Charlotte Street, -Fitzroy-square. Again he shortly removed his business to Gerrard-street, -where he had hardly got his plant into working order, when on returning -home on the evening of the 29th of August, 1813, he had the misfortune to -fall down and injure his leg. He was immediately taken to St. George's -Hospital, Hyde-park Corner, when rheumatic fever supervened, and although -placed under the skilful treatment of Dr. Young, he never rallied, his -constitution being completely broken, but by means of superior medical -treatment and good nursing he lingered until the 4th of December in the -same year, on which day he died. - -Such is a brief _resume_ of the latter years of John Catnach's life. It is -apparent that, by a little application and self-denial, this man might -have made for himself a name and position in the world. He possessed all -the necessary talents for bringing success within his reach. The ground -which he took is the same which in after years proved to be of inestimable -value to hundreds of publishers who never possessed half the amount of -ability and good taste in printing and embellishing books that was centred -in him. - -After his death, and just at the time when his widow and daughters were -sunk in the greatest poverty, his son James, who in after years became so -noted in street literature publications, made his way to the metropolis. -It appears that this extraordinary man at one time contemplated devoting -his life to rural pursuits; in fact, when a youth he served for some time -as a shepherd boy, quite contrary to the wish and desire of his parents. -Every opportunity he could get he would run away, far across the moors and -over the Northumbrian mountains, and, always accompanied with his -favourite dog Venus, and a common-place book, in which he jotted down in -rhymes and chymes his notions of a pastoral life.[5] Thus he would stay -away from home for days and nights together. - -This project, however, was abandoned, and he commenced to serve as a -printer in the employment of his father. It is rather remarkable that he -and Mr. Mark Smith - -[Signature: Mr. Smith.] - -were both bound on the same day as apprentices to Mr. John Catnach, and -that they afterwards worked together as "improvers" in their trade with:-- - -[Illustration: _Joseph Graham, Printer, Alnwick._] - -Mr. Hugo, in the Supplement to his "Bewick Collector," pp. 256 (5137), -says:--"This very beautiful Cut was done by Thomas Bewick, sometime about -the year 1794, for a well-known Alnwick printer." - - -[Signature: James Catnach] - - "Death made no conquest of this man, - For now he lives in fame, though not in life." - -At the time James--or, as he afterwards was popularly called "_Jemmy_," -or, "_Old Jemmy_" Catnach commenced business in Seven Dials it took all -the prudence and tact which he could command to maintain his position, as -at that time "Johnny" Pitts,[6] of the Toy and Marble Warehouse, No. 6, -Great St. Andrew street, was the acknowledged and established printer of -street literature for the "Dials" district; therefore, as may be easily -imagined, a powerful rivalry and vindictive jealousy soon arose between -these "two of a trade"--most especially on the part of "Old Mother" Pitts, -who is described as being a coarse and vulgar-minded personage, and as -having originally followed the trade of a bumboat woman at Portsmouth: she -"wowed wengeance" against the young fellow in the court for daring to set -up in their business, and also spoke of him as a young "Catsnatch," -"Catblock," "Cut-throat," and many other opprobrious terms which were -freely given to the new comer. Pitts' staff of "bards" were duly cautioned -of the consequences which would inevitably follow should they dare to -write a line for Catnach--the new _cove_ up the court. The injunction was -for a time obeyed, but the "Seven Bards of the Seven Dials" soon found it -not only convenient, but also more profitable to sell copies of their -effusions to both sides at the same time, and by keeping their own counsel -they avoided detection, as each printer accused the other of obtaining an -early sold copy, and then reprinting it with the utmost speed, which was -in reality often the case, as "Both Houses" had emissaries on the constant -look-out for any new production suitable for street-sale. Now, although -this style of "double dealing" and competition tended much to lessen the -cost price to the "middle-man" or vendor, the public in this case did not -get any of the reduction, as a penny broadside was still a penny, and a -quarter-sheet still a halfpenny to them, the "street-patterer" obtaining -the whole of the reduction as extra profit. - -The feud existing between these rival publishers, who have been somewhat -aptly designated as the Colburn and Bentley of the "paper" trade, never -abated, but, on the contrary, increased in acrimony of temper, until at -last not being content to vilify each other by "Words! words!! words!!!" -alone, they resorted to printing off virulent lampoons, in which Catnach -never failed to let the world know that "Old Mother Pitts" had been -formerly a bumboat woman, while the Pitt's party announced that:-- - - "All the boys and girls around, - Who go out prigging rags and phials, - Know Jemmy _Catsnatch_!!! well, - Who lives in a back slum in the Dials. - He hangs out in Monmouth Court, - And wears a pair of blue-black breeches, - Where all the "Polly Cox's crew" do resort - To chop their swag for badly printed Dying Speeches." - -But however, in spite of all the opposition and trade rivalry, Catnach -persevered; he worked hard, and lived hard, and was fitted to the -stirring times. The Peninsular wars had just concluded, politics and party -strife ran high, squibs, lampoons, and political ballads were the order of -the day, and he made money. But he had weighty pecuniary family matters to -bear up with, as thus early in his career, his father's sister also joined -them, and they all lived and huddled together in the shop and parlour of -No. 2, Monmouth-court. He did a small and very humble trade as a jobbing -master, printing and publishing penny histories, street-papers, and -halfpenny songs, relying for their composition on one or two out of the -known "Seven Bards of the Seven Dials," and when they were on the drink, -or otherwise not inclined to work, being driven to write and invent them -himself. - -The customers who frequented his place of business were for the most part -of the lowest grades of society:--those who by folly, intemperance, and -crime, had been reduced to the greatest penury. Anyone with a few coppers -in his pockets could easily knock out an existence, especially when -anything sensational was in the wind. - -The great excitement throughout the country caused by the melancholy death -of the Princess Charlotte, on the sixth day of November, 1817, was an -event of no ordinary description. It was, indeed, a most unexpected blow, -the shining virtues, as well as the youth and beauty of the deceased, -excited an amount of affectionate commiseration, such as probably had -never before attended the death of any royal personage in England. - -The Seven Dials Press was busily engaged in working off "papers" -descriptive of every fact that could be gleaned from the newspapers, and -that was suitable for street sale. Catnach was not behind his compeers, as -he published several statements in respect to the Princess's death, and -_made_ the following lines _out of his own head_! And had, continued our -informant--a professional street-ballad writer--"_wood_ enough left for as -many more":-- - - "She is gone! sweet Charlotte's gone! - Gone to the silent bourne; - She is gone, She's gone, for evermore,-- - She never can return. - - She is gone with her joy--her darling Boy, - The son of Leopold, blythe and keen; - She Died the sixth of November, - Eighteen hundred and seventeen." - -The year 1818, proved a disastrous one to Catnach, as in addition to the -extra burden entailed on him in family matters, he had, in the way of his -trade, printed a street-paper reflecting on the private character and on -the materials used in the manufacture of the sausages as sold by the pork -butchers of the Drury-lane quarter in general, and particularly by Mr. -Pizzey, a tradesman carrying on business in Blackmore-street, -Clare-market, who caused him to be summoned to the Bow-street Police Court -to answer the charge of malicious libel, when he was committed to take his -trial at the next Clerkenwell Sessions, by Sir Richard Burnie, where he -was sentenced to six months' imprisonment in the House of Correction, at -Clerkenwell, in the County of Middlesex. - -[Signature: John Morgan] - -During Catnach's incarceration his mother and sisters, aided by one of the -Seven Dials bards, carried on the business, writing and printing off all -the squibs and street ballads that were required. In the meanwhile the -Johnny Pitts' crew printed several lampoons on "Jemmy Catnach." Subjoined -is a portion of one of them that has reached us, _viva voce_, of the -aforesaid--John Morgan--professional street-ballad writer:-- - - "Jemmy Catnach printed a quarter sheet-- - It was called in lanes and passages, - That Pizzy the butcher, had dead bodies chopped, - And made them into sausages. - - "Poor Pizzey was in an awful mess, - And looked the colour of cinders-- - A crowd assembled from far and near, - And they smashed in all his windows. - - "Now Jemmy Catnach's gone to prison, - And what's he gone to prison for? - For printing a libel against Mr. Pizzey, - Which was sung from door to door. - - "Six months in quod old Jemmy's got, - Because he a shocking tale had started, - About Mr. Pizzey who dealt in sausages - In Blackmore-street, Clare-market." - -Misfortunes are said never to come singly, and so it proved to the Catnach -family, for while Jemmy was _doing_ his six months in the House of -Correction at Clerkenwell, we find in the pages of the _Weekly Dispatch_ -for January 3, 1819, and under POLICE INTELLIGENCE, as follows:-- - - CIRCULATING FALSE NEWS.--At Bow-street, on Wednesday, Thomas Love and - Thomas Howlett, were brought to the office by one of the patrole, - charged with making a disturbance in Chelsea, in the morning, by - blowing of horns, with a tremendous noise, and each of them after - blowing his horn, was heard to announce with all the vociferation the - strength of his lungs would admit of:--"The full, true, and particular - account of the most cruel and barbarous murder of Mr. Ellis, of - Sloane-street, which took place, last night, in the Five Fields, - Chelsea." The patrole, knowing that no such horrid event had taken - place, had them taken up. The papers in their possession, which they - had been selling at a halfpenny each, were seized and brought to the - office with the prisoners. But what is most extraordinary, the - contents of the papers had no reference whatever to Mr. Ellis! They - were headed in large letters, "A HORRID MURDER," and the murder was - stated to have been committed at South-green, near Dartford, on the - bodies of Thomas Lane, his wife, three children, and his mother. The - murderer's conduct was stated very particularly, although, in fact, no - such event occurred. The magistrate severely censured the conduct of - the whole parties. He ordered the prisoners to be detained, and - considered them to be very proper subjects to be made an example of. - On Thursday these parties were again brought before the magistrate, - together with Mrs. Catnach [the mother] the printer of the bills, - which gave a fictitious statement of the horrid murder said to be - committed at Dartford. She was severely reprimanded. The two - hornblowers were also reprimanded and then discharged. - -The busy year of 1820 was a very important one to Catnach, in fact the -turning point in his life. The Duke of Kent, fourth son of George III., -and father to Queen Victoria, died on the 23rd of January--the event was -of sufficient consequence to produce several "Full Particulars," for -street sale. Just six days after his death, viz., on the 29th of January, -1820, George III. died, and that event set the "Catnach Press" going night -and day to supply the street papers, containing "Latest particulars," &c. - - "Mourn, Britons mourn! Your sons deplore, - Our Royal Sovereign is now no more," - -was the commencement of a ballad written, printed, and published by J. -Catnach, 2, Monmouth-court, 7 Dials. Battledores, Lotteries, and Primers -sold cheap. Sold by Marshall, Bristol, and Hook, Brighton. - -The royal body was committed to the family vault in St. George's Chapel at -Windsor, on the 16th of February, amidst a concourse of the great and the -noble of the land. The usual ceremony of proclamation and salutation -announced the accession of George IV. and another important era commenced. - -Immediately following these events came the Cato-street conspiracy. On the -24th of February the newspapers contained the startling intelligence -that, on the previous evening, a party of eleven men, headed by Arthur -Thistlewood, who was already known as a political agitator, had been -apprehended at a stable in Cato-street, an obscure place in the locality -of Grosvenor-square, on the charge of being the parties to a conspiracy to -assassinate the greater part of the King's Ministers. The truth of the -intelligence was soon confirmed by the proceedings which took place before -the magisterial authorities; and in due course all the parties were put on -their trial at the Old Bailey, on a charge of high treason, Arthur -Thistlewood, the leader, being the first tried on the 17th of April; the -Lord Chief Justice Abbott presiding. The names of the other prisoners -were--William Davidson, a man of colour; James Ings, John Thomas Brunt, -Richard Tidd, James William Wilson, John Harrison, Richard Bradburn, James -Shaw Strange, and Charles Cooper, of whom the first four, together with -Thistlewood, were executed as traitors on May 1st. - -The Cato-street conspiracy proved a rich harvest to all concerned in the -production of street literature. Catnach came in for a fair share of the -work, and he found himself with plenty of cash in hand, and in good time -to increase his trade-plant to meet the great demand for the street-papers -that were in a few months to be published daily, and in reference to the -ever-memorable trial of Queen Caroline; then it was that his business so -enormously increased as at times to require three or four presses going -night and day to keep pace with the great demand for papers, which -contained a very much abridged account of the previous day's evidence, and -taken without the least acknowledgment from an early procured copy of one -of the daily newspapers. - -Great as was the demand, the printers of street literature were equal to -the occasion, and all were actively engaged in getting out "papers," -squibs, lists of various trade deputations to the Queen's levees, lampoons -and songs, that were almost hourly published, on the subject of the -Queen's trial. The following is a selection from one which emanated from -the "Catnach Press," and was supplied to us by John Morgan, the Seven -Dials bard, and who added that he had the good luck--the times being -prosperous--to screw out half-a-crown from Old Jemmy for the writing of -it. "Ah! sir," he continued, "it was always a hard matter to get much out -of Jemmy Catnach, I can tell you, sir. He was, at most times, a -hard-fisted one, and no mistake about it. Yet, sir, somehow or another, he -warn't such a bad sort, just where he took. A little bit rough and ready, -like, you know, sir. But yet still a 'nipper.' That's just about the size -of Jemmy Catnach, sir. I wish I could recollect more of the song, but -you've got the marrow of it, sir:-- - - 'And when the Queen arrived in town, - The people called her good, sirs; - She had a Brougham by her side, - A Denman, and a Wood, sirs. - - 'The people all protected her, - They ran from far and near, sirs, - Till they reached the house of Squire Byng, - Which was in St. James's-square, sirs. - - 'And there my blooming Caroline, - About her made a fuss, man, - And told how she had been deceived - By a cruel, barbarous, husband.'" - -Street papers continued to be printed and sold in connection with Queen -Caroline's trial up to the date of her death, in the month of August, -1821. - - -[Illustration] - -A COPY OF VERSES IN PRAISE OF QUEEN CAROLINE. - - "Ye Britons all, both great and small, - Come listen to my ditty, - Your noble Queen, fair Caroline, - Does well deserve your pity. - - Like harmless lamb that sucks its dam, - Amongst the flowery thyme, - Or turtle dove that's given to love: - And that's her only crime. - - Wedlock I ween, to her has been - A life of grief and woe; - Thirteen years past she's had no rest, - As Britons surely know. - - To blast her fame, men without shame, - Have done all they could do; - 'Gainst her to swear they did prepare - A motley, perjured crew. - - Europe they seek for Turk or Greek, - To swear her life away, - But she will triumph yet o'er all, - And innocence display. - - Ye powers above, who virtue love, - Protect her from despair, - And soon her free from calumny, - Is every true man's prayer." - -J. Catnach, Printer, 2, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. - -[Illustration] - - -Immediately following the Queen's death, there were published a whole host -of monodies, elegies, and ballads in her praise. Catnach made a great hit -with one entitled--"Oh! Britons Remember your Queen's Happy Days," -together with a large broadside, entitled "An Attempt to Exhibit the -Leading Events in the Queen's Life, in Cuts and Verse. Adorned with Twelve -splendid Illustrations. Interspersed with Verses of Descriptive Poetry. -Entered at Stationers' Hall. By Jas. Catnach, Printer, 7 Dials. Price 2d." -A copy is preserved in the British Museum. Press Mark. _Tab._ 597, _a_, -1-67, and arranged under CATNACH, from which we select two pieces as a -fair sample of Jemmy's "poetry-making!"--Which please to read carefully, -and "Mind Your Stops!" quoth John Berkshire. - - -AN ELEGY ON THE DEATH OF THE QUEEN. - - Curs'd be the hour when on the British shore, - She set her foot--whose loss we now deplore; - For, from that hour she pass'd a life of woe, - And underwent what few could undergo: - And lest she should a tranquil hour know, - Against her peace was struck a deadly blow; - A separation hardly to be borne,-- - Her only daughter from her arms was torn! - And next discarded--driven from her home, - An unprotected Wanderer to roam! - Oh, how each heart with indignation fills, - When memory glances o'er the train of ills, - Which through her travels followed everywhere - In quick succession till this fatal year! - Here let us stop--for mem'ry serves too well, - To bear the woes which Caroline befel, - Each art was tried--at last to crush her down, - The Queen of England was refus'd a crown! - Too much to bear--Thus robb'd of all her state - She fell a victim to their hate! - "They have destroy'd me,"--with her parting breath, - She died--and calmly yielded unto death. - Forgiving all, she parted with this life, - A Queen, and no Queen--wife, and not a wife! - To Heaven her soul is borne on Seraph's wings, - To wait the Judgment of the KING of Kings; - Trusting to find a better world than this, - And meet her Daughter in the realms of bliss. - - -CAROLINE THE INJURED QUEEN OF ENGLAND. - - Beneath this cold marble the "Wanderer" lies, - Here shall she rest 'till "the Heavens be no more," - 'Till the trumpet shall sound, and the Dead shall arise, - Then the perjurer unmask'd will his sentence deplore. - Ah! what will avail then? Pomp, Titles, and Birth, - Those empty distinctions all levell'd will be, - For the King shall be judg'd with the poor of the earth, - And perhaps, the poor man will be greater than he. - Until that day we leave Caroline's wrongs, - Meantime, may "Repentance" her foes overtake; - O grant it, kind POWER, to whom alone it belongs. - AMEN. Here an end of this Hist'ry we make. - - _Quod._ JAS. C-T-N-H, Dec. 10th, 1821. - - -[Illustration] - -In the early part of the year 1821, the British public were informed -through the then existing usual advertising mediums that there was about -to be published, in monthly parts, "Pierce Egan's Life in London; or, the -Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn, Esq., and his elegant friend -Corinthian Tom, accompanied by Bob Logic, the Oxonian, in their Rambles -and Sprees through the Metropolis. Embellished with Scenes from Real Life, -designed and etched by I. R. and G. Cruikshank, and enriched with numerous -original designs on wood by the same Artists." - -And on the 15th of July, the first number, price one shilling, was -published by Messrs. Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, of Paternoster Row. This -sample, or first instalment, of the entire work was quite enough for -society to judge by. It took both town and country by storm. It was found -to be the exact thing in literature that the readers of those days wanted. -Edition after edition was called for--and supplied, as fast as the -illustrations could be got away from the small army of women and children -who were colouring them. With the appearance of numbers two and three, the -demand increased, and a revolution in our literature, in our drama, and -even in our nomenclature began to develope itself. All the announcements -from Paternoster Row were of books, great and small, depicting life in -London; dramatists at once turned their attention to the same subject, and -tailors, bootmakers, and hatters, recommended nothing but Corinthian -shapes, and Tom and Jerry patterns.[7] - -[Illustration] - -TOM AND JERRY. - - "Of Life in London, Tom, Jerry and Logic I sing." - To the Strand then I toddled--the mob was great-- - My watch I found gone--pockets undone: - I fretted at first, and rail'd against fate, - For I paid well to see "LIFE IN LONDON." - -As may be readily conceived; the stage soon claimed "Tom and Jerry." The -first drama founded upon the work was from the pen of Mr. Barrymore, and -produced--"in hot haste," at the Royal Amphitheatre, on Monday, Sept. 17, -1821. The second dramatic version was written for the Olympic Theatre, by -Charles Dibden, and first played on Monday, Nov. 12, 1821. - -Mr. Moncrieff appeared as the third on the list of dramatists, and it was -announced at the Adelphi Theatre in the following style:--"On Monday, Nov. -26th, 1821, will be presented for the first time, on a scale of -unprecedented extent (having been many weeks in preparation under the -superintendence of several of the most celebrated Artists, both in the -_Ups and Downs_ of Life, who have all kindly come forward to assist the -Proprietors in their endeavours to render the Piece a complete -out-and-outer), an entirely new Classic, Comic, Operatic, Didactic, -Aristophanic, Localic, Analytic, Panoramic, Camera-Obscura-ic -Extravaganza-Burletta of Fun, Frolic, Fashion and Flash, in three acts, -called 'TOM and JERRY; or LIFE in LONDON.' Replete with Prime Chaunts, Rum -Glees, and Kiddy Catches, founded on Pierce Egan's well-known and highly -popular work of the same name, by a celebrated extravagant erratic Author. -The music selected and modified by him from the most eminent composers, -ancient and modern, and every Air furnished with an attendant train of -Graces. The costumes and scenery superintended by Mr. I. R. Cruikshank, -from the Drawings by himself and his brother, Mr. George Cruikshank, the -celebrated Artists of the original Work. - -"Corinthian Tom, Mr. Wrench; Jerry Hawthorn, Mr. John Reeve; Logic, Mr. -Wilkinson; Jemmy Green, Mr. Keeley; Dusty Bob, Mr. Walbourn; African Sal, -Mr. Sanders; Billy Waters, Mr. Paulo; Kate, Mrs. Baker; Sue, Mrs. Waylett, -&c., &c. - -[Illustration: BLACK SAL AND DUSTY BOB.] - -Besides the authors already mentioned, Tom Dibden, Farrell, and Douglas -Jerrold, each produced dramas upon the popular theme, and during the -seasons of 1821-2, "Life in London" was performed with _eclat_, at ten -theatres in and around the metropolis, to overflowing houses. But Pierce -Egan at length became tired of the successes of the playwrights in using -his book, and resolved to try his own hand at a dramatic version--or, as -he termed it, to "take a leaf out of his own book,"--and the AUTHOR'S -PIECE was "got up" and performed for the first time at Sadler's Wells, -under the management of Mr. Egerton, on Monday, April 8, 1822, with most -decided success. - -It was thus announced by Mrs. Egerton, in the address written for the -occasion by T. Greenwood, Esq.:-- - - "To-night my friends, this modern taste to meet, - We show you JERRY at his country seat: - Then up to town transport the rustic beau, - And show him 'Life in London,' HIGH and LOW." - -At length TOM and JERRY had been repeated so often in the Metropolis, that -the performers, notwithstanding the great applause they nightly received -in the above piece, absolutely became tired and worn-out with the -repetition of their characters, when the following piece of satire, -written by T. Greenwood, Esq., was published, entitled, "The Tears of -Pierce Egan, Esq., for the Death of 'Life in London;' or, the Funeral of -Tom and Jerry, dedicated to Robert and George Cruikshank, Esqs. Price Two -Shillings, with an engraving by George Cruikshank." - - "Beat out of the Pit and thrown over the Ropes, - TOM and JERRY resign'd their last breath, - With them, too, expired the Managers' hopes, - Who are left to deplore their sad death! - - "Odd and various reports of the cause are about, - But the real one was _this_, I opine: - They were run to a _standstill_, and, therefore, no doubt, - That the cause was a rapid _decline_. - - "When Death showed his _Nob_, out of _Time_ they were beat, - And neither would come to the _scratch_; - They hung down their heads and gave up the last heat, - Not prepared with the Spectre to _match_. - - "All wept at the FUNERAL! the FANCY and all-- - Some new, but a great many mended: - And EGAN, while CRUIKSHANK and _Bob_ held the pall, - As _Chief-Mourner_ in person attended!!! - - "Their _Sprees_ and their _Rambles_ no more shall amuse, - Farewell to all nocturnal parleys: - The Town felt regret as the bell tolled the news, - And no one rejoiced--but the _Charleys_! - - "A monument, too, their kind Patrons will raise, - Inscribed on--'Here lies TOM and JERRY, - Who, departing the _stage_ to their immortal praise, - ONE THOUSAND NIGHTS made the _Town Merry_!!!' - - "May their souls rest in peace, since they've chosen to flit, - Like other great heroes departed; - May no mischief arise from the _sudden_ exit, - Nor PIERCE EGAN die--_broken-hearted_!" - -In reference to the above, Pierce Egan states in "The Finish to the -Adventures of Tom, Jerry, and Logic," that Catnach, in less than twelve -hours after the publication, produced a pirated edition for street sale, -for twopence. - -Mr. Pierce Egan, in his "_Finish_," states that he reckoned no less than -sixty-five separate publications, which he enumerates _in extenso_, all -derived from his own work, and adds, with his usual amount of large and -small CAPITALS and _italics_--"We have been _pirated_, COPIED, -_traduced_; but unfortunately, not ENRICHED by our indefatigable -exertions; therefore NOTORIETY must satisfy us, instead of the smiles of -FORTUNE." - -Jemmy Catnach, true to his line of life, soon joined what Pierce Egan -designates as the "Mob of Literary Pirates," and brought out a "whole -sheet" for street-sale, entitled "Life in London," with twelve woodcuts, -which are reduced and very roughly executed copies of the centre figures -of the original plates by the Brothers Cruikshank--but all in reverse. The -letter-press matter consists of a poetical epitome of the plot and design -of the original work of "Life in London." And taking it as it stands, and -from whence it emanated, rather a creditable performance, particularly -when we take into consideration--as duly announced by the street-patterer, -that it was "Just printed and pub--lish--ed, all for the low charge of -twopence." - -On the rarity of this Catnachian and pirated edition of "Life in London" -it is superfluous to enlarge, and it is easy to account for this -circumstance, if we reflect that the broadside form of publication is by -no means calculated for preservation; hundreds of similar pieces printed -for street-sale must have perished. The more generally acceptable a -broadside or street ballad became, and was handed about for perusal, the -more it was exposed to the danger of destruction. No copy of Catnach's -version is preserved in the British Museum, therefore, and for the reason -above stated, it must be considered as a great "Literary Rarity."[8] - - -CUT I.--JERRY IN TRAINING FOR A SWELL. - -[Illustration] - - Now Jerry must needs be a swell, - His coat must have a swallow-tail, - And Mr. Snip, so handy, O, - Soon rigg'd him out a Dandy, O. - - -CUT II.--TOM AND JERRY AMONG THE LADIES. - -[Illustration] - - Ladies, your most humble servants, - Tom and Jerry stand before you. - Our blood is thrilling, you're so killing; - At once we love you and adore you. - - -CUT III.--JERRY LOSES AT PLAY. - -[Illustration] - - At St. James's they dine, when, flushed with new wine, - To the Gaming Tables they reel, - Where blacklegs and sharps, often gammon the flats, - As their pockets do presently feel. - - -CUT IV.--JERRY LEARNING TO SPAR. - -[Illustration] - - Now Jerry's become a Fancy blade, - To Jackson's he often goes, - And to shew his skill in the milling trade, - He crack'd poor Logick's nose. - - -CUT V.--TOM AND JERRY AT A FORTUNE-TELLER'S. - -[Illustration] - - Here lives a Fortune-Telling Gipsy, - Wrinkled, crabbed, grim and old; - And Tom and Jerry's fancy ladies - Are gone to get their Fortunes told. - - -CUT VI.--BEGGAR'S OPERA. TOM, JERRY, AND LOGICK AMONG THE CADGERS IN THE -HOLY LAND. - -[Illustration] - - Now to keep up the spree, Tom, Jerry and Logick, - Went disguis'd to the Slums in the Holy Land; - Through each crib and each court, they hunted for sport, - Till they came to the BEGGAR'S OPERA so named. - - -CUT VII.--NIGHT SCENE.--TOM AND JERRY UPSETTING THE CHARLEYS. - -[Illustration] - - Hark! the watchman springs his rattle, - Now the midnight lark's begun; - Boxes crashing, lanthorns smashing, - Mill the Charleys--oh! what fun. - - -CUT VIII.--BROUGHT BEFORE THE MAGISTRATES. - -[Illustration] - - An' please your Worship here's three fellows - Been hammering of us all about; - Broke our boxes, lanthorns, smellers, - And almost clos'd our peepers up. - - -CUT IX.--TOM, JERRY, AND LOGICK IN A ROW. - -[Illustration] - - Mercy! what a din and clatter - Breaks the stillness of the night, - Lamps do rattle--'tis a battle, - Quick, and let us see the sight. - - -CUT X.--SCENE IN A GIN-SHOP. - -[Illustration] - - Here some are tumbling and jumping in, - And some are staggering out; - One's pawn'd her smock for a quartern of gin, - Another, her husband's coat. - - -CUT XI.--POOR LOGICK IN THE FLEET. - -[Illustration] - - All in the Fleet poor Logick's moor'd - His swaggering's now at an end! - - -CUT XII.--JERRY GOING BACK TO THE COUNTRY. - -[Illustration] - - Three merry boys were Logick, Tom and Jerry, - And many funny larks they have seen; - Farewell, gay London, the country calls me home again, - The coach moves on--the play is done--Goodbye, Goodbye. - - _Quod._ JAS. C-N-H, March 23, 1822. - -How delightful Pierce Egan's book was to the youths of England, and how -eagerly all its promised feasts of pleasure were devoured by them, -Thackeray has told us in his "Roundabout Papers--DE JUVENTUTE" in the -"Cornhill Magazine" for October, 1860. - - * * * * * - -Mr., afterwards Sir William Cubitt, of Ipswich, erected a treadmill at -Brixton Gaol, and soon afterwards in other large prisons. A street ballad -on the subject was issued from the "Catnach Press" and had a most -unprecedented sale, keeping the pressmen and boys working for weeks-- - - "And we're all treading at fam'd Brixton Mill." - -The treadmill--that "terror to evil doers"--excited much attention, and -the inventor's name gave rise to many jokes on the subject among such of -the prisoners as could laugh at their own crimes, who said they were -punished by the _cubit_!. - -THE TREADMILL. - - This Brixton Mill's a fearful ill, - And he who brought the Bill in, - Is threat'n'd by the _cribbing_ coves, - That he shall have a _milling_. - They say he shew'd a simple pate, - To think of felons mending; - As every _step_ which here they take - They're still in crime _ascending_. - - Tom, Jerry, Logic, three prime sprigs, - Find here they cannot _come_ it, - For though their _fancy_ soars aloft, - They ne'er will reach the _summit_. - Corinthian Kate and buxom Sue - Must change their _warm_ direction, - For if they make one _false step_ more - They'll have _Cold Bath Correction_. - - -[Illustration: "The gallows does well: But how does it well? it does well -to those that do ill."--_Hamlet_, Act v., sc. i.] - -There can be little doubt that Jemmy Catnach, the great publisher of the -Seven Dials, had his mind mostly centred upon the chronicling of doubtful -scandals, fabulous duels between ladies of fashion, "cooked" -assassinations, and sudden deaths of eminent individuals, apochryphal -elopements, real or catch-penny account of murders, impossible robberies, -delusive suicides, dark deeds, and--though last, not least, in _his_ -love--public executions, _vulgo_ "Hanging Matches," to which was usually -attached the all-important and necessary "Sorrowful Lamentations," or -"Copy of Affectionate Verses," which according to the established custom, -the criminal composed in the condemned cell the night before his -execution, after this manner:-- - -[Illustration] - -THE FLYING STATIONER, OTHERWISE PATTERER. - - "All you that have got feeling, I pray you now attend - To these few lines so sad and true, a solemn silence lend; - It is of a cruel murder, to you I will unfold---- - The bare recital of the tale must make your blood run cold." - - "Mercy on earth I'll not implore, to crave it would be vain, - My hands are dyed with human gore, none can wash off the stain, - But the merits of a Saviour, whose mercy alone I crave; - Good Christians pray, as thus I die, I may His pardon have." - - - A mournful and affecting - COPY OF VERSES - on the death of - ANN WILLIAMS, - Who was barbarously and cruelly murdered by her sweetheart, - W. JONES, near Wirksworth, in Derbyshire, July, 1823. - - William Jones, a young man aged 20, has been fully committed to Derby - gaol for the murder of his sweetheart, under circumstances of unheard - of barbarity. The poor victim was a servant girl, whom under pretence - of marriage he seduced. On her proving with child the villain formed - the horrid design of murdering her, and carried his diabolical plan - into execution on Monday evening last. The following verses are - written upon the occasion, giving a complete detail of this shocking - affair:-- - - Come all false hearted young men - And listen to my song, - 'Tis of a cruel murder, - That lately has been done - On the body of a maiden fair - The truth I will unfold, - The bare relation of this deed - Will make your blood run cold. - Near Wirksworth town in Derbyshire, - Ann Williams she did dwell, - In service she long time had lived, - Till this to her befel. - Her cheeks were like the blushing rose - All in the month of May, - Which made this wicked young man - Thus unto her did say: - Nancy, my charming creature, - You have my heart ensnared, - My love is such I am resolved - To wed you I declare. - Thus by his false deluding tongue - Poor Nancy was beguil'd, - And soon to her misfortune, - By him she proved with child. - Some days ago this damsel fair - Did write to him with speed, - Such tenderness she did express - Would make a heart to bleed. - She said, my dearest William, - I am with child by thee; - Therefore, my dear, pray let me know - When you will marry me. - The following day at evening, - This young man did repair, - Unto the town of Wirksworth, - To meet his Nancy there. - Saying, Nancy dear, come let us walk, - Among the flowery fields, - And then the secrets of my heart - To you I will reveal. - O then this wicked young man - A knife he did provide, - And all unknown to his true love - Concealed it by his side. - When to the fatal spot they came, - These words to her did say: - All on this very night I will - Your precious life betray. - On bended knees she then did fall, - In sorrow and despair, - Aloud for mercy she did call, - Her cries did rend the air; - With clasped hands and uplift eyes - She cried, Oh spare my life, - I never more will ask you - To make me your wedded wife. - O then this wicked young man said, - No mercy will I show; - He took the knife all from his side, - And pierced her body through. - But still she smiling said to him - While trembling with fear, - Aae! William, William, spare my life, - Think on your baby dear. - Twice more then with the bloody knife - He ran her body through, - Her throat was cut from ear to ear, - Most dreadful for to view; - Her hands and arms and beauteous face - He cut and mangled sore, - While down upon her milk white breast - The crimson blood did pour. - He took the shawl from off her neck, - And round her body tied, - With pebble stones he did it fill, - Thinking the crime to hide. - O then into the silver stream - He plunged her straightway, - But with her precious blood was stained - Which soon did him betray. - O then this young man taken was, - And into prison sent, - In ratling chains he is confin'd - His crime for to lament, - Until the Assizes do come on - When trembling he must stand, - Reflecting on the deed he's done; - Waiting the dread command. - Now all you thoughtless young men - A timely warning take; - Likewise ye fair young maidens, - For this poor damsel's sake. - And Oh beware of flattering tongues, - For they'll your ruin prove; - So may you crown your future day, - In comfort, joy, and love. - -Or take another and stereotyped example, which from time to time has -served equally well for the verses _written by_ the culprit--Brown, Jones, -Robinson, or Smith: - - "Those deeds I mournfully repent, - But now it is too late, - The day is past, the die is cast, - And fixed is my fate. - - I see the hangman before me stand, - Ready to seize me by the law's command; - When my life is ended on the fatal tree, - Then will be clear'd up all mystery." - -Occasionally the Last Sorrowful Lamentation contained a "Love Letter"--the -criminal being unable, in some instances, to read or write, being no -obstacle to the composition--written according to the street patterer's -statement: "from the depths of the condemned cell, with the condemned pen, -ink, and paper." This mode of procedure in "gallows" literature, and this -style of composition having prevailed for from sixty to seventy years. - -Then they would say: "Here you have also an exact likeness of the -murderer, taken at the bar of the Old Bailey by an eminent artist!" when -all the time it was an old woodcut that had been used for every criminal -for many years. The _block!_ opposite, to our own knowledge, served as the -_counterfeit_ presentment of all popular murderers for upwards of forty -years. - - -[Illustration: LIKENESS OF THE MURDERER.] - -"There's nothing beats a stunning good murder after all," said a "running -patterer" to Mr. Henry Mayhew, the author of "London Labour and London -Poor." It is only fair to assume that Mr. James Catnach shared in the -sentiment, for it is said that he made over L500 by the publication of:-- - - "The Full, True and Particular Account of the Murder of Mr. Weare by - John Thurtell and his Companions, which took place on the 24th of - October, 1823, in Gill's Hill-lane, near Elstree, in - Hertfordshire:--Only One Penny." - -There were eight formes set up, for old Jemmy had no notion of -stereotyping in those days, and pressmen had to re-cover their own -tympans with sheep-skins. But by working day and night for a week they -managed to get off about 250,000 copies with the four presses, each -working two formes at a time. - -[Illustration: THURTELL MURDERING MR. WEARE.] - -As the trial progressed, and the case became more fully developed, the -public mind became almost insatiable. Every night and morning large -bundles were despatched to the principal towns in the three kingdoms. - -One of the many street-ballads on the subject informed the British public -that:-- - - "Thurtell, Hunt, and Probert, too, for trial must now prepare, - For that horrid murder of Mr. William Weare." - -The circumstances immediately attending the murder are so fully and so -well detailed in the proper channels that we need not here say more than -that the trial took place at Hertford on the 5th January, 1824. - -The prisoners who stood indicted were John Thurtell and Joseph Hunt. The -latter was at the time well known as a public singer and was somewhat -celebrated for the talent which he possessed. Both prisoners were found -guilty, but Hunt was reprieved and subsequently ordered to be transported -for life. Thurtell, who fully confessed to the crime, was executed in -front of Hertford gaol on Friday, the 9th of January, 1824. - -As before observed, Catnach cleared over L500 by this event, and was so -loth to leave it, that when a wag put him up to a joke, and showed him how -he might set the thing a-going again, he could not withstand it; and so, -about a fortnight after Thurtell had been hanged, Jemmy brought out a -startling broad-sheet, headed, "WE ARE ALIVE AGAIN!" He put so little -space between the words "WE" and "ARE" that it looked at first sight like -"WEARE." Many thousands were bought by the ignorant and gullible public, -but those who did not like the trick called it a "catch penny," and this -gave rise to this peculiar term, which ever afterwards stuck to the issues -of the "Seven Dials' Press," though they sold as well as ever. - -Probert, who had been mixed up in the affair, was admitted as King's -evidence and discharged at the rising of the Court. He subsequently met -the fate he so richly deserved, for, having been found guilty at the Old -Bailey of horse stealing, he was executed there on the 20th of June, 1825. - -[Illustration] - - - THE CONFESSION AND EXECUTION OF JOHN THURTELL - At HERTFORD GAOL, On Friday, the 9th of January, 1824. - - THE EXECUTION. - - _Hertford, half-past twelve o'clock._ - - This morning, at ten minutes before twelve, a bustle among the - javelin-men stationed within the boarded enclosure on which the drop - was erected, announced to the multitude without that the preparations - for the execution were nearly concluded. The javelin-men proceeded to - arrange themselves in the order usually observed upon these melancholy - but necessary occurrences. They had scarcely finished their - arrangements, when the opening of the gate of the prison gave an - additional impulse to public anxiety - - When the clock was on the stroke of twelve, Mr Nicholson, the - Under-Sheriff, and the executioner ascended the platform, followed on - to it by Thurtell, who mounted the stairs with a slow but steady step. - The principal turnkey of the gaol came next, and was followed by Mr - Wilson and two officers. On the approach of the prisoner being - intimated by those persons who, being in an elevated situation, - obtained the first view of him, all the immense multitude present took - off their hats. - - Thurtell immediately placed himself under the fatal beam, and at that - moment the chimes of a neighbouring clock began to strike twelve. The - executioner then came forward with the rope, which he threw across it. - Thurtell first lifted his eyes up to the drop, gazed at it for a few - moments, and then took a calm but hurried survey of the multitude - around him. He next fixed his eyes on a young gentleman in the crowd, - whom he had frequently seen as a spectator at the commencement of the - proceedings against him. Seeing that the individual was affected by - the circumstance, he removed them to another quarter, and in so doing - recognised an individual well known in the sporting circles, to whom - he made a slight bow. - - The prisoner was attired in a dark brown great coat, with a black - velvet collar, white corduroy breeches, drab gaiters and shoes. His - hands were confined with handcuffs, instead of being tied with cord, - as is usually the case on such occasions, and, at his own request, his - arms were not pinioned. He wore a pair of black kid gloves, and the - wrists of his shirt were visible below the cuffs of his coat. As on - the last day of his trial, he wore a white cravat. The irons, which - were very heavy, and consisted of a succession of chain links, were - still on his legs, and were held up in the middle by a Belcher - handkerchief tied round his waist. - - The executioner commenced his mournful duties by taking from the - unhappy prisoner his cravat and collar. To obviate all difficulty in - this stage of the proceedings, Thurtell flung back his head and neck, - and so gave the executioner an opportunity of immediately divesting - him of that part of his dress. After tying the rope round Thurtell's - neck, the executioner drew a white cotton cap over his countenance, - which did not, however, conceal the contour of his face, or deprive - him entirely of the view of surrounding objects. - - At that moment the clock sounded the last stroke of twelve. During the - whole of this appalling ceremony, there was not the slightest symptom - of emotion discernible in his features; his demeanour was perfectly - calm and tranquil, and he behaved like a man acquainted with the - dreadful ordeal he was about to pass, but not unprepared to meet it. - Though his fortitude was thus conspicuous, it was evident from his - appearance that in the interval between his conviction and his - execution he must have suffered much. He looked careworn; his - countenance had assumed a cadaverous hue, and there was a haggardness - and lankness about his cheeks and mouth, which could not fail to - attract the notice of every spectator. - - The executioner next proceeded to adjust the noose by which Thurtell - was to be attached to the scaffold. After he had fastened it in such a - manner as to satisfy his own mind, Thurtell looked up at it, and - examined it with great attention. He then desired the executioner to - let him have fall enough. The rope at this moment seemed as if it - would only give a fall of two or three feet The executioner assured - him that the fall was quite sufficient. The principal turnkey then - went up to Thurtell, shook hands with him, and turned away in tears. - Mr Wilson, the governor of the gaol, next approached him. Thurtell - laid to him, "Do you think, Mr Wilson, I have got enough fall?" Mr - Wilson replied, "I think you have, Sir. Yes, quite enough." Mr Wilson - then took hold of his hand, shook it, and said, "Good bye, Mr - Thurtell, may God Almighty bless you." Thurtell instantly replied, - "God bless _you_, Mr Wilson, God bless _you_." Mr Wilson next asked - him whether he considered that the laws of his country had been dealt - to him justly and fairly, upon which he said, "I admit that justice - has been done me--I am perfectly satisfied." - - A few seconds then elapsed, during which every person seemed to be - engaged in examining narrowly Thurtell's deportment His features, as - well as they could be discerned, appeared to remain unmoved, and his - hands, which were extremely prominent, continued perfectly steady, and - were not affected by the slightest tremulous motion. - - Exactly at two minutes past twelve the Under-Sheriff, with his wand, - gave the dreadful signal--the drop suddenly and silently fell--and - - JOHN THURTELL WAS LAUNCHED INTO ETERNITY. - -On the 10th of September, 1824, Henry Fauntleroy, of the firm of Marsh, -Stracey, Fauntleroy, and Graham, bankers, in Berners-street, was -apprehended in consequence of its being discovered that in September, -1820, L10,000 3 per cent stock, standing in the names of himself, J. D. -Hume, and John Goodchild, as trustees of Francis William Bellis, had been -sold out under a power of attorney, to which the names of his co-trustees -and some of the subscribing witnesses were forged. It was soon ascertained -that the extent to which this practice had been carried was enormous, no -less than L170,000 stock having been sold out in 1814 and 1815 by the same -fraudulent means. - -Every exertion was used by Mr. Fauntleroy's counsel, his case being twice -argued before the Judges, but both decisions were against him; and on the -30th of November, 1824, his execution took place. The number of persons -assembled was estimated at nearly 100,000. - -The station in society of this unfortunate man, and the long-established -respectability of the banking-house, in which he was the most active -partner, with the vast extent of the forgeries committed, gave to his case -an intensity of interest which has scarcely ever been equalled, and during -the whole time it was pending afforded plenty of work for the printers and -vendors of street literature. Catnach's advanced position, which was now -far beyond all his compeers, caused him to get the lion's share. Every -incident in the man's character, history, and actions was taken advantage -of. The sheets, almost wet from the press, were read by high and low; by -those who lived and revelled in marble halls and gilded saloons, as well -as by those who thronged our large towns and centres of industry. - -The parliamentary election of 1826, for the county of Northumberland, the -principal seat of which was at Alnwick, gave early promise of being -severely contested. There were four candidates in the field, namely, Henry -Thomas Liddell, afterwards first Earl of Ravensworth, of Ravensworth -Castle, county Durham; Mr. Matthew Bell, of Woolsingham, Northumberland; -Mr. Thomas Wentworth Beaumont, and Lord Howick, afterwards Henry the third -Earl Grey, K.G. The nomination of the candidates took place on Tuesday, -June 20th, 1826, and the polling continued till July 6th, when the result -was as follows:-- - - Liddell 1562 - Bell 1380 - Beaumont 1335 - Howick 997 - -This contest was the greatest political event in the history of the -county. It is estimated that it cost the candidates little short of -L250,000. - -Now, as we have before observed, Mr. Mark Smith--who till the time of his -death, on the 18th of May, 1881, aged 87--carried on the business of -printer and bookseller at Alnwick--and James Catnach, were fellow -apprentices, both being bound to learn the art of printing to the elder -Catnach on the same day. This early-formed acquaintanceship continued -throughout the remaining portion of Catnach's life, and whenever Mr. Mark -Smith came to London in after years, he always visited Jemmy's house. - -It was in consequence of the continued friendship existing between Mr. -Mark Smith and Jemmy Catnach that the latter had often expressed a desire -to serve his fellow-apprentice, should circumstances occur to render it -necessary. The Alnwick election of 1826 promised to be a good one as -regarded printing, and Mr. Smith anticipating a difficulty in getting -through his work, applied to Catnach to know if he could render him any -assistance. The result was that Jemmy at once proffered to go to Alnwick -and take with him a small hand-press. After his arrival he seldom went out -of the house, as all hands worked early and late, for, besides addresses, -squibs, &c., they had to get out the state of the poll every afternoon, -shortly after four o'clock. The number of addresses and squibs, in prose -and verse, during this memorable election was enormous. The whole, when -collected together, forms four good-sized volumes. The principal printers -in Alnwick at this time, and who were engaged by the candidates, were -Smith, Davison, and Graham. But there was a great deal of printing done at -Newcastle, Gateshead, North Shields, Morpeth, and other towns. - -There can be but little doubt that all who were professionally engaged at -this election made a good thing out of it. The money spent upon printing -alone must have been very great. And nearly all the public-houses in -Alnwick were made "open houses," as well as most of those in the principal -towns throughout the county. Old people talk to this day, with a degree of -pride of "those good old times" that existed at the Parliamentary -elections previous to the passing of the Reform Bill of 1832. As far as -Catnach was concerned, he merely went to help to pay off a deep debt of -gratitude owing by him to the Smith family for many past favours to his -own family when they were in dire distress in _auld lang syne_. Besides, -Jemmy was now getting towards that state known as being "comfortably -well-to-do," and the trip was a change of air--a bit of a holiday, and a -visit to the town of his birth. And as he had buried his mother in London -during the early part of the year, he took the opportunity to erect in the -parish churchyard, that which at once stands as a cenotaph and a -tombstone, bearing the following inscription:-- - - "JOHN, Son of JOHN CATNACH, - Printer, died August 27th, - 1794, Aged 5 years & 7 months. - JOHN CATNACH died in - LONDON, 1813, Aged 44. - MARY, his wife died Jany. - 24th, 1826, Aged 60 years, - Also John, Margaret, and - Jane Catnach, lie here."[9] - -During Catnach's absence from London on the Alnwick election, his old -rivals--the Pitts family--were, as usual, concocting false reports, and -exhibiting lampoons, after the following manner:-- - - "Poor Jemmy with the son of Old Nick, - Down to Northumberland he's gone; - To take up his freedom at Alnwick, - The why or the wherefore's known to none. - - "Before he went, he washed in soap and sud, - The Alnwick folks they found the fiddle; - Then they dragged poor Jemmy through the mud, - Two foot above his middle. - -The above was in allusion to the old ceremony of being dragged through the -dirty pool to be made a Freeman of the town of Alnwick. But, as far as -Catnach was concerned, there is no truth whatever in the matter, it was -simply "a weak invention of the enemy." It was in the latter part of June -and the beginning of July in the same year, that Catnach was at Alnwick, -and the ceremony of making freemen always took place on St. Mark's Day, -April 25th, or at least two months earlier. - -Thus the statement of the Pitts' party was-- - - "As false - As air, as water, as wind, as sandy earth, - As fox to lamb, as wolf to heifer's calf, - Pard to the hind, or step-dame to her son." - -Catnach, as the high priest of the literature of the streets, surrounded -by trade rivals, "stood like a man at a mark with a whole army shooting at -him," but he was as firm as a rock and with the strength of a giant, and, -as Hyperion to a Satyr, defied them all. - -The destruction of the Royal Brunswick Theatre, Well-street, -Wellclose-square, East London, on the 29th of February, 1828, by the -falling in of the walls, in consequence of too much weight being attached -to the heavy cast-iron roof, made a rare nine-day's wonder for the workers -of street-papers. Fortunately the catastrophe happened in the day-time, -during the rehearsal of "Guy Mannering," and only fifteen persons -perished, viz:-- - - Mr. D. S. Maurice, a master printer, of Fenchurch-street, one of the - Proprietors, - - Mr. J. Evans _Bristol Observer_ - Miss Mary A. Feron _Actress_, - Miss Freeman _Corps de ballet_, - Mr. E. Gilbert _Comedian_, - Mr. J. Blamire _Property Man_, - Mr. G. Penfold _Doorkeeper_, - Miss Jane Wall _Visitor_, - Mr. J. Purdy _Blacksmith_, - Messrs. J. Miles, W. Leader, - A. W. Davidson, M. Miles, - and J. Abbott _Carpenters_, - J. Levy, _A Clothesman_ (accidentally passing). - -"Oh yes, sir! I remember well the falling of the Brunswick Theatre, out -Whitechapel way. It was a rare good thing for all the running and standing -patterers in and about ten miles of London. Every day we all killed more -and more people--in our "Latest Particulars." One day there was twenty -persons killed, the next day thirty or forty, until it got at last to be -worked up to about a hundred, and all killed. Then we killed all sorts of -people, Duke of Wellington, and all the Dukes and Duchesses, Bishops, -swell nobs and snobs we could think of at the moment." - -[Illustration: ATROCIOUS MURDER OF A YOUNG WOMAN IN SUFFOLK. - - SINGULAR DISCOVERY OF THE BODY FROM A DREAM. - - THE RED BARN. - - THE SCENE OF THE MURDER, AND WHERE THE BODY OF MARIA - MARTEN WAS FOUND CONCEALED.] - -Four years after the Thurtell and Weare affair, namely, in the month of -April, 1828, another "sensational" murder was discovered--that of Maria -Marten, by William Corder, in the Red Barn, at Polstead, in the county of -Suffolk. The circumstances that led to the discovery of this most -atrocious murder, were of an extraordinary and romantic nature, and -manifest an almost special interposition of Providence in marking out the -offender. As the mother of the girl had on three several nights dreamt -that her daughter was murdered and buried in Corder's Red Barn, and as -this proved to be the case, an additional "charm" was given to the -circumstance. The "Catnach Press" was again set working both day and -night, to meet the great demand for the "Full Particulars." In due course -came the gratifying announcement of the apprehension of the murderer! and -the sale continued unabatingly in both town and country, every "Flying -Stationer" making great profits by the sale. - -[Illustration: LIKENESS OF WILLIAM CORDER.] - -The trial of Corder took place at Bury St. Edmonds, on the 7th of August, -1828, before the Lord Chief Baron (Anderson). The prisoner pleaded "_Not -Guilty_," and the trial proceeded. On being called on for his defence, -Corder read a manuscript paper. He declared that he deeply deplored the -death of the unfortunate deceased, and he urged the jury to dismiss from -their minds all that prejudice which must necessarily have been excited -against him by the public press, &c. Having concluded his address, the -Lord Chief Baron summed up, and a verdict of "_Guilty_" was returned. The -Last Dying Speech and Confession had an enormous sale--estimated at -1,166,000, a _fac-simile_ copy of which with the "Lamentable Verses," said -to have been written by Old Jemmy Catnach will be found on the next page. - - CONFESSION AND EXECUTION OF WILLIAM CORDER, THE MURDERER OF MARIA - MARTEN. - - Since the tragical affair between Thurtell and Weare, no event has - occurred connected with the criminal annals of our country which has - excited so much interest as the trial of Corder, who was justly - convicted of the murder of Maria Marten on Friday last. - - - THE CONFESSION. - - "Bury Gaol, August 10th, 1828.--Condemned cell. - "Sunday evening, half-past Eleven. - - "I acknowledge being guilty of the death of poor Maria Marten, by - shooting her with a pistol. The particulars are as follows:--When we - left her father's house, we began quarrelling about the burial of the - child: she apprehended the place wherein it was deposited would be - found out. The quarrel continued about three quarters of an hour upon - this sad and about other subjects. A scuffle ensued, and during the - scuffle, and at the time I think that she had hold of me, I took the - pistol from the side pocket of my velveteen jacket and fired. She - fell, and died in an instant. I never saw her even struggle. I was - overwhelmed with agitation and dismay:--the body fell near the front - doors on the floor of the barn. A vast quantity of blood issued from - the wound, and ran on to the floor and through the crevices. Having - determined to bury the body in the barn (about two hours after she was - dead). I went and borrowed a spade of Mrs Stow, but before I went - there I dragged the body from the barn into the chaff-house, and - locked the barn. I returned again to the barn, and began to dig a - hole, but the spade being a bad one, and the earth firm and hard, I - was obliged to go home for a pickaxe and a better spade, with which I - dug the hole, and then buried the body. I think I dragged the body by - the handkerchief that was tied round her neck. It was dark when I - finished covering up the body. I went the next day, and washed the - blood from off the barn-floor. I declare to Almighty God I had no - sharp instrument about me, and no other wound but the one made by the - pistol was inflicted by me. I have been guilty of great idleness, and - at times led a dissolute life, but I hope through the mercy of God to - be forgiven. WILLIAM CORDER." - - Witness to the signing by the said William Corder, - - JOHN ORRIDGE. - - - Condemned cell, Eleven o'clock, Monday morning, - August 11th, 1828. - - The above confession was read over carefully to the prisoner in our - presence, who stated most solemnly it was true, and that he had - nothing to add to or retract from it--W. STOCKING, chaplain; TIMOTHY - R. HOLMES, Under-Sheriff. - - - THE EXECUTION. - - At ten minutes before twelve o'clock the prisoner was brought from his - cell and pinioned by the hangman, who was brought from London for the - purpose. He appeared resigned, but was so weak as to be unable to - stand without support; when his cravat was removed he groaned heavily, - and appeared to be labouring under great mental agony. When his wrists - and arms were made fast, he was led round towards the scaffold, and - as he passed the different yards in which the prisoners were confined, - he shook hands with them, and speaking to two of them by name, he - said, "Good bye, God bless you." They appeared considerably affected - by the wretched appearance which he made, and "God bless you!" "May - God receive your soul!" were frequently uttered as he passed along. - The chaplain walked before the prisoner, reading the usual Burial - Service, and the Governor and Officers walking immediately after him. - Tho prisoner was supported to the steps which led to the scaffold; he - looked somewhat wildly around, and a constable was obliged to support - him while the hangman was adjusting the fatal cord. There was a - barrier to keep off the crowd, amounting to upwards of 7,000 persons, - who at this time had stationed themselves in the adjoining fields, on - the hedges, the tops of houses, and at every point from which a view - of the execution could be best obtained. The prisoner, a few moments - before the drop fell, groaned heavily, and would have fallen, had not - a second constable caught hold of him. Everything having been made - ready, the signal was given, the fatal drop fell, and the unfortunate - man was launched into eternity. Just before he was turned off, he said - in a feeble tone, "I am justly sentenced, and may God forgive me." - - - The Murder of Maria Marten. - - BY W. CORDER. - - Come all you thoughtless young men, a warning take by me, - And think upon my unhappy fate to be hanged upon a tree; - My name is William Corder, to you I do declare, - I courted Maria Marten, most beautiful and fair. - - I promised I would marry her upon a certain day, - Instead of that, I was resolved to take her life away. - I went into her father's house the 18th day of May, - Saying, my dear Maria, we will fix the wedding day. - - If you will meet me at the Red-barn, as sure as I have life, - I will take you to Ipswich town, and there make you my wife; - I then went home and fetched my gun, my pickaxe and my spade, - I went into the Red-barn, and there I dug her grave. - - With heart so light, she thought no harm, to meet him she did go - He murdered her all in the barn, and laid her body low; - After the horrible deed was done, she lay weltering in her gore, - Her bleeding mangled body he buried beneath the Red-barn floor. - - Now all things being silent, her spirit could not rest, - She appeared onto her mother, who suckled her at her breast, - For many a long month or more, her mind being sore oppress'd, - Neither night or day she could not take any rest. - - Her mother's mind being so disturbed, she dreamt three nights o'er, - Her daughter she lay murdered beneath the Red-barn floor; - She sent the father to the barn, when he the ground did thrust, - And there he found his daughter mingling with the dust. - - My trial is hard, I could not stand, most woeful was the sight, - When her jaw-bone was brought to prove, which pierced my heart quite; - Her aged father standing by, likewise his loving wife, - And in her grief her hair she tore, she scarcely could keep life. - - Adieu, adieu, my loving friends, my glass is almost run, - On Monday next will be my last, when I am to be hang'd, - So you, young men, who do pass by; with pity look on me, - For murdering Maria Marten, I was hang'd upon the tree. - - Printed by J Catnach, 2 and 3, Monmouth Court.--Cards, &c., Printed - Cheap - - -[Illustration] - - "Oh, she lives snug in the Holy Land, - Right, tight, and merry in the Holy Land, - Search the globe round, none can be found - So _accommodating!_ as Old Mother Cummins--of the Holy Land." - -Catnach, like many others connected with the getting up of news broadsides -and fly-sheets, did not always keep clear of the law. The golden rule is a -very fine one, but, unfortunately, it is not always read aright; in some -cases injured innocence flies at extremes. Jemmy Catnach for a long time -had been living upon unfriendly terms with a party connected with the -management of one of Mother Cummins's lodging-house establishments in the -immediate neighbourhood, so out of spite printed a pamphlet, purporting to -be the "Life and Adventures of Old Mother Cummins." Here Catnach had -reckoned without his host, by reason of his not taking into consideration -the extensive aristocratic and legal connection Mother Cummins had for her -friends and patrons. The moment she was made acquainted with the "_dirty -parjury_" that Jemmy Catnach had printed and caused to be publicly -circulated, she immediately gave instructions to _her_ Attorney General to -prosecute the _varmint_, when a warrant was applied for and obtained to -search the premises of the Seven Dials printer. But Catnach got the news -of the intended visit of the Bow Street Runners, and naturally became -alarmed from having a vivid recollection of the punishment and costs in -the case of the Drury-lane sausage makers, so the forme containing the -libellous matter was at once broken up--"pied," that is, the type was -jumbled together and left to be properly distributed on a future occasion. -What stock of the pamphlets remained were hastily packed up and carried -off to the "other side of the water" by John Morgan, one of Catnach's -poets! while another forme, consisting of a Christmas-sheet, entitled "The -Sun of Righteousness," was hurriedly got to press, and all hands were -working away full of assumed innocence when the officers from Bow Street -arrived at Monmouth-court, when, after a diligent search, they had very -reluctantly to come to the conclusion that they were "a day behind the -fair," and that the printer had been a little too sharp for them this -time. But Mother Cummins did not mean to be so checkmated by Catnach and -Co., and vowed to pursue him and his dirty blackguards to the end of the -world and back again, and instructed her lawyers to serve him with several -notices of action for libel, defamation of character, and, more -particular, as she expressed it, for "_parjury_." Then Catnach became -somewhat alarmed by her known vindictive disposition and long purse, that -he consulted his own solicitor in the matter, who took "counsel's opinion" -when an instant compromise at all costs, together with an ample apology, -was recommended as the only safe way out of the dilemma; a course which -was ultimately agreed to by both sides. An apology was drawn up and -approved of, with the understanding that Catnach was, after paying all -costs incurred to print the apology and publish the same on three several -places in front of his business premises in Monmouth Court for fourteen -clear days. All this--and more--Jemmy promised steadfastly to observe. Yet -in effect, he evaded the conditions by printing the apology in small pica -type and sticking the three copies so high up on the premises, that it -would have required Sam Weller's "pair of double million magnifying gas -microscopes of hextra power" to have been able to read the same. - -Immediately after Mother Cummins's death and funeral, March, 1828, the -following announcement appeared:-- - - _Published this Day, Price Sixpence, embellished with a humorous - Coloured Plate._ - - THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF MOTHER CUMMINS, - - The celebrated Lady Abbess of St. Giles's; with a curious Description, - Regulations, &c., of her singular Establishment. An account of her - Funeral, &c. Interspersed with numerous Anecdotes of Living - Characters, Visitors of Mother Cummins's Nunnery,--Capt. Shiels and - the Forty-four Nuns--Poll Hankey and Sir Charles Stanton,--Jane Sealey - and an Illustrous Person, &c.--With an Account of some of the - principal Nuns of the Establishment; particularly Mrs. Throgmorton and - Lord Al...n..y--Bell Chambers and the D... of Y...,--Miss Wilkinson - and Captain Featherstone--Marianne Hempstead, the Scotch Beauty--Miss - Weltern Davis and the Rev. Mr. H...l..y Be..rs..d--Mary Thomas, the - Female Chimney-Sweep, and Captain T...t...s, &c. - - - THE TRIAL, SENTENCE, FULL CONFESSION, AND EXECUTION OF BISHOP & - WILLIAMS, THE BURKERS. - - [Illustration] - - - BURKING AND BURKERS. - - The month of November, 1831, will be recorded in the annals of crimes - and cruelties as particularly pre-eminent, for it will prove to - posterity that other wretches could be found base enough to follow the - horrid example of Burke and his accomplice Hare, to entice the - unprotected and friendless to the den of death for sordid gain. - - The horrible crime of "Burking," or murdering the unwary with the - intention of selling their bodies at a high price to the anatomical - schools, for the purpose of dissection, has unfortunately obtained a - notoriety which will not be soon or easily forgotten. It took its - horrifying appellation from the circumstances which were disclosed on - the trial of the inhuman wretch Burke, who was executed at Edinburgh - in 1829, for having wilfully and deliberately murdered several persons - for the sole purpose of profiting by the sale of their dead bodies. - - - APPREHENSION OF THE BURKERS. - - On Tuesday, November 8th, four persons vis., John Bishop, Thomas - Williams, James May, and Michael Shield, were examined at Bow Street - Police Office on the charge of being concerned in the wilful murder of - an unknown Italian boy. From the evidence adduced, it appeared that - May, _alias_ Jack Stirabout, a known resurrection-man, and Bishop, a - body-snatcher, offered at King's College a subject for sale, Shield - and Williams having charge of the body in a hamper, for which they - demanded twelve guineas. Mr Partridge, demonstrator of anatomy, who, - although not in absolute want of a subject, offered nine guineas, but - being struck with its freshness sent a messenger to the police - station, and the fellows were then taken into custody, examined before - the magistrates, when Shield was discharged and the others ultimately - committed for trial - - - THE TRIAL. - - Friday, December 2nd, having been fixed for the trial of the prisoners - charged with the murder of the Italian boy, the Court was crowded to - excess so early as eight o'clock in the morning. - - At nine o'clock the Deputy Recorder, Mr Serjeant Arabin, came into - the court, when the prisoners severally pleaded "Not Guilty." - - The Jury were then sworn, and at ten o'clock Chief Justice Tindal, Mr - Baron Vaughan, and Mr Justice Littledale entered the Court, with the - Lord Mayor and Sheriffs. - - The Bench was crowded with persons of rank, amongst whom was the Duke - of Sussex. - - Mr Bodkin having opened the case, Mr Adolphus proceeded to state to - the Jury the leading facts, as they were afterwards stated in the - evidence produced. The case for the prosecution having closed, the - prisoners were called upon for their defence. - - The prisoner Bishop in his defence stated that he was thirty-three - years of age, and had followed the occupation of carrier till the last - five years, during which he had occasionally obtained a livelihood by - supplying surgeons with subjects. He most solemnly declared that he - had never disposed of any body that had not died a natural death. - - Williams' defence briefly stated that he had never been engaged in the - calling of a resurrectionist, but had only by accident accompanied - Bishop on the sale of the Italian boy's body. - - May, in his defence, admitted that for the last six years he had - followed the occupation of supplying the medical schools with - anatomical subjects, but disclaimed ever having had anything to do - with the sale of bodies which had not died a natural death. That he - had accidentally met with Bishop at the Fortune of War public house on - the Friday on which the body was taken for sale to Guy's Hospital. - - At eight o'clock the jury retired to consider their verdict and on - their return they found the prisoners were Guilty of Murder. - - The Recorder then passed the awful sentence upon them. "That each of - them be hanged on Monday morning, and their bodies be delivered over - for dissection and anatomization." - - The prisoners heard the sentence as they had the verdict, without any - visible alteration. May raised his voice, and in a firm tone said, "I - am a murdered man, gentlemen." - - - THE FULL CONFESSION OF BISHOP AND WILLIAMS. - - On Saturday morning Williams addressed a note to Mr Wontner, stating - that he and Bishop wanted particularly to see him and Dr. Cotton, the - Ordinary. In the course of the interview which immediately followed, - both prisoners made a full confession of their guilt, both exculpating - May altogether from being party to any of the murders. Having received - the confessions, Mr Wontner immediately waited upon Mr Justice - Littledale and Baron Vaughan, and upon communicating to them the - statements, they said they would at once see the Home Secretary on the - subject. - - On Sunday morning the Sheriffs visited all three of the prisoners in - succession, and with the Under-Sheriffs were engaged between three and - four hours in taking down the statements of the convicts. The result - of all these investigations was that the same afternoon a respite - during his Majesty's pleasure arrived at Newgate for May, and his - sentence will be commuted to transportation for life. - - - THE EXECUTION. - - During the whole of Sunday crowds of persons congregated in the Old - Bailey, and the spot on which the scaffold was to be erected was - covered with individuals conversing on the horrid crimes of the - convicts, and in the course of the day strong posts were erected in - the Old Bailey and at the ends of Newgate street Giltspur street, and - Skinner street, for the purpose of forming barriers to break the - pressure of the crowd. - - At half-past twelve o'clock the gallows was brought out from the yard, - and drawn to its usual station opposite the Debtor's door. The crowd, - as early as one o'clock amounting to several thousand persons, - continued rapidly increasing. - - By some oversight three chains had been suspended from the fatal beam, - and this led the crowd to suppose that May had not been respited. Mr. - Wontnor, on hearing of the mistake, directed that one of the chains - should be removed. The moment this was done an exclamation of "May is - respited," ran through the crowd, and, contrary to the expected tokens - of indignation, distinct cheers were heard amongst the crowd on - witnessing this token that mercy had been shown to May. - - At half-past seven the Sheriffs arrived in their carriage, and in a - short time the press-yard was thronged with gentlemen. The unhappy - convicts were now led from their cells. Bishop cams out first, and - after he was pinioned he was conducted to a seat, and the Rev. Mr. - Williams sat alongside of him, and they conversed together in a low - tone of voice. - - Williams was next introduced, and the wonderful alteration two days - had effected in his appearance astonished everyone who was present at - the trial. All the bold confidence he exhibited then had completely - forsaken him, and he looked the most miserable wretch it is possible - to conceive. He entered the room with a very faltering step, and when - the ceremony of pinioning him commenced, he was so weak as to be - scarcely able to stand. - - Everything being ready, the melancholy procession moved forward. - Bishop was then conducted to the scaffold, and the moment he made his - appearance the most dreadful yells and hootings were heard among the - crowd. The executioner proceeded at once to the performance of his - duty, and having put the rope round his neck and affixed it to a - chain, placed him under the fatal beam. Williams was then taken out, - and the groans and hisses were renewed. The dreadful preparations were - soon completed, and in less than five minutes after the wretched men - appeared on the scaffold the usual signal was given, the drop fell, - and they were launched into eternity. Bishop appeared to die very - soon, but Williams struggled hard. Thus died - - THE DREADFUL BURKERS OF 1831 - - Printed in London for the Venders. - -It may be remarked, _en passant_, that Mr. Corder, with Paragalli and -Colla, the two Italian witnesses, who gave evidence as to the identity of -the body, said to be that of the Italian boy, at the trial of Bishop, -Williams, and May, appeared at Bow Street, in consequence of doubts being -entertained by a portion of the public as to the body being that of Carlo -Ferrari, to re-assert their former evidence. Mr. Corder afterwards -published a statement in the "Times" newspaper, which gave scarcely the -possibility of doubt that the body offered at King's College _must have -been_ that of Ferrari notwithstanding the murderer's assertion to the -contrary. On December the 10th, a _Post-obit_ prosecution of Williams, the -Burkite murderer, took place in the Court of Excise, where he was charged, -on information, with having carried on an illicit factory for making glass -at No. 2, Nova Scotia Gardens, Bethnal Green. An officer proved the -seizure of goods used in the manufacture of glass, at the house of the -person charged, and that Bishop was at the time in company. The Court -condemned the goods seized. - -A drama on the subject of the "Burkers" was produced at an unlicensed -theatre, designated THE SHAKESPEARE, in the Kingsland Road, and not far -from Shoreditch Church, and for a time was specially attractive. In the -young actor, who played Carlo Ferrari, the Italian boy, might now be -recognised an eminent tragedian.[10] - -[Illustration] - - -Street-ballads on political subjects, though not regarded as of great -interest by the whole body of the people, are still eventful among certain -classes, and for such the street author and ballad singer cater. The -measure of Reform by Earl Grey's administration, was proposed in the House -of Commons by Lord John Russell, 1st March, 1831. On the first division, -_second_ reading 22nd March, there stood for it, 302; against it, 301. -Ultimately, the Bill for that session was abandoned, and Parliament -dissolved. The Reform Bill of 1832 was read for the _third_ time on the -23rd of March, when the numbers stood thus:--for the Bill, 355; against -it, 239--majority for it, 116. In the Lords, the Bill was carried through -the Committee on the 30th of May, and read a _third_ time on the 4th of -June. For the Bill, 106; against, 22--majority, 84. - -During the whole of the time the Reform Bills of 1831-2 were before the -Houses of Parliament, the "Catnach Press," in common with other printing -offices that produced street-literature, was very busy in publishing, -almost daily, songs and papers in ridicule of borough-mongering and of the -various rotten boroughs then in existence, but which were entirely swept -away by the passing of this Bill; fifty-six boroughs in England being -disfranchised, while thirty were reduced to one member only; twenty-two -new boroughs were created to send two members, and twenty to send one -member; other important changes were also made. Songs upon the subject -were sung at every corner of the streets, to the great delight of the -multitude. - -THE REFORM BILL. - - As William and _Bill_ are the same, - Our King, if he "weathers the storm," - Shall be called in the annals of fame, - The _Glorious_ BILL _of Reform_! - - -[Illustration] - -ATTACK ON KING WILLIAM IV. AT ASCOT HEATH, - -ON TUESDAY, THE 19TH OF JUNE, 1832. - -The Ascot Races for 1832 will be rendered memorable in the history of this -country by reason of a stone thrown at his Majesty while on the grand -stand at Ascot Races, which hit him on the forehead. The man by whom it -was thrown was immediately secured, and proved to be Dennis Collins, a -seaman with only one leg, formerly a pensioner of Greenwich Hospital, from -whence he had been dismissed for ill-conduct. On his examination he -confessed he committed the outrage in revenge because no notice had been -taken of petitions which he had sent to the Lords of the Admiralty and the -King. He was committed to Reading gaol to take his trial, which took place -at Abingdon, on August 22nd. The jury returned a verdict of guilty on the -fifth count, that of intending some bodily harm to his Majesty, but not -guilty of the intent to kill. - -Mr. Baron Gurney passed sentence on the prisoner, that he _be drawn on a -hurdle to the place of execution_, and being hung by his _neck_ until -dead, his _head_ be afterwards _severed from his body_, and his body -_divided into four pieces_, and disposed of as his Majesty should think -fit. His sentence was afterwards respited. - -Nothing better than the above circumstance could have suited the producers -and workers of street-literature. King William and Queen Adelaide were -very popular at the time. "Yes, sir, we all did well out of that job of -the wooden-legged sailor and old King Billy. It lasted out for months. We -had something fresh nearly every day. We killed old Billy five or six -times; then we made out that the sailor-chap was a love-child of the -Sailor King and Madame Vestris; then that he was an old sweetheart of -Queen Adelaide's, and that he was jealous and annoyed at her a jilting of -him and a-marrying of old King Billy, and so on. But it was an awful sell, -and a robbery to us all, because they didn't hang and cut the chap up into -four quarters--that would have been a regular Godsend to us chaps, sir. -But I think old Jemmy Catnach, as it was, must have cleared pretty nigh or -quite fifty pounds for himself out of the job. A-talking about Madame -Vestris, sir, reminds me that once we had a song about her, and the chorus -was:-- - - "'A hundred pounds reward - For the man that cut the legs above the knees - Belonging to Madame Vestris.'" - -[Illustration] - -The year 1837 produced two sensational murders and executions. The first -case--that of Pegsworth--made a great stir, particularly in the east part -of London. It was on the evening of the 9th of January, 1837, that a most -atrocious and cold-blooded murder was committed in Ratcliff Highway. The -individual who suffered was Mr. John Holliday Ready, who for some time -carried on the trade of a tailor, draper, and milliner. John Pegsworth, -was a messenger in the tea department of St. Katherine's Docks, he had -formerly kept a small tobacconist's shop in the same street, and had -contracted a debt of L1 with Mr. Ready, who being unable to obtain -payment, took out a summons against him in the Court of Requests, -Osborne-street, Whitechapel. The court gave judgement against Pegsworth -for the full amount and costs, which he was ordered to pay by instalments. -On the evening of the same day Pegsworth proceeded to a cutler's shop in -Shadwell, where he bought a large pig-knife, armed with which he -immediately repaired to the house of Mr. Ready for the purpose of -executing his diabolical intention. He entered the shop, and having spoken -to Mrs. Ready, passed on to the parlour and got into conversation with Mr. -Ready. Pegsworth, although pressingly asked to do so, declined taking a -seat, and after he had been talking about ten minutes in a calm and -collected manner on the subject of the debt and the misfortunes he had met -with in business, he pointedly asked Mr. Ready if he intended to enforce -the payment of the debt? Ready said he should be compelled to issue an -execution against his goods if the money was not paid. The words had -scarcely left the lips of the unfortunate man than Pegsworth uttered some -exclamation which is supposed to have been "Take that!" and plunged the -knife with great force into his breast up to the hilt. Ready called out to -his wife, "O, I am stabbed!" fell back in his chair, and almost -immediately expired. Mrs. Ready, who saw Pegsworth move his arm, but was -not aware her husband was stabbed until she saw him fall back, screamed -aloud for assistance, and several of her neighbours rushed into the shop -for the purpose of securing the murderer, who did not make the least -attempt to escape, but having completed his purpose, withdrew the knife -from the body of his victim, laid it on the table, and calmly awaited the -arrival of the police. - -Pegsworth was tried at the Central Criminal Court of London on the 12th of -February, and found guilty of wilful murder, and was executed in front of -the debtor's door in the Old Bailey on the 9th of March following. - - * * * * * - -During the whole of the time that was occupied in the trial and execution -of Pegsworth, a circumstance took place which excited an extraordinary -sensation throughout the metropolis and its neighbourhood--namely, the -discovery near the Pine Apple Gate, Edgware Road, of the trunk of a human -being, tied up in a sack, dismembered of the arms, legs, and head. - -The utmost vigilance was exercised to trace out the murderer, but for -several days no light was thrown upon the transaction. At length, on the -6th of January, as a barge was passing down the Regent's Canal, near -Stepney, one of the eastern environs of London, the bargeman, to his -unspeakable horror, fished up what proved to be a human head. Proper -notice of this circumstance was forwarded to the police. It was now very -generally supposed the head would prove to belong to the body found in the -Edgware road, although at a distance of nearly five miles, and this -conjecture proved to be correct. - -On the second of February the remaining portions of the human being was -discovered in a sack in an osier bed, near Cold Harbour Lane, Camberwell. -These mutilated remains were carefully matched together, and at length -recognised as those of a Mrs. Brown, and suspicion fell, and justly so, -upon James Greenacre and his paramour Sarah Gale. - -In respect to the last two murders we have cited, Mr. Henry Mayhew -received from an old "running patterer" the following -statement--"Pegsworth was an out-and-out lot. I did tremendous with him, -because it happened in London, down Ratcliff Highway--that's a splendid -quarter for working--there's plenty of feeling--but, bless you, some -places you go to you can't move nohow, they've hearts like paving stones. -They wouldn't have 'the papers' if you'd give them to 'em--especially when -they knows you. Greenacre didn't sell so well as might have been expected, -for such a diabolical out-and-out crime as he committed; but you see he -came close after Pegsworth, and that took the beauty off him. Two -murderers together is no good to nobody." - -In the Greenacre tragedy Catnach did a great amount of business, and as it -was about the last "popular murder" in which he had any trade concern, we -give a statement in respect to the sale of "Execution Papers," of the -chief modern '_popular_' murders, thus:-- - - Of Rush murder 2,500,000 copies. - Of the Mannings 2,500,000 " - Of Courvoisier 1,666,000 " - Of Greenacre 1,650,000 " - Of Corder (Maria Marten) 1,166,000 " - Of the Five Pirates (Flowery Land) 290,000 " - Of Mueller 280,000 " - -So that the printers and publishers of "Gallows" Literature in general, -and "The Catnach Press" in particular must have reaped a golden harvest -for many a long day, even when sold to the street patterers at the low -rate of 3d. per _long_ dozen. - -[Illustration] - - - LIFE, TRIAL, CONFESSION, & EXECUTION OF JAMES GREENACRE, FOR THE - EDGEWARE ROAD MURDER. - - [Illustration] - - On the 22nd of April, James Greenacre was found guilty of the wilful - murder of Hannah Brown, and Sarah Gale with being accessary after the - fact. A long and connected chain of evidence was produced, which - showed, that the sack in which the body was found was the property of - Mr. Ward; that it was usually deposited in a part of the premises - which led to the workshop, and could without observation have been - carried away by him; that the said sack contained several fragments - of shavings of mahogeny, such as were made in the course of business - by Ward; and that it contained some pieces of linen cloth, which had - been patched with nankeen; that this linen cloth matched exactly with - a frock which was found on Greenacre's premises, and which belonged to - the female prisoner. Feltham, a police-officer, deposed, that on the - 25th of March he apprehended the prisoners at the lodgings of - Greenacre; that on searching the trowsers pockets of that person, he - took therefrom a pawnbroker's duplicate for two silk gowns, and from - the fingers of the female prisoner two rings, and also a similar - duplicate for two veils, and an old-fashioned silver watch, which she - was endeavouring to conceal; and it was further proved that these - articles were pledged by the prisoners, and that they had been the - property of the deceased woman.--Two surgeons were examined, whose - evidence was most important, and whose depositions were of the - greatest consequence in throwing a clear light on the manner in which - the female, Hannah Brown, met with her death. Mr. Birtwhistle deposed, - that he had carefully examined the head; that the right eye had been - knocked out by a blow inflicted while the person was living; there was - also a cut on the cheek, and the jaw was fractured, these two last - wounds were, in his opinion, produced after death; there was also a - bruise on the head, which had occurred after death; the head had been - separated by cutting, and the _bone sawed nearly through_, and then - broken off; then were the marks of a saw, which fitted with a saw - which was found in Greenacre's box. Mr. Girdwood, a surgeon, very - minutely and skilfully described the appearances presented on the - head, and showed incontestibly, that the head had been severed from - the body _while the person was yet alive_; that this was proved by the - retraction, or drawing back, of the muscles at the parts where they - were separated by the knife, and further, by the blood-vessels being - empty, the body was drained of blood. This part of the evidence - produced a thrill of horror throughout the court, but Greenacre - remained quite unmoved. - - After a most impressive and impartial summing up by the learned Judge, - the jury retired, and, after the absence of a quarter of an hour, - returned into court, and pronounced a verdict of "Guilty" against both - the prisoners. - - The prisoners heard the verdict without evincing the least emotion, or - the slightest change of countenance. After an awful silence of a few - minutes, the Lord Chief Justice said they might retire, as they would - be remanded until the end of the session. - - They were then conducted from the bar, and on going down the steps, - the unfortunate female prisoner kissed Greenacre with every mark of - tenderness and affection. - - The crowd outside the court on this day was even greater than on - either of the preceding; and when the result of the trial was made - known in the street, a sudden and general shout succeeded, ans - continued huzzas were heard for several minutes. - - - THE EXECUTION. - - At half past seven the sheriff arrived in his carriage, and in a short - time the press-yard was thronged with gentlemen who had been admitted - by tickets. The unhappy convict was now led from his cell. When he - arrived in the press-yard, his whole appearance pourtrayed the utmost - misery and spirit-broken dejection; his countenance haggard, and his - whole frame agitated; all that self-possesion and fortitude which he - displayed in the early part of his imprisonment, had utterly forsaken - him, and had left him a victim of hopelessness and despair. He - requested the executioner to give him as little pain as possible in - the process of pinioning his arms and wrists; he uttered not a word in - allusion to his crime; neither did he make any dying request, except - that his spectacles might be given to Sarah Gale; he exhibited no sign - of hope; he showed no symptom of reconciliation with his offended God! - When the venerable ordinary preceded him in the solemn procession - through the vaulted passage to the fatal drop, he was so overcome and - unmanned, that he could not support himself without the aid of the - assistant executioner. At the moment he ascended the faithless floor, - from which he was to be launched into eternity, the most terrific - yells, groans, and cheers were vociferated by the immense multitude - surrounding the place of execution. Greenacre bowed to the sheriff, - and begged he might not be allowed to remain long in the concourse; - and almost immediately the fatal bolt was withdrawn, and, without a - struggle he became a lifeless corse.--Thus ended the days of - Greenacre, a man endowed with more than ordinary talents, respectably - connected, and desirably placed in society; but a want of probity, an - absolute dearth of principle, led him on from one crime to another, - until at length he perpetrated the sanguinary deed which brought his - career to an awful and disgraceful period, and which has enrolled his - name among the most notorious of those who have expiated their crime - on the gallows. - - On hearing the death-bell toll, Gale became dreadfully agitated; and - when she heard the brutal shouts of the crowd of spectators, she - fainted, and remained in a state of alternate mental agony and - insensibility throughout the whole day. - - After having been suspended the usual time, his body was cut down, and - buried in a hole dug in one of the passages of the prison, near the - spot where Thistlewood and his associate were deposited. - -Catnach received a very indifferent education, and that little at the -establishment of Mr. Goldie, in Alnwick, where his attendance was very -irregular, and this drawback assisted very much in blunting his relish for -the higher walks of literature. The father had not carried out the -heavenly injunction so much practised in Scotland, by giving to his son -the best of blessings--"a good education." - -Jemmy had a tenacious love of money, and this propensity he retained -throughout life. As a man of business he was rough and brusque in his -manners, but this mattered little, as his trade lay amongst a class who -were low and insensitive in their habits and modes of living. - -The productions issued at the "Catnach Press" were not destined to rank -high in the annals of literature; and they bear a sorry appearance when -placed alongside of several works of a similar kind, which were printed at -the same period in many parts of the kingdom. In this respect Jemmy -Catnach was very unlike his father, for, whilst the former had a niggardly -turn in all his dealings, the latter was naturally inclined to the -reverse. - -One class of literature which Jemmy Catnach made--by reason of greater -mechanical skill and a larger capital than his rivals--almost his own, was -children's farthing, halfpenny, and penny books. Among the great many that -he published we select from our own private collection, those that follow -as a fair sample. - -Many other nursery books of a similar kind might be mentioned as some of -the chief attractions that emanated from the "Catnach Press," and which, -to the juvenile population, were more eagerly welcomed than the great -sensational three-volume novels are by many in our day. - - - - - "THE CATNACH PRESS." - - [Illustration] - - A COLLECTION - OF JUVENILE BOOKS. - - - PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY - JAMES CATNACH, - LATE OF - MONMOUTH COURT, - SEVEN DIALS, - LONDON. - - -[Illustration: JAMES CATNACH TO HIS JUVENILE READERS. - - Little Boys and Girls will find - At CATNACH'S something to their mind, - From great variety may choose, - What will instruct them and amuse; - The prettiest plates that you can find, - To please at once the eye and mind, - In all his little books appear, - In natural beauty, shining clear, - Instruction unto youth when given, - Points the path from earth to heaven. - He sells by Wholesale and Retail. - To suit all moral tastes can't fail.] - - - Nurse Love-Child's LEGACY - - [Illustration] - - LONDON: - Printed by J. Catnach, 2, Monmouth - Court, 7 Dials. - - -2 - -[Illustration] - - The Lion and the unicorn, - Were fighting for the crown, - The lion beat the unicorn, - All round about the town, - Some gave them white bread - And some gave them brown, - Some gave them plum cake - And sent them out of town. - - -3 - -NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. - -[Illustration] - - What is the news of the day, - Good neighbour I pray, - They say the balloon, - Is gone up to the moon. - - -4 - -NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. - -[Illustration] - - The little mouse - Doth skip and play, - He runs by night, - And sleeps by day. - - -5 - -NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. - -[Illustration] - - This is the Cat - That killed the Cock, - For waking her - At five o'clock. - - -6 - -NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. - -[Illustration] - - And this is the Dog - That bit the thief, - For stealing all - His master's beef. - - -7 - -NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. - -[Illustration] - - Who comes here - A Grenadier, - What do you want - A pot of beer, - Where's your money - I've forgot. - Get you gone - You drunken sot. - - -8 - -NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. - -[Illustration] - - Be not a glutton when you eat, - But spare some for the needy, - Or people will, when filled with meat, - Say, like a wolf, you are greedy. - - -9 - -NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. - -[Illustration] - - There was a little man, - And he had a little gun, - And his bullets were made of lead, - He shot John Sprig - Thro' the middle of his wig, - And knock'd it off his head. - - -10 - -NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. - -[Illustration] - - Now what do you think - Of little Jack Jingle, - Before he was married, - He used to live single. - But after he married, - To alter his life, - He left off living single - And lived with his wife. - - -11 - -NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. - - Tom Trueby was a good and sensible boy, who neither played the truant - nor kept company with naughty children. He did not like tossing up nor - chuck up farthing, because he thought it might lead him to love - gaming, when he was grown up; but he liked very well to play at ball - or top, and most particularly at marbles, at which he was very clever, - never cheated, and played so well that he used to teach the - neighbouring children. - - -12 - -NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. - -[Illustration] - - And here you see him instructing Master Manly, a Baronet's son in the - place, as he did in matters of more consequence, and behaved so well - towards him, that he was his friend all his lifetime. - - -13 - -NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. - -Fire-Works and Crackers. - -[Illustration] - - Fire-Works are things that look very pretty when they are properly - managed by those who understand them, but children ought to take care - how they meddle with gunpowder lest they should hurt themselves or - other people. - - -14 - -NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. - - Tom Hazard for example was always fond of playing with serpents - crackers &c. At one time he was near doing damage by his fireworks - falling into a cellar, and at another time as you see in the cut he so - much frightened one of his schoolfellows that he fell down, and put - his ancle out, for which Tom was severely corrected and you must own - he richly deserved it. - -[Illustration] - - -15 - -NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. - -[Illustration] - - See the Mother, - Good and mild, - How she plays - With her dear Child. - - -NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. - -[Illustration] - - See the Maid - By kindness led, - To feed the Fowls - With crumbs of bread. - - -FINIS. - -J. Catnach, Printer. - - - - - THE GOLDEN PIPPIN. - - [Illustration] - - LONDON: - Printed by J. Catnach. - 2, Monmouth - Court, 7 Dials. - - -2 - -THE Lord's Prayer. - -[Illustration] - - Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy Kingdom come, - thy Will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven, Give us this Day our - daily Bread, and forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that - trespass against us, and lead us not into Temptation, but deliver us - from Evil. For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the Glory, for ever - and ever. Amen. - -[Illustration] - - -3 - -[Illustration] - -A - -Was an Arch Boy. - -[Illustration] - -B - -A Beauty was. - - -4 - -[Illustration] - -C - -A comely Wench but Coy. - -[Illustration] - -D - -A Dainty Lass. - - -5 - -[Illustration] - -E - -Loved Eggs, and eat his fill. - -[Illustration] - -F - -Was full and fat. - - -6 - -[Illustration] - -G - -Had Grace and wit at will. - -[Illustration] - -H - -Wore a Gold Lace Hat. - - -7 - -[Illustration] - -I - -Stands for little Jackys name. - -[Illustration] - -K - -For Kitty Fair. - - -8 - -[Illustration] - -L - -Loved Learning & got fame. - -[Illustration] - -M - -Was his Mother dear. - - -9 - -[Illustration] - -N - -Was naughty & oft crying. - -[Illustration] - -O - -An Only Child. - - -10 - -[Illustration] - -P - -Was pretty Peggy sighing. - -[Illustration] - -Q - -Was a Quaker mild. - - -11 - -[Illustration] - -R - -Was Rude, & in disgrace. - -[Illustration] - -S - -Stands for Sammy Still. - - -12 - -[Illustration] - -T - -For ever talked a-pace. - -[Illustration] - -V - -Was fond of Veal. - - -13 - -[Illustration] - -W - -He watched the house & hall. - -[Illustration] - -X - -Does like a Cross appear. - - -14 - -[Illustration] - -Y - -A Youth well shaped & tall. - -[Illustration] - -Z - -Whips up the Rear. - - -15 - - Let all good children come to me, - And I'll learn them their - - A B C - -[Illustration] - - And when your Great Letters you know, - Then I'll teach you the Small also. - -[Illustration] - -J. Catnach, Printer. - - - - - JERRY DIDDLE, AND HIS FIDDLE. - - [Illustration] - - _If you are bad - I pray reform, - And praise will all - Your acts adorn._ - - London: - Printed by J. Catnach, 2, Monmouth - Court, 7 Dials. - - -2 - - JERRY DIDDLE. - Bought a fiddle, - To play to little boys, - He wax'd his string, - And began to sing, - Youth is the time for joys. - -[Illustration] - - He went to a pig, and play'd a jig. - - -3 - - The pigs did grunt for joy, - Till the farmer came out, - And made a great rout, - Saying "Off, or I'll cane you, my boy." - -[Illustration] - - He met an old woman to market a prancing, - He took out his fiddle, and set her a dancing. - - -4 - - She broke all her eggs, - And dirtied her butter; - At which her old husband - Began for to splutter. - -[Illustration] - - Oh! then, said Jerry, - I'll soon make you merry. - - -5 - - And the way with his fiddle he led, - The old man heard the tune, - As he sat in his room, - And danc'd on top of his head. - -[Illustration] - - -6 - -[Illustration] - - He next met a barber, - With powder and wig, - He play'd him a tune, - And he shaved an old pig. - - -7 - -[Illustration] - - Then up in his arms - He carried the boar, - And went to the ale-house, - To dance on the floor. - - -8 - -[Illustration] - - He met an old man, - With beer in a can, - And a bundle of clothes on his shoulder, - He bade Jerry play, - And threw all away, - To astonish each gaping beholder. - - -9 - -[Illustration] - - He went to a tailor, - Who was ill in bed; - When he got up to dance, - With a goose on his head. - - -10 - -[Illustration] - - He went to a fishwomen, - Tippling of gin, - When she like a top, - Began for to spin. - - -11 - -[Illustration] - - The publican star'd, - As he fill'd out the glasses, - But when Jerry play'd, - He danc'd with the lasses. - - -12 - -[Illustration] - - He next met an old man, - With beard white and long, - Who laugh'd at poor Jerry, - And scoff'd at his song. - - -13 - -[Illustration] - - His name was Instruction, - The friend of the wise, - Who teaches good youth, - To win honor's prize. - - -14 - -[Illustration] - - He broke Jerry's fiddle, - And taught him to read, - And told him that honor - Would daily succeed. - - -15 - -[Illustration] - - Jerry now is a lad - At school always true, - The joy of his friends, - And a pattern for you. - - -[Illustration] - - Be instructed by him, - To avoid folly's snare, - And your bosom thro' life, - Will escape every care. - -FINIS. - - - - - JUMPING JOAN. - - [Illustration] - - Here am I, little - Jumping Joan, - When nobody's with me, - I'm always alone. - - London: - Printed by J. Catnach, 2, Monmouth - Court, 7 Dials. - - -2 - -_Jumping Joan._ - -[Illustration] - - Joan had a dog, and - Joan had a cat, - Look at them both, see - How pretty they're sat. - - -3 - -_Jumping Joan._ - -[Illustration] - - Joan she lov'd skipping, - And was not at a loss, - At jumping or hopping, - Or going a cross. - - -4 - -_Jumping Joan._ - -[Illustration] - - Joan had a parrot - Could chatter and bawl, - But Joan could talk faster, - And longer withal. - - -5 - -_Jumping Joan._ - -[Illustration] - - Joan's dog, Prinny, - No learning did lack, - He'd carry Poll in his mouth - And Puss on his back. - - -6 - -_Jumping Joan._ - -[Illustration] - - As Joan lov'd jumping, - She learned her cat, - Look at them both, - And see what they're at. - - -7 - -_Jumping Joan._ - -[Illustration] - - Here's Pussy a washing - Joan's linen you know, - She could wash for herself - A long while ago. - - -8 - -_Jumping Joan._ - -[Illustration] - - Now Prinny, Joan's dog, - To market would go, - But what he'll bring back, - I'm sure I don't know. - - -9 - -_Jumping Joan._ - -[Illustration] - - Here's Pussy drest out - Like a lady so gay, - She's going to court, if - She finds but the way. - - -10 - -_Jumping Joan._ - -[Illustration] - - Here's Prinny and Pussy - To dancing have got, - While Joan plays a tune - On the lid of a pot. - - -11 - -_Jumping Joan._ - -[Illustration] - - Here's Joan with a whip, - Taking very long strides, - And vows if she finds 'em, - She'll bang both their hides. - - -12 - -_Jumping Joan._ - -[Illustration] - - Here's Prinny with gun, - Sword and gorget so smart, - He's going to France, - To fight Bonaparte. - - -13 - -_Jumping Joan._ - -[Illustration] - - And Joan's threat had fill'd - Poor Prin with alarms, - He said he'd not fight, - And so grounded his arms. - - -14 - -_Jumping Joan._ - -[Illustration] - - Then Puss in a fright - Ran back to the house, - She pull'd off her clothes, - And has just caught a mouse. - - -15 - -_Jumping Joan._ - -[Illustration] - - Then Joan she came in, - Call'd the cat saucy puss, - And said Prin was a puppy, - To frighten her thus. - - -_Jumping Joan._ - -[Illustration] - - They fell on their knees, - Her pardon to crave, - And promis'd in future, - They'd better behave. - - -J. Catnach, Printer. - - - - -[Illustration] - - This Milk Maid and - Book for a halfpenny. - - -[Illustration] - - TO THE Juvenile Reader. - - Little Boys and Girls will find - At CATNACH'S something to their mind. - From great variety may choose, - What will instruct them and amuse; - The prettiest plates that you can find, - To please at once the eye and mind, - In all his little books appear, - In natural beauty, shining clear, - Instruction unto youth when given, - Points the path from earth to heaven. - - He sells by Wholesale and Retail, - To suit all moral tastes can't fail. - - - - - THE Butterfly's Ball, - AND Grasshopper's Feast. - - [Illustration] - - _Come take up your hats, - And away let us haste, - To the Butterfly's Ball, - Or the Grasshoppers Feast._ - - J. Catnach, - 2, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. - - -[Illustration] - - THE BUTTERFLY'S BALL - AND Grasshopper's Feast. - - -[Illustration] - - The trumpeter Gad-fly, - Has summon'd the crew, - And the revels are now, - Only waiting for you. - -[Illustration] - - On the smooth shaved grass, - By the side of a wood. - Beneath a broad oak, - Which for ages had stood. - -[Illustration] - - See the children of earth, - And the tenants of air, - To an evening's amusement, - Together repair. - -[Illustration] - - And there came the Beetle, - So blind and so black, - And carried the Emmet, - His friend on his back. - -[Illustration] - - And there came the Gnat, - And the Dragon-fly too, - And all their relations-- - Green, orange and blue. - -[Illustration] - - And there came the Moth - With her plume of down, - And the Hornet with jacket - Of yellow and brown. - -[Illustration] - - Who with him the Wasp, - His companion did bring, - But they promised that evening - To lay by their sting. - -[Illustration] - - The sly little Dormouse, - Peep'd out of his hole, - And led to the feast, - His blind cousin the Mole. - -[Illustration] - - And the Snail with his horns, - Peeping out of a shell. - Came fatigued with the distance, - The length of an ell. - -[Illustration] - - A Mushroom the table, - And on it was spread, - A water-dock leaf, - Which their table-cloth made. - -[Illustration] - - The viands were various, - To each of their taste, - And the Bee brought the honey, - To sweeten the feast - -[Illustration] - - With steps most majestic, - The Snail did advance, - And he promised the gazers - A minuet to dance. - -[Illustration] - - But they all laugh'd so loud, - That he drew in his head, - And went in his own - Little chamber to bed. - -[Illustration] - - Then as the evening gave way - To the shadows of night, - Their watchman the glow-worm - Came out with his light. - - -[Illustration] - - So home let us hasten, - While yet we can see, - For no watchman is waiting, - For you or for me. - -J. Catnach, Printer. - - - - -[Illustration] - - A halfpenny Pay - and take honest Tray. - - - Let all good children come to me, - And I'll learn them their - - A B C - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration: - - THE _Easter Gift_; - BEING A USEFUL TOY - FOR - _Little Miss & Master_ - TO LEARN THEIR ABC - - J. Catnach, Printer, - 2, & 3, - Monmouth-Court, 7 Dials.] - - -[Illustration] - - A Was an Archer and shot at a frog, - But missing his mark shot into a bog. - -[Illustration] - - B Was a Butcher and had a great dog, - Who always went round the streets with a clog. - -[Illustration] - - C Was a Captain so brave and so grand, - He headed in buff the stately train'd band. - -[Illustration] - - D Was a Drunkard and lov'd a full pot, - His face and his belly shew'd him a great sot. - -[Illustration] - - E Was an Esquire, both lofty and proud, - His servant was softy though he was full loud. - -[Illustration] - - F Was a Farmer and followed the plough, - And gathered good from the sweat of his brow. - -[Illustration] - - G Was a Gamester, and oft would he play, - A poor single ace against a bold tray. - -[Illustration] - - H Hunted the buck, and likewise the doe, - The hart and the fox, and also the roe. - -[Illustration] - - I Was an Image set up at Rome, - Many that see it were better at home. - -[Illustration] - - J Was a Joiner and built him a house, - A little time after there came in a mouse. - -[Illustration] - - K Was a King, who would drink and carouse, - Affrighted was he at a stand and a mouse. - -[Illustration] - - L Was a Lady that lov'd a fine tree, - Though none understood it so little as she. - -[Illustration] - - M Was a Merchant to foreign lands gone. - To bring home fine tea and rich silks anon. - -[Illustration] - - N Was a Noble of birth and high power, - To the poor most gentle, to the haughty most sour. - -[Illustration] - - O With her Oysters, a delicate cry. - Come buy my sweet Oyster, come buy, come buy. - -[Illustration] - - P Was a Parson, and wore a black gown, - For goodness and virtue of high renown. - -[Illustration] - - Q Was a Quaker, both stiff and upright, - In yea and nay they chiefly delight. - -[Illustration] - - R Was a Robber on the highway, - For which he's been hung this many a day. - -[Illustration] - - S Was a Sailor and liv'd in a ship, - He made the Spaniards and French for to skip. - -[Illustration] - - T Was Tom Tinker and mended a kettle, - While he was hammering was deaf as a beetle. - -[Illustration] - - U Was an Undertaker at work for his bread. - The living must pay, though he works for the dead. - -[Illustration] - - V Was a Vintner that loved his pottle, - Went seldom to bed without his full bottle. - -[Illustration] - - W Was a Watchman, to guard the warehouse, - That rogues did not strip it of every souse. - -[Illustration] - - X Was expensive, and so became poor, - With his little dog begged from door to door. - -[Illustration] - - Y Was a Youngster that lov'd not his school, - But trundled his hoop though out of all rule. - -[Illustration] - - Z Was a Zany that look'd like a fool, - With his long tassell'd cap he was the boy's fool. - - - And when your great letters you know, - Then I'll teach you the small ones also. - -[Illustration] - - -Printed by J. Catnach. - - - - - THE Tragical Death - OF AN _Apple Pie_, - - [Illustration] - - Who was Cut to Pieces - AND EATEN BY - _Twenty-Five Gentlemen_, - WITH WHOM - All Little People - OUGHT TO BE ACQUAINTED - - PRINTED BY J. PAUL & Co., - LONDON; - _2 & 3, Monmouth Court_. - - -[Illustration] - - An apple pie when it looks nice, - Would make one long to have a slice, - And if its taste should prove so too, - I fear one slice would scarcely do, - So to prevent my asking twice, - Pray mamma, cut a good large slice. - -[Illustration] - - -THE LIFE AND DEATH OF AN APPLE PIE. - -[Illustration] - -A - -An Apple-pie. - -B - -Bit it. - -[Illustration] - -C - -Cut it. - -D - -Dealt it. - -[Illustration] - -E - -Did eat it. - -F - -Fought for it. - -[Illustration] - -G - -Got it. - -H - -Had it. - -[Illustration] - -J - -Join'd for it. - -K - -Kept it. - -[Illustration] - -L - -Long'd for it. - -M - -Mourned for it. - -[Illustration] - -N - -Nodded at it. - -O - -Open'd it. - -[Illustration] - -P - -Peeped into it. - -Q - -Quartered it. - -[Illustration] - -R - -Ran for it. - -S - -Stole it. - -[Illustration] - -T - -Took it. - -V - -View'd it. - -[Illustration] - -W - -Wanted it. - -XYZ and & All wished for a piece in hand. - - -[Illustration] - - At last they every one agreed, - Upon the apple pie to feed; - But as there seem'd to be so many, - Those who were last might not have any, - Unless some method there was taken - That every one might have their bacon, - They all agreed to stand in order, - Around the apple pie's fine border, - Take turn as they in hornbook stand - From great A down to &, - In equal parts the pie divide, - As you may see on the other side. - -[Illustration] - - -_A curious Discourse that passed between the Twenty-five Letters at dinner -time._ - - - A 1. Says, A, give me a good large slice. - B 2. Says B, a little bit but nice. - C 3. Says C, cut me a piece of crust. - D 4. Take it, says D, 'tis dry as dust. - E 5. Says E, I'll eat it fast, who will? - F 6. Says F, I vow I'll have my fill. - G 7. Says G, give it me both good and great. - H 8. Says H, a little bit I hate. - I 9. Says I, I love the juice the best. - K 10. And K, the very same confess'd. - L 11. Says L, there's nothing more I love. - M 12. Says M, it makes your teeth to move. - N 13. N notic'd what the others said, - O 14. O, others plates with grief survey'd. - P 15. P prais'd the cook up to the life. - Q 16. Q quarrell'd because he'd a bad knife. - R 17. Says R, it runs short I'm afraid. - S 18. S, silent sat and nothing said. - T 19. T, thought that talking might lose time. - U 20. U understood it at meals a crime. - W 21. W wish'd there had been a quince in. - X 22. Says X, those cooks there's no convincing. - Y 23 Says Y, I'll eat, let others wish. - Z 24. Z sat as mute as any fish. - & 25. While & he lick'd the dish. - - -Having concluded their discourse and dinner together, I have nothing more -to add; but if my little readers are pleased with what they have found in -this book they have nothing to do but to run to J. Paul & Co's., 2, & 3, -Monmouth Court; 7 Dials, where they may have a great variety of books not -less entertaining than this of the same size and price. - -[Illustration] - -But that you may not think I leave you too abruptly, I here present you -with the picture of dame Dumpling, who made the Apple pie you have been -reading about; she has several more in her basket, and she promised that -if you are good children you shall never go to bed supperless while she -has one left. But as good people always ask a blessing, as a token that -you are good and deserve a pie, you must learn the two following Graces, -that one be said before your meals, and the other after. - - * * * * * - -_Grace before Meat._ - -Good Lord, bless us, and these thy creatures, to our use, which we are -about to receive, of thy bounteous liberality, through Jesus Christ our -Lord. _Amen._ - - -_Grace after Meat._ - -We thank thee, O Lord, for all the benefits of this time, and of our whole -lives. Make us thankful for all thy mercies now, and for evermore. _Amen._ - -[Illustration] - - -THE TEN COMMANDMENTS PUT INTO SHORT RHYME. - - 1. Thou shalt have no other God but me. - 2. Before no idol bow thy knee. - 3. Take not the name of God it vain. - 4. Nor dare the Sabbath-day profane. - 5. Give both thy parents honour due. - 6. Take heed that thou no murder do. - 7. Abstain from words and deeds unclean. - 8. Steal not, tho' thou art poor and mean. - 9. Tell not a wilful lie, nor love it. - 10. What is thy neighbour's, dare not covet. - -J. Paul & Co., Printers. - - - - - OLD MOTHER HUBBARD - AND HER WONDERFUL DOG. - - [Illustration] - - Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard - To get the poor dog a bone; - But when she came there the cupboard was bare, - And so the poor dog had none. - - LONDON: - Printed by J. CATNACH, 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. - - -[Illustration] - - She went to the baker's to buy him some bread, - When she came back the dog was dead. - Ah! my poor dog, she cried, oh, what shall I do? - You were always my pride--none equal to you. - -[Illustration] - - She went to the undertaker's to buy him a coffin, - When she came back, the dog was laughing. - Now how this can be quite puzzles my brain, - I am much pleased to see you alive once again. - -[Illustration] - - She went to the barber's to buy him a wig, - When she came back he was dancing a jig. - O, you dear merry grig, how nicely you're prancing; - Then she held up the wig, and he began dancing. - -[Illustration] - - She went to the sempstress to buy him some linen, - When she came back the dog was spinning. - The reel, when 'twas done, was wove into a shirt, - Which served to protect him from weather and dirt. - -[Illustration] - - To market she went, to buy him some tripe, - When she came back he was smoking his pipe. - Why, sure, cried the dame, you'd beat the great Jocko. - Who before ever saw a dog smoking tobacco? - -[Illustration] - - She went to the alehouse to buy him some beer, - When she came back he sat on a chair. - Drink hearty, said Dame, there's nothing to pay, - 'Twill banish your sorrow and moisten your clay. - -[Illustration] - - She went to the fruiterer's to buy him some fruit, - When she came back he was playing the flute. - Oh, you musical dog, you surely can speak: - Come, sing me a song, then he set up a squeak. - -[Illustration] - - She went to the tavern for white wine and red, - When she came back he stood on his head. - This is odd, said the dame, for fun you seem bred, - One would almost believe you'd wine in your head. - -[Illustration] - - The dog he cut capers, and turned out his toes, - 'Twill soon cure the vapours, he such attitude shows. - The dame made a curtsey, the dog made a bow, - The dame said, Your servant, the dog said Bow wow. - -[Illustration] - - - - - THE Royal Book. - - [Illustration] - - OF Nursery Rhymes. - - A present for little Masters and Misses. - A Good Book to Instruct and Amuse. - - [Illustration] - - Pussy-Cat, pussy-cat, where have you been? - I've been up to London to look at the queen. - Pussy-cat, pussy-cat, what did you there? - I frighten'd a little mouse under the chair. - - London: - Published by RYLE and PAUL, - 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, Seven Dials. - - -NURSERY RHYMES. - -[Illustration] - - See-saw, sacradown, - Which is the way to London town? - One foot up, and the other down, - And that is the way to London town. - -[Illustration] - - Hey diddle, the cat and the fiddle, - The cow jumped over the moon. - The little dog laughed to see the sport, - And the dish ran away with the spoon. - - Ding, dong, bell! - Pussy's in the well. - Who put her in? - Little Johnny Green. - Who pulled her out? - Little Johnny Snout, - What a naughty boy was that, - To drown poor pussy cat, - Who never did him any harm, - And kill'd the mice in his father's barn. - -[Illustration] - - Jack and Jill went up the hill, - To get a pail of water: - Jack fell down and broke his crown, - And Jill came tumbling after. - -[Illustration] - - Cock a doodle do, - The dame has lost her shoe, - And master's lost his fiddle stick - And don't know what to do. - - Simple Simon met a pieman, - Going to the fair! - Says Simple Simon to the pieman, - Let me taste your ware. - -[Illustration] - - Says the pieman unto Simon - First give me a penny; - Says Simple Simon to the pieman, - I have not got any. - - Once Simon made a great snow ball - And brought it in to roast, - He laid it down before the fire, - And soon the ball was lost. - -[Illustration] - - He went to ride a spotted cow, - That had a little calf, - She threw him down upon the ground - And made all the people laugh. - - Now Simple Simon went a fishing, - For to catch a whale, - But all the water he had got - Was in his mother's pail. - -[Illustration] - - He went to catch a dickey bird - And thought he could not fail - Because he had a bit of salt, - To put upon his tail. - - He went to see if cherries ripe, - Did grow upon a thistle, - He pricked his finger very much, - Which made poor Simon whistle. - -[Illustration] - - He went to take a bird's nest, - 'Twas built upon a bough, - A branch gave way, down Simon fell - Into a dirty slough. - - Simon was sent to market, - To buy a joint of meat, - He tied it to his horse's tail, - To keep it clean and sweet. - -[Illustration] - - He went to slide upon the ice, - Before the ice would bear, - Then he plunged in above his knees, - Which made poor Simon stare. - - He went to shoot a wild duck, - But the duck flew away, - Says Simon I can't hit him, - Because he would not stay. - -[Illustration] - - Then Simple Simon went a hunting, - For to catch a hare, - He rode an ass about the street, - But could not find one there. - - He went for water in a seive, - But soon it all run through, - And went all o'er his clothes, - Which made poor Simon rue. - -[Illustration] - - He washed himself with blacking ball, - Because he had no soap, - And then said to his mother - I'm a beauty now I hope. - - He went to eat some honey, - Out of the mustard pot, - It bit his tongue until he cried, - That was all the good he got. - -[Illustration] - -Simple Simon cutting his mother's bellows open to see where the wind lay. - - -JACK JINGLE. - -[Illustration] - - Little Jack Jingle, - Played truant at school, - They made his bum tingle - For being a fool; - He promised no more - Like a fool he would look - But be a good boy and attend to his book. - -[Illustration] - - See little Jack Jingle - Learning his task, - He's a very good boy, - If the neighbours should ask, - To school he does run, - And no truant does play, - But when school is done, - He can laugh and be gay. - -[Illustration] - - Here sulky Sue, - What shall we do. - Turn her face to the wall, - Till she comes to; - If that should fail, - A touch with the cane - Will do her good, - When she feels the pain. - -[Illustration] - - Now Suky never pouts, - Never frowns, never flouts, - But reads her book with glee, - Then dances merrily, - No girl so good as she, - In all the country; - Cheerfully doth all things do, - She lost the name of sulky Sue. - -[Illustration] - - Jack Jingle went 'prentice, - To make a horse-shoe, - He wasted the iron, - Till it would not do, - His master came in, - And began for to rail; - Says Jack, the shoe's spoil'd, - But 'twill still make a nail. - -[Illustration] - - Little Jack Jingle, - Went to court Suky Shingle, - Says he, shall we mingle - Our toes in the bed; - Fye! Jacky Jingle, - Says little Suke Shingle, - We must try to mingle, - Our pence for some bread. - -[Illustration] - - Suke Shingle when young, - Did what others have done, - She could dirty two clouts, - While her mother wash'd one. - But now grown a stout wench, - With her pail and her mop, - If she don't clean the board, - She can make a great slop. - -[Illustration] - - Suky you shall be my wife, - And I'll tell you why; - I have got a little pig, - And you have got a sty; - I have got a dun cow, - And you can make good cheese, - Suky will you have me? - Say yes, if you please. - - -DEATH & BURIAL OF COCK ROBIN. - -[Illustration] - - Who kill'd Cock Robin? - I said the sparrow, - With my bow and arrow. - I kill'd Cock Robin. - - Who caught his blood? - I, said the fish, - With my little dish-- - I caught his blood. - -[Illustration] - - This is the fish - That held the dish. - - Who saw him die? - I, said the fly - With my little eye-- - I saw him die. - -[Illustration] - - This is the fly - That saw him die. - - Who made his shroud? - I, said the beetle, - With my little needle-- - I made his shroud. - -[Illustration] - - This is the beetle, - With his little needle. - - Who'll be the Parson? - I, said the rook, - With my little book-- - I will be the Parson. - -[Illustration] - - Here is Parson Rook, - Reading his book. - - Who'll carry the coffin? - I, said the Kite, - If it's not in the night-- - I'll carry the coffin. - -[Illustration] - - Behold the Kite, - How he takes his flight. - - Who'll be the clerk? - I, said the Lark, - If its not in the dark-- - I will be the clerk. - -[Illustration] - - Behold how the Lark, - Says Amen like a clerk. - - Who will carry the link? - I, said the linnet: - I'll fetch it in a minute-- - I will carry the link. - -[Illustration] - - The Linnet with a light, - Altho' it is not night. - - -LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD. - -[Illustration] - - And now her riding hood is on, - How pretty she does look; - _Mamma_ made it to keep her warm - Because she learn'd her book; - So be good girls all who hear this - And boys be good also, - And your _Mammas_ will give you all - Great coats and hoods, I know. - -[Illustration] - - You see this pot of butter nice, - And likewise this plum-cake, - Which little _Biddy's_ dear _mamma_ - For _grandmamma_ did make: - Who lived in a little house, - A mile or two away, - And _Red Riding Hood_ must take them, - To _Grandmamma_ next day - -[Illustration] - - The morning come--the hood put on, - The pot and cake she took, - _Biddy_, good bye--good bye, _mamma_ - And then her hand she shook: - And so set off for _grandmamma's_ - _Mamma_ stood at the door, - And watched her little _Biddy_ till - She could see her no more. - -[Illustration] - - Now in the road to _grandma's_ house, - A lonesome wood there lay, - And _Goffip Wolf_ popp'd from a bush, - And stopp'd her in the way - He was a fierce and cruel beast, - And would have eat her there, - But turning of his head about, - He found he did not dare. - -[Illustration] - - I'm going to my _grandmamma's_, - She is not very well, - With cake and pot of butter; - Says _Wolf_ where does she dwell? - In yonder house, by yonder mill - Good bye--I cannot stay-- - And with her pretty finger, she - Pointed out the way. - -[Illustration] - - The _Wolf_ got first to grandma's door, - And knocked toc, toc, toc; - Who is that, said _grandmamma_, - That at the door doth knock; - 'Tis your _grandaughter_, said the _Wolf_ - And mimic'd Biddy's voice, - _Mamma_ has sent you a plumb cake, - And pot of butter nice. - -[Illustration] - - Now _grandmamma_ being very ill, - She on the bed did lie, - And called out, the bobbin pull, - And up the latch will fly; - The bobbin pull'd, up flew the latch, - The _Wolf_ popp'd in his head - And soon he eat up _grandmamma_ - And then got into bed. - -[Illustration] - - Toc, toc, toc, at _grandma's_ door - Knocked _Little Red Riding Hood_, - Who's there, says _Wolf_, and with a voice, - Like _grandma's_ as he could; - 'Tis your _grandaughter_, little _Bid_ - With cake and pot of butter; - The bobbin pull, the latch will fly, - The wicked _Wolf_ did mutter. - - -CINDERELLA. - -[Illustration] - - Here Cinderella you may see - A beauty bright and fair, - Her real name was Helena, - Few with her could compare - Besides she was so very good, - So affable and mild, - She learned to pray and read her book, - Like a very good child. - -[Illustration] - - Her mother-in-law you see, - One of the worst of hags, - Who made her do all drudgery work. - And clothed her in rags; - And after she had done her work, - Her mother-in-law would tell her - The cinders she might sit among, - Then call'd her Cinderella. - -[Illustration] - - These are her two sisters-in-law, - Both deformed & ordinary, - Altho' they dress as fine as queens, - Which you may think extraordinary; - But neither of them scarce can read, - Nor pray to God to bless'em - They only know to patch and paint, - And gaudily to dress'em, - -[Illustration] - - This is the king's fine gallant son, - Young, handsome, straight and tall - He invited all the ladies round - For to dance at his ball; - Which when the ugly sisters heard - They dress'd themselves so fine, - And off they set, being resolv'd - At this grand ball to shine. - -[Illustration] - - Her god-mother came to lend her aid, - And her power is not small - To help her god-daughter to go - To this fine prince's ball. - This coach was once a pumpkin, - By the fairy changed from that, - The footmen once were lizards green, - The coachman once a rat. - -[Illustration] - - Now having danced with the prince, - He led her to her place, - While all the ladies at the ball - Envied her handsome face; - Behold the clock now striking twelve, - Out Cinderella run, - And happily got out of door - Just as the clock had done. - -[Illustration] - - But in her haste to get away, - One of her slippers fell, - Which the young prince himself pick'd up, - And it pleased him so well, - That straight he offer'd a reward, - It was ten thousand pound, - To any person that could tell - Where the owner could be found. - -[Illustration] - - And now the sisters tried in vain - The slipper to get on; - Said Cinderella, let me try, - Dear sisters, when you've done; - She tried, and on it went with ease - To the foot of Cinderella, - Said She, I think the slipper's mine, - See here I've got the fellow. - - -THE CHILD'S NEW YEAR'S GIFT. - -[Illustration] - -_A pair of Spectacles._ - - Without a bridle or a saddle, - Across a thing I ride and straddle. - And those I ride by help of me, - Tho' almost blind are made to see. - -[Illustration] - -_A pair of Stays._ - - My legs I can venture, - To say within bound, - Are twelve, if not more, - Tho' they ne'er touch the ground; - If you search for my eyes, - More than thirty you'll find - And strange to be told - They are always behind. - -[Illustration] - -_A Pin._ - - And tho' I'm a brazen-fac'd sharper at best, - No lady without my aid can be drest, - When I'm wanted, I'm dragg'd by the head to my duty - And am doomed to be slave to the dress of a beauty. - -[Illustration] - -_A letter M._ - - I'm found in most countries, - Yet not in earth or sea, - I am in all timber, - Yet not in any tree, - I am in all metals, - Yet, as I am told, - I am not in iron, lead, - Brass, silver, nor gold. - -[Illustration] - -_A Pair of Snuffers._ - - A mouth I have got, that's not whiter than ink. - And all I devour doth most nauseously stink; - So much valued am I, that by none I'm refused, - And the light shines the brighter whenever I'm used. - -[Illustration] - -_A Watch._ - - My form is beauteous to allure the sight - My habit gay, of colour gold & white, - When ladies take the air, it is my pride, - To walk with equal paces by their side, - I near their persons constantly remain, - A favourite slave, bound in a golden chain. - -[Illustration] - -_A Wheelbarrow._ - - No mouth, no eyes, nor yet a nose, - Two arms, two feet, and as it goes, - The feet don't touch the ground, - But all the way the head runs round. - - And tho' I can both speak and go alone, - Yet are my motions to myself unknown. - -[Illustration] - -_A Salamander._ - - What all consumes best pleases me, - I covet that which others flee, - Strange thing to tell, unhurt I lie - And live, where all the world would die. - -Printed by A. Ryle & Paul. - - - - - THE GOOD CHILD'S - ILLUSTRATED - ALPHABET - OR FIRST BOOK. - - [Illustration] - - LONDON: - Published by RYLE & PAUL, - 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, Seven Dials. - - -[Illustration: A] - - Was an Archer, - Who shot at a frog. - -[Illustration: B] - - Was a Butcher, - And kept a great dog. - -[Illustration: C] - - Was a Captain, - All covered with lace. - -[Illustration: D] - - Was a Drunkard - And had a red face. - -[Illustration: E] - - Was an Esquire, - With insolent brow. - -[Illustration: F] - - Was a Farmer, And - Followed the plough. - -[Illustration: G] - - Was a Gamester, - Who had but ill-luck. - -[Illustration: H] - - Was a Huntsman, - And hunted a buck. - -[Illustration: I] - - Was an Inn-keeper, - Who loved to bouse. - -[Illustration: J] - - Was a Joiner, - And built up a house. - -[Illustration: K] - - Was King William, - Once governed this land. - -[Illustration: L] - - Was a Lady, who - Had a white hand. - -[Illustration: M] - - Was a Miser, - And hoarded up gold. - -[Illustration: N] - - Was a Nobleman, - Gallant and bold. - -[Illustration: O] - - Was an Oyster-wench, - And went about town. - -[Illustration: P] - - Was a Parson, and - Wore a black gown. - -[Illustration: Q] - - Was a Queen, - Who was fond of flip. - -[Illustration: R] - - Was a Robber, - And wanted a whip. - -[Illustration: S] - - Was a Sailor, - Who spent all he got. - -[Illustration: T] - - Was a Tinker, - And mended a pot. - -[Illustration: U] - - Was a Usurer, - A miserly elf. - -[Illustration: V] - - Was a Vinter, who - Drank all himself. - -[Illustration: W] - - Was a Watchman, - And guarded the door. - -[Illustration: X] - - Was Expensive, - And so became poor. - -[Illustration: Y] - - Was a Youth, - Who did not love school. - -[Illustration: Z] - - Was a Zany, - A silly old fool. - - -THE ALPHABET. - -The Letters promiscuously arranged. - - D B C F G E H A X U Y M V - W N K P J O Z Q I S L T R - - z w x o c l y b b f p s m q n v h - k r t g e j a u i - -Double and Triple Letters. - - fi fl ff ffi ffl - fi fl fff ffi fl - -Diphthongs, &c. - - AE OE ae oe & &c. - AE OE ae oe and _et caetera_ - -Arabic Numerals. - - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - -Roman Numerals. - - I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. - X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. - -[Illustration] - - - - - THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES - OF DICK TURPIN. - - [Illustration] - - London: W. S. FORTEY, PRINTER & PUBLISHER, - MONMOUTH COURT, BLOOMSBURY, W.C. - - -THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF DICK TURPIN. - -RICHARD TURPIN was born at Hempstead, in Essex, where his father kept the -sign of the Bell; and after being the usual time at school, he was bound -apprentice to a butcher in Whitechapel, but did not serve out his time, -for his master discharged him for impropriety of conduct, which was not in -the least diminished by his parents' indulgence in supplying him with -money, which enabled him to cut a figure round the town, among the blades -of the road and the turf, whose company he usually kept. - -His friends, thinking that marriage would reclaim him, persuaded him to -marry, which he did with one Hester Palmer, of East Ham in Essex, but he -had not long been married before he became acquainted with a gang of -thieves, whose depredations terrified the whole county of Essex, and the -neighbourhood of London. He joined sheep stealing to foot-pad robbery; and -was at last obliged to fly from his place of residence for stealing a -young heifer, which he killed and cut up for sale. - -Soon after, he stole two oxen from one Farmer Giles, of Plaistow, and -drove them to a Butcher's slaughtering house, near Waltham Abbey. - -He was followed there, but made his escape out of the window of the house -where he was, just as they were entering the door. - -He now retreated into the Hundreds of Essex, where he found more security: -he adopted a new scheme; and that was to rob the smugglers, but he took -care not to attack a gang, only solitary travellers, this he did with a -colour of justice, for he pretended to have a deputation from the Customs, -and demanded their property in the king's name. - -He again joined the gang with whom he had before connected himself, the -principal part of those depredations were committed upon Epping Forest, -&c. - -But this soon becoming an object of magisterial enquiry, he again returned -to the solitude of the country, with some more of the gang, and they -became notorious deer-stealers, and Turpin being a good shot, sent many a -buck up to his connections in London. - - DICK TURPIN. 3 - -They next determined to commence house-breakers; and in this they were -much encouraged by joining with Gregory's gang, as it was then called, a -company of desparadoes that made the Essex and adjacent roads very -dangerous to travel. - -Somehow or other, Turpin became acquainted with the circumstances of an -old woman, that lived at Laughton, that kept a great quantity of cash by -her; whereupon they agreed to rob her; and when they came to the door, -Wheeler knocked and Turpin and the rest forcing their way into the house, -blindfolded the eyes of the old woman and her maid, and tied the legs of -her son to the bedstead, but not finding the wished-for booty, they held a -consultation, as they were certain she must have a considerable sum -concealed. Turpin told her he knew she had money, and it was in vain to -deny it, for have it they would. The old lady persisted that she had none, -but Turpin insisting she had money, he swore he would put her on the fire. -She continued obstinate and endured for some time, when they took her off -the grate, and robbed her of all they could find, upwards of four hundred -pounds. - -They next proceeded into Surrey, where Turpin and his company robbed Mr. -Sheldon's house, near Croydon Church, where they arrived about seven -o'clock in the evening. They secured the coachman in the stable. His -master hearing some strange voices in the yard, was proceeding to know the -cause, when he was met by Turpin, who seizing hold of him compelled him to -show them the way into the house, when he secured the door, and confined -the rest of the family in one room, here they found but little plate and -no cash. From Mr. Sheldon's person they took eleven guineas, two of which -Turpin returned him, begged pardon for what they had done, and wished him -a good night. - -These robberies hitherto had been carried on entirely on foot, with only -the occasional assistance of a hackney coach but now they aspired to -appear on horse-back, for which purpose they hired horses at the Old -Leaping Bar in Holborn, from whence they set out about two o'clock in the -afternoon, and arrived at the Queen's Head, Stanmore, where they staid to -regale themselves. It was by this means that Wood, the master of the -horse, had so good an opportunity of observing the horses, as to remember -the same again when he saw them afterwards in Bloomsbury, where they were -taken. About five they went from Mr. Wood's to Stanmore and staid from six -until seven and then went together for Mr. Lawrence's, about a mile from -thence, where they got about half-past seven. On their arrival at Mr. -Lawrence's they alighted from their horses at the gate; whereupon Fielder -knocked at the door, and calling out Mr. Lawrence. The man servant -thinking it to be some of the neighbours, opened the door, upon which they -all rushed in with pistols, and seizing Mr. - - 4 DICK TURPIN - -[Illustration] - -Lawrence and his man, threw a cloth over their faces then fell to rifling -their pockets, out of which they took one guinea, and about fifteen -shillings in silver, with his keys. They said they must have more, and -drove Mr. Lawrence up stairs, where coming to a closet, they broke open -the door, and took out from thence two guineas, ten shillings, a silver -cup, 13 silver spoons, and two gold rings. They then rifled the house of -all they could get, linen, table cloths, shirts, and the sheets off the -bed, and trod the beds under feet, to discover if any money was concealed -therein. Suspecting there was more money in the house, they then brought -Mr. Lawrence down again, and threatened to cut his throat, and Fielder put -a knife to it, as though he intended to do it; to make him confess what -money was in the house. One of them took a chopping bill, and threatened -to cut off his leg: they then broke his head with their pistols, and -dragged him about by the hair of his head. Another of them took the kettle -off the fire, and flung it upon him; but it did no other harm just wetting -him, because the maid had just before taken out the greater part of the -boiling water, and filled it again with cold. After this they dragged him -about again, swearing they would "do for him" if he did not immediately -inform them where the rest of the money was hid. They then proceeded to -make a further search; and then withdrew; threatening to return again in -half an hour, and kill every one - - DICK TURPIN. 5 - -[Illustration] - -they found loose. So saying they locked them in the parlour and threw the -keys down the area. - -Turpin by this robbery got but little, for out of the 26_l_, they took in -the whole, he distributed it among them all but three guineas and six -shillings and six pence. - -A proclamation was issued for the apprehension of the offenders, and a -pardon and 50_l_ was offered to any of the party who would impeach his -accomplices, which however, had no effect. The white Hart in Drury-lane -was their place of rendezvous. Here they planned their nightly visits, and -here they divided their spoil, and spent the money they acquired. - -The robbery being stated to the officers of Westminster, Turpin set off to -Alton, where he met with an odd encounter, which got him the best -companion he ever had, as he often declared. King, the highwayman, as he -was returning from this place to London, being well dressed and mounted, -Turpin seeing him have the appearance of a substantial gentleman, rode up -to him, and thinking him a fair mark, bid him stand and deliver, and -therewith producing his pistols, King fell a laughing at him, and said -"what dog rob dog! Come, come, brother Turpin, if you don't know me, I -know you, and shall be glad of your company." After a mutual communication -of circumstances to each other, they agreed to keep company, and divide -good or ill fortune as the trumps might turn up. In fact King was true to -him to the last, which was for more than three years. - -They met with various fortunes; but being too well known to - - 6 DICK TURPIN. - -remain long in one place, and as no house that knew them would receive -them in it, they formed the resolution of making themselves a cave, -covered with bevins and earth, and for that purpose pitched upon a -convenient place, enclosed with a thicket, situated on the Waltham side of -Epping, near the sign of the King's Oak. - -In this place Turpin lived, ate, drank, and lay, for the space of six -years, during the first three of which he was enlivened by the drollery of -his companion, Tom King, who was a fellow of infinite humour in telling -stories, and of an unshaken resolution in attack or defence. - -One day, as they were spying from their cave, they discovered a gentleman -riding by, that King knew very well to be a rich merchant near Gresham -College. This gentleman was in his chariot, and wife with him; his name -was Bradele. King first attacked him on the Laughton road; but he being a -man of great spirit, offered to make resistence, thinking there was but -one; upon which King called Turpin, and bid him hold the horses' heads. -They proceeded first to take his money, which he readily parted with, but -demurred a good while about his watch, being the dying bequest of his -father. King was insisting to take it away, when Turpin interposed, and -said, they were more gentlemen than to deprive anyone of their friend's -respect which they wore about them, and bid King desist from his demand. - -On the day after this transaction they went to the Red Lion ale house, in -Aldersgate street, where they had not been more than half an hour, when -Turpin heard of the approach of the chief constable and his party; they -mounted each their horse; but before King could get fairly seated he was -seized by one of the party, and called on Dick to fire. Turpin replied, -"If I do, I shall hit you." "Fire, if you are my friend." said -King--Turpin fired, but the ill-fated ball took effect in King's breast. -Dick stood a moment in grief, but self-preservation made him urge his mare -forward to elude his pursuers; it was now he resolved on a journey to -York, and raising himself in his saddle, he said, "By G--, I will do it." -Encouraged by "Harkaway Bess," she flew on. - -Astonishing to relate, he reached York the same evening and was noticed -playing at bowls in the bowling-green with several gentlemen there, which -circumstance saved him from the hands of justice for a time. His pursuers -coming up and seeing Turpin, knew him; and caused him to be taken into -custody; one of them swore to him and the horse he rode on, which was the -identical one he arrived upon in that city; but on being in the stable, -and its rider at play, and all in the space of four-and-twenty hours, his -alibi was admitted; for the magistrates of York could not believe it -possible for one horse to cover the ground, being upwards of 190 miles, in -so short a space. - - DICK TURPIN. 7 - -For the last two years of his life he seems to have confined his residence -to the county of York, where he appears to be a little known. He often -accompanied the neighbouring gentlemen in their parties of hunting and -shooting; and one evening, on a return from an expedition of the latter -kind, he saw one of his landlord's cocks in the street, which he shot. - -The next day Mr. Hall received a letter from Robert Appleton, Long Sutton, -with this account:--that the said John Palmer had lived there about three -quarters of a year, and had before that been once apprehended, and made -his escape, and that they had a strong suspicion he was guilty of -horse-stealing. - -Another information gave notice, that he had stolen a horse from Captain -Dawson, of Ferraby; his horse was that which Turpin rode on when he came -to Beverley, and which he stole from off Hickinton Fen in Lincolnshire. - -He wrote to his father upon being convicted, to use his interest to get -him off for transportation, but his fate was at hand, his notoriety caused -application to be ineffectual. - -After he had been in prison five months, he was removed from Beverley to -York Castle to take his trial. When on his trial his case seemed much to -affect the hearers. He had two trials, upon both of which he was convicted -upon the fullest evidence. After a long trial the Jury brought in their -Verdict and found him Guilty. - -He was carried in a cart to the place of execution, on Saturday, April, -7th, 1739. He behaved himself with amazing assurance and bowed to the -spectators as he passed. It was remarkable that as he mounted the ladder, -his right leg trembled, on which he stamped it down with an air, and with -undaunted courage looked round about him; and after speaking near half an -hour to the topman, threw himself off the ladder, and expired in about -five minutes. - -[Illustration] - -W. S. Fortey, Printer, Monmouth Court, Bloomsbury. - - - "THE CATNACH PRESS," - (ESTABLISHED 1813.) - - WILLIAM S. FORTEY, - (Sole Successor to the late J. Catnach.) - Printer, Publisher, - AND WHOLESALE STATIONER, - 2 & 3, MONMOUTH COURT, - SEVEN DIALS, LONDON, W.C. - - The Cheapest and Greatest Variety in the Trade - of Large Coloured Penny Books; Halfpenny - Coloured Books; Farthing Books; Penny and - Halfpenny Panoramas; School Books; Penny and - Halfpenny Song Books; Memorandum Books; Poetry - Cards; Lotteries; Ballads (4000) and Hymns; - Valentines; Scripture Sheets; Christmas Pieces; - Twelfth Night Characters; Carols; Book and - Sheet Almanacks, Envelopes, Note Paper, &c. - - W. S. FORTEY begs to inform his Friends and the Public - generally, that after 19 years service he has succeeded - to the business of his late employers (A. Ryle & Co.), - and intends carrying on the same, trusting that his - long experience will be a recommendation, and that no - exertion shall be wanting on his part to merit a - continuance of those favours that have been so - liberally bestowed on that Establishment during the - last 46 years. - - 1859. - - - - -[Illustration] - -THE LONG SONG-SELLER. - -SONGS AND SONG LITERATURE. - - "Old songs, old songs--what heaps I knew, - From 'Chevy Chase' to 'Black-eyed Sue'; - From 'Flow, thou regal, purple stream,' - To 'Rousseau's melancholy Dream!' - I loved the pensive 'Cabin Boy,' - With earnest truth and real joy. - To greet 'Tom Bowling' and 'Poor Jack'; - And, oh! 'Will Watch,' the 'Smuggler' bold, - My plighted troth thou'lt ever hold." - ELIZA COOK. - - -"Songs! Songs! Songs! Beautiful songs! Love songs! Newest songs! Old -songs! Popular songs! Songs, _Three Yards a Penny_!" was a "standing dish" -at the "Catnach Press," and Catnach was the Leo X. of street publishers. -And it is said that he at one time kept a fiddler on the premises, and -that he used to sit receiving ballad-writers and singers, and judging of -the merits of any production which was brought to him, by having it sung -then and there to some popular air played by his own fiddler, and so that -the ballad-singer should be enabled to start at once, not only with the -new song, but also the tune to which it was adapted. His broad-sheets -contain all sorts of songs and ballads, for he had a most catholic taste, -and introduced the custom of taking from any writer, living or dead, -whatever he fancied, and printing it side by side with the productions of -his own clients. - -He naturally had a bit of a taste for old ballads, music, and song -writing; and in this respect he was far in advance of many of his -contemporaries. To bring within the reach of all the standard and popular -works of the day, had been the ambition of the elder Catnach; whilst the -son was, _nolens volens_, incessant in his endeavours in trying to -promulgate and advance, not the beauty, elegance, and harmony which -pervades many of our national airs and ballad poetry, but very often the -worst and vilest of each and every description--in other words, those most -suitable for street-sale. His stock of songs was very like his customers, -diversified. There were all kinds, to suit all classes. Love, sentimental, -and comic songs were so interwoven as to form a trio of no ordinary amount -of novelty. At ordinary times, when the Awfuls and Sensationals were flat, -Jemmy did a large stroke of business in this line. - -It is said that when the "Songs--_Three-yards-a-penny_"--first came out -and had all the attractions of novelty, some men sold twelve or fourteen -dozen on fine days during three or four of the summer months, so clearing -between 6s. and 7s. a day, but on the average about 25s. a week profit. -The "long songs," however, have been quite superseded by the "Monster" -and "Giant Penny Song Books." Still there are a vast number of half-penny -ballad-sheets worked off, and in proportion to their size, far more than -the "Monsters" or "Giants." - -As a rule there are but two songs printed on the half-penny -ballad-sheets--generally a new and popular song with another older ditty, -or a comic and sentimental, and "adorned" with two woodcuts. These are -selected without any regard as to their fitness to the subject, and in -most cases have not the slightest reference to the ballad of which they -form the head-piece. For instance:--"The Heart that can feel for another" -is illustrated by a gaunt and savage looking lion; "When I was first -Breeched," by an engraving of a Highlander _sans culotte_; "The Poacher" -comes under the cut of a youth with a large watering-pot, tending flowers; -"Ben Block" is heralded by the rising sun; "The London Oyster Girl," by -Sir Walter Raleigh; "The Sailor's Grave," by the figure of Justice; "Alice -Grey" comes under the very dilapidated figure of a sailor, or "Jolly Young -Waterman;" "Bright Hours are in store for us yet" is _headed_ with a -_tail-piece_ of an urn, on which is inscribed FINIS! "The Wild Boar Hunt," -by two wolves chasing a deer; "The Dying Child to its Mother," by an Angel -appearing to an old man; "Autumn Leaves lie strew'd around," by a ship in -full sail; "Cherry Ripe," by Death's Head and Cross Bones; "Jack at the -Windlass," falls under a Roadside Inn; while "William Tell" is presented -to the British public in form and style of an old woman nursing an infant -of squally nature. Here follow a few examples of the style, also that of -some of the ballad-sheets: together with various _verbatim_ imprints used -by "THE CATNACH PRESS," chronologically arranged from _circa_ 1813 to the -present time. - - -[Illustration] - - THE GALLANT _SAILOR_. - - London: - Printed by J. Catnach, and sold Wholesale and Retail at - No. 60, Wardour Street, Soho Square. - - Farewell thou dear and Gallant Sailor, - Since thou and I have parted been, - Be thou constant and true hearted, - And I will be the same to thee. - - CHORUS. - - May the winds and waves direct thee, - To some wishful port design'd, - If you love me, don't deceive me, - But let your heart be as true as mine. - - * * * * * - - When oft times my fancy tells me, - That in battle thou art slain, - With true love I will requite thee, - When thou dost return again. - May the winds, &c. - - -[Illustration] - -O RARE TURPIN. - - Printed by J. Catnach, 2, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. - Sold by J. Sharman, Cambridge, Bennet, Brighton; & R. Harris, Salisbury. - - As I was riding over Hunslow Moor, - There I saw a lawyer riding before, - And I asked him if he was not afraid, - To meet bold Turpin that mischievous blade. - CHORUS.--I asked him if he was not afraid, - To meet bold Turpin that mischievous blade. - Says Turpin to the lawyer and for to be cute, - My money I have hid all in my boot, - Says the lawyer to Turpin they mine can't find, - For I have hid mine in the cape of my coat behind. - I rode till I came to a powder mill, - Where Turpin bid the lawyer for to stand still, - For the cape of your coat it must come off, - For my horse is in want of a new saddle cloth. - Now Turpin robbed the lawyer of all his store, - When that's gone he knows where to get more, - And the very next town that you go in, - Tell them you was robb'd by the bold Turpin. - - -[Illustration] - -MOUNTAIN MAID. - - Printed by J. Catnach, 2, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. - Travellers and Shopkeepers supplied with Sheet Hymns. Patters, and Slip - Songs as Cheap and Good as any Shop in London. - - The Mountain Maid from her bower has hied, - And speed to the glassy river's side, - Where the radiant mead shone clear and bright, - And the willows wav'd in the silver light. - On a mossy bank lay a shepherd swain, - He woke his pipe to tuneful strain, - And so blythely gay were the notes he play'd, - That he charm'd the ear of the Mountain Maid. - - She step'd with timid fear oppress'd, - While soft sighs swell her gentle breast, - He caught her glance, and mark'd her sigh, - And triumph laugh'd in his sparkling eye. - So softly sweet was the tuneful ditty, - He charmed her tender heart to pity; - And so blithely gay were the notes he play'd, - That he gain'd the heart of the Mountain Maid. - - -[Illustration] - -MEET ME IN THE WILLOW GLEN - - J. Catnach, Printer, 2, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. Cards, &c. Printed - Cheap. [Symbol: Pointing hand] Country Shops and Travellers supplied. - - Meet me in the willow glen, - Where the silvery moon is beaming, - Songs of love I'll sing thee then, - When all the world is dreaming. - - Meet me in the willow glen. - When the silver moon is beaming, - Songs of love I'll sing thee then, - If you meet me in the willow glen. - - No prying eye shall come love. - No stranger foot be seen. - And the busy village hum, love, - Shall echo through the glen. - Meet me, &c. - - -[Illustration] - - DRINK TO ME ONLY - WITH THINE EYES. - - J. Catnach, Printer, 2, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. Sold by W. Marshall. - Sold by T. Pierce, Southborough. (Cards Printed Cheap.) - - Drink to me only with thine eyes, - And I will pledge with mine, - Or leave a kiss but in the cup, - And I'll not look for wine; - The thirst that from my soul doth rise, - Doth ask a drink divine; - But might I of Jove's nectar sip, - I would not change for thine. - - -[Illustration] - -The Mistletoe Bough - - Printed by J. Catnach, 2, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. Sold by Pierce, - Southborough, Bennet, Brighton; and Sharman, Cambridge. - - The mistletoe hung in the castle hall, - The holly branch shone on the old oak wall, - The baron's retainers were blithe and gay, - And keeping their Christmas holiday. - The baron beheld with a father's pride, - His beautiful child, young Lovell's bride: - While she with her bright eyes, seemed to be - The star of the goodly company. - Oh! the mistletoe bough! - - "I'm weary of dancing now," she cried! - "Here tarry a moment--I'll hide--I'll hide, - And, Lovell, be sure thou'rt the first to trace - The clue to my secret lurking place." - Away she ran--and her friends began - Each tower to search, and each nook to scan; - And young Lovell cried, "Oh! where dost thou hide? - I'm lonesome without thee, my own dear bride." - Oh! the mistletoe bough! - - -[Illustration] - - THE _Rose will Cease to Blow_. - - Printed by J. Catnach, 2, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. Sold by T. Batchelor, - 14, Hackney Road Crescent; W. Marshall, Bristol. Sold by Bennet - and Boyes, Brighton. - - The rose will cease to blow, - The eagle turn a dove, - The streams will cease to flow, - Ere I will cease to love. - - The sun shall cease to shine, - The world shall cease to move, - The stars their light resign, - Ere I will cease to love. - - -[Illustration] - - I'M A TOUGH - True Hearted Sailor. - - J. Catnach, Printer, 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials, & at 14, Waterloo - Road, (late Hill's). Country Shops, and Travellers supplied. - - I'm a tough true-hearted sailor, - Careless and all that, d'ye see, - Never at the times a railer-- - What is time or tide to me? - All must die when fate must will it, - Providence ordains it so; - - Every bullet has its billet, - Man the boat, boys--Yeo, heave, yeo! - - Life's at best a sea of trouble, - He who fears it is a dunce, - Death, to me, an empty bubble, - I can never die but once, - Blood, if duty bids, I'll spill it, - Yet I have a tear for woe, - - Every bullet has its billet, &c. - - -[Illustration] - -WHEN BIBO THOUGHT FIT. - -Printed and Sold by J. CATNACH, 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. - - When Bibo thought fit from the world to retreat, - As full of champagne as an egg's full of meat; - He wak'd in the boat, and to Charon he said, - He would be rowed back, for he was not yet dead. - 'Trim the boat, and sit quiet,' stern Charon replied-- - 'You may have forgot--you were drunk when you died!' - - -[Illustration] - - THE SUN - That Lights the ROSES. - - A. Ryle and Co., Printers, 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, Seven Dials, and 35, - Hanover Street, Portsea, where upwards of 4000 different sorts of - ballads are continually on sale together with 40 new penny song books. - - Tho' dimple cheeks may give delight - Where rival beauties blossom; - Th'o balmy lips to love invite, - To extacy the bosom. - Yet sweeter far yon summer sky, - Whose blushing tints discloses, - Give me the lustre beaming eye, - The Sun that lights the Roses. - - -[Illustration] - - THE Woodpecker. - -London:--Printed by J. Paul & Co., 2 & 3, Monmouth Court. - - I knew by the smoke that so gracefully curl'd - Above the green elms, that a cottage was near, - And I said if there's peace to be found it the world, - A heart that is humble might hope for it here. - - CHORUS. - - Every leaf was at rest, and I heard not a sound, - But the woodpecker tapping in the hollow beech tree. - - And here in this lone little wood, I exclaim'd, - With a maid who was lovely to soul and to eye, - Who would blush when I prais'd her, and weep if I blam'd, - How blest could I live, and how calm could I die. - Every leaf, &c. - - -[Illustration] - - YE Topers All. - - London:--Published by Ryle and Paul, 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. - Where an immense number of songs are always ready. - - Ye topers all drink to the soul, - Of this right honest fellow; - Who always loved a flowing bowl, - And would in death be mellow. - The lamp of life be kindled up, - With spirit stout and glowing; - His heart inspired thus with a cup, - Ascends where nectar's flowing. - - -[Illustration] - -Death of Nelson. - -London:--Ryle & Co., Printers, 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, Bloomsbury. - -RECITATIVE. - - O'er Nelson's tomb, with silent grief oppress'd - Britannia mourns her hero now at rest. - But these bright laurels ne'er shall fade with years, - Whose leaves are water'd by a Nation's tears. - -AIR. - - 'Twas in Trafalgar's bay, - We saw the Frenchmen lay, - Each heart was bounding then; - We scorned the foreign yoke-- - Our ships were British oak, - And hearts of oak our men, - Our Nelson mark'd them on the wave, - Three cheers our gallant seamen gave, - Nor thought of home or beauty; - Along the line this signal ran-- - "England expects that every man - This day will do his duty!" - - -[Illustration] - -THE SCARLET FLOWER. - -A. Ryle & Co., Printers, 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, Bloomsbury. - - She's gentle as the zephyr, - That sips of every sweet, - She fairer than the fairest lily, - In nature's soft retreat; - Her eyes are like the crystal brok, - As bright and clear to see? - Her lips outshine the Scarlet Flow'r - Of bonny Ellerslie. - - -[Illustration] - -THE THORN. - - London:--Printed at the "Catnach Press" by W. Fortey, (late A. Ryle) - 2 & 3, Monmouth Court. Bloomsbury. (Established 1813.) The Oldest and - Cheapest House in the World for Ballads, (4,000 sorts) Song Books, &c. - - From the white blossomed sloe, - My dear Chloe requested, - A sprig her fair breast to adorn; - No by heavens I exclaimed, may I perish - If ever I plant in that bosom a thorn. - - When I shewed her the ring and implored her to marry - She blushed like the dawning of morn, - Yes I'll consent she replyed if you'll promise, - That no jealous rival shall laugh me to scorn, - No by heavens I exclaim'd may I perish, - If ever I plant in that bosom a thorn. - - - BANKS OF THE NILE. - -[Illustration] - - Printed at the "Catnach Press" by W. FORTEY, Monmouth Court, - Bloomsbury, the Oldest House in the World for Ballads (4,000 sorts) Song - Books, &c. &c. - - Hark! I hear the drums a beating--no longer can I stay, - I hear the trumpets sounding, my love I must away, - We are ordered from Portsmouth many a long mile, - For to join the British soldiers on the banks of the Nile. - - Willie, dearest Willie, don't leave me here to mourn, - You'll make me curse and rue the day that ever I was born, - For the parting of my own true love is parting of my life, - So stay at home dear Willie, and I will be your wife. - - I will cut off my yellow locks, and go along with you, - I will dress myself in velveteens, and go see Egypt too - I will fight or bear your banner, while kind fortune seems to smile, - And we'll comfort one another on the banks of the Nile. - - - Poor Crazy JANE. - -[Illustration] - - London:--Printed at the "Catnach Press" by W. S. Fortey, 2 & 3, Monmouth - Court, Bloomsbury. (Established 1813.) The Oldest and Cheapest House in - the World for Ballads, Song Books, Children's Spelling & Reading Books, - Panorama Slips, Almanacks, Valentines, Hymns, Toy Cards, Poetry Cards, - Lotteries, Characters, Note Paper, Envelopes, &c. - [Symbol: Asterism] Shopkeepers and Hawkers supplied on the lowest terms. - - Why fair maid in every feature, - Are such signs of fear expressed, - Can a wandering wretched creature, - With such horror fill thy breast. - Do my frenzied looks alarm thee, - Trust me, sweet, thy fears are vain, - Not for Kingdom would I harm thee, - Shun not then poor crazy Jane. - - Fondly my young heart believed him, - Which was doomed to love but one; - He sighed, he vowed, and I believed him, - He was false, and I'm undone. - From that hour has reason never, - Had her empire o'er my brain, - Henry fled, with him for ever - Fled the wits of Crazy Jane. - - -[Illustration] - - "It was Christmas morning--dear Christmas morning - When bright angels and men kept watch for its dawning-- - And merrily Christmas bells were out ringing, - And blithely the children their carols were singing-- - 'Twas a hundred years agone--or more." - -From time immemorial the ballad singer, with his rough and ready -broad-sheet, has travelled over the whole surface of the country in all -seasons and weathers, yet there was one time of the year, however, when he -went out of his every-day path and touched on deeper matters than -accidents, politics, prize fights, sporting matches, murders, battles, -royalty, famous men and women. Christmas time brought, both to him and his -audience, its witness of the unity of the great family of heaven and -earth, its story of the life and death of Him in whom that unity stands. -Several examples, of Christmas carols and Scripture-sheets, bearing -Catnach's imprint lie before us, thanks to the kindness of Mr. W. S. -Fortey, Catnach's successor; these broadsides bear several distinctive -marks which show that it was an object of more than ordinary care to -publishers and ballad singers. In the first place, these Christmas sheets -are double the size of the ordinary broad-sheet--measuring 30 inches by -20--and contain four or five carols--generally one long narrative ballad, -and three or four short pieces. Each of them having two or three large -woodcuts and several of smaller sizes, and having the following -distinctive titles--The Trial of Christ. Faith, Hope, and Charity. Our -Saviour's Love. The Tree of Life. The Crucifixion. The Saviour of Mankind. -The Messiah. The Harp of Israel. The Saviour's Garland. Divine Mirth. And -The Life of Joseph, to which is appended:-- - - LONDON: PRINTED AND SOLD BY - J. CATNACH, 2, MONMOUTH COURT, 7, DIALS, - WHERE MAY BE HAD THE FOLLOWING SHEETS, WITH CUTS. - -The Last Day, Our Saviour's Letter, The Son of Righteousness, Travels of -the Children of Israel, Glory of Solomon, The Morning Star, The Noble Army -of Martyrs, Christmas Gambols, The Hertfordshire Tragedy, and a Variety of -Others are in a state of forwardness for the Press. - -[Illustration] - -"Looking at these Christmas broad-sheets," says the writer of an article -on street-ballads, in the "National Review," for October, 1861, "it would -really seem as if the poorest of our brethren claimed their right to -higher nourishment than common for their minds and souls, as well as for -their bodies, at the time of year when all Christendom should rejoice. And -this first impression is confirmed when we examine their contents. In all -those which we have seen, the only piece familiar to us is that noble old -carol 'While shepherds watched their flocks by night,' where the rest come -from, we cannot even conjecture; but in the whole of them there is not one -which we should wish were not there. We have been unable to detect in them -even a coarse expression; and of the hateful narrowness and intolerance, -the namby-pamby, the meaningless cant, the undue familiarity with holy -things, which makes us turn with a shudder from so many modern collections -of hymns, there is simply nothing. - -"Account for it how we will, there is the simple fact. Perhaps it may lead -us to think somewhat differently of those whom we are in the habit of -setting down in the mass as little better than heathens. We cannot -conclude this article better than by giving an extract or two from these -Christmas broad-sheets." - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -"The Saviour's Garland, a choice Collection of the most esteemed Carols," -has the usual long narrative ballad, which begins: - - "Come, all you faithful Christians - That dwell upon the earth,-- - Come celebrate the morning - Of our dear Saviour's birth: - This is the happy morning,-- - This is the happy morn - Whereon, to save our ruined race, - The Son of God was born." - -And after telling simply the well-known story, it ends: - - "Now to him up ascended, - Then let your praises be, - That we His steps may follow, - And He our pattern be; - That when our lives are ended - We may hear His blessed call: - 'Come, Souls, receive the Kingdom - Prepared for you all.'" - -[Illustration] - -Another, "The Star of Bethlehem, a collection of esteemed Carols for the -present year," opens its narrative thus: - - "Let all that are to mirth inclined - Consider well and bear in mind - What our good God for us has done, - In sending His beloved Son. - - Let all our songs and praises be - Unto His heavenly Majesty; - And evermore amongst our mirth - Remember Christ our Saviour's birth. - - The twenty-fifth day of December - We have great reason to remember; - In Bethlehem, upon that morn, - There was a blessed Saviour born," &c. - -One of the short pieces, by no means the best, we give whole: - - "With one consent let all the earth - The praise of God proclaim, - Who sent the Saviour, by whose birth - To man salvation came. - - All nations join and magnify - The great and wondrous love - Of Him who left for us the sky, - And all the joys above. - - But vainly thus in hymns of praise - We bear a joyful part, - If while our voices loud we raise, - We lift not up our heart. - - We, by a holy life alone, - Our Saviour's laws fulfil; - By those His glory is best shown - Who best perform His will. - - May we to all His words attend - With humble, pious care; - Then shall our praise to heaven ascend, - And find acceptance there." - -We do not suppose that the contents of these Christmas broad-sheets are -supplied by the same persons who write the murder-ballads, or the attacks -on crinoline. They may be borrowed from well known hymn books for anything -we know. But if they are borrowed, we must still think it much to the -credit of the selectors, that, where they might have found so much that is -objectionable and offensive, they should have chosen as they have done. We -only hope that their successors, whoever they may be who will become the -caterers for their audiences, will set nothing worse before them. - -Christmas broad-sheets formed an important item in the office of the -"Catnach Press," as the sale was enormous, and Catnach always looked -forward for a large return of capital, and a "good clearance" immediately -following the spurt for Guy Fawkes' speeches, in October of each year. But -although the sale was very large, it only occupies one "short month." This -enabled them to make Carols a stock job, so that when trade in the Ballad, -Sensational, "Gallows," or any other line of business was dull, they used -to fill up every spare hour in the working off or colouring them, so as to -be ready to meet the extraordinary demand which was sure to be made at the -fall of the year. - -[Illustration] - -Like most of the old English customs, Christmas-carol singing is fast -dying out. Old peripatetic stationers well remember the rich harvest they -once obtained at Christmas times by carol selling. Now there are very few -who care to invest more than a shilling or two at a time on the venture; -whereas in times long past, all available capital was readily embarked in -the highly-coloured and plain sheets of the birth of our Saviour, with the -carol of "Christians awake," or "The Seven Good Joys of Mary:"-- - - "The first good joy our Mary had, - It was the joy of one, - To see her own Son, Jesus, - To suck at her breast-bone. - To suck at her breast-bone, God-man, - And blessed may He be - Both Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, - To all eternity." - -[Illustration] - -Now, whether carol singing has degenerated with carol poetry, and -consequently the sale of Christmas carols diminished is a question we need -not enter upon; but when we turn to the fine old carols of our -forefathers, we cannot help regretting that many of these are buried in -the records of the long past. - -Here are a couple of verses of one, said to be the first carol or -drinking-song composed in England. The original is in Anglo-Norman -French:-- - - "Lordlings, from a distant home, - To seek old Christmas are we come, - Who loves our minstrelsy-- - And here unless report mis-say, - The greybeard dwells; and on this day - Keeps yearly wassail, ever gay - With festive mirth and glee. - - * * * * * - - Lordlings, it is our host's command, - And Christmas joins him hand in hand, - To drain the brimming bowl; - And I'll be foremost to obey, - Then pledge we, sirs, and drink away, - For Christmas revels here to day, - And sways without control. - - Now _wassail_ to you all! and merry may you be, - And foul that wight befall, who drinks not health to me." - -One can well imagine the hearty feeling which would greet a party of -minstrels carolling out such a song as the above in Christmas days of -yore; and then contrast the picture with a _troupe_ from St. Giles's or -Whitechapel bawling out "God Rest you Merry Gentlemen!" The very thought -of the contrast sends a shudder through the whole human system; and no -wonder the first were received with welcome feasting, and the latter -driven "with more kicks than half-pence" from the doors. - -In an old book of "Christmasse Carolles newely emprinted at London, in the -fletestrete at the sygne of the Sonne by Wynkyn de Worde. The yere of our -Lorde, m.d.xxi. Quarto." Is a carol on "Bryngyng in the Bore's Head":-- - - "The bore's head in hand bring I, - With garlandes gay and rosemary, - I pray you all synge merely, - _Qui estis in convivio_. - - The bore's head, I understande - Is the chiefe servyce in this lande, - Loke wherever it be fande, - _Servite cum Contico_. - - Be gladde, lordes, both more and lasse, - For this hath ordayned our stewarde, - To chere you all this Christmasse - The bore's head with mustarde." - -[Illustration] - -With certain alterations, this carol is still, or at least was very -recently, retained at Queen's College, Oxford, and sung to a cathedral -chant of the psalms. - -It would occupy too much space to search into the origin of Christmas -carols. They are doubtless coeval with the original celebrations of -Christmas, first as a strictly Romish sacred ceremony, and afterwards as -one of joyous festivity. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration] - -This "Moral-Sheet" entitled "THE STAGES OF LIFE: or, The various Ages and -Degrees of Human Life explained by these Twelve different Stages, from our -Birth to our Graves," had a great sale. - - -[Illustration] - -INFANCY - -_To 10 Years old._ - - "His vain delusive thoughts are fill'd - With vain delusive joys-- - The empty bubble of a dream, - Which waking change to toys." - -_From 10 to 20 Years old._ - - "His heart is now puff'd up, - He scorns the tutor's hand; - He hates to meet the least control - And glories to command." - -_From 20 to 30 Years old._ - - "There's naught here that can withstand - The rage of his desire, - His wanton flames are now blown up, - His mind is all on fire." - -_From 30 to 40 Years old._ - - "Look forward and repent - Of all thy errors past, - That so thereby thou may'st attain - True happiness at last." - -_From 40 to 50 Years old._ - - "At fifty years he is - Like the declining sun, - For now his better half of life, - Man seemeth to have run." - -_From 50 to 60 Years old._ - - "His wasted taper now - Begins to lose its light, - His sparkling flames doth plainly show - 'Tis growing towards night." - -_From 60 to 70 Years old._ - - "Perplex'd with slavish fear - And unavailing woe, - He travels on life's rugged way - With locks as white as snow." - -_From 70 to 80 Years old._ - - "Infirmity is great, - At this advanced age, - And ceaseless grief and weakness leagued, - Now vent their bitter rage." - -_From 80 to 90 Years old._ - - "Life's 'Vital Spark'--the soul, - Is hovering on the verge - Of an eternal world above, - And waiting to emerge." - -[Illustration] - -_From 90 to 100 Years old._ - - "The sun is sinking fast - Behind the clouds of earth, - Oh may it shine with brighter beams, - Where light receiv'd her birth." - -[Illustration: - - Printed by - J. CATNACH, - ***2,*** - _Monmouth-Court, 7 Dials_, - LONDON.] - -Catnach was now at the height of his fame as a printer of ballads, -Christmas-pieces, carols, lotteries, execution papers, dying speeches, -catchpennies, primers and battledores, and his stock of type and woodcuts -had very considerably increased to meet his business demands. And it may -be said that he was the very Napoleon of buyers at sales by auction of -"printers' stock." On one occasion, when lot after lot was being knocked -down to him, one of the "Littlejohn crew" of "knock-out-men" of the -period, observed to the auctioneer, "Why, sir, Mr. Catnach is buying up -all the lots." "Yes," replied the auctioneer, "And what's more, Mr. -Catnach will pay for them and clear away all his lots in the morning;" -then adding somewhat pointedly, "which is a thing I can't say of all -parties who attend my sales." - -But although we are informed, _viva voce_ of a contemporary, that Jemmy -Catnach was so large a buyer at sales by auction of "printers' stock," we -may, with some degree of safety, come to the conclusion that he could have -only bought such lots that would be considered by other master printers as -worthless, and that it was the apparent cheapness that would be the -incentive for his buying up all the worn-out and battered letter, for -Jemmy was a man who hated "innowations" as he used to call improvements, -and he, therefore, had a great horror in laying out his money in new and -improved manufactured type, because, as he observed, he kept so many -standing forms, and when certain sorts ran short he was not particular, -and would tell the boys to use anything which would make a good shift. For -instance, he never considered a compositor could be aground for a -lowercase "l" while he had a figure "1" or a cap "I" to fall back upon; by -the same rule, the cap. "O" and figure "0" were synonymous with "Jemmy;" -the lowercase "p," "b," "d," and "q," would all do duty for each other in -_turn_, and if they could not always find Roman letters to finish a word -with, why the compositor knew very well that the "reader" would not mark -out Ita_lic_, nor wrong founts. - -From a small beginner in the world, Catnach was soon able to see his way -clear to amass a fortune. He had now established his reputation as a man -of enterprise, and he was very sensitive to maintain a sort of -shabby-genteel appearance. It was amusing, especially when over his glass, -to hear him describe the effect the "awfuls" had on the public. The -proprietor of any of our leading journals could not have felt prouder than -did Catnach, as he saw drafted from his press the many thousands of varied -productions. - -We will now briefly allude to the wood-blocks which Catnach had in his -possession, and which served for the purpose of illustrating during the -time that he had been in business. He had a large collection, such as they -were; but as works of art they had little or no pretension, being, upon -the whole, of the oddest and most ludicrous character. Those that were -intended for the small books were very quaint--as we have shown by the -fac-similed specimens we have given--whilst the larger portion, which were -chiefly intended for the "awfuls," were grotesque and hideous in their -design and execution. No more ghastly sight could be imagined than one of -Jemmy's embellishments of an execution. It would appear that for the last -discharge of the law he had a large collection of blocks which would suit -any number of victims who were about to undergo the dread penalty. It -mattered little how many Jack Ketch was going to operate upon, wood-blocks -to the exact number were always adopted, in this particular the great -"Dying Speech Merchant" would seem to have thought that his honour and -reputation were at stake, for he had his network so formed as to be able -to secure every information of news that was passing between the friends -of the culprits and the prerogative of the Crown. But we are informed that -upon one occasion he was nearly entrapped. Three victims were upon the eve -of being executed, and in those days--and in later times--it was not an -uncommon thing to see the confession and dying speech printed one or two -days previous to the event. This we are told by those in the trade was -almost necessary, in order that the sheets might be ready for the -provinces almost as soon as the sentence of the law had been carried out. -It so happened that on the night previous to an execution, one of the -culprits was reprieved. It was solely by a piece of good luck that Catnach -heard of it. Several sheets had been struck off; and Jemmy was often -chaffed about hanging three men instead of two; but our informant assures -us that the error was corrected before any of the impressions were -dispatched from the office. Had they gone before the public in their -original state, the _locus standi_ of the great publisher in Monmouth -Court would have been greatly imperilled. To those who are fond of the -fine arts, _in usum vulgi_, Catnach's embellishments will afford a fund of -amusement. Amongst the lot were several well known places, the scenes of -horrible and awful crimes, engravings of debauchery and ill-fame, together -with an endless number of different kinds, suitable at the shortest -possible notice, to illustrate every conceivable and inconceivable -subject. - -The Seven Dials in general, and "The Catnach Press" in particular, had no -dread of copyright law--the principal Librarian of the British Museum, -Stationers', or any other Hall in those days--and as wood engravings were -not to be had then so quickly or cheaply as now-a-days, Jemmy used at -times to be his own engraver, and while the compositors were setting up -the types, he would carve out the illustration on the back of an old -pewter music plate, and by nailing it on to a piece of wood make it into -an improvised stereo-plate off-hand, for he was very handy at this sort of -work, at which also his sister, with his instruction, could assist; so -they soon managed to rough out a figure or two, and when things were dull -and slack they generally got one or two subjects ready in stock, such as a -highwayman with crape over his face, shooting a traveller, who is falling -from his horse near a wide-spreading old elm tree, through which the moon -was to be seen peeping; not forgetting to put the highwayman in top boots -and making him a regular dandy. This was something after the plan of the -artists of the cheap illustrated papers of the present day, who generally -anticipate events sometime beforehand to be ready with their blocks. As a -proof of this, the editor of the "London, Provincial, and Colonial Press -News," says "I happened to call one day on an artist for the 'Illustrated -Press,' and found him busily engaged in sketching a funeral procession -with some twenty coffins borne on the shoulders of men who were winding -their way through an immense crowd. Upon inquiry, I was told that it was -intended for the next week's issue, and was to represent the funeral of -the victims of the late dreadful colliery explosion, for although the -inquest was only then sitting, and all the bodies had not yet been found, -there was sure to be a funeral of that kind when it was all over, and as -they did not know how many bodies were to be buried at one time, it was -very cleverly arranged to commence the procession from the _corner of the -block_, and so leave it to the imagination as to how many more coffins -were coming in the rear; something after the plan of a small country -theatre, when representing Richard the Third, and in the battle scene, -after the first two or three of the army had made their appearance, to cry -'halt!' very loudly to all those behind who were not seen, and leave the -spectators to guess how many hundreds their were to come." - -For the illustrating of catchpennies, broadsides, and street-literature in -general, particular kinds of wood-cuts were required. In most cases one -block was called upon to perform many parts; and the majority of -metropolitan printers, who went in for this work, had only a very limited -number of them. Very often the same cuts were repeated over and over -again, and made to change sides as one another, and that simply to make a -little variation from a ballad or broadside that had been printed at the -same office on the day, week, or month previous. It mattered little what -the subject was, it required some adornment, in the shape of illustration, -to give effect to it. The catchpennies, especially those connected with -the awful, were in general very rough productions. A lover strangling his -sweetheart with a long piece of rope. A heartless woman murdering an -innocent man. Vice punished and virtue rewarded, and similar subjects, -were always handled in such a manner as to create a degree of excitement, -sympathy, and alarm. The broadsides, generally adorned with some rough -outline of the royal arms of England, a crowned king or queen, as the -subject might be, received their full share of consideration at the hands -of the artist. Scions of royal blood, and those connected with the court, -were often painted in colours glaring and attractive, whilst the matter -set forth in the letterpress was not always the most flattering or -encouraging. - - CATCH-PENNY:--Any temporary contrivance to obtain money from the - public; penny shows, or cheap exhibitions. Also descriptions of - murders, fires, and terrible accidents, &c., which have never taken - place. - - Hotton's: _Slang Dictionary_. - - -AN ACCOUNT OF THE DREADFUL APPARITION - - That appeared last night to Henry ---- in this street, of - Mary ----, the shopkeeper's daughter round the corner, in a - shroud, all covered in white. - -The castle clock struck one--the night was dark, drear, and -tempestuous.--Henry sat in an antique chamber of it, over a wood fire, -which in the stupor of contemplation, he had suffered to decrease into a -few lifeless embers; on the table by him lay the portrait of Mary--the -features of which were not very perfectly disclosed by a taper, that just -glimmered in the socket. He took up the portrait, however, and gazing -intensely upon it, till the taper, suddenly burning brighter, discovered -to him a phenomenon he was not less terrified than surprised at.--The eyes -of the portrait moved;--the features from an angelic smile, changed to a -look of solemn sadness; a tear stole down each cheek, and the bosom -palpitated as with sighing. - -[Illustration] - -Again the clock struck _one!_--it had struck the same hour but ten minutes -before.--Henry heard the castle gate grate on its hinges--it slammed -too--the clock struck one again--and a deadly groan echoed through the -castle. Henry was not subject to superstitious fears--neither was he a -coward;--yet a hero of romance might have been justified in a case like -this, should he have betrayed fear.--Henry's heart sunk within him--his -knees smote together, and upon the chamber door being opened, and his -name uttered in a hollow voice, he dropped the portrait to the floor; and -sat, as if rivetted to the chair, without daring to lift up his eyes. At -length, however, as silence again prevailed, he ventured for a moment to -raise his eyes, when--my blood freezes as I relate it--before him stood -the figure of Mary in a shroud--her beamless eyes fixed upon him with a -vacant stare; and her bared bosom exposing a most deadly gash. -"Henry!--Henry!!--Henry!!!" she repeated in a hollow tone--"Henry! I come -for thee! thou hast often said that death with me was preferable to life -without me; come then, and enjoy with me all the ecstacies of love these -ghastly features, added to the contemplation of a charnel-house, can -inspire;" then grasping his hand with her icy fingers, he swooned; and -instantly found himself--stretched on the hearth of his master's kitchen; -a romance in his hand, and the house dog by his side, whose cold nose -touching his hand, had awaked him. - - -FRIENDS - -It is with feelings of the deepest regret that we are at present -compelled, for the support of our friends and families, to offer this -simple, but true tale to your notice, trusting, at the same time, that you -will be pleased to purchase this paper, it being the only means at present -to support the tender thread of our existence, and keep us and our -families from utter starvation which at present surrounds us. - -PRICE ONE PENNY. - -_Printed for Author and Vendor._ - - -[Illustration] - -MURDER OF CAPTAIN LAWSON. - -[Illustration] - -CRUEL AND INHUMAN MURDER, LAST NIGHT. - - -[Illustration] - -THE SCARBOROUGH TRAGEDY. - -Giving an Account how Susan Forster, a Farmer's Daughter, near -Scarborough, was seduced by Mr. Robert Sanders, a Naval Officer, under -promise of Marriage.--How she became Pregnant, and the wicked hardened and -cruel Wretch appointed her to meet him at a well-known, retired spot, -which she unhappily did, and was basely Murdered by him, and buried under -a Tree--and of the wonderful manner in which this base Murder was brought -to light, and he committed to Gaol. - - Young virgins fair of beauty bright, - And you that are of Cupid's fold, - Unto my tragedy give ear, - For it's as true as e'er was told. - In Yorkshire, liv'd a virgin fair, - A farmer's only daughter dear, - And a young sea-captain did her ensnare, - Whose station was her father near. - - Susannah was this maiden's name, - The flower of all that country, - This officer a courting came, - Begging that she his love would be. - Her youthful heart to love inclin'd - Young Cupid bent his golden bow, - And left his fatal dart behind, - Which prov'd Susannah's overthrow. - - Ofttimes at evening she would repair, - Close to the borders of the sea, - Her treach'rous love would meet her there, - The time it passed most pleasantly. - And while they walked the sea-banks over, - To mark the flowing of the tide, - He said he'd be her constant lover, - And vow'd that she should be his bride. - - * * * * * - - He did confess--they dug the ground while hundreds came to view, - And here the murder'd corpse they found, of her who lov'd so true; - In irons now in Prison strong lamenting he does lie; - And, by the laws condemn'd ere long, most justly he will die. - -J. CATNACH, Printer, 2, Monmouth-court, 7 Dials. - - -[Illustration] - -HORRID MURDER, COMMITTED BY A YOUNG MAN ON A YOUNG WOMAN. - -George Caddell became acquainted with Miss Price and a degree of intimacy -subsisted between them, and Miss Price, degraded as she was by the -unfortunate step she had taken, still thought herself an equal match for -one of Mr. Caddell's rank of life. As pregnancy was shortly the result of -their intimacy, she repeatedly urged him to marry her, but he resisted her -importunities for a considerable time. At length she heard of his paying -addresses to Miss Dean, and threatened in case of his non-compliance, to -put an end to all his prospects with that young lady, by discovering -everything that had passed between them. Hereupon he formed a horrid -resolution of murdering her, for he could neither bear the thought of -forfeiting the esteem of a woman whom he loved, nor of marrying one who -had been as condescending to another as to himself. So he called on Miss -Price on a Saturday and requested her to walk with him in the fields on -the following day, in order to arrange a plan for their intended marriage. -Miss Price met him at the time appointed, on the road leading to Burton, -at a house known by the name of the "Nag's Head." Having accompanied her -supposed lover into the fields, and walked about till towards evening, -they sat down under a hedge, where after a little conversation, Caddell -suddenly pulled out a knife and cut her throat, and made his escape, but -not before he had waited till she was dead. In the distraction of his mind -he left behind him the knife with which he perpetrated the deed, and his -Case of Instruments. On the following morning, Miss Price being found -murdered in the field, great numbers went to take a view of her body, -among whom was the woman of the house where she lodged, who recollected -that she said she was going to walk with Mr. Caddell, on which the -instruments were examined and sworn to have belonged to him. He was -accordingly taken into custody. - -J. CATNACH, Printer, Monmouth Court. - - -[Illustration] - -THE SECRETS REVEALED, OR THE FASHIONABLE LIFE OF LORD & LADY ******. - -[Illustration] - -DREADFUL MURDER BY A SOLDIER, YESTERDAY MORNING. - - -THE LIVERPOOL TRAGEDY. - -[Illustration] - - Showing how a Father and Mother - barbarously Murdered their own Son. - -A few days ago a sea-faring man, who had just returned to England after an -absence of thirty years in the East Indies, called at a lodging-house, in -Liverpool, for sailors, and asked for supper and a bed; the landlord and -landlady were elderly people, and apparently poor. The young man entered -into conversation with them, invited them to partake of his cheer, asked -them many questions about themselves and their family, and particularly of -a son who had gone to sea when a boy, and whom they had long given over -as dead. At night the landlady shewed him to his room, and when she was -leaving him he put a large purse of gold into her hand, and desired her to -take care of it till the morning, pressed her affectionately by the hand, -and bade her good night. She returned to her husband and shewed the -accursed gold: for its sake they mutually agreed to murder the traveller -in his sleep. - -In the dead of the night, when all was still, the old couple silently -creeped into the bed room of their sleeping guest, all was quiet: the -landlady approached the bedside, and then cut his throat, severed his head -from his body; the old man, upwards of seventy years of age, holding the -candle. They put a washing-tub under the bed to catch his blood, and then -ransacking the boxes of the murdered man they found more gold, and many -handsome and costly articles, the produce of the East Indies, together, -with what proved afterwards, to be a marriage certificate. - -In the morning early, came a handsome and elegantly dressed lady, and -asked, in a joyous tone, for the traveller who arrived the night before. -The old people seemed greatly confused, but said he had risen early and -gone away. "Impossible!" said the lady, and bid them go to his bed-room -and seek him, adding, "you will be sure to know him as he has a mole on -his left arm in the shape of a strawberry. Besides, 'tis your long lost -son who has just returned from the East Indies, and I am his wife, and the -daughter of a rich planter long settled and very wealthy. Your son has -come to make you both happy in the evening of your days, and he resolved -to lodge with you one night as a stranger, that he might see you unknown, -and judge of your conduct to wayfaring mariners." - -The old couple went up stairs to examine the corpse, and they found the -strawberry mark on its arm, and they then knew that they had murdered -their own son, they were seized with horror, and each taking a loaded -pistol blew out each other's brains. - -PRINTED BY J. CATNACH.--Sold by Marshall, Bristol. - -Just Published.--A Variety of Children's Books, Battledores, Lotteries, -and a quantity of Popular Songs set to Music. Cards, &c., Printed cheap. - -[Illustration] - - - - - THE LIFE, TRIAL, CHARACTER, CONFESSION, BEHAVIOUR, - AND EXECUTION OF JAMES WARD, - - Aged 25, who was hung in the front of the Gaol, - For the wilful Murder he committed on the - Body of his own Wife. - - [Illustration] - - To which is added a Copy of Affectionate Verses - which he composed in the Condemned Cell - The night before his - EXECUTION. - - PRINTED AT LONDON. - PRICE ONE PENNY. - - -[Illustration] - -THE ARREST OF THE PRISONER. - - "For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak with most miraculous - organ." - -The prisoner was arrested while drinking with his companions in a -public-house, and after two Magistrates had heard the evidence he was -fully committed to the Assizes to be tried before my Lord Judge and a -British Jury, at the County Hall. - -[Illustration] - - -THE TRIAL! - - "Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein." - -At an early hour on the morning of the trial, the Court was crowded to -excess, the Judge taking his seat at nine o'clock. The Prisoner on being -placed at the bar, pleaded "Not Guilty," in a firm tone of voice. The -Trial lasted many hours, when, having been found 'GUILTY.' the learned -Judge addressed the prisoner as follows:-- - - "Prisoner, you have been found guilty of a most cold-blooded Murder, a - more deliberate murder I never heard of. You and your wife had been to - a neighbouring town, and were returning home, when you did it. She was - found in a ditch. I cannot hold out the slightest hope of mercy - towards you in this case." During this address the whole court was - melted into tears. His Lordship then put on the black cap and passed - the sentence as usual, holding out no hope of mercy to the prisoner. - -[Illustration: THE COUNTY GAOL.] - - -[Illustration: THE HOME OF THE GOOD MAN.] - - "Sundry blessings hang about his Throne, that speak him full of - Grace." - -LETTER WRITTEN BY THE PRISONER AFTER HIS CONDEMNATION. - -Condemned Cell. - -DEAR SISTER, - -When you receive this you will see that I am condemned to die; my Father -and Mother are coming to take their last farewell, and I should very much -liked to have seen you, but knowing that you are on the eve of bringing -into the world another to your family, I beg that you will refrain from -coming; if that you do serious may be the consequences, therefore, dear -Sister, do not attempt to come. I hope that no one will upbraid you for -what I have done; So God bless you and yours; farewell! dear Sister, for -ever. - - J. WARD. - - -[Illustration] - -THE EXECUTION. - - "A threefold cord is not quickly broken." - -The Execution of the above prisoner took place early this morning at eight -o'clock, the people flocking to the scene at an early hour. As the period -of the wretched man's departure drew near, the chaplain became anxious to -obtain from him a confession of the justice of his sentence. He -acknowledged the justice of his sentence, and said he was not fit to live, -and that he was afraid to die, but he prayed to the Lord for forgiveness, -and hoped through the merits of his Saviour that his prayer would be -heard. Having received the sacrament, the executioner was not long in -performing his office. The solemn procession moved towards the place of -Execution, the chaplain repeating the confession words, "In the midst of -life we are in death." Upon ascending the platform he appeared to tremble -very much. The cap being drawn over his eyes and the signal given, the -wretched man was launched into eternity. He died almost without a -struggle. After the body had hanged the usual time it was cut down and -buried according to the sentence in the gaol. - - -[Illustration] - -THE HOME OF THE BAD MAN. - - "One Sin doth another provoke." - -COPY OF VERSES. - - Come all you feeling hearted christians, wherever you may be, - Attention give to these few lines, and listen unto me; - Its of this cruel murder, to you I will unfold, - The bare recital of the same will make your blood run cold. - - Confined within a lonely cell, with sorrow I am opprest, - The very thought of what I've done, deprives me of rest; - Within this dark and gloomy cell in the County Gaol I lie, - For murder of my dear wife I am condemned to die. - - For four long years I'd married been, I always lov'd her well, - Till at length I was overlooked, oh shame for me to tell; - By Satan sure I was beguiled, he led me quite astray, - Unto another I gave way on that sad unlucky day. - - I well deserve my wretched fate, no one can pity me, - To think that I in cold blood could take the life away; - I took a stake out of the hedge and hit on the head, - My cruel blows I did repeat until she were dead. - - I dragged the body from the stile to a ditch running by, - I quite forgot there's one above with an all-seeing eye, - Who always brings such deeds to light, as you so plainly see, - I questioned was about it and took immediately. - - The body's found, the inquest held, to prison I was sent, - With shame I do confess my sin, with grief I do repent; - And when my trial did come on, I was condemned to die, - An awful death in public scorn, upon the gallows high. - - While in my lonely cell I lie, the time draws on apace, - The dreadful deeds that I have done appear before my face; - While lying on my dreadful couch, those horrid visions rise, - The ghastly form of my dear wife appears before my eyes. - - Oh may my end a warning be now unto all mankind, - And think of my unhappy fate and bear me in your mind; - Whether you are rich or poor, young wives and children love, - So God will fill your fleeting days with blessings from above. - -[Illustration] - - - - - THE BURNING SHAME. - OR - - [Illustration] - - MORALITY ALARMED - IN THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD. - - JUST PUBLISHED - PRICE ONE PENNY. - - -[Illustration] - -A short time since, some of the moral-mending crew of Parsons, -Magistrates, Quakers, Shakers, Puritans, Old Maids, and highly -respectable, and, now retired from active business "Young Ladies," who now -assume a virtue, though they have it not, and a variety of other goodly -persons ever ready to compound for sins they are inclined to, by exposing -those they have no mind to, living not 50 miles hence, determined on -reforming doings, manners, and customs:-- - -IN THIS TOWN! - -and a meeting in consequence took place at "Rosebud Cottage" the residence -of Miss Mary Ann Lovitt, when, as a first step, it was determined to -remove the facilities and _accommodation_ afforded a -certain--_You-know-what!_ crime very general _in this neighbourhood_ by -hunting out of the town:-- - -A CERTAIN LADY ABBESS!! - -who keeps a very genteel house for the _accommodation_ of "single young -men and their wives" and one who never offends, or bores her patrons by -asking for a sight of their 'Marriage Certificates.' - -At the meeting, the armchair was taken by the Rev. John ---- ---- ---- -B.A., of this parish, Mr. Churchwarden Smith, and Mr. J. Brown, the -draper, supporting him on either side; when a variety of methods were -suggested for the removal of the alledged social evil, one thought -_entreaty_ might best answer, another was for _force_, a third recommended -the Religious Tract Society, while a fourth was for the aid of the Very -Rev. Rowland H------l, Miss A. and Miss B. were both loud in their praise -of the Rev. Jabez B------g, mention was made of the Society for the -Suppression of Vice, at length the Reverend Divine Chairman was called on -for his opinion, when he--conscious of the integrity and purity of his own -life and _experience!_ at once pronounced:-- - -A BURNING SHAME!!! - -as the only effectual remedy for the ever increasing evil. This was indeed -a harsh measure, and some of the worthies looked a variety of colours on -the occasion, but as none had the moral courage for personal character -sake to oppose the parson's proposition, it was carried unanamously. A -board bearing on it in legible characters:-- - -BEWARE OF A BAD HOUSE!!!! - -was soon prepared, and with a lanthorn attached, was paraded before the -house of the fair--but frail duenna's mansion. It did not remain long in -this position as the following letter from the lady abbess of the -_Agapemone!_ soon had its deserved effect:-- - - GENTLEMEN:--"If the board and lanthorne is not removed from the front - of my house in one hour from this time, I will publish the _name_, - _profession_, and _address_, of every _gentleman_--together with that - of the _lady_ accompaning him who has visited my "_Establishment for - Young Ladies_" during the last six months. Some of your worships know - on whom this would fall heaviest." - - Yours with thanks for past favours, - AUNT. - -It is almost needless to say that the _board and lanthorne_ were very soon -removed, and, that, the old, and _accommodating_ lady is doing a good -business again:-- - -THUS CONSCIOUS DOES MAKE COWARDS OF US ALL. - -[Illustration] - - - - - THE FULL, TRUE AND - PARTICULAR ACCOUNT - OF THE - - [Illustration] - - EXTRAORDINARY MARRIAGE - That took place in THIS TOWN on Thursday last. - - LONDON: - PRINTED FOR THE VENDORS. - - PRICE ONE PENNY. - - -[Illustration] - - "Who would have thought he had been a-- - He was such--a nice young man." - -About a week since, a dashing young blade, dressed in the very height of -the prevailing fashion, having long black and curly hair, together with a -pair of out-and-out slap-up whiskers and moustaches, and calling himself -Count de Coburgh Aingarpatzziwutchz, and professing to be a foreigner and -a man of enormous fortune, and one of the _haut ton!_ took up his lodging -at the principal inn, The ---- Arms, in this town, where the swell -foreigner looking blade soon made a great stir among the ladies of the -place; the old, the young, the tall, the short, the fair, and the dark, -were all alike smitten over head and ears in love with the distinguished -visitor, but none seemed to make so much impression upon his heart as Mary -Jane Jemima S----w, the youngest of the landlord's daughters of The -----Arms Inn, of this town. She is well known in this neighbourhood to be -very handsome, with light brown hair all in ringlets, light blue eyes, a -fine aquiline nose, and of a tall and commanding figure, aged about sweet -17 years of age, and very tender. - -The foreign Count! soon won the affections of the young lady, and while -she was all cock-a-hoop at the thought of having such a fine handsome -young blade for a husband, all the other women of the town, old and young, -were ready to tear out her eyes and boil them in their own blood with -womanly vexation and revenge, and spoke of the intended bridegroom as the -Count _Don't-know-who_! - -On Thursday the bells of the old parish church rang merrily -ding!-dong!!-ding!!! and the happy couple were married, our old and -respected Rector officiating; assisted by his Curate, Rev. Mr. ----, and -all the parish was gay from one end to the other. - -[Illustration] - -A few hours after the ceremony had taken place, whilst the happy couple -were feasting on all of the very best with their friends and relations, a -stranger, fat and greasy, and looking like a master or journeyman butcher -in his Sunday clothes, and about forty years of age, and black whiskers, -made his appearance, and not being acquainted with the occasion that -brought the party together, without hesitation exclaimed, loud enough to -be heard by all in the room, "Well, brother-blade, you are a lucky fellow! -the business about Sal Saunders is all settled to our satisfaction, the -lawyer made a good job of it for you, poleaxed the lot on the other side -in prime style, and skinned 'em alive, so you may now return home to -Whitechapel and put on your blue apron and steel."--The company stood -aghast, the bride fainted, and all was confusion. At length it came out -that the newly-married man had a wife and four children at home, and that -his visit to the above town was in consequence of a woman swearing a child -to him. In the midst of the confusion which this discovery occasioned, the -bridegroom and his brother slaughterman from Whitechapel--which is in -London--made a sudden retreat, and--have not since been heard of. - - - - -THE EFFECTS OF LOVE. - -SAD SHOCKING NEWS! - - CRUEL SEDUCTION: DREADFUL WARNING TO ALL YOUNG - WOMEN IN THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD TO BEWARE OF - YOUNG MEN'S DELUDING AND FLATTERING TONGUES. - -The following melancholy account of her cruel seduction and desertion by -her base lover was forwarded to that very worthy man Mr. ---- a -churchwarden, well-known and respected by all in this neighbourhood by -Miss S----h W----r, the night before she committed suicide. - - Young lovers all I pray draw near, - Sad shocking news you soon shall hear, - And when that you the same are told, - It will make your very blood run cold. - - Miss S----h W---- Is my name, - I brought myself to grief and shame, - By loving one that ne'er loved me, - My sorrow now I plainly see. - - Mark well the words that will be said, - By W---- E---- I was betray'd, - By his false tongue I was beguil'd - At length to him I proved with child. - - At rest with him I ne'er could be, - Until he had his will of me, - To his fond tales I did give way, - And did from paths of virtue stray. - - My grief is more than I can bear, - I am disregarded every where, - Like a blooming flower I am cut down, - And on me now my love does frown. - - Oh! the false oathes he has sworn to me, - That I his lawful bride should be, - May I never prosper night, or day, - If I deceive you, he would say. - - But now the day is past and gone, - That he fix'd to be married on, - He scarcely speaks when we do meet, - And strives to shun me in the street. - - I did propose on Sunday night, - To walk once more with my heart's delight, - On the Umber's banks where billows roar, - We parted there to meet no more. - - His word was pledged unto me, - He never shall prosper nor happy be, - The ghost of me and my infant dear, - They both shall haunt him every where. - - William dear when this you see, - Remember how you slighted me, - Farewell vain world; false man adieu, - I drown myself for love of you. - - As a token that I died for love, - There will be seen a milk-white dove, - Which over my watery tomb shall fly, - And there you'll find my body lie. - - These cheeks of mine once blooming red, - Must now be mingled with the dead, - From the deep waves to a bed of clay, - Where I must sleep till the Judgement Day. - - A Joyful rising then I hope to have, - When Angels call me from the grave - Receive my soul, O Lord most high, - For broken hearted I must die. - - Grant me one favour that's all I crave, - Eight pretty maidens let me have, - Dress'd all in white a comely show, - To carry me to the grave below. - - Now all young girls I hope on earth, - Will be warned by my untimely death, - Take care sweet maidens when you are young, - Of men's deluding--flattering tongue. - -PRINTED IN LONDON FOR THE VENDERS. - - -SHOCKING RAPE AND DREADFUL MURDER OF TWO LOVERS. - -[Illustration] - - SHOWING HOW JOHN HODGES, A FARMER'S SON, - COMMITTED A RAPE UPON JANE WILLIAMS, - AND AFTERWARDS MURDERED HER AND - HER LOVER, WILLIAM EDWARDS, - IN A FIELD NEAR PAXTON. - -This is a most revolting murder. It appears Jane Williams was keeping -company, and was shortly to be married to William Edwards, who was in the -employment of Farmer Hodges. For some time a jealousy existed in John -Hodges, who made vile proposals to the young girl, who although of poor -parents was strictly virtuous. The girl's father also worked on Farmer -Hodges' estate. On Thursday last she was sent to the farm to obtain some -things for her mother, who was ill; it was 9 o'clock in the evening when -she set out, a mile from the farm. Going across the fields she was met by -the farmer's son, who made vile proposals to her, which she not consenting -to, he threw her down, and accomplished his vile purpose. In the meantime -her lover had been to her house, and finding she was gone to the farm, -went to meet her. He found her in the field crying, and John Hodges -standing over her with a bill-hook, saying he would kill her if she ever -told. No one can tell the feelings of the lover, William Edwards. He -rushed forward, when Hodges, with the hook, cut the legs clean from his -body, and with it killed the poor girl, and then run off. Her father -finding she did not return, went to look for her, when the awful deeds -were discovered. Edwards was still alive, but died shortly afterwards from -loss of blood, after giving his testimony to the magistrates. The farmer's -son was apprehended, and has been examined and committed to take his trial -at the next assizes. - -Thousands of persons followed the unfortunate lovers to the grave, where -they were both buried together. - - -COPY OF VERSES. - - Jane Williams had a lover true - And Edwards was his name, - Whose visits to her father's house, - Had welcome now became. - - In marriage soon they would be bound, - A loving man and wife, - But John Hodges, a farmer's son - With jealousy was rife. - - One night he met her in the fields, - And vile proposals made; - How can I do this wicked thing, - Young Jane then weeping said. - - He quickly threw her on the ground, - He seized her by surprise, - And did accomplish his foul act - Despite her tears and cries. - - Her lover passing by that way, - Discovered her in tears, - And when he found what had been done - He pulled the monster's ears. - - Young Hodges with the bill-hook, - Then cut young Edwards down; - And by one fatal blow he felled - Jane Williams on the ground. - - There side by side the lovers lay - Weltering in their blood: - Young Jane was dead, her lover lived, - Though ebb'd away life's flood. - - Old Williams sought his daughter dear, - When awful to relate, - He found her lifeless body there, - Her lover's dreadful fate. - - Now in one grave they both do lie, - These lovers firm and true, - Who by a cruel man were slain - Who'll soon receive his due. - - In prison now he is confined, - To answer for the crime. - Two lovers that he murdered, - Cut off when in their prime. - -[Illustration] - - - _A Funny_ DIALOGUE - - BETWEEN A - FAT BUTCHER - And A - - [Illustration] - - MACKEREL - _In Newport Market_ - Yesterday. - -BUTCHER.--Well, Mr. Mackerel, pray let me ask you how you come to show -your impudent face among those who don't want to see you or any of your -crew? - -MACKEREL.--That my company is not agreeable to many such as you I very -well know; but here I am, and will keep my place in spite of you. Don't -think to frighten me with your lofty looks, Mr. Green. You are an enemy to -the poor, I am their true friend, and I will be in spite of you. - -BUTCHER.--I will soon see the end of you and your vain boasting. What's -the poor to me? - -MACKEREL.--I and thousands of my brethren are come to town for the sole -good of the industrious poor. We will soon pull down your high prices, -your pride and consequence, and Melt your fat off your overgrown Carcass. -I am their sworn friend, and although you are biting off your tongue with -vexation, yet I am determined they shall have a cheap Meal--good, sweet, -and wholesome--put that in your pipe and smoke it. - -BUTCHER.--Aye, aye. You are a saucy set, confound you altogether. -Oddzbobs, I wish the Devil had the whole of your disagreeable tribe. - -MACKEREL.--I would advise you, Mr. Green, not to show your teeth when you -can't bite. Millions of my friends are on their way to town to make the -poor rejoice. We have had a fine seed time, everything looks promising. -Meat must and will come down. The poor will sing for joy, and you may go -hang yourself in your garters. - -[Illustration] - - Catnach, Printer, 2, Monmouth Court, - Cards, Bills, &c., Printed on Low Terms. - - -Catnach, to the day of his retirement from business in 1838, when he -purchased the freehold of a disused public-house, which had been known as -the Lion Inn, together with the grounds attached at Dancer's Hill, South -Mimms, near Barnet, in the county of Middlesex, worked and toiled in the -office of the "Catnach Press," in which he had moved as the pivot, or -directing mind, for a quarter of a century. He lived and died a bachelor. -His only idea of all earthly happiness and mental enjoyment was now to get -away in retirement to a convenient distance from his old place of -business, so to give him an opportunity occasionally to go up to town and -have a chat and a friendly glass with one or two old paper-workers and -ballad-writers, and a few others connected with his peculiar trade who had -shown any disposition to work when work was to be done. To them he was -always willing to give or advance a few pence or shillings, in money or -stock, and a glass-- - - "Affliction's sons are brothers in distress; - A brother to relieve, how exquisite the bliss!" - -But Jemmy knew the men that were "skulkers," as he termed them, and there -was no coin, stock, or a glass for them. He invariably drank whiskey, a -spirit not in general demand in England in those days. Gin was then, as -now, the reigning favourite with the street folks. When the question was -put to him in reference to his partiality to whiskey, he always -replied--the Scotch blood proudly rising in his veins, and with a strong -Northumberland burr, which never wholly forsook him, particularly when -warmed by argument or drink--that, "He disdained to tipple with 'stuff,' -by means of which all the women of the town got drunk. I am of Catnach. -Yes! there's Catnach blood in me. Catnach--King Catnach--Catnach, King of -the Picts. We descend in a right straight line from the Picts. That's the -sort of blood-of-blood that flows in the veins of all the true-bred -Catnachs." Jemmy would be for continually arguing when in his cups, and -the old and the more artful of the street-folk would let him have all the -say and grandeur that he then felt within him on the subject, well knowing -that they would be much more likely to have their glasses replenished by -agreeing with him than by contradicting him. Even in his sober moments -Jemmy always persisted, right or wrong, that the Catnachs, or Catternachs, -were descended direct from a King of the Picts. Yet, what is somewhat -anomalous, he was himself a rigid churchman and a staunch old Tory, "one -of the olden time," and "as full of the glorious Constitution as the first -volume of Blackstone." - -On Catnach's retirement from the business, he left it to Mrs. Annie Ryle, -his sister, charged, nevertheless, to the amount of L1,000 payable at his -death to the estate of his niece, Marion Martha Ryle. In the meanwhile Mr. -James Paul acted as managing man for Mrs. Ryle. This Mr. Paul--of whom -Jemmy was very fond, and rumour saith, had no great dislike to the -mother--had grown from a boy to a man in the office of the "Catnach -Press." He was therefore, well acquainted with the customers, by whom he -was much respected; and it was by his tact and judgment that the business -was kept so well together. He married a Miss Crisp, the daughter of a -publican in the immediate neighbourhood. - -Catnach did not long enjoy or survive his retirement. After the novelty of -looking, as the poet Cowper puts it, and no doubt in his case found it, -"Through the loop-holes of retreat, to see the stir of the Great Babel, -and not feel the crowd," had worn itself out, "James Catnach, Gentleman, -formerly of Monmouth Court, Monmouth Street, Printer," grew dull in his -"Old Bachelor's Box;" he was troubled with hypochondriasis, and a liver -overloaded with bile, and was further off than ever from being a happy -man. He had managed to rake and scrape together--as far as we can get any -knowledge--some L5,000 or L6,000, although L10,000 and upwards is mostly -put down to him. However, he had grabbed for and caught a fair amount of -"siller and gold," but it failed to realize to him-- - - An elegant sufficiency, content, - Retirement, rural quiet, friendship, books, - Ease and alternate labour, useful life, - Progressive virtue, and approving Heaven! - -No! all he had realized was that unenviable position so popularly known as -of a man not knowing what to do with himself. His visits to town were now -much more frequent and of longer duration, and for hours he would sit and -loiter about the shops and houses of his old neighbours, so that he might -catch a glimpse, or enjoy a friendly chat with his old friends and -customers. At length he got sick at heart, "wearied to the bone," and -sighed for the bustle of London Life. - -From the following letter written to his sister, Mrs. Ryle, in 1840, and -now before us, we glean something of his state of mind and bodily -health:-- - - July, 4th, 40. - - Dear Sister,-- - - I have been very ill for these last three weeks. I was obliged to send - for Dr. Morris to cup me, which did some good for a few days, since - then the pains have gone into my breast and ribs, and for the last - three days I have kept my bed, and could take nothing but a little tea - and water-gruel. I wish you to procure me 6 Bills to stick on my - window shutters, outside and in, "This House to be Let," and send them - with 1/2lb Tea as soon as possible--but do not send them by Salmon's - Coach, for he will not leave them at Jackson's as Wild does, but - sends a boy with it, which costs me double porterage. I feel the loss - of my jelly now I am so ill, and can eat little or nothing, it would - have done my throat good. I have a great crop of black and red berries - [currants] if you choose I will send them up, and you can make some - jelly for us both; let me know as soon as you can, say Wednesday - morning and I will make the Postwoman call for the parcel at - Jackson's. I also wish you to enquire of Carr what is the lowest he - will take for the rooms over Mrs. Morgan, by the 1/2 year. - - I have nothing more to say but to be remembered to Mary and Paul, and - remain - - [Signature: Yours truly - James Catnach] - - Pray send a paper of the execution of the Valet, and the trial of - Oxford--Mrs. Westley has not sent me 1 paper since I was last in - town--neither has Thornton. - - Mrs. Ryle, - 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, - Compton Street, London. - -Ultimately Catnach hired the rooms he speaks about in the body of his -letter to his sister, which were on the first floor of No. 6, Monmouth -Court. All the vacant space in his old premises being now fully occupied -by Mrs. Ryle, and her assistants, now "the humble cottage fenc'd with -osiers round," which to his leisure afforded no pleasure, was entirely -deserted, and in London he fretted out the remaining portion of his life. -He soon grew peevish, and his brain got a little out of balance, then he -listlessly wandered in and out of the streets, courts, and alleys, "infirm -of purpose." On stormy days and nights to stand and view the lightning -from Waterloo Bridge was his special delight, and wonder. His temper and -liver were now continually out of order, and which whiskey, even -"potations pottle deep," failed to relieve. At length he died of jaundice, -in the very London court in which he had muck'd and grubbed for the best -part of his life, on the first day of February, 1841. Like other great men -of history he has several _locales_ mentioned as his final -resting-place--Hornsey, Barnet, South Mimms, &c. - - _Urbes, certarunt septem de patria Homeri, - Nulla domus vivo patria fuit._ - - Seven cities strove whence Homer first should come, When living, he no - country had nor home:--_Tom Nash, 1599._ - - Seven Grecian cities vied for Homer dead, - Through which the living Homer begged his bread. - - Seven cities vied for Homer's birth, with emulation pious,--Salamis, - Samos, Colophon, Rhodes, Argos, Athens, Chios.--_From the Greek._ - -But Catnach lies buried in Highgate Cemetery, in one of the two plots that -Mrs. Ryle purchased sometime previous to her brother's death. The official -number of the grave is 256, SQUARE 29, over which is placed a flat stone, -inscribed:-- - - IN MEMORY OF - JAMES CATNACH, - _Of Dancer's Hill_. - DIED 1ST FEBRUARY, 1841, - Aged 49. - - - ANNE RYLE, - Sister to the above, and widow of Joseph Ryle, who died in - India, 10th October, 1823. She died 20th April, 1870, - Aged 75. - - _Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord._ - -The freehold in the other plot of ground, after Catnach's death, was -transferred to Mr. Robert Palmer Harding, the accountant of London, who -married Catnach's niece. The stone records the death of ELIZABETH -CORNELIA, third daughter of Robert Palmer Harding and Marion Martha -Harding, born 9 June, 1848, died 8 of November, 1848; and GREVILLE, second -son of the above, born 29 May, 1856, died 3 September, 1856. This grave is -now numbered 5179. We have been thus minute in respect to Catnach's grave, -from the circumstance of our having received so many contradictory -statements as to its whereabouts. But however, we have removed all doubt -from our mind by a personal visit to the Highgate Cemetery where under the -guidance of the very civil and obliging superintendent of the grounds, Mr. -W. F. Tabois, we were conducted to the spot we required, then introduced -to Mr. Marks, the sexton, "here man and boy thirty years," and whom we -found very intelligent and communicative on various _subjects_-- - - "From _grave_ to gay, from lively to severe." - -After Catnach's death, Mr. James Paul entered into partnership with Mrs. -Ryle, and then the business was carried on under the title and style of A. -Ryle and Paul. In 1845 the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Paul receiving -L800 in settlement. He then entered into the public line taking the -Spencer's Arms, at the corner of the Monmouth Court. A son that was born -to him in 1847, he had christened James Catnach Paul. He died in the year -1870, just six weeks after Mrs. Ryle, and lies buried in the next grave -but one to Catnach and his sister. - -After Mr. Paul had left the business it was carried on as Ryle & Co., and -ultimately became the property of Mr. W. S. Fortey, who still carries on -the old business in the same quarter. - -For the purpose of clearing up, if possible, some contradictory -statements, a few years ago we made personal search through the -musty-fusty red-tapeism of Doctor's Commons for the Will and Testament--or -"LAST DYING SPEECH" of "James Catnach, of Dancer's Hill, South Mimms, in -the county of Middlesex, Gentleman, formerly of Monmouth Court, Monmouth -Street, Printer," an office copy of which, together with Probate and -Administration Act, we give below, by which it will be seen that the -Personal Effects are sworn to as under three hundred pounds. But this -gives us no idea of the value of his "Freehold, Copyhold, or Leasehold -Estate" mentioned in the body of the Will. - - "Extracted from the principal Registry - of Her Majesty's Court of Probate. - -"In the Prerogative Court of Canterbury-- - -"This is the last Will and Testament of me JAMES CATNACH of Dancers Hill, -South Mimms in the County of Middlesex Gentleman formerly of Monmouth -Court Monmouth Street Printer I direct that my just debts funeral and -testamentary expences be paid as soon as conveniently may be after my -decease and subject thereto I give devise and bequeath all my real and -personal Estate whatever and wheresoever and of what nature or kind soever -to my Sister Anne the Widow of Joseph Ryle now residing in Monmouth Court -aforesaid her heirs executors and administrators according to the nature -and qualities thereof respectively In trust nevertheless for her Daughter -Marion Martha Ryle her heirs executors administrators and assigns -respectively when she shall attain the age of twenty one years absolutely -with power in the meantime to apply the rents interest dividends or -proceeds thereof for and towards the maintenance education and advancement -of the said Marion Martha Ryle and notwithstanding the private means of my -said Sister may be adequate to such purpose but if the said Marion Martha -Ryle shall depart this life before she shall attain the age of twenty one -years then I give devise and bequeath all my said real and personal Estate -to my said Sister her heirs executors administrators and assigns -absolutely I hereby direct that during the minority of the said Marion -Martha Ryle it shall be lawful for the said Anne Ryle her heirs executors -administrators to demise or lease all or any part of my freehold copyhold -or leasehold Estate for any term consistent with the tenure thereof not -exceeding twenty one years so that on every such demise the best yearly -rent be reserved that can be obtained for the property which shall be -therein comprised without taking any fine or premium and so that the -tenant or lessee be not made dispunishable for waste I hereby nominate -constitute and appoint my said Sister sole Executrix of this my Will and -hereby revoking all former and other Wills by me at any time heretofore -made I declare this to be my last Will and Testament. In witness whereof I -have hereunto set my hand the twenty second day of January one thousand -eight hundred and thirty nine--JAMES CATNACH--Signed and acknowledged by -the above named James Catnach as and for his last Will and Testament in -the presence of us present at the same time who in his presence and the -presence of each other have hereunto set our names as Witnesses--William -Kinsey 13 Suffolk St. Pall Mall Solr.--Wm. Tookey his Clerk." - - -[THE PROBATE AND ADMINISTRATION ACT.] - - "EXTRACTED from the principal Registry - of Her Majesty's Court of Probate. - -"In the Prerogative Court of Canterbury-- - -April, 1842. - -"JAMES CATNACH--On the second day of April administration (with the Will -annexed) of the Goods Chattels and Credits of James Catnach formerly of -Monmouth Court Monmouth Street Printer but late of Dancers Hill South -Mimms both in the county of Middlesex Gentleman deceased was granted to -William Kinsey Esquire the Curator or Guardian lawfully assigned to Marion -Martha Ryle Spinster a Minor the Niece and usufructuary Universal Legate -until she shall attain the age of twenty one years and the absolute -Universal Legatee on attaining that age named in the said Will for the use -and benefit of the said minor and until she shall attain the age of twenty -one years have been first sworn duly to administer Anne Ryle Widow the -Sister sole Executrix Universal Legatee In trust and the contingent -universal Legatee named in the said Will and also the natural and lawful -Mother and next of kin of the said minor having first renounced the -probate and execution of the said Will and the Letters of administration -(with the said Will annexed) of the goods of the said deceased and also -the Curation or Guardianship of the said Minor and consented (as by Acts -of Court appear)-- - -_EFFECTS UNDER THREE HUNDRED POUNDS._ - - -It is gratifying to be able to record that what the late Mr. Catnach was -to the masses in the way of news provider some fifty years ago, the penny -papers are now, with this exception, that the former tended to lower and -degrade their pursuit after knowledge, the latter, on the contrary, -improve and elevate them while they amuse and instruct all who peruse -their contents. With the march of intellect, and the thirst for knowledge -blended with the desire for truth, out went, to a great extent, the penny -broad-sheet. Several persons made the attempt to revive it long after the -death of the great original Jemmy Catnach, but without success. - -[Illustration: FINIS.] - - - - -[Illustration: THE INDEX.] - - -[Symbol: Pointing hand] The be-all and the end-all here. - - - - -INDEX. - - - Adelaide, Queen, 89 - - A Funny Dialogue, 294 - - Alnwick--The Borough of, 1 - " St. Michael's Church, 2 - " Parish Register, 2 - " Catnach's shop in, 3 - " Register of Death, 3 - " Printing Press in, 4 - " The Catnach Press, 4 - " The Castle, 6 - " The Abbey, 6 - " Davison's business, 9 - " Election at, 74 - - Attack on William IV, 88 - - - Ballads:--Banks of the Nile, 239 - " Crazy Jane, 240 - " Death of Nelson, 236 - " Drink to me eyes, 228 - " Gallant Sailor, 224 - " Meet me Willow Glen, 227 - " Mistletoe Bough, 229 - " Mountain Maid, 226 - " O Rare Turpin, 225 - " Rose will cease to blow, 230 - " Scarlet Flower, 237 - " Sun that lights Roses, 233 - " The Thorn, 238 - " True Hearted Sailor, 231 - " When Bibo though fit, 232 - " Woodpecker, The, 234 - " Ye Topers all, 235 - - Benton, Mrs. _nee_ Elizabeth Catnach, 38 - - Bewick, T., wood-engraver, 14 - - Bewick Collector, The, 16 - - Bewick:--See BOOKS - - Bewick's Illustrations--See BOOKS. - - Bishop and Williams, 84 - - Black Sal and Dusty Bob, 45 - - Books printed by John Catnach:-- - " Beauties of Natural History 4 - " Chevy Chase, 34 - " Cock Robin, 8 - " Dr. Johnson's Works, 34 - " Hermit of Warkworth, 5 - " Life of Thompson, 34 - " Stockdale's Poems, 4 - - ----By Catnach and Davison:-- - " Beattie's Minstrel, 9 - " Blair's Grave, 9 - " Burn's Poems, 13 - " Gray's Elegy, 9 - - ----By Davison:-- - " Crazy Jane, 12 - " Ferguson's Poems, 14 - " Guess Book, The, 17, 32 - " Halfpenny Books, 16 - " Northumberland Minstrel, 15 - " Repository, The, 11 - - ----Illustrated by Bewick. - " Beauties of Natural History, 4 - " Burn's Poems, 13 - " Blair's Grave, 9 - " Hermit of Warkworth, 5 - " Repository, The, 11 - " Stockdale's Poems, 4 - - Brown, Mrs., murdered, 91 - - Brunswick Theatre, The, 77 - - Burkers, The, 84 - - Burnie, Sir Richard, 43 - - Burradon Ghost, The, 4 - - - Caroline, Queen, The trial of, 46 - Verses on, 47, 48, 50 - Death of, 49, 51 - - Cato Street Conspiracy, The, 45, 46 - - Catchpennies:--Apparition, The, 261 - " Burning Shame, 281 - " Cruel Murder, 264 - " Execution of Ward, 273 - " Extraordinary Marriage, 285 - " Horrid Murder, 267 - " Liverpool Tragedy, 270 - " Murder by a Soldier, 269 - " Murder of Capt. Lawson 264 - " Murder of Two Lovers, 291 - " Secrets Revealed, 269 - " Scarborough Tragedy, 265 - " Shocking News, 289 - " Shocking Rape, 291 - - Catnach, John--the father, born 1 - " Married, 2 - " At Alnwick, 3, 4, 5, 8 - " At Newcastle, 33 - " A Bankrupt, 35 - " In London, 35, 36 - " Death of, 37 - - Catnach, James, born 1792, 2 - " His early life, 38 - " Arrives in London, 40 - " Imprisoned for 6 months, 43 - " Queen Caroline, 47 - " Verses on Caroline, 48 - " Life in London, 57, 63 - " At Alnwick, 75, 76 - " And Mother Cummins, 81 - " His education, 94 - " Nursery books, 94 - " Christmas Carols, 242 - " His Woodcuts, 257 - " Dying Speeches, 258 - " His Retirement, 295 - " At Dancer's Hill, 296 - " Letter to his sister, 297 - " Return to London, 298 - " Death of, 299 - " Will of the, 301 - - Charlotte, The Princess of, 42 - " " " Death of, 43 - - Christmas Carols, 241 to 255 - - Collins, Dennis, 88 - - Copy of Affectionate Verses, 65, 66, 67, 68, 80, 292 - - Clennell, Luke, 4 - - Corder, Wm., The murderer, 79 - " " Execution of, 80 - - Cruikshank, George, 54 - - Cruikshank, Robert, 55 - - Cubitt's Treadmill, 64 - - Cummins "Mother", 81 - and Catnach, 81-2-3 - - Davison of Alnwick:-- - - Davison and Catnach, 1 - " Partnership, 9-11 - " His chemistry, 9 - " Death of, 15 - - Dennis Collins, 88 - - - Earl Grey, 87 - - Executions--Public of:-- - Bishop and Williams, 85 - Courvoisier, 92 - Corder, 92 - Fauntleroy, Mr. H., banker, 73 - Five Pirates, The, 92 - Greenacre, 92 - Muller, 92 - Mannings, 92 - Pegsworth, 91 - Thurtell, 72 - - - False News, circulating of, 14 - - Flying Stationer, The, 66 - - Fortey, Mr., 242-300 - - - George the III, death of, 45 - - George the IV, 45 - - Goldie, Mr., of Alnwick, 94 - - Graham, printer, Alnwick, 39 - - Greenacre and Gale, 91 - - Gurney, Mr. Baron, 89 - - - Haines, Mrs. _nee_ Mary Catnach, 38 - - "Hanging Matches", 65 - - Hugo, Rev. Thomas, 13, 15 - " his Bewick collector, 16, 39 - - - Jane Williams, 292 - - Juvenile Books:-- - A Apple Pie, 177 - Butterfly's Ball, 163 - Cinderella, 203 - Cock Robin, 199 - Easter Gift, The, 171 - Golden Pippin, The, 113 - Good Child's Alphabet, 207 - Guess Book, The, 17 - Jack Jingle, 197 - Jerry Diddle, 129 - Jumping Joan, 145 - Mother Hubbard, 187 - New Year's Gift, 205 - Nurse Love-child's, 97 - Nursery Rhymes, 193 - Red Riding Hood, 201 - Simple Simon, 195 - - - Kent, Duke of, his death, 45 - - - Life in London, by Pierce Egan, 52 - on the Stage, 54 - Catnach's version 57, 63 - Thackeray on, 64 - - Likeness of the Murderer, 69 - " " William Corder, 79 - - Lindsay, Printer, &c., 4 - - Long, Song Seller, The, 221 - - - Marten, Maria, Murder of, 78 - " " Verses on, 80 - - Mayhew's "London Labour", 69, 92 - - Morgan, John, Poet!, 43, 47, 82 - - - Paul, Mr., 296, 300 - - Pitts, John, 40 - " Old Mother, 41 - - Pizzey, Sausage Maker, The 43, 44 - - Pocock, Mr. C. J. of Brighton, 57 - - - Red Barn, The, 78 - - Reform Bill, The, 87 - - Ryle, Mrs. Anne, 296, 297 - " death of, 299 - " Marion Martha, 296 - - - Sarah Gale, 91 - - Seven Dials, The Bards of, 40, 41 - " " The Trade in, 42 - " " and Queen Caroline, 47 - - Shocking Rape and Murder, 291 - - Smith, Mark, of Alnwick:-- - " Apprenticed to Catnach, 9 - " in London, 35 - " in Alnwick, 74 - " his autograph, 39 - " the death of, 74 - - Songs, 3 yards-a-penny, 222 - - - Thistlewood, The Conspirator, 46 - - Thompson, John, Life of, 34 - - Thurtell, and Weare, 70 - " Execution of, 72 - - Tom and Jerry, 53, 55 - " the Tears of, 55 - - Treadmill, The, 64 - - - Vestris, Madame, 89 - - Vint, John, Printer, &c., 4 - - - Walker, Mr., Paternoster Row, 35 - - Weare, Mr., Murder of, 70 - - William the IV, 88 - - Willoughby family Alnwick, 36 - - -[Illustration] - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] FRIENDLY LEAD, a gathering at a low public-house, for the purpose of -assisting some one who is "in trouble," _i.e._, in prison, or who has just -"come out of trouble," or who is in want of a "mouthpiece" to defend him, -and so forth. - -[2] This is an error--See page 76. - -[3] The numbers at the close of the Poll on Saturday, 24th March, at three -o'clock, stood as under:-- - - Sir Francis Burdett 5,327 - J. Cam Hobhouse, Esq. 4,884 - Hon. W. Lamb 4,436 - -[4] Mr. George Skelly--_Alnwick_. - -[5] At an interview which we had in 1877 with - -[Signature: E Benton] - -_Nee._ Elizabeth Catnach, the last survivor of the family of John and Mary -Catnach, she informed us that the MS. book alluded to above, remained in -the family for many years, and was last known to be in the possession of -the sister Mary--Mrs. Haines, of Gosport, to the date of about 1863. - -[6] Pitts, a modern publisher of love garlands, merriments, penny ballads, - - "Who, ere he went to heaven, - Domiciled in Dials Seven!"-- - G. DANIEL'S "Democritus in London." - -[7] The late John Camden Hotten's Introduction to the new edition of "Life -in London." Chatto & Windus: Piccadilly. - -[8] Our thanks are due, and are hereby given to Mr. Crawford John Pocock, -of Cannon Place, Brighton, for the loan and use of his--what we feel -almost inclined to consider--unique copy of Catnach's broadside of "Life -in London." - -[9] The above copied, _verbatim_ At our request, by Mr. George Skelly, of -Alnwick. - -[10] E. L. Blanchard, in an article entitled, "Vanished Theatres," in the -_Era Almanack_, 1877. - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: - -Passages in italics are indicated by _italics_. - -Superscripted characters are indicated by {superscript}. - -The original text includes various symbols that are represented as -[Symbol: description] in this text version. - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of the Catnach Press, by -Charles Hindley - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF THE CATNACH PRESS *** - -***** This file should be named 43691.txt or 43691.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/6/9/43691/ - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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