remembered how the bells in the churches served, by ringing, to summon
and call in the disaffected unto their arms. Therefore, in September,
an order was sent down from the Council to the Lord Russell, to
execute a work that proved no doubt highly disgustful to the people,
viz. to take away all the bells in Devonshire and Cornwall, leaving
only one in each steeple, which was to call the people to church. And
this partly to prevent the like insurrection for the future, and
partly to help to defray the charges the King had been at among them."
Strype adds that "two gentlemen of those parts, Champion (Champernon)
and (Sir John) Chichester, assistant perhaps against the rebels, took
this opportunity to get themselves rewarded, by begging, not the
bells, but the bell-clappers only, which was granted them, with the
ironwork and furniture thereunto belonging. And no question they made
good benefit thereof."
FOOTNOTE:
[35] The murderer was William Kilter, priest of S. Keverne, and he
killed William Body, the lessee of the archdeaconry of Cornwall, in
Helston Church as he was engaged in smashing the images, 5th April,
1548. For this he was hanged, drawn, and quartered, 7th July, 1548.
JOHN NICHOLS TOM,
_alias_ SIR WILLIAM COURTENAY, K.M.
This strange man was the son of William Tom, landlord of the "Joiners'
Arms," S. Columb, and of his wife Charity Bray--"Cracked Charity" was
the nickname she bore--who died in the County Lunatic Asylum, and it
was from his mother that the subject of this memoir derived the bee
that was in his bonnet.
John Nichols was born at S. Columb Major on November 10th, 1799, and
he owed his name to a kinsman of his mother--his godfather, a
well-to-do-farmer, who was unmarried.
At an early age John Nichols Tom showed a mischievous disposition. He
was turned out of the dame's school at which he had been placed for
cutting off the whiskers of her favourite cat. At the next school where
he was placed he exhibited the characteristic vanity that was a leading
feature through life. He liked to be thought to know more than any of
his fellow pupils. One day he propounded to them the question:--
"Who is Neptune? I bet none of you know."
"Neptune," replied one urchin, "is my father's Newfoundland dog."
"Then who is Venus?"
"She is mother's spaniel bitch," answered one of the boys.
John Nichols in a fury fell on both with his fists.
"No such thing. Neptune is a god, and Venus is a goddess."
A general fray was the result, out of which our hero came mauled.
When it became time for him to strike out a course in life, he was
placed in an attorney's office, and he conducted himself there well.
A fire broke out on the premises of the elder Tom and consumed the
house. This occasioned Mrs. Tom to sink into a condition of profound
melancholy, and she rapidly became so wholly insane that she had to be
confined in an asylum, where some years later she died, and then Mr.
Tom married a schoolmistress who lived on the other side of the road.
This did not please John Nichols, and he quitted the attorney's office
and was placed in the firm of Plumer and Turner, wine merchants and
maltsters at Truro, as cellarman. After five years' service the firm
came to an end, and Tom then began to trade on his own account. He
married Catherine, second daughter of a Mr. Philpot, of Truro, whose
elder sister Julia was engaged to a Mr. Hugo. Tom moved into his
father-in-law's house, which was old and dilapidated, and rebuilt it
as a commodious mansion, with spacious premises in its rear for the
carrying on of the business of a maltster. But on a sudden a fire
broke out in this newly-constructed malt-house, and speedily consumed
all that had been built for his business. Folk naturally concluded
that, as Tom had recently had some losses, he had set fire to his
premises, that were insured for £3000, and they remembered that his
father's house had also been insured and been burnt down. But Tom
demanded that a most searching inquiry should be made as to the cause
of the fire, and the insurance company, satisfying itself that it
was accidental, paid the sum without demur. With the money thus
received he rebuilt his premises, and continued the business. Those
who saw much of him were convinced that, as they termed it, "there was
a screw loose somewhere." He affected an unusual dress, and tried to
induce his wife to assume a habit that would have caused her to be
mobbed in the streets. He moreover became great as an orator,
denouncing the Church, the aristocracy, and all organized governments.
In a word, he was a Socialist of the day.
[Illustration: JOHN THOMAS, OTHERWISE SIR WILLIAM COURTENAY, WHO SHOT
LIEUTENANT BENNET IN BASENDEN WOOD, BOUGHTON, NEAR CANTERBURY, AND THE
CONSTABLE MEARS, ON THURSDAY, MAY 31ST, 1838]
Two years later he made a considerable sum of money by a successful
venture in malt at Liverpool. The result of the transaction may be
gathered from the following letter which he wrote to his wife, and
which was the last she ever received from him:--
"LIVERPOOL, _May 3, 1832_.
"MY DEAR WIFE,
"I merely wish to inform you that I have just discharged the
vessel of the malt, which has given every satisfaction to the
purchasers. The measurement has exceeded my expectations by
twenty-four Winchesters. There are the malt sacks in the vessel,
and also half a bushel of the bottom scrapings; this you will get
screened immediately. I am well and in good spirits (thank God for
it). As I shall write to you again in a day or two, my letter will
be short. The letter you will receive by post shall contain all I
have to say, and as it will be subsequent to this I need not
prolong. I have paid the captain of the vessel all the freight.
"With the kindest regards to all,
"I remain, yours affectionately,
"JOHN NICHOLS TOM."
The letter was rational enough, but it was the last rational act he
committed, as this also was the last time that he signed his name as
above.
For some time his imagination had been influenced by stories that
circulated relative to Lady Hester Stanhope, the "Queen of Lebanon," of
her wealth, her authority over Arabs and Druses, of her prophecies and
expectations of the near coming of the Messiah to institute the
millennium; and he felt convinced that he was predestined to be the
forerunner or herald to announce the coming advent of Christ. He had
read a translation of Lamartine's _Travels in the East_, in which it was
stated that, according to Eastern prophecy, the Messiah would ride into
Jerusalem on a mare foaled ready saddled, and that Lady Hester had such
a mare ready for the advent of the Prince of Peace. "Since destiny,"
said Lady Hester to Lamartine, "has sent you hither--permit me to
confide to you what I have hitherto concealed from so many of the
profane. Come, and you shall see with your own eyes a prodigy of Nature,
the destination of which is known only to myself and my immediate
votaries. The prophets of the East have announced it centuries ago, and
yourself shall be judge if a part of those prophecies have not been
accomplished." Lamartine goes on to say: "She opened a gate of the
garden which led into a smaller inner court, where I perceived two
magnificent Arab mares of the finest blood, and of the most symmetrical
form. 'Approach,' said she to me, 'and examine that bay mare: see if
Nature hath not accomplished in her everything which is written about
the mare that is to carry the Messiah--_she was foaled_ ready saddled!'
"I saw, in fact, in this beautiful animal a freak of nature. The mare
had, in the place of the shoulders, a cavity so broad and deep, and
imitating so well the form of a Turkish saddle, that it might be said
with truth that she was foaled ready saddled, and but for the want of
stirrups she might have been mounted without experiencing the want of
an artificial saddle."
This account that John Tom had read of Lady Hester made the most
profound impression on his mind, and inflated as he was with
self-conceit and ambition, he conceived that he was called to take a
place beside, if not before, Lady Hester, as a herald of Christ.
Accordingly, having his pocket full of money from the sale of his
malt, he started for Havre, and thence for Constantinople and Syria.
For what follows, till his reappearance in England in December of the
same year, 1832, our sole authority is "Canterburiensis," who wrote
Tom's life, but who does not tell us what were his authorities, and
who certainly so embroidered some of the facts he relates, that in
instances we feel uncertain whether they are facts or fables.
According to this authority he arrived at Beirout, at what date we are
not informed, and he at once presented himself before the English
consul, under the assumed name of Sir William Courtenay, Knight, and
requested an escort to the Lebanon, where he desired to see Hester
Stanhope, and acquaint her with the fact that he was the forerunner of
the expected Messiah. The consul saw that the man was not wholly sane,
and he was in a dilemma what to do with him; finally he concluded that
it would not be unwise to send one mad head to the other, and see what
would be the result. Accordingly he gave Sir William, as we must now
call him, an escort and he departed for her Lebanon residence, at
Dgioun.
"On arriving at the principal entrance, Sir William sent forward his
dragoman to announce to the slave, who was standing at the door, that
a person of consequence, on a mission of high import, requested an
interview with Lady Hester Stanhope. Sir William and the dragoman were
accordingly conducted into a narrow cell, deprived almost of all
light, and almost destitute of furniture; here they were ordered to
wait, until the pleasure of her ladyship should be known. After
waiting full three hours in the most suffocating heat, the slave
returned with a rather peremptory message, demanding, on the part of
her ladyship, to know who and what the stranger was who had solicited
an interview with her. Sir William wrote with his pencil, that he had
travelled from the County of Cornwall to announce to the expectant
faithful in the East the approaching advent of the Messiah, and that
as her ladyship had established herself in the Holy Land for the
direct purpose of awaiting that glorious event, which was so near at
hand, he considered that he was acting in conformity with the high
destiny that was awarded to him to communicate to her ladyship in
person the arrival of the Millennium, that she might co-operate with
him in spreading the glad tidings throughout the Holy Land, and
acknowledge him as the harbinger of the great event.
"Fully satisfied that Lady Hester Stanhope would in a short time rush
into his arms and hail him as the accredited messenger of Heaven, Sir
William felt not the torrid heat, but stood in dignified complacency
with himself, proudly awaiting the result of his message. In a very
short time the slave returned, followed by several others, and it
would be a difficult task to describe the astonishment and indignation
of Sir William when he was informed that it was the decided opinion of
her ladyship that he was an impostor, for that not one of the
prophecies had been as yet fulfilled, which were to precede the
coming of the Messiah, nor in any one of those prophecies was the
slightest mention made of a messenger being appointed to announce His
coming, and that accordingly the sooner he returned to his native
country, the better it would be for him."
In a word, Sir William was detected, without having been seen, as an
impostor, and was ejected from the house as such.
We should greatly like to know how much of this is true. Not only are no
dates given, but the name of the consul at Beirout is also withheld.
Nothing remained for Sir William Courtenay to do but to retire
discomfited to England, and try there whether he would have better luck.
He embarked in a ship of Beirout for Malta, and after a residence of
about three weeks in that island, sailed for England and arrived safely
in London. The first intimation that he was back, received in Cornwall,
was that he had assumed the name and title of Sir William Percy
Honeywood Courtenay, Knight of Malta, King of Jerusalem, and Prince of
Abyssinia, and that he had presented himself before the electors of
Canterbury to contest that borough, in December, 1832.
He had taken up his residence at the Rose Hotel, Canterbury, where his
dignified manners, his rich dress, his professions that he was the
rightful owner of the estates of the Earl of Devon, and that he
intended to establish his claims to them, his assertion that he was
not only Knight of Malta but also _de jure_ King of Jerusalem, imposed
on so many of the burgesses of Canterbury that he polled 375 votes;
but was unsuccessful, as the opponent candidates, the Honourable R.
Watson and Lord Fordwick gained respectively 832 and 802.
After his defeat Tom made a circuit through the towns and villages of
Kent, declaiming against the poor laws, the revenue laws, and such
other portions of the statutes of the realm as might be considered by
the poor to be adverse to their interests. By his speeches he obtained
great success, and a sort of periodical that he issued, entitled _The
Lion_, was greedily bought and distributed. But it ran through eight
numbers only. The full title was "The Lion. The British Lion will be
free. Heaven is his throne and earth is his footstool. He spake and it
was done, he commanded and it stood fast. Liberty, truth bears off the
victory, independence."
He then started for Devonshire, accompanied by a gentleman who so
firmly believed in his pretensions that he defrayed his expenses to
the amount of a thousand pounds. This man, Mr. George Denne, and a
young surgeon named Robinson were completely duped by him. "My dearest
George," said the Knight of Malta to the former, "it may please Heaven
to take me in a short time from this sphere of my sublunary greatness,
to translate me to the beatitude of another world."
"I hope not, Sir William," said George Denne.
"But," continued Sir William, "I shall carry with me the pleasing
satisfaction of having provided in a truly princely manner for those
who, whilst I was on earth, had the sense and sagacity to see into the
nobility of my character, and to acknowledge me as Lord Viscount William
Courtenay, of Powderham Castle, Knight of Malta, King of Jerusalem,
Prince of Arabia, King of the Gypsies, and all the other honours and
titles which by descent or creation belong to me. To you, therefore,
George Denne, I bequeath the Hales' estate, with the proviso that you
erect a monument on the highest ground on that estate to the memory of
me, the great Lord of Devon, the regenerator of the world, and one of
the greatest benefactors whom the human race ever saw."
In like manner he bequeathed to Mr. Robinson the whole of Powderham
Castle and all its valuable paintings, together with one-half of the
lands belonging to the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury Cathedral.
It will hardly be credited to what an extent he was run after at
Canterbury. Professional men, such as physicians, surgeons, solicitors,
also gentlemen of independent property and tradesmen of the first
respectability, were his staunch supporters, and daily invited him to
their table, and introduced him to the bosom of their families. The
invitations which he received to dinners, teas, and suppers were so
numerous that he was known to attend several parties in a few hours.
Mothers with marriageable daughters hunted him in packs.
But--it was asked--why did not Sir William take possession of his
extensive estates in Devon? It was to do this that he started,
attended by his faithful squire, Mr. George Denne. On reaching
Exmouth, Sir William despatched his squire to the authorities of the
place to announce his arrival, and that as Lord of Devon and King of
Jerusalem he would hold a levee at eight o'clock in the evening, at
which he would be ready to receive them and lay before them his right
and title to Powderham Castle and the estates belonging to it.
But when the hour of the levee arrived only one man appeared, and that
was the steward of the Earl of Devon, who came very bluntly to inform
him that should he venture to set foot within the private grounds of
Powderham Castle he would be prosecuted for trespass.
Next day Sir William repaired to the newspaper office at Exmouth, and
drew up an advertisement, purporting to be an announcement of the
arrival of the rightful Earl of Devon for the purpose of taking
possession of Powderham Castle, and a statement to the effect that he
was now recalled to the metropolis to appear before the House of Lords
to substantiate his claim. The editor laughed in his face, refused to
insert what was handed over to him, and tore it to shreds.
Full of wrath, Sir William shook off the dust from his feet as a
testimony against Exmouth, and departed for London, where he remained
two or three days, and then returned to Canterbury.
There he speedily involved himself in difficulties by his exertions in
favour of some smugglers. An action had taken place in July, 1833,
between the revenue cutter _Lively_ and the _Admiral Hood_, smuggler,
near Goodwin Sands, and in the course of the flight of the latter
vessel her crew were observed to throw overboard a great number of
tubs, which on being picked up proved to contain spirits. The _Admiral
Hood_ was captured, but no contraband goods were found on board; and
on the men being taken into custody, Tom presented himself as a
witness before the magistrates, and swore most positively that he had
seen the whole affair, and that no tubs had been thrown from the
_Admiral Hood_; he further stated that he had observed those which had
been picked up by the revenue officers floating about on the water
many hours before the _Admiral Hood_ came near the Goodwins. This was
so diametrically opposed to the truth that a prosecution for perjury
was resolved on, and he was indicted at the Maidstone Assizes on July
25th, 1833. It was then proved that Sir William, on the very day on
which the action had taken place, Sunday, the 17th February, had been
twenty-five miles distant at Boughton-under-Blean, near Canterbury,
and at the very hour of the action had been at church there. A verdict
of conviction followed, and Mr. Justice Park, the presiding judge,
passed a sentence of imprisonment for three months, to be followed by
seven years of transportation beyond the seas.
This having reached the ears of his relations in Cornwall,
representations were made by them to the Home Secretary that he was
insane, and he was transferred to a lunatic asylum at Barming Heath,
where he remained for four years, but whence he still issued addresses
to his adherents in Canterbury and interfered in the election of
councillors. There he remained for five years, and then a determined
effort was made by his father and friends, and by Sir Hussey Brian, to
obtain his liberation, and Lord John Russell ordered his liberation.
This was an electioneering manœuvre, and Lord John had some difficulty
in justifying his conduct in the House when later taken to task for
having set this madman free.
On quitting the asylum, Tom hoped to take up his residence with a Mr.
G. Francis, with whom he had been on terms of intimacy before. But Mr.
Francis was by this time disillusioned, and when the Knight of Malta
presented himself before him armed with a new pair of pistols, he
remonstrated with him, and ordered him to quit the house; when he went
to a cottage hard by occupied by one Wills, who was completely the
dupe of Tom, and a passionate agitator. Then he went to Bossenden Farm
occupied by a person named Culver. He gave out that he was the true
proprietor of many of the finest estates in Kent, but that he would
not enter into possession for two years. In addition to his living
upon and amongst the farmers, he induced many of them to give him
large sums of money, promising that for every shilling lent he would
return a pound; and that, when he was in full possession of his
estates, all his followers should have land free from rent according
to their deserts. These promises made many dupes, and enabled him to
indulge in luxuries which excited the astonishment of those not
acquainted with his resources, and made many believe that he was what
he pretended to be--really a nobleman of large property. To keep up
this notion he made presents to various individuals; thus, to a fellow
who had been prosecuted by the Revenue, Courtenay gave two horses
worth £40. He was fond of displaying himself in fantastic dresses; he
allowed his hair and beard, that was coal-black, to grow long; and he
taught his followers to roar his battle song, of which only a few
verses can be given here:--
Hark! old England's pris'ners' groan--
'Tis a deep and mournful tone--
From oppression to be free,
And enjoy true liberty.
_Chorus._
Britons must be--will be free;
Truth bears off the victory!
Lo! deliverance is at hand;
Courtenay's made a noble stand;
He the tyrants has arous'd--
He has freedom's cause espous'd,
Britons must be, etc.
Courtenay's cause is good, is just,
Safely we in him may trust:
Truth and virtue's on his side,
We will still in him confide.
Britons must be, etc.
Men and devils still may rage,
Their united powers engage--
Infidelity shall fall,
Christ shall then be all in all.
Britons must be, etc.
Slav'ry's chains shall then be broke,
We shall soon cast off the yoke,
Independence is our right,
Victory soon shall crown the fight.
Britons must be, etc.
Corp'rate bodies then shall cease,
They're destruction to our peace;
Party spirit shall no more
Tyrannize with lawless pow'r.
Britons must be, etc.
Then, when victory's palm is won,
Glorious as the summer sun,
Shall Lord Courtenay's cause arise,
Showing forth in cloudless skies.
Britons must be, etc.
Harrison Ainsworth, who has introduced Courtenay into his novel
_Rookwood_, thus accurately describes him: "A magnificent coal-black
beard decorated the chin of this worthy; but this was not all--his
costume was in perfect keeping with his beard, and consisted of a very
theatrical-looking suit, upon the breast of which was embroidered in
gold wire the Maltese cross; while on his shoulders were thrown the
ample folds of a cloak of Tyrian hue. To his side was girt a long and
doughty sword, which he termed, in his knightly phrase, Excalibur; and
upon his profuse hair rested a hat as broad in the brim as a Spanish
sombrero. Exaggerated as this description may appear, we can assure
our readers that it is not overdrawn."
He now resumed his rambles round Kent, and visited the cottages wherever
he went, giving himself out to be Jesus Christ come back on earth to
sift the wheat from the chaff before setting up his millennial kingdom.
He showed his hands and feet and side marked with red--but there must
have been conscious fraud on his part, for after his death no such scars
could be found. Many of the poor and ignorant believed in him and
followed him. His head-quarters were for a while the house of one of his
most devoted followers named Wills, but he presently left that and
removed to a farmhouse at Boughton, where lived a farmer called Culver,
who was also a believer. He infatuated the women even more than the men,
for he was tall, dark, and handsome, and they took up his cause
passionately, and urged their husbands and fathers to follow him,
"because he was the very Christ, and unless they adhered to him fire
would come down from Heaven and consume them."
Instances occurred, and that by no means infrequently, in which he
presented himself to be worshipped as God by the ignorant peasantry.
At length this excitement was destined to be brought to a conclusion.
On Monday, May 28th, 1838, Tom, with about fifteen followers, sallied
forth from the village of Boughton without having any very distinct
object in view, and proceeded to the cottage of Wills. Here they
formed in column; and a loaf having been procured it was placed at the
top of a pole, which bore a flag of blue and white, upon which a lion
rampant was drawn. Wills having joined them, they marched to
Goodrestone, near Faversham; and on the way Tom harangued the country
people, who came out into the roads. From thence they went to a farm
at Herne Hill, where they received food, and then on to Dargate
Common. Here, by Tom's orders, all prayed. After this they proceeded
to Bossenden Farm, where they rested for the night in a barn.