all my school fellows; but I was agreeably disappointed when he arrived in
the school, by his addressing me in a very serious manner, as follows,
"Master Hunt, I now set you an imposition of one hundred lines of Virgil
to learn by Friday, and the next time I ever hear you make use of such
words I will certainly give you a flogging." The lines were learnt, and so
ended that part of the story.
As, however, no discovery was made about the money, I felt very uneasy;
not that I believed any of the boys had any suspicion of me, and Scott
himself constantly declared that he had not the slightest idea that I knew
any thing of the matter. Notwithstanding this, there was sometimes an
insinuation thrown out, which rendered my life very miserable; and Best,
the boy who had first accused me, although from the drubbing he got he was
deterred from repeating the assertion, yet he would frequently ask in my
hearing, "_who stole Scott's money?_" A month had nearly passed, and with
most of the Boys the affair began to wear off, and it was seldom
mentioned; not so with me, it pressed very heavily upon my mind, and
instead of being one of the most lively and cheerful boys in the school, I
was now become quite serious, and even melancholy, and was frequently
observed to shed tears. My Friends endeavoured to rally me out of this
what they called sulky mood; I replied that I could not help it, that I
should never again be happy till it was discovered who it was that took my
bed-fellow's Money; and that its being lost while I was his bed fellow,
certainly threw a sort of suspicion on me, that I could not get over, and
to labour under which rendered me completely miserable. They all
endeavoured to laugh me out of this humour, and I must say that Scott
himself did every thing in his power to relieve me; but it was all in
vain, I not only grew melancholy, but I began to lose my appetite, and as
I looked very thin and ill, Mrs. Evans was really somewhat alarmed, and
said every thing she could to comfort me. Alas! it was all in vain, and I
really began to think that I should fall a victim to a false accusation,
for I had no sleep by night, nor ease by day.
[Illustration:
THE NORTH WEST VIEW OF HIS MAJESTY'S JAIL AT ILCHESTER.
Taken from the lower part of the Meadow behind the Bell Inn.
_a. The part occupied by Mr. Hunt.
b. The Top of the Keeper's House.
c. The part occupied by the Debtors
d. The part occupied by the Time people
f. The part occupied by the Task Master & Matron
Behind this is the part occupied by the Females
g. The Lodge or entrance & occupied by the chief Turnkey
h. The Keeper's stable and Chaise House._]
Mrs. Evans now proposed to send for my father, which in a few days she
did. When he arrived and was informed of the circumstances, he felt
greatly distressed. I was sent for into the parlour; my father was shocked
at my appearing in such ill health, and the agony of his feelings was
intense at the cause of my illness. He intreated me, by the love I bore
towards him and my mother, to confess the truth; if I had in an unguarded
moment been led into an error, the only reparation was openly to confess
it, and, in that case, he offered immediately to repay Scott his money,
and to make him a handsome present besides; in fact he promised to do any
thing. Before he would allow me to make an answer, he went almost upon his
knees, and implored me to tell him the whole truth, proffering at the same
time his entire forgiveness if I had done it. I assured him, in the most
serious and solemn manner, that I knew nothing whatever of the money, that
it had made me very unhappy indeed, that I had had no sleep for the last
eight or ten nights, and had lost my appetite, and that I was become very
weak and ill; which illness he found, by feeling my pulse, was attended
with a very considerable fever. He proposed to take me home for a short
time, to restore my health; but this I objected to, as being likely to
give a colour to the charge. It was therefore settled that I should take
some medicine, prescribed by Mr. Stills[6], to calm my spirits and allay
my fever.
My father returned home almost broken-hearted, and I continued in the same
melancholy and hopeless state. However, in the evening of the next Sunday,
a boy came running up to me almost breathless, and declared that he had
discovered the thief, who had stolen the money. I eagerly entreated him to
explain himself--he answered that Charles Best, together with his brother
James, had just brought in a hatful of _Carraway Comfits_, which be said
he had bought with five shillings, given to him by his father. The Father
of these boys lived in the town, and they had been home on the Sunday, as
was usual, to dine with him. They had just returned from their visit,
about eight o'clock in the evening, and Charles, the eldest, the fellow
who had accused me of being the thief, had now brought these comfits in
his hat, saying that his father had given him _five shillings_, which he
had expended at once in this way. My friend directly declared that it was
a falsehood, that his father was a cursedly stingy old fellow, and that he
had never before returned with more than sixpence in his pocket; and he
added, suppose his father or any other person had given him _five
shillings_, it was very unlikely that he would lay it all out at once in
such a manner. I requested Best to show us his purse, to see if he had any
more money in it. This he declined to do; and, as his brother James began
to shuffle, and did not confirm him altogether in his story, I immediately
seized him by the collar, and having tripped up his heels, called for
assistance to search him. This we accomplished with some difficulty, and
having got at his purse, we found it contained _sixteen shillings_ in
silver more. He now changed his tale, and asserted that his father had
given him a _guinea_, which he had changed at Mrs. Hadding's the
pie-woman; that he had purchased five shillings-worth of carraway comfits,
and the sixteen shillings was the remainder of the change.
By the manner of his telling this story it was evidently false. Some of
the boys accordingly kept him in custody, while myself and my friend, who
had first brought me the intelligence, rushed out of the house, regardless
of the consequences, and proceeded as fast as possible to the house of old
Best, either to have this account confirmed or denied. On our reaching the
door we knocked with great authority, and upon the servant's opening it,
we marched in without any ceremony, and demanded an audience of his master
immediately, as we had some very important business with him. The servant
informed him of our visit, and he came out of the parlour to us, and
demanded what business we could have with him at that time of night, it
being then nearly nine o'clock. We first asked if his sons had been home
to dine with him; he answered yes, and that they had left his house
upwards of an hour ago, in order to return to the school, and he wished to
know whether they had not arrived before we left it. We replied that they
had. We then asked him if he had given his son Charles any money; he at
once said, "Certainly not." We then asked him if he had given him a
guinea; he replied, "Certainly not." His mother might have given him
sixpence, but if she did it was without his knowledge. He then returned
into the parlour; and we heard him ask his wife if she had given Charles
any money to-day, the answer was, "No, my dear."
This was quite enough for us, and without waiting any further ceremony, we
started off back to the school. In the mean time, Best, having ascertained
that we were gone to his father to make enquiry, had confessed that it was
he who had stolen the money out of Scott's pocket; and when we returned he
was surrounded by all the boys, who were upbraiding and taunting him with
his villainy; but they were all more enraged with him for his baseness in
accusing me of the theft, than they were with the theft itself. I was the
only one who expressed any pity for him, and had the weakness to solicit
for that mercy to be shewn to him which he had denied to me. The next
morning he was expelled the school; but, in consideration of his family
very little was said about it--however, they soon left the town, which it
was generally understood was occasioned by this unfortunate event. My
father was sent for, and he came over immediately, to participate with me
in the happiness I felt, at being so completely exculpated from all
suspicion; and every endeavour was made to render me, as far as it was
possible, compensation for my sufferings.
I trust that this circumstance will prove to the reader the danger and the
injustice of condemning any person upon mere circumstantial evidence. How
cautious ought jurors upon their oaths to be, not to find men guilty upon
mere circumstances; and, particularly, when their verdict may give the
party over, _bound hand and foot_, and place his life or his liberty at
the disposal of corrupt, wicked, cruel, and vindictive judges!
I now recovered my health and strength, and prosecuted my studies till I
was nearly sixteen years of age. My father then, on condition of my taking
orders, and going into the Church, proposed to send me to Oxford, and to
purchase the next presentation to a living of upwards of a thousand a
year, which was offered to him at that time at a very moderate price;
subject to the life of the incumbent, who was upwards of seventy years of
age. This I declined, as I had a great wish to be a farmer; and, at the
same time, had a particular objection to the Church, an objection which
principally originated in the dislike I had to Parson Griffith, and to the
way in which he enforced the precepts of Christianity.
My father desired me to reflect well upon it, before I made up my mind;
though I could discover that he was not at all displeased at my
determination. He would not, he said, prejudice my choice, but whether I
was a clergyman, or whether I was a farmer, he hoped I should make a good,
a brave, and an honest man; but he added, "if you intend to be a farmer, I
trust that it is not from an idea that a farmer's life is composed merely
of coursing, hunting, shooting, and fishing. These alone, said he, are
very well, when occasionally and moderately used as a recreation; but a
farmer must learn his business before he is capable of conducting and
managing a farm--for, remember the old couplet, "he that by the plough
would thrive, must either hold himself or drive." I would, therefore, have
you think this matter over, before you finally make your choice. If you
should like to be a clergyman, I have now an opportunity of purchasing the
next presentation to a good living, and you will then have secured to you
for life a thousand or perhaps twelve hundred pounds a year; and you will
have nothing else to do, for six days out of the seven, but hunt, shoot,
and fish by day, and play cards and win the money of the farmer's wives
and children by night. Although, continued he, this may appear to you, and
I am ready to admit, that this is, a very inglorious sort of a life, yet
it is a very easy one. All that will be expected of you is to read
prayers, and preach a sermon, which will cost you three pence once a week.
This is the life of modern clergymen; and they might do very well, and get
on very smoothly, in this way, if they did not screw up their _tythes_ too
high, and get drunk too often, so as to cause a serious complaint to be
made to the bishop by some of the parishioners; which you may rest assured
they never will do by you, let your conduct be ever so immoral or ever so
irreligious, provided that you let the farmers have their tythes at an
easy rate. Do that, and no complaint will ever be made against you to the
bishop."
While my father was thus addressing me, my mother returned from visiting a
poor gypsy woman, who had that morning been delivered of a fine child,
under an adjoining hedge, without any other covering but one of their
small tents, which are merely composed of a sheet thrown over a few arched
sticks, stuck into the ground. She came into the room just in time to hear
the latter part of my father's observations, describing the life of a
modern clergyman. With her accustomed charitable feeling, she said
"really, my dear, although there is too much truth in the picture you have
drawn, yet you have been a little too severe upon the clergy, when
speaking of them in the mass. There are many excellent and worthy men, who
follow the precepts of their great master, who are an ornament to that
society to which they belong, and are, therefore, most deserving members
of, and do great credit to, the profession which you have so
indiscriminately reprobated."
"Do not tell me," said my father, "about ornaments to society; the best of
them are the _drones of society_, and, without contributing any thing to
the common stock, they feed upon the choicest honey, collected by the
labour of the industrious bees. To be sure, when they do the duty allotted
to them conscientiously, and _do not screw up their tythes too high_, they
may be very necessary evils; but you are aware, my dear, that what I say
is true as to most of them that we know; and I am not sorry that Henry
appears to have no inclination towards that course of life."
"But," said my mother, "because some of the clergy bear the character that
you say they do, is that any reason that Henry should follow their
example? If he should be a clergyman, he will have great power of doing
good among his parishioners; he may be a magistrate, or perhaps a Doctor
of Divinity; and who knows but he may by and bye be a bishop?"
My father now began to grow impatient. "A bishop indeed!" said he, "God
forbid that I should ever live to see him act in such a way as to obtain a
bishopric, even if he were to go into the church."
My mother was surprised at this language, and enquired if he would not
wish his son to gain the top of his profession; to which he answered
sternly, (which was not often the case to my mother,) "No, indeed. I would
not. The road to such preferment is generally so disgraceful, that I never
wish to see him tread its path. He will never attain such an _honour_ but
by the most _dishonourable_ means. Would you like to see him the tutor to
the son of some nobleman? This is the first step to promotion. When he is
in that situation, if his pupil should be of an abandoned character and
_he_ will condescend to be his _pimp_ and the pander to his vices, laugh
at his follies, and flatter his vanity: why, then, should this sprig of
nobility hereafter become a minister of state, or a man in power, knowing
the servility of his late tutor, and that he will make a willing tool for
the administration to which he belongs, then, forsooth, he is a proper
man, and may possibly become a bishop."
My mother could not believe that the highest dignities of the church were
ever obtained by such disgraceful means; but my father justified his
assertion by pointing out one or two living instances, that had come
within the reach of his own knowledge. He also pointed out some
dignitaries of the church who lived in his immediate neighbourhood, whom
my mother knew, and was obliged to admit to be very profligate characters.
But she, always wishing to look at the bright, instead of the dark side of
the question, called in turn to his recollection a number of very
excellent and very worthy members of the church, whom they knew to be most
amiable, charitable, and truly religions characters.
Thus ended this conference upon a subject which appeared to be so very
important to my parents. My mother certainly had a great leaning to the
desire of seeing me a clergyman, and I believe it would have been the
summit of her happiness and ambition to have seen me zealously enforcing
those principles of christianity, which she had so faithfully practised.
My father dropped the subject at that time; but he took an early
opportunity of seriously going into the matter in private, and he exhorted
me to give the question a deliberate consideration, as it most materially
concerned my future welfare; adding, "he that sets out wrong is more than
half undone. If," said he "you intend to lead a quiet, easy life, that of
a clergyman will exactly suit you. If you are disposed to make one of the
common herd of mankind, and pass your time away in enjoying the sports of
the field, and the recreations of a social country life, you may live and
die a clergyman, and a very happy man. But if you have any ambition to be
a shining character in the world, that is the very last profession I would
recommend; as I am firmly persuaded that you will have no chance of
becoming eminent, or exalted in rank, unless you will condescend to obtain
it by the most prostituted sycophancy, and a total dereliction of every
manly noble feeling of independence."
If I had been wavering in my decision, or had entertained any doubts
before, this would have turned the scale; but I had already made up my
mind to be a farmer, which determination I seriously and firmly
communicated to my father. "Well then," said he, "you are young enough to
learn, and if you will manfully set your shoulder to the wheel, I have no
doubt of your soon becoming acquainted with the practical part of the
profession, and when you have acquired a knowledge of the practice the
theory will follow very easily. To-morrow you shall make a beginning. You
are now sixteen, and no time is to be lost. God and nature have bestowed
upon you a sound mind, and an active body; and if you properly apply these
inestimable blessings, there is no doubt of your becoming a useful member
of society, and of your making a respectable figure in the world. But
never forget the maxim that I now lay down for your future guidance;
recollect that 'a man can never dirt his hands about his own business;'
and always bear in mind these three old Italian proverbs--first, '_Never
do that by proxy, which you can do yourself._'--Second, '_Never defer till
to-morrow that which can be done well to-day._'--Third, '_Never neglect
small matters and expences._'"
The next morning I was called up early, and, to begin upon my labours, I
drove one of the teams at plough all day. I came home very tired. Not
being accustomed to labour, I found it a very different occupation from
that of attending my studies at school; my feet were sore, and my heels
were galled, but I was deterred from complaining, by seeing that I was
merely performing the same labour that little plough boys, of eight or
nine years of age, were only receiving sixpence a day for doing. Driving
plough was, therefore, not only, soon learned, but it became very irksome
to me; and as I thought myself full as good a man as the lad that was
holding, I demanded, before the week was up, that he should change places
with me. This he refused, and that occurred which is very common upon such
occasions. I threw away the whip, and having seized the handle of the
plough, a struggle ensued, which led to blows. At length, the horses and
plough were both abandoned, and a regular fight took place between myself
and the under carter, who had been holding the plough to which I was the
driver. I soon, however, compelled him to cry "hold!" and without farther
ceremony I took the plough and he the whip. I mention this trivial
circumstance to shew the reader that I was obliged to fight my way into a
practical knowledge of agricultural pursuits; my father well knowing, from
experience, that there was no other method by which I could gain a
complete knowledge of farming, but by the manual performance of every
branch of the profession.
Before I proceed it will not be improper to observe that, in detailing the
events of my own life, I am confined to the strict limits which truth
imposes upon my pen; for if I wished either to exaggerate or to embellish
by any imaginary touches, such as may be admissible, and in fact such as
are indulged in, by the writers of common events, I should be liable to
immediate detection and exposure; because I am detailing circumstances
which, although they are long past, are still in the recollection of
numerous living witnesses. In fact, there is not an occurrence that I have
hitherto mentioned, but what is within the knowledge and the recollection
of many of those witnesses, and very many of the most important events
which I shall have to detail will be familiar to hundreds. On the other
hand, there are certainly many facts and anecdotes, which are only known
to myself and those immediately connected with them, and these, when I
arrive at them, will, I doubt not, be read with a lively interest by those
who are not yet in the secret how many public and private intrigues are
carried on and effected. All that I can promise is, that I will, to the
best of my knowledge and recollection, which I find no ways impaired by
imprisonment, record the truth; and should I, in my anxiety to speak the
truth, sometimes become dull, tiresome, or tedious, I must rely upon the
indulgence of the reader, to attribute it to my desire that the public
should be made acquainted with those circumstances which appear to me to
have materially contributed to the formation of that character which has
been so vilified, abused, and misrepresented, by the venal tools, and
corrupt agents, of a system of persevering, fatal misrule, such as was
never equalled in any age or in any country.
To proceed--I now found that I was encountering greater difficulties than
I had anticipated. Though it was very easy to learn to drive plough, yet
it was a very different thing to be able to hold plough well. I returned
home at night ten times more tired than I was when I drove the first day;
my feet were not only sore, but my legs and arms ached ready to drop off,
and my hands were in a gore of blood, and blistered all over. My poor
mother began now to lament my undertaking, and threw out hints how much
better and easier it would have been to have gone to Oxford, and have been
now preparing myself by study to become a candidate for the black cloth,
and to be a respectable clergyman, instead of being a _clod-hopper_. In
the midst of her advice and admonition my mother did not forget to wash my
hands and feet, and plaster up my lacerated flesh; and as soon as she had
made me comfortable I retired to rest. I rose refreshed, and returned the
next day with renovated vigour to my task. To be brief, I soon because a
good ploughman. My father daily witnessed with considerable anxiety my
zealous and persevering exertions; and as I proceeded, he encouraged me by
the most animating hopes of future prospects; he informed me that he had
remarked with no small pleasure my determination to excel in every thing
that I undertook; and that I set about every thing with an enthusiasm
calculated to surmount all difficulties, which was, as he justly observed,
the only way to attain any object, or to arrive at any degree of
perfection.