The appellation of extraordinary may, indeed, well apply to this
ingenious and whimsical man. All the remarkable eccentricities which
have yet been the characteristic of any man, however celebrated, may
all hide their diminished heads before Martin Van Butchell. He is the
morning star of the eccentric world; a man of uncommon merit and
science, therefore the more wonderful from his curious singularities,
his manners, and his appearance. Many persons make use of means to
excite that attention which their merit did not deserve, and for the
obtaining of credit which they never possessed. It appears, as an
exception to these rules, that the singularities of Martin Van
Butchell have tended more to _obscure_, than to _exalt_ or _display_
the sterling abilities which even the tongue of envy has never denied
him.
[Illustration]
The father of Martin Van Butchell was very well known in the reign of
George II.; being tapestry-maker to his majesty, with a salary of £50
per annum attached to the office.
The education of the son was equal to the father's circumstances; who
lived in a large house, with extensive gardens, known by the name of
the "_Crown House_," in the parish of Lambeth, where several of the
gentry occasionally lodged for the beauty of the situation and air;
the son, who had many opportunities of improvement, by and through the
distinguished persons who paid their visits at his father's house, was
early taken notice of, and very soon possessed a knowledge of the
French language, and arrived at many accomplishments. He maintained a
good character, with a prepossessing address; recommendations which
induced Sir Thomas Robinson to solicit his acceptance to travel with
his son, as a suitable companion, in a tour through Europe. This
offer, it appears, was not accepted; but in a short time after, he
joined the family of the Viscountess Talbot; where, as groom of the
chambers, he remained many years: a situation so lucrative as to
enable him to leave and pursue with vigour his endeared studies of
mechanics, medicine, and anatomy.
The study of the human teeth accidentally took up his attention
through the breaking of one of his own, and he engaged himself as
pupil to the famous Dr. J. Hunter. The profession of dentist was the
occasion of first introducing him to the notice of the public; and so
successful was he in this art, that for a complete set of teeth he has
received the enormous price of eighty guineas! We have heard of a lady
who was dissatisfied with teeth for which she had paid him ten
guineas; upon which he voluntarily returned the money: scarcely had
she slept upon the contemplation of this disappointment, before she
returned, soliciting the set of teeth, which he had made her, as a
favour, with an immediate tender of the money which she originally
paid, and received them back again.
After many years successfully figuring as a dentist, Martin Van
Butchell became no less eminent as a maker of trusses for ruptured
persons. A physician of eminence in Holland having heard of his skill
in this practice, made a voyage for the purpose of consulting him, and
was so successfully treated, that, in return for the benefit received,
he taught Martin Van Butchell the secret of curing fistulas; which he
has practised ever since in an astonishing and unrivalled manner.
The eccentricities of Martin now began to excite public notice; upon
his first wife's death, who, for the great affection he bore towards
her, he was at first determined never should be buried; after
embalming the body, he kept her in her wedding clothes a considerable
time, in the parlour of his own house, which occasioned the visits of
a great number of the nobility and gentry. It has been reported, that
the resolution of his keeping his wife unburied, was occasioned by a
clause in the marriage settlement, disposing of certain property,
_while she remained above ground_: we cannot decide how far this may
be true, but she has been since buried. He has a propensity to every
thing in direct opposition to other persons: he makes it a rule to
dine by himself, and for his wife and children also to dine by
themselves; and it is his common custom to call his children by
whistling, and by no other way.
Next to his dress and the mode of wearing his beard, one of the first
singularities which distinguished him, was walking about London
streets, with a large Otaheitan tooth or bone in his hand, fastened in
a string to his wrist, intended to deter the boys from insulting him,
as they very improperly were used to do, before his person and
character were so well known.
Upon the front of his house, in Mount-street, he had painted the
following puzzle: