It appears from this fragment in what manner Jack became
possessed of his house, and which it never before occurred to us, to
enquire. Thus then the mystery is elucidated by Mr. Farley.
Jack's Wager;
"By virtue of one of our forest charters, if a man do build a dwelling
upon common land, from sun-set to sun-rise, and enclose a piece of
ground, wherein there shall be a tree growing, a beast feeding, a fire
kindled, and provision in the pot, such dwelling shall be freely held by
the builder, anything to the contrary, nevertheless, notwithstanding."
Forest Laws.
Accordingly Jack, in the opening scene, is represented just before
nightfall, as completing his dwelling, by putting on the chimney pot as
the finishing stroke; he then claims his bride, Rosebud, from her
father, Gaffer Gandy, who refuses his consent, having determined on
bestowing her hand on one Squire Sap. Jack, in despair, repairs to Poor
Robin, the village astrologer, who is intently observing an eclipse of
the moon (which, by-the-bye, is most excellently managed), and relates
his griefs. The old man cheers his drooping spirits, by casting his
nativity and finding by his observations, that Jack's stars are of the
most benign influence, and that all his wishes shall be fulfilled. The
marriage of the maiden all forlorn with the Squire is on the point of
being completed, when Venus (one of whose doves had been preserved by
Jack) dispatches Cupid to the assistance of the despairing lovers, by
the magic of whose powerful wand the usual Pantomimic changes are
effected in a trice--Jack becomes Harlequin; Rosebud, Columbine;
Gaffer, Pantaloon; the Squire, the Lover; and the Priest, the Clown.
Mirth, revelry, fun, frolic, and joviality are now the order of the day,
and the scene changes to a view of Hyde Park and the Serpentine River on
a frosty morning in January: in which is represented, with admirable
effect, a display of patent skating. An oil cloth is spread upon the
stage, a group comprised of various laughable characters are assembled
on it, and skate about with as much rapidity, and precisely as though it
were a sheet of ice. The adroit skill of old stagers on the slippery
surface, with the clumsy awkwardness and terror of novices in the art,
are well represented. A prodigious fat man makes his appearance; when a
race is called for, he, of course, tries his prowess, when the ice
cracking beneath the heavy weight assembled on it gives way with a heavy
crash, and "Fatty" is consigned to a watery bed. Assistance is
immediately tendered, when, by Harlequin's power, a lean and shrivelled
spirit of the deep rises from below to the great alarm of the beholders,
and whose limbs continue to expand till his head touches the clouds. The
whole of the scene is one of the most laughable and best managed in the
Pantomime. Kew Gardens, on a May-day morning, is also a very pleasing
scene, in which some pretty Morris dancing is introduced. The Barber's
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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