EIGHTEENTH CENTURY WAIFS. EIGHTEENTH CENTURY WAIFS BY JOHN ASHTON AUTHOR OF “SOCIAL LIFE IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE,” ETC., ETC. _IN ONE VOLUME._ LONDON: HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS, 13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 1887. _All Rights Reserved._ PREFACE. It was probably Solomon, who, in Ecclesiastes, cap. 12, v. 12, said, ‘Of making many books there is no end.’ But, if this book had to have been written by him, he might, probably, have modified his opinion. I have read some books in my life-time, _re_ the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, and therefore was not taken aback when I was advised by a learned friend, whom I consulted as to the subject of a new book, to try the ‘Musgrave Tracts,’ in the British Museum. I thanked him, and wrote for them, when I was politely asked, ‘Did I want them all?’ ‘Of course,’ was my reply; when I was told, with the courtesy that particularly distinguishes the establishment, that I had better come into an inner room, and have them down shelf by shelf. The books came in a continuous stream, until I asked if there were any more. ‘Oh, yes,’ was the reply; and, when I had finished my job, I found I had gone through more than 1760 volumes. Add to this over 200 other books and newspapers used for reference, &c., and that will represent some amount of the labour employed in writing a book. I have strung together a series of chapters of different phases of social life and biography of the last century, none of which have (as far as I am concerned) appeared in any magazine, but which have all been specially written for this book. And this I have done so that the book may be taken up at any time, and laid down again at the end of an article; and perhaps the best reason for my publishing this book is, that it gives the reader a brief _resumé_ of each subject treated, taken from sources, thoroughly original, which are usually inaccessible to the general public, and known but to few students. They are diverse, to suit all tastes; and if this, my venture, is successful, I may bashfully hint that my store is not yet exhausted. JOHN ASHTON. CONTENTS. PAGE A FORGOTTEN FANATIC 1 A FASHIONABLE LADY’S LIFE 17 GEORGE BARRINGTON 31 MILTON’S BONES 55 THE TRUE STORY OF EUGENE ARAM 83 REDEMPTIONERS 112 A TRIP TO RICHMOND IN SURREY 131 GEORGE ROBERT FITZGERALD 135 EIGHTEENTH CENTURY AMAZONS 177 ‘THE TIMES’ AND ITS FOUNDER 203 IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT 227 JONAS HANWAY 254 A HOLY VOYAGE TO RAMSGATE ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO 278 QUACKS OF THE CENTURY 287