The history of the life and adventures of Mr. Duncan Campbell : $b a gentleman, who, tho' deaf and dumb, writes down any stranger's name at first sight, with their future contingencies of fortune
General
The history of the life and adventures of Mr. Duncan Campbell : $b a gentleman, who, tho' deaf and dumb, writes down any stranger's name at first sight, with their future contingencies of fortune
Campbell, Duncan, 1680?-1730; Deaf people -- Great Britain -- Biography; Occultism -- Early works to 1900; Prophets -- Great Britain -- Biography
could, not knowing what consequences might ensue. But the woman who
aimed herself at committing murder, in the most savage and inhuman
manner, ran out after him, crying out, Murder! murder! as loud as she
could, and alarmed the whole street. The bailiffs following the woman,
and being bloody from head to foot, by means of the wound he received,
gave credit to the outcry. The late Earl Rivers's footmen happening to
be at the door, ran immediately to stop the supposed murderer, and they
indeed did take him at last, but perceived their mistake, and discovered
that instead of being assistants in taking a man whom they thought to be
a murderer endeavouring to make his escape from the hands of justice,
they had only been tricked in by that false cry to be adjutants to a
bailiff in retaking a gentleman, who, by so gallant a defence, had
rescued himself from the dangers of a prison; and when they had
discovered this their mistake they were mighty sorry for what they had
done. The most active and busy among the earl's footmen was a Dutchman,
and the earl happening to be in a room next the street, and hearing the
outcry of murder, stepped to the window, and seeing his own servants in
the midst of the bustle, examined the Dutchman how the matter was, and,
being told it, he chid the man for being concerned in stopping a
gentleman that was getting free from such troublesome companions. But
the Dutchman excused himself, like a Dutchman, by making a very merry
blunder for a reply; _Sacramente_, said he, to his lord, if I had
thought they were bailiffs, I would have fought for the poor dumb
gentlemen, but then why had he not told me they were bailiffs, my lord?
In short, Duncan Campbell was carried off as their prisoner; but the
bailiff that was wounded was led back to the coffee-house, where he
pretended the wound was mortal, and that he despaired of living an hour.
The proverb, however, was of the fellow's side, and he recovered sooner
than other people expected he could. As soon as all danger was over, an
action for damages and smart money, as their term is, was brought
against Mr. Campbell; the damages were exaggerated and the demand was so
extravagant, that Duncan Campbell was neither able, just at that time,
nor willing, had he been able, to pay so much, as he thought, in his
own wrong, and having no bail, and being ashamed to make his case known
to his better sort of friends, who were both able and willing to help
him at a dead lift, he was hurried away to gaol by the bailiffs, who
showed such a malignant and insolent pleasure, as commonly attends
powerful revenge, when they put him into the Marshalsea. There he lay in
confinement six weeks, till at last four or five of his chief friends
came by mere chance to hear of it; immediately they consulted about his
deliverance, and unanimously resolved to contribute for his enlargement,
and they accordingly went across the water together, and procured it out
of hand.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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