The Surprising Adventures of Bampfylde Moore Carew, King of the Beggars: Containing his Life, a Dictionary of the Cant Language, and many Entertaining Particulars of that Extraordinary ManUnknown
General
The Surprising Adventures of Bampfylde Moore Carew, King of the Beggars: Containing his Life, a Dictionary of the Cant Language, and many Entertaining Particulars of that Extraordinary Man
Upon Mr. Carew’s departure from Burton, the generous captain befriended
him with many recommendatory letters to friends and acquaintance, that
lay in his road, as he pretended: nay, indeed, he was never out of it;
thence he proceeded to Bristol, and other places where the letters were
directed to, and received considerable sums of money from many, on
account of these letters, which were mostly to captains of vessels, and
gentlemen that had been at sea, with whom he several times passed muster
very well; it being by desire of the captain, as was mentioned in the
letters, that they examined him.
Sometimes he and his wife, in conjunction with Coleman and his wife,
being all dressed genteelly, passed for gipseys of extraordinary
knowledge and reputation: many a poor credulous unsuspecting person
became their prey, and many a good booty they got in almost every town of
the counties of Cornwall and Devon. Once in particular, himself and
Coleman, with both their spouses, being in Buckford-sleigh, near Exeter,
one Mr. Collard, a wealthy but simple shoemaker, came to their quarters,
to consult them on a very intricate and important affair; he told them,
“that it was the opinion of every body in the country, that his
grandmother had somewhere concealed very large sums of money before her
death, and that himself, by several dreams, was confirmed in the same
opinion, and that he thought proper to advise with them upon the affair;
not doubting but they, by the help of their profound learning and
knowledge, for which they were so famous through the west, were capable
of informing him in what particular place he might find this particular
treasure, which if they would discover to him, he would give them thirty
guineas.”
Our magicians, after long deliberation and consultation with their books,
told him, “that if he would that night take a walk with one of them, he
would see the spirit of his grandmother; that he must not be afraid of
the apparition, but follow it till it vanished away, and in that
individual spot of ground from which the ghost vanished, there he would
find the hidden treasure.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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