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 — John Shaqi
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
The stature of our hero was tall and majestic, his limbs strong and
well-proportioned, his features regular, his countenance open and
ingenuous, bearing all those characteristical marks which physiognomists
assert denote an honest and good-natured mind.
During the first four years of his continuance at Tiverton school, his
close application to, and delight in his studies, gave his friends great
hopes that he might one day make a good figure in that honourable
profession which his father became so well, for many years, and for which
he was designed.
He attained, for his age, a very considerable knowledge in the Latin and
Greek tongues; but soon a new exercise or accomplishment engaged all his
attention; this was that of hunting, in which our hero soon made a
surprising progress; for, besides that agility of limb and courage
requisite for leaping over five-barred gates, &c., our hero, by
indefatigable study and application, added to it a remarkable cheering
halloo to the dogs, of very great service to the exercise, and which, we
believe, was peculiar to himself; and, besides this, found out a secret,
hitherto known but to himself, of enticing any dog whatever to follow
him.
The Tiverton scholars had at this time the command of a fine cry of
hounds, whereby Mr. Carew had frequent opportunity of gratifying his
inclinations in that diversion. It was then that he entered into a very
strict friendship and familiarity with John Martin, Thomas Coleman, John
Escott, and other young gentlemen of the best rank and fortune.
The wise Spaniards have a proverb, Tell me who you are with, and I will
tell you what you are; and we ourselves say, Birds of a feather flock
together. It is generally allowed that proverbs are built upon
experience, and contain great truths; and though at this time very young,
he contracted no acquaintance, and kept no company, but with young
gentlemen of birth and fortune, who were rather superior to himself than
beneath him.
It happened that a farmer, living in a county adjacent to Tiverton, who
was a great sportsman, and used to hunt with the Tiverton scholars, came
and acquainted them of a fine deer, which he had seen with a collar about
his neck, in the fields about his farm, which he supposed to be the
favourite deer of some gentleman not far off; this was very agreeable
news to the Tiverton scholars, who, with Mr. Carew, John Martin, Thomas
Coleman, and John Escott, at their head, went in a great body to hunt it;
this happened a short time before the harvest. The chase was very hot,
and lasted several hours, and they ran the deer many miles, which did a
great deal of damage to the fields of corn that were then almost ripe.
Upon the death of the deer and examination of the collar, it was found to
belong to Colonel Nutcombe, of the parish of Clayhanger.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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