Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents, and Strange EventsBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
History
Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents, and Strange Events
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Legends -- England -- Yorkshire; Yorkshire (England) -- Miscellanea
Strangers were not admitted to see him. Next day he appeared greatly
depressed, and was very anxious to avoid public observation. He attended
prayers in the chapel during the morning. The next day, however, he
refused to attend the chapel. Subsequently he was visited by the Rev. G.
Coopland, the chaplain, in his day-room, who found that so deeply rooted
was his aversion to the Liturgy of the Church of England as to leave him
no reason to doubt that a forced attendance during the chapel service
would be much more likely to prove injurious than beneficial to his own
mind. Besides, he thought it not at all improbable that were he
compelled to attend, he might consider it his duty to interrupt the
service, and publicly to protest against a mode of worship which he
deemed unscriptural. Under these circumstances his attendance at chapel
was not enforced. He frequently prayed and sang hymns, and when the
order was relaxed by which strangers were prohibited from seeing him, he
entered very freely into conversation with them. He still pretended to
be favoured with extraordinary visions. On one occasion he said he
dreamed that two angels appeared to him in prison, one of whom told him
to apply his lips to the tip of his wings, which he did, when he was
immediately conveyed beyond the walls of his prison.
His brother arrived in York about ten days before the Assizes commenced,
to make preparations for his defence. The defence intended to be set up
was insanity; and a number of witnesses were collected with a view to
support this plea. Dr. Wake, at the request of his brother, visited him
on Friday, the 20th. Up to this period his conduct had been extremely
mild, and his feelings composed; but a little change had been observed
for a day or two previous, and that night, about twelve o'clock, he
attempted to make his escape. He slept in what was called the Hospital
Room--a room in which there were two beds, a person who was appointed as
his guard sleeping in one of them, and Martin in the other. The guard
fell asleep about half-past eleven o'clock, and was soon after awoke by
a knocking, apparently outside the room. Not apprehending anything, he
went to sleep again; and Martin, having torn his bed-rug into lengths,
tied them together, and formed a rope about nine yards long. He fastened
this round his ankles, and having on only his shirt and his drawers, he
ascended the chimney. An iron grate which was fixed in near the top
prevented him, however, from getting to the outside of the prison, and
he was obliged to descend again. He then placed his sooty shirt under
the bed, swept the soot into the same place, and put on his flannel
dress, and retired to bed. The attendant, on awaking about two o'clock,
found him up, but he soon lay down again; and both rose at half-past six
o'clock. Almost as soon as the door was opened Martin bolted out, and
went into the yard. His attendant, alarmed, followed him, and found him
washing himself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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