Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents, and Strange Events — John Shaqi
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
Wroe found he could not get on without an architect, and therefore
employed Mr. Thorpe, of Wakefield, and worried him out of all endurance.
Wroe visited Australia in 1850, 1854, 1859, and 1862. He was in America
in 1840, 1848, 1853, and 1859. His wife died May 16th, 1853, aged
seventy-four years, a fortnight after he left for America. He is said to
have treated her badly. On his travels he assumed different names;
sometimes he called himself Johanan Asrael, sometimes Yokkow or
Yockaman.
He obtained the name of "Pudding Wroe" among the urchins of Wakefield
and Bradford; the origin of this was as follows:--After one of his long
trances, he began to walk about, and was asked by acquaintances
concerning his health and appetite, and "What could he eat or fancy?"
His invariable answer was, "Nowt but pudding."
The boys used to shout after him--"Pudding Wroe," or "Nowt but pudding,"
and this highly incensed the Prophet. One day, after he had had this cry
ringing in his ears, he came home, and, standing in the door, saw the
table laid for dinner, and his wife and children ready in their places.
"What is for dinner to-day?" asked Wroe.
"Nowt but pudding!" shouted the incautious children. Wroe flew into a
passion, and said to his wife, "I'll tell thee what, lass, I wi'nt have
yon stuff called pudding ony more."
"Why, lad!" said Mrs. Wroe, "what are t' bairns to call it, then?"
"They mun call it _soft meat_," answered John.
Wroe purchased a handsome mule with a long flowing tail, and a basket
carriage. The harness was of the best kind, with silver buckles, &c. One
day when Wroe drove to Sandal, and left his mule and carriage outside
the house where he had business, some evil-disposed persons shaved the
mule's tail. Wroe raved and threatened, but could not find the guilty
parties. He never went near Sandal afterwards.
The following is Wroe's receipt for curing a cold:--Put two gallons of
boiling water in a large bottle, and place a funnel on the neck; put
your face in the mouth of the funnel, and throw a blanket over your
head; thus you inhale the steam, and are thrown into a perspiration.
Wroe would put a pillow in the oven, lay his head on it, and let the
oven be heated as hot as he could bear it, to drive away a head cold.
In his last voyage to Australia, in 1862, he fell upon the deck of the
ship when it was rolling, and dislocated his shoulder. The doctor set
it, but it soon fell out of place again, and never was right after.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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