Part 101

“To Sportsmen and Naturalists.--Now exhibiting, one of the greatest living natural curiosities in the world; namely, a thorough-bred chesnut MARE, with seven legs! four years of age, perfectly sound, free from blemish, and shod on six of her feet. She is very fleet in her paces, being descended from that famous horse Julius Cæsar, out of a thorough-bred race mare descended from Eclipse, and is remarkably docile and temperate. She is the property of Mr. T. Checketts, of Belgrave-hall, Leicestershire, and will be exhibited for a few days as above.”

This mare was well worth seeing. Each of her hind legs, besides its natural and well-formed foot, had another growing out from the fetlock joint: one of these additions was nearly the size of the natural foot; the third and least grew from the same joint of the fore-leg. Mr. Andrews, the proprietor, said, that they grew slowly, and that the new hoofs were, at first, very soft, and exuded during the process of growth. This individual, besides his notoriety from the possession of this extraordinary mare, attained further distinction by having prosecuted to conviction, at the Warwick assizes, in August, 1825, a person named Andrews, for swindling. He complained bitterly of the serious expense he had incurred in bringing the depredator to justice; his own costs, he said, amounted to the sum of one hundred and seventy pounds.

SHOW VI.

_Richardson’s Theatre._

The outside of this show was in height upwards of thirty feet, and occupied one hundred feet in width. The platform on the outside was very elevated; the back of it was lined with green baize, and festooned with deeply-fringed crimson curtains, except at two places where the money-takers sat, which were wide and roomy projections, fitted up like gothic shrine-work, with columns and pinnacles. There were fifteen hundred variegated illumination-lamps disposed over various parts of this platform, some of them depending from the top in the shape of chandeliers and lustres, and others in wreaths and festoons. A band of ten performers in scarlet dresses, similar to those worn by beef-eaters, continually played on clarionets, violins, trombones, and the long drum; while the performers paraded in their gayest “properties” before the gazing multitude. Audiences rapidly ascended on each performance being over, and paying their money to the receivers in their gothic seats, had tickets in return; which, being taken at the doors, admitted them to descend into the “theatre.” The following “bill of the play” was obtained at the doors upon being requested:--

⁂ Change of Performance each Day.

RICHARDSON’S THEATRE.

_This Day will be performed, an entire New Melo-Drama, called the_ WANDERING OUTLAW, _Or, the Hour of Retribution._

Gustavus, Elector of Saxony, _Mr. Wright_. Orsina, Baron of Holstein, _Mr. Cooper_. Ulric and Albert, Vassals to Orsina, _Messrs. Grove and Moore_. St. Clair, the Wandering Outlaw, _Mr. Smith_. Rinalda, the Accusing Spirit, _Mr. Darling_. Monks, Vassals, Hunters, &c. Rosabella, Wife to the Outlaw, _Mrs. Smith_. Nuns and Ladies.

The Piece concludes with the DEATH of ORSINA, and the Appearance of the _ACCUSING SPIRIT._

_The Entertainments to conclude with a New Comic Harlequinade, with New Scenery, Tricks, Dresses, and Decorations, called_,

HARLEQUIN _FAUSTUS!_ OR, THE DEVIL WILL HAVE HIS OWN.

Luciferno, Mr. THOMAS.

Dæmon Amozor, afterwards Pantaloon, Mr. WILKINSON.--Dæmon Ziokos, afterwards Clown, Mr. HAYWARD.--Violencello Player, Mr. HARTEM.--Baker, Mr. THOMPSON.--Landlord, Mr. WILKINS.--Fisherman, Mr. RAE.--Doctor Faustus, afterwards Harlequin, Mr. SALTER.

Adelada, afterwards Columbine, Miss WILMOT.

Attendant Dæmons, Sprites, Fairies, Ballad Singers, Flower Girls, &c. &c.

_The Pantomime will finish with_ A SPLENDID PANORAMA, _Painted by the First Artists._

BOXES, 2_s._ PIT, 1_s._ GALLERY, 6_d._

* * * * *

The theatre was about one hundred feet long, and thirty feet wide, hung all round with green baize, and crimson festoons. “Ginger beer, apples, nuts, and a bill of the play,” were cried; the charge for a bill to a person not provided with one was “a penny.” The seats were rows of planks, rising gradually from the ground at the end, and facing the stage, without any distinction of “boxes, pit, or gallery.” The stage was elevated, and there was a painted proscenium like that in a regular theatre, with a green curtain, and the king’s arms above, and an orchestra lined with crimson cloth, and five violin-players in military dresses. Between the orchestra and the bottom row of seats, was a large space, which, after the seats were filled, and greatly to the discomfiture of the lower seat-holders, was nearly occupied by spectators. There were at least a thousand persons present.

The curtain drew up and presented the “Wandering Outlaw,” with a forest scene and a cottage; the next scene was a castle; the third was another scene in the forest. The second act commenced with a scene of an old church and a market-place. The second scene was a prison, and a ghost appeared to the tune of the “evening hymn.” The third scene was the castle that formed the second scene in the first act, and the performance was here enlivened by a murder. The fourth scene was rocks, with a cascade, and there was a procession to an unexecuted execution; for a ghost appeared, and saved the “Wandering Outlaw” from a fierce-looking headsman, and the piece ended. Then a plump little woman sung, “He loves and he rides away,” and the curtain drew up to “Harlequin Faustus,” wherein, after columbine and a clown, the most flaming character was the devil, with a red face and hands, in a red Spanish mantle and vest, red “continuations,” stockings and shoes ditto to follow, a red Spanish hat and plume above, and a red “brass bugle horn.” As soon as the fate of “Faustus” was concluded, the sound of a gong announced the happy event, and these performances were, in a quarter of an hour, repeated to another equally intelligent and brilliant audience.

SHOW VII.

ONLY A PENNY.

_There never was such times, indeed!_

NERO

_The largest Lion in the Fair for a Hundred Guineas!_

These inscriptions, with figured show-cloths, were in front of a really good exhibition of a fine lion, with leopards, and various other “beasts of the forest.” They were mostly docile and in good condition. One of the leopards was carried by his keeper a pick-a-back. Such a show for “only a penny” was astonishing.

SHOW VIII.

“SAMWELL’S COMPANY.”

Another penny show: “The Wonderful Children on the Tight Rope, and Dancing Horse. Only a Penny!” I paid my penny to the money-taker, a slender “fine lady,” with three feathers in a “jewelled turban,” and a dress of blue and white muslin and silver; and withinside I saw the “fat, contented, easy” proprietor, who was arrayed in corresponding magnificence. If he loved leanness, it was in his “better half,” for himself had none of it. Obesity had disqualified him for activity, and therefore in his immensely tight and large satin jacket, he was, as much as possible, the active commander of his active performers. He superintended the dancing of a young female on the tight rope. Then he announced, “A little boy will dance a hornpipe on the rope,” and he ordered his “band” inside to play; this was obeyed without difficulty, for it merely consisted of one man, who blew a hornpipe tune on a Pan’s-pipe; while it went on, the “little boy” danced on the tight rope; so far it was a hornpipe dance and no farther. “The little boy will stand on his head on the rope,” said the manager, and the little boy stood on his head accordingly. Then another female danced on the slack-wire; and after her came a horse, not a “dancing horse,” but a “learned” horse, quite as learned as the horse at Ball’s theatre, in Show III. There was enough for “a penny.”

SHOW IX.

“CLARKE FROM ASTLEY’S.”

This was a large show, with the back against the side of “Samwell’s Company,” and its front in a line with Hosier-lane, and therefore looking towards Smithfield-bars. Large placards were pasted at the side, with these words, “CLARKE’S FROM ASTLEY’S, _Lighted with Real Gas, In and Outside_.” The admission to this show was sixpence. The platform outside was at least ten feet high, and spacious above, and here there was plenty of light. The interior was very large, and lighted by only a single hoop, about two feet six inches in diameter, with little jets of gas about an inch and a half apart. A large circle or ride was formed on the ground. The entertainment commenced by a man dancing on the tight-rope. The rope was removed, and a light bay horse was mounted by a female in trowsers, with a pink gown fully frilled, flounced, and ribboned, with the shoulders in large puffs. While the horse circled the ring at full speed, she danced upon him, and skipped with a hoop like a skipping-rope; she performed other dexterous feats, and concluded by dancing on the saddle with a flag in each hand, while the horse flew round the ring with great velocity. These and the subsequent performances were enlivened by tunes from a clarionet and horn, and jokes from a clown, who, when she had concluded, said to an attendant, “Now, John, take the horse off, and whatever you do, rub him well down with a cabbage.” Then a man rode and danced on another horse, a very fine animal, and leaped from him three times over garters, placed at a considerable height and width apart, alighting on the horse’s back while he was going round. This rider was remarkably dexterous. In conclusion, the clown got up and rode with many antic tricks, till, on the sudden, an apparently drunken fellow rushed from the audience into the ring, and began to pull the clown from the horse. The manager interfered, and the people cried--“Turn him out;” but the man persisted, and the clown getting off, offered to help him up, and threw him over the horse’s back to the ground. At length the intruder was seated, with his face to the tail, though he gradually assumed a proper position; and riding as a man thoroughly intoxicated would ride, fell off; he then threw off his hat and great coat, and threw off his waistcoat, and then an under-waistcoat, and a third, and a fourth, and more than a dozen waistcoats. Upon taking off the last, his trowsers fell down and he appeared in his shirt; whereupon he crouched, and drawing his shirt off in a twinkling, appeared in a handsome fancy dress, leaped into the saddle of the horse, rode standing with great grace, received great applause, made his bow, and so the performance concluded.

This show was the last in the line on the west side of Smithfield.

SHOW X.

The line of shows on the east of Smithfield, commencing at Long-lane, began with “_The Indian Woman--Chinese Lady and Dwarf_,” &c. A clown outside cried, “Be assured they’re alive--only one penny each.” The crowd was great, and the shows to be seen were many, I therefore did not go in.

SHOW XI.

On the outside was inscribed, “_To be seen alive_! The Prodigies of Nature!--_The Wild Indian Woman and Child, with her Nurse from her own country._--_The Silver-haired Lady and Dwarf._ _Only a Penny._”--The showmaster made a speech: “Ladies and gentlemen, before I show you the wonderful prodigies of nature, let me introduce you to the wonderful works of art;” and then he drew a curtain, where some wax-work figures stood. “This,” said he, “ladies and gentlemen, is the famous old Mother Shipton; and here is the unfortunate Jane Shore, the beautiful mistress of king Edward the Second; next to her is his majesty king George the Fourth of most glorious memory; and this is queen Elizabeth in all her glory; then here you have the princess Amelia, the daughter of his late majesty, who is dead; this is Mary, queen of Scots, who had her head cut off; and this is O’Bryen, the famous Irish giant; this man, here, is Thornton, who was tried for the murder of Mary Ashford; and this is the exact resemblance of Othello, the moor of Venice, who was a jealous husband, and depend upon it every man who is jealous of his wife, will be as black as that negro. Now, ladies and gentlemen, the two next are a wonderful couple, John and Margaret Scott, natives of Dunkeld, in Scotland; they lived about ninety years ago; John Scott was a hundred and five years old when he died, and Margaret lived to be a hundred and twelve; and what is more remarkable, there is not a soul living can say he ever heard them quarrel.” Here he closed the curtain, and while undrawing another, continued thus: “Having shown you the dead, I have now to exhibit to you two of the most extraordinary wonders of the living; this,” said he, “is the widow of a New Zealand Chief, and this is the little old woman of Bagdad; she is thirty inches high, twenty-two years of age, and a native of Boston, in Lincolnshire.” Each of these living subjects was quite as wonderful as the waxen ones: the exhibition, which lasted about five minutes, was ended by courteous thanks for the “approbation of the ladies and gentlemen present,” and an evident desire to hurry them off, lest they might be more curious than his own curiosities.

SHOW XII.

“_Only a penny_” was the price of admission to “_The Black Wild Indian Woman.--The White Indian Youth--and the Welsh Dwarf.--All Alive!_” There was this further announcement on the outside, “_The Young American will Perform after the Manner of the French Jugglers at Vauxhall Gardens, with Balls, Rings, Daggers_,” &c. When the “Welsh dwarf” came on he was represented to be Mr. William Phillips, of Denbigh, fifteen years of age. The “white Indian youth” was an Esquimaux, and the exhibitor assured the visitors upon his veracity, that “the black wild Indian woman” was “a court lady of the island of Madagascar.” The exhibitor himself was “the young American,” an intelligent and clever youth in a loose striped jacket or frock tied round the middle. He commenced his performances by throwing up three balls, which he kept constantly in the air, as he afterwards did four, and then five, with great dexterity, using his hands, shoulders, and elbows, apparently with equal ease. He afterwards threw up three rings, each about four inches in diameter, and then four, which he kept in motion with similar success. To end his performance he produced three knives, which, by throwing up and down, he contrived to preserve in the air altogether. These feats forcibly reminded me of the Anglo-Saxon Glee-man, who “threw three balls and three knives alternately in the air, and caught them, one by one, as they fell; returning them again in regular rotation.”[274] The young American’s dress and knives were very similar to the Glee-man’s, as Strutt has figured them from a MS. in the Cotton collection. This youth’s was one of the best exhibitions in the Fair, perhaps the very best. The admission it will be remembered was “only a penny.”

SHOW XIII.

The inscriptions and paintings on the outside of this show were, “_The White Negro, who was rescued from her Black Parents by the bravery of a British Officer--the only White Negro Girl Alive.--The Great Giantess and Dwarf.--Six Curiosities Alive!--only a Penny to see them All Alive!_” While waiting a few minutes till the place filled, I had leisure to observe that one side of the place was covered by a criminal attempt to represent a tread-mill, in oil colours, and the operators at work upon it, superintended by gaolers, &c. On the other side were live monkies in cages; an old bear in a jacket, and sundry other animals. Underneath the wheels of the machine, other living creatures were moving about, and these turned out to be the poor neglected children of the showman and his wife. The miserable condition of these infants, who were puddling in the mud, while their parents outside were turning a bit of music, and squalling and bawling with all their might, “walk in--only a penny,” to get spectators of the objects that were as yet concealed on their “proud eminence,” the caravan, by a thin curtain, raised a gloom in the mind. I was in a reverie concerning these beings when the curtain was withdrawn, and there stood confessed to sight, she whom the showman called “the tall lady,” and “the white negro, the greatest curiosity ever seen--the first that has been exhibited since the reign of George the Second--look at her head and hair, ladies and gentlemen, and feel it; there’s no deception, it’s like ropes of wool.” There certainly was not any deception. The girl herself, who had the flat nose, thick lips, and peculiarly shaped scull of the negro, stooped to have her head examined, and being close to her I felt it. Her hair, if it could be called hair, was of a dirtyish flaxen hue; it hung in ropes, of a clothy texture, the thickness of a quill, and from four to six inches in length. Her skin was the colour of an European’s. Afterwards stepped forth a little personage about three feet high, in a military dress, with top boots, who strutted his tiny legs, and held his head aloft with not less importance than the proudest general officer could assume upon his promotion to the rank of field-martial. Mr. Samuel Williams, whose versatile and able pencil has frequently enriched this work, visited the Fair after me, and was equally struck by his appearance. He favours me with the subjoined engraving of this

I took my leave of this show pondering on “the different ends our fates assign,” but the jostling of a crowd in Smithfield, and the clash of instruments, were not favourable to musing, and I walked into the next.

SHOW XIV.

BROWN’S GRAND TROOP, FROM PARIS.

This was “only a penny” exhibition, notwithstanding that it elevated the king’s arms, and bore a fine-sounding name. The performance began by a clown going round and whipping a ring; that is, making a circular space amongst the spectators with a whip in his hand to force the refractory. This being effected, a conjurer walked up to a table and executed several tricks with cups and balls; giving a boy beer to drink out of a funnel, making him blow through it to show that it was empty, and afterwards applying it to each of the boy’s ears, from whence, through the funnel, the beer appeared to reflow, and poured on the ground. Afterwards girls danced on the single and double slack wire, and a melancholy looking clown, among other things, said they were “as clever as the barber and blacksmith who shaved magpies at twopence a dozen.” The show concluded with a learned horse.

SHOW XV.

Another, and a very good menagerie--the admission “only a penny!” It was “GEORGE BALLARD’s _Caravan_,” with “_The Lioness that attacked the Exeter mail._--_The great Lion._--_Royal Tiger._--_Large White Bear._--_Tiger Owls_,” with monkies, and other animals, the usual accessories to the interior of a menagerie.

The chief attraction was “_the Lioness_.” _Her attack on the Exeter Mail_ was on a Sunday evening, in the year 1816. The coach had arrived at Winterslow-hut, seven miles on the London side of Salisbury. In a most extraordinary manner, at the moment when the coachman pulled up to deliver his bags, one of the leaders was suddenly seized by some ferocious animal. This produced a great confusion and alarm; two passengers who were inside the mail got out, ran into the house, and locked themselves up in a room above stairs; the horses kicked and plunged violently, and it was with difficulty the coachman could prevent the carriage from being overturned. It was soon perceived by the coachman and guard, by the light of the lamps, that the animal which had seized the horse was a huge lioness. A large mastiff dog came up and attacked her fiercely, on which she quitted the horse and turned upon him. The dog fled, but was pursued and killed by the lioness, within forty yards of the place. It appears that the beast had escaped from its caravan which was standing on the road side with others belonging to the proprietors of the menagerie, on their way to Salisbury Fair. An alarm being given, the keepers pursued and hunted the lioness into a hovel under a granary, which served for keeping agricultural implements. About half-past eight they had secured her so effectually, by barricading the place, as to prevent her escape. The horse, when first attacked, fought with great spirit, and if at liberty, would probably have beaten down his antagonist with his fore feet, but in plunging he embarrassed himself in the harness. The lioness attacked him in the front, and springing at his throat, fastened the talons of her fore feet on each side of his neck, close to the head, while the talons of her hind feet were forced into his chest. In this situation she hung, while the blood was seen flowing as if a vein had been opened by a fleam. He was a capital horse, the off-leader, the best in the set. The expressions of agony in his tears and moans were most pitious and affecting. A fresh horse having been procured, the mail drove on, after having been detained three quarters of an hour. As the mail drew up it stood exactly abreast of the caravan from which the lioness made the assault. The coachman at first proposed to alight and stab the lioness with a knife, but was prevented by the remonstrance of the guard; who observed, that he would expose himself to certain destruction, as the animal if attacked would naturally turn upon him and tear him to pieces. The prudence of the advice was clearly proved by the fate of the dog. It was the engagement between him and the lioness that afforded time for the keepers to rally. After she had disengaged herself from the horse, she did not seem to be in any immediate hurry to move; for, whether she had carried off with her, as prey, the dog she had killed, or from some other cause, she continued growling and howling in so loud a tone, as to be heard for nearly half a mile. All had called out loudly to the guard to despatch her with his blunderbuss, which he appeared disposed to do, but the owner cried out to him, “For God’s sake do not kill her--she cost me 500_l._, and she will be as quiet as a lamb if not irritated.” This arrested his hand, and he did not fire. She was afterwards easily enticed by the keepers, and placed in her usual confinement.

The collection of animals in Ballard’s menagerie is altogether highly interesting, but it seems impossible that the proprietor could exhibit them for “only a penny” in any other place than “Bartholomew Fair,” where the people assemble in great multitudes, and the shows are thronged the whole day.

SHOW XVI.

“_Exhibition of Real Wonders._”

This announcement, designed to astonish, was inscribed over the show with the usual notice, “_Only a Penny!_”--the “Wonders of the Deep!” the “Prodigies of the Age!” and “the Learned Pig!” in large letters. The printed bill is a curiosity:--

To be Seen in a Commodious Pavilion in this Place.

REAL WONDERS!

SEE AND BELIEVE.

Have you seen THE BEAUTIFUL DOLPHIN,

_The Performing Pig & the Mermaid?_

If not, pray do! as the exhibition contains more variety than any other in England. Those ladies and gentlemen who may be pleased to honour it with a visit will be truly gratified.

TOBY, _The Swinish Philosopher, and Ladies’ Fortune Teller._

That beautiful animal appears to be endowed with the natural sense of the human being. He is in colour the most beautiful of his race; in symmetry the most perfect; in temper the most docile; and far exceeds any thing yet seen for his intelligent performances. He is beyond all conception: he has a perfect knowledge of the alphabet, understands arithmetic, and will spell and cast accounts, tell the points of the globe, the dice-box, the hour by any person’s watch, &c.

The Real Head of MAHOWRA, =_THE CANNIBAL CHIEF_.=