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LIBRARY 
 I'ERSITY 
 .LIFORNIA 
 IKELEY 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 THE 
 
 ARCHER TAYLOR COLLECTION 
 
 OF FOLK SONGS & BALLADS 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY OF THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 :)0(: 
 
 LARGE PAPER COPY. 
 
 Only Two Hundred and Fifty Printed. Each Copy 
 numbered and Signed 
 
 ill?. 67 
 
 Purchased by 
 of 
 
 onthe_. day of _ t8. 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CATNACH PRESS, 
 
 AT 
 
 BERWICK-UPON-TWEED, 
 
 ALNWICK AND NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, 
 
 IN NORTHUMBERLAND, 
 
 AND 
 
 SEVEN DIALS, LONDON. 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES HINDLEY, Esq., 
 
 Editor of** The Old Book Collector's Miscellany; or, a Collection of Readable Reprints 
 
 of Literary Rarities,' " Works of John Taylor— the Water Poet" " The 
 
 Roxhirghe Ballads" " The Catnach Press" " The Curiosities of 
 
 Street Literature" The Book of Ready Made Speeches," 
 
 "Life and Times of James Catnach, late of the 
 
 Seven Dials, Ballad Monger," " Tavern 
 
 Anecdotes and Sayings," "A History 
 
 of the Cries of Lofidon — Ancient 
 
 and Modem," etc. 
 
 CHARLES HINDLEY 
 
 [The Younger,] 
 
 BOOKSELLERS' ROW, ST. CLEMENT DANES, 
 
 STRAND, W.C. 
 
 1886. 
 
TO 
 
 Mr. GEORGE SKELLY, 
 
 OF 
 
 THE MARKET PLACE, 
 
 AND 
 
 Mr. GEORGE H. THOMPSON, 
 
 OF 
 
 BAILIFFGATE, ALNWICK, 
 
 In the County of 
 NORTHUMBERLAND, 
 
 THE 
 
 HISTORY OF THE CATNACH PRESS 
 
 Is MOST Respectfully Dedicated by 
 THE AUTHOR 
 
 St. yanies^ Street^ Brighton, 
 lady Day, 1886. 
 
 MUSIC LIBRARY 
 
 Universify of California 
 Berkeley 
 
270 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 " 'Tis education forms the common mind ; 
 
 Just as the twig is bent the tree's inclined." — Poi>€. 
 
 There can be little doubt that Jemmy Catnach, the 
 
 printer, justly earned the distinction of being one of the great 
 pioneers in the cause of promoting cheap literature — he was for 
 a long time the great Maecenas and Elzevir of the Seven Dials 
 district. We do not pretend to say that the productions which 
 emanated from his establishment contained much that was likely 
 to enlighten the intellect, or sharpen the taste of the ordinary 
 reader \ but, to a great extent, they served well in creating an 
 impetus in the minds of many to soar after things of a higher 
 and more ennobling character. Whilst for the little folk his store 
 was like the conjuror's bag — inexhaustible. He could cater to 
 the taste and fancies of all, and it is marvellous, even in these 
 days of a cheap press, to look back upon the time when this 
 enterprising man was by a steady course of action, so paving 
 the way for that bright day in the annals of Britain's history, 
 when every child in the land should be educated. 
 
Musu 
 
 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 
 
 OR 
 
 A PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 — : — Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, 
 or we know where we can find information upon it.— Boswell, Lt/e of 
 Johnson, 
 
 HAT history repeats itself is fairly and fully exemplified 
 by the reproduction of *' The Catnach Press," the 
 first edition of which was published in 1869, and 
 "Guaranteed Only Two Hundred and Fifty Copies 
 Printed." — Namely: 175 on fine, and 75 on extra thick paper. 
 Each copy numbered. The outer and descriptive title set forth 
 that the work contained : — 
 
 ** A Collection of Books and Wood-cuts of James Catnach, late ot 
 Seven Dials, Printer, consisting of Twenty Books of the Cock Robin- 
 Class, from, *This is the House that Jack Built,' to 'Old Mother 
 Hubbard, '(printed with great care) specialite at The Catnach Press, 
 from the old plates and woodcuts, prior to their final destruction, to 
 which is added a selection of Catnachian wood-cuts, many by Bewick, 
 and many of the most anti-Bewickian character it is possible to 
 conceive." 
 
 The announcement of the pubUcation of the work was first 
 made known through the medium of the metropolitan press, 
 some few days prior to the copies being delivered by the book- 
 
VUl. 
 
 binders, and so great was the demand of the London and 
 American trade, that every copy was disposed of on the day of 
 issue. 
 
 The work is now eagerly sought after by book collectors who 
 indulge in literary rarities. 
 
 While engaged in collecting information for "The Catnach 
 Press," and interviewing the producers of ballads, broadsides 
 and chap-books, we met with a vast assemblage of street-papers 
 and of a very varied character, which we proposed to publish in 
 quarto form under the title of "The Curiosities of Street Literat- 
 ure," and when in London in 1869, still seeking for information 
 on the subject, met by mere chance in the Strand with the street 
 ballad singer of our youth, one Samuel Milnes, who used between 
 the years of 1835 and 1842 to visit Fetter Lane every Thursday 
 with the newest and most popular ballad of the day. We so 
 often met with him at other times and places in and about 
 London in after years that a peculiar kind of a friendly feeling 
 grew up towards him in preference to all other street ballad 
 singers of the time, so much so that at our meetings — and 
 friendly greetings, we invariably purchased the ballad he was 
 singing, or, gave him a few halfpence as a fee for having detained 
 him from his calling — or shall we say bawling, for to tell the 
 truth, Samuel Milnes was but a very indifferent vocalist. 
 
 Time rolled on— "still on it creeps, each little moment at 
 another's heels" — and we continued to meet our old ballad 
 singer either in London or Brighton. The meeting with him on 
 this particular occasion was most opportune for we wanted him. 
 First we obtained from him " Wait for the Turn of the Tide," and 
 " Call her back and kiss her," then the following information : — 
 
 " Oh, yes, I remember you, remember you well ; particularly when I see 
 you down at Brighton : when you treated me to that hot rum and water ; 
 
IX. 
 
 when I was so wet and cold, at a little snug public-house in one of the 
 streets that leads off the main street. I don't remember the name on it 
 now, but I remembers the rum and water well enough ; it was good. You 
 said it would be, and so it was, and no mistake. How old am I now ? 
 Why, 59. How long have I been at it ? Why, hard on fifty years. I was 
 about nine or ten year old — no, perhaps I might have been 12 year old, 
 when I come to think on it. Yes, about 12 year old ; my mother was a 
 widow with five children, and there was a boy in our street as used to go 
 out singing ballads, and his mother said to my mother, * Why don't you let 
 your boy (that's me) go out and sing ballads like my boy.' And I said I 
 didn't mind, and I did go out, and I've been at it ever since, so you see 
 'aint far short of 50 year. How many do I sell in a day ? Well, not so 
 many as I used to do, by a long way. I've sold me four and five quires a- 
 day, but I don't sell above two and three dozen a-day now. That's all the 
 difference you see, sir — dozens against quires. How do I live then ? Why, 
 you see I am so well-known in different parts of London, that lots and lots 
 of people comes up to me Uke you always do— and say's — * How do you 
 do, old fellow ? I remember you when I was a boy, if it's a man, and 
 when I was a girl, if it's a woman.' And says, * So you are still selling songs, 
 eh .'" Then they give me a few coppers ; some more and some less than 
 others, and says they don't want the songs. Some daj's— very often— I've 
 had more money given me than I've took for the ballads. Yes, I have 
 travelled all over England— all over it I think— but the North's the best- 
 Manchester, Liverpool, and them towns ; but dovnx Bath and Cheltenham way 
 I was nearly starved. I was corviing back from that way, I now remember, 
 when I met you, sir, at Brighton that time. I buy my ballads at various 
 places — but now mostly over the water, because I live there now and it's 
 handiest. Mr. Such, the printer, in Union-street in the Borough. Oh ! 
 yes, some at Catnach's — leastways, it ain't Catnach's now, it's Fortey's. 
 Yes, I remember ' old Jemmy Catnach ' very well ; he wa'n't a bad sort, as 
 you say ; leastways, I've heard so, but I never had anything of him. I 
 always paid for what I had, and did not say much to him, or he to me— 
 Writing the life of him, are you indeed ? No, I can't give you no more 
 information about him than that, because, as I said before, I bought my 
 goods as I wanted them, and paid for them, then away on my own account 
 and business. Well he was a man something like you— a little wider across 
 the shoulders, perhaps, but about such a man as you are. I did know a man 
 as could have told you a lot about '* old Jemmy," but he's dead now; he 
 was one of his authors, that is, he wrote some of the street-ballads for him, 
 
 2 
 
and very good ones they used to be, that is, for selling. Want some old 
 * Dying Speeches' and * Cocks,' do you indeed ; well, I a'nt got any— I don't 
 often * work ' them things, although I have done so sometimes, but I mostly 
 keep to the old game—' Ballads on a Subject.' You see them other things 
 are no use only just for the day, then they are no use at all, so we don't keep 
 them — I've often given them away. You'd give sixpence a piece for them, 
 would you, indeed, sir; then I wish I had some of them. Now I come to 
 think of it I know a man that did have a lot of them bye him, and I know 
 he'd be glad to sell them, I don't know where he lives, but I sometimes 
 see him. Oh ! yes, a letter would find me. My name is Samuel Milnes, 
 and I live at No. 8i, Mint-street, that's in the Borough ; you know, Guagaris 
 the name at the house. Thank you, sir, I'm much obliged. Good day sir." 
 
 Our next adventure — in pursuit of knowledge under diffi- 
 culties — occured at Brighton in the month of August, 1869, ^^^ 
 when we were winding our way through a maze of small streets 
 lying between Richmond and Albion Hills, in the Northern part 
 of the town, our ears voluntarily " pricked up," on hearing the 
 old familiar sounds of a * street, or running patterer ' with the 
 stereotyped sentences of " Horrible." — " Dreadful." — *' Remark- 
 able letters found on his person." — " Cut down by a labouring 
 man." — Quite dead." — " Well-known in the town." — " Hanging." 
 — -" Coroner's Inquest."—'* Verdict."—" Full particulars."— 
 " Most determined suicide." — ** Brutal conduct." — &c., &c., 
 Only a hd penny I — Only a ha! penny ! Presently we saw the 
 man turn into a wide court-like place, which was designated by 
 the high-sounded name of " Square," and dedicted to Rich- 
 mond ; hither we followed him, and heard him repeat the same 
 detached sentences, and became a purchaser for — * only a ha!- 
 penny P when to our astonishment we discovered a somewhat 
 new phrase in cock or catchpenny selHng. Inasmuch as our 
 purchase consisted of the current number (253) of the Brighton 
 Daily News — a very respectable looking and well printed Half- 
 penny Local Newspaper, and of that day's publication, and di(;i 
 
XI. 
 
 in reality contain an account of a most determined suicide of an 
 old and highly respected inhabitant of Brighton and set forth 
 under the heading of : — 
 
 The Determined Suicide of an Aged Artist. 
 Remarkable Letters of Deceased. 
 
 Calling the man aside, we ventured upon a conversation with 
 
 him in the following form : — 
 
 ** Well, governor, how does the cock fight ? " " Oh, pretty well, 
 
 sir ; but it ain't a cock ; its a genuine thing— the days for cocks, sir, is gone 
 bye — cheap newspapers 'as done 'em up." *' Yes ; we see this is a Brighton 
 Newspaper of to-day." '*0h, yes, that's right enough—but its all true." 
 "Yes; we are aware of that and knew the unfortunate man and his 
 family; but you are vending them after the old manner." That's all right 
 enough, sir,— you see I can sell 'em better in that form than as a newspaper 
 — its more natural like for me : I've sold between ten and twelve dozen of 
 'em to-day." " Yes ; but how about to-morrow ?." " Oh, then it will be 
 all bottled up— and I must look for a new game, I'm on my way to London, 
 but a hearing of this suicide job, I thought I'd work 'em just to keep my 
 hand in and make a bob or two." To our question of " Have you got any 
 real old 'cocks' by you?" He replied, "No, not a bit of a one; I've 
 worked 'em for a good many years, but it 'aint much of a go now. Oh, yes, 
 I know'd ' old Jemmy Catnach ' fast enough — bought many hundreds, if 
 not thousands of quires of him. Not old enough? Oh, 'aint I though; 
 why I'm turned fifty, and I've been a 'street-paper '^seller all my life. I 
 knows Muster Fortey very well ; him as is got the business now in the 
 Dials— he knows his way about, let him alone for that ; and he's a rare good 
 business man let me tell you, and always been good and fair to me ; that I 
 will say of him." 
 
 Having rewarded the man with a few half-pence to make him 
 some recompense for having detained him during his business 
 progress, we parted company. 
 
 While still prosecuting our enquiries for information on the 
 literature of the streets, we often read of, and heard mention 
 made of, a Mr. John Morgan, as one of the " Seven Bards of the 
 
xu. 
 
 Seven Dials " and his being best able to assist us in the matter 
 we had in hand. The first glimpse we obtained of the Poet ! 
 in print was in an article entitled "The Bards of the Seven 
 Dials and their Effusion " and published in " The Town," of 
 1839, a weekly journal, conducted by the late Mr. Renton 
 Nicholson, better known as " Baron Nicholson," of Judge and 
 Jury notoriety : — 
 
 REVIEW. 
 
 The Life and Death of John William Marchant, who suffered the 
 extreme penalty of the law, in front of the Debtor's door, Newgate, 
 on Monday, July 8th, 1839, for the murder of Elizabeth Paynton, his 
 fellow servant, on the seventeenth of May last, in Cadogan Place, 
 Chelsea. By John Morgan. London: J. Catnach, 2 and 3, Mon- 
 mouth Court, 7 Dials. 
 
 The work is a quarto page, surrounded with a handsome black border. 
 " Take no thought for to-morrow, what thou shalt eat, or what thou shalt 
 put on," says a certain writer, whose wisdom we all reverence, and then he 
 adds " SufTicient unto the day is the evil thereof "—a remark particularly 
 applicable to the bards of Seven Dials, whose pens are kept in constant 
 employment by the fires, rapes, robberies, and murders, which, from one 
 year's end to the other, present them with a , daily allowance of evil 
 sufficient for their subsistence. But, at present, it is only one of these poets, 
 "John Morgan," as he modestly signs himself, whom we are about to 
 notice ; and as some of our readers may be curious to see a specimen of the 
 poetry of Seven Dials, we shall lay certain portions of John Morgan's last 
 effusion before them, pointing out the beauties and peculiarities of the 
 compositions as we go along. After almost lawyer-like particularity as to 
 dates and places, the poem begins with an invocation from the murderer in 
 propria persona. 
 
 " Oh ! give attention awhile to me, 
 
 All you good people of each degree ; 
 
 In Newgate's dismal and dreary cell, 
 
 I bid all people on earth farewell." 
 
 Heaven forbid, say we, that all the people on earth should ever get in 
 Newgate, to receive the farewell of such a blood-thirsty miscreant. 
 
XIU. 
 
 "John William Marchant is my name, 
 I do confess I have been to blame. ^^ 
 And here we must observe that the poet makes his hero speak of his 
 offence rather too lightly, as if, indeed, it had been nothing more than a 
 common misdemeanour. 
 
 " I little thought, my dear parents kind, 
 I should leave this earth with a troubled mind." 
 Now this is modest ; he is actually surprised that his parents are at all 
 grieved at the idea of getting rid of such a scoundrel, and well he might be. 
 " I lived as servant in Cadogan Place, 
 And never thought this would be my case, 
 To end my days on the fatal tree : 
 Good people, pray drop a tear for me." 
 There is a playfulness about the word " drop," introducing just hereafter 
 *• the fatal tree," which, in our mind, somewhat diminishes the plaintiveness 
 of the entreaty ; but we must not be hypocritical. 
 
 Then comes his trial and condemnation, the account ot which is most 
 remarkable precise and pithy. 
 
 " At the Old Bailey I was tried an(] cast. 
 And the dreadful sentence on me was past 
 On a Monday morning, alas ! to die. 
 And on the eight of this month of July." 
 A marvellous particularity as to dates,- intended, doubtless, to show the 
 convicts anxiety that, although he died young, his name should live long in 
 the minds of posterity. Then follows his farewell to father and mother, 
 and an impudent expression of confidence that his crime will be forgiven in 
 heaven, an idea, by-the-by, which is reported to have been confirmed by 
 the Ordinary of Newgate, who told him that the angels would receive him 
 with great affection ; and this it was, perhaps, which induced our bard ot 
 Seven Dials to represent his hero as coolly writing poetry up to the very last 
 moment of his existence ; taking his farewell of the public in these words :— 
 "Adieu, good people of each degree. 
 And take a warning, I pray, by me ; 
 The bell is tolling, and I must go, 
 And leave this world of misery and woe." 
 
XIV. 
 
 But we cannot exactly see what business the fellow— "a pampered 
 menial," had to speak ill of the world, when he was very comfortably off in 
 it, and might have lived long and happily if it had not been for his own 
 wickedness ; a hint which we throw out for the benefit of Mr. John Morgan, 
 in hisTuture effusions, trusting he will not make his heroes die grumby, when 
 poetic justices does not require it. 
 
 But we must now take our leave, with a hearty wish to the whole 
 fraternity of Seven Dials' bards, that they may never go without a dinner 
 for want of the means of earning it, or that, in other words, though they 
 seem somewhat contradictory, "Sufficient unto the day may be the evil 
 thereof." 
 
 Again, the writer of an article on " Street Ballads," in the 
 "National Review," for October, 1861, makes the following 
 remarks : — 
 
 '* This Ballad—* Little Lord John out of Service '—is one of the few which 
 bear a signature— it is signed * John Morgan ' in the copy which we possess. 
 For a long time we believed this name to he a. mere nom-de-phime ; but the 
 other day in Monmouth Couit, we were informed, in answer to a casual 
 question that this is the real name of the author of some of the best comic 
 ballads. Our informant added that he is an elderly, we may say old, gentle- 
 man, living somewhere in Westminster; but the exact whereabouts we 
 could not discover. Mr. Morgan followed no particular visible calling, so 
 far as our informant knew, except writing ballads, by which he could not 
 earn much of a livehhood, as the price of an original ballad, in these buying- 
 cheap days, has been screwed down by the publishers to somewhere about 
 a shilling sterling. Something more like bread-and-butter might be made, 
 perhaps, by poets who were in the habit of singing their own ballads, as 
 some of them do, but not Mr. Morgan. Should this ever meet the eye of 
 that gentleman (a not very probable event, we fear), we beg to apologise 
 for the liberty we have taken in using his verses and name, and hope he will 
 excuse us, having regard to the subject in which we are humble fellow- 
 labourers. We could scarcely avoid naming him, the fact being that he is 
 the only living author of street-ballads whose name we know. That self- 
 denying mind, indiflerent to worldly fame, which characterised the architects 
 of our cathedrals and abbeys, would seem to have descended on our ballad- 
 writers; and we must be thankful, therefore, to be able to embalm and 
 hand down to posterity a name here and there, such as William of Wyjce- 
 
XV. 
 
 ham, and John Morgan. In answer to our inquiries in- tkis matter, 
 generally, we have been told, ' Oh, anybody writes them,' and with that 
 answer we have had to rest satisfied. But in presence of that answer, we 
 walk about the streets with a new sense of wonder, peering into the faces 
 of those of our fellow-lieges who do not carry about with them the external 
 evidence of overflowing exchequers, and saying to ourselves That man 
 may be a writer of ballads.' " 
 
 At every enquiry we made for information in regard to street- 
 literature, we still continued to be referred to Mr. John Morgan 
 as the most likely person living to supply what we needed on 
 the subject. 
 
 But the grave question arose in our own minds of the How, 
 When, and Where : could we find out and interview this said 
 Mr. John Morgan, Poet ! First we made enquiry at the office 
 of Mr. Taylor, Printer of Ballads, &c., 92 and 93, Brick Lane, 
 Spitalfields, but, they " had not the least idea where we could 
 find him. In fact they had only heard of him as a ballad- 
 writer, and knew nothing about where he lived, never having 
 employed him : had perhaps printed some of his ballads. 
 Thought Mr. Such, of the Borough, might give some infor- 
 mation, but, sure to find out all about him in the Seven Dials 
 district." 
 
 Mr. H. Such, Machine Printer and Publisher, 177, Union 
 Street, Borough, S.E., on being applied to could give us no 
 positive information as to the whereabout of Mr. John Morgan 
 — he knew him, but where he lived he could not tell. Mr. 
 Fortey or Mr. Disley, in the Dials-way, would be most likely to 
 know. 
 
 Mr. William S. Fortey, (late A. Ryle, successor to the late 
 J. Catnach), Printer, Publisher, and Wholesale Stationer, 2 and 
 3, Monmouth Court, Seven Dials, London, W., on being applied 
 to could not exactly tell where Mr. John Morgan did live, it was 
 
XVI. 
 
 somewhere Westminster- way : it was very uncertain when he 
 should next see him, because he did not sometimes call in for 
 weeks together, yet he might by chance see him to-morrow, or 
 the next day. Anyway, we felt that we had no right to press the 
 question any further, more particularly so because Mr. Fortey 
 had been very civil and obliging to us on other occasions — 
 in fact we have been under great and lasting obligations to him, 
 so changed the conversation. 
 
 Mr. Henry Disley, Printer, 57, High Street, St. Giles', London, 
 who we found to be a very genial sort of a man, and that he 
 had formerly been in the service ot James Catnach; he was 
 working in his front shop at a small hand-press on some cards 
 relative to a forthcoming Friendly Lead,"* to be held at a 
 public-house in the immediate neighbourhood, while Mrs. Disley 
 was hard at work colouring some Christmas Carols, and which 
 she did with a rapidity that was somewhat astonishing. In 
 answer to our inquiry whether he knew of one John Morgan — 
 who was — as we described him, " something of a song writer." 
 Well ! both Mr. and Mrs. Disley together — '' did know him — 
 should think they did." But when we came to enquire about 
 his private address they knew nothing about that. He (Mr. 
 Morgan) wrote ballads for them at times : often called on them 
 —whenever he did it was always to sell a good ballad he had on 
 hand, or to tell them what bad times it was with him : but as to 
 where he lived, beyond that it was somewhere Westminster-way, 
 they did not know— in fact, had not the least idea. But, most 
 likely, Mr. Fortey, him in Monmouth Court, did. Yes ! come 
 to think of it, he would be sure to know. 
 
 *^ Friendly Lead, a gathering at a low public-house, for the purpose af assisting some 
 one who is "in trouble," /.t'., in prison, or who has just "come out of trouble," or who 
 is in want of a " mouthpiece " to defend him, and so forth. 
 
XVll. 
 
 The very unsatisfactory and evasive answers received in 
 reference to the address of Mr. John Morgan gave a zest to 
 our zeal in the matter — so much so, that we then determined 
 ** to work the oracle " out in our way. 
 
 At this time we had a near relative occupying chambers in 
 Barnard's Inn, which we held to be a good central and lawyer- 
 like address — one that had the "true ring," of business and 
 substantiality about it. Yes ! Barnard's Inn, Holborn, London, 
 E.G., looked to our mind to be likely to serve our stratigical 
 purpose to the point we desired. Having made all the pre- 
 paratory arrangements, we then procured from a neighbouring 
 stationer's shop a sheet of mourning note-paper and an envelope 
 of large proportions, each having the very blackest and broadest 
 of black borders we could find in stock. Then we wrote in a 
 law-like hand : — 
 
 JVb. 6, Barnard's Inn, 
 
 Holborn, London, E.G., 
 February 26, 1870. 
 
 THIS IS TO GIVE J^OTIGE:-lf Mr. John 
 Morgan, ballad -writer, ^c, will call at the above 
 address on or after Wednesday next. He will hear 
 something greatly to his advantage. 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 Mr. John Morgan, 
 
 care of. 
 
 London. 
 
 The above document having been duly intrusted to Her 
 Majesty's Post Master General for delivery, we had to abide 
 
 3 
 
XVIU. 
 
 our time for the result. We had not to wait long, for although 
 we had appointed the next following Wednesday to communicate 
 " something greatly to the advantage of Mr. John Morgan^^ he 
 turned up a little sooner than we expected, or desired, by- 
 reason of his putting in an appearanc^ at Barnard's Inn on 
 Tuesday evening, where he arrived " happy and glorious," and 
 made earnest enquiries for " the gentleman who had sent him 
 a letter to say he had got a something to his advantage — perhaps 
 a fortune ! For sometimes he thought somebody would die and 
 leave him one. Where was the gentleman who wrote him the' 
 letter ? He says that I am to call here. He sent it in a black- 
 bordered envelope for him. Where is the gentleman ? See here 
 is the letter, and all in black — black as your hat — look for 
 yourself, sir." 
 
 All the above was spoken to a friend of ours who lived on 
 the ground-floor at the particular house in Barnard's Inn, where 
 Mr. John Morgan had been requested to call on Wednesday. 
 It was then only Tuesday, and that fact had to be explained ; 
 also, that the gentleman in question was not at present in his 
 chambers on the third-floor, but would be in the morning up to 
 lo o'clock. Our friend on the first-floor — who had received 
 instructions from us in the event of Mr. John Morgan turning- 
 up while we were not at home — informed us of all that had 
 taken place when we arrived a little later on in the evening. 
 
 On the next morning preparations were made for the reception 
 of our expectant friend — a good fire, a good breakfast, and a 
 half-pint of " Old Tom " from Carres well-known Establishment, 
 St. Clement Danes, Strand. 
 
 Very soon after the old clock of the ancient hall of Barnard's 
 Inn, and all the public clocks in the surrounding neighbourhood 
 had proclaimed aloud that the hour of lo a.m. of that Wednesday 
 
XIX. 
 
 morning had arrived, there was heard a knock at the outer 
 door of our chamber-rooms, and on the same being opened, 
 Mr. John Morgan announced himself as the party to whom the 
 gentleman had sent a black-bordered letter and envelope for him 
 to say there was a something to his advantage to be had. Then 
 Mr. John Morgan, full of bows and scrapes, was ushered into our 
 presence. — He was the party who had received the letter. Oh ! 
 yes, Mr. Morgan we added : take a seat sir. Yes, sir, and thank 
 you to, he replied, at the same time sitting down and then very 
 carefully despositing his somewhat delapidated hat under — far 
 under— the chair. We then enquired whether he would have 
 anything to eat, or have a cup of coffee. No ! it was a little too 
 early in the morning for eating, and coffee did not always agree 
 with him. Or, a drop of good *' Old Tom," we somewhat 
 significantly suggested. Mr. John Morgan would very much 
 like to have a little drop of gin, for it was a nasty raw cold morn- 
 ing : In answer to our enquiry whether he would prefer hot or 
 cold water, elected to have it neat if it made no difference to us. 
 Mr. John Morgan at our suggestion having *' wet the other 
 eye," i.e.j taken the second glass, the real business part of the 
 question we had met upon commenced thus : — " We have been 
 informed that you were acquainted with, and used to write for 
 the late James Catnach, who formerly lived in the Seven Dials, 
 and that you can give us much of the information that we 
 require towards perfecting a work we have in hand treating on 
 Street Literature. If you are willing to do so, we are prepared 
 to treat with you in a liberal manner, and that, please to at once 
 to understand is the * Something greatly to your advantage that is 
 mentioned in the note we addressed to you.' " Here Mr. John 
 Morgan hinted that he thought it was — or he had hoped it was, a 
 little fortune some one had been kind enough to leave him, he 
 
XX. 
 
 always expected that old Jemmy Catnach would — after what he 
 had done for him, have left him a bit, however small, but no 
 such luck. 
 
 Mr. Morgan expressed his willingness to give all the informa- 
 tion he could on the subject and leave it to our generosity to 
 pay him what we pleased, and adding that he had no doubt that 
 we should not fall out on that score. And so we proceeded, we 
 talked and took notes. Mr. Morgan talked and took gin. Mr. 
 Morgan got warm — warmer and warmer-^and very entertaining, 
 his conversational powers increased wonderfully, he became very 
 witty and laughed ha ! hah ! ! he joked and made merry at some 
 old reminiscences in connection with old Jemmy Catnach — and 
 admitted, that after all old Jemmy wasn't a particular bad sort — 
 that is, when you knew him, and could handle him properly — 
 then old Jemmy was as right as my leg ! Still we continued to 
 talk and take notes, still Mr. Morgan talked and took gin, until 
 he emulated the little old woman who sold ** Hot Codlings," for 
 of her it is related that — " the glass she filled and the bottle she 
 shrunk and that this little old woman in the end got ." 
 
 At length it became very manifest that we should not be able 
 to get any more information out of Mr. John Morgan on that 
 day, so proposed for him to call again on the morrow morning 
 and at the same time and place to pursue the thread of our nar- 
 rative. Then having presented him with a portrait of Her most 
 gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, set in gold, we volunteered to 
 see him down stairs which we observed were very crooked — Mr. 
 Morgan thought they were very old and funny ones : up and 
 down like — in fact what old Charley Dibdin would have called 
 regular *' whopping old stairs ! " Being safely landed from the 
 last stone step on to the stone-paved way, we thought it advis- 
 able, for appearance sake, to conduct our friend out of Barnard's 
 
XXI. 
 
 Inn by a sideway leading into Fetter-lane. After that it occurred 
 to us that it would perhaps be better to see him to the Fleet- 
 street end of the lane and then to put him into a Westminster 
 omnibus, but we had reached Somerset House before one going 
 that way came in sight. Then it was Mr. John Morgan suddenly 
 recollected that he could not pass his old friend Short — who was 
 Short ? why surely you know Short — old Short, him as sells the 
 wine so good and so cheap, there over the way — that's Short's — 
 '* Wines from the Wood," that's out of the cask you know, you 
 remind me to-morrow, sir, and I'll tell you a good tale about old 
 Short before he made such a lot of money as he has got now. — 
 Capital chap old Short, he knows me — it's all about a song I 
 wrote — but I'll tell you all about it to morrow. Besides I must 
 have change ye know for there's no one got any at my home 
 — my landlord — There's no change about him, Oh ! dear no — 
 He's never got any change but he's always got an old account, 
 do you see ? an old account — but no matter let's go in ! 
 
 Respectfully, but firmly declining the kind and very pressing 
 invitation to have "only just one drop with old Short." 
 We left Mr. John Morgan to take care of himself for the day 
 and to be sure to meet us on the next morning in Barnard's Inn 
 at lo o'clock — sharp. 
 
 At length the wishful morrow came, also ten of the clock, but 
 not so Mr. John Morgan, nor did he call at any hour during the 
 day. But soon after ii o'clock the next day he made his 
 appearance, but being so stupidly drunk we gave him some 
 money and told him to call again to-morrow. And he did, but 
 still so muddled that we could make nothing out of him, so we 
 somewhat curtly dismissed him and returned to Brighton. 
 
 The next day the letter — of which we give a verbatim et litera- 
 tim copy — was received and then forwarded on to us. 
 
XXll. 
 
 90 Great Peter Street 
 
 Westminister, S.W. 
 
 Saturday the 5th of March 1870. 
 
 My Dear and Kind Sir: — I return you my most sincere and 
 
 heartfelt thanks for the Kindness I received from you and deeply I regret 
 
 if I caused you any displeasure the fact is I have been greatly put about 
 
 And you having been so kind as to give me refreshments it overpowered me 
 
 I fell and hurt myself. And I am now destitute without a penny in the world 
 
 or a friend to help me. I feel as though I offended you I hope not I think 
 
 by the Little conversation we had I may be able to please you I have been 
 
 considering in my doleful moments matters of importance if my kind and 
 
 good friend you can favour me with a Line this Saturday Evening I will be 
 
 most grateful I shall not go out waiting to hear from you I am placed in a 
 
 most Sad position accept my thanks write Me a Line in answer to this 
 
 Befriend me if it is possible And I will make all right and with gratitude, 
 
 / 
 Anxiously waiting your kind and I trust favourable reply, 
 
 Charles Hindley, Esq 
 
 6 Barnard's Inn 
 Holborn 
 
 W.C. 
 
 Having no desire to incur the expense of another journey to 
 London in the matter, and believing that we had obtained 
 sufficient information on the subject, we published, in the 
 year 187 1, a limited number of copies of our work under the 
 title of :— 
 
CURIOSITIES 
 
 OF 
 
 STREET LITERATURE: 
 
 COMPRISING 
 
 "COCKS," OR "CATCHPENNIES," 
 
 A Large and Curious Assortment of 
 
 STREET DROLLERIES, SQUIBS, HISTORIES, COMIC STORIES 
 IN PROSE AND VERSE, 
 
 Broadsides on the Royal JP'amily, 
 political litanies, dialogues, catechisms, acts of parliament, 
 
 STREET POLITICAL PAPERS. 
 
 A VARIETY OF " BALLADS ON A SUBJECT," 
 DYING SPEECHES AND CONFESSIONS, 
 
 TO -WHICH IS ATTACHED THE ALL-IMPORTANT AND NECESSARY 
 
 AFFECTIONATE COPY OF VERSES. 
 
 AS 
 
 ** Come, all you feeling-hearted Christians, wherever you may be, 
 Attention give to these few lines, and listen unto me ; 
 It's of this cruel murder, to you I will unfold, 
 The bare recital of ^he same will make your blood n;n cold." 
 
 " What hast here ? ballads ? I love a ballad in print, or a life ; for then we are sure 
 they are true." — Shakespeare. 
 
 " There's nothing beats a stunning good murder, after all." — Experiences of a Running 
 Patterer. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 REEVES AND TURNER 
 196, STRAND, 
 
 1871. 
 

 
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XXV. 
 
 Our work on the Curiosities of Street Literature soon ran 
 out of print. But we continued to gather from time to time 
 fresh information on the subject of the '* Two Catnachs — John 
 and James," and in the early part of 1876 we determined on 
 publishing a work, to be entitled "The Life and Times of 
 James Catnach —late of Seven Dials — Ballad Monger." And 
 for the purpose of obtaining the verification, amendment, or 
 denial to the several scraps of information we had obtained, we 
 wrote to our old friend, Mr. John Morgan, on the subject, and 
 from him we received the letters that follow : — 
 
 No. I, Model Cottages, Little St. Anne's Lane, 
 
 Great Peter Street, Westminster, 
 
 London, S.W. 
 
 ibth February^ 1876. 
 Sir, 
 
 I received your Letter this Morning : I have removed to above address 
 two years and seven months, I have been in Bed seven weeks suffering from 
 Bronchitis ; but am now recovering and shall get up to-day, but the Doctor 
 will not permit me to go out. 
 
 Whatever you may require I am ready and willing to do to the utmost of 
 my abilities, and be happy to serve you, and much regret I have not the 
 
 strength to venture to Street. If anything can be done by 
 
 Letter or otherwise, I will willingly attend *o your request, your reply will 
 greatly obhge. 
 
 P.S.-Please excuse the illegible scribble as I write this in Bed. 
 
 rles Hindley, Esq., 
 
 76, Rose Hill Terrace, Brighton. 
 
XXVI. 
 
 No. I, Model Cottages, Little St. Ann's Lane, 
 
 Great Peter Street, Westminster, London, S.W. 
 
 I'jth February, 1876. 
 Sir, 
 
 I have just received yours, 7 p.m., and in reply I beg to say that when I 
 came to London in 18 18 Catnach's Father was not living. 
 
 Catnach, his Mother, and Sister Julia the youngest, resided at 2, 
 Monmouth Court, the old woman and Julia worked at a small hand press— 
 
 I joined him about 1818— his father died before I understood Julia went 
 
 astray— the Mother Died about 1826. Anne Ryle was the widow of au 
 Officer : a Waterloo man— with one child— had a pension. 
 
 Catnach had but little type, and no stock to speak of: he had a Sister at 
 Portsea the wife of a mate of a ship in harbour, and kept a song-shop. 
 His Mother lived with him 7 or 8 years I understand about the " Horses- 
 heads." Cox and Kean, I forget except the title and chorus :— 
 
 COX versus KEAN; 
 
 OR 
 
 Little Breeches. 
 
 " With his ginger tail he did assail, and did the prize obtain, 
 This Merry Little Wanton Bantam Cock of Drury Lane — 
 
 Little Breeches." 
 
 Ann Stanton was tried for cutting the Cock's Head off there was 
 no verses. 
 
 As regards the Sausages, Catnach printed a few lines on a quarter-sheet, 
 that caused a great uproar, he was taken to Bow Street. Catnach had six 
 months. There was no verses, it was quickly done. He printed the life of 
 Mother Cummins, of Dyot Street— now, George Street, and that was 
 knocked into " pye " in quick sticks. There was a change after he went to 
 Alnwick in Northumberland, where he carried a small press and printed 
 the state of the poll every day, while there he took up his freedom.* He 
 came home and printed ** Cubitt's Treadmill":— 
 
 " And we're all treading, tread, tread, treading, 
 And we're all treading at fam'd Brixton Mill." 
 
 and kept going forward— retired and went to Bamet, left the business to 
 James Paul and Ann Ryle. That is many years ago. I seldom go near 
 the Seven Dials, perhaps once in 3, 4, 5, or six months. I remember many 
 occurrances but 56 years is a long time, I have just entered my 77th year. 
 Anything you require as far as I can I will send and remain, 
 
 Charles Hindley, Esq., 
 
 76, Rose Hill Terrace, Brighton. 
 
 * This is an error — See page 76. 
 
xxvu. 
 
 I Model Cottages, Little Ann's Lane, 
 
 Great Peter Street, Westminster, London, S.W. 
 
 zc^th February, 1876. 
 Dear Sir :— 
 
 If I was to go back and think of passing events it would fill a volume. 
 First in 1820— Catnach then being very poor— at the death of George the 
 third, and the Duke of Kent he printed an Elegy : 
 
 " Mourn, Britons mourn ! Your sons deplore, 
 Our royal Sovereign is now no more." 
 
 Then comes the election for Westminster : Burdett, Hobhouse, and Lamb. 
 He had a song : — 
 
 " Oh, Cammy Hobby is the man, 
 
 And so is daddy Sir Franky, O ; 
 
 The Hon. W, Lamb is going mad 
 
 And kicking like a donkey, O." 
 
 " Oh, the naughty Lamb — 
 The miserable sinner, O 
 We'll have him roast and boil'd 
 And cut him up for dinner, O." 
 
 During the whole time of the election party spirit ran very high. A real 
 lamb's head with a real rat in its mouth, was stuck upon the top of a pole. 
 From the rat's tail hung a cock's comb. On the lamb's head was placed a 
 lawyer's wig, surmounted with a fool's cap. On a board immediately below 
 the head, was inscribed in front — " Behold the ratting lamb, with a cock's 
 comb at his tail." On the other side, the inscription was — 
 
 " If silly lambs will go ratting, 
 'Tis fit they get this sort of batting,' 
 
 Then came The Dog's Meat Man— Founded on fact :— 
 
 IN Gray's Inn Lane, not long ago. 
 An old maid lived a life of woe ; 
 She was fifty-three, with a face like tan, 
 When she fell in love with a dogs'-meat man. 
 Much she loved this dogs'-meat man. 
 He was a good-looking dogs'-meat man ; 
 Her roses and lilies were turn'd to tan. 
 When she fell in love wi' the dogs'-meat man. 
 
 Every morning when he went by, 
 
 Whether the weather was wet or dry. 
 
 And right opposite her door he'd stand. 
 
 And cry " dogs'-meat," did this dogs'-meat man. 
 
 Then her cat would run out to the dogs'-meat man, 
 
 Andrub against the barrow of the dogs'-meat maa, 
 
 As right opposite to her door he'd stand. 
 
 And cry ''^ Dogs' Meat, did this dogs'-meat man. 
 
 * The numbers at the close of the Poll on Saturday, 24th March, at three o'clock, 
 stood as under : — 
 
 Sir Francis Burdett 5,327 
 
 J. Cam Hobhouse, Esq 4,884 
 
 Hon. W. Lamb 4,436 
 
XXVlll. 
 
 He said his customers, good lord ! 
 
 Owed him a matter of two pound odd ; 
 
 And she replied, it was quite scan- 
 
 Dalous to cheat such a dogs'-meat man. 
 
 *' If I had but the money," says the dogs'-meat man, 
 
 " I'd open a tripe-shop," says the dogs'-meat man, 
 
 " And I'd marry you to-morrow." — She admired the plan, 
 
 And she lent a/lve-pound note to the dogs'-meat man. 
 
 He pocketed the money and went away, 
 
 She waited for him all next day. 
 
 But he never com'd ; and then she began 
 
 To think she was diddled by the dogs'-meat man ; 
 
 She went to seek this dogs'-meat man, 
 
 But she couldn't find the dogs'-meat man ; 
 
 Some friend §ave her to understan' 
 
 He'd got a wife and seven children— this dogs'-meat man. 
 
 Mother Cummins lived and kept Brothels in Dyot Street, Bloomsbury 
 Square, after, and still called George Street, named after the Prince Regent 
 George 4th, at that time "Beggar's Opera " where the Prince and nobles 
 resorted was at the Rose and Crown, Church Lane, St. Giles. Catnach 
 printed her life. In the Beggar's Opera, were assembled matchmakers, 
 beggars, prigs and all the lowest of the low. There was old black Billy 
 Waters, with his wooden leg, dancing and playing his fiddle, and singing;— 
 
 Polly will you marry me — Polly don't you cry, 
 Polly come to bed with me ; and get a little boy. 
 
 some were dipping matches, some boiling potatoes and salt herrings, some 
 swearing, some dancing— all manners of fun, &c. 
 
 Then comes Queen Caroline's trial ; Catnach gets out a song :— 
 
 As I walked down the Greenwich-road one evening in June, 
 
 I never saw so fine a sight as on that afternoon. 
 
 I never saw so fine a sight, or, one half so good, 
 
 As for to see Queen Caroline supported by a Wood. 
 
 That Wood shall never be cut down, but stand for ever more ; 
 
 And he'll protect our innocent Queen Sweet Caroline on our shore. 
 
 which was followed by a skit on George IVth called :— 
 " The Great Babe in a Mess." 
 
 then another on Queen Caroline's cnn con case with Bergami who couldn't 
 remember nothing at all. 
 
 Bergami, the Non mi recordo.' 
 
XXIX. 
 
 Who are you ? " Non mi recordo" 
 
 What countryman are you— a foreigner or an Englishman? ^^ Non mi recordo " 
 There was something fresh everyday until the end of the Trial. Catnach 
 
 then prints some "papers" belonging to J. Pitts, Printer, Gt. Saint 
 
 Andrew-street, which causes a flare-up and a bother. 
 
 Then comes the sheet of " Horses Heads " which heads were hkeEldon, 
 Peel, Canning, &c. Just before they were out Mr. RockclifF, a Printer in 
 Old Gravel Lane, RadclifF-Highway sends for me— there was bottles of 
 whisky. RockclifF had engaged with a man called Oliver Cromwell to get 
 him one of the first sheets printed oiF Catnach's press of the ** Horses 
 Heads " and he would give him half-a-crown. Rockcliff then requested 
 rae to bring him the first sheet cf ''Horses Heads" and get the half-a- 
 crown. I went and got the sheet and meets Oliver Cromwell going into 
 Catnach's as I came out, so I got the half-a-crown. RockclifF copies the 
 sheet, then engaged with Lowe the Printer in Compton-street to supply all 
 the West-end. So it went on and made plenty of bother between them. 
 
 Catnach got on like a house on fire printing Religious Sheets, then came 
 the murder of William Weare Esq. by John Thurtell, Hunt and Probert. 
 I remember all that affair well,— Then the execution of Thurtell. ' A twelve- 
 month after Probert was hanged for horsestealing. Then came the trial of 
 Henry Fauntleroy a banker in Berner's Street Oxford Street executed for 
 forgery. Then came Corder and Maria Marten and the Red Bam, so that 
 is the way Catnach got on from a poor man to be a gentleman. There is 
 many little things I may think of but close for the present and remain :— 
 
XXX. 
 
 I, Model Cottages, Little St. Ann's Lane, 
 
 Great Peter Street, Westminster, 
 
 London, ilth March, 1876. 
 Sir, 
 
 I received yours. My recollection is not so good as I would wish. 
 
 I think to the best of my recollection in 1819 there were some old men 
 who had been forty-years in the streets at that time, their names were old 
 Jack Smith, Tom Caton, old Jack Rush, Tom Anderson and a few others. 
 When they wanted anything they made up fresh reports, and things were 
 done without the least hesitation. As respects Mr. Pizzy the Pork Butcher, 
 it was some of these men that went to Blackman Street, Clare Market, and 
 created an uproar about the sausages, crowds assembled, and windows were 
 broken, they were charged with rioting and taken to Bow Street, before— 
 as they told me. Sir Richard Bumie, and I think Mr. MinshuU. Catnach was 
 sent to Clerkenwell for trial, and was afterwards sentenced to six months, 
 and he served the full time. Then there was the trial of the four poor 
 Irishmen for coining, in ^the first year of the mayorality of the late Sir 
 Matthew Wood, and a lot of other things which I think would answer the 
 purpose. 
 
 About twenty-six years ago Henry Mayhew sent for me, and he began a 
 a work something like yours, but by some means it stopped. There is mat- 
 ters that would help to fill up a Book without going to much expense. 
 
 Charles Hindley, Esq., 
 
 76, Rose Hill Terrace, Brighton. 
 
 At this date we were through the instrumentality of Mrs. Paul, 
 widow of Mr. James Paul — formerly in the service of Catnach, 
 introduced to Mrs. Elizabeth Benton, the last surviving daughter 
 of John and Mary Catnach. Mr. Benton was assistant treasurer, 
 and box-book keeper to Mr. Alfred Bunn, of Covent Garden and 
 Drury Lane Theatres, Mrs. Benton, at the time being wardrobe- 
 mistress and costumier. At one period Mr. and Mrs. Benton lived 
 
XXXI. 
 
 with Mr. Bunn in St James' Place, St. James' Street, Mrs. Benton 
 acting in the capacity of housekeeper. During several seasons 
 Mr. Benton was also treasurer for the proprietors of Vauxhall 
 Gardens, afterwards he filled the same office for E. T. Smith — 
 Dazzle Smith ! at Cremorne Gardens. He died abroad in 1856. 
 The interview we had with Mrs. Benton led up to receiving the 
 two letters that follow : — 
 
 5, Sonderburg Road, 
 
 Seven Sisters* Road, Holloway. 
 London. November^ i^th, 1876. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 In reply to your letter, in which you ask if I know where my Father and 
 mother were married, I regret to say I do not know for certain if it was in 
 Edinburgh or Berwick-on-Tweed, but I am certain it was not in Alnwick. 
 
 ********* 
 ********* 
 
 I shall feel obliged for the [Alnwick J Journal, and also for the Register 
 of Baptisms. 
 
 I always understood that my father was a descendant of Catnach, King of 
 the Picts. 
 
 / 
 
 
 dS^ 
 
 P.S.— The paper has not arrived— shall be glad to hear from you by return 
 of Post. 
 
 Charles Hindley, Esq., 
 
 76, Rose Hill Terrace, Brighton. 
 
XXXll. 
 
 5, Sonderburg Road, 
 
 Seven Sisters' Road, HoUoway, 
 London. November i8, 1876. 
 Dear Sir, 
 I am soiry I have not answered your letter before, but I have been very ill. 
 
 I am soiTy I can give you no more information than I have already given 
 
 you, but about Mrs. Ryle and Mr. I cannot exactly say, and as ray niece 
 
 Mrs. Harding was but a girl when her uncle died I should not like to apply 
 to her as it would be painful. 
 
 My father was dead when the Battle of Waterloo was fought, but was in 
 Alnwick at the Battle of Trafalgar, and for some time after. My Father 
 had 3 residences in London, i. (only a shop) in Wardour Street, Soho 
 Square, and ditto also Gerrard Street, and also in Charlotte Street, Fitzroy 
 Square (apartments). 
 
 My Father had a severe illness, also a fever of which he died. I should 
 feel very much obliged if you could find me a copy of the Hermit of 
 Warkvvorth, and I will willingly pay for it, and also Blair's Grave. 
 
 I am very much obliged for the Registers, and if I can supply you with 
 further information I will do so with pleasure. I have not heard from Mr. 
 [Mark] Smith. 
 
 / 
 
 Xt^^^?^'^^^*<^'l^ 
 
 d^ 
 
 P.S.— I received the Paper [Ahiwick Journal] with thanks. 
 
 C. Hindley, Esq., 
 
 76, Rose liill Terrace, Brighton. 
 
XXXlll. 
 
 It was at this particular date of our history — 1876 — that we 
 had the good fortune to get acquainted with Mr. George Skelly, 
 of Alnwick — who, like ourselves, is possessed of the cacoethes 
 scribendt\ and was at the time supplying, con arnore, an article to 
 the Alnwick yournal^ entitled "John and James Catnach," 
 which we found to contain certain information relative to the 
 elder Catnach, and also of the earlier portion of the life of 
 James, of which we had no previous knowledge. At our solici- 
 tation to be allowed to make a selection from the same, we 
 received a most courteous and gentlemanly letter, which, in 
 addition to containing several pieces of information and answers 
 to many queries we had put to Mr. Skelly, he wound up by say- 
 ing : — " You have full liberty to make use of anything that 1 
 have written, and it will afford me much pleasure if I can fur- 
 ther your intentions in any way." 
 
 From that date, Mr. George Skelly continued to correspond 
 with us on the subject of the *' Two Catnachs," nearly up to 
 the last moment of our going to press with our own " Life and 
 Times of James Catnach," and to him we are greatly indebted 
 for much of the information therein contained. And it was at 
 his suggestion that we wrote the following letter to the Abiwick 
 Journal — Mr. Skelly at the same time furnishing the local para- 
 graph. 
 
 Setter t0 t|^e ®Mt0r. 
 
 To the Editor of the Alnwick Journal. 
 
 76, Rose Hill Terrace, Brighton, 
 June 1 6th, 1876. 
 Sir,— Your townsman, Mr, George Skelly, in the 
 concluding chapter of his excellent article of " John 
 and James Catnach," makes mention of my name as 
 being engaged in preparing for publication " The 
 Life and Times of James Catnach. formerly of Seven 
 
XXXIV. 
 
 Dials, printer of ballads, &c." Such being the fact, 
 I shall therefore be glad if you would allow me suffi- 
 cient space in the Alnwick Journal^ to ask your 
 readers and correspondents who possess any addi- 
 tional facts, sa)dngs, doings, or letters of the two 
 Catnachs— John and James — to supply me with the 
 same, when I shall have much pleasure in assigning 
 to any such contributions a proper chronological 
 place in my work, and of acknowledging the source 
 of the same, while all documents or books will be 
 faithfully returned by yours, &c., &c., 
 
 Charles Hindley. 
 
 John and James Catnach.— It will be seen by 
 a correspondence in another page that Mr. Charles 
 Hindley, of Brighton, is preparing for publication 
 the ** Life and Times of James Catnach," and he 
 respectfully solicits from our readers any facts and 
 scraps they may be possessed of, also the loan of any 
 letters or books suitable for the extention of the life 
 of the celebrated and withal eccentric printer, who, 
 although a native of Alnwick, settled in London, 
 and occupied a peculiar position for upwards of a 
 quarter of a century in the Seven Dials district. We 
 trust that our correspondent may be enabled to add 
 to his all ready large stock of material in hand a few 
 more items, by the publication of his letter in our 
 columns. Mr. Hindley*s work, will, it is expected, 
 be published by Messrs. Reeves and Turner, of the 
 Strand, London, during the coming autumn. 
 
 The above letter to the Alnwick yournal was the means of 
 obtaining another valuable correspondent — Mr. George H. 
 Thompson, also of Alnwick, who volunteered his services to aid 
 and assist, to the best of his time and ability, in supplying all 
 the information he possessed or could glean from his friends 
 and acquaintances in the good old borough of Alnwick, or the 
 county at large. And inter alia copied out verbatim from the 
 Parish Register of Baptisms in St. Michael's Church all the 
 entries in connection with the family of John and Mary Catnach 
 and which will be found in extenso at pages 2-3 oi this work. 
 
XXXV. 
 
 Mr. George Skelly and Mr. G. H. Thompson are fortunate by 
 their residence in Alnwick in having had the acquaintance and 
 friendship of the late Mr. Mark Smith — James Catnach's fellow 
 apprentice, Mr. Thomas Robertson, Mr. Tate, the local historian, 
 and several other Alnwick-folk. And they have made the best 
 possible use of the circumstance to supply us with information on 
 the subject of our enquiry. 
 
 Recently Mr. Geo. Skelly has forwarded to us an original 
 trade invoice of John Catnach of which we here append a 
 facsimile copy : — 
 
 1807. 
 July 29, 
 
 Printing 500 Bills 
 
 8 „ 6 
 
 ^^t a 
 
 (2/v iCi/r^n^z^LyC>0 
 
 We have now brought up the history of our pursuit of know- 
 ledge to the eve of tlie publication of the Life and Times of 
 James Catnach — late of Sev^n DIliIs, Ballad-monger— which was 
 first announced in 1878 in the n.anntr following. 
 
Je Life of Jemmy Catnach, 
 
 Now, my friends, you have here 
 just printed and pub— lish— ed, the 
 Full, True, and Particular account 
 of the Life, Trial, Character, Confes- 
 sion, Condemnation, and Behaviour, 
 together with an authentic copy of 
 thelast asaill anU Eestamcnt: 
 or Dying Speech, of that eccentric 
 individual "Old Jemmy Catnach," 
 late of the Seven Dialsy printer, 
 publisher, toy-book manufacturer, 
 dying-speech merchant, and ballad- 
 monger. Here, you may read how 
 he was bred and born the son of a printer, in the ancient Borough of 
 Alnwick, which is in Northumberlandshire. How he came to London 
 to seek his fortune. How he obtained it by printing and publishing 
 children's books, the chronicling of doubtful scandals, fabulous duels 
 between ladies of fashion, " cooked " assassinations, and sudden deaths 
 of eminent individuals, apocryphal elopements, real or catch-penny 
 accounts of murders, impossible robberies, delusive suicides, dark deeds 
 and public executions, to which was usually attached the all-important 
 and necessary "Sorrowful Lamentations," or, "Copy of Affectionate 
 Verses," which, according to the established custom, the criminal composed, 
 in the condemned cell, the night before his execution. 
 
 Yes, my customers, in this book you'll read how Jemmy Catnach made 
 his fortune in Monmouth Court, which is to this day in the Seven 
 Dials, which is in London. Not only will you read how he did make 
 his fortune, but also what he did and what he didn't do with it after he 
 had made it. You will also read how "Old Jemmy" set himself up as 
 a fine gentleman :— James Catnach Es— quire. 
 
 And how he didn't like it when he had done it. And how he went 
 back again to dear old Monmouth Court, which is in the Seven Dials 
 aforesaid. And how he languished, and languishing, did die— leaving 
 all his old mouldy coppers behind him —and how being dead, he was 
 buried in Highgate Cemetery. 
 
 Furthermore, my ready-money customers, you are informed that there 
 are only 750 copies of the work print-ed and pub-lish-ed, viz., namely 
 that is to say;— 500 copies on croAvn 8vo, at 12/6 each. 
 250 copies on demy 8vo., at 25/- each. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 REEVES AND TURNER, 
 
 196, STRAND, W.C. 
 
 1878. 
 
XXXVll. 
 
 The Seven Dials ! — Jemmy Catnach and Street Literature are, 
 as it were, so inseparably bound together that we now propose 
 to give a short history of the former to enable us to connect our 
 own history with the later : — 
 
 The Seven Dials were built for wealthy tenants, and Evelyn, 
 in his Diary ^ 1694, notes : " I went to see the building near St. 
 Giles's, where Seven Dials make a star from a Doric pillar placed 
 in the middle of a circular area, in imitation of Venice." The 
 attempt was not altogether in vain. This part of the parish has 
 ever since " worn its dirt with a difference." There is an air of 
 shabby gentility about it. The air of the footman or waiting- 
 maid can be recognised through the tatters, which are worn with 
 more assumption than those of their unsophisticated neighbours. 
 
 *' You may break, you may shatter the vase if you will ; 
 But the scent of the roses will hang round it still." 
 
 The Seven Dials are thus described in Gay's Trivia : — 
 
 " Where famed St. Giles's ancient limits spread, 
 An in-railed column rears its lofty head ; 
 Here to seven streets, seven dials count their day. 
 And from each other catch the circling ray ; 
 Here oft the peasant, with inquiring face. 
 Bewildered, trudges on from place to place ; , 
 He dwells on every sign with stupid gaze — 
 Enters the narrow alley's doubtful maze — 
 Tries every winding court and street in vain, 
 And doubles o'er his weary steps again." 
 
 This column was removed in July, 1773, on the supposition 
 that a considerable sum of money was lodged at the base j but 
 the search was ineffectual 
 
 6 
 
xxxvni. 
 
 Charles Knight, in his** London," writes thus of Seven Dials : — 
 
 ** It is here that the literature of St. Giles's has fixed its abode ; and a 
 literature the parish has of its own, and that, as times go, of a very respect- 
 able standing in point of antiquity. In a letter from Letitia Pilkington, to 
 the demure author of ' Sir Charles Grandison,' and published by the no 
 less exemplary and irreproachable Mrs. Barbauld, the lady informs her 
 correspondent that she has taken apartments in Great White Lion Street, 
 and stuck up a bill intimating that all who have not found * reading and 
 writing come by nature,' and who had had no teacher to make up the 
 defect by art, might have 'letters written here.' With the progress of 
 education, printing presses have found their way into St. Giles's, and what 
 with literature and a taste for flowers and birds, there is much of the 'sweet 
 south ' about the Seven Dials harmonising with the out-of-door habits of 
 its occupants. It was here — in Monmouth Court, a thoroughfare connect- 
 ing Monmouth Street with Little Earl Street — that the late eminent Mr. 
 Catnach developed the resources of his genius and trade. It was he who 
 first availed himself of greater mechanical skill and a larger capital than 
 had previously been employed in the department of the trade, to substi- 
 tute — for the excrable tea-paper, blotched with lamp-black and oil, which 
 characterised the old broadside and ballad printing — tolerably white paper 
 and real printer's ink. But more than that, it was he who first conceived 
 and carried into effect, the idea of publishing collections of songs by the 
 yard, and giving to purchasers, for the small sum of one penny (in foi-mer 
 days the cost of a single ballad), strings of poetry, resembling in shape and 
 length the list of Don Juan's mistresses, which Leporello unrolls on the 
 stage before Donna Anna. He was no ordinary man, Catnach ; he pa- 
 tronised original talents in many a bard of St Giles's and is understood to 
 - have accumulated the largest store of broadsides, last dying speeches,ballads 
 and other stock-in-trade of the flying stationer's upon record." 
 
 Douglas Jerrold in his article on the Ballad Singer, published 
 in " Heads of the People ; or Portraits of the English "— 1841, 
 writes thus of Seven Dials and its surroundings : — 
 
 ' ' The public ear has become dainty, fastidious, hypercritical ; hence the 
 Ballad-Singer languishes and dies. Only now and then, his pipings are to 
 
xxxix. 
 
 be heard * • * With the fall of Napoleon, declined the English 
 Ballad-Singer. During the war, it was his peculiar province to vend half- 
 penny historical abridgments to his country's glory ; recommending the 
 short poetic chronicle by some familiar household air, that fixed it in the 
 memory of the purchaser, who thus easily got hatred of the French by 
 heart, with a new assurance of his own invulnerability. No battle was 
 fought, no vessel taken or sunken, that the triumph was not published, 
 proclaimed in the national gazette of our Ballad- Singer, If he were not 
 the clear silver trump of Fame, he was at least her tin horn. It was he 
 who bellowed music into news, which, made to jingle, was thus, even to 
 the weakest understanding, rendered portable. It was his narrow strips 
 of history that adorned the garrets of the poor ; it was he who made them 
 yearn towards their country, albiet to them so rough and niggard a mother. 
 
 Napoleon lost Waterloo, and the English Ballad-Signer not only lost 
 his greatest prerogative, but was almost immediately assailed by foreign 
 rivals, who had well-nigh played him dumb. Little thought the Ballad- 
 Singer, when he crQwed forth the crowning triumphs of the war, and in 
 his sweetest possible modulations breathed the promised blessings of a 
 golden peace, that he was then, swan-like, singing his own knell : that he 
 did but herald the advent of his own proven9al destroyers. 
 
 Oh muse ! descend and say, did no omen tell the coming of the fall P 
 Did no friendly god give warning to the native son of song ? Burned the 
 stars clearly, tranquilly in heaven, — or shot they madly across Primrose- 
 hill, the Middlesex Parnassus ? 
 
 Evening had gathered o'er Saint Giles's, and Seven Dials. So tranquil 
 was the season, even publishers were touched. Catnach and Pitts sat 
 silent in their shops ; placing their hands in breeches-poke, with that 
 serenity which pockets best convey, they looked around their walls — walls 
 more richly decked than if hung with triumphs of Sidonian looms, arrayed 
 with Bayeux stitchings ; walls, where ten thousand thousand ballads —strips 
 harmonious, yet silent as Apollo's unbraced strings, — hung pendulous, or 
 crisply curling, like John Braham's hair. Catnach and Pitts, the tuneful 
 masters of the gutter-choir, serenely looked, yet with such comprehensive 
 glance, that look did take their stock. Suddenly, more suddenly than e'er 
 
xL 
 
 the leaves in Horasey wood were stirred by instant blast, the thousand 
 thousand ballads swung and rustled on the walls ; yet wind there was not, 
 not the lightest breath. Still like pendants fluttering in a northern breeze, 
 the ballads streamed towards Catnach, and towards Pitts ! Amazing 
 truth — yet more ; each ballad found a voice ! * Old Towler ' faintly 
 growled ; * Nancy Dawson ' sobbed and sighed ; and, ' Bright Chanticleer ' 
 crowed weakly, dolorously, as yet in chickenhood, and smitten with the 
 pip. At the same instant, the fiddle, the antique viol of Roger Scratch, 
 fell from its garret-peg, and lay shivered, even as glass. 
 
 A cloud fell upon Seven Dials ; dread and terror chilled her many min- 
 strels : and why — and wherefore ? 
 
 At that dread moment, a ministrel from the sunny south, with barrel- 
 organ, leapt on Dover beach ! Seven Dials felt the shock : her trouba- 
 dours, poor native birds, were to be out-carrolled and out-quavered, by 
 Italian opera retailed by penn'orths to them, from the barrel-organs : and 
 prompt to follow their masters, they let the English ballad singer sing un- 
 heard . 
 
 The Ballad- Singer has lost his occupation; yet should he not pass away 
 unthanked, unrecompensed. We have seen him a useful minister in rude 
 society ; we have heard him a loud-mouthed advocate of party zeal, and 
 we have seen him almost ground into silence by the southern troubadour. 
 Yet was he the first music-seller in the land. Ye well-stocked, flourishing 
 vendors of fashionable scores, deign to cast a look through plate glass at 
 your poor, yet great original, bare- footed and in rags, singing, unabashed, 
 amidst London wagon- wheels : behold the true decendant of the primative 
 music-seller." 
 
 Charles Dickens, as Boz, long since "sketched" the Seven 
 Dials, and at the same time and place given us his — " Medita- 
 tions in Monmouth Street : — 
 
 " Seven Dials ! the region of song and poetr}' — first effusions, and last 
 dying speechees : hallowed by the names of Catnach and Pitts — names that 
 will entwine themselves with costermongers, and barrel-organs, when penny 
 magazines shall have superseded penny yards of song, and capital punish- 
 ment be unknown." 
 
xU. 
 
 Several years ago Mr. Albert Smith, who lived at Chertsey, 
 discovered in his neighbourhood part of the Seven Dials — the 
 column doing duty as a monument to a Royal Duchess — when 
 he described the circumstance in a pleasant paper, entitled 
 " Some News of a famous Old Fellow," in his '' Town and 
 Country Magazine." The communication is as follows : — 
 
 " Let us now quit the noisome mazes of St. Giles's and go out and away into the pure 
 leafy country. Seventeen or eighteen miles from town, in the county of Surrey, is the 
 little village of Weybridge. 
 
 One of the lions to be seen at Weybridge is Oatlands, with its large artificial grotto 
 and bath-room, which is said — but we cannot comprehend the statement — to have cost the 
 Duke of Newcastle, who had it built, ;^4o,ooo. The late Duchess of York died at Oat- 
 lands, and lies in a small vault under Weybridge Church, wherein there is a monument, 
 by Chantrey, to her memory. She was an excellent lady, well-loved by all the country 
 people about her, and when she died they were anxious to put up some sort of a tribute 
 to her memory. But the village was not able to offer a large some of money for this pur- 
 pose. The good folks did their best, but the amount was still very humble, so they were 
 obligated to dispense with the service of any eminent architect, and build up only such a 
 monument as their means could compass. Someone told them that there was a column to 
 be sold cheap in a stonemason's yard, which might answer their purpose. It was accord- 
 ingly purchased ; a coronet was placed upon its summit ; and the memorial was set up on 
 Wej'bridge Green, in front of the Ship Inn, at the junction of the roads leading to Oat- 
 lands, to Shepperton Lock, and to Chertsey. This column turned out to be the original 
 on« from Seven Dials. 
 
 The stone on which the dials were engraved or fixed, was sold with it. The poet Gay, 
 however, was wrong when he spoke of its seven faces. It is hexagonal in its shape ; this 
 is accounted for by the fact that two of the streets opened into one angle. It was not 
 wanted to assist in forming the monument, but was turned into a stepping stone, near the 
 adjoining inn, to assist the infirm in mounting their horses, and there it now lies, having 
 sunk by degrees into the earth ; but its original form can still be easily surmised. It may 
 be about three feet in diameter. 
 
 The column itself is about thirty feet high and two feet in diameter, displaying no great 
 architectural taste. It is surmounted by a coronet, and the base is enclosed by a light 
 iron railing. An appropriate inscription on one side of the base indicates its erection in 
 the year 1822, on the others are some lines to the memory of the Duchess. 
 
 Relics undergo strange transpositions. The obelisk from the mystic solitudes of the 
 Nile to the centre of the Place de la Concorde, in bustling Paris — the monuments of 
 Nineveh to the regions of Great Russell Street— the frescoes from the long, dark, and 
 silent Pompeii to the bright and noisy Naples — all these are odd changes. But in pro- 
 portion to their importance, not much behind them is that old column from the crowded 
 dismal regions of St. Giles to the sunny tranquil Green of Weybridge." 
 
xlii. 
 
 We are now approaching—" The beginning of the end "- -of 
 our history. We were not taken by surprise as we know that 
 " coming events cast their shadows before," and that : — 
 
 Often do the spirits 
 Of great events stride on before the events, 
 And in to-day already walks to-morrow. 
 
 Therefore we were well prepared to read in the newspapers of 
 October, 1883, the following paragraph : — 
 
 The old-established printing and publishing house 
 formerly occupied by James Calnach, 2, Monmouth- 
 court, Seven Dials, will soon be amongst the lost 
 landmarks of London. The Metropolitan Board of 
 Works have purchased the house, and it is to be 
 pulled down to make the new street from Leicester- 
 square to New Oxford-street. The business of the 
 literature of the street was founded by James Catnach 
 in 18 13, who retired in 1840. The ballads and 
 broadsides he printed, many of them illustrated with 
 cuts by Bewick, helped to furnish the people with 
 news and political and social ballads for generations. 
 
 All that is fortold in the above has since taken place, Mon- 
 mouth-court and the house and shop wherein old Jemmy Catnach 
 estabHshed the "Catnach Press" in the year 1813 has dis- 
 appeared to make way for the ^' New Thoroughfare " from 
 Leicester-square to New Oxford street, and : — 
 
 The Catnach Press 
 
 removed by Mr. W. S. Fortey — Catnach's successor — to Great 
 St. Andrew-street, Bloomsbury, W.C. 
 
 O tempora ! O^mores / 
 
>l i I I ■ M i l 
 
 Thomas Bewick, 
 
 Thomas Bewick died at his house on the Windmill-Hills, Gateshead, November the 8th, 
 1828, in the seventy-sixth year of his', age, and on the 13th he was buried in the family 
 burial-place at Ovingham,^, where his parents, wife, and brother were interred. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 In addition to the full title of our work — " The History of the 
 Catnach Press " — the two Catnachs — John and James — father 
 and son, we deem it necessary to incidentally introduce into 
 our pages some notice of Alnwick, an ancient borough, market- 
 town and parish of Northumberland, also a few passing remarks 
 on the life and doings of Mr. William Davison, who, in con- 
 junction with the elder Catnach as a business partner and sub- 
 sequent successor, employed Thomas Bewick — an English 
 artist, who imparted the first impulse to the art of wood- 
 engraving — for many of their publications. 
 
 Of the early life of John Catnach, (Kat-nak), the father, we 
 have little information. He was bom in 1769, at Burntisland, 
 a royal burgh and parish of Fifeshire, Scotland, where his father 
 was possessed of some powder-mills. The family afterwards 
 removed to Edinburgh, when their son John was bound ap- 
 prentice to his uncle, Sandy Robinson, the printer. After 
 having duly served out his indentures, he worked for some short 
 time in Edinburgh, as a journeyman, then started in a small 
 business of his own in Berwick-upon-Tweed, where he married 
 
 B 
 
a THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Mary Hutchinson, who was a native of Dundee, a seaport- 
 town in Scotland. While at Berwick a son and heir, John, was 
 born. In 1790 they removed their business to Alnwick, and 
 during their residence there seven children were bom to them 
 and from the Register of Baptisms in St. Michael's Church we 
 glean that four of them were baptised at one time, viz., Sep- 
 tember 24, 1797, and there described as "of John Catnach, 
 printer, and Mary his wife : Dissenter." [?] John Catnach had 
 been brought up in the Roman Catholic faith, and his wife as a 
 Presbyterian. The following is taken vertabim from the Parish 
 Register: — 
 
 Sept- 24, 1797. 
 
 Margaret, Daug"^- of John Catnach, printer, and Mary his 
 Wife. Born DeC^- 26*^, 1790. Dissenter. 
 
 James, son of John Catnach, printer, and Mary his Wife. 
 Bom August 18*^, 1792. Dissenter. 
 
 Mary, Daug''- of John Catnach, printer, and Mary his Wife. 
 Born February 26*, 1794. Dissenter. 
 
 Nancy, Daug''- of John Catnach, printer, and Mary his Wife. 
 Born Sep''- 2K 1795. Dissenter. 
 
 May 23, 1798. 
 
 Elizabeth Catnach. Born March 21, 1797, 4*^ Daugnter of 
 John Catnach, printer, native of Burnt Island, Shire of Fife, by 
 his wife Mary Hutchinson, Native of Dundee, Angus Shire, 
 Scotland. 
 
 Dec-- 14, 1798. 
 
 Isabella Catnach. Born Nov*"- 2, 1798. 5^^ Daughter of Jn^- 
 Catnach, Stationer, Nat. of Scotland, by his wife, Mary Hutch- 
 inson, Nat. of Dundee, Angus Shire, Scotland. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 3 
 
 March 28, 1800. 
 
 Jane Catnach, 6^^ Daughter of John Catnach, printer, Native 
 of Edinburgh (sic) by his wife Mary Hutchinson, Native of 
 Dundee, Scotland. 
 
 To the above we have to add that there were two sons — John, 
 born to John and Mary Catnach. John I. who was bom at 
 Berwick-upon-Tweed, died August 27, 1794, aged 5 years and 
 7 months, and we find him duly recorded in the Register of 
 Deaths. John II., whose name appears at the end of the inscrip- 
 tion on a tombstone in Alnwick churchyard, and of which 
 further mention will be made in another portion of our work, 
 died, presumably unbaptized, March 5, 1803, aged 4 months. 
 
 John Catnach was not long a resident in the borough of 
 Alnwick before he became acquainted with many of the principal 
 tradesmen in the place. Naturally he was of a free-and-easy 
 disposition, and, like many of his kinsman on the Borders, was 
 particularly fond of the social glass. The latter practice he 
 allowed to grow upon him in such a way that it ultimately in- 
 terfered very much with his business prospects, and finally 
 hastened his death. 
 
 The shop that he commenced business in, was situated in 
 Narrowgate-street, and adjoining the old Half-Moon hostelry. 
 In gaining access to the place one had to ascend a flight of 
 steps. Whilst in this shop he secured a fair amount of patron- 
 age, and the specimens of printing that emanated from his press 
 are of such a character as to testify to his qualifications and 
 abilities in the trade which he adopted as his calling. He 
 possessed a fond regard for the traditions and customs which 
 for centuries had been so closely associated with the Border 
 country. 
 
 B 2 
 
4 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 When the printing press was first introduced into Alnwick is 
 not exactly known ; but that it was considerably before the time 
 of Catnach is certain. John Vint, the bookseller and author of 
 the " Burradon Ghost," for several years used a press for printing 
 purposes in the town, and Thomas Lindsay carried on a similar 
 business at a still earlier period. 
 
 John Catnach had a great relish for printing such works as 
 would admit of expensive embellishments, which, at the time he 
 commenced business, were exceedingly rare. The taste he 
 displayed in the execution of his work will be best exemplified 
 in examining some of the printed editions of the standard works 
 which emanated from his press ; and in no instance is this more 
 characteristically set forth than in those finely printed books 
 which are so beautifully illustrated by the masterly hand of 
 Thomas Bewick and his accomplished and talented pupil, Luke 
 Clennell. Notably among which are : — 
 
 I . — "The Beauties of Natural History. Selected from BufFon's 
 History of Quadrupeds, &c. Alnwick : J. Catnach, [n. d.] 
 Circa 1790, i2mo., pp. 92. With 67 cuts by Bewick.'' — Another 
 edition. Published and Sold by the Booksellers. By Wilson 
 and Spence, York, and J. Catnach, printer, Alnwick. (Price 
 i^. dd. sewed, or 2$, half-bound.) [n. d.] Circa 1795. 
 
 The embellishments of " The Beauties of Natural History " 
 form an unique and valuable collection. They are very small 
 and were done at an exceedingly low price, yet every bird and 
 animal is exquisitely brought out in the minutest detail ; whilst 
 many of the illustrations which served as " tail pieces " are gems 
 of art. 
 
 2. — " Poems by Percival Stockdale. With cuts by Thomas 
 Bewick. Alnwick : printed by J. Catnach. 1800." 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 5 
 
 3. — "The Hermit of Warkworth. A Northumberland Ballad. 
 In three Fits. By Dr. Thos. Percy, Bishop of Dromore. 
 With Designs by Mr. Craig ; and Engraved on Wood by Mr. 
 Bewick. Alnwick : Printed and Sold by J. Catnach. Sold by 
 Lackington, Allen, and Co., London; Constable and Co., 
 Edinburgh ; and Hodgson, Newcastle. 1806." The Arms of 
 the Duke of Northumberland precedes the Dedication, thus : — 
 
 TO HER GRACE 
 
 FRANCES JULIA, 
 
 Duchess of Northumberland, 
 
 This Edition of 
 
 The Hermit of Warkworth, 
 
 Is respectfully Inscribed 
 
 By Her Grace's Obliged and Humble Servant, 
 
 J. Catnach 
 
 Alnwick, October, 1805. 
 
 4- — " A Second Edition ; of which a few copies were printed 
 on extra thick paper, royal 8vo., to match with some of his other 
 
6 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 works, illustrated by Bewick, pp. xiv., 182, with 13 cuts. At 
 the end of the Poem are a Postcript, a Description of the 
 Hermitage of Warkworth, Warkworth Castle, Alnwick Castle, 
 Alnwick Abbey, and A Descriptive Ride in Hulne Park, 
 Alnwick : Printed and Sold by J. Catnach. Sold by Wilson and 
 Spence, York. 1807. 
 
 THE HERMIT OF WARKWORTH. 
 
 " And now, attended by their host, 
 The hermitage they view'd." 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 With hospitable haste he rose, 
 And wak'd his sleeping fire : 
 
 And snatching up a lighted brand, 
 Forth hied the reverend sire. 
 
 5^ .K^.^ 
 
8 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 He fought till more assistance came ; 
 
 The Scots were overthrown j 
 Thus freed me, captive, from their bands, 
 
 To make me more his own. 
 
 The illustrations of " The Hermit of Warkworth " are, upon 
 the whole, very creditable, and are well calculated to enhance 
 the value of the book, but as works of art some few of them fall 
 far short of many of Craig or Bewick's other productions. 
 
 John Catnach also printed and published a series of Juvenile 
 Works, as *' The Royal Play Book : or, Children's Friend. A 
 Present for Little Masters and Misses." " The Death and Burial 
 of Cock Robin, &c. Adorned with Cuts. — Which in many 
 cases were the early productions of Thomas Bewick. — Alnwick : 
 Sold Wholesale and Retail by J. Catnach, at his Toy-Book 
 Manufactory." 
 
 ^mm^ 
 
 ATNACBL 
 
 ^PRINTER^ ,1 
 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 9 
 
 In the year 1807, John Catnach took an apprentice — a lad 
 named Mark Smith, of whom more anon ; a few months after- 
 wards he entered into partnership with a Mr. William Davison, 
 who was a native of Ponteland, in the county of Nor- 
 thumberland, but he duly served his apprenticeship as a 
 chemist and druggist to Mr. Hind, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 
 and for whom he ever cherished a fond regard. The union 
 was not of long duration — certainly under two years — but it 
 is very remarkable that two such men should have been brought 
 together, for experience has shown that they were both morally 
 and socially, the very opposite of each other. 
 
 During the partnership: Mr. Davison held his business of 
 chemist, &c., in Bondgate-street ; while the printing and pub- 
 lishing continued at Narrowgate-street, and among the works 
 published by the firm of Catnach and Davison we may 
 record : — 
 
 " The Minstrel ; or. The Progress of Genuis. In Two Parts. 
 With some other Poems. By James Beattie, LL.D. With 
 sixteen Cuts from Designs by Mr. Thurston ; and engraved on 
 Wood by Mr. Clennel, Almvick. Printed by Catnach and 
 Davison. Sold by the Booksellers in England and Scotland. 
 1807. 1 2 mo. and Royal 8vo., pp 142." 
 
 "The Grave. A Poem. By Robert Blair. To which is 
 added Gray's Elegy. In a Country Church Yard. With Notes 
 Moral and Explanatory. Alnwick : Printed by Catnach and 
 Davison. Sold by the Booksellers in England, Scotland, and 
 Ireland. 1808. T2mo., pp. xiv., 72. With a frontispiece and 
 other cuts by Thomas Bewick." 
 
lO 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 T. Bewick. 
 
 THE GRAVE. 
 
 *' Prone, on the lowly grave of the dear man 
 She drops ; whilst busy meddling Memory, 
 In barbarous succession, musters up 
 The past endearments of their softer hours 
 Tenacious of its theme." 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 II 
 
 After the dissolution of the strange partnership, Mr. Davison 
 still prosecuted with vigour the several departments of the 
 business ; for although reared to the prescribing of physics, he 
 had a fine taste and relish for the book trade, and the short 
 time that he was with Catnach enabled him to acquire a good 
 amount of valuable information on this subject. Be this as it 
 may, he soon laid the basis of a large and lucrative business. 
 About the first work Mr. Davison issued on his o^vn account 
 was : — 
 
 The Repository of Select Literature. 
 
 Being an Elegant Assemblage of Curious, Scarce, Entertain- 
 ing and Instructive Pieces in Prose and Verse. Adorned with 
 beautiful Engravings by Bewick, &c. Alnwick : Printed by W. 
 Davison. Sold by the Booksellers in England and Scotland. 
 1808. 
 
 c 2 
 
12 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 This work is a fine specimen of provincial book-printing ; its 
 pages are adorned with some of Bewick's excellent cuts. There 
 is one that we would particularly refer to, and that is " Shepherd 
 Lubin." In size it is very small, but, like most of Bewick's \ 
 pieces, sufficiently large to show the inimitable skill of the artist. 
 The picture tells its own tale : — 
 
 ** Young Lubin was a shepherd's boy, 
 Who watched a rigid master's sheep, 
 And many a night was heard to sigh, 
 And may a day was seen to weep." 
 
 And for whole days would wander in those places sh^ had been used to 
 walk with Henry. 
 
 " The History of Crazy Jane, by Sarah Wilkinson, with a 
 frontispiece by Bewick : Alnwick. Printed by W. Davison ; and 
 Sold by all the Principal Booksellers in England and Scotland. 1 8 1 3. " 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 13 
 
 "Willie Brkw'd a Peck o'Maut." 
 
 " The Poetical Works of Robert Burns. Engravings on 
 Wood by Bewick, from designs by Thurston. Alnwick : Printed 
 by Catnach and Davison, 1808." And London : Printed for 
 T. Cadell and Davis, Strand, 181 4. With cuts previously used 
 in Davison's publications. 
 
 "Many ot the engravings produced for Burns' Poems, are 
 of a very superior class, and cannot be too highly com- 
 mended." — Hugo. 
 
14 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 *'Sandie and Willie.' 
 
 " The Poetical Works of Robert Ferguson, with his Life. 
 Engravings on Wood by Bewick. Alnwick : Printed by W. 
 Davison." 
 
 Mr. Davison, following up the actions of his former partner, 
 had a great regard for the standard poets. Previous to the 
 issuing of the poems of Ferguson they had tried to imbue a 
 better taste into. the minds of the general reader, by means of 
 publishing nothing but what was of an elevating character. And 
 this will be seen by examining such works as Buffon, Beattie, 
 Percy, Bums, &c. Almost simultaneously with the poems of 
 Burns appeared those of Ferguson. Both works are uniform 
 in size and price — viz: 2 vols, Foolscap 8vo. — 12s. in boards ; 
 they contain some of Bewick's choicest and most exquisite 
 wood-engravings. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 1 5 
 
 ** The Northumberland Minstrel : A Choice Selection of 
 Songs, Alnwick : Printed by W. Davison." 
 
 There were only three numbers of this work published,"^ each 
 of which contained 48 pages. The object of this undertaking 
 was for the carrying out a project which at that time was be- 
 coming very popular, and consisted in bringing together in a 
 collected form some of the best and most admired of our ballad- 
 poetry. In fact, the object Mr. Davison had in view was only 
 to extend what had been so successfully accomplished by Herd, 
 Ramsay, Motherwell, Ritson, and others. 
 
 Mr. Davison continued in business at Alnwick up to the time 
 of his death, in 1858, at the ripe age of 77. He was by far the 
 most enterprising printer that had settled in the North of 
 England. His collection of wood blocks was very large, and it 
 is hardly possible to form an adequate conception of the many 
 hundreds of beautiful specimens which he possessed. He stated 
 that he had paid Thomas Bewick upwards of five hundred 
 pounds for various woodcut blocks. With a view of disposing 
 of some of his surplus stock, he printed and published in 4to., a 
 catalogue : — " New Specimens of Cast-Metal Ornaments 
 AND Wood Types, Sold by W. Davison. Alnwick. With 
 impressions of i,ioo Cast Ornaments and Wood Blocks, many 
 of the latter executed by Thomas Bewick." This Catalogue — now 
 exceedingly rare — is of the greatest interest and utility, as it 
 embraces a series of cuts dispersed, as Mr. Hugo plainly shows, 
 among a considerable number of publications, and enables those 
 who collect Bewick's pieces to detect the hand of the Artist in 
 many of his less elaborated productions. 
 
 * Mr. George Skelly— ^/«wzV/^. 
 
1 6 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Those of our readers who desire more information as to the 
 many books printed by W. Davison, the Alnwick publisher, are 
 referred to "The Bewick Collector," and the Supplement 
 thereto, by the Rev. Thomas Hugo, M.A., &c. London: 
 1866 — 68. These volumes, illustrated by upwards of two 
 hundred and ninety cuts, comprise an elaborate descriptive list 
 of the most complete collection yet formed of the works of the 
 renowned wood-engravers of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Not only 
 10 Bewick collectors, but to all persons interested in the progress 
 of Art, and especially of wood-engraving, these volumes, exhibit- 
 ing chronologically the works of the Fathers of that Art in 
 England, caimot fail to be of the highest interest 
 
 Mr. Davison printed and published a series of Halfpenny 
 Books ; they are not only well printed, but in addition to this 
 it is not unusual to see them illustrated by some of Thomas 
 Bewick's choicest engravings. Mr. Hugo possessed twenty- 
 seven in number, the titles of which he enumerates in his 
 " Bewick Collector" and the Supplement thereto : adding the 
 remarks that follow : — 
 
 "The cuts in these little publications are for the most part the same which 
 were used by Davison in the other and more important works which 
 issued from his press. The volumes are in 32mo, and in typogra- 
 phical excellence are far in advance of all other children's books of 
 the period of their publication with which I am acquainted." 
 
 Herewith we publish one of the series from our own private 
 collection. The justness of Mr. Hugo's opinion will be at once 
 seen. 
 
Alnwick : 
 Published and Sold by W. Davison. 
 
 Price One Halfpenny ^ 
 
l8 - THE HISTORY OF 
 
 a b c d e 
 f g h i j k 
 1 m no p 
 q r s t u V 
 w X y z & 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 19 
 
 THE 
 
 GUESS BOOK. 
 
 THE MOON. 
 
 There was a thing a full month old, 
 When Adam was no more ; 
 
 But ere that thing was five weeks old, 
 Adam y/as years five score. 
 
 D 2 
 
20 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Guess Book. 
 
 A CAT. 
 
 In almost every house I'm seen, 
 (No wonder then I'm common), 
 
 I'm neither man, nor maid, nor child, 
 Nor yet a married woman. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 21 
 
 Guess Book. 
 
 A CANNON. 
 
 I am the terror of mankind, 
 
 My breath is flame, and by its power 
 I urge my messenger to find 
 
 A way into the strongest tower. ; 
 
22 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Guess Book. 
 
 AN OWL. 
 
 My patron is Wisdom — if Wisdom you prize, 
 In me put your confidence, borrow my eyes. 
 Who into a mill-stone can see quite as far 
 As the best of you all, by the light of a star. 
 
THfi CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 23 
 
 Guess Book. 
 
 A TOP. 
 
 I ne'er offend thee, 
 Yet thou dost me whip, 
 Which don't amend me, 
 Though I dance and skip ; 
 When I'm upright, 
 Me you always like best. 
 And barbarously whip me 
 When I want rest. 
 
24 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Guess Book. 
 
 BOOKS. 
 
 With words unnumber'd I abound ; 
 
 In me mankind do take delight ; 
 In me much learning's to be found ; 
 
 Yet I can neither read nor write. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 2$ 
 
 9 
 
 Guess Book, 
 
 A DRUM. 
 
 My sides are firmly 
 
 Lac'd about, 
 
 Yet nothing is within : 
 
 You'll think my head 
 
 Is strange indeed, 
 
 Being nothing else but skin. 
 
26 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 lO 
 
 Guess Book. 
 
 A SAND-GLASS. 
 
 Made of two bodies join'd, 
 Without foot or hand ; 
 And yet you will find 
 I can both run and stand. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 27 
 
 II 
 
 Guess Book. 
 
 TIME. 
 
 Ever eating, never cloying, 
 All devouring, all destroying, 
 Never finding full repast 
 Till 1 eat the world at last. 
 
 £ 2 
 
THE HISTORY OF 
 
 12 
 
 Guess Book. 
 
 DEATH. 
 
 The gate of life, the cause of strife, 
 
 The fruit of sin, 
 When I appear, you drop a tear. 
 
 And stay within. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 29 
 
 13 
 
 Guess Book. 
 
 A PAIR OF SHOES. 
 
 To rich and poor 
 We useful are ; 
 And yet for our reward, 
 By both at last 
 We're thrown away, 
 Without the least regard. 
 
30 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 14 
 
 Guess Book, 
 
 A SQUIRREL. 
 
 I am a busy active creature, 
 Fashion'd for the sport of nature, 
 Nimbly skip from tree to tree, 
 Under a well-wrought canopy ; '- 
 Bid Chloe then to Mira tell 
 What's my name and where I dwell 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 3 1 
 
 15 
 
 Guess Book. 
 
 A FISH. 
 
 Though it be cold I wear no clothes, 
 , The frost and snow I never fear ; 
 I value neither shoes nor hose, 
 And yet I wander far and near. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 33 
 
 oy^^^ /^^jc/xt^x^^j^^^ 
 
 AT 
 
 Newcastle. 
 
 ** There is no fooling with Life, when it is once turned forty : the 
 seeking of a Fortune then is but a desperate after-game : it is a hundred 
 to one if a man fling three sixes, and recover all ; if his hand be no luckier 
 than mine." — Cowley. 
 
 In or about the latter part of the year 1808, John Catnach, 
 with his wife and family, left Abwick for Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 
 
 F 
 
34 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 and commenced business in a small shop in Newgate-street, and 
 among other Works which he printed there, mention may be 
 made of " The Battle of Chevy Chase," a selection from the 
 works of *' Dr. Samuel Johnson, in two volumes," and " The 
 Life of John Thompson, Mariner. Written by Himself : Also, 
 his Divine Selections, in Prose and Verse. From esteemed 
 Authors. Embellished with steel Engravings. Newcastle : 
 Printed for the Author. By J. Catnach, Newgate-street. 1810. 
 1 2mo., pp. Ixxvi., 214. With two tail pieces by Thomas Bewick." 
 
 John Thompson, alias Godfried Thomas Leschinsky, born at 
 Riga, 1782, was a seaman. He sailed with Nelson's fleet to 
 Copenhagen, 1801. Continuing at sea he endured many hard- 
 ships from severe accidents and ill health, and was at length 
 discharged as not being fit for his Majesty's service. In 1806, 
 while in the Infirmary at Newcastle, one of his legs — from old 
 injuries, rapidly mortified and had to be amputated. Subse- 
 quently, in consequence of the bones and joints of his right hand 
 decaying, his arm was taken off below the elbow. He for years 
 made a living out of his misfortunes and assumed piety. Catnach 
 was induced, by specious reasoning, to undertake the printing of 
 the book, but the eleemosynary author dying just as it was 
 all worked off but not bound, he had the whole of the stock 
 thrown on his hands to do the best he could with. There were 
 between fifty and sixty claims set up by persons who averred 
 that they had in part, or whole, paid for a copy each to the 
 author on signing his subscription list, and most of these claims 
 were allowed on the payment of sixpence extra : the work was 
 subscribed for at 3s. 6d., but being extended to 20 pages more 
 than was expected, the price was advanced to 4s. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 35 
 
 John Catnach, at Newcastle, worked attentively for awhile, 
 but without finding his expectations realised. Alas ! time and 
 the change of scene and companions had not improved the man. 
 He contrived to get into a great amount of debt, without the 
 least possible chance, from his irregular mode of living, of Jpeing 
 able to pay it off. Eventually, he made up his mind for the 
 worst, and the downward course would seem to have been the 
 only way open to him. From bad to worse, and from one 
 extreme to the other, he rapidly drifted. The loose and irre- 
 gular manner in which he had existed was beginning to tell 
 upon his constitution. His business had been neglected, and 
 his adventures were nearly at a climax. The wreck came, with 
 a terrific blow ; but it was not unlooked for. Poor Catnach was 
 a bankrupt, and as such sent to the debtor's gaol. But just 
 before, he had managed to send his wife and daughters to 
 London, together with a wooden printing press, some small 
 quantity of type, and other articles of his trade that could be 
 hurriedly and clandestinely got together. 
 
 During the five years' residence of John and Mary Catnach in 
 Newcastle, they had one child, Isabella, burned to death, and 
 another, Julia Dalton, born to them. 
 
 Mr. Mark Smith, who had been bound apprentice to John 
 Catnach, but by reason of whose removal from the Borough of 
 Alnwick, the indentures had been rendered void, was then in 
 London, serving out his time as a turnover and improver with 
 Mr. John Walker, of Paternoster Row, and on being made 
 acquainted with the arrival of Mrs. Catnach and her family, 
 paid them a visit at their lodgings in a court leading ofi" Drury- 
 lane, and assisted in putting up the press and arranging the 
 other few matters and utensils in connection with their tiny 
 
 F 2 
 
36 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 printing office, there to await John Catnach's release from prison 
 and arrival in the metropolis. 
 
 London life to John Catnach proved very disastrous, mat- 
 ters never went smoothly witli him. It was evident to all his 
 friends that he had made a great mistake in leaving the North 
 of England. Mr. Mark Smith continued to visit the family as 
 opportunities presented themselves. On one occasion he found 
 them in extremely distressed circumstances, so much so, that he 
 had to afford them some temporary relief from his slender 
 earnings and then left the northern sojourners for the night, 
 promising that he would return to see them at an early date. 
 Anxious to learn how they were succeeding in the crowded 
 metropolis, it was not many days before he again visited them, 
 but this time he found them in a sorry plight ; the landlady had 
 distrained upon their all for arrears of rent. This was an 
 awkward predicament; but the indomitable young Northum- 
 brian, like the more burly Dr. Johnson of old, when his friend 
 Oliver Goldsmith was similarly situated, resolved to do all he 
 could to rescue him from the peril in which he was placed. 
 Not being prepared for a case of such pressing emergency, the 
 full debt and costs being demanded, he was compelled to 
 borrow the required amount of Mr. Matthew Willoughby, a 
 native and freeman of the Borough of Alnwick, then residing 
 in London, and once more his old master was free. 
 
 John Catnach then removed his business to a front shop in 
 Soho, when, in the absence of work of a higher class, he had to 
 resort to printing quarter-sheet ballads, here is the title and 
 imprint of one example : — 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 37 
 
 Tom Starboard and Faithful Nancy. 
 
 Tom Starboard was a lover true, 
 As brave a tar as ever sail'd ; 
 The duties ablest seamen do 
 Tom did, and never had fail'd. 
 ♦ ♦ -K- * * 
 
 London. — Printed by J. Catnach, and Sold Wholesale and 
 Retail at No. 60, Wardour-street, Soho-square. 
 
 For his wife and family he took apartments in Charlotte Street, 
 Fitzroy-square. Again he shortly removed his business to 
 Gerrard-street, where he had hardly got his plant into working 
 order, when on returning home on the evening of the 29th of 
 August, 1813, he had the misfortune to fall down and injure his 
 leg. He was immediately taken to St. George's Hospital, Hyde- 
 park Corner, when rheumatic fever supervened, and although 
 placed under the skilfuf treatment of Dr. Young, he never 
 raUied, his constitution being completely broken, but by means 
 '^f superior medical treatment and good nursing he lingered 
 until the 4th of December in the same year, on which day he 
 died. 
 
38 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Such is a brief resume of the latter years of John Catnach's 
 life. It is apparent that, by a little application and self-denial, 
 .this man might have made for himself a name and position in 
 the world. He possessed all the necessary talents for bringing 
 success within his reach. The ground which he took is the 
 same which in after years proved to be of inestimable value to 
 hundreds of publishers who never possessed half the amount of 
 ability and good taste in printing and embellishing books that 
 was centred in him. 
 
 After his death, and just at the time when his widow and 
 daughters were sunk in the greatest poverty, his son James, who 
 in after years became so noted in street literature publications, 
 made his way to the metropolis. It appears that this extraor- 
 dinary man at one time contemplated devoting his life to rural 
 pursuits ; in fact, when a youth he served for some time as a 
 shepherd boy, quite contrary to the wish and desire of his 
 parents. Every opportunity he could get he would run away, 
 far across the moors and over the Northumbrian mountains, and, 
 always accompanied with his favourite dog Venus, and a com- 
 mon-place book, in which he jotted down in rhymes and chymes 
 his notions of a pastoral life."^ Thus he would stay away from 
 home for days and nights together. 
 
 * At an interview which we had in 1877 with 
 
 Nee. Elizabeth Catnach, the last survivor of the family of John and Mary 
 Catnach, she informed us that the MS. book alluded to above, remained 
 in the family for many years, andjwas last known to be in the possession 
 of the sister Mary— Mrs. Haines, of Gosport, to the date of about 1863. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 39 
 
 This project, however, was abandoned, and he commenced to 
 serve as a printer in the employment of his father. It is rather 
 remarkable that he and Mr. Mark Smith 
 
 were both bound on the same day as apprentices to Mr. John 
 Catnach, and that they afterwards worked together as "im- 
 provers " in their trade with : — 
 
 Joseph Grahaniy Printer^ Alnivick. 
 
 Mr. Hugo, in the Supplement to his " Bewick Collector," pp. 
 256 (5137), says: — "This very beautiful Cut was done by 
 Thomas Bewick, sometime about the year 1794, for a well- 
 known Alnwick printer." 
 
40 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 ^50a'-9^V£--^ 
 
 ''Death made no conquest of this man, 
 For now he lives in fame, though not in life. " 
 
 At the time James — or, as he afterwards was popularly called 
 " yemmy^^ or, " Old yemmy " Catnach commenced business in 
 Seven Dials it took all the prudence and tact which he could 
 command to maintain his position, as at that time " Johnny " 
 Pitts,* of the Toy and Marble Warehouse, No. 6, Great St. 
 Andrew street, was the acknowledged and established printer of 
 street literature for the " Dials " district ; therefore, as may be 
 easily imagined, a powerful rivalry and vindictive jealousy soon 
 arose between these " two of a trade " — most especially on the 
 part of " Old Mother " Pitts, who is described as being a coarse 
 and vulgar- minded personage, and as having originally followed 
 the trade of a bumboat woman at Portsmouth: she "wowed 
 wengeance " against the young fellow in the court for daring to 
 set up in their business, and also spoke of him as a young 
 " Catsnatch," " Catblock," " Cut-throat," and many other op- 
 probrious terms which were freely given to the new comer. Pitts' 
 staff of " bards " were duly cautioned of the conseqences which 
 would inevitably follow should they dare to write a line for 
 Catnach — the new cove up the court. The injunction was for a 
 time obeyed, but the " Seven Bards of the Seven Dials " soon 
 found it not only convenient, but also more profitable to sell 
 
 *■ Pitts, a modern publisher of love garlands, merriments, penny ballads, 
 
 " Who, ere he went to heaven, 
 Domiciled in Dials Seven ! " — 
 
 G. Daniel's " Democritus in London." 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 4 1 
 
 copies of their effusions to both sides at the same time, and by 
 keeping their own counsel they avoided detection, as each 
 printer accused the other of obtaining an early sold copy, and 
 then reprinting it with the utmost speed, which was in 
 reality often the case, as " Both Houses " had emissaries on the 
 constant look-out for any new production suitable for street-sale. 
 Now, although this style of "double dealing" and competition 
 tended much to lessen the cost price to the " middle-man/' or 
 vendor, the public in this case did not get any of the reduction, 
 as a penny broadside was still a penny, and a quarter-sheet still 
 a halfpenny to them, the " street patterer '' obtaining the whole 
 of the reduction as extra profit. 
 
 The feud existing between these rival publishers, who have 
 been somewhat aptly designated as the Colbum and Bentley of 
 the "paper" trade, never abated, but, on the contrary, increased 
 in acrimony of temper, until at last not being content to vilify 
 each other by " Words ! words!! words!!!" alone, they resorted 
 to printing off virulent lampoons, in which Catnach never 
 failed to let the world know that " Old Mother Pitts " had been 
 formerly a bumboat woman, while the Pitt's party announced 
 that :— 
 
 " All the boys and girls around, 
 
 Who go out prigging rags and phials, 
 Know Jemmy Catsnaich ! ! ! well, 
 
 Who lives in a back slum in the Dials. 
 He hangs out in Monmouth Court, 
 
 And wears a pair of blue-black breeches. 
 Where all the "Polly Cox's crew " do resort 
 
 To cliop their swag for badly printed Dying Speeches.'* 
 
 But however, in spite of all the opposition and trade rivahy, 
 Catnach persevered ; he worked hard, and lived hard, and was 
 
 G 
 
42 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 . fitted to the stirring times. The Peninsular wars had just con- 
 cluded, politics and party strife ran high, squibs, lampoons, and 
 political ballads were the order of the day, and he made money. 
 But he had weighty pecuniary family matters to bear up with, 
 as thus early in his career, his father's sister also joined them, 
 and they all lived and huddled together in the shop and parlour 
 of No. 2, Monmouth-court. He did a small and very humble 
 trade as a jobbing master, printing and publishing penny 
 histories, street-papers, and halfpenny songs, relying for their 
 composition on one or two out of the known *' Seven Bards of 
 the Seven Dials," and when they were on the drink, or otherwise 
 not inclined to work, being driven to write and invent them 
 himself. 
 
 The customers who frequented his place of business were for 
 the most part of the lowest grades of society : — those who by 
 folly, intemperance, and crime, had been reduced to the greatest 
 penury. Anyone with a few coppers in his pockets could easily 
 knock out an existence, especially when anything sensational 
 was in the wind. 
 
 The great excitement throughout the country caused by the 
 melancholy death of the Princess Charlotte, on the sixth day of 
 November, 1817, was an event of no ordinary description. It 
 was, indeed, a most unexpected blow, the shining virtues, as well 
 as the youth and beauty of the deceased, excited an amount of 
 affectionate commiseration, such as probably had never before 
 attended the death of any royal personage in England. 
 
 The Seven Dials Press was busily engaged in working off 
 " papers " descriptive of every fact that could be gleaned from 
 the newspapers, and that was suitable for street sale. Catnach 
 was not behind his compeers, as he published several statements 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 43 
 
 in respect to the Princess's death, and made the following lines 
 
 out of his own head! And had, continued our informant — a 
 
 professional street-ballad writer — " wood enough left for as many 
 
 more " : — 
 
 "She is gone ! sweet Charlotte's gone ! 
 Gone to the silent bourne ; 
 She is gone, She's gone, for evermore, — 
 She never can return. 
 
 She is gone with her joy — her darling Boy, 
 The son of Leopold, blythe and keen ; 
 
 She Died the sixth of November, 
 Eighteen hundred and seventeen." 
 
 The year 1818, proved a disastrous one to Catnach, as in 
 addition to the extra burden entailed on him in family matters, 
 he had, in the way of his trade, printed a street-paper reflecting 
 on the private character and on the materials used in the manu- 
 facture of the sausages as sold by the pork butchers of the 
 Drury-lane quarter in general, and particularly by Mr. Pizzey, 
 a tradesman carrying on business in Blackmore-street, Clare- 
 market, who caused him to be summoned to the Bow-street 
 Police Court to answer the charge of malicious libel, when he 
 was committed to take his trial at the next Clerkenwell Sessions, 
 by Sir Richard Bumie, where he was sentenced to six months' 
 imprisonment in the House of Correction, at Clerkenwell, in the 
 County of Middlesex. 
 
 During Catnach's incarceration his mother and sisters, aided by 
 
 one of the Seven Dials bards, carried on the business, writing 
 and printing off all the squibs and street ballads that were 
 required. In the meanwhile the Johnny Pitts' crew printed 
 several -lampoons on "Jemmy Catnach." Subjoined is a 
 
 G 2 
 
44 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 portion of one of them that has reached us, viva voce^ of the 
 aforesaid — John Morgan — professional street-ballad writer : — 
 
 "Jemmy Catnach printed a quarter sheet — 
 It was called in lanes and passages, 
 That Pizzy the butcher, had dead bodies chopped, 
 And made them into sausages. 
 
 ** Poor Pizzey was in an awful mess. 
 And looked the colour of cinders — 
 A crowd assembled from far and near, 
 And they smashed in all his windows. 
 
 ** Now Jemmy Catnach's gone to prison. 
 And what's he gone to prison for ? 
 For printing a libel against Mr. Pizzey, 
 Which was sung from door to door. 
 
 •* Six months in quod old Jemmy's got. 
 Because he a shocking tale had started, 
 About Mr. Pizzey who dealt in sausages 
 In Blackmore-street, Clare-market." 
 
 Misfortunes are said never to come singly, and so it proved to 
 the Catnach family, for while Jemmy was domg his six months 
 in the House of Correction at Clerkenwell, we find in the pages 
 of the Weekly Dispatch for January 3, 1819, and under Police 
 Intelligence, as follows : — 
 
 Circulating False News.— At Bow-street, on Wednesday, Thomas 
 Love and Thomas Howlett, were brought to the office by one of the 
 patrole, charged with making a disturbance in Chelsea, in the morning, by 
 blowing of horns, with a tremendous noise, and each of them after blowing 
 his horn, was heard to announce with all the vociferation the strength of 
 his lungs would admit of : — <* The full, true, and particular account of the 
 most cruel and barbarous murder of Mr. Ellis, of Sloane-street, which took 
 place, last night, in the Five Fields, Chelsea." The patrole, knowing 
 that no such horrid event had taken place, had them taken up. The papers 
 in their possession, which they had been seUing at a halfpenny each, were 
 seized and brought to the office with the prisoners. But what is most 
 extraordinary, the contents of the papers had no reference whatever to Mr. 
 Ellis ! They were headed in large letters, '* A Horrid Murder," and 
 the murder was stated to have been committed at South-green, near 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 45 
 
 Dartford, on the bodies of Thomas Lane, his wife, three children, and his 
 mother. The murderer's conduct was stated very particularly, although, 
 in fact, no such event occurred. The magistrate severely censured the 
 conduct of the whole parties. He ordered the prisoners to be detained, 
 and considered them to be very proper subjects to be made an example of. 
 On Thursday these parties were again brought before the magistrate, 
 together with Mrs. Catnach [the mother] the printer of the bills, which 
 gave a fictitious statement of the horrid murder said to be committed at 
 Dartford. She was severely reprimanded. The two homblowers were 
 also reprimanded and then discharged. 
 
 The busy year of 1820 was a very important one to Catnach, 
 
 in fact the turning point in his life. The Duke of Kent, fourth 
 
 son of George III., and father to Queen Victoria, died on the 
 
 23rd of January — the event was of sufficient consequence to 
 
 produce several **Full Particulars," for street sale. Just six 
 
 days after his death, viz., on the 29th of January, 1820, George 
 
 III. died, and that event set the '' Catnach Press " going night 
 
 and day to supply the street papers, containing " Latest 
 
 particulars," &c. 
 
 '* Mourn, Britons mourn ! Your sons deplore, 
 Our Royal Sovereign is now no more," 
 
 was the commencement of a ballad written, printed, and pub- 
 lished by J. Catnach, 2, Monmouth-court, 7 Dials. Battledores, 
 Lotteries, and Primers sold cheap. Sold by Marshall, Bristol, 
 and Hook, Brighton. 
 
 The royal body was committed to the family vault in St. 
 George's Chapel at Windsor, on the i6th of February, amidst a 
 concourse of the great and the noble of the land. The usual 
 ceremony of proclamation and salutation announced the 
 accession of George IV. and another important era commenced. 
 
 Immediately following these events came the Cato-street 
 conspiracy. On the 24th of February the newspapers contained 
 
46 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 the startling intelligence that, on the previous evening, a party 
 of eleven men, headed by Arthur Thistlewood, who was already 
 known as a political agitator, had been apprehended at a stable 
 in Cato-street, an obscure place in the locality of Grosvenor- 
 square, on the charge of being the parties to a conspiracy to 
 assassinate the greater part of the King's Ministers. The truth 
 of the intelligence was soon confirmed by the proceedings 
 which took place before the magisterial authorities ; and in due 
 course all the parties were put on their trial at the Old Bailey, 
 on a charge of high treason, Arthur Thistlewood, the leader, 
 being the first tried on the 17 th of April ; the Lord Chief 
 Justice Abbott presiding. The names of the other prisoners 
 were — William Davidson, a man of colour ; James Ings, John 
 Thomas Brunt, Richard Tidd, James William Wilson, John 
 Harrison, Richard Bradburn, James Shaw Strange, and Charles 
 Cooper, of whom the first four, together with Thistlewood, were 
 executed as traitors on May ist. 
 
 The Cato-street conspiracy proved a rich harvest to all con- 
 cerned in the production of street literature. Catnach came in 
 for a fair share of the work, and he found himself with plenty 
 of cash in hand, and in good time to increase his trade-plant 
 to meet the great demand for the street-papers that were in a few 
 months to be published daily, and in reference to the ever- 
 memorable trial of Queen Caroline ; then it was that his 
 business so enormously increased as at times to require three or 
 four presses going night and day to keep pace with the great 
 demand for papers, which contained a very much abridged 
 account of the previous day's evidence, and taken without the 
 least acknowledgment from an early procured copy of one of 
 the daily newspapers. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 47 
 
 Great as was the demand, the printers of street literature 
 were equal to the occasion; and all were actively engaged in 
 getting out " papers," squibs, lists of various trade deputations 
 to the Queen's levees, lampoons and songs, that were almost 
 hourly published, on the subject of the Queen's trial. The 
 following is a selection from one which emanated from the 
 " Catnach Press," and was supplied to us by John Morgan, the 
 Seven Dials bard, and who added that he had the good luck — 
 the times being prosperous — to screw out half-a-crown from Old 
 Jemmy for the writing of it. *' Ah ! sir," he continued, " it was 
 always a hard matter to get much out of Jemmy Catnach, I can 
 tell you, sir. He was, at most times, a hard-fisted one, and no 
 mistake about it. Yet, sir, somehow or another, he warn't such 
 a bad sort, just where he took. A little bit rough and ready, 
 like, you know, sir. But yet still a 'nipper.' That's just about 
 the size of Jemmy Catnach, sir. I wish I could recollect more 
 of the song, but you've got the marrow of it, sir : — 
 
 * And when the Queen arrived in town, 
 
 The people called her good, sirs ; 
 She had a Brougham by her side, 
 A Denman, and a Wood, sirs 
 
 * The people all protected her, 
 
 They ran from far and near, sirs, 
 Till they reached the house of Squire Byng, 
 Which was in St. James' s-square, sirs. 
 
 * And there my blooming Caroline, 
 
 About her made a fuss, man, 
 And told how she had been deceived 
 By a cruel, barbarous, husband ' " 
 
 Street papers continued to be printed and sold in connection 
 with Queen Caroline's trial up to the date of her death, in the 
 month of August, 182 1. 
 
48 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 A Copy of Verses in Praise of Queen Caroline. 
 
 ** Ye Britons all, both great and small, 
 Come listen to my ditty, 
 Your noble Queen, fair Caroline, 
 Does well deserve your pity. 
 
 Like harmless lamb that sucks its dam. 
 
 Amongst the flowery thyme, 
 Or turtle dove that's given to love : 
 
 And that's her only crime. 
 
 Wedlock I ween, to her has been 
 
 A life of grief and woe j 
 Thirteen years past she's had no rest. 
 
 As Britons surely know. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 49 
 
 To blast her fame, men without shame, 
 
 Have done all they could do ; 
 'Gainst her to swear they did prepare 
 
 A motley, perjured crew. 
 
 Europe they seek for Turk or Greek, 
 
 To swear her life away, 
 But she will triumph yet o'er all. 
 
 And innocence display. 
 
 Ye powers above, who virtue love, 
 
 Protect her from despair, 
 And soon her free from calumny. 
 
 Is every true man's prayer," 
 
 J. Catnach, Printer, 2, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. 
 
 Immediately following the Queen's death, there were published 
 a whole host of monodies, elegies, and ballads in her praise. 
 Catnach made a great hit with one entitled — " Oh ! Britons 
 Remember your Queen's Happy Days," together with a large 
 broadside, entitled "An Attempt to Exhibit the Leading Events 
 in the Queen's Life, in Cuts and Verse. Adorned with Twelve 
 splendid Illustrations. Interspersed with Verses of Descriptive 
 Poetry. Entered at Stationers' Hall. By Jas. Catnach, Printer, 
 7 Dials. Price 2d." A copy is preserved in the British 
 Museum. Press Mark. Tab. 597, «, i — 67, and arranged 
 under Catnach, from which we select two pieces as a fair sample 
 of Jemmy's " poetry-making ! " — Which please to read carefully, 
 and " Mind Your Stops 1 " quoth John Berkshire. 
 
 H 
 
50 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 An Elegy on the Death of the Queen, 
 
 /"^URS'D be the hour when on the British shore, 
 
 ^-^ She set her foot — whose loss we now deplore ; 
 
 P'or, from that hour she pass'd a life of woe, 
 
 And underwent what few could undergo : 
 
 And lest she should a tranquil hour know, 
 
 Against her peace was struck a deadly blow ; 
 
 A separation hardly to be borne, — 
 
 Her only daughter from her arms was torn ! 
 
 And next discarded — driven from her home, 
 
 An unprotected Wanderer to roam ! 
 
 Oh, how each heart with indignation fills, 
 
 When memory glances o'er the train of ills, 
 
 Which through her travels followed everywhere 
 
 In quick succession till this fatal year ! 
 
 Here let us stop — for mem'ry serves too well, 
 
 To bear the woes which Caroline befel, 
 
 Each art was tried — at last to crush her down, 
 
 The Queen of England was refus'd a crown ! 
 
 Too much to bear — Thus robb'd of all her state 
 
 She fell a victim to their hate ! 
 
 " They have destroyed me," — with her parting breath, 
 
 She died — and calmly yielded unto death. 
 
 Forgiving all, she parted with this life, 
 
 A Queen, and no Queen — wife, and not a wife ! 
 
 To Heaven her soul is borne on Seraph's wings, 
 
 To wait the Judgment of the KING of Kings ; 
 
 Trusting to find a belter world ihan this, 
 
 And meet her Daughter in the realms of bliss. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 51 
 
 CAROLINE 
 
 THE INJURED 
 
 QUEEN 
 
 OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Beneath this cold marble the ** Wanderer " lies, 
 
 Here shall she rest 'till " the Heavens be no more," 
 'Till the trumpet shall sound, and the Dead shall arise, 
 
 Then the perjurer unmask'd will his sentence deplore. 
 Ah ! what will avail then ? Pomp, Titles, and Birth, 
 
 Those empty distinctions all levell'd will be, 
 For the King shall be judg'd with the poor of the earth, 
 
 And perhaps, the poor man will be greater than he. 
 Until that day we leave Caroline's wrongs, 
 
 Meantime, may " Repentance " her foes overtake ; 
 O grant it, kind POWER, to whom alone it belongs. 
 
 AMEN. Here an end of this Hist'ry we make. 
 
 Quod. JAS. C-T-N-H, Dec. loth, 1821. 
 
 H 2 
 
52 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 In the early part of the year 182 1, the British public were 
 informed through the then existing usual advertising mediums 
 that there was about to be published, in monthly parts, " Pierce 
 Egan's Life in London ; or, the Day and Night Scenes of Jerry 
 Hawthorn, Esq., and his elegant friend Corinthian Tom, ac- 
 companied by Bob Logic, the Oxonian, in their Rambles and 
 Sprees through the Metropolis. Embellished with Scenes from 
 Real Life, designed and etched by L R. and G. Cruikshank, 
 and enriched with numerous original designs on wood by the 
 same Artists." 
 
 And on the 15th of July, the first number, price one shilling, 
 was published by Messrs. Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, of 
 Paternoster Row. This sample, or first instalment, of the entire 
 work was quite enough for society to judge by. It took both 
 town and country by storm. It was found to be the exact 
 thing in literature that the readers of those days wanted. 
 Edition after edition was called for — and supplied, as fast as 
 the illustrations could be got away from the small army of 
 women and children who were colouring them. With the ap- 
 pearance of numbers two and three, the demand increased, and 
 a revolution in our literature, in our drama, and even in our 
 nomenclature began to develope itself. All the announcements 
 from Paternoster Row were of books, great and small, depicting 
 life in London ; dramatists at once turned their attention to the 
 same subject, and tailors, bootmakers, and hatters, recommended 
 nothing but Corinthian shapes, and Tom and Jerry patterns.* 
 
 * The late John Camden Hotten's Introduction to the new edition of 
 'VLife in London." Chatto & Windus : Piccadilly. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 53 
 
 Tom and Jerry. 
 
 f 
 
 *' Of Life ill London, Tom, Jerry and Logic I sing." 
 To the Strand then I toddled— the mob was great — 
 My watch I found gone — pockets undone : 
 I fretted at first, and rail'd against fate, 
 For I paid well to see " Life in London." 
 
 As may be readily conceived ; the stage soon claimed " Tom 
 and Jerry." The first drama founded upon the work was from 
 the pen of Mr. Barrymore, and produced — " in hot haste," at 
 the Royal Amphitheatre, on Monday, Sept. 17, 182 1. The 
 second dramatic version was written for the Olympic Theatre, 
 by Charles Dibden, and first played on Monday, Nov. 12, 182 1. 
 
 Mr. Moncrieff appeared as the third on the list of drama- 
 tists, and it was announced at the Adelphi Theatre in the 
 following style: — "On Monday, Nov. 26th, 182 1, will be pre- 
 sented for the first time, on a scale of unprecedented extent 
 (having been many weeks in preparation under the superinten- 
 dence of several of the most celebrated Artists, both in the Ups 
 and Downs of Life, who have all kindly come forward to assist 
 the Proprietors in their endeavours to render the Piece a com- 
 plete out-and-outer), an entirely new Classic, Comic, Operatic, 
 Didactic, Aristophanic, Localic, Analytic, Panoramic, Camera- 
 
54 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Obscura-ic Extravaganza-Burletta of Fun, Frolic, Fashion and 
 Flash, in three acts, called 'Tom and Jerry; or Life in 
 London.' Replete with Prime Chaunts, Rum Glees, and Kiddy 
 Catches, founded on Pierce Egan's well-known and highly- 
 popular work of the same name, by a celebrated extravagant 
 erratic Author. The music selected and modified by him from 
 the most eminent composers, ancient and modern, and every 
 Air furnished with an attendant train of Graces. The costumes 
 and scenery superintended by Mr. I. R. Cruikshank, from the 
 Drawings by himself and his brother, Mr. George Cruikshank, 
 the celebrated Artists of the original Work. 
 
 " Corinthian Tom, Mr. Wrench ; Jerry Hawthorn, Mr. John 
 Reeve ; Logic, Mr. Wilkinson ; Jemmy Green, Mr. Keeley ; 
 Dusty Bob, Mr. Walbourn ; African Sal, Mr. Sanders ; Billy 
 Waters, Mr. Paulo; Kate, Mrs. Baker; Sue, Mrs. Waylett, 
 &c., &c. 
 
 Black Sal and Dusty Bob. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 55 
 
 Besides the authors already mentioned, Tom Dibden, Farrell, 
 and Douglas Jerrold, each produced dramas upon the popular 
 theme, and during the seasons of 182 1-2, "Life in London" 
 was performed with eclat, at ten theatres in and around the 
 metropolis, to overflowing houses. But Pierce Egan at length 
 became tired of the successes of the playwrights in using his 
 book, and resolved to try his own hand at a dramatic version — 
 or, as he termed it, to " take a leaf out of his own book," — 
 and the Author's Piece was " got up " and performed for the 
 first time at Sadler's Wells, under the management of Mr. 
 Egerton, on Monday, April 8, 1822, with most decided success. 
 
 It was thus announced by Mrs. Egerton, in the address 
 written for the occasion by T. Greenwood, Esq. : — 
 
 " To-night my friends, this modem taste to meet, 
 We show you Jerry at his country seat ; 
 Then up to town transport the rustic beau, 
 And show him ' Life in London,' HIGH and LOW." 
 
 At length Tom and Jerry had been repeated so often in the 
 Metropolis, that the performers, notwithstanding the great ap- 
 plause they nightly received in the above piece, absolutely be- 
 came tired and worn-out with the repetition of their characters, 
 when the following piece of satire, written by T. Greenwood, Esq., 
 was published, entitled, " The Tears of Pierce Egan, Esq., for 
 the Death of * Life in London ; ' or, the Funeral of Tom and 
 Jerry, dedicated to Robert and George Cruiksh^nk, Esqs. 
 Price Two Shillings, with an engraving by George Cruik shank." 
 
 ** Beat out of the Pit and thrown over the Ropes, 
 Tom and Jerry resign'd their last breath, 
 With them, too, expired the Managers' hopes, 
 Who are left to deplore their sad death ! 
 
$6 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 " Odd and various reports of the cause are about, 
 But the real one was this^ I opine : 
 They were run to a standstill^ and, therefore, no doubt, 
 That the cause was a rapid decline. 
 
 *' When Death showed his Nob, out of Time they were beat, 
 And neither would come to the scratch ; 
 They hung down their heads and gave up the last heat, 
 Not prepared with the Spectre to match, 
 
 ** All wept at the Funeral ! the Fancy and all- 
 Some new, but a great many mended : 
 And Egan, while Cruikshank and Boh held the pall, 
 As Chief-Mourner in person attended ! ! ! 
 
 " Their Sprees and their Rambles no more shall amuse, 
 Farewell to all nocturnal parleys : 
 The Town felt regret as the bell tolled the news, 
 And no one rejoiced — but the Charleys ! 
 
 "A monument, too, their kind Patrons will raise. 
 Inscribed on—' Here lies TOM and JERRY, 
 Who, departing the stage to their immortal praise, 
 ONE THOUSAND NIGHTS made the Tcmn Merry!!!' 
 
 " May their souls rest in peace, since they've chosen to flit. 
 Like other great heroes departed ; 
 May no mischief arise from the sudden exit. 
 Nor Pierce Egan d\Q— broken- hearted ! " 
 
 In reference to the above, Pierce Egan states in "The Finish 
 to the Adventures of Tom, Jerry, and Logic," that Catnach, in 
 less than twelve hours after the publication, "produced a pirated 
 edition for street sale, for twopence. 
 
 Mr. Pierce Egan, in his " Fijiish,'^ states that he reckoned no 
 less than sixty-five separate publications, which he enumerates 
 in extensOy all derived from his own work, and adds, with his 
 usual amount of large and small Capitals and italics—*^ We 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 37 
 
 have been pirated^ copied, traduced \ but unfortunately, not 
 ENRICHED by our indefatigable exertions ; therefore notoriety 
 must satisfy us, instead of the smiles of FORTUNE." 
 
 Jemmy Catnach, true to his line of life, soon joined what 
 Pierce Egan designates as the " Mob of Literary Pirates," and 
 brought out a *' whole sheet " for street-sale, entitled ** Life in 
 London," with twelve woodcuts, which are reduced and very 
 roughly executed copies of the centre figures of the original 
 plates by the Brothers Cruikshank — but all in reverse. The 
 letter-press matter consists of a poetical epitome of the plot and 
 design of the original work of " Life in London." And taking 
 it as it stands, and from whence it emanated, rather a creditable 
 performance, particularly when we take into consideration — as 
 duly announced by the street-patterer, that it was '* Just printed 
 and pub — lish — ed, all for the low charge of twopence." 
 
 On the rarity of this Catnachian and pirated edition of " Life 
 in London " it is superfluous to enlarge, and it is easy to account 
 for this circumstance, if we reflect that the broadside form of 
 publication is by no means calculated for preservation ; hundreds 
 of similar pieces printed for street-sale must have perished. 
 The more generally acceptable a broadside or street ballad be- 
 came, and was handed about for perusal, the more it was ex- 
 posed to the danger of destruction. No copy of Catnach's 
 version is preserved in the British Museum, therefore, and for 
 the reason above stated, it must be considered as a great 
 »* Literary Rarity."^ 
 
 * Our thanks are due, and are hereby given to Mr. Crawford John Pocock, 
 of Cannon Place, Brighton, for the loan and use of his — what we feel almost 
 inclined to consider — unique copy of Catnach's broadside of " Life in 
 London." 
 
 I 
 
58 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 CUT I.— Jerry in Training for a Swell. 
 
 TV ] OW Jerry must needs be a swell, 
 ^ ^ His coat must have a swallow-tail, 
 And Mr. Snip, so handy, O, 
 Soon rigg'd him out a Dandy, O. 
 
 CUT II. — Tom and Jerry among the Ladies. 
 
 LADIES, your most humble servants, 
 Tom and Jerry stand before you. 
 Our blood is thrilling, you're so killing ; 
 At once we love you and adore you. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 CUT III. — Jerry Loses at Play. 
 
 59 
 
 AT St. James's they dine, when, flushed with new wine, 
 To the Gaming Tables they reel, 
 Where blacklegs and sharps, often gammon the flats, 
 As their pockets do presently feel. 
 
 CUT IV. — Jerry Learning to Spar. 
 
 TV T OW Jerry's become a Fancy blade, 
 •^ ^ To Jackson's he often goes, 
 And to shew his skill in the milling trade. 
 He crack'd poor Logick's nose. 
 
 I 2 
 
6o THE HISTORY OF 
 
 CUT V. — Tom and Jerry at a Fortune-Teller's. 
 
 T T ERE lives a Fortune-Telling Gipsy, 
 X X Wrinkled, crabbed, grim and old ; 
 And Tom and Jerry's fancy ladies 
 Are gone to get their Fortunes told. 
 
 CUT VI. — Beggar's Opera. Tom, Jerry, and Logick 
 
 AMONG THE CaDGERS IN THE HOLY LaND. 
 
 NOW to keep up the spree, Tom, Jerry and Logick, 
 Went disguis'd to the Slums in the Holy Land ; 
 Through each crib and each court, they hunted for sport, 
 Till they came to the Beggar's Opera so named. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 6l 
 
 CUT VII. — Night Scene. — Tom and Jerry upsetting 
 THE Charleys. 
 
 HARK ! the watchman springs his rattle, 
 Now the midnight lark's begun ; 
 Boxes crashing, lanthorns smashing, 
 Mill the Charleys — oh ! what fun. 
 
 CUT VIII. — Brought before the Magistrates. 
 
 A N' please your Worship here's three fellows 
 -^^ Been hammering of us all about ; 
 Broke our boxes, lanthorns, smellers. 
 
 And almost clos'd our peepers up. 
 
62 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 CUT IX.— Tom, Jerry, and Logick in a Row. 
 
 MERCY ! what a din and clatter 
 Breaks the stillness of the night, 
 Lamps do rattle— 'tis a battle, 
 Quick, and let us see the sight. 
 
 CUT X. — Scene in a Gin-shop. 
 
 HERE some are tumbling and jumping in, 
 And some are staggering out ; 
 One's pawn'd her smock for a quartern of gin, 
 Another, her husband's coat. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS 
 
 CUT XL — Poor Logick in the Fleet. 
 
 63 
 
 LL in the Fleet poor Logick's moor'd 
 tis swaggering's now at an end ! 
 
 ALL 11 
 Hi 
 
 CUT XII. — Jerry Going Back to the Country. 
 
 THREE merry boys were Logick, Tom and Jerry, 
 And many funny larks they have seen ; 
 Farewell, gay London, the country calls me home again, 
 The coach moves on — the play is done — Goodbye, Goodbye. 
 Quod. JAS. C-N'-H, March 23, 1822. 
 
64 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 How delightful Pierce Egan's book was to the youths of 
 England, and how eagerly all its promised feasts of pleasure 
 were devoured by them, Thackeray has told us in his " Round- 
 about Papers — De Juventute " in the " Cornhill Magazine " 
 for October, i860. 
 
 Mr., afterwards Sir William Cubitt, of Ipswich, erected a tread- 
 mill at Brixton Gaol, and soon afterwards in other large prisons. 
 A street ballad on the subject was issued from the " Catnach 
 Press " and had a most unprecedented sale, keeping the press- 
 men and boys working for weeks — 
 
 " And we're all treading at fam'd Brixton Mill." 
 
 The treadmill — that " terror to evil doers " — excited much 
 attention, and the inventor's name gave rise to many jokes on the 
 subject among such of the prisoners as could laugh at their 
 own crimes, who said they were punished by the cubit !. 
 
 The Treadmill. 
 
 THIS Brixton Mill's a fearful ill, 
 And he who brought the Bill in. 
 Is threat'n'd by the cHbbing coves. 
 
 That he shall have a milling. 
 They say he shevv'd a simple pate, 
 
 To think of felons mending ; 
 As every step which here they take 
 They're still in crime ascending. 
 
 Tom, Jerry, Logic, three prime sprigs, 
 
 Find here they cannot come it, 
 For though ihoix fancy soars aloft, 
 
 They ne'er will reach the sum^nit. 
 Corinthian Kate and buxom Sue 
 
 Must change their warm direction, 
 For if they make one false step more 
 
 They'll have Cold Bath Correction, 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 65 
 
 "The gallows does well : But how does it well? it does well to those 
 that do ill." — Hamlet^ Act v., sc. i. 
 
 There can be little doubt that Jemmy Catnach, the great 
 publisher of the Seven Dials, had his mind mostly centred upon 
 the chronicling of doubtful scandals, fabulous duels between 
 ladies of fashion, ** cooked " assassinations, and sudden deaths 
 of eminent individuals, apochryphal elopements, real or catch- 
 penny account of murders, impossible robberies, delusive sui- 
 cides, dark deeds, and — though last, not least, in his love — 
 public executions, vulgo " Hanging Matches," to which was 
 usually attached the all-important and necessary "Sorrowful 
 Lamentations," or " Copy of Affectionate Verses," which accord- 
 ing to the established custom, the criminal composed in the 
 condemned cell the night before his execution, after this 
 manner : — 
 
 K 
 
66 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 The Flying Stationer, otherwise Patterer. 
 
 ** All you that have got feeling, I pray you now attend 
 To these few lines so sad and true, a solemn silence lend ; 
 
 It is of a cruel murder, to you I will unfold 
 
 The bare recital of the tale must make your blood run cold. " 
 
 '* Mercy on earth I'll not implore, to crave it would be vain, 
 My hands are dyed with human gore, none can wash off the stain, 
 But the merits of a Saviour, whose mercy alone I crave ; 
 Good Christians pray, as thus I die, I may His pardon have." 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 67 
 
 A moan^ (tnd aS^ting 
 COPY OF VERSES 
 
 on the death of 
 
 Who was barbarously and cruelly murdered by her sweetheart, 
 W. JONES, near Wirksworth, in Derbyshire, July, 1823. 
 
 WmUa/«M^>y««waMie,l H. hw »md A1D7 oowttttm 
 to Dwiqr gMl it th* imrdw tt kk nrMlktart. Vsdor dreua. 
 <MCii *l whKrd of botari^. n* fHH rletim wu e wrrnot 
 
 «M. wkoa aadar Mtcaw of ■aniagt b* Mduetd. Oa bcr pniTtiif 
 wM (ktU tk* HOaiJ torawd tht konU toin of nnnlerbg kv; 
 «i «nM kh JMoHMt ,Uii into eimtioa m Ui^j evtniif 
 ImL Tk* Ibl to init nnm tr* wriim spoa t^ oaauiea, i/^tiag t 
 MH|W* AMiUI «(!U lUskuif dfftb i- 
 
 Ooma all fiJuo heartsd yo«af men 
 
 A-d liaten to m; aon^, 
 "Til of, a cruel mar^er^ 
 
 That lately has been ddne 
 On the body of a mRideo feir 
 
 The truth I irQl anfcld. 
 The JIkwi relation of tais deed ^ 
 
 Will make yoor blood run odd.. 
 Nebr Wirksworth town in Derttyghir*. 
 
 Ann Williama she did dwell. 
 In service aho long tiniA had lived, 
 
 TiUthiito^erbefcl. 
 Her cheelu were like the blushing roafr 
 
 All in the month af Xay, 
 Whioh made thia wicked ytiang man 
 
 Thus unto b«r did soy ; 
 Vaney, my chRiming creature, 
 
 Tou b&ra my heart enaaored. 
 My love 49 snoh 1 am reeolrod 
 
 To wed you I declare. 
 Thus by hit falae daluding tongue 
 
 f oor Nancy waa beguil'd, 
 And soon to her misfortune, 
 
 By him ahc prored with child. 
 3oae days ego this damael bir 
 
 Did write to him with speed, 
 8och tenderness she di4 exfuetn. 
 
 Would make a heart to bleed. 
 Bhe i<dd, my dearest Williaai. 
 
 I am » tth child by thee ^ 
 Iborefore, my dear, pray let meloww 
 
 When you will marry me. 
 She following d«y at evening. 
 
 This young man did repair. 
 Unto tne town of Wii^wottj^ , 
 
 To meet bis Nancy thet» 
 paying, Nanoy dear, eoaMM 0* walk. 
 
 Among the flowery fielda, 
 And then the seoreta of ny lieart 
 
 To you I will revekl 
 O then this wicked yonng mib 
 
 'A. knife ho did provide, 
 fijoA ell nnknown to his tm^ tove 
 
 Concealed it by his dde. 
 When to the fatal spot they eama, 
 
 ThbM woldi to her dU aar : 
 AU oo this rery nieht I wiQ 
 
 Your prodons life hetniy. 
 On bended knees she then did fid). 
 
 In sorrow and despair, 
 Ak>ud.ft>f mercT she did call, 
 
 Hbr sHce did r«nd the sir ; 
 Widk e!«aped han^s and uplift eyea 
 
 She cried. Oh spare my lift, 
 ( aerar more will aak you 
 
 To make me your wedded wifis. 
 Q thfin this wicked young mwi said, 
 
 Ko nverey will I diow ; 
 He toolc the ifiitt all tVom hi* itde. 
 
 And weroed her body Utroo^ 
 But atili she smiling seid to hun. 
 
 While trembling with fear,. 
 kV. WiOiam, WiUiam, spare my Ufa, 
 
 Think on your baby dear. 
 Twiee more then with the bloody knife 
 
 He mn her body throoght 
 Her Ukfoat tms cut froni ear to ear, 
 
 Xoet drendfol for %a viaw ; 
 Her hands and arms aii4 beaoteous (kee . 
 
 He cut nod manned Kie, 
 tpiile daw« upon W milk white breaA 
 
 The criffisoD blood £a pottc 
 He took the shawl ftent off .llgt QMk, 
 
 And roocd her body iiai^ 
 \f ith pebbU stooea h« did it AQ, 
 
 Thinking the crime to'bida, 
 O then into the ttlvaf atreaa 
 
 He clanged hei stiaigfatway, 
 But with her predow blood w*» ' 
 
 Which soon did bim betr«y. 
 O dien this yoQng'man 'taken waa. 
 
 And into prison sont, 
 'In ratling ehalos he u oon^'4.- 
 
 Hir enme for to lament. 
 Until the AMizes do oome on. 
 
 When (rembh'ag he mnat ataad, 
 befleeting on the deed he's done ; 
 
 Waiting the dread eaptmand. 
 How all you thougbtleal young uma 
 
 A timeljr' wagming tak«; 
 Likawiae ye &ir yonag maidens, 
 
 For this poor damsel's oako. 
 And Oh beware of flattering tongo^ 
 
 For they'll your min prove ; 
 80 may yoa crown your fiitore day. 
 
 In eomfort, joy, and love. 
 
 K 2 
 
68 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Or take another and stereotyped example, which from time 
 to time has served equally well for the verses written by the 
 culprit—Brown, Jones, Robinson, or Smith : 
 
 " Those deeds I mournfully repent, 
 , But now it is too late, 
 
 The day is past, the die is cast, 
 And fixed is my fate. 
 
 " I see the hangman before me stand, 
 Ready to seize me by the law's command ; 
 
 When my life is ended on the fatal tree, 
 Then will be clear'd up all mystery." 
 
 Occasionally the Last Sorrowful Lamentation contained a 
 " Love Letter " — the criminal being unable, in some instances, 
 to read or write, being no obstacle to the composition — written 
 according to the street patterer's statement : " from the depths 
 of the condemned cell, with the condemned pen, ink, and 
 paper." This mode of procedure in " gallows " literature, and 
 this style of composition having prevailed for from sixty to 
 seventy years. 
 
 Then they would say : " Here you have also an exact likeness 
 of the murderer, taken at the bar of the Old Bailey by an emi- 
 nent artist ! " when all the time it was an old woodcut that had 
 been used for every criminal for many years. The block ! oppo- 
 site, to our own knowledge, served as the counterfeit presentment 
 of all popular murderers for upwards of forty years. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 69 
 
 Likeness of the Murderer. 
 
 " There's nothing beats a stunning good'murder after all," said 
 a ** running patterer" to Mr. Henry Mayhew, the author of 
 " London Labour and London Poor." It is only fair to assume 
 that Mr. James Catnach shared in the sentiment, for it is said 
 that he made over ;£'5oo by the publication of: — 
 
 "The Full, True and Particular Account of the Murder of Mr. Weare 
 by John Thurtell and his Companions, which took place on the 24th of 
 October, 1823, in Gill's Hill-lane, near Elstree, in Hertfordshire :— Only 
 One Penny." 
 
 There were eight formes set up, for old Jemmy had no notion 
 
 of stereotyping in those days, and pressmen had to re-cover their 
 
70 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 own tympans with sheep-skins. But by working day and night 
 for a week they managed to get off about 250,000 copies with 
 the four presses, each working two formes at a time. 
 
 Thurtell Murdering Mr. Weare. 
 
 As the trial progressed, and the case became more fully 
 developed, the public mind became almost insatiable. Every 
 night and morning large bundles were despatched to the princi- 
 pal towns in the three kingdoms. 
 
 One of the many street-ballads on the subject informed the 
 British public that : — 
 
 " Thurtell, Hunt, and Probert, too, for trial must now prepare, 
 For that horrid murder of Mr. William Weare." 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. Jt 
 
 The circumstances immediately attending the murder are so 
 fully and so well detailed in the proper channels that we need 
 not here say more than that the trial took place at Hertford on 
 the 5th January, 1824. 
 
 The prisoners who stood indicted were John Thurtell and 
 Joseph Hunt. The latter was at the time well known as a 
 public singer and was somewhat celebrated for the talent which 
 he possessed. Both prisoners were found guilty, but Hunt was 
 reprieved and subsequently ordered to be transported for life. 
 Thurtell, who fully confessed to the crime, was executed in front 
 of Hertford gaol on Friday, the 9th of January, 1824. 
 
 As before observed, Catnach cleared over ;^5oo by this event, 
 and was so loth to leave it, that when a wag put him up to a 
 joke, and showed him how he might set the thing a-going again, 
 he could not withstand it ; and so, about a fortnight after Thurtell 
 had been hanged, Jemmy brought out a startling broad-sheet, 
 headed, " WE ARE ALIVE AGAIN ! " He put so little space 
 between the words *' we " and "are" that it looked at first sight 
 like " WEARE." Many thousands were bought by the ignorant 
 and gullible public, but those who did not like the trick called 
 it a " catch penny," and this gave rise to this peculiar term, 
 which ever afterwards stuck to the issues of the *' Seven Dials' 
 Press," though they sold as well as ever. 
 
 Probert, who had been mixed up in the affair, was admitted 
 as King's evidence and discharged at the rising of the Court. 
 He subsequently met the fate he so richly deserved, for, having 
 been found guilty at the Old Bailey of horse stealing, he was 
 executed there on the 20th of June, 1825. 
 
72 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 THE CONFESSION AND EXJBCUTION OF 
 
 JOHN THURTELL 
 
 On Friday, the 9th of January, 1824. 
 
 th3b execution. 
 
 Eaifori, hal/-p9»t iwtke a'elotk. 
 
 Thu mominf , ut ten muiutes before twelve, a bnstie 
 among the jaTclia-ioen stntioned within the boarded 
 enckwure en which the drop was erected, aaDotmced to 
 tfae multitude without that the pToparGtions for the 
 execution were tiearly conctadcd The javelinmen 
 proceeded to oiirange themsclres in the order DSo&lIy 
 observed upon theeo mokincholy but necessary ooow- 
 reoccs. They had scarcely finislied their arrangcmentB, 
 when the opening of the gate of the prison gave an 
 additional impulse to public anxiety 
 
 'Wlien tho clock wa» on the etroke of twelve, Mf 
 Iftcholtloo, the Under-sheriff, nod the ozecutioner 
 awended the platform, followed oh to it by ThurtcU, 
 who mountod the stairs with a »low bat Bteady step. 
 The principal turnkey ot the ^I came nest, and was 
 followed by Kr Wilson and^ two officers. Gn the 
 approach of the prisoner being ioti mated by thoee 
 MTsons who, being in an ctevaled »ituat>on, obtained tho 
 first view of him, all the immense nultitode present 
 took oif their hats. 
 
 Thurtell immediately placed himself under the fiatal 
 beam, and at that moment the chimes ol a oeighbtfurilig 
 olock began to strike twelve. The executioner then 
 came forward with the rope, which ho throw acrose it. 
 Thurtell first lifted lus eyes up to the drop. ^;iued at it 
 <or a few moments, nud then, took » calm but hurried 
 anrrey of tho jmultitude orouod him. He next fixed 
 hia eyes oi^a yonng gentleman in the crowd, wlwm ha 
 bad nvquently seen as a spectator at the commenoetnent 
 of the proceedings againat him. Seeing that the 
 individual was affected by the ciroumstAnoe, he removed 
 them to another quarter, and in ao doin^ recognised an 
 individual well known in the sporting cirolea, to whom 
 be made a slight bow. 
 
 The prisoner was attired in a dark brown great ooal, 
 with a bloek velvet ooUar, white corduroy ^reecbes, 
 drab gaiters and shoes. His hands were confined with 
 k«ndcuffa, instead of being tied with cord, as is usually 
 the oaae on such occasions, and, at his own reouest, his 
 «nn« were not pinioned. He wore a pair of black kid 
 l^ves, and the wrists of his shirt were viaible below 
 &e cnffg of hia eoat k» on the laxt da^ of his briai, 
 he wore a white cravat. The irons, which were very 
 heavy, and consisted of a euoceseion of chain links, 
 were still on his legs, and were held up in the middle 
 by a Belcher handkorohief tied round his waiet 
 
 The executioner commenced his mournful dnties by 
 taking from tho anbappy prisoner his cravet and c<^ar. 
 To obviate «11 diffioulty in this stage of tho prooeedinga, 
 Thurtell flang back his head and neok, and bo garo Uie 
 axeeutianpj an opportunity of immediately aiveBting 
 
 him of that part of hi« dress. After tying the ro^ 
 round Tburteirs neck, tho exeontioner drew a white 
 
 cotton cap over his oountenanoo, whieh did not, how- 
 ever, conceal tho contour of bis face, or deprive him 
 entirely of the view of surrounding objects. 
 
 At th»t moment the clock sounded the lost stroke of 
 twelve. Daring the whole of Uiis appalling ceremony, 
 there woe not the slightest symptom of emotion discor- 
 nible in his fcotnrcs.; his demeanoar was perfectly calm 
 and tranquil, and he behaved like s man acquainted 
 with the drendfbl ordeal he was about tn pass, but not 
 unprepared to meet it Though his fortitude was thus 
 conspicuous, it was evident from his appearance that in 
 the interval between bis conviction and bis axeeution 
 he must hare Buffered raueh. He looked careworn ; hia 
 countenance bad asaumed a cadaverous hue, and thore 
 was a hoggardnoss and lonkBcas about his cheeks and 
 mouth, which could not Xatl to attract the notice of 
 every spectator. 
 
 The executioner next proceeded to adjnst the nooae 
 by which Thurtell was to be attached to the scafUld. 
 After he bad fastened it in such a^raannc4- as to satisfy 
 his own mind, Thurtell looked up at it, and examined 
 it with great attention. He then desired the execu- 
 tioner to let him have fall enough. The rope at this 
 moment aecraed as if it would only give a fall of two or 
 three feet The executioner assured him that the Call 
 was quite sufficient. The principal turnkey then went 
 up to Thurtell, shook bands with him, and turned away 
 in tear*. Ut Wilson, the governor of the gaol, next 
 opprooched him. Thurtell said to him, " Do yon 
 think, Mr Wilson, I have got enough fall?" Ut 
 Wilson re|died, " J think yon have, Sir. Tea, quite 
 enough.' Mr Wileon then took hold of his hand, 
 shook !t, and said, " Good bve, Mr Thurtell, may Ood 
 Almiehty blem you." Thurtell Instantly replied, 
 " Ood bWi fou. Mr Wilson, Ood bless you." Mr 
 Wilaoo next asked him whether he consider^ that the 
 laws of his country had been dealt to him justly and 
 feirly, upon which bo said, " I admit that justice baa 
 been done me — I am perfeotly satisfied." 
 
 A few seconde then elapsed, during which every 
 person seemed to be eo^faged in examining narrowly 
 Thnrtell's deportment His features, as well as they 
 could be discerned, appeared to remain unmoved, ond 
 bis hands, which vtn extremely prominent, continued 
 perfect'y steadjr, and were not affected by the slightest 
 tromolous motion. 
 
 Exactly at two minutes past twelve the Under- 
 
 Sheriff, with his wand, gave the dreadful sifprnl Uw 
 
 drop suddenly and silently fell— and 
 
 JoHII ToCXtSU WAS LIITSCRZD 
 
 nrio Erxurmr. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 73 
 
 On the loth of September, 1824, Henry Fauntleroy, of the 
 firm of Marsh, Stracey, Fauntleroy, and Graham, bankers, in 
 Berners -street, was apprehended in consequence of its being 
 discovered that in September, 1820, ;^ 10,000 3 per cent, stock, 
 standing in the names of himself, J. D, Hume, and John Good- 
 child, as trustees of Francis William Bellis, had been sold out 
 under a power of attorney, to which the names of his co-trustees 
 and some of the subscribing witnesses were forged. It was soon 
 ascertained that the extent to which this practice had been 
 carried was enormous, no less than ;£" 170,000 stock having 
 been sold out in 1814 and 181 5 by the same fraudulent 
 means. 
 
 Every exertion was used by Mr. Fauntleroy's counsel, his case 
 being twice argued before the Judges, but both decisions were 
 against him ; and on the 30th of November, 1824, his execution 
 took place. The number of persons assembled was estimated at 
 nearly 100,000. 
 
 The station in society of this unfortunate man, and the long- 
 established respectabihty of the banking-house, in which he was 
 the most active partner, with the vast extent of the forgeries 
 committed, gave to his case an intensity of interest which has 
 scarcely ever been equalled, and during the whole- time it was 
 pending afforded plenty of work for the printers and vendors of 
 street literature. Catnach's advanced position, which was 
 now far beyond all his compeers, caused him to get the lion^s 
 share. Every incident in the man's character, history, and 
 actions was taken advantage of. The sheets, almost wet from 
 the press, were read by high and low ; by those who lived and 
 revelled in marble halls and gilded saloons, as well as by those 
 who thronged our large towns and centres of industry. 
 
74 . THE HISTORY OF 
 
 The parliamentary election of 1826, for the county of Nor- 
 thumberland, the principal seat of which was at AUiwick, gave 
 early promise of being severely contested. There were four candi- 
 dates in the field, namely, Henry Thomas Liddell, afterwards 
 first Earl of Ravensworth, of Ravensworth Castle, county 
 Durham ; Mr. Matthew Bell, of Woolsingham, Northumberland ; 
 Mr. Thomas Wentworth Beaumont, and Lord Howick, after- 
 wards Henry the third Earl Grey, K.G. The nomination of the 
 candidates took place on Tuesday, June 20th, 1826, and the 
 polling continued till July 6th, when the result was as follows : — 
 
 Liddell 1562 
 
 Bell 1380 
 
 Beaumont 1335 
 
 Howick 997 
 
 This contest was the greatest political event in the history of 
 the county. It is estimated that it cost the candidates little 
 short of ;£'2 50, 000. 
 
 Now, as we have before observed, Mr. Mark Smith — who till 
 the time of his death, on the i8th of May, 1881, aged 87 — 
 carried on the business of printer and bookseller at Alnwick — 
 and James Catnach, were fellow apprentices, both being bound 
 to learn the art of printing to the elder Catnach on the same day. 
 This early-formed acquaintanceship continued throughout the 
 remaining portion of Catnach's life, and whenever Mr. Mark 
 Smith came to London in after years, he always visited Jemmy's 
 house. 
 
 It was in consequence of the continued friendship existing 
 between Mr. Mark Smith and Jemmy Catnach that the latter 
 had often expressed a desire to serve his fellow-apprentice, 
 should circumstances occur to render it necessary. The Aln- 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 75 
 
 wick election of 1826 promised to be a good one as regarded 
 printing, and Mr. Smith anticipating a difficulty in getting 
 through his work, applied to Catnach to know if he could render 
 him any assistance. The result was that Jemmy at once 
 proffered to go to Alnwick and take with him a small hand-press. 
 After his arrival he seldom went out of the house, as all hands 
 worked early and late, for, besides addresses, squibs, &c., they 
 had to get out the state of the poll every afternoon, shortly after 
 four o'clock. The number of addresses and squibs, in prose 
 and verse, during this memorable election was enormous. The 
 whole, when collected together, forms four good-sized volumes. 
 The principal printers in Alnwick at this time, and who were 
 engaged by the candidates, were Smith, Davison, and Graham. 
 But there was a great deal of printing done at Newcastle, Gates- 
 head, North Shields, Morpeth, and other towns. 
 
 There can be but little doubt that all who were profession- 
 ally engaged at this election made a good thing out of it. The 
 money spent upon printing alone must have been very great. 
 And nearly all the public-houses in Alnwick were made " open 
 houses," as well as most of those in the principal towns through- 
 out the county. Old people talk to this day, with a degree 
 of pride of ** those good old times " that existed at the Parlia- 
 mentary elections previous to the passing of the Reform Bill of 
 1832. As far as Catnach was concerned, he merely went to 
 help to pay off a deep debt of gratitude owing by him to the 
 Smith family for many past favours to his own family when they 
 were in, dire distress in auld lang syne. Besides, Jemmy was 
 now getting towards that state known as being " comfortably 
 well-to-do," and the trip was a change of air — a bit of a holiday, 
 and a visit to the town of his birth. And as he had buried his 
 
 L 2 
 
76 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 mother in London during the early part of the year, he took the 
 opportunity to erect in the parish churchyard, that which at 
 once stands as a cenotaph and a tombstone, bearing the follow- 
 ing inscription : — ^ 
 **JOHN, Son of John Catnach, 
 
 Printer, died August 27th, 
 1 794, Aged 5 years & 7 months. 
 JOHN CATNACH died in 
 London, 181 3, Aged 44. 
 Mary, his wife died Jany. 
 24th, 1826, Aged 60 years, 
 Also John, Margaret, and 
 Jane Catnach, lie here." *' 
 
 During Catnach's absence from London on the Alnwick 
 election, his old rivals— the Pitts family — were, as usual, con- 
 cocting false reports, and exhibiting lampoons, after the follow- 
 ing manner : — 
 
 ** Poor Jemmy with the son of Old Nick, 
 Down to Northumberland he's gone ; 
 To take up his freedom at Alnwick, 
 The why or the wherefore's known to none. 
 
 ** Before he went, he washed in soap and sud. 
 
 The Alnwick folks they found the fiddle ; 
 Then they dragged poor Jemmy through the mud. 
 Two foot above his middle. 
 
 The above was in allusion to the old ceremony of being 
 dragged through the dirty pool to be made a. Freeman of the 
 town of Alnwick. But, as far as Catnach was concerned, there 
 is no truth whatever in the matter, it was simply " a weak in- 
 vention of the enemy." It was in the latter part of June and 
 the beginning of July in the same year, that Catnach was at 
 Alnwick, and the ceremony of making freemen always took place 
 on St. Mark's Day, April 25th, or at least two months earlier. 
 
 * The above copied, verbatim At our request, by Mr. George Skelly, 
 of Alnwick. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 77 
 
 Thus the statement of the Pitts' party was — 
 
 ♦'As false 
 As air, as water, as wind, as sandy earth, 
 As fox to lamb, as wolf to heifer's calf, 
 Pard to the hind, or step-dame to her son." 
 
 Catnach, as the high priest of the literature of the streets, sur- 
 rounded by trade rivals, " stood like a man at a mark with a 
 whole army shooting at him," but he was as firm as a rock and 
 with the strength of a giant, and, as Hyperion to a Satyr, defied 
 them all. 
 
 The destruction of the Royal Brunswick Theatre, Well-street, 
 Wellclose-square, East London, on the 29th of February, 1828, 
 by the falling in of the walls, in consequence of too much weight 
 being attached to the heavy cast-iron roof, made a rare nine- 
 day's wonder for the workers of street-papers. Fortunately the 
 catastrophe happened in the day-time, during the rehearsal of 
 " Guy Mannering," and only fifteen persons perished, viz : — 
 
 Mr. D. S. Maurice, a master printer, of Fenchurch-street, one of the 
 Proprietors, 
 
 Mr. J. Evans ... Bristol Observer Mr. J. Purdy ... Blacksmith^ 
 
 Miss Mary A. Feron ... Actress^ Messrs. J. Miles, W. Leader, A. 
 
 Miss Freeman ... Corps de ballet^ W.Davidson, M, Miles, and J. 
 
 Mr. E. Gilbert ... Cotnedian^ Abbott Carpenters, 
 
 Mr. J. Blamire ... Property Man, J. Levy, A Clot/iesman (accident- 
 Mr. G. Penfold ... Doorkeeper, ally passing). 
 Miss Jane Wall ... Visitor, 
 
 " Oh yes, sir ! I remember well the falling of the Brunswick 
 Theatre, out Whitechapel way. It was a rare good thing for all 
 the running and standing patterers in and about ten miles of 
 London. Every day we all killed more and more people — in 
 our " Latest Particulars." One day there was twenty per- 
 sons killed, the next day thirty or forty, until it got at last to be 
 worked up to about a hundred, and all killed. Then we killed 
 all sorts of people, Duke of Wellington, and all the Dukes and 
 Duchesses, Bishops, swell nobs and snobs we could think of at 
 the moment." 
 
78 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 ATROCIOUS MURDER OF A YOUNG WOMAN 
 IN SUFFOLK. 
 
 SINGULAR DISCOVERY OF THE BODY 
 FROM A DREAM. 
 
 The Red Barn. 
 
 the scene of the murder, and where the body of maria 
 marten was found concealed. 
 
 Four years after the Thurtell and Weare affair, namely, in the 
 month of April, 1828, another '' sensational " murder was dis- 
 covered — that of Maria Marten, by William Corder, in the Red 
 Barn, at Polstead, in the county of Suffolk. The circumstances 
 that led to the discovery of this most atrocious murder, were of 
 an extraordinary and romantic nature, and manifest an almost 
 special interposition of Providence in marking out the offender. 
 As the mother of the girl had on three several nights dreamt 
 that her daughter was murdered and buried in Corder's Red 
 Barn, and as this proved to be the case, an additional " charm" 
 was given to the circumstance. The " Catnach Press " was 
 again set working both day and night, to meet the great demand 
 for the " Full Particulars." In due course came the gratifying 
 announcement of the apprehension of the murderer ! and the 
 sale continued unabatingly in both town and country, every 
 " Flying Stationer " making great profits by the sale. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 19 
 
 Likeness of William Ccrder. 
 
 The trial of Corder took place at Bury St. Edmonds, on the 
 7th of August, 1828, before the Lord Chief Baron (Anderson). 
 The prisoner pleaded " JVot Guilty^' and the trial proceeded. 
 On being called on for his defence, Corder read a manuscript 
 paper. He declared that he deeply deplored the death of the 
 unfortunate deceased, and he urged the jury to dismiss from 
 their minds all that prejudice which must necessarily have been 
 excited against him by the public press, &c. Having concluded 
 his address, the Lord Chief Baron summed up, and a verdict of 
 ** Guilty " was returned. The Last Dying Speech and Confes- 
 fession had an enormous sale — estimated at 1,166,000, 2, fac- 
 simile copy of which with the ** Lamentable Verses," said to have 
 been written by Old Jemmy Catnach will be found on the 
 next page 
 
8o 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 CONTESSIOH AJD EZECUTIOH OF 
 THE SrUBDERER OF MABIA MABTEN. 
 
 Since tho tragical affair between Thurtell and Wearo, 
 DO erent has occurred connected with the criminal 
 ■nnala of oar country which has excited so much 
 interest as the trial of Corder, who was justly conrioted 
 of the mawler irf liana Marten on Friday Inat. 
 
 THE CONFESSION 
 "Buy OmI, Aagust lOth, 1828.— Condcmnr<d celt 
 "Sunday evening, half-paitt Elorou. 
 
 "1 aoknowMge being guilty of the death of poor 
 Maria Marten, by shooting her with a pistol. The 
 partioulars are •• follows : — When we left her father's 
 honae, we began quarrelling about the burial of the 
 child: she apprehended the place wherein it was 
 depoaited would be found out. The quarrel continued 
 about three quarters of an hour upon this sad and 
 about other subjects. A scuffle ensued,- and during tho 
 Kuffle, and at the time I think that she had hold of me, 
 I took the pistol from the side pocket of my velveteen 
 jacket and fired. She fell, and died in an instant. I 
 never saw her even struggle. I was overwhelmed with 
 ogiiation and diamay : — the body fell near the front 
 doon on the floor of the bam. A vast quantity of 
 blood issued from the wound, and ran on to the floor 
 and through the crevices. Having determined to bury 
 the body in the bam (about two hours after sh& was 
 dead. I went and borrowed a spado of Mrs Stow, but 
 before I went there I dragged the body from the bam 
 into the chaff-house, and locked the bam. I returned 
 again to the barn, and began to dig a hole, but the 
 spade being a bad one, and Qio earth nrm and hard, I 
 was obiigMi to go home for a pickaxe and a better 
 ■pade, with whion I dug the bole, and then buried tho 
 body. I think I dragged the body by the handkerchief 
 that was tied round her neck. It was dark when I 
 finished covering up the body. I went the next day, 
 and washed the blood from off the barn-floor. I declare 
 to Almighty God I had no sharp instrument about me, 
 and no other wound bat the one made by the pistol was 
 inflicted by me. I have been guilty of great idleness, 
 and itt times led a dissolute life, but I hope through the 
 meroy of Ood to be forgiven. "WrujiX CoBoaa." 
 
 Witness to the signing by the said William Corder, 
 Jsaiit Oa&iDoa. 
 CoodAmned cIbU, Ekven o'cIooIl, Monday morning, 
 August llth, 1828. 
 
 The above ooniessioo was read over carefully to the 
 prisoner in our presence, who stated most solemnly it 
 was true, and that he had nothing to add to or retract 
 tlom it. — W. SrocKUro, chaplain ; Tikotet R. Holmrs, 
 Under-Shenff. 
 
 THE EXECUTION. 
 
 At ten minutes before twelve o'clock the prisoner was 
 brought from his cell and pinioned by the hangman, 
 who was brought from London for the purpose. He 
 appeared resigned, but was so week as to be unable to 
 •land without support ; when his cravat was reoiovcd 
 he groaned heavily, and appeared to be labouring uadtir 
 great mental agony. When bi.i wrists and arms were 
 msde fast, he was M round twnrds the scaffold, and 
 
 as he pusHed the difl^?mnt jmrds in which tho 
 were confined, he shook bands with them, and speaking 
 to two of thuni by name, he said, " Oood bye, Ood 
 bless yon." Thny appeared considerably affected hj 
 the wreto.hiMl appearance which be made, and " Ood 
 blesH yon !" " May Go<l receive your soul !" wer« 
 frequently utlvrod a:< he passed along. The chaplain 
 walkod bt:forc tho prisoner, reoiling the usual Burial 
 Surviac, and the Governor nitd Ofieera walking imme- 
 diatcly afl4.-r hint. Tho prisoner was supported to the ' 
 steps whiah led to tho scaffold ; he looked somewhat 
 wildly around, and a constable wss oblijjed to support 
 him while tho hangman wns adjustiog the fatal cord. 
 Thoi-e was a barrier to keep off the crowd, amountitig 
 to upwards of 7,000 persone, who at this time had 
 stationed themselves id the adjoining fields, on the 
 hedges, the tops of houses, and at every point from 
 which a vie'if of the execution oould be best obtained. 
 The prisoner, a few moments before the drop fell, 
 groaned heavily, and would have fcUen, had not • 
 second constable caught hold of bim. Everything 
 having been m.idc ready, the signal was given, the 
 fatal drop fell, Mud the unfortunate man was launched 
 into eternity. Just before he was turned off, he naid in 
 a feeble tone, "I am justly sentenced, and may Ood 
 forgive me " 
 
 The Murder of Maria Marten. 
 
 BY W. CORDER. 
 
 MB all Toa tboagbUoat jrosag mea, • vaniiBf take by 
 
 m% 
 I tbtok upou ny nabanpy hte to b« hai>g«d apoa • tnt ; 
 My Dsme ia William CotOer, to yon 1 do decUra, 
 I oourt«d Maha Uartao, moat baanbAil and fair. 
 I promised I woold majry hef npoa a oartaia d«y, 
 Instaad of that, I waa naolTo) to take bar lih away. , 
 
 1 Vdtii iiito hor father'! koaae tb« 18th dar of May, 
 Sayng, my' dear Maria, w» will fix the' wadding day. 
 If yoo irill BiMt ai« at the Rad-Wn, n rare aa I hart life, 
 I wiU take you to Ipswiob town, aad there loake yoo my wifk ; 
 I then went home and fetched my ^un, my p<ckaM ana aiy apadt, 
 I weot into the Bad-barn, and there 1 du^ Uer grara. 
 With heart ao light, ahe thoof^ht no harm, to meet him abe did gn 
 Be mnrdared her all in the bvn, and laid her body low : 
 After the horrible deed waa done, »h« lay welterinr in b«r gon. 
 Her MeedlBg mangb<d body h« baried beneath the Red- barn KimWs 
 Now all thinn being aileut, her miirit ooald not reat, 
 3ha appeared onto Set mother, who aackled her at her breaal , 
 For many a long month or more, her mind being ao«a nppfeaa'd, 
 Neither night or day ahe conld 1x4 take any reat. 
 Her moOrar'a mind heiog so diaturbed, ahe drHunt three aiffhia 
 
 o'er, 
 Her daoghter abe lay mnrdered beneath the ItAd-bam Soot; 
 She acDt the father to the bam, when he the gTt>iu>d did thnutt. 
 And there he fouud hia daoghter loiugling with the i\ut. 
 K; trial ia hftnl, I eoold not ttaad, moat weaftU wu the ai^bt. 
 When her jaw-bone waa brongbl to proit. which pierced any 
 
 heart <jnite ; 
 Her aged father aUnding bv, Hkewiae hia loriag wife. 
 And iu her grief her bair ahe tore, ahe acartely ronld keep life. 
 Adien, ndiro, my loTiBg frienda, rot glaea i.^ ainioat mn. 
 Oa Monday next will be my last, whea 1 am to be bivng'd , 
 So yo<i, yoong mar., who do paaa by. with pity look on ma, 
 For montering Maria Marten, I waa hang d opoa the tree> 
 
 pOMB 
 Aad think 
 
 Piiitad br i. CalMati, 1 and i, MMB«atli Oowt.- Cards, 4« . rtteisd C»Mp 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 8l 
 
 "Oh, she lives snug in the Holy Ivand, 
 Right, tight, and merry in the Holy Land, 
 Search the globe round, none can be found 
 So accommodating I as Old Mother Cummins— of the Holy Land." 
 
 Catnach, like many others connected with the getting up of news 
 broadsides and fly-sheets, did not always keep clear of the law. 
 The golden rule is a very fine one, but, unfortunately, it is not 
 always read aright ; in some cases injured innocence flies at ex- 
 tremes. Jemmy Catnach for a long time had been living upon 
 unfriendly terms with a party connected with the management of 
 one of Mother Cummins's lodging-house establishments in the 
 immediate neighbourhood, so out of spite printed a pamphlet, 
 purporting to be the "Life and Adventures of Old Mother 
 Cummins." Here Catnach had reckoned without his host, by 
 reason of his not taking into consideration the extensive aristo- 
 cratic and legal connection Mother Cummins had for her friends 
 and patrons. The moment she was made acquainted with the 
 ''^dhty parjury'''' that Jemmy Catnach had printed and caused to 
 
 M 
 
82 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 be publicly circulated, she immediately gave instructions to her 
 Attorney General to prosecute the varmint^ when a warrant was 
 applied for and obtained to search the premises of the Seven 
 Dials printer. But Catnach got the news of the intended visit 
 of the Bow Street Runners, and naturally became alarmed from 
 having a vivid recollection of the punishment and costs in the 
 case of the Drury-lane sausage makers, so the forme containing 
 the libellous matter was at once broken up — " pied," that is, the 
 type was jumbled together and left to be properly distributed on 
 a future occasion. What stock of the pamphlets remained were 
 hastily packed up and carried off to the " other side of the 
 water " by John Morgan, one of Catnach's poets ! while another 
 forme, consisting of a Christmas-sheet, entitled " The Sun of 
 Righteousness," was hurriedly got to press, and all hands were 
 working away full of assumed innocence when the officers from 
 Bow Street arrived at Monmouth-court, when, after a diligent 
 search, they had very reluctantly to come to the conclusion that 
 they were " a day behind the fair," and that the printer had 
 been a little too sharp for them this time. But Mother Cum- 
 mins did not mean to be so checkmated by Catnach and Co., 
 and vowed to pursue him and his dirty blackguards to the end 
 of the world and back again, and instructed her lawyers to serve 
 him with several notices of action for libel, defamation of 
 character, and, more particular, as she expressed it, for ''parjury" 
 Then Catnach became somewhat alarmed by her known vindic- 
 tive disposition and long purse, that he consulted his own 
 solicitor in the matter, who took "counsel's opinion" when an 
 instant compromise at all costs, together with an ample apology, 
 was recommended as the only safe way out of the dilemma ; a 
 course which was ultimately agreed to by both sides. An 
 apology was drawn up and approved of, with the understanding 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 83 
 
 that Catnach was, after paying all costs incurred to print the 
 apology and publish the same on three several places in front of 
 his business premises in Monmouth Court for fourteen clear 
 days. All this — and more — Jemmy promised steadfastly to 
 observe. Yet in effect, he evaded the conditions by printing the 
 apology in small pica type and sticking the three copies so high 
 up on the premises, that it would have required Sam Weller's 
 " pair of double million magnifying gas microscopes of hextra 
 power " to have been able to read the same. 
 
 Immediately after Mother Cummins's death and funeral, 
 March, 1828, the following announcement appeared : — 
 
 Published this Day, Price Sixpence^ embellished - with a 
 humorous Coloured Plate. 
 
 THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF 
 
 MOTHER CUMMINS, 
 
 The celebrated Lady Abbess of St. Giles's; with a curious 
 Description, Regulations, &c., of her singular Establishment. 
 An account of her Funeral, &c. Interspersed with numerous 
 Anecdotes of Living Characters, Visitors of Mother Cummins's 
 Nunnery, — Capt. Shiels and the Forty-four Nuns — Poll Hankey 
 and Sir Charles Stanton,— Jane Sealey and an lUustrous Person, 
 &c. — With an Account of some of the principal Nuns of the 
 Establishment; particularly Mrs. Throgmorton and Lord 
 Al. .n..y — Bell Chambers and the D... of Y...,— Miss Wilkinson 
 and Captain Featherstone — Marianne Hempstead, the Scotch 
 Beauty — Miss Weltem Davis and the Rev. Mr. H...l..y Be..rs..d 
 —Mary Thomas, the Female Chimney-Sweep, and Captain 
 T...t...s, &c 
 
 M 2 
 
84 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 THE TRIAL, SENTENCE, FULL CONFESSION, AND EXECUTION OF 
 
 BISHOP & WILLIAMS, 
 
 BUBXnfQ AKB BTTBEXRS. 
 
 Tho mooth of N«Tein1>er, 1831. will he recorded in 
 tb« annals of erime* and cni«lt)ea as paiticnlarly pre- 
 eminent, for it will prove to posterity that other 
 wretohea conld be found bate enough to follow the 
 lionid example of Borke and hia accomplice Hare, to 
 entice the nnptotected and friendless to the den of 
 death for sordia gain. 
 
 The horrible crime of " Borkuif;,'* or mnrdering the 
 crnwary with the intention of selling their hodiei at a 
 high priee to the anatomical tcbeols, for the pnrpoee of 
 disacction, has anfortanately otytaiaed a notoriety which 
 will not be soon or easily forgotten. It took its horrify* 
 ing appellation from the circometances which were 
 diaclosed on the trial of the inhaman wretch Bnrke. 
 who was executed at Edinburgh in 1829, for baring 
 wilfully and deliberately murdered several persons for 
 the sole purpoae of profiting by the s^e of their dead 
 bodioB. 
 
 APPBEHEKSIOK OF THE 
 
 BUEEEBS. 
 
 Ob Tuesday, November 8tfa, fou penooa, vis., John 
 
 Bishop. Thom» Wmiiuns, J«me» M«y, end Michael 
 8hiel4 were examined at Bow Street Polioe Offloe on 
 tho charge of being oonoemed in tho wilfUl murder of 
 OB unknown Itsdian boy. From the evidence adduced, 
 it appeared that Muy, oli<u Jack Stirabout, a known 
 resurrection-miw and Bishop, a body-matcher, .rffered 
 at King's CoU^ a eubjeot for sale, Shield ^ 
 Williams having charge of the body in a hamper, for 
 which they demanded twelve guineas. • Mr Partridge, 
 demonatistor of anatomy, who, althoogb not in absohrte 
 want of a eabject, offered nine grrineaa, but being struck 
 with ite fteehnosB sent a messenger to Uie police station, 
 and the fellows were then taken into custody, examined 
 before the magistrates, when Shield was diacharged and 
 the others ultimately committed for triid 
 
 THE TKIAL. 
 
 Friday, December 2nd, having been fixed for ^ 
 trial of the prisoners charged with the murder of tfca 
 Italian boy, the Comt was crowded to excew so ewrly 
 its ei^t o'clock ia the moniing 
 
 ItBiM e-olock tha DtV^iJ B«>order. Mr 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 85 
 
 Acattn, cMie ioto tto ooort, whes the prisoiietr 
 •eveiully pleaited "Not Guilty." 
 - The /-Jry were then Bworn, and et ton o'clock Chkf 
 Justice Tindal, Mr Baron Yeughan, eind MrJusticeLitUe- 
 dalo entered tho Court, with the Lord Mayor and SboriflFs. 
 
 Tbo Benqh was crowded with penona of rank, 
 anwngtt whom wm the Duke of Soasex. 
 
 Mr Bodkin having opened the caso, Mr Adolpbus 
 proooedod to stale to the Jury the lending facta, as they 
 » sre aftawarda stated in the evidence prodncod. The 
 oxae {cv the prosccation hiiving closed, the. priaonora 
 were callod upon for their defence. 
 
 Tlio pritiODcr Bishop in his defence stated Ukst he 
 rrKi tb ,rty-tbree years of age, sad had followed the 
 6c<:upation of carrier till the la^ flve^ years, during 
 which he had oocasionally obtained a livelihood by 
 supplying sur<^D8 with sabiecta. He noet solemnly 
 declared thftt hs had never dispoeed of any body that 
 had not died a natural death. 
 
 Williams' defence beiefly stated that he bad naver 
 been ongaged in the calling of a resurrectionist, but 
 had otdy by accident accompanied Bishop on the sale of 
 th? ItaUan boy's body. 
 
 Mar, in bis defence, admitted that for the last erix 
 yes.*s oe had followed the occupation o^ supplying the 
 Dedjr«l school) with aoatomical subjects, bat disclaimed 
 ever having had anything to do with the sale of bodies 
 vtuch had not died a natural death. That he had 
 aecideo tally met with Bishop at (he Fortune of War 
 public house on the Friday on which the body was 
 taken for sale to Guy's Hospital. 
 
 At eight o'olook the jurj retii-ed to oonsidei their 
 
 .*erdiet*,BDd'on their jetnrn ihay fevnd the pritonen 
 were Gnilty of Murder. 
 
 'The Becord^ then passed the awAii eentcoc4< upon 
 them. "Tha^ each of them be, hanged on Mopday 
 moniing, and their bodies be delivci^ over for diaaee- 
 tion find anatomiiration." 
 
 The pii^oers heard thfL'^ntenoe as they had the 
 Terdict, without any visible aUeration. May raised hie 
 voice, and m a fina tone aaid, " I am a muniercd man, 
 gentkonea.'' 
 
 TEE BUU CONFESSION OF 
 BISHOP AND WILLIAMS. 
 
 On Saturday momijig Villiama addressed, a note to 
 Mr Woutner, sta^g that ho end Bishop wanted 
 
 rioularly to soe him and Dr. Cotton, the Oniinary. 
 the oouiw) of the interview which immediatelT 
 followed, both prieoners made a full confession of their 
 guilt, both exculpating May altogether from being party 
 to any of ttte murders. Having received the confes- 
 sions, Mr Wohtner immediately waited upon Mr Justioa 
 Littiedale and Baron Vaughan, and upon communicat- 
 ing to them the statements, they said they would at once 
 see the Home Secretary on the subjoct 
 
 On Sunday morting the Sberifis vlaitod all three of 
 the prisoners in succ^s&ion, and with the trnder-Sberiffa 
 were engaged between three and four hours in taldflg 
 down the statements of the uenviets. The result of all 
 these investigations was that the same afternoon a 
 respite during his Majesty's pleasure arrived at New^ 
 g«t« for May, and hia taentence will he commated to 
 transportation for life. 
 
 THE EXECUTION. 
 
 During the whole of Sunday crowds of persons ■^n- 
 gre^ted in the Qld Bailey, and the spot on which the 
 ecaobld was to be erected was covered with individuals 
 convening on the horrid crimes of the convicts, and in 
 the ooorse of tho day strong posts were erected in the 
 Old Bailey and at the ends of Newgate street Giltspur 
 fitroet, and Skinner street, for the purpose of \ornung 
 barriers to break the pressure of the crowd. 
 
 At half-past twelve o'clock the gallows was brought 
 out fVom the yard, and drawn to its ustial station 
 opposite the I>ebtor'8 door. The crowd, as early as one 
 uock amounting U> sever&l thousand petsans, con- 
 tinued rapidly increasing. 
 
 By some oversight three chains had been suspended 
 Atom the &tal b^im, an4 this led the crowd to suppose 
 that May had not been respited. Mr. Wontnor, on 
 bearing of the mistake, directed that one of the chains 
 should be tgmnTed. 'J'he nioment this was done en 
 exclamation of "May is r^pited," ran th.ough the 
 crowd, and, contrary to the expected tokens of indigna- 
 tion, distinct cheer« were heard amongst the crowd on 
 witaeaang this token that mercy had been Aown to 
 May 
 
 At half-past aJeven the Sherifb arrived in their 
 earriage, and in a short time the press- yard was 
 Uuxxncd with gentlemen. The unhappy convict* were 
 «o# iU from ueir cells. Bi^p came out first, and 
 
 aftor he was pinioned he was conducted to a seat, and 
 the Bev. Mr. Williamysat alongside of him, aud they 
 conversed together in^a low t»ne of voice. 
 
 Williams was Ait introdueod, and the wonderful 
 alteration two dayS had effected in hir appearance 
 astonished everyone who was present at the trial. All 
 the bold eonfldenee he exhibited then had oompletely 
 forsaken him, and he looked the most njiserable wretch 
 it is poesible to conceive. Ho entered the room with a 
 very faltering "Step," and wheathe ceremony of pinion- 
 ing him commenced, he wtw so weak as to be scarcely 
 able to stand. 
 
 Everything being ready, the molincholy procession 
 moved forward. Bishop was thea condnctwl to the 
 scaffold, end the moment he mede hi appearance tha 
 most dreadful- yells and hootings were heard among the 
 crowd. The executioner proceeded at once, to the per- 
 formance of his duty, and having put the rope round 
 his neck and affixed it to a chain, placed him under ths 
 fatal beam. Williams was then taken out, aid the 
 groans and hisses were reneWed. The dreadful pre- 
 parations, were scoa completed, end in less than fiva 
 aiinutes after the Tvretched nuju appeared on the acaffold 
 the usual tignal was given, the drop fell, and they i=^ere 
 launched into eternity. Bishop appeared to die vort 
 soon, but Williams stiucglod hard. Thus died 
 
 THB DafiADFUL BURSiaRS OF 18«i# 
 
 f rtB«e« ie Uo«M &« tU Veatok 
 
86 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 It may be remarked, en passant^ that Mr. Corder, with 
 ParagalH and Colla, the two ItaHan witnesses, who gave 
 evidence as to the identity of the body, said to be that of 
 the Italian boy, at the trial of Bishop, Williams, and May, 
 appeared at Bow Street, in consequence of doubts being 
 entertained by a portion of the public as to the body being 
 that of Carlo Ferrari, to re-assert their former evidence. 
 Mr. Corder afterwards published a statement in the "Times" 
 newspaper, which gave scarcely the possibility of doubt that 
 the body offered at King's College must have been that 
 of Ferrari notwithstanding the murderer's assertion to the 
 contrary. On December the loth, a Post-obit prosecution of 
 Williams, the Burkite murderer, took place in the Court of 
 Excise, where he was charged, on information, with having 
 carried on an illicit factory for making glass at No. 2, Nova 
 Scotia Gardens, Bethnal Green. An officer proved the 
 seizure of goods used in the manufacture of glass, at the 
 house of the person charged, and that Bishop was at the 
 time in company. The Court condemned the goods seized. 
 
 A drama on the subject of the "Burkers" was produced 
 at an unlicensed theatre, designated The Shakespeare, in 
 the Kingsland Road, and not far from Shoreditch Church, 
 and for a time was specially attractive. In the young actor, 
 who played Carlo Ferrari, the Italian boy, might now be 
 recognised an eminent tragedian.* 
 
 * E. L. Blanchard, in an article entitled, " Vanished Theatres,'^ in 
 the Era Almanack, 1877. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 87 
 
 Street-ballads on political subjects, though not regarded as of 
 great interest by the whole body of the people, are still eventful 
 among certain classes, and for such the street author and ballad 
 singer cater. The measure of Reform by Earl Grey's adminis- 
 tration, was proposed in the House of Commons by Lord John 
 Russell, I St March, 1831. On the first division, second reading 
 22nd March, there stood for it, 302; against it, 301. Ulti- 
 mately, the Bill for that session was abandoned, and Parliament 
 dissolved. The Reform Bill of 1832 was read for the /y^/>^time 
 on the 23rd of March, when the numbers stood thus : — for the 
 Bill, 355 j against it, 239 — majority for it, 116. In the Lords, 
 the Bill was carried through the Committee on the 30th of May, 
 and read a third time on the 4th of June. For the Bill, 106 ; 
 against, 22 — majority, 84. 
 
 During the whole of the time the Reform Bills of 1831-2 were 
 before the Houses of Parliament, the "Catnach Press," in 
 common with other printing offices that produced street-litera- 
 ture, was very busy in publishing, almost daily, songs and papers 
 in ridicule of borough-mongering and of the various rotten 
 boroughs then in existence, but which were entirely swept away 
 by the passing of this Bill ; fifty-six boroughs in England being 
 disfranchised, while thirty were reduced to one member only ; 
 twenty-two new boroughs were created to send two members, 
 and twenty to send one member ; other important changes were 
 also made. Songs upon the subject were sung at every corner 
 of the streets, to the great delight of the multitude. 
 The Reform Bill. 
 As William and Bill are the same, 
 
 Our King, if he " weathers the storm," 
 Shall be called in the annals of fame. 
 The Glorious BILL of Reform ! 
 
88 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 .LJL_ 
 
 ATTACK ON KING WILLIAM IV. at ASCOT HEATH, 
 
 On Tuesday, the 19TH of June, 1832. 
 The Ascot Races for 1832 will be rendered memorable in the 
 history of this country by reason of a stone thrown at his 
 Majesty while on the grand stand at Ascot Races, which hit him 
 on the forehead. The man by whom it was thrown was im- 
 mediately secured, and proved to be Dennis Collins, a seaman 
 with only one leg, formerly a pensioner of Greenwich Hospital, 
 from whence he had been dismissed for ill-conduct. On his 
 examination he confessed he committed the outrage in revenge 
 because no notice had been taken of petitions which he had sent 
 to the Lords of the Admiralty and the King. He was committed 
 to Reading gaol to take his trial, which took place at Abingdon, 
 on Au^.pist 22nd. The jury returned a verdict of guilty on the 
 fifth count, that of intending some bodily harm to his Majesty, 
 but not guilty of the intent to kill. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 89 
 
 Mr. Baron Gurney passed sentence on the prisoner, that he 
 be drawn on a hurdle to the place of execution^ and being hung by 
 his neck until dead, his head be afterwards severed from his body^ 
 and his body divided into four pieces^ and disposed of as his 
 Majesty should think fit. His sentence was afterwards respited. 
 
 Nothing better than the above circumstance could have suited 
 
 the producers and workers of street-literature. King William 
 
 and Queen Adelaide were very popular at the time. *' Yes, sir, 
 
 we all did well out of that job of the wooden-legged sailor and 
 
 old King Billy. It lasted out for months. We had something 
 
 fresh nearly every day. We killed old Billy five or six times ; 
 
 then we made out that the sailor-chap was a love-child of the 
 
 Sailor King and Madame Vestris ; then that he was an old 
 
 sweetheart of Queen Adelaide's, and that he was jealous and 
 
 annoyed at her a jilting of him and a-marrying of old King Billy, 
 
 and so on. But it was an awful sell, and a robbery to us all, 
 
 because they didn't hang and cut the chap up into four quarters 
 
 — that would have been a regular Godsend to us chaps, sir. 
 
 But I think old Jemmy Catnach, as it was, must have cleared 
 
 pretty nigh or quite fifty pounds for himself out of the job. 
 
 A-talking about Madame Vestris, sir, reminds me that once we 
 
 had a song about her, and the chorus was : — 
 
 '* * A hundred pounds reward 
 For the man that cut the legs above the knees 
 Belonging to Madame Vestris.* " 
 
 The year 1837 produced two sensational murders and execu- 
 tions. The first case — that of Pegsworth — made a great stir, 
 particularly in the east part of London. It was on the evening 
 of the 9th of January, 1837, that a most atrocious and cold- 
 blooded murder was committed in Ratcliff Highway. The in- 
 
 N 
 
90 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 dividual who suffered was Mr John HoUiday Ready, who for 
 some time carried on the trade of a tailor, draper, and milliner. 
 John Pegsworth, was a messenger in the tea department of St. 
 Katherine's Docks, he had formerly kept a small tobacconist's 
 shop in the same street, and had contracted a debt of ;£i with 
 Mr. Ready, who being unable to obtain payment, took out a 
 summons against him in the Court of Requests, Osborne-street, 
 WhitechapeL The court gave judgement against Pegsworth for 
 the full amount and costs, which he was ordered to pay by in- 
 stalments. On the evening of the same day Pegsworth pro- 
 ceeded to a cutler's shop in Shadwell, where he bought a large 
 pig-knife, armed with which he immediately repaired to the 
 house of Mr. Ready for the purpose of executing his diabolical 
 intention. He entered the shop, and having spoken to Mrs. 
 Ready, passed on to the parlour and got into conversation with 
 Mr. Ready. Pegsworth, although pressingly asked to do so, 
 declined taking a seat, and after he had been talking about ten 
 minutes in a calm and collected manner on the subject of the 
 debt and the misfortunes he had met with in business, he 
 pointedly asked Mr. Ready if he intended to enforce the pay- 
 ment of the debt ? Ready said he should be compelled to issue 
 an execution against his goods if the money was not paid. The 
 words had scarcely left the lips of the unfortunate man than 
 Pegsworth uttered some exclamation which is supposed to have 
 been " Take that ! " and plunged the knife with great force into 
 his breast up to the hilt. Ready called out to his wife, '* O, I 
 am stabbed ! " fell back in his chair, and almost immediately 
 expired. Mrs. Ready, who saw Pegsworth move his arm, but 
 was not aware her husband was stabbed until she saw him fall 
 back, screamed aloud for assistance, and several of her neigh- 
 bours rushed into the shop for the purpose of securing the 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 9 1 
 
 murderer, who did not make the least attempt to escape, but 
 having completed his purpose, withdrew the knife from the body 
 of his victim, laid it on the table, and calmly awaited the arrival 
 of the police. 
 
 Pegsworth was tried at the Central Criminal Court of London 
 on the 1 2th of February, and found guilty of wilful murder, and 
 was executed in front of the debtor's door in the Old Bailey on 
 the 9th of March following. 
 
 During the whole of the time that was occupied in the trial 
 and execution of Pegsworth, a circumstance took place which 
 excited an extraordinary sensation throughout the metropolis 
 and its neighbourhood— namely, the discovery near the Pine 
 Apple Gate, Edgware Road, of the trunk of a human being, tied 
 up in a sack, dismembered of the arms, legs, and head. 
 
 The utmost vigilance was exercised to trace out the murderer, 
 but for several days no light was thrown upon the transaction. 
 At length, on the 6th of January, as a barge was passing down 
 the Regent's Canal, near Stepney, one of the eastern environs of 
 London, the bargeman, to his unspeakable horror, fished up 
 what proved to be a human head. Proper notice of this circum- 
 stance was forwarded to the police. It was now very generally 
 supposed the head would prove to belong to the body found in 
 the Edgware road, although at a distance of nearly five miles, 
 and this conjecture proved to be correct. 
 
 On the second of February the remaining portions of the 
 human being was discovered in a sack in an osier bed, near Cold 
 Harbour Lane. Camberwell. These mutilated remains were 
 carefully matched together, and at length recognised as those of 
 a Mrs. Brown, and suspicion fell, and justly so, upon James 
 Greenacre and his paramour Sarah Gale. 
 
 N 2 
 
92 THE HISTORY GF 
 
 In respect to the last two murders we have cited, Mr. Henry 
 Mayhew received from an old " running patterer " the following 
 statement — **Pegsworth was an out-and-out lot. I did tre- 
 mendous with him, because it happened in London, down 
 Ratcliif Highway — that's a splendid quarter for working —there's 
 plenty of feeling — but, bless you, some places you go to you 
 can't move nohow, they've hearts like paving stones. They 
 wouldn't have * the papers ' if you'd give them to 'em — especially 
 when they knows you. Greenacre didn't sell so well as might 
 have been expected, for such a diabolical out-and-out crime as 
 he committed ; but you see he came close after Pegsworth, and 
 that took the beauty oif him. Two murderers together is no 
 good to nobody." 
 
 In the Greenacre tragedy Catnach did a great amount of 
 business, and as it was about the last ** popular murder" in 
 which he had any trade concern, we give a statement in respect 
 to the sale of " Execution Papers," of the chief modem ^popular^ 
 murders, thus : — 
 
 Of Rush murder ... - 2,500,000 copies. 
 
 Of the Mannings - - - . 2,500,000 „ 
 
 Of Courvoisier 1,666,000 „ 
 
 Of Greenacre . - - - - 1,650,000 „ 
 
 Of Corder (Maria Marten) - - - 1,166,000 „ 
 
 Of the Five Pirates (Flowery Land) - 290,000 „ 
 
 Of Miiller 280,000 „ 
 
 So that the printers and publishers of ** Gallows " Literature 
 in general, and "The Catnach Press" in particular must have 
 reaped a golden harvest for many a long day, even when sold 
 to the street patterers at the low rate of 3d. per long dozen. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 93 
 
 LIFE, TRIAL, CONFESSION, & EXECUTIOH 
 
 JAIHES CREENACRE, 
 
 rOB TEX 
 
 EDGEWARE ROAD MURDER. 
 
 Ob the 22pd of A^>riI^^ Jamoe Greensrre «a« foiled gialty of the 
 wnfUmTQtleraf H»r««h JJrown, anii Sarah Oelewitii being a««»ry 
 •fter the iaet. A long sad coimcctcd cb«In of sridanee irfts pro- 
 gnoed. vtteh ihowed, that the snck ia vbtcb the bod; w fosad 
 WW Ae vropartj of Ui. Ward ; that it «!>a wdiUt d/7o«t*d m a 
 part <J Vb» pmnaea vhich led to the vorkihi^, and could without 
 •baenatioB bar* bees carried away bj him ; Utat tho said aaek 
 eonttiiwd aereral fragneofe of gbs-riaga of mthogmj. aneh ag 
 were Boade is the eoorae of bonaeaa b; Ward; lod that it 
 eaatxiaed tarns muxa of hatn cloth, whioh had beaa patebed widt 
 oaokcea ; that this Uoeo oloth matehed esMil/ witK > freck which 
 «M found on Greesoc-e's presisea, and vkich Moand b> the 
 bmale priaoaor. Fcltham, a poliee-oSeer, dapoaed, &at od the 
 KHh of Uu«h be itpprebendea the priaosen ai the lod^isga o^ 
 QntMcre; thai on sbirohing ths trovcsn poeksta of thH pciwa, 
 ka took tharefrom a ps-irnbrckcr's dupiicsto for tirq^cjk gc«i«, 
 ■ad fn^ \k» tsgen or the fsinale priaoner two nngs, aad also a 
 atidlar dnpHfat* for two vvit, and an old-Cuhioned silrar w&tch, 
 Vfaidi ah* vaa eBdaaTouiin^ to coaceal ; acd it was fiutiier 
 prarad ttal thtae artiolea were pledged b; the priio&en, aad that 
 (bej larf haoa &e jmspntjr Of the deceated woman. —Tvo nirgeona 
 van rraiirfned, wtioaa endenee Waa moat imporiaatt uid Khoae 
 JmaM i f im were of the freatcKt comeqaeBoe m fitrowias a ciMr 
 IMit OB tb* naaser in which the femite, Hanak Bnwn. SMt 
 MdibwdaafiL Mr. Birtwhiatie de]xwd.tbai babadcusAdlj 
 «a<aiM4a«bead; that the right era IwdbeaB kaeiAad •« br a 
 bbwiiifiatedwI^tbepenoBwaalW.; tbm wae aiao amtt oa 
 ib< cbeek, aad Sm jaw wia fiMimad. thsN twv laat wootda ««n^ 
 ialiiiaBiaieo.»o&t8d after death; tbenwMa]ioabraBtoB:t& 
 ha*d.«ShhaSMninaaflH;death: tt.kt.dhadb*e«a«at«M 
 
 A; ttenwentbemarfcaeraatw.wfciahfialmaraaawwSieb 
 waa fooad in OraeaMra'a hex. ' lir. OiiJwouJ , % •nrveea, rerr 
 aunntdj aad akiKuIr daeerib^d ^ appeuaaees pmad&d on the 
 head, aad showad iaeoBteaiibtf.^thaike head. I& baan nreicd 
 ftm the bodr «M> («<i jMTMi W »*« afiw / flnt &fe wai prored 
 In the retne&iB, or dnwW h«^ of the iaaadei at &* aaria where 
 thar were aepaiatad bj Ih^laif^ ttd (hrtiw, b7 the btwd-rmia 
 UaeeBpt7, iha bodr.waa dndaed of \imU. ^TUi part of tW 
 
 endenee produced a IhriU of borror dmmghaVt Iha. eooA, t«t 
 Onenaeie reraaiaed qmte aaaioTed. 
 
 Alter a moat taDpceasre aad impartial nunain; op by die leacMd 
 Jalg^ tta jaiT tetiral, and, after the absence of a quarter of aa 
 how, ntaraed into eoar^ and proooasoed a nsdiet of "Oaatr" 
 agaiiMhothaeptiaoBen. ^ 
 
 n« priaoaen baard the verdict withoot erinojng the ieact' 
 aartioi^crtbaduhlaatehaateof cosntcaoiuK. After »n awfla 
 iil wae flf a fcw ■Jn ala a , ^ Xord Chief futtice end they loigb* 
 «&». aa ther woold be tanodec!' nnia the end of tho sewion. 
 
 They were then •oadaetad fram the bar, and nn going down (^» 
 Mepe, the onfortaaate fattri* ariaooer kined Oreouiore with eaeff 
 Eufk-of teBderaeaa aad aSbetaoB. 
 
 The crowd ootrida Vtit aoart oa thii dajr waa ertu rrestar thu 
 00 eiOwr of the Braaa dh y; aad when the rtardt of ^e tiiai wok 
 aade knowi ia tto itne^ a anddan aad geocral shont tacceeded, 
 and eoatnraed hanaa vera heard Ibr ae«Mal aiicstea. 
 
 TEE EXECUTIOir. 
 
 At half pait anaa the dwriff arrircd in hia carriega, luid 
 short tiiae the pt a i a- y a id ina' Aroo^ with geutlcaien whc had 
 
 ttjd hj tioketi. The nnlwppj- conrict was now led from 
 Wboi he airned ia Oe pren-jmid, his whsifc t 
 
 bu oalL Wboi he amrea la ue pren-jmid, his whsm appeannoa 
 ponrtraTid «■• rtauat aiaar; aad nirit-btakm dnecKoa : hk 
 cooateaaaee haggard, aad U* whole ftaiH agitated; aUthataatf. 
 BQHeaioa aad^fitada wfaith be di»la7«d !a the earij Bait of Ua 
 lopciMMBMBi^ had attidjr brvkaa his. aad had Uft hfia a rietla 
 of Vpa fatra eaa aad damib. Eetsqnaatad flwancatioaertagifa 
 hio aa litthpaia aa poaible ia tha praoeai of piaioBiBg hia ma 
 asdwrialB; be Ulered apt a word ia aOarien to hia «rii^ ; aaith* 
 did U Bake ni7 drinc raqaeat, »zeept Oat hit apcctadea ■!((.( be 
 gim to aaiah Gakyha eihlUted Be wa of hna ; he ahowcd *• 
 ■aiatfoa with Ma eindad G«d! Wh«a tte 
 
 Ipanga to the Md drop, he wui __ . 
 
 Itot > aedd aataapporthiiMir wtl3t«t the dd *r tha 
 
 Aoor, ftaai whicl^ha wai to be Uoeched into etereitr, the aaat 
 tenite mUi, gioaas aad eheen were rocifarated bj Uie fB«tMa 
 Bttltitaae satroaadiag the place of ezemtian. Greeoacra bowed t» 
 the efasiifl; aadbmedhl might ao< be aHowed to remaio long ia Ih* 
 eoaooane ; aad atoeat-kaMdiatElj tho fatal bolt waa TTtthdraTn, 
 aad,wiao«taitrqg|^hobeeaBea lifeless corae.-^Thns sadad 
 the dtji of Qtaeaaeta, a Buna ahdowcd with more than ordinanr 
 
 . sN]rplaMdiaaaeietT;brt 
 
 awiBt af pMbttT'. as abaolala deartit of Mtaeipla, lad hm ea 
 froB oaa ariiaa to .Mlhtr, eaia' at laagfii h* perpetnted tha 
 taagaiuuT deed which braachthia canaT t<r aa nhTaad di*. 
 graeeM period, aad which ta aoraaad hM aaaa aiMag du BM( 
 aoterioaa VI thoaa who hara ofiatad Oair ariM ee Ae gaUwriL 
 Oa hantag tta daalh-b^ toll. Oak b«e(M dmadfUir JitelMl : 
 and whea aba head tha bratal ahoahi .< the ciowd »^a^BMa% 
 
 iaaeafibUitj thrcoghoat the whole dacj. 
 
 After b3Tin(C' h^n nupeodud ths nsul time, hit bodf «aa 
 » hole dag f 
 
 down, aiid hnnod ic a bo]e dag io ona of the passa^ of the pri> 
 aoa, near the q>ot whan Thiattewood aad hia &adatai Ma» 
 
 4i(Mi^ 
 
94 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Catnach received a very indifferent education, and thai little 
 at the establishment of Mr. Goldie, in Alnwick, where his 
 attendance was very irregular, and this drawback assisted very 
 much in blunting his relish for the higher walks of literature. 
 The father had not carried out the heavenly injunction so much 
 practised in Scotland, by giving to his son the best of blessings 
 — " a good education." 
 
 Jemmy had a tenacious love of money, and this propensity 
 he retained throughout life. As a man of business he was 
 rough and brusque in his manners, but this mattered little, as 
 his trade lay amongst a class who were low and insensitive in 
 their habits and modes of living. 
 
 The productions issued at the "Catnach Press" were not 
 destined to rank high in the annals of literature ; and they bear 
 a sorry appearance when placed alongside of several works of a 
 similar kind, which were printed at the same period in many 
 parts of the kingdom. In this respect Jemmy Catnach was 
 very unlike his father, for, whilst the former had a niggardly 
 turn in all his dealings, the latter was naturally inclined to the 
 reverse. 
 
 One class of literature which Jemmy Catnach made — by 
 reason of greater mechanical skill and a larger capital than his 
 rivals — almost his own, was children's farthing, halfpenny, and 
 penny books. Among the great many that he published we 
 select from our own private collection, those that follow as a 
 fair sample. 
 
 Many other nursery books of a similar kind might be men- 
 tioned as some of the chief attractions that emanated from the 
 " Catnach Press," and which, to the juvenile population, were 
 more eagerly welcomed than the great sensational three-volume 
 novels are by many in our day. 
 
''THE CATNACH PRESS." 
 
 COLLECTION 
 
 OF 
 
 JUVENILE BOOKS 
 
 Printed and published by 
 
 JAMES CATNACH, 
 
 LATE OF 
 
 MONMOUTH COURT, 
 
 SEVEN DIALS, 
 LONDON. 
 
98 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 The Lion and the unicorn, 
 Were fighting for the crown, 
 The lion beat the unicorn, 
 All round about the town, 
 Some gave them white bread 
 And some gave them brown, 
 Some gave them plum cake 
 And sent them out of town. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 99 
 
 NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY 
 
 What is the news of the day, 
 Good neighbour I pray, 
 They say the balloon, 
 Is gone up to the moon. 
 
 o 2 
 
lOO 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. 
 
 The little mouse 
 Doth skip and play, 
 He runs by night, 
 And sleeps by day. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 lOI 
 
 NURSE LOVECHILD's LEGACY. 
 
 This is the Cat 
 That killed the Cock, 
 For waking her 
 At five o'clock. 
 
I02 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 NURSE LOVECHILD S LEGACY. 
 
 And this is the Dog 
 That bit the thief, 
 For stealing all 
 His master's beef. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 103 
 
 NURSE LOVECHILD S LEGACY. 
 
 Who comes here 
 A Grenadier, 
 What do you want 
 A pot of beer, 
 Where's your money 
 I've forgot. 
 Get you gone 
 You drunken sot. 
 
 \ 
 
104 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 NURSE LOVECHILD's LEGACY. 
 
 Be not a glutton when you eat, 
 
 But spare some for the needy, 
 
 Or people will, when filled 
 with meat, 
 
 Say, like a wolf, you are 
 greedy. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 105 
 
 NURSE LOVECHILD S LEGACY. 
 
 .^rxjfS 
 
 There was a little man, 
 And he had a little gun,. 
 And his bullets were made of 
 
 lead, 
 He shot John Sprig 
 Thro' the middle of his wig, 
 And knock'd it off his head. 
 
io6 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. 
 
 Now what do you think 
 Of little Jack Jingle, 
 Before he was married, 
 He used to live single. 
 But after he married, 
 To alter his life. 
 He left off living single 
 And lived with his wife 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 107 
 
 II 
 
 NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. 
 
 Tom Tnieby was a good and 
 sensible boy, who neither played 
 the truant nor kept company with 
 naughty children. He did not 
 like tossing up nor chuck up far- 
 thing, because he thought it might 
 lead him to love gaming, when he 
 was grown up; but he liked very 
 well to play at ball or top, and 
 most particularly at marbles, at 
 which he was very clever, never 
 cheated, and played so well that 
 he used to teach the neighbouring 
 children. 
 
 p 2 
 
io8 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 12 
 
 NURSE LOVECHILD'S LEGACY. 
 
 And here you see him instructing 
 Master Manly, a Baronet's son in 
 the place, as he did in matters of 
 more consequence, and behaved so 
 well towards him, that he was his 
 friend all his lifetime. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 109 
 
 13 
 
 NURSE LOVECHILD's LEGACY. 
 
 Fire-Works and Crackers. 
 
 Fire- Works are things that look 
 very pretty when they are properly 
 managed by those who understand 
 them, but children ought to take 
 care how they meddle with gun- 
 powder lest they should hurt them- 
 selves or other people. 
 
no THE HISTORY OF 
 
 14 
 
 NURSE LOVECHILD's LEGACY. 
 
 Tom Hazard for example was al- 
 ways fond of playing with serpents 
 crackers &c. At one time he was 
 near doing damage by his fire- 
 works falling into a cellar, and at 
 another time as you see in the cut 
 he so much frightened one of his 
 schoolfellows that he fell down, 
 and put his ancle out, for which 
 Tom was severely corrected and 
 you must own he richly deserved it. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 in 
 
 NURSE LOVECHILD S LEGACV. 
 
 See the Mother, 
 Good and mild, 
 How she plays 
 With her dear Child. 
 
J. Catnach, Printer. 
 
114 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 The 
 
 Lord's Prayer, 
 
 Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallow- 
 ed be thy Name, thy Kingdom come, thy 
 Will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven, 
 Give us this Day our daily Bread, and for- 
 give us our Trespasses as we forgive 
 them that trespass against us, and lead us 
 not into Temptation, but deliver us from 
 Evil. For thine is the Kingdom, the power 
 and the Glory, for ever and ever. Amen, 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 "5 
 
 Was an Arch Boy. 
 
 B 
 
 A Beauty was. 
 
 Q 2 
 
ii6 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 A comely Wench but Coy. 
 
 D 
 
 A Dainty Lass. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 Loved Eggs, and eat his fill. 
 
 Was full and fat. 
 
ii8 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Had Grace and wit at will. 
 
 H 
 
 Wore a Gold Lace Hat. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 119 
 
 I 
 
 Stands for little J ackys name. 
 
 For Kitty Fair. 
 
120 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Loved Learning & got fame. 
 
 M 
 Was his Mother dear. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 121 
 
 Was naughty & oft crying. 
 
 An Only Child. 
 
123 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 lO 
 
 Was pretty Peggy sighing. 
 
 Was a Quaker mild, 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 123 
 
 -II 
 
 R 
 
 Was Rude, & in disgrace. 
 
 Stands for Sammy Still. 
 
 R 2 
 
124 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 12 
 
 For ever talked a-pace. 
 
 Was fond of Veal. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 ' 125 
 
 13 
 
 W 
 
 He watched the house & hall. 
 
 Does like a Cross appear. 
 
126 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 14 
 
 A Youth well shaped & tall. 
 
 Whips up the Rear. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 127 
 
 15 
 
 Let all good children come to me, 
 And I'll learn them their 
 ABC 
 
 ^m^mimmmmii^^Kmmms 
 
JERBV diodlb; 
 
 Awo nis 
 
 FIDDLE, 
 
 If you are bad I And praise will all 
 I pray reform^ Your acts adorn. 
 
 London : 
 
 Printed by J. Catnach, 2, Monmouth 
 
 Court, 7 Dials. 
 
I30 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 JERRY DIDDLE. 
 
 Bought a fiddle, 
 To play to little boys, 
 He wax'd his string, 
 And began to sing, 
 Youth is the time for joys. 
 
 He went to a pig, and play'd a jig. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 i3i 
 
 The pigs did grunt for joy, 
 Till the farmer came out, 
 And made a great rout, (boy," 
 
 Saying "Off, or fll cane you, my 
 
 He met an old woman to market 
 
 a prancing, (a dancing. 
 
 He took out his fiddle, and set her 
 
 s 2 
 
132 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 She broke all her eggs, 
 And dirtied her butter ; 
 
 At which her old husband 
 Began for to splutter. 
 
 Oh ! then, said Jerry, 
 I'll soon make you merry. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 133 
 
 And the way with his fiddle he 
 
 led, 
 The old man heard the tune, 
 As he sat in his room, 
 
 And danc'd on top of his 
 head. 
 
134 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 He next met a barber, 
 With powder and wig, 
 
 te^ 
 
 He play'd him a tune. 
 And he shaved an old pig. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 135 
 
 Then up in his arms 
 He carried the boar, 
 
 And went to the ale-house, 
 To dance on the floor. 
 
1^6 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 8 
 
 He met an old man, 
 
 With beer in a can, 
 And a bundle of clothes on his 
 shoulder, 
 
 He bade Jerry play, 
 
 And threw all away, 
 To astonish each gaping beholder. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 137 
 
 He went to a tailor, 
 Who was ill in bed j 
 
 When he got up to dance, 
 With a goose on his head. 
 
138 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 lO 
 
 He went to a fishwomen, 
 Tippling of gin, 
 
 When she like a top, 
 Began for to spin. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 139 
 
 II 
 
 The publican star'd, 
 
 As he fill'd out the glasses, 
 
 But when Jerry play'd, 
 He danc'd with the lasses. 
 
 T 2 
 
140 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 12 
 
 He next met an old man, 
 With beard white and long, 
 
 Who laugh'd at poor Jerry, 
 And scoff'd at his song. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 141 
 
 13 
 
 His name was Instruction, 
 The friend of the wise, 
 
 Who teaches good youth, 
 To win honor's prize. 
 
142 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 14 
 
 He broke Jerry's fiddle, 
 And taught him to read, 
 
 ^m-... m s ^ r 
 
 And told him that honor 
 Would daily succeed. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 143 
 
 15 
 
 Jerry now is a lad 
 At school always true, 
 
 The joy of his friends, 
 And a pattern for you. 
 
Be instructed by him, 
 To avoid folly's snare, 
 
 And your bosom thro' life, 
 Will escape every care. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
Here am I, little 
 Jumping Joan, 
 When nobody's with me, 
 I'm always alone. 
 
 London ; 
 
 rrinled by J. Catnach, 2, Monmouth 
 
 Court, 7 Dials. 
 
146 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Jumping Joan. 
 
 Joan had a dog, and 
 Joan had a cat, 
 Look at them both, see 
 How pretty they're sat. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS 
 
 T47 
 
 Jumimig Joan. 
 
 Joan she lov'd skipping, 
 And was not at a loss, 
 At jumping or hopping, 
 Or going a cross. 
 
 U 2 
 
148 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Jumping Joan. 
 
 Joan had a parrot t 
 Could chatter and bawl, 
 But Joan could talk faster, 
 And longer withal. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 149 
 
 Jumping Joan. 
 
 Joan's dog, Prinny, 
 No learning did lack, 
 He'd carry Poll in his mouth 
 And Puss on his back. 
 
ISO 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Jumping Joan. 
 
 As Joan lov'd jumping, 
 She learned her cat, 
 Look at them both, 
 And see what they're at. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 15-1 
 
 Jumping Joan, 
 
 Here's Pussy a washing 
 Joan's linen you know, 
 She could wash for herself 
 A long while ago. 
 
152 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Jumping Joan, 
 
 Now Prinny, Joan's dog, 
 To market would go, 
 But what he'll bring back, 
 I'm sure I don't knojv. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 153 
 
 Jumping Joan. 
 
 Here's Pussy drest out 
 Like a lady so gay, 
 She's going to court, if 
 She finds but the way. 
 
154 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 10 
 
 Jumping Joan. 
 
 Here's Prinny and Pussy 
 To dancing have got, 
 While Joan plays a tune 
 On the lid of a pot. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 155 
 
 II 
 
 Jumping Joan. 
 
 Here's Joan with a whip, 
 Taking very long strides, 
 And vows if she finds 'em. 
 She'll bang both their hides 
 
 X 2 
 
156 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 12 
 
 Jumping Joan. 
 
 Here's Prinny with gun, 
 Sword and gorget so smart, 
 He's going to France, 
 To fight Bonaparte. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 157 
 
 13 
 
 Jumping Joan. 
 
 And Joan's threat had fiU'd 
 Poor Prin with alarms, 
 He said he'd not fight, 
 And so grounded his arms. 
 
158 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 14 
 
 Jumping Joan. 
 
 
 Then Puss in a fright 
 Ran back to the house, 
 She pull'd off her clothes, 
 And has just caught a mouse 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 159 
 
 15 
 
 Jumping Joan. 
 
 Then Joan she came in, 
 Caird the cat saucy puss, 
 And said Prin was a puppy, 
 To frighten her thus. 
 
J. Calnach, Printer. 
 
TO THE 
 
 Juvenile Reader, 
 
 Little Boys and Girls will find 
 At Catnach's something to their mind. 
 From great variety may choose, 
 What will instruct them and amuse ; 
 The prettiest plates that you can find, 
 To please at once the eye and mind, 
 In all his little books appear, 
 In natural beauty, shining clear, 
 Instruction unto youth when given, 
 Points the path fi:om earth to heaven. 
 
 He sells by Wholesale and Retail, 
 To suit all moral tastes can't fail. 
 
THE 
 
 Butterfly's Ball, 
 
 AND 
 
 Grasshopper's Feast- 
 
 Come take up your hats^ 
 And away let tis haste, 
 
 To the Butterfly's Ball, 
 Or the Grasshoppet^ s JFeast. 
 
 J, Catnach, 
 2, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. 
 
 Y 2 
 
164 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 THE 
 
 BUTTERFLY'S BALL 
 
 AND 
 
 Grasshopper's Feast. 
 
 The trumpeter Gad-fly, 
 Has summon'd the crew, 
 
 And the revels are now, 
 Only waiting for you. 
 
 On the smooth shaved grass, 
 By the side of a wood. 
 
 Beneath a broad oak, 
 Which for ages had stood. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 165 
 
 See the children of earth, 
 And the tenants of air, 
 
 To an evening's amusement^ 
 Together repair. 
 
 And there came the Beetle, 
 So blind and so black, 
 
 And carried the Emmet, 
 His friend on his back. 
 
 And there came the Gnat, 
 And the Dragon-fly too. 
 
 And all their relations — 
 Green, orange and blue. 
 
 And there came the Moth 
 With her plume of down, 
 
 And the Hornet with jacket 
 Of yellow and brown. 
 
i66 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Who with him the Wasp, 
 His companion did bring, 
 
 But they promised that evening 
 To lay by their sting. 
 
 S^ 
 
 The sly little Dormouse, 
 PeepM out of his hole, 
 
 And led to the feast, 
 
 His blind cousin the Mole. 
 
 And the Snail with his horns, 
 Peeping out of a shell. 
 
 Came fatigued with the distance. 
 The length of an ell. 
 
 A Mushroom the table, 
 And on it was spread, 
 
 A water-dock leaf, 
 
 Which their table-cloth made. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 167 
 
 «^ 
 
 The viands were various, 
 To each of their taste, 
 
 And the Bee brought the honey, 
 To sweeten the feast. 
 
 With steps most majestic, 
 The Snail did advance. 
 
 And he promised the gazers 
 A minuet to dance. 
 
 But they all laugh'd so loud, 
 That he drew in his head, 
 
 And went in his own 
 Little chamber to bed. 
 
 Then as the evening gave way 
 To the shadows of night, 
 
 Their watchman the glow-worn 
 Came out with his light. 
 
Let all good children come to me, 
 And I'll learn them their 
 
 ABC 
 
jrS THE ^ 
 
 1 Easter Gift! 
 
 M* BEING A 
 
 '^ USEFUL. TOV 
 
 iLr*///^ Af/.y* ^ Master | 
 
 TO LLARN THEIR 
 
 ^ J Catn-dch, Printer, W 
 
 ^ Monmottth-Courl, 7 Dials. >^ 
 
 Z 2 
 
172 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 A Was an Archer and shot THv Was a Drunkard and 
 
 at a frog, 1 ) lov'd a full pot, 
 
 But missing his mark shot into His face and his belly shew'd 
 
 a bog. him a great sot. 
 
 BWas a Butcher and had 117 ^^^ ^" Esquire, both 
 
 a great dog, i--^ lofty and proud, 
 
 Who always went round the His servant was softy though 
 
 streets with a clog. ^^ was full loud. 
 
 F 
 
 S 
 
 • (jtj 
 
 - — —^ 
 '• -7.:r,-.- 
 
 P 
 
 ^ 
 
 CWas a Captain so brave 
 and so grand, 
 He headed in buff the stately 
 train'd band. 
 
 F^ Was a Farmer and followed 
 the plough, 
 And gathered good from the 
 sweat of his brow. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 173 
 
 J Was a Joiner and built him 
 a house, 
 
 .— • 1^ 00^' oVo;«of o A little time after there came 
 A poor smgle ace agamst a in a mouse 
 
 bold tray. ^^ ^ "^°^^^* 
 
 GWas a Gamester, and oft 
 would he play, 
 
 T T Hunted the buck, and 
 
 KWas a King, who would 
 drink and carouse. 
 
 likewise the doe, 
 
 The hart and the fox, and also Affrighted was he at a stand 
 the roe. and a mouse. 
 
 I Was an Image set up at 
 Rome, 
 
 LWas a Lady that lov'd 
 a fine tree, 
 
 many tnat see it were better at Though none understood it so 
 home. little as she. 
 
174 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 MWas a Merchant to 
 foreign lands gone. 
 To bring home fine tea and rich 
 silks anon. 
 
 
 p 
 
 NWas a Noble of birth 
 and high power, 
 To the poor most gentle, to 
 the haughty most sour. 
 
 PWas a Parson, and wore a 
 black gown, 
 For goodness and virtue of 
 high renown. 
 
 QVWas a Quaker, both stiif 
 and upright, 
 xii ^ea and nay they chiefly 
 delight. 
 
 OWith her Oysters, a deli- T) Was a Robber on the 
 
 cate cry. [V highway, 
 
 Come buy my sweet Oyster, For which he's been hung this 
 
 cuinc buy, come buy. many a day. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 175 
 
 SWas a Sailor and liv'd in -XT Was a Vintner that loved 
 
 a ship, y his pottle, 
 
 He made the Spaniards and Went seldom to bed without his 
 
 French for to skip, fuU bottle. 
 
 TWas Tom Tinker and 
 mended a kettle^ 
 While he was hammering was 
 deaf as a beetle. 
 
 UWas an Undertaker at 
 work for his bread. 
 The living must pay, though he 
 works for the dead. 
 
 WWas a Watchman, to 
 guard the warehouse, 
 That rogues did not strip it 'of 
 every souse. 
 
 XWas expensive, andj so 
 became poor, 
 With his little dog begged from 
 door to door. 
 
YWas a Youngster that 
 lov'd not his school, 
 But trundled his hoop though 
 out of all rule. 
 
 ZWas a Zany that look'd 
 like a fool, 
 With his long tassell'd cap he 
 was the boy's fool. 
 
 And when your great letters you know. 
 Then I'll teach you the small ones also. 
 
 *-»®fei^<^K@t.,^^.^^^^ 
 
 Printed by J. Catnach. 
 
2 A 
 
AN apple pie when it looks nice, 
 Would make one long to have a slice, 
 And if its taste should prove so too, 
 I fear one slice would scarcely do, 
 So to prevent my asking twice, 
 Pray mamma, cut a good large slice. 
 
THE 
 
 LIFE AND DEATH 
 
 OF AN 
 
 APPLE PIE. 
 
 
 ^^Btii^K^^^H 
 
 hIIIlVI 
 
 l5ttfcL.'~^ "^^i 
 
 A B 
 
 An" Apple-pie. . Bit it. 
 
 F 
 
 Fought for it. 
 
 2 A 2 
 
i8o 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 H 
 
 Had it. 
 
 J K 
 
 Join'd for it. Kept it. 
 
 L M NO 
 
 Long'd for it. Mourned for it. Nodded at it. Open'd it. 
 
^THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 l8l 
 
 t 
 
 i 
 
 j 
 
 ijH Wk 
 
 k 
 
 P Q . E 
 
 Peeped into it. Quartered it. Ran for it. 
 
 Stole it. 
 
 W XYZ and & 
 
 Wanted it. All wished for 
 a piece in hand. 
 
132 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 ^©®©©®^®©©©Offl 
 
 g^^^ ^^^_^_ ^ 
 
 At last they every one agreed, 
 Upon the apple pie to feed ; 
 But as there seem'd to be so many, 
 Those who were last might not have 
 
 any, 
 Unless some method there was taken 
 That every one might have their 
 
 bacon, 
 They all agreed to stand in order, 
 Around the apple pie's fine border, 
 Take turn as they in hornbook stand 
 From great A down to &, 
 In equal parts the pie divide, 
 As you may see on the other side. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS, 1 83 
 
 A mrious Discourse thai passed between the Twenty-five Letters 
 at dinner time. 
 
 A 1. Says, A, give me a good large slice 
 
 B 2. Says B, a little bit but nice. 
 
 C 3. Says C, cut me a piece of crust. 
 
 D 4. Take it, says D, 'tis dry as dust. 
 
 E 5. Says E, I'll eat it fast, who will? 
 
 E 6. Says F, I vow I'U have my fiU. 
 
 G 7. Says Q-, give it me both good and great. 
 
 H 8. Says H, a little bit I hate. 
 
 I 9, Says I, I love the juice the best. 
 
 K 10. And K, the very same confessed. 
 
 L 11. Says L, there's nothing more 1 love. 
 
 M 1 2. Says M, it makes your teeth to move. 
 
 N 13. N notic'd what the others said, 
 
 14. • 0, others plates with grief survey'd. 
 
 P 15. P prais'd the cook up to the life. 
 
 Q 1 6. Q quarrell'd because he'd a bad knife. 
 
 R 17. Says R, it runs short I'm afraid. 
 
 5 18. 8, silent sat and nothing said. 
 
 T 19. T, thought that talking might lose time. 
 
 U 20. U understood it at meals a crime. 
 
 W 21. W wish'd there had been a quince in. 
 
 X 22. Says X, those cooks there's no convincing 
 
 Y 23 Says Y, I'll eat, let others wish. 
 
 Z 24. Z sat as mute as any fish. 
 
 6 25. WhUe & he Hck'd the dish. 
 
184. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Having concluded their discourse 
 and dinner together, I have nothing 
 more to add ; but if my little readers 
 are pleased with what they have found 
 in this book they have nothing to do 
 but to run to J. Paul & Go's., 2, & 3, 
 Monmouth Court; 7 Dials, where they 
 may have a great variety of books 
 not less entertaining than this of the 
 same size and price. 
 
 But that you may not think I leave 
 you too abruptly, I here present you 
 with the picture of dame Dumpling, 
 who made the Apple pie you have 
 
 been reading about; she has several 
 more in her basket, and she promised 
 that if you are good children you shall 
 never go to bed supperless while she 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS, iSi 
 
 has one loft. But as good people al- 
 ways ask a blessing, as a token that 
 you are good and deserve a pie, you 
 must learn the two following Graces, 
 that one be said before your meals, 
 and the other after. 
 
 Grace before Meat 
 
 Good Lord, bless us, and these thy 
 creatures, to our use, which we are 
 about to receive, of thy bounteous 
 liberality, through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 Grace after Meat, 
 
 We thank thee, Lord, for all the 
 benefits of this time, and of our 
 whole lives. Make us thankful for 
 all thy mercies now, and for ever- 
 more. Amen. 
 
 2 6 
 
THE 
 
 TEN COMMANDMENTS 
 
 PUT INTO SHORT RHYME. 
 
 1. Thou shalt have no other God but me. 
 
 2. Before no idol bow thy knee. 
 
 3. Take not the name of God it vain. 
 
 4. Nor dare the Sabbath-day profane. 
 
 5. Give both thy parents honour due. 
 
 6. Take heed that thou no murder do. 
 
 7. Abstain from words and deeds unclean. 
 
 8. Steal not, tho' thou art poor and mean. 
 
 9. Tell not a wilful lie, nor love it. 
 
 10. What is thy neighbour's, dare not covet. 
 
 J. Paul & Co., Printers. 
 
iiiM:|3^ ; 
 
 OLD 
 
 HUBBABD 
 
 II 
 
 Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard 
 
 To get the poor dog a bone ; 
 But when she came there the cupboard was bare, 
 
 And so the poor dog had none. 
 
 London : 
 Printed by J Catnach, 2 & 3, Manmouth Court, 7 Dials. 
 
 2 B 3 
 
She went to the baker's to buy him some bread, 
 When she came back the dog was dead. 
 Ah ! my poor dog, she cried, oh, what shall I do ? 
 You were always my pride — none equal to you. 
 
 She went to the undertaker's to buy him a coffin, 
 When she came back, the dog was laughing. 
 Now how this can be quite puzzles my brain, 
 I am much pleased to sec you alive Once again. 
 
She went to the barber's to buy him a wig, 
 When she came back he was dancing a jig. 
 O, you dear merry grig, how nicely you're prancing ; 
 Then she held up the wig, and he began dancing. 
 
 She went to the sempstress to buy him some linen, 
 When she came back the dog was spinning. 
 The reel, when 'twas done, was wove into a shirt, 
 Which served to protect him from weather and dirt. 
 
To market she went, to buy him some tripe, 
 When she came back he was smoking his pipe. 
 Why, sure, cried the dame, you'd beat the great Jocko. 
 Who before ever saw a dog smoking tobacco? 
 
 She went to the alehouse to buy him some beer, 
 When she came back he sat on a chair. 
 Drink hearty, said Dame, there's nothing to pay, 
 'Twill banish your sorrow and moisten your clay.. 
 
 I 
 
She went to the fruiterer's to buy him some fruit, 
 When she came back he was playing the flute. 
 Oh, you musical dog, you surely can speak : 
 Come, sing me a song, then he set up a squeak. 
 
 She went to the tavern for white wine and red, 
 When she came back he stood on his head. 
 This is odd, said the dame, for fun you seem bred. 
 One would almost believe you'd wine in your head. 
 
The dog he cut capers, and turned out his toes, 
 'Twill soon cure the vapours, he such attitude shows. 
 The dame made a curtsey, the dog made a bow, 
 The dame said, Your servant, the dog said Bow wow 
 
London : 
 
 Published by Ryle and Paul, 
 
 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, Seven Dials. 
 
194 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 NURSERY RHYMES. 
 
 Ding, (long, bell ! 
 Pussy's in the well. 
 Who put her in ? 
 Little Johnny Green. 
 Who pulled her out ? 
 Little Johnny Snout, 
 What a naughty boy was that, 
 To drown poor pussy cat, 
 Who never did hun any harm, 
 And kill'd the mice in his father's 
 barn. 
 
 See-saw, sacradown. 
 Which is the way to London town ? 
 One foot up, and the other down, 
 And that is the way to London town. 
 
 Jack and Jill went up the hill, 
 
 To get a pail of water : 
 Jack fell down and broke his crown, 
 
 And Jill came tumbling after. 
 
 Hey diddle, the cat and the fiddle, 
 
 The cow jumped over the moon.'^" 
 
 Tbe Httle dog laughed to see thv 
 sport. 
 
 And the dish ran away with the 
 spoon. 
 
 Cock^a doodle do, 
 The dame has lost her shoe, 
 And master's lost his fiddle stick 
 And don't know what to do. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 Simple Simon met a pieman, 
 
 Going to the fair ! ) 
 Says Simple Simon to the pieman, 
 
 Let me taste your ware. 
 
 Says the pieman unto Simon 
 
 First give me a penny ; 
 Says Simple Simon to the pieman, 
 
 I have not got any. 
 
 Once Simon made a great snow ball 
 And brought it in to roast, 
 
 He laid it down before the fire, 
 And soon the ball was lost. 
 
 He went to ride a spotted cow, 
 
 That had a little calf, 
 She threw him down upon the ground 
 
 And made all the people laugh. 
 
 195 
 
 Now Simple Simon went a fishing. 
 
 For to catch a whale. 
 But all the water he had got 
 
 Was in his mother's pail. 
 
 He went to catch a dickey bird 
 And thought he could not fail 
 
 Because he had a bit of salt, 
 To put upon his tail. 
 
 He went to see if cherries ripe, 
 
 Did grow upon a thistle, 
 He pricked his finger very much. 
 
 Which made poor Simon whistle. 
 
 He went to take a bird's nest, 
 'Twas built upon a bough, 
 
 A branch gave way, down Simon fell 
 Into a dirty slough. 
 
 2 C 2 
 
196 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Simon was sent to market, 
 To buy a joint of meat, 
 
 He tied it to his horse's tail, 
 To keep it clean and sweet. 
 
 He went to slide upon the ice, 
 Before the ice would bear. 
 
 Then he plunged in above his knees, 
 Which made poor Simon stare. 
 
 He went to shoot a wild duck, 
 
 But the duck flew away, 
 Says Simon I can't hit him. 
 
 Because he would not stay. 
 
 Then Simple Simon went a hunting, 
 
 For to catch a hare, 
 lie rode an ass about the street, 
 
 But could not find one there. 
 
 He went for water in a seive, 
 But soon it all run through. 
 And went all o'er his clothes, 
 Which made poor Simon rue. 
 
 He washed himself with blacking 
 ball, 
 
 Because he had no soap. 
 
 And then said to his mother 
 
 I'm a beauty now I hope. 
 
 He went to eat some honey, 
 
 Out of the mustard pot, 
 It bit his tongue until he cried, 
 
 That was all the good he got. 
 
 Simple Simon cutting his mother's 
 bellows open to see where the wind 
 
 lay. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 JACK JINGLE. 
 
 Little Jack Jingle, 
 Played truant at school, 
 They made his bum tingle 
 For being a fool ; 
 He promised no more 
 Like a fool he would look 
 But be a good boy and 
 attend to his book. 
 
 197 
 
 See little Jack Jingle 
 
 Learning his task, 
 He's a very good boy, 
 
 If the neighbours should ask, 
 To school he does run, 
 
 And no truant does play. 
 But when school is done. 
 
 He can laugh and be gay. 
 
 Here sulky Sue, 
 
 What shall we do. 
 Turn her face to the wall, 
 
 Till she comes to ; 
 If that should fail, 
 
 A touch with the cane 
 Will do her good, 
 
 When she feels the pain. 
 
 Now Suky never pouts. 
 Never frowns, never flouts, 
 
 But reads her book with glee. 
 Then dances merrily. 
 No girl so good as she, 
 In all the country ; 
 
 Cheerfully doth all things do. 
 
 She lost the name of sulky Sue. 
 
THE HISTORY OF 
 
 \ 
 
 Jack Jingle went 'prentice, 
 
 To make a horse-shoe, 
 He wasted the iron, 
 
 Till it would not do, 
 His master came in, 
 
 And began for to rail ; 
 Says Jack, the shoe's spoil'd, 
 
 But 'twill still make a nail. 
 
 Little Jack Jingle, 
 
 Went to court Suky Shingle, 
 Says he, shall we mingle 
 
 Our toes in the bed ; 
 Fye ! Jacky Jingle, 
 
 Says little Suke Shingle, 
 We must try to mingle, 
 
 Our pence for some bread. 
 
 Suke Shingle when young. 
 
 Did what others have done, 
 She could dirty two clouts, 
 
 While her mother wash'd one. 
 Biit now grown a stout wench, 
 
 With her pail and her mop, 
 If she don't clean the board, 
 
 She can make a great slop. 
 
 Suky you shall be my wife, 
 And I'll tell you why ; 
 
 I have got a little pig. 
 And you have got a sty ; 
 
 I have got a dun cow, 
 
 And you can make good 
 cheese, 
 
 Suky will you have me ? 
 
 Say yes, if you please. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 DEATH & BURIAL 
 
 OF 
 
 COCK ROBIN. 
 
 199 
 
 Who saw him die ? 
 
 I, said the fly 
 
 With my little eye- 
 I saw him die. 
 
 Who>ill'd Cock Robin ? 
 I said the sparrow, 
 With my bow and arrow. 
 
 I kill'd Cock Robin. 
 
 Who caught his blood ? 
 I, said the fish, 
 With my little dish— 
 
 I cauq-ht his blood. 
 
 This is the fly 
 That saw him die. 
 
 Who made his shroud ? 
 I, said the beetle, 
 With my little needle- 
 
 I made his shroud. 
 
 This is the fish 
 That held the dish. 
 
 This is the beetle, 
 With his little needle. 
 
200 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Who'll be the Parson ^ 
 
 I, said the rook, 
 
 With my little book— 
 I will be the Parson. 
 
 Here is Parson Rook, 
 Reading his book. 
 
 Who'll carry the cofifin ? 
 
 I, said the Kite, 
 
 If it's not in the night- 
 I'll carry the coffin 
 
 Behold the Kite, 
 
 How he takes his flight. 
 
 Who'll be the clerk? 
 I,, said the Latk, 
 If its not in the dark- 
 
 I will be the clerk. 
 
 Behold how the Lark,"* 
 Says Amen like a clerk. 
 
 Who will carry the link ? 
 I, said the linnet : 
 I'll fetch it in a minute- 
 
 I will carry the link. 
 
 The Linnet with a light, 
 Altho' it is not night. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 201 
 
 LITTLE 
 RED RIDING HOOD. 
 
 And now her riding hood is on, 
 How pretty she does look ; 
 
 Mamma made it to keep her warm 
 Because she learn 'd her book : 
 
 So be good girls all who hear this 
 
 And boys be good also, 
 
 And your Mammas will give you 
 all 
 
 Great coats and hoods, I know. 
 
 The morning come- 
 on, 
 
 -the hood put 
 
 The pot and cake she took, 
 
 Biddy, good bye— good bye, inamma 
 
 And then her hand she shook : 
 And so set off for grandmamma^ s 
 
 Matnma stood at the door. 
 And watched her little Biddy till 
 
 She could see her no more. 
 
 You see this pot of butter nice. 
 And likewise this plum-cake. 
 
 Which Httle Biddy's dear mamma 
 For grandmamma did make : 
 
 Who lived in a Httle house, 
 
 A mile or two away, 
 
 And Red Riding Hood must take 
 them, 
 
 To Grandmamma next day 
 
 Now 
 
 in the road 
 house, 
 
 to grandma's 
 
 A lonesome wood there lay. 
 
 And Goffip Wolf popp'd from 
 bush. 
 
 And stopp'd her in the way 
 He was a fierce and cruel beast. 
 
 And would have eat her there, 
 But turning of his head about. 
 
 He found he did not dare. 
 
 2 D 
 
202 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 I'm going to my grandmamma' Sy 
 
 She is not very well, 
 With cake and pot of butter ; 
 
 Says Wolfyfh.cxQ does she dwell ? 
 In yonder house, by yonder mill 
 
 Good bye — I cannot stay— 
 And with her pretty fmger, she 
 
 Pointed out the way. 
 
 p 
 
 s 
 
 Now grandmamma being very ill. 
 
 She on the bed did lie, 
 And called out, the bobbin pull. 
 
 And up the latch will fly ; 
 
 The bobbin pull'd, up flew the 
 latch, 
 
 The W^<7//"popp'd in his head 
 
 And soon he eat up grandmamma 
 
 And then got into bed. 
 
 The Wolf got first to grandtna's 
 door, 
 
 And knocked toe, toe, toe ; 
 
 Who is that, said grandmamma^ 
 
 That at the door doth knock ; 
 
 *Tis your grandaughter^ said the 
 Wolf, 
 
 And mimic' d Biddy's voice, 
 Mamma has sent you a plumb cake, 
 
 And pot of butter nice. 
 
 Toe, toe, toe, at grandma^ s door 
 
 Knocked Little Red Riding Hood, 
 
 Who's there, says Wolf, and with a 
 voice. 
 
 Like grandma's as he could ; 
 'Tis your grandaughter, little Bid 
 
 With cake and pot of butter ; 
 The bobbin pull, the latch will fly, 
 
 The wicked Wolfdxdi mutter. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 203 
 
 CINDERELLA. 
 
 Here Cinderella you may see . 
 
 A beauty bright and fair, 
 Her real name was Helena, 
 
 Few with her could compare 
 Besides she was so very good, 
 
 So affable and mild, 
 She learned to pray and read 
 her book. 
 
 Like a very good child. 
 
 These are her two sisters-in-law, 
 
 Both deformed & ordinary, 
 Altho' they dress as fine as 
 queens, 
 Which you may think ex- 
 traordinary ; (read, 
 But neither of them scarce can 
 Nor pray to God to bless'em 
 They only know to patch and 
 paint, 
 And gaudily to dress'em, 
 
 Her mother-in-law you see, 
 One of the worst of hags, 
 Who made her do all drudgery 
 work. 
 And clothed her in rags ; 
 And after she had done her 
 work, (tell her 
 
 Her mother-in-law would 
 The cinders she might sit a- 
 mong, 
 Then call'd her Cinderella. 
 
 This is the king's fine gallant 
 son, 
 Young, handsome, straight 
 and tall 
 He invited all the ladies round 
 
 For to dance at his ball; 
 Which when the ugly sisters 
 heard 
 They dress'd themselves so fine, 
 And off they set, being resolv'd 
 At this grand ball to shine. 
 
 2 D 2 
 
204 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Her god-mother came to lend 
 her aid, 
 And her power is not small 
 To help her god-daughter to go 
 
 To this fine prince's ball. 
 This coach was once a pump- 
 kin, (that, 
 By the fairy changed from 
 The footmen once were lizards 
 green. 
 The coachman once a rat. 
 
 But in her haste to get away, 
 
 One of her slippers fell. 
 Which the young prince him- 
 self pick'd up, 
 And it pleased him so well, 
 That straight he offer' d a re- 
 ward, 
 It was ten thousand pound, 
 To any person that could tell 
 Where the owner could be 
 found. 
 
 Now having danced with the 
 prince. 
 
 He led her to her place. 
 While all the ladies at the ball 
 
 Envied her handsome face ; 
 Behold the clock now striking 
 twelve. 
 
 Out Cinderella run, 
 And happily got out of door 
 
 Just as the clock had done. 
 
 And now the sisters tried in 
 vain 
 The slipper to get on ; 
 Said Cinderella, let me try, 
 Dear sisters, when you've 
 done ; (ease 
 
 She tried, and on it went with 
 
 To the foot of Cinderella, 
 Said She, I think the slipper's 
 mine. 
 See here I've got the fellow. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 THE CHILD'S 
 NEW YEAR'S GIFT. 
 
 205 
 
 A pair of Spectacles. 
 
 Without a bridle or a sad- 
 dle, 
 
 Across a thing I ride and 
 straddle. 
 
 And those I ride by help 
 of me, 
 
 Tho' almost blind are made 
 to see. 
 
 A pair of Stays. 
 
 My legs I can venture, 
 
 To say within bound, 
 
 Are twelve, if not more, 
 
 Tho' they ne'er touch the 
 ground ; 
 
 If you search for my eyes, 
 More than thirty you'll find 
 
 And strange to be told 
 They are always behind. 
 
 A Fin. 
 
 And tho' I'm a brazen-fac'd 
 sharper at best, 
 
 No lady without my aid can 
 be drest, 
 
 When I'm wanted, Im dragg'd 
 by the head to my duty 
 
 And am doomed to be slave to 
 the dress of a beauty. 
 
 A letter M. 
 
 I'm found in most countries, 
 
 Yet not in earth or sea, 
 I am in all timber, 
 
 Yet not in any tree, 
 I am in all metals, 
 
 Yet, as I am told, 
 I am not in iron, lead. 
 
 Brass, silver, nor gold. 
 
A Pair of Snuffers. 
 
 A mouth I have got, that's not 
 whiter than ink. 
 
 And all I devour doth most 
 nauseously stink ; 
 
 So much valued am I, that by 
 none I'm refused, 
 
 And the light shines the bright- 
 er whenever I'm used. 
 
 A WJieelbarrow. 
 
 No mouth, no eyes, nor yet a 
 nose, 
 
 Two arms two feet, and as it 
 goes, 
 
 The feet don't touch the 
 ground. 
 
 But all the way the head runs 
 round. 
 
 And tho* I can both speak and 
 
 go alone, (unknown. 
 
 Yet are my motions to myself 
 
 k 
 
 My form is beauteous to allure 
 
 the sight (white, 
 
 My habit gay, of colour gold & 
 
 When ladies take the air, it is 
 my pride, (their side, 
 
 To walk with equal paces by 
 
 I near their persons constantly 
 remain, (golden chain 
 
 A favourite slave, bound in a 
 
 A SalatnaJider. 
 
 What all consumes best pleases 
 me, 
 
 I covet that which others flee, 
 
 Strange thing to tell, unhurt Hie 
 
 And live, where all the world 
 would die. 
 
 Printed by A. Ryle & Paul. 
 
London : 
 Publislied by RYLE & PAUL, 
 
 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, Seven Dials. 
 
2o8 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Was an Archer, 
 Who shot at a frog. 
 
 Was an Esquire, 
 With insolent "brow. 
 
 Was a Butcher, 
 And kept a great dog. 
 
 Was a Farmer, And 
 Followed the plough. 
 
 Was a Captain, 
 
 All covered with lace. 
 
 Was a Gamester, 
 Who had but ill-luck. 
 
 Was a Drunkard 
 And had a red face. 
 
 Was a Huntsman, 
 And hunted a buck. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 !09 
 
 Was an Inn-keeper, 
 Who loved to "bouse. 
 
 Was a Joiner, 
 
 And built up a house. 
 
 Was King William, ' 
 Once governed this land. 
 
 Was a Lady, who 
 Had a white hand 
 
 Was a Miser, 
 
 And hoarded up gold. 
 
 Was a Nobleman, 
 Gallant and bold. 
 
 Was an Oyster-wench, 
 And went about town. 
 
 Was a Parson, and 
 Wore a black gown. 
 
 2 E 
 
2X0 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Was a Queen, 
 
 Who was fond of flip. 
 
 Was a Usurer, 
 A miserly elf. 
 
 Was a Kobber, 
 And wanted a whip. 
 
 Was a Sailor, 
 
 Who spent all he got. 
 
 Was a Tinker, 
 And mended a pot. 
 
 Was a Vinter, who 
 Drank all himself. 
 
 Was a Watchman, 
 And gaurded the door. 
 
 Was Expensive, 
 And so became poor. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 211 
 
 Was a Youth, 
 Who did not love school. 
 
 Was a Zany, 
 A silly old fool. 
 
 THE ALPHABET. 
 
 The Letters promiscuously arranged. 
 
 DBCFGEHAXUYMV 
 WNKP JOZQISLTR 
 
 zwxoclybbfpsmqnvh 
 krtgejaui 
 
 Double and Triple Letters. 
 
 fi fl ff ffi ffl 
 fiflfff ffi fl 
 
 Diphthongs, &c. 
 
 AE (E se oe & &c. 
 
 JE OE ae oe and et eoetera 
 
 Arabic Numerals. 
 
 1234567890 
 
 Roman Numerals. 
 
 I. II III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. 
 X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. 
 
Veoman i Zebra 
 
THE LIFE 
 
 AND ADVENTURES 
 
 OF 
 
 DICK fE^RFlNF. 
 
 Loudon : W. S. FOBTEY, PKINTER & PUBLISHER, 
 MONMOUIH COURT, BLOOMSBURY, W.G. 
 
214 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 THE 
 
 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 
 
 OF 
 
 DICK TURPIN. 
 
 RICHAED TURPIN was born at Hempstead, in Essex, where 
 his father kept the sign of the Bell ; and after being the usual time at 
 school, he was bound apprentice to a butcher in Whitechapel, but did 
 not serve out his time, for his master discharged him for impropriety 
 of conduct, which was not in the least diminished by his parents' 
 indulgence in supplying him with money, which enabled him to cut a 
 figure round the town, among the blades of the road and the turf, 
 whose company he usually kept. 
 
 His friends, thinking that marriage would reclaim him, persuaded 
 him to marry, which he did with one Hester Palmer, of East Ham in 
 Essex, but he had not long been married before he became acquainted 
 with a gang of thieves, whose depredations terrified the whole county 
 of Essex, and the neighbourhood of London. He joined sheep stealing 
 to foot-pad robbery ; and was at last obliged to fly from his place of 
 residence for stealing a young heifer, which he killed and cut up for 
 sale. 
 
 Soon after, he stole'two oxen from one Farmer Giles, of Plaistow, 
 and drove them to a Butcher's slaughtering house, near Waltham 
 Abbey. 
 
 He was followed there, but made his escape out of the window of 
 the house where he was, just as they were entering the door. 
 
 He now retreated into the Hundreds of Essex, where he found 
 more security : he adopted a new scheme ; and that was to rob the 
 smugglers, but he took care not to attack a gang, only solitary 
 travellers, this he did with a colour of justice, for he pretended to have 
 a deputation from the Customs, and demanded their property in the 
 king's name. 
 
 He again joined the gang with whom he had before connected 
 himself, the principal part of those depredations were committed upon 
 Epping Forest, &c. 
 
 But this soon becoming an object of magisterial enquiry, he again 
 returned to the solitude of the country, with some more of the gang, 
 and they became notorious deer-stealers, and Turpin being a good shot, 
 sent many a buck up to his connections in London. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 21$ 
 
 DICK TUKPIN. 3 
 
 They next tletermined to commence house-breakers ; and in this 
 they were much encouraged by joining with Gregory's gang, as it was 
 then called, a company of desparadoes that made the Essex and 
 adjacent roads very dangerous to travel. 
 
 Somehow or other, Turpin became acquainted with the circum- 
 stances of an old woman, that lived at Laughton, that kept a great 
 quantity of cash by her; whereupon they agreed to rob her ; and 
 when they came to the door, Wheeler knocked and Turpin and the 
 rest forcing their way into the house, blindfolded the eyes of the old 
 woman and her maid, and tied the legs of her son to the bedstead, but 
 not finding the wished -for booty, they held a consultation, as they 
 were certain she must have a considerable sum concealed. Turpin 
 told her he knew she had money, and it was in vain to deny it, for have 
 it they would. The old lady persisted that she had none, but Turpin 
 insisting she had money, he swore he would put her on the fire. She 
 continued obstinate and endured for some time, when they took her oflf 
 the grate, and robbed her of all they codd find, upwards of four 
 hundred pounds. 
 
 They next proceeded into Surrey, where Turpin and his company 
 robbed ^Ir. Sheldon's house, near Croydon Church, where they arrived 
 about seven o'clock in the evening. They secured the coachman in the 
 stable. His master hearing some strange voices in the yard, was pro- 
 ceeding to know the cause, when he was met by Turpin, who seizing 
 hold of him compelled him to show them the way into the house, when 
 he secured the door, and confined the rest of the family in one room, 
 here they found but little plate and no cash. From ]SIr. Sheldon's 
 person they took eleven guineas, two of which Turpin returned him, 
 begged pardon for what they had done, and wished him a good night. 
 These robberies hitherto had been carried on entirely on foot, with 
 only the occasional assistance of a hackney coach but now they aspired 
 to appear on horse -back, for which purpose they hired horses at the 
 Old Leaping Bar in Holborn, from whence they set out about two 
 o'clock in the afternoon, and arrived at the Queen's Head, Stanmore, 
 where they staid to regale themselves. It was by this means that 
 Wood, the master of the horse, had so good an opportunity of observing 
 the horses, as to remember the same again when he saw them after- 
 wards in Bloomsbury, where they were taken. About five they 
 went from Mr, Wood's to Stanmore and staid from six until seven and 
 then went together for Mr. Lawrence's, about a mile from thence, 
 where they got about half-past seven. On their arrival at I^L:. 
 Lawrence's they alighted from their horses at the gate ; whereupon 
 Fieldpr knocked at the door, and calling out Mr. Lawrence. The 
 man servant thinking it to be some of the neighbours, opened the 
 door, upon which they all rushed in with pistols, and seizing Mr. 
 
2l6 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 DICK TURPIN 
 
 Lawrence and his man, threw a cloth over their faces then 
 loll to rifling their pockets, out of which they took one guinea, 
 and about fifteen shillings in silver, with his keys. They said they 
 must have more, and drove Mr. Lawrence up stairs, where coming to 
 a closet, they broke open the door, and took out fioiu thence two 
 guineas, ten shillings a silver cup, 13 silver spoons, and two gold rings. 
 The_y then rifled the house of ail they could get, linen, table cloths, 
 sljirte, and the shtets off the bed, and trod the beds under feet, to dis- 
 cover if any money was concealed therein. Suspecting there was more 
 money in the house, they thtn brought Mr. Lawrence down again, and 
 threatened to cut his throat, and Fielder put a knife to it, as though 
 he intended to do it; to make him conl ess what' money was in the 
 house. One of them took a chopping bill, and threatened to cut off his 
 leg : they then broke his head with their pistols, and dragged him 
 about by the hair of his head. Another of them took the kettle off the 
 fire, ana flung it upon him ; but it did no other harm just wetting 
 him, because the maid had just before taken out the greater part of 
 the boiling water, and filled it again with cold. Alter this they 
 dragged him about again, swearing they would "do for him" if he 
 did not immediately inform them where the rest of the money was 
 hid. They then proceeded to make a further search ; and then with- 
 drew ; threatening to return again in half au hour, and kill every one 
 
THE CATCACH PRESS. 
 
 217 
 
 DICK TUEPJN. 
 
 they found loose. So saying they locked them in the parlour and 
 threw the keys down the area. 
 
 Turpin by this robbery got but little, for out of the 261, they took 
 in the whole, he distributed it among them all but three guineas and 
 six shillings and six pence. 
 
 A proclamation was issued for the apprehension of the oflfenders, 
 and a pardon and 501 was offered to any of the party who would 
 impeach his accomplices, which however, had no effect. The white 
 Hart in Drury-lane was their place of rendezvous. Here they 
 planned their nightly visits, and here they divided their spoil, and 
 spent the money they acquired. 
 
 The robbery being stated to the oflBcers of Westminster, Turpin 
 set off to Alton, where he met with an odd encounter, which got him 
 the best companion he ever had, as he often declared. King, the 
 highwayman, as he was returning from this place to London, bein^ 
 well dressed and mounted, Turpin seeing him have the appearance of 
 a substantial gentleman, rode up to him, and thinking him a fair 
 mark, bid him stand and deliver, and therewith producing his pistols, 
 Eling fell a laughing at him, and said " what dog rob dog ! Come, 
 come, brother Turpin, if you don't know me, I know you, and shall 
 be glad of your company." After a mutual communication of cir- 
 cumstances to each other, they agreed to keep company, and 
 divide good or ill fortune as the trumps might turn up. In fact 
 King was true to him to the last, which was for more than three 
 years. 
 
 They met with various fortunes ; but being too well known to 
 
 2 F 
 
2l8 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 6 DICK TUEPIN". 
 
 remain long in one place, and as no honse that knew them would 
 receive them in it, they formed the resolution of making themselves a 
 cave, covered with bevins and earth, and for that purpose pitched upon 
 a convenient place, enclosed with a thicket, situated oh the Waltham 
 side of Epping, near the sign of the King's Oak. 
 
 In this place Turpin lived, ate, drank, and lay, for the space of 
 six years, during the first three of which he was enlivened by the 
 drollery of his companion, Tom King, who was a fellow of infinite 
 humour in telling stories, and of an unshaken resolution in attack or 
 defence. 
 
 One day, as they were spying from their cave, they discovered a 
 gentleman riding by, that King knew very well to be a rich merchant 
 near Gresham College. This gentleman was in his chariot, and wife 
 with him ; his name was Bradele. King first attacked him on the 
 Laughton road ; but he being a man of great spirit, ofi'ered to make 
 resistence, thinking there was but one ; upon which King called 
 Turpin, and bid him hold the horses' heads. They proceeded first to 
 take his money, which he readily parted with, but demurred a good 
 while about his watch, being the dying bequest of his father. King 
 was insisting to take it away, when Turpin interposed, and said, they 
 were more gentlemen than to deprive anyone of their friend's respect 
 which they wore about them, and bid King desist from his demand. 
 
 On the day after this transaction they went to the Ked Lion ale 
 house, in Aldersgate street, where they had not been more than half 
 an hour, when Turpin heard of the approach of the chief constable 
 and his party ; they mounted each their horse ; but before King could 
 get fairly seated he was seized by one of the party, and called on Dick 
 to fire. Turpin replied, *' If I do, I shall hit you." ** Fire, if you 
 are my friend." said King — Turpin fired, but the ill-fated ball took 
 effect in King's breast. Dick stood a moment in grief, but self- 
 preservation made him urge his mare forward to elude his pursuers ; 
 it was now he resolved on a journey to York, and raising himself in 
 his saddle, he said, " By G — , I will do it." Encouraged by " Hark- 
 away Bess," she flew on. 
 
 Astonishing to relate, he reached York the same evening and was 
 noticed playing at bowls in the bowling-green with several gentlemen 
 there, which circumstance saved him from the hands of justice for a 
 time. His pursuers coming up and seeing Turpin, knew him ; and 
 caused him to be taken into custody ; one of them swore to him and 
 the horse he rode on, which was the identical one he arrived upon in 
 that city ; but on being in the stable, and its rider at play, and all in 
 the space of four-and-twenty hours, his alibi was admitted ; for the 
 magistrates of York could not believe it possible for one horse to cover 
 the ground, being upwards of 190 mileS| in so short a space. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 219 
 
 DICK TURPIN. 7 
 
 For the last two years of his life he seems to have confined his 
 residence to the county of York, where he appears to be a little known. 
 He often accompanied the neighbouring gentlemen in their parties of 
 hunting and shooting ; and one evening, on a return from an expedi- 
 tion of the latter kind, he saw one of his landlord's cocks in the street, 
 which he shot. 
 
 The next day IMr. Hall received a letter from Robert Appleton, 
 Long Sutton, with this account : — that the said John Palmer had lived 
 there about three quarters of a year, and had before that been once 
 apprehended, and made his escape, and that they had a strong suspicion 
 he was guilty of horse -stealing. 
 
 Another information gave notice, that he had stolen a horse from 
 Captain Dawson, of Ferraby ; his horse was that which Turpin rode on 
 when he came to Beverley, and which he stole from off Hickinton Fen 
 in Lincolnshire. 
 
 He wrote to his father upon being convicted, to use his interest to 
 get him off for transportation, but his fate was at hand, his notoriety 
 caused application to be ineffectual. 
 
 After he had been in prison five months, he was removed from 
 Beverley to York Castle to take his trial. When on his trial his case 
 seemed much to affect the hearers. H e had two trials, upon both of 
 which he was convicted upon the fullest evidence. After a long trial 
 the Jury brought in their Verdict and found him Guilty. 
 
 He was carried in a cart to the place of execution, on Saturday, 
 April, 7th, 1739. He behaved himself with amazing assurance and 
 bowed to the spectators as he passed. It was remarkable that as he 
 mounted the ladder, his right leg trembled, on which he stamped it 
 down with an air, 'and with undaunted courage looked round about 
 him ; and after speaking near half an hour to the topman, threw 
 himself off the ladder, and expired in about fire minutes. 
 
 W. S. Fortey, Printer, Monmouth Court, Bloomsbury. 
 
 2 F 2 
 
I 
 
 "THE OATNACH PRESS,' 
 
 (ESTABLISHED 1813.) 
 
 (Sole Successor to the late J. Catnach,) 
 
 rinter, 
 
 AND 
 
 2 & 3, MONMOUTH COURT, 
 
 SEVEN DIALS, LONDON, VV.C. 
 
 The Cheapest and Greatest Variety in the 
 Trade of Large Coloured Penny Books ; Half- 
 penny Coloured Books ; Farthing Books ; Penny 
 and Halfpenny Panoramas ; School Books ; Penny 
 and Halfpenny Song Books ; Memorandum Books; 
 Poetry Cards ; Lotteries ; Ballads (4000) and 
 Hymns ; Valentines ; Scripture Sheets ; Christmas 
 Pieces ; Twelfth Night Characters ; Carols ; Book 
 and Sheet Almanacks, Envelopes, Note Paper, &c. 
 
 W. S. FORTEY begs to inform his Friends and the Public 
 generally, that after 19 years service he has succeeded to the business 
 of his late employers (A. Ryle & Co.), and intends carrying on the 
 same, trusting that his long experience will be a recommendation, and 
 that no exertion shall be wanting on his part to merit a continuance 
 of those favours that have been so liberally bestowed on that Esta- 
 blishment during the last 46 years. 
 
 1859. 
 = ^ 
 
The Long Song-Seller. 
 
 Songs and Song Literature. 
 
 Old songs, old songs — what heaps I knew, 
 From ♦ Chevy Chase ' to * Black-eyed Sue ' ; 
 From * Flow, thou regal, purple stream,' 
 Tq ' Rousseau's melancholy * Dream ! ' 
 I loved the pensive * Cabin Boy,' 
 With earnest truth and real joy. 
 To greet ' Tom Bowling ' and ' Poor Jack ' ; 
 And, oh ! ' Will Watch,' the ' Smuggler' bold, 
 My plighted troth thou'lt ever hold." 
 
 Eliza Cook. 
 
 Songs ! Songs ! Songs ! Beautiful songs ! Love songs ! Newest 
 songs ! Old songs ! Popular songs ! Songs, Three Yards a Penny / " 
 was a " standing dish " at the " Catnach Press," and Catnach 
 was the Leo X. of street publishers. And it is said that he at 
 
222 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 one time kept a fiddler on the premises, and that he used to sit 
 receiving ballad-writers and singers, and judging of the merits of 
 any production which was brought to him, by having it sung 
 then and there to some popular air played by his own fiddler, 
 and so that the ballad-singer should be enabled to start at once, 
 not only with the new song, but also the tune to which it was 
 adapted. His broad-sheets contain all sorts of songs and ballads, 
 for he had a most catholic taste, and introduced the custom of 
 taking from any writer, living or dead, whatever he fancied, and 
 printing it side by side with the productions of his own clients. 
 
 He naturally had a bit of a taste for old ballads, music, and 
 song writing ; and in this respect he was far in advance of many 
 of his contemporaries. To bring within the reach of all the 
 standard and popular works of the day, had been the ambition 
 of the elder Catnach ; whilst the son was, nolens volens, incessant 
 in his endeavours in trying to promulgate and advance, not the 
 beauty, elegance, and harmony which pervades many of our 
 national airs and ballad poetry, but very often the worst and 
 vilest of each and every description — in other words, those most 
 suitable for street-sale. His stock of songs was very like his 
 customers, diversified. There were all kinds, to suit all classes. 
 Love, sentimental, and comic songs were so interwoven as to 
 form a trio of no ordinary amount of novelty. At ordinary times, 
 when the Awfuls and Sensationals were flat, Jemmy did a large 
 stroke of business in this line. 
 
 It is said that when the *' Songs — Three-yards-a-petiny " — first 
 came out and had all the attractions of novelty, some men sold 
 twelve or fourteen dozen on fine days during three or four of the 
 summer months, so clearing between 6s. and 7 s. a day, but on 
 the average about 25s. a week profit. The "long songs," 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 223 
 
 however, have been quite superseded by the "Monster" and 
 ** Giant Penny Song Books." Still there are a vast number of 
 half-penny ballad-sheets worked off, and in proportion to their 
 size, far more than the " Monsters " or *' Giants." 
 
 As a rule there are but two songs printed on the half-penny 
 ballad-sheets — generally a new and popular song with another 
 older ditty, or a comic and sentimental, and *' adorned " with 
 two woodcuts. These are selected without any regard as to 
 their fitness to the subject, and in most cases have not the 
 slightest reference to the ballad of which they form the head- 
 piece. For instance : — *' The Heart that can feel for another " 
 is illustrated by a gaunt and savage looking lion ; " When I was 
 first Breeched," by an engraving of a Highlander sans culotte ; 
 " The Poacher " comes under the cut of a youth with a large 
 watering-pot, tending flowers ; " Ben Block " is heralded by the 
 rising sun; " The London Oyster Girl," by Sir Walter Raleigh ; 
 ** The Sailor's Grave," by the figure of Justice ; " Alice Grey " 
 comes under the very dilapidated figure of a sailor, or " Jolly 
 Young Waterman ; " '* Bright Hours are in store for us yet " is 
 headed with a tail-piece of an urn, on which is inscribed Finis ! 
 " The Wild Boar Hunt," by two wolves chasing a deer ; " The 
 Dying Child to its Mother," by an Angel appearing to an old 
 man ; " Autumn Leaves lie strew'd around," by a ship in full sail; 
 " Cherry Ripe," by Death's Head and Cross Bones ; Jack at the 
 Windlass," falls under a Roadside Inn ; while ** William Tell " is 
 presented to the British public in form and style of an old woman 
 nursing an infant of squally nature. Here follow a few examples 
 of the style, also that of some of the ballad-sheets : together with 
 various verbatim imprints used by "The Catnach Press," 
 chronologically arranged from circa 1813 to the present time. 
 
224 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 THE GALLANT 
 
 SAMJLOH. 
 
 London : 
 Printed by J. Catnach, and sold Wholesale and Retail at 
 No. 60, Wardour Street, Soho Square. 
 
 Farewell thou dear and Gallant Sailor, 
 Since thou and I have parted been, 
 
 Be thou constant and true hearted, 
 And I will be the same to thee. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 
 May the winds and waves direct thee, 
 To some wishful port design'd, 
 
 If you love me, don't deceive me, 
 But let your heart be as true as mine. 
 
 When oft times my fancy tells me, 
 
 That in battle thou art slain, 
 With true love I will requite thee. 
 When thou dost return again. 
 
 May the winds, &c. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 225 
 
 Ejaai TCRPiM. 
 
 Printed by J. Catnach, 2, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. 
 Sold by J. Sharman. Cambridge, Bennet, Brighton ; & R. Harris, Salisbury. 
 
 As I was riding over Hunslow Moor, 
 
 There I saw a lawyer riding before, 
 
 And I asked him if he was not afraid, 
 
 To meet bold Turpin that mischievous blade. 
 
 CHORUS. — I asked him if he was not afraid, 
 
 To meet bold Turpin that mischievous blade. 
 
 Says Turpin to the lawyer and for to be cute, 
 
 My money I have hid all in my boot, 
 
 Says the lawyer to Turpin they mine can't find, 
 
 For I have hid mine in the cape of my coat behind. 
 
 I rode till I came to a powder mill. 
 
 Where Turpin bid the lawyer for to stand still. 
 
 For the cape of your coat it must come off, 
 
 For my horse is in want of a new saddle cloth. 
 
 Now Turpin robbed the lawyer of all his store, 
 
 When that's gone he knows where to eret more, 
 
 And the very next town that you go in, 
 
 Tell them you was robb'd by the bold Turpin. 
 
 2 G 
 
2 26 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 MOUNTAIN MAID. 
 
 Printed by J. Catnach, 2, Moumouth Court, 7 Dials. 
 
 Travellers and Shopkeepers supplied with Sheet Hymns. Patters, and Slip 
 
 Songs as Cheap and Good as any Shop in London. 
 
 The Mountain Maid from her bower has hied, 
 
 And speed to the glassy river's side, 
 
 Where the radiant mead shone clear and bright, 
 
 And the willows wav'd in the silver light. 
 
 On a mossy bank lay a shepherd swain, 
 
 He woke his pipe to tuneful strain, 
 
 And so blythely gay were the notes he play'd, 
 
 That he charm'd the ear of the Mountain Maid. 
 
 She step'd with timid fear oppress'd, 
 
 While soft sighs swell her gentle breast, 
 
 He caught her glance, and mark'd her sigh, 
 
 And triumph laugh'd in his sparkling eye. 
 
 So softly sweet was the tuneful ditty, 
 
 He charmed her tender heart to pity ; 
 
 And so bHthely gay were the notes he play'd, 
 
 That he gain'd the heart of the Mountain Maid, 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 327 
 
 MEET ME IN THE WILLOW GLEN 
 
 J. Catnach, Printer, 2, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. Cards, &c. Printed 
 Cheap, 1^ Country Shops and Travellers supplied. 
 
 Meet me in the willow glen, 
 
 Where the silvery moon is beaming, 
 Songs of love I'll sing thee then, 
 
 When all the world is dreaming. 
 
 Meet me in the willow glen. 
 
 When the silver moon is beaming, 
 Songs of love I'll sing thee then, 
 
 If you meet me in th^ willow glen. 
 
 No prying eye shall come love. 
 
 No stranger foot be seen. 
 And the busy village hum, love, 
 
 Shall echo through the glen. 
 
 Meet me, &c. 
 
 2 G 2 
 
228 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 DRINK TO ME O N Ii T 
 
 WITH THING CITES. 
 
 J. Oatnach, Printer, 2, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. Sold by W. Marshall. 
 Sold by T. Pierce, Soutbborough. (Card& Printed Cheap.) 
 
 Drink to me only with thine eyes, 
 
 And I will pledge with mine, 
 Or leave a kiss but in the cup, 
 
 And I'll not look for wine ; 
 The thirst that from my soul doth rise. 
 
 Doth ask a drink divine ; 
 But might I of Jove's nectar sip, 
 
 I would not change for thine. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 229 
 
 The Mistletoe Bough 
 
 Printed by by J. Catnach, 2, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. Sold by Puree, 
 Southborough, Bennet, Brighton j and Sharman, Cambridge. 
 
 The mistletoe hung in the castle hall, 
 The holly branch shone on the old oak wall, 
 The baron's retainers were blithe and gay, 
 And keeping their Christmas holiday. 
 The baron beheld with a father's pride, 
 His beautiful child, young Lovell's bride : 
 While she with her bright eyes, seemed to be 
 The star of the goodly company. 
 
 Oh ! the mistletoe bough ! 
 
 " I'm weary of dancing now," she cried ! 
 " Here tarry a moment — I'll hide — I'll hide, 
 And, Lovell, be sure thou'rt the first to trace 
 The clue to my secret lurking place." 
 Away she ran — and her friends began 
 Each tower to search, and each nook to scan ; 
 And young Lovell cried, *' Oh I where dost thou hide ? 
 I'm lonesome without thee, my own dear bride." 
 Oh ! the mistletoe bough ! 
 
230 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 THE 
 
 Mose vxill Cease to Blow. 
 
 Printed by J. Catnach, 2, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. Sold by T. Batchelor, 
 
 14, Hackney Road Crescent ; W. Marshall, Bristol. Sold by Bennet 
 
 and Boyes, Brighton. 
 
 The rose will cease to blow, 
 
 The eagle turn a dove, 
 The streams will cease to flow, 
 
 Ere I will cease to love. 
 
 The sun shall cease to shine, 
 The world shall cease to move, 
 
 The stars their light resign, 
 Ere I will cease to love. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 231 
 
 1 
 
 
 m 
 
 
 '^^^^BBp^ 
 
 ■ 
 
 ^^Bffi 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 I'M A TOUGH 
 
 True Hearted Sailor. 
 
 J. Catnach, Printer, 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials, & at 14, Waterloo 
 Road, (late Hill's). Country Shops, and Travellers supplied. 
 
 I'm a tough true-hearted sailor, 
 
 Careless and all that, d'ye see, 
 Never at the times a railer — 
 
 What is time or tide to me ? 
 All must die when fate must will it, 
 
 Providence ordains it so ; 
 
 Every bullet has its billet, 
 Man the boat, boys — Yeo, heave, yeo ! 
 
 Life's at best a sea of trouble, 
 
 He who fears it is a dunce. 
 Death, to me, an empty bubble, 
 
 I can never die but once, 
 Blood, if duty bids, I'll spill it, 
 
 Yet I have a tear for woe, 
 
 Every bullet has its billet, &c, 
 
^s 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 WHEN BIBO THOUGHT FIT. 
 
 Printed and Sold by J. Catnach, 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, 7 Dials. 
 
 When Bibo thought fit from the world to retreat, 
 As full of champagne as an egg's full of meat ; 
 He wak'd in the boat, and to Charon he said. 
 He would be rowed back, for he was not yet dead. 
 
 * Trim the boat, and sit quiet, stern Charon replied — 
 
 * You may have forgot — you were drunk when you died ! ' 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 233 
 
 THE 
 
 SUN 
 
 That Lights the ROSES 
 
 A. Ryle and Co., Printers, 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, Seven Dials, and 85, 
 
 Hanover Street, Portsea, where upwards of 4000 different sorts of ballads 
 
 are continually on sale together with 40 new penny song books. 
 
 Tho' dimple cheeks may give delight 
 
 Where rival beauties blossom ; 
 Th'o balmy lips to love invite, 
 
 To extacy the bosom. 
 Yet sweeter far yon summer sky, 
 
 Whose blushing tints discloses, 
 Give me the lustre beaming eye, 
 
 The Sun that lights the Roses. 
 
 2 H 
 
234 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 THE 
 
 Woodpecker. 
 
 London :— Printed by J. Paul & Co., 2 & 3, Monmouth Court. 
 
 I knew by the smoke that so gracefully curl'd 
 Above the green elms, that a cottage was near, 
 
 And I said if there's peace to be found it the world, 
 A heart that is humble might hope for it here. 
 
 CHORUS. 
 Every leaf was at rest, and I heard not a sound, 
 But the woodpecker tapping in the hollow beech tree. 
 
 And here in this lone littie wood, I exclaim'd. 
 With a maid who was lovely to soul and to eye, 
 
 Who would blush when I prais'd her, and weep if I blam'd, 
 How blest could I live, and how calm could I die. 
 Every leaf, &c. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 235 
 
 YB 
 
 Topers All. 
 
 \ 
 
 London : — Published by Ryle and Paul, 2 & 3, Monmouh Court, 7 Dials. 
 Where an immense number of songs are always ready. 
 
 Ye topers all drink to the soul, 
 
 Of this right honest fellow ; 
 Who always loved a flowing bowl, 
 
 And would in death be mellow. 
 The lamp of life be kindled up, 
 
 With spirit stout and glowing ; 
 His heart inspired thus with a cup, 
 
 Ascends where nectar's flowing. 
 
 2 H S 
 
236 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Death of Nelson. 
 
 London : — Ryle & Co., Printers, 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, Bloomsbury. 
 RECITATIVE. 
 
 O'er Nelson's tomb, with silent grief oppress'd 
 Britannia mourns her hero now at rest. 
 But these bright laurels ne'er shall fade with years, 
 Whose leaves are water'd by a Nation's tears. 
 
 AIR. 
 
 'Twas in Trafalgar's bay. 
 We saw the Frenchmen lay, 
 
 Each heart was bounding then ; 
 We scorned the foreign yoke — 
 Our ships were British oak, 
 
 And hearts of oak our men, 
 Our Nelson mark'd them on the wave, 
 Three cheers our gallant seamen gave. 
 
 Nor thought of home or beauty ; 
 Along the line this signal ran — 
 England expects that every man 
 
 This day will do his duty ! " 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 237 
 
 
 TO PO\S0N 
 SELLERS* 
 
 if 
 
 m 
 
 liiiiHililliiHiiiii 
 
 
 & 
 
 J^/ 
 
 A 
 
 THE SCARLET FLOWER. 
 
 A. Ryle & Co., Printers, 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, Bloomabury. 
 
 She's gentle as the zeph)rr, 
 
 That sips ot every sweet, 
 She fairer than the fairest lily. 
 
 In nature's soft retreat ; 
 Her eyes are like the crystal brok, 
 
 As bright and clear to see ? 
 Her lips outshine the Scarlet Flow'r 
 
 Of bonny EUerslie. 
 
238 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 THE THORN. 
 
 ■M'^^f^' g 
 
 London :— Printed at the " Oatnach Press" by W. Fortey, (late A. Ryle) 
 2 & 3, Monmouth Court. Bloomsbury. (Established 1813.) The Oldest 
 and Cheapest House in the World for Ballads, (4,000 sorts) Song Books, Ac. 
 
 From the white blossomed sloe, 
 
 My dear Chlce requested, 
 A sprig her fair breast to adorn ; 
 
 No by heavens I exclaimed, may I perish 
 If ever I plant in that bosom a thorn. 
 
 When I shewed her the ring and implored her to marry 
 
 She blushed like the dawning of morn, 
 Yes I'll consent she replyed if you'll promise, 
 
 That no jealous rival shall laugh me to scorn, 
 No by heavens I exclaim'd may I perish, 
 
 If ever I plant in that bosom a thorn. 
 
 X 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 239 
 
 BANKS 
 
 OF THE NILE. 
 
 $f'>dr:^::^^^3B>3$(!«ea£l^de^ . 
 
 Printed at the " (^atnach Press " by W. FORTEY, Monmouth Court, 
 
 Bloomsbury, the Oldest House in the World for Ballads (4,000 sorts) Song 
 
 Books, &c. &c. 
 
 Hark ! I hear the drums a beating — no longer can I stay, 
 I hear the trumpets sounding, my love I must away, 
 We are ordered from Portsmouth many a long mile, 
 For to join the British soldiers on the banks of the Nile. 
 
 Willie, dearest Willie, don't leave me here to mourn, 
 You'll make me curse and rue the day that ever I was born, 
 For the parting of my own true love is parting of my life, 
 So stay at home dear Willie, and I will be your wife. 
 
 I will cut off my yellow locks, and go along with you, 
 
 I will dress myself in velveteens, and go see Egypt too 
 
 I will fight or bear your banner, while kind fortune seems to smile, 
 
 And we'll comfort one another on the banks of the Nile. 
 
240 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Poor Crazy 
 
 JANE 
 
 London ;— Printed at the "Catnach Press " by W. S. Fortey, 2 & 3, Mon- 
 mouth Court, Bloomsbury. (Established 1813,) The Oldest and Cheapest 
 House in the World for Ballade, Song Books, Children's Spelling & Reading 
 Books, Panorama Slips, Almanacks, Valentines, Hymns, Toy Cards, 
 Poetry Cards, Lotteries, Characters, Note Paper, Envelopes, &c. 
 *j,f* Shopkeepers and Hawkera supplied on the lowest terms. 
 
 i'-i_ii-^i_ii--ii._ii— - _i^=^ 
 
 Why fair maid in every feature, 
 
 Are such signs of fear expressed, 
 Can a wandering wretched creature, 
 
 With such horror fill thy breast. 
 Do my frenzied looks alarm thee, 
 
 Trust me, sweet, thy fears are vain, 
 Not for Kingdom would I harm thee. 
 
 Shun not then poor crazy Jane. 
 
 Fondly my young heart believed him, 
 
 Which was doomed to love but one ; 
 He sighed, he vowed, and I believed him, 
 
 He was false, and I'm undone. 
 From that hour has reason never, 
 
 Had her empire o'er my brain, 
 Henry fled, with him for ever 
 
 Fled the wits of Crazy Jane. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 241 
 
 '* It was Christmas morning— dear Cbnstmas morning 
 When bright angels and men kept watch for its dawning — 
 And merrily Christmas bells were out ringing, 
 And blithely the children their carols were singing — 
 'Twas a hundred years agone— or more." 
 
 From time immemorial the ballad singer, with his rough and 
 ready broad-sheet, has travelled over the whole surface of the 
 country in all seasons and weathers, yet there was one time of 
 the year, however, when he went out of his every-day path and 
 touched on deeper matters than accidents, politics, prize fights, 
 sporting matches, murders, battles, royalty, famous men and 
 women. Christmas time brought, both to him and his audience, 
 its witness of the unity of the great family of heaven and earth, 
 its story of the life and death of Him in whom that unity stands. 
 
 2 I 
 
242 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Several examples, of Christmas carols and Scripture-sheets, 
 bearing Catnach's imprint lie before us, thanks to the kindness 
 of Mr. W. S. Fortey, Catnach's successor; these broadsides 
 bear several distinctive marks which show that it was an object 
 of more than ordinary care to publishers and ballad singers. 
 In the first place, these Christmas sheets are double the size of. 
 the ordinary broad-sheet — measuring 30 inches by 20 — and 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 243 
 
 conta'.a four or five carols — generally one long narrative ballad, 
 and three or four short pieces. Each of them having two or 
 three large woodcuts and several of smaller sizes, and having 
 the following distinctive titles — The Trial of Christ. Faith, 
 Hope, and Charity. Our Saviour^s Love. The Tree of Life. 
 The Crucifixion. The Saviour of Mankind. The Messiah. 
 The Harp of Israel. The Saviour's Garland. Divine Mirth. 
 And The Life of Joseph, to which is appended : — 
 
 LONDON: PRINTED AND SOLD BY 
 
 J. CATNACH, 2, MONMOUTH COURT, 7, DIALS, 
 
 WHERE MAY BE HAD THE FOLLOWING SHEETS, WITH CUTS. 
 
 The Last Day, Our Saviour's Letter, The Son of Righteousness, 
 Travels of the Children of Israel, Glory of, Solomon, The 
 Morning Star, The Noble Army of Martyrs, Christmas Gambols, 
 The Hertfordshire Tragedy, and a Variety of Others are in a 
 state of forwardness for the Press. 
 
 " Looking at these Christmas broad-sheets," says the writer of 
 an article on street-ballads, in the "National Review," for 
 October, 1861, "it would really seem as if the poorest of our 
 brethren claimed their right to higher nourishment than common 
 for their minds and souls, as well as for their bodies, at the 
 time of year when all Christendom should rejoice. And this 
 first impression is confirmed when we examine their contents. 
 In all those which we have seen, the only piece familiar to us 
 is that noble old carol ' While shepherds watched their flocks 
 by night,' where the rest come from, we cannot even conjecture ; 
 but in the whole of them there is not one which we should wish 
 were not there. We have been unable to detect in them even 
 a coarse expression j and of the hateful narrowness and intoler- 
 
 212 
 
244 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 ance, the namby-pamby, the meaningless cant, the undue 
 familiarity with holy things, which makes us turn with a shudder 
 from so many modem collections of hymns, there is simply 
 nothing. 
 
 " Account for it how we will, there is the simple fact. Perhaps 
 it may lead us to think somewhat differently of those whom we 
 are in the habit of setting down in the mass as little better than 
 heathens. We cannot conclude this article better than by giving 
 an extract or two from these Christmas broad-sheets." 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS 
 
 245 
 
 * ^A^^-*.*>*^ 
 
 "The Saviour's Garland, a choice Collection of the most 
 esteemed Carols," has the usual long narrative ballad, which 
 begins : 
 
 " Come, all you faithful Christians 
 
 That dwell upon the earth, — 
 Come celebrate the morning 
 
 Of our dear Saviour's birth : 
 This is the happy morning, — 
 
 This is the happy morn 
 Whereon, to save our ruined race. 
 
 The Son of God was bom." 
 
 And after telling simply the well-known story, it ends : 
 " Now to him up ascended, 
 Then let your praises be. 
 That we His steps may follow. 
 
 And He our pattern be ; 
 That when our lives are ended 
 
 We may hear His blessed call : 
 * Come, Souls, receive the Kingdom 
 Prepared for you all' " 
 
246 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Another, " The Star of Bethlehem, ^a collection^ of|^esteemed 
 Carols for the present year," opens its narrative thus : 
 
 " Let all that are to mirth inclined 
 Consider well and bear in mind 
 What our good God for us has done, 
 In sending His beloved Son. 
 
 Let all our songs and praises be 
 Unto His heavenly Majesty ; 
 And evermore amongst our mirth 
 Remember Christ our Saviour's birth. 
 
 The twenty-fifth day of December 
 We have great reason to remember ; 
 In Bethlehem, upon that morn. 
 There was a blessed Saviour born," &c. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 247 
 
 One of the short pieces, by no means the best, we give 
 whole : 
 
 " With one consent let all the earth 
 The praise of God proclaim, 
 Who sent the Saviour, by whose birth 
 To man salvation came. 
 
 All nations join and magnify 
 
 The great and wondrous love 
 Of Him who left for us the sky, 
 
 And all the joys above. 
 
 But vainly thus in liymns of praise 
 
 We bear a joyful part, 
 If while our voices loud we raise, 
 
 We lift not up our heart. 
 
 We, by a holy life alone, 
 
 Our Saviour's laws fulfil ; 
 By those His glory is best shown 
 
 Who best perform His will. 
 
 May we to all His words attend 
 
 With humble, pious care ; 
 Then shall our praise to heaven ascend, 
 
 And find acceptance there." 
 
 We do not suppose that the contents of these Christmas broad- 
 sheets are supplied by the same persons who write the murder- 
 ballads, or the attacks on crinoline. They may be borrowed 
 from well known hymn books for anything we know. But if 
 they are borrowed, we must still think it much to the credit of 
 the selectors, that, where they might have found so much that is 
 objectionable and offensive, they should have chosen as they 
 have done. We only hope that their successors, whoever they 
 may be who will become the caterers for their audiences, will set 
 nothing worse before them. 
 
24S 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Christmas broad-sheets formed an important item in the office 
 of the " Catnach Press," as the sale was enormous, and Catnach 
 always looked forward for a large return of capital, and a " good 
 clearance" immediately following the spurt for Guy Fawkes' 
 speeches, in October of each year. But although the sale was 
 very large, it only occupies one " short month." This enabled 
 them to make Carols a stock job, so that when trade in the 
 Ballad, Sensational, " Gallows," or any other line of business 
 was dull, they used to fill up every spare hour in the working off 
 or colouring them, so as to be ready to meet the extraordinary 
 demand which was sure to be made at the fall of tlie year. 
 
 Like most of the old English customs, Christmas- carol singing 
 is fast dying out. Old peripatetic stationers well remember the 
 rich harvest they once obtained at Christmas times by carol 
 selling. Now there are very few who care to invest more than 
 a shilling or two at a time on the venture ; whereas in times long 
 past, all available capital was readily embarked in the highly- 
 coloured and plain sheets of the birth of our Saviour, with the 
 carol of " Christians awake," or *' The Seven Good Joys of 
 Mary : "— 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 " The first good joy our Mary had, 
 
 It was the joy of one, 
 To see her own Son, Jesus, 
 
 To suck at her breast-bone. 
 To suck at her breast-bone, God-man, 
 
 And blessed may He be. 
 Both Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
 
 To all eternity." 
 
 249 
 
 Now, whether carol singing has degenerated with carol poetry, 
 and consequently the sale of Christmas carols diminished is a 
 question we need not enter upon ; but when we turn to the fine 
 old carols of our forefathers, we cannot help regretting that 
 many of these are buried in the records of the long past. 
 
 Here are a couple of verses of one, said to be the first carol 
 or drinking-song composed in England. The original is in 
 Anglo-Norman French : — 
 
 2 K 
 
250 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 " Lordlings, from a distant home, 
 To seek old Christmas are we come, 
 
 Who loves our minstrelsy — 
 And here unless report mis-say, 
 The greybeard dwells ; and on this day 
 • Keeps yearly wassail, ever gay 
 With festive mirth and glee. 
 **•*■}«■ -x- * 
 
 Lordlings, it is our host's command, 
 And Christmas joins him hand in hand, 
 
 To drain the brimming bowl ; 
 And I'll be foremost to obey, 
 Then pledge we, sirs, and drink away. 
 For Christmas revels here to day, 
 And sways without control. 
 Now wassail to you all ! and merry may you be. 
 And foul that wight befall, who drinks not health to me." 
 
 One can well imagine the hearty feeling which would greet a 
 party of minstrels carolling out such a song as the above in 
 Christmas days of yore ; and then contrast the picture with a 
 troupe from St. Giles's or Whitechapel bawling out " God Rest 
 you Merry Gentlemen !" The very thought of the contrast 
 sends a shudder through the whole human system ; and no 
 wonder the first were received with welcome feasting, and the 
 latter driven " with more kicks than half-pence " from the doors. 
 
 In an old book of " Christmasse Carolles newely emprinted at 
 London, in the fletestrete at the sygne of the Sonne by Wynkyn 
 de Worde. The yere of our Lorde, m.d.xxi. Quarto." Is a 
 carol on " Bryngyng in the Bore's Head " : — 
 
 " The bore's head in hand bring I, 
 With garlandes gay and rosemary, 
 I pray you all synge merely, 
 Qui estis in convivio. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 The bore's head, I understande 
 Is the chiefe servyce in this lande, 
 Loke wherever it be fande, 
 Serviie cum Contico, 
 
 Be gladde, lordes, both more and lasse, 
 For this hath ordayned our stewarde, 
 
 To chere you all this Christmasse 
 The bore's head with mustarde.* 
 
 251 
 
 2 K 2 
 
252 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 With certain alterations, this carol is still, or at least was very 
 recently, retained at Queen's College, Oxford, and sung to a 
 cathedral chant of the psalms. 
 
 It would occupy too much space to search into the origin of 
 Christmas carols. They are doubtless coeval with the original 
 celebrations of Christmas, first as a strictly Romish sacred 
 ceremony, and afterwards as one of joyous festivity. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 253 
 
 This *^ Moral-Sheet "entitled "THE STAGES OF LIFE: 
 or, The various Ages and Degrees of Human Life explained by 
 these Twelve different Stages, from our Birth to our Graves," 
 had a great sale. 
 
 INFANCY 
 
 To 10 Years old. 
 
 " T T IS vain delusive thoughts are fiU'd 
 1 X With'vain delusive joys — 
 The empty bubble of a dream. 
 Which waking change to toys," 
 
 From 10 to 20 Years old. 
 ** T_T IS heart is now puff'd up, 
 I 1 He scorns the tutor's hand; 
 He hates to meet the least control 
 And glories to command. 'J 
 
 From 20 to 30 Years old.^ 
 "T^HERE's naught here that can withstand 
 X The rage of his desire, 
 His wanton flames are now blown up, 
 His mind is all on fire." 
 
254 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 From 30 to 40 Years old. 
 
 " r OOK forward and repent 
 
 Jl ^ Of all thy errors past, 
 
 That so thereby thou may'st attain 
 True happiness at last." 
 
 From 40 to 50 Years old. 
 
 "AT fifty years he is 
 x\, Like the declining sun, 
 For now his better half of life, 
 Man seemeth to have run." 
 
 From 50 to 60 Years old. 
 
 " T T IS wasted taper now 
 X 1 Begins to lose its light, 
 His sparkling flames doth plainly show 
 *Tis growing towards night." 
 
 From 60 to 70 Years old. 
 « rjERPLEX'D with slavish fear 
 l7 And unavailing woe, 
 He travels on life's rugged way 
 With locks as white as snow." 
 
 From 70 to 80 Years old. 
 
 " T NFIRMITY is great, ^ 
 X At this advanced age, 
 And ceaseless grief and weakness leagued, 
 Now vent their bitter rage." 
 
 From 8a to 90 Years old, 
 
 " T IFE'S * Vital Spark'— the soul, 
 
 J ^ Is hovering on the verge 
 
 Of an eternal world above. 
 And waiting to emerge." 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 255 
 
 From 90 to 100 Years old, 
 
 ^''T^HE sun is sinking fast 
 
 X Behind the clouds of earth, 
 
 Oh may it shine with brigher beams, 
 
 Where light received her birth." 
 
 PRINTED BY 
 
 J. CATNACH, 
 
 #*»2 ♦** 
 
 Monmouth- Court f 7 Dials. 
 LONDON. 
 
256 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Catnach was now at the height of his fame as a printer of 
 ballads, Christmas-pieces, carols, lotteries, execution papers, 
 dying speeches, catchpennies, primers and battledores, and his 
 stock of type and woodcuts had very considerably increased to 
 meet his business demands. And it may be said that he was 
 the very Napoleon of buyers at sales by auction of "printers' 
 stock." On one occasion, when lot after lot was being knocked 
 down to him, one of the " Littlejohn crew " of " knock-out- 
 men" of the period, observed to the auctioneer, " Why, sir, Mr. 
 Catnach is buying up all the lots." "Yes," replied the 
 auctioneer, " And what's more, Mr. Catnach will pay for them 
 and clear away all his lots in the morning ; " then adding some- 
 what pointedly, " which is a thing I can't say of all parties who 
 attend my sales." 
 
 But although we are informed, viva voce of a contemporary, 
 that Jemmy Catnach was so large a buyer at sales by auction of 
 " printers' stock," we may, with some degree of safety, come to 
 the conclusion that he could have only bought such lots that 
 would be considered by other master printers as worthless, and 
 that it was the apparent cheapness that would be the incentive 
 for his buying up all the worn-out and battered letter, for Jemmy 
 was a man who hated " innowations " as he used to call 
 improvements, and he, therefore, had a great horror in laying 
 out his money in new and improved manufactured type, because, 
 as he observed, he kept so many standing forms, and when 
 certain sorts ran short he was not particular, and would tell the 
 boys to use anything which would make a good shift. For 
 instance, he never considered a compositor could be aground for 
 a lowercase " 1 " while he had a figure " 1 " or a cap " I " to fall 
 back upon j by the same rule, the cap. " O " and figure " " 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 457 
 
 were synonymous with "Jemmy;" the lowercase "p," "b," "d," 
 and " q," would all do duty for each other in turn^ and if they 
 could not always find Roman letters to finish a word with, why 
 the compositor knew very well that the " reader " would not 
 mark out Ita/fV, nor wrong founts. 
 
 From a small beginner in the world, Catnach was soon able 
 to see his way clear to amass a fortune. He had now established 
 his reputation as a man of enterprise, and he was very sensitive 
 to maintain a sort of shabby-genteel appearance. It was 
 amusing, especially when over his glass, to hear him describe 
 the effect the " awfuls " had on the public. The proprietor of 
 any of our leading journals could not have felt prouder than did 
 Catnach, as he saw drafted from his press the many thousands 
 of varied productions. 
 
 We will now briefly allude to the wood-blocks which Catnach 
 had in his possession, and which served for the purpose of 
 illustrating during the time that he had been in business. He 
 had a large collection, such as they were ; but as works of art 
 they had little or no pretension, being, upon the whole, of the 
 oddest and most ludicrous character. Those that were intended 
 for the small books were very quaint —as we have shown by the 
 fac-similed specimens we have given— whilst the larger portion, 
 which were chiefly intended for the " awfuls," were grotesque and 
 hideous in their design and execution. No more ghastly sight 
 could be imagined than one of Jemmy's embellishments of an 
 execution. It would appear that for the last discharge of the 
 law he had a large collection of blocks which would suit any 
 number of victims who were about to undergo the dread penalty. 
 It mattered litde how many Jack Ketch was going to operate 
 upon, wood-blocks to the exact number were always adopted, in 
 
 2 L 
 
258 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 this particular the great " Dying Speech Merchant " would seem 
 to have thought that his honour and reputation were at stake, for 
 he had his network so formed as to be able to secure every in- 
 formation of news that was passing between the friends of the 
 culprits and the prerogative of the Crown. But we are imformed 
 that upon one occasion he was nearly entrapped. Three victims 
 were upon the eve of being executed, and in those days — and in 
 later times — it was not an uncommon thing to see the confession 
 and dying speech printed one or two days previous to the event. 
 This we are told by those in the trade was almost necessary, in 
 order that the sheets might be ready for the provinces almost as 
 soon as the sentence of the law had been carried out. It so 
 happened that on the night previous to an execution, one of the 
 culprits was reprieved. It was solely by a piece of good luck 
 that Catnach heard of it. Several sheets had been struck off; 
 and Jemmy was often chaffed about hanging three men instead 
 of two ; but our informant assures us that the error was corrected 
 before any of the impressions were dispatched from the office. 
 Had they gone before the public in their original state, the locus 
 standi of the great publisher in Monmouth Court would have 
 been greatly imperilled. To those who are fond of the fine arts, 
 in usum vulgi^ Catnach's embellishments will afford a fund of 
 amusement. Amongst the lot were several well known places, 
 the scenes of horrible and awful crimes, engravings of debauchery 
 and ill-fame, together with an endless number of different kinds, 
 suitable at the shortest possible notice, to illustrate every con- 
 ceivable and inconceivable subject. 
 
 The Seven Dials in general, and "The Catnach Press** in 
 particular, had no dread of copyright law — the principal Librarian 
 of the British Museum, Stationers', or any other Hall in those 
 
 I 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 259 
 
 days — and as wood engravings were not to be had then so 
 quickly or cheaply as now-a-days, Jemmy used at times to be his 
 own engraver, and while the compositors were setting up the 
 types, he would carve out the illustration on the back of an old 
 pewter music plate, and by nailing it onto a piece of wood make 
 it into an improvised stereo-plate off-hand, for he was very handy 
 at this sort of work, at which also his sister, with his instruction, 
 could assist j so they soon managed to rough out a figure or two, 
 and when things were dull and slack they generally got one or 
 two subjects ready in stock, such as a highwayman with crape 
 over his face, shooting a traveller, who is falling from his horse 
 near a wide-spreading old elm tree, through which the moon 
 was to be seen peeping; not forgetting to put the highwayman 
 in top boots and making him a regular dandy. This was some- 
 thing after the plan of the artists of the cheap illustrated papers 
 of the present day, who generally anticipate events sometime 
 beforehand to be ready with their blocks. As a proof of this, 
 the editor of the "London, Provincial, and Colonial Press 
 News," says " I happened to call one day on an artist for the 
 * Illustrated Press,' and found him busily engaged in sketching 
 a funeral procession with some twenty coffins borne on the 
 shoulders of men who were winding their way through an 
 immense crowd. Upon inquiry, I was told that it was intended 
 for the next week's issue, and was to represent the the funeral of 
 the victims of the late dreadful colliery explosion, for although 
 the inquest was only then sitting, and all the bodies had not yet 
 been found, there was sure to be a funeral of that kind when it 
 was all over, and as they did not know how many bodies were 
 to be buried at one time, it was very cleverly arranged to 
 commence the procession from the corner of the blocks and so 
 
 2 L 2 
 
26o THE HISTORY OF 
 
 leave it to the imagination as to how many more coffins were 
 coming in the rear ; something after the plan of a small country 
 theatre, when representing Richard the Third, and in the battle 
 scene, after the first two or three of the army had made their 
 appearance, to cry * halt !' very loudly to all those behind who 
 were not seen, and leave the spectators to guess how many 
 hundreds their were to come. 
 
 For the illustrating of catchpennies, broadsides, and street- 
 literature in general, particular kinds of wood-cuts were required. 
 In most cases one block was called upon to perform many parts ; 
 and the majority of metropolitan printers, who went in for this 
 work, had only a very limited number of them. Very often the 
 same cuts were repeated over and over again, and made to change 
 sides as one another, and that simply to make a little variation 
 from a ballad or broadside that had been printed at the same 
 office on the day, week, or month previous. It mattered little 
 what the subject was, it required some adornment, in the shape 
 of illustration, to give effect to it. The catchpennies, especially 
 those connected with the awful, were in general very rough 
 productions. A lover strangling his sweetheart with a long 
 piece of rope. A heartless woman murdering an innocent man. 
 Vice punished and virtue rewarded, and similar subjects, were 
 always handled in such a manner as to create a degree of excite- 
 ment, sympathy, and alarm. The broadsides, generally adorned 
 with some rough outline of the royal arms of England, a crowned 
 king or queen, as the subject might be, received their full share 
 of consideration at the hands of the artist. Scions of royal 
 blood, and those connected with the court, were often painted 
 in colours glaring and attractive, whilst the matter set forth in the 
 letterpress was not always the most flattering or encouraging. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 26 1 
 
 CATCH-PENNY : — An)' temporary contrivance to obtain money from 
 the public; penny shows, or cheap exibitions. Also descriptions of 
 murders, fires, and terrible accidents, r&c, which have never taken place. 
 
 Hotton's : Slang Dictionary, 
 
 OttCl % I 
 
 An Account 
 
 OF THE 
 
 DREADFUL APPARITION 
 
 That appeared last night to Henry in this street, ot 
 
 Mary , the shopkeeper's daughter round the comer, in a 
 
 shroud, all covered in white. 
 
 The castle clock struck one — the night was dark, drear, and 
 tempestuous. — Henry sat in an antique chamber of it, over a wood 
 fire, which in the stupor of contemplation, he had suffered to 
 decrease into a few lifeless embers ; on the table by him lay the 
 portrait of Mary — the features of which were not very perfectly 
 disclosed by a taper, that just glimmered in the socket. He 
 took up the portrait, however, and gazing intensely upon it, till 
 the taper, suddenly burning brighter, discovered to him a 
 phenomenon he was not less terrified than surprised at. — The 
 eyes of the portrait moved ; — the features from an angelic smile, 
 changed to a look of solemn sadness ; a tear stole down each 
 cheek, and the bosom palpitated as with sighing. 
 
 Again the clock struck one ! — it had struck the same hour but 
 ten minutes before. — Henry heard the castle gate grate on its 
 hinges — it slammed too — the clock struck one again — and a 
 deadly groan echoed through the castle. Henry was not subject 
 to superstitious fears — neither was he a coward ; — yet a hero of 
 romance might have been justified in a case like this, should he 
 
262 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 have betrayed fear. — Henry's heart sunk within him — his knees 
 sinote together, and upon the chamber door bein^ opened, and 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 263 
 
 his name uttered in a hollow voice, he dropped the portrait to 
 the floor ; and sat, as if rivetted to the chair, without daring to 
 lift up his eyes. At length, however, as silence again prevailed, 
 he ventured for a moment to raise his eyes, when — my blood 
 freezes as I relate it — before him stood the figure of Mary in 
 a shroud — her beamless eyes fixed upon him with a vacant 
 stare; and her bared bosom exposing a most deadly gash. 
 " Henry ! — Henry ! ! — Henry ! ! !" she repeated in a hollow tone 
 — " Henry ! I come for thee ! thou hast often said that death 
 with me was preferable to life without me; come then, and 
 enjoy with me all the ecstacies of love these ghastly features, 
 added to the contemplation of a charnel-house, can inspire;" 
 then grasping his hand with her icy fingers, he swooned ; and 
 instantly found himself— stretched on the hearth of his master's 
 kitchen ; a romance in his hand, and the house dog by his side, 
 whose cold nose touching his hand, had awaked him. 
 
 FRIENDS 
 
 It is with feelings of the deepest regret that we are at present 
 compelled, for the support of our friends and families, to offer this simple, 
 but true tale to your notice, trusting, at the same time, that you will be 
 pleased to purchase this paper, it being the only means at present to support 
 the tender thread of our existence, and keep us and our families from utter 
 starvation which at present surrounds us. 
 
 Price One Penny. 
 Printed for Author and Vendor. 
 
THK HISTORY OF 
 
 I ''11 
 
 Cruel and Inhuman Murder, 
 Last Night. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 265 
 
 THE SCARBOROUGH TRAGEDY. 
 
 Giving an Account how Susan Forster, a Farmer's Daughter, 
 near Scarborough, was seduced by Mr. Robert Sanders, a Naval 
 Officer, under promise of Marriage. — How she became Pregnant, 
 and the wicked hardened and cruel Wretch appointed her to 
 meet him at a well-known, retired spot, which she unhappily did, 
 and was basely Murdered by him, and buried under a Tree — 
 and of the wonderful manner in which this base Murder was 
 brought to light, and he committed to Gaol. 
 
 Young virgins fair of beauty bright, 
 And you that are of Cupid's fold, 
 
 Unto my tragedy give ear, 
 For it's as true as e'er was told. 
 
 2 M 
 
266 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 In Yorkshire, liv'd a virgin fair, 
 A farmer's only daughter dear. 
 
 And a young sea-captain did her ensnare, 
 Whose station was her father near. 
 
 Susannah was this maiden's name, 
 
 The flower of all that country. 
 This officer a courting came, 
 
 Begging that she his love would be. 
 'Her youthful heart to love inclin'd 
 
 Young Cupid bent his golden bow, 
 And left his fatal dart behind. 
 
 Which prov'd Susannah's overthrow. 
 
 Ofttimes at evening she would repair. 
 
 Close to the borders of the sea, 
 Her treach'rous love would meet her there. 
 
 The time it passed most pleasantly. 
 And while they walked the sea-banks over, 
 
 To mark the flowing of the tide. 
 He said he'd be her constant lover, 
 
 And vow'd that she should be his bride. 
 
 He did confess — they dug the ground while hundreds came to view, 
 And here the murder' d corpse they found, of her who lov'd so true 
 In irons now in Prison strong lamenting he does lie ; 
 And, by the laws condemn'd ere long, most justly he will die. 
 
 J. CATNACH, Printer, 2, Monmouth -court, 7 Dials. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 267 
 
 HORRID MURDER, 
 Committed by a Young Man on a Young Woman. 
 
 George Caddell became acquainted with Miss Price and a 
 degree of intimacy subsisted between them, and Miss Price, 
 degraded as she was by the unfortunate step she had taken, 
 still thought herself an equal match for one of Mr. Caddell s 
 rank of life. As pregnancy was shortly the result of their 
 intimacy, she repeatedly urged him to marry her, but he resisted 
 her importunities for a considerable time. At length she heard 
 of his'paying addresses to Miss Dean, and threatened in case 
 
 2 M 2 
 
268 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 of his non-compliance, to put an end to all his prospects with 
 that young lady, by discovering everything that had passed 
 between them. Hereupon he formed a horrid resolution of 
 murdering her, for he could neither bear the thought of forfeiting 
 the esteem of a woman whom he loved, nor of marrying one who 
 had been as condescending to another as to himself. So he 
 called on Miss Price on a Saturday and requested her to walk 
 with him in the fields on the following day, in order to arrange 
 a plan for their intended marriage. Miss Price met him at the 
 time appointed, on the road leading to Burton, at a house 
 known by the name of the '' Nag's Head." Having accompanied 
 her supposed lover into the fields, and walked about till towards 
 evening, they sat down under a hedge, where after a little con- 
 versation, Caddell suddenly pulled out a knife and cut her 
 throat, and made his escape, but not before he had waited till 
 she was dead. In the distraction of his mind he left behind 
 him the knife with which he perpetrated the deed, and his Case 
 of Instruments. On the following morning, Miss Price being 
 found murdered in the field, great numbers went to take a view 
 of her body, among whom was the woman of the house where 
 she lodged, who recollected that she said she was going to walk 
 with Mr. Caddell, on which the instruments were examined and 
 sworn to have belonged to him. He was accordingly taken into 
 custody. 
 
 J. CATNACH, Printer, Monmouth Court. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 The Secrets Revealed,! 
 
 OR THEf 
 
 Fashionable Life of Lord &• Lady **-x-*-Jt* 
 
 Dreadful Murder by a Soldier, 
 Yesterday Morning. 
 
270 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 The LIVERPOOL TRAGEDY. 
 
 Showing how a Father and Mother 
 barbarously Murdered their own Son. 
 
 :o:- 
 
 A few days ago a sea-faring man, who had just returned to 
 England after an absence of thirty years in the East Indies, 
 called at a lodging-house, in Liverpool, for sailors, and asked 
 for supper and a bed ; the landlord and landlady were elderly 
 people, and apparently poor. The young man entered into 
 conversation with them, invited them to partake of his cheer, 
 asked them many questions about themselves and their family, 
 and particularly of a son who had gone to sea when a boy, and 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 27 1 
 
 whom they had long given over as dead. At night the landlady 
 shewed him to his room, and when she was leaving him he put a 
 large purse of gold into her hand, and desired her to take care oi 
 it till the morning, pressed her affectionately by the hand, and 
 bade her good night. She returned to her husband and shewed 
 the accursed gold : for its sake they mutually agreed to murder 
 the traveller in his sleep. 
 
 In the dead of the night, when all was still, the old couple 
 silently creeped into the bed room of their sleeping guest, all 
 was quiet : the landlady approached the bedside, and then cut 
 his throat, severed his head from his body; the old man, upwards 
 of seventy years of age, holding the candle. They put a washing- 
 tub under the bed to catch his blood, and then ransacking the 
 boxes of the murdered man they found more gold, and many 
 handsome and costly articles, the produce of the East Indies, 
 together, with what proved afterwards, to be a marriage cer- 
 tificate. 
 
 In the morning early, came a handsome and elegantly dressed 
 lady, and asked, in a joyous tone, for the traveller who arrived 
 the night before. The old people seemed greatly confused, but 
 said he had risen early and gone away. "Impossible!" said 
 the lady, and bid them go to his bed-room and seek him, 
 adding, " you will be sure to know him as he has a mole on his 
 left arm in the shape of a strawberry. Besides, 'tis your long 
 lost son who has just returned from the East Indies, and I am 
 his wife, and the daughter of a rich planter long settled and very 
 wealthy. Your son has come to make you both happy in the 
 evening of your days, and he resolved to lodge with you one 
 night as a stranger, that he might see you unknown, and judge 
 of your conduct to wayfaring mariners." 
 
272 
 
 The old couple went up stairs to examine the corpse, and 
 they found the strawberry mark on its arm, and they then knew 
 that they had murdered their own son, they were seized with 
 horror, and each taking a loaded pistol blew out each other's 
 brains. 
 
 Printed by J. Catnach.— Sokl by Marshall, Bristol. 
 
 Just Published. — A Variety of Children's Books, Battledores, Lotteries, and 
 a quantity of Popular Songs set to Music. Cards, &c., Printed cheap. 
 
THE LIFE, 
 
 TRIAL, CHARACTER, CONFESSION, BEHAVIOUR, 
 
 AND 
 
 EXECUTION 
 
 OF 
 
 JAMES WARD, 
 
 Aged 2$, who was hung in the front of the Gaol, 
 
 For the wilful Murder he committed on the 
 
 Body of his own Wife. 
 
 To which is added a Copy of Affectionate Verses 
 
 which he composed in the Condemned Cell 
 
 The night before his 
 
 EXECUTION. 
 
 PRINTED AT LONDON. 
 
 PRICE ONE PENNY. 
 
 3 N 
 
274 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 The Arrest of the Prisoner. 
 
 For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak with most miraculous 
 organ." 
 
 The prisoner was arrested while drinking with his companions 
 in a public-house, and after two Magistrates had heard the 
 evidence he was fully committed to the Assizes to be tried before 
 my Lord Judge and a British Jury, at the County Hall. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 '75 
 
 THE TRIAL! 
 
 " Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therem." 
 
 At an early hour on the morning of the trial, the Court was 
 crowded to excess, the Judge taking his seat at nine o'clock. 
 The Prisoner on b^ing placed at the bar, pleaded " Not Guilty," 
 in a firm tone of voice. The Trial lasted many hours, when, 
 having been found * GUILTY.* the learned Judge addressed the 
 prisoner as follows : — 
 
 " Prisoner, you have been found guilty of a most cold-blooded Murder, a 
 more deliberate murder I never heard of. You and your wife had been to a 
 neighbouring town, and were returning home, when you did it. She was 
 found in a ditch. I cannot hold out the slightest hope of mercy towards you 
 in this case." During this address the whole court was melted into tears. 
 His Lordship then put on the black cap and passed the sentence as usual, 
 holding out no hope of mercy to the prisoner. 
 
 The County Gaol. 
 
 2 N 2 
 
276 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 The Home of the Good Man. 
 " Sundry blessings hang about his Throne, that speak hini full of Grace." 
 
 Letter Written by the Prisoner after his Condemnation. 
 Dear Sister, Condemned Cell. 
 
 When you receive this you will see that I am condemned 
 to die; my Father and Mother are coming to take their last 
 farewell, and I should very much liked to have seen you, but 
 knowing that you are on the eve 6f bringing into the world 
 another to your family, I beg that you will refrain from coming ; 
 if that you do serious may be the consequences, therefore, dear 
 Sister, do not attempt to come. I hope that no one will upbraid 
 you for what I have done ; So God bless you and yours ; 
 farewell ! dear Sister, for ever. 
 
 J. WARD. 
 
 I 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 277 
 
 THE EXECUTION. 
 :o: 
 
 "A threefold cord is not quickly broken." 
 
 The Execution of the above prisoner took place early this 
 morning at eight o'clock, the people flocking to the scene at an 
 early hour. As the period of the wretched man's departure 
 drew near, the chaplain became anxious to obtain from him a 
 confession of the justice of his sentence. He acknowledged the 
 justice of his sentence, and said he was not fit to live, and that 
 he was afraid to die, but he prayed to the Lord for forgiveness, 
 and hoped through the merits of his Saviour that his prayer 
 would be heard. Having received the sacrament, the executioner 
 was not long in performing his office. The solemn procession 
 moved towards the place of Execution, the chaplain repeating 
 the confession words, *' In the midst of life we are in death." 
 Upon ascending the platform he appeared to tiremble very much. 
 The cap being drawn over his eyes and the signal given, the 
 wretched man was launched into eternity. He died almost 
 without a struggle. After the body had hanged the usual time 
 it was cut dawn and buried according to the sentence in the gaol. 
 
278 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 The Home of the Bad Man. 
 
 One Sin doth another provoke." 
 
 Copy of Verses. 
 
 Come all you feeling hearted christians, wherever you may be, 
 
 Attention give to these few lines, and listen unto me ; 
 
 Its of this cruel murder, to you I will unfold, 
 
 The bare recital of the same will make your blood run cold. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 279 
 
 Confined within a lonely cell, with sorrow I am opprest, 
 The very thought of what I've done, deprives me of rest ; 
 Within this dark and gloomy cell in the County Gaol I lie, 
 For murder of my dear wife I am condemned to die. 
 
 For four long years I'd married been, I always lov'd her well, 
 Till at length I was overlooked, oh shame for me to tell ; 
 By Satan sure I was beguiled, he led me quite astray, 
 Unto another I gave way on that sad unlucky day. 
 
 I well deserve my wretched fate, no one can pity me. 
 To think that I in cold blood could take the life away ; 
 I took a stake out of the hedge and hit on the head, 
 My cruel blows I did repeat until she were dead. 
 
 I dragged the body from the stile to a ditch running by, 
 
 I quite forgot there's one above with an all-seeing eye, 
 
 Who always brings such deeds to light, as you so plainly see, 
 
 I questioned was about it and took immediately. 
 
 The body's found, the inquest held, to prison I was sent. 
 With shame I do confess my sin, with grief I do repent ; 
 And when my trial did come on, I was condemned to die. 
 An awful death in public scorn, upon the gallows high. 
 
 While in my lonely cell I lie, the time draws on apace, 
 The dreadful deeds that I have done appear before my face ; 
 While lying on my dreadful couch, those horrid visions rise. 
 The ghastly form of my dear wife appears before my eyes. 
 
 Oh may my end a warning be now unto all mankind. 
 And think of my unhappy fate and bear me in your mind ; 
 Whether you are rich or poor, young wives and children love, 
 So God will fill your fleeting days with blessings from above. 
 
m ^^^^^&^^^^(&^^^^^^^-S(S^^ 
 
 THE 
 
 BURNING SHAME. 
 
 OR 
 
 ,."--^^ 'w--">e. 
 
 MORALITY ALARMED 
 IN THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD. 
 
 Just Published 
 PRICE ONE PENNY. 
 
 m^^i^^^^^^{ 
 
 2 O 
 
282 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 A short time since, some of the moral-mending crew of 
 Parsons, Magistrates, Quakers, Shakers, Puritans, Old Maids, 
 and highly respectable, and, now retired from active business 
 ** Young Ladies," who now assume a virtue, though they have 
 it not, and a variety of other goodly persons ever ready to 
 compound for sins they are inclined to, by exposing those they 
 have no mind to, living not 50 miles hence, determined on 
 reforming doings, manners, and customs : — 
 
 IN THIS TOWN! 
 
 and a meeting in consequence took place at " Rosebud Cottage " 
 
 the residence of Miss Mary Ann Lovitt, when, as a first step, it 
 
 was determined to remove the facilities and accommodation 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 283 
 
 afforded a certain — You-know-what I crime very general in this 
 neighbourhood by hunting out of the town : — 
 
 A CERTAIN LADY ABBESS!! 
 
 who keeps a very genteel house for the accommodation ot 
 " single young men and their wives " and one who never 
 offends, or bores her patrons by asking for a sight of their 
 * Marriage Certificates/ 
 
 At the meeting, the armchair was taken by the Rev. 
 
 John B.A., of this parish, Mr. Churchwarden 
 
 Smith, and Mr. J. Brown, the draper, supporting him on either 
 side; when a variety of methods were suggested for the removal 
 of the alledged social evil, one thought entreaty might best 
 answer, another was for force^ a third recommended the 
 Religious Tract Society, while a fourth was for the aid of the 
 
 Very Rev. Rowland H 1, Miss A. and Miss B. were both 
 
 loud in their praise of the Rev. Jabez B g, mention was 
 
 made of the Society for the Suppression of Vice, at length the 
 Reverend Divine Chairman was called on for his opinion, when 
 he — conscious of the integrity and purity of his own life and 
 experience \ at once pronounced : — 
 
 A BURNING SHAME!!! 
 
 as the only effectual remedy for the ever increasing evil. This 
 was indeed a harsTi measure, and some of the worthies looked 
 a variety of colours on the occasion, but as none had the moral 
 courage for personal character sake to oppose the parson's 
 proposition, it was carried unanamously. A board bearing on 
 it in legible characters : — 
 
 BEWARE OF A BAD HOUSE!!!! 
 
 was soon prepared, and with a lanthorn attached, was paraded 
 
 2 2 
 
jg^fe^' 
 
 before the house of the fair— but frail duenna's 
 mansion. It did not remain long in this position as 
 the following letter from the lady abbess of the 
 Agapemone ! soon had its deserved effect : — 
 
 Gentlemen;—'* If the hoard and lanthorne is 
 not removed from the front of my house in one hour 
 from this time, I will publish the name, profession^ 
 and address^ of every genf/eman— together with 
 that of the !ady accompaning him who has visited 
 my ''Establishment for Young Ladies'" during the 
 last six months. Some of your worships know on 
 whom this would fall heaviest.*' 
 
 Yours with thanks for past favours, 
 
 Aunt. 
 
 It is almost needless to say that the hoard and 
 lanthorne were very soon removed, and, that, the 
 old, and accommodating lady is doing a good business 
 again : — 
 
 THUS CONSCIOUS DOES MAKE COWARDS 
 OF US ALL. 
 
 1^^ ^^^^^^^1^^ 
 
 wuf's^maBimjimms^t^^im^m^^^^ 
 
T-5'^ 
 
 THE FULL, TRUE 
 
 AND 
 
 PARTICULAR ACCOUNT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 EXTRAORDINARY MARRIAGE 
 
 That took place in this town on Thursday last. 
 
 London : 
 PRINTED FOR THE VENDORS. 
 
 PRICE ONE PENNY. 
 
286 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 " Who would have thought he had been a — 
 He was such — a nice young man." 
 
 About a week since, a dashing young blade, dressed in the 
 very height of the prevailing fashion, having long black and 
 curly hair, together with a pair of out-and-out slap-up whiskers 
 and moustaches, and calling himself Count de Coburgh 
 Aingarpatzziwutchz, and professing to be a foreigner and a man 
 of enormous fortune, and one of the haut ton / took up his 
 
 lodging at the principal inn. The Arms, in this town, 
 
 where the swell foreigner looking blade soon made a great stir 
 among the ladies of the place ; the old, the young, the tall, the 
 short, the fair, and the dark, were all alike smitten over head 
 and ears in love with the distinguished visitor, but none seemed 
 to make so much impression upon his heart as Mary Jane 
 Jemima S w, the youngest of the landlord's daughters of 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 287 
 
 The Arms Inn, of this town. She is well known in this 
 
 neighbourhood to be very handsome, with light brown hair all 
 in ringlets, light blue eyes, a fine aquiline nose, and of a tall and 
 commanding figure, aged about sweet 1 7 years of age, and very 
 tender. 
 
 The foreign Count ! soon won the affections of the young 
 lady, and while she was all cock-a-hoop at the thought of having 
 such a fine handsome young blade for a husband, all the other 
 women of the town, old and young, were ready to tear out her 
 eyes and boil them in their own blood with womanly vexation 
 and revenge, and spoke of the intended bridegroom as the 
 Count Doii t-know-who ! 
 
 On Thiursday the bells of the old parish church rang merrily 
 ding I-dong ! !-ding ! ! ! and the happy couple were married, our 
 old and respected Rector officiating; assisted by his Curate, 
 
 Rev. Mr. , and all the parish was gay from one end to 
 
 the other. 
 
A few hours after the ceremony had taken place, whilst 
 the happy couple were feasting on all of the very best 
 with their friends and relations, a stranger, fat and 
 greasy, and looking like a master or journeyman 
 butcher in his Sunday clothes, and about forty years of 
 age, and black whiskers, made his appearance, and 
 not being acquainted with the occasion that brought 
 the party together, without hesitation exclaimed, loud 
 enough to be heard by all in the room, ** Well, brother- 
 blade, you are a lucky fellow ! the business about Sal 
 Saundeis; is all settled to our satisfaction, the lawyer 
 made a good job of it for you, poleaxed the lot on the 
 other side in prime style, and skinned 'em alive, so you 
 may now return home to Whitechapel and put on your 
 blue apron and steel." — The company stood aghast, the 
 bride fainted, and all was confusion. At length it came 
 out that the newly-married man had a wife and four 
 children at home, and that his visit to the above town 
 was in consequence of a woman swearing a child to him. 
 In the midst of the confusion which this discovery 
 occasioned, the bridegroom and his brother slaughterman 
 from Whitechapel — which is in London — made a 
 sudden retreat, and — have not since been heard of. 
 
 *-««^SM^A»^ 
 
289 
 
 THE EFFECTS OF LOVE. 
 SAD SHOCKING NEWS! 
 
 CRUEL SEDUCTION : Dreadful Warkikg to all Young 
 
 Women in this Neighbourhood to Beware of 
 
 Young Men's Deluding and Flattering 
 
 Tongues. 
 
 The following melancholy account of her cruel seduction and 
 desertion by her base lover was forwarded to that very worthy 
 
 man Mr. a churchwarden, well-known and respected 
 
 by all in this neighbourhood by Miss S h W r, the night 
 
 before she committed suicide. 
 
 Young lovers all I pray draw near, 
 Sad shocking news you soon shall hear, 
 And when that you the same are told, 
 It will make your very blood run cold. 
 
 Miss S — h W — Is my name, 
 T brought myself to grief and shame, 
 By loving one that ne'er loved me, 
 My sorrow now I plainly see. 
 
 Mark well the words that will be said, 
 By W — E — I was be tray 'd, 
 By his false tongue 1 was beguil'd 
 At length to him I proved with child. 
 
 At rest with him I ne'er could be, 
 Until he had his will of me. 
 
 To his fond tales I did give way, • 
 
 And did from paths of virtue stray. 
 
 My grief is more than I can bear, 
 I am disregarded every where, 
 Like a blooming flower I am cut down, 
 And on me now my love does frown. 
 
 2 P 
 
590 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Oh ! the false oathes he has sworn to me, 
 That I his lawful bride should be, 
 May I never prosper night, or day, 
 If I deceive you, he would say. 
 
 But now the day is past and gone. 
 That he fix'd to be married on, 
 He scarcely speaks when we do meet, 
 And strives to shun me in the street. 
 
 I did propose on Sunday night, 
 To walk once more with my heart's delight. 
 On the Umber's banks where billows roar, 
 "We parted there to meet no more. 
 
 His word was pledged unto me, 
 He never shall prosper nor happy be. 
 The ghost of me and my infant dear, 
 They both shall haunt him every where. 
 
 William dear when this you see, 
 Remember how you slighted me, 
 Farewell vain world ; false man adieu, 
 I drown myself for love of you. 
 
 As a token that I died for love, 
 There will be seen a milk-white dove, 
 Which over my watery tomb shall fly, 
 And there you'll find my body lie. 
 
 These cheeks of mine once blooming red, 
 Must now be mingled with the dead, 
 From the deep waves to a bed of clay. 
 Where I must sleep till the Judgement Day. 
 
 A Joyful rising then I hope to have. 
 When Angels call me from the grave 
 Receive my soul, O Lord most high. 
 For broken hearted I must die. 
 
 Grant me one favour that's all I crave. 
 Eight pretty maidens let me have, 
 Dress'd all in white a comely show. 
 To carry me to the grave below. 
 
 Now all young girls I hope on earth. 
 Will be warned by my untimely death, 
 Take care sweet maidens when you are young. 
 Of men's deluding — flattering tongue. 
 
 • ~ 
 
 Printed in London for the Venders. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 2gi 
 
 SHOCKING RAPE 
 
 AND 
 
 DREADFUL MURDER OF TWO LOVERS. 
 
 Showing how John Hodges, a Farmer's Son, 
 Committed a Rape upon Jane Williams, 
 
 AND afterwards MDRDERED HER AND 
 
 HER LOVER, WiLLIAM EdWARDS, 
 
 IN A FIELD NEAR PaXTON. 
 
 This is a most revolting murder. It appears Jane Williams 
 was keeping company, and was shortly to be married to William 
 Edwards, who was in the eirployment of Fartj^er Hodges. For 
 
 2 P 2 
 
292 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 some time a jealousy existed in John Hodges, who made vile 
 proposals to the young girl, who although of poor parents was 
 strictly virtuous. The girl's father also worked on Farmer 
 Hodges' estate. On Thursday last she was sent to the farm to 
 obtain some things for her mother, who was ill ; it was 9 o'clock 
 in the evening when she set out, a mile from the farm. Going 
 across the fields she was met by the farmer's son, who made vile 
 proposals to her, which she not consenting to, he threw her 
 down, and accomplished his vile purpose. In the meantime her 
 lover had been to her house, and finding slie was gone to the 
 farm, went to meet her. He found her in the field crying, and 
 John Hodges standing over her with a bill-hook, saying he would 
 kill her if she ever told. No one can tell the feelings of the 
 lover, William Edwards. He rushed forward, when Hodges, 
 with the hook, cut the legs clean from his body, and with it 
 killed the poor girl, and then run off. Her father finding she 
 did not return, went to look for her, when the awful deeds were 
 discovered. Edwards was still alive, but died shortly afterwards 
 from loss of blood, after giving his testimony to the magistrates. 
 The farmer's son was apprehended, and has been examined and 
 committed to take his trial at the next assizes. 
 
 Thousands of persons followed the unfortunate lovers to the 
 ^grave, where they were both buried together. 
 
 COPY OF VERSES 
 
 Jane Williams had a lover true 
 And Edwards was his name, 
 
 Whose visits to her father's house, 
 Had welcome now became. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 
 
 In marriage soon they would be bound, 
 
 A loving man and wife, 
 But John Hodges, a farmer's son 
 
 With jealousy was rife. 
 
 One night he met her in the fields, 
 
 And vile proposals made ; 
 How can I do this wicked thing, 
 
 Young Jane then weeping said. 
 
 He quickly threw her on the ground, 
 
 He seized her by surprise, 
 
 And did accomplish his foul act 
 
 Despite her tears and cries. 
 
 Her lover passing by that way, 
 
 Discovered her in tears, 
 And when he found what had been done 
 
 He pulled the monster's ears. 
 
 Young Hodges with the bill-hook. 
 Then cut young Edwards down ; 
 
 And by one fatal blow he felled 
 Jane Wilhams on the ground. 
 
 There side by side the lovers lay 
 
 Weltering in their blood : 
 Young Jane was dead, her lover lived, 
 
 Though ebb'd away life's flood. 
 
 Old Williams sought his daughter dear. 
 
 When awful to relate, 
 He found her lifeless body there. 
 
 Her lover's dreadful fate. 
 
 Now in one grave they both do lie. 
 
 These lovers firm and true, 
 Who by a cruel man were slain 
 
 Who'll soon receive his due. 
 
 In prison now he is confined. 
 
 To answer for the crime. 
 Two lovers that he murdered. 
 
 Cut off when in their prime. 
 
 293 
 
294 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 A Funny DIALOGUE 
 
 BETWEEN A ^/^ ^^^^wT MACKEREL 
 
 FAT BUTCHER j/^U^^^^^ ^^^ Nm<port Mar- 
 
 Butcher. — Well, Mr. Mackerel, pray let me ask you how you come to 
 show your impudent face among those who don't want to see you or any of 
 your crew ? 
 
 Mackerel. —That my company is not agreeable to many such as you I 
 very well know ; but here I am, and will keep my place in spite of you. 
 Don't think to frighten me with your lofty looks, Mr. Green. You are an 
 enemy to the poor, I am their true friend, and I will be in spite of you. 
 
 BtJTCHER. — I will soon see the end of you and your vain boasting. What's 
 the poor to me } 
 
 Mackerel.— I and thousands of my brethren are come to town for the sole 
 good of the industrious poor. We will soon pull down your high prices, your 
 pride and consequence, and Melt your fat off your overgrown Carcass. I am 
 their sworn friend, and although you are biting off your tongue with vexation, 
 yet I am determined they shall have a cheap Meal— good, sweet, and 
 wholesome— put that in your pipe and smoke it. 
 
 Butcher. — Aye, aye. You are a saucy set, confound you altogether. 
 Oddzbobs, I wish the Devil had the whole of your disagreeable tribe. 
 
 Mackerel.- I would advise you, Mr. Green, not to show your teeth when 
 you can't bite. Millions of my friends are on their way to town to make the 
 poor rejoice. We have had a fine seed time, everything looks promising. 
 Meat must and will come down. The poor will sing for joy, and you may go 
 hang yourself in your garters. 
 
 Catnach, Printer, 2, Monmouth Court, 
 Cards, Bills, &c., Printed on Low Terms. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 295 
 
 Catnach, to the day of his retirement from business in 1838, 
 when he purchased the freehold of a disused public-house, which 
 had been known as the Lion Inn, together with the grounds 
 attached at Dancer's Hill, South Mimms, near Barnet, in the 
 county of Middlesex, worked and toiled in the office of the 
 "Catnach Press," in which he had moved as the pivot, or 
 directing mind, for a quarter of a century. He lived and died 
 a bachelor. His only idea of all earthly happiness and mental 
 enjoyment was now to get away in retirement to a convenient 
 distance from his old place of business, so to give him an 
 opportunity occasionally to go up to town and have a chat and 
 a friendly glass with one or two old paper-workers and ballad- 
 writers, and a few others connected with his peculiar trade who 
 had shown any disposition to work when work was to be done. 
 To them he was always willing to give or advance a few pence 
 or shillings, in money or stock, and a glass — 
 
 ** Affliction's sons are brothers in distress ; 
 A brother to relieve, how exquisite the bliss ! " 
 
 But Jemmy knew the men that were *' skulkers," as he termed 
 them, and there was no coin, stock, or a glass for them. He 
 invariably drank whiskey, a spirit not in general demand in 
 England in those days. Gin was then, as now, the reigning 
 favourite with the street folks. When the question was put to 
 him in reference to his partiality to whiskey, he always replied — 
 the Scotch blood proudly rising in his veins, and with a strong 
 Northumberland burr, which never wholly forsook him, par- 
 ticularly when warmed by argument or drink — that, *'He 
 -disdained to tipple with ' stuff,' by means of which all the women 
 of the town got drunk. I am of Catnach. Yes! there's Catnach 
 blood in me. Catnach — King Catnach — Catnach, King of the 
 
296 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Picts. We descend in a right straight line from the Picts. 
 That's the sort of blood-of-blood that flows in the veins of all the 
 true-bred Catnachs." Jemmy would be for continually arguing 
 when in his cups, and the old and the more artful of the street- 
 folk would let him have all the say and grandeur that he then 
 felt within him on the subject, well knowing that they would be 
 much more likely to have their glasses replenished by agreeing 
 with him than by contradicting him. Even in his sober 
 moments Jemmy always persisted, right or wrong, that the 
 Catnachs, or Catternachs, were descended direct from a King 
 of the Picts. Yet, what is somewhat anomalous, he was 
 himself a rigid churchman and a staunch old Tory, " one of the 
 olden time," and " as full of the glorious Constitution as the 
 first volume of Blackstone." 
 
 On Catnach's retirement from the business, he left it to Mrs. 
 Annie Ryle, his sister, charged, nevertheless, to the amount of 
 ;^i,ooo payable at his death to the estate of his niece, Marion 
 Martha Ryle. In the meanwhile Mr. James Paul acted as 
 managing man for Mrs. Ryle. This Mr. Paul — of whom 
 Jemmy was very fond, and rumour saith, had no great dislike to 
 the mother — had grown from a boy to a man in the office of the 
 " Catnach Press." He was therefore, well acquainted with the 
 customers, by whom he was much respected ; and it was by his 
 tact and judgment that the business was kept so well together. 
 He married a Miss Crisp, the daughter of a publican in the 
 immediate neighbourhood. 
 
 Catnach did not long enjoy or survive his retirement. After 
 the novelty of looking, as the poet Cowper puts it, and no doubt 
 in his case found it, " Through the loop-holes of retreat, to see 
 the stir of the Great Babel, and not feel the crowd," had worn 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 297 
 
 itself out, " James Catnach, Gentleman, formerly of Monmouth 
 Court, Monmouth Street, Printer," grew dull in his " Old 
 Bachelor's Box ;" he was troubled with hypochondriasis, and a 
 liver overloaded with bile, and was further off than ever from 
 being a happy man. He had managed to rake and scrape to- 
 gether — as far as we can get any knowledge— some ^^5,000 or 
 ;£"6,ooo, although ;^i 0,000 and upwards is mostly put down to 
 him. However, he had grabbed for and caught a fair amount 
 of " siller and gold," but it failed to realize to him — 
 
 An elegant sufficiency, content, 
 Retirement, rural quiet, friendship, books. 
 Ease and alternate labour, useful life, 
 Progressive virtue, and approving Heaven ! 
 
 No ! all he had realized was that unenviable position so 
 popularly known as of a man not knowing what to do with him- 
 self His visits to town were now much more frequent and of 
 longer duration, and for hours he would sit and loiter about the 
 shops and houses of his old neighbours, so that he might catch a 
 glimpse, or enjoy a friendly chat with his old friends and 
 customers. At length he got sick at heart, '' wearied to the 
 bone," and sighed for the bustle of London Life. 
 
 From the following letter written to his sister, Mrs. Ryle, in 
 1840, and now before us, we glean something of his state of 
 mind and bodily health : — 
 
 July, 4th, 40. 
 Dear Sister, — 
 
 I have been very ill for these last three weeks. I was obliged to 
 send for Dr. Morris to cup me, which did some good for a few days, since 
 then the pains have gone into my breast and ribs, and for the last three days 
 I have kept my bed, and could take nothing but a little tea and water-gruel. 
 I wish you to procure me 6 Bills to stick on my window shutters, outside and 
 in, "This House to be Let," and send them with ^Ib Tea as soon as possible — 
 but do not send them by Salmon's Coach, for he will not leave them at 
 
 2 Q 
 
298 
 
 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 Jackson's as Wild does, but sends a boy with it, which costs me double 
 porterage. I feel the loss of my jelly now I am so ill, and can eat little or 
 nothing, it would have done my throat good. I have a great crop of black 
 and red hemes [currants] if you choose I will send them up, and you can 
 make some jelly for us both ; let me know as soon as you can, say Wednesday 
 morning and I will make the Postwoman call for the parcel at Jackson's. 
 I also wish you to enquire of Carr what is the lowest he will take for the 
 rooms over Mrs. Morgan, by the § year. 
 
 I have nothing more to say but to be remembered to Mary and Paul, and 
 remain 
 
 Pray send a paper of the execution of the Valet, and the trial of Oxford — 
 Mrs. Westley has not sent me i paper since I was last in town — neither has 
 Thornton. 
 
 Mrs. Ryle, 
 
 2 & 3, Monmouth Court, 
 
 Compton Street, London. 
 
 Ultimately Catnach hired the rooms he speaks about in the 
 body of his letter to his sister, which were on the first floor of 
 No. 6, Monmouth Court. All the vacant space in his old 
 premises being now fully occupied by Mrs. Ryle, and her 
 assistants, now " the humble cottage fenc'd with osiers round," 
 which to his leisure afforded no pleasure, was entirely deserted, 
 and in London he fretted out the remaining portion of his Hfe. 
 He soon grew peevish, and his brain got a little out of balance, 
 then he listlessly wandered in and out of the streets, courts, and 
 alleys, '' infirm of purpose." On stormy days and nights to stand 
 and view the lightning from Waterloo Bridge was his special 
 delight, and wonder. His temper and liver were now continually 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 299 
 
 out of order, and which whiskey, even " potations pottle deep," 
 failed to relieve. At length he died of jaundice, in the very 
 London court in which he had muck'd and grubbed for the best 
 part of his life, on the first day of February, 1841. Like other 
 great men of history he has several locales mentioned as his^ 
 final resting-place — Hornsey, Bamet, South Mimms, &c. 
 
 Urbes^ ccrtarunt septetn dc pair la Homer i, 
 Nulla domus vivo patriafuit. 
 
 Seven cities strove whence Homer first should come, 
 
 When living, he no country had nor home : — Tom Nash^ 1599- 
 
 Seven Grecian cities vied for Homer dead. 
 Through which the living Homer begged his bread. 
 
 Seven cities vied for Homer's birth, with emulation pious, — 
 Salamis, Samos, Colophon, Rhodes, Argos, Athens, Chios. 
 
 — From the Greek, 
 
 But Catnach lies buried in Highgate Cemetery, in one of the 
 two plots that Mrs. Ryle purchased sometime previous to her 
 brother's death. The official number of the grave is 256, Square 
 29, over which is placed a flat stone, inscribed : — 
 
 liV MEMORy OF 
 
 JAMES CATNACH, 
 
 Of Dancci^s Hill. 
 
 DIED 1ST FEBRUARY, 1841, 
 Aged 49. 
 
 ANNE RYLE, 
 
 Sister to the above, and widow of Joseph Ryle, who died ii> 
 
 India, loth October, 1823. She died 20th April, 1870, 
 
 Aged 75. 
 
 Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. 
 
 2 Q 2 
 
^OO THE HISTORY OF 
 
 The freehold in the other p]ot of ground, after Catnach's death, 
 was transferred to Mr. Robert Palmer Harding, the accountant 
 of London, who married Catnach's niece. The stone records the 
 death of Elizabeth Cornelia, third daughter of Robert 
 Palmer Harding and Marion Martha Harding, born 9 June, T848, 
 died 8 of November, 1848; and Greville, second son of the 
 above, born 29 May, 1856, died 3 September, 1856. This grave 
 is now numbered 5179. We have been thus minute in respect 
 to Catnach's grave, from the circumstance of our having received 
 so many contradictory statements as to its whereabouts. But 
 however, we have removed all doubt from our mind by a personal 
 visit to the Highgate Cemetery where under the guidance of the 
 very civil and obliging superintendent of the grounds, Mr. W. 
 F. Tabois, we were conducted to the spot we required, then 
 introduced to Mr. Marks, the sexton, " here man and boy thirty 
 years," and whom we found very intelligent and communicative 
 on various subjects — 
 
 " From grave to gay, from lively to severe." 
 
 After Catnach's death, Mr. James Paul entered into partner- 
 ship with Mrs. Ryle, and then the business was carried on under 
 the title and style of A. Ryle and Paul. In 1845 the partnership 
 was dissolved, Mr. Paul receiving ;£"8oo in settlement. He 
 then entered into the public line taking the Spencer's Arms, at 
 the corner of the Monmouth Court. A son that was born to 
 him in 1847, ^^ ^^.d christened James Catnach Paul. He died 
 in the year 1870, just six weeks after Mrs. Ryle, and lies buried 
 in the next grave but one to Catnach and his sister. 
 
 After Mr. Paul had left the business it was carried on as Ryle 
 & Co., and ultimately became the property of Mr. W. S. 
 Fortey, who still carries on the old business in the same quarter. 
 
THE CATNACH PRESS. 301 
 
 For the purpose of clearing up, if possible, some contradictory- 
 statements, a few years ago we made personal search through 
 the musty-fusty red-tapeism of Doctor's Commons for the 
 Will and Testament — or "Last Dying Speech" of "James 
 Catnach, of Dancer's Hill, South Mimms, in the county of 
 Middlesex, Gentleman, formerly of Monmouth Court, Monmouth 
 Street, Printer," an office copy of which, together with Probate 
 and Administration Act, we give below, by which it will be seen 
 that the Personal Effects are sworn to as under three hundred 
 pounds. But this gives us no idea of the value of his " Freehold, 
 Copyhold, or Leasehold Estate " mentioned in the body of 
 the Will. 
 
 " Extracted from the principal Registry 
 of Her Majesty's Court of Probate. 
 
 ** In the Prerogative Court of Canterbury — 
 
 '*This is thje last Will and T^stamjent of me 
 
 JAMES CATNACH of Dancers Hill, South Mimms in the 
 County of Middlesex Gentleman formerly of Monmouth Court 
 Monmouth Street Printer I direct that my just debts funeral and 
 testamentary expences be paid as soon as conveniently may 
 be after my decease and subject thereto I give devise and 
 bequeath all my real and personal Estate whatever and where- 
 soever and of what nature or kind soever to my Sister Anne the 
 Widow of Joseph Ryle now residing in Monmouth Court afore- 
 said her heirs executors and administrators according to tlie 
 nature and qualities thereof respectively In trust nevertheless 
 for her Daughter Marion Martha Ryle her heirs executors 
 administrators and assigns respectively when she shall attain the 
 
302 THE HISTORY OF 
 
 age of twenty one years absolutely with power in the meantime 
 to apply the rents interest dividends or proceeds thereof for and 
 towards the maintenance education and advancement of the said 
 Marion Martha Ryle and notwithstanding the private means of 
 my said Sister may be adequate to such purpose but if the said 
 Marion Martha Ryle shall depart this life before she shall attain 
 the age of twenty one years then I give devise and bequeath all 
 my said real and personal Estate to my said Sister her heirs, 
 executors administrators and assigns absolutely I hereby direct 
 that during the minority of the said Marion Martha Ryle it shall 
 be lawful for the said Anne Ryle her heirs executors adminis- 
 trators to demise or lease all or any part of my freehold copy- 
 hold or leasehold Estate for any term consistent with the tenure 
 thereof not exceeding twenty one years so that on every such 
 demise the best yearly rent be reserved that can be obtained for 
 the property which shall be therein comprised without taking any 
 fine or premium and so that the tenant or lessee be not made 
 dispunishable for waste I hereby nominate constitute and appoint 
 my said Sister sole Executrix of this my Will and hereby 
 revoking all former and other Wills by me at any time heretofore 
 made I declare this to be my last Will and Testament In 
 witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand the twenty second 
 day of January one thousand eight hundred and thirty nine — 
 JAMES CATNACH— Signed and acknowledged by the ubove 
 named James Catnach as and for his last Will and Testament 
 in the presence of us present at the same time who in his 
 presence and the presence of each other have hereunto set our 
 names as Witnesses— William Kinsey 13 Suffolk St. Pall Mall 
 Solr.— Wra. Tookey his Clerk." 
 
the catnach press. 303 
 
 [The Probate and Administration Act.] 
 
 " Extracted from the principal Registry 
 of Her Majesty's Court of Probate. 
 
 ■** In the Prerogative Court of Canterbury — 
 
 April, 1842. 
 
 "JAMES CATNACH — On the second day of April 
 administration (with the Will annexed) of the Goods Chattels 
 and Credits of James Catnach formerly of Monmouth Court 
 Monmouth Street Printer but late of Dancers Hill South Mimms 
 both in the county of Middlesex Gentleman deceased was 
 granted to William Kinsey Esquire the Curator or Guardian 
 lawfully assigned to Marion Martha Ryle Spinster a Minor the 
 Niece and usufructuary Universal Legate until she shall attain 
 the age of twenty one years and the absolute Universal Legatee 
 on attaining that age named in the said Will for the use and 
 benefit of the said minor and until she shall attain the age of 
 twenty one years have been first sworn duly to administer Anne 
 Ryle Widow the Sister sole Executrix Universal Legatee In 
 trust and the contingent universal Legatee named in the said 
 Will and also the natural and lawful Mother and next of kin of 
 the said minor having first renounced the probate and execution 
 of the said Will and the Letters of administration (with the said 
 Will annexed) of the goods of the said deceased and also the 
 Curation or Guardianship of the said Minor and consented (as 
 l3y Acts of Court appear^ — 
 
 EFFECTS UNDER THREE HUNDRED POUNDS. 
 
304 
 
 It is gratifying to be able to record that what the late Mr. 
 Catnach was to the masses in the way of news provider some 
 fifty years ago, the penny papers are now, with this exception, 
 that the former tended to lower and degrade their pursuit after 
 knowledge, the latter, on the contrary, improve and elevate them 
 while they amuse and instruct all who peruse their contents. 
 With the march of intellect, and the thirst for knowledge blended 
 with the desire for truth, out went, to a great extent, the penny 
 broad-sheet. Several persons made the attempt to revive it long 
 after the death of the great original Jemmy Catnach, but without 
 success. 
 
3o6 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Adelaide, Queen 89 
 
 A Funny Dialogue 294 
 
 Alnwick— The Borough of. i 
 
 St. Michael's Church 2 
 
 Parish Register 2 
 
 Catnach's shop in ... 3 
 
 Register of Death... 3 
 
 . Printing Press in ... 4 
 
 The Catnach Press 4 
 
 The Castle 6 
 
 The Abbey 6 
 
 Davison's business 9 
 
 Election at 74 
 
 Attack on William IV 88 
 
 Ballads;— Banks of the Nile... 239 
 
 „ Crazy Jane 240 
 
 ,, Death of Nelson 236 
 
 ,» Drink to me eyes 228 
 
 ,, Gallant Sailor 224 
 
 „ Meet meWillowGlen... 227 
 
 „ Mistletoe Bough 229 
 
 ,, Mountain Maid 226 
 
 ? „ O Rare Turpin 225 
 
 ,, Rose will cease to blow 230 
 
 ,, Scarlet Flower 237 
 
 „ Sun that lights Roses 233 
 
 „ The Thorn 238 
 
 „ True Hearted Sailor... 231 
 „ "When Bibo though fit 232 
 
 „ Woodpecker, The 234 
 
 „ Ye Topers all 235 
 
 Benton, Mrs. nee Elizabeth 
 
 Catnach 38 
 
 Bewick, T., wood-engraver ... 14 
 
 Bewick Collector, The 1 6 
 
 Bewick : — See Books 
 
 Bewicks Illustrations — See Books. 
 
 Bishop and Williams 84 
 
 Black Sal and Dusty Bob 45 
 
 Books printed by John Catnach : — 
 ,, Beauties ofNaturalHistory 4 
 
 ,, Chevy Chase 34 
 
 ,, Cock Robin 8 
 
 Page. 
 
 Books printed by John Catnach : — 
 
 „ Dr. Johnson's Works ., 34 
 
 ,, Hermit of Warkworth... 5 
 
 ,, Life of Thompson . 34 
 
 „ Stockdale's Poems 4 
 
 By Catnach and Davison ; — 
 
 ,, Beattie's Minstrel 9 
 
 ,, Blair'sGrave 9 
 
 ,, Bum's Poems 13 
 
 „ Gray's Elegy 9 
 
 By Davison : — 
 
 ,, Crazy Jane 12 
 
 ,, P'erguson's Poems 14 
 
 „ Guess Book, The 17, 32 
 
 ,, Halfpenny Books 16 
 
 ,, NorthumberlandMinstrel 15 
 
 ,, Repository, The Ii 
 
 Illustrated by Bewick. 
 
 ,, Beauties ofNaturalHistory 4 
 
 ,, Burn's Poems 13 
 
 ,, Blair's Grave g 
 
 ,, Hermit of Warkworth... 5 
 
 „ Respository, The 11 
 
 ,, Stockdale's Poems 4 
 
 Brown, Mrs., murdered 91 
 
 Brunswick Theatre, The 77 
 
 Burkers.The 84 
 
 Burnie, Sir Richard 43 
 
 Burradon Ghost, The 4 
 
 Caroline, Queen, The trial of.. 46 
 
 Verses on 47, 48, 50 
 
 Death of. 49, 51 
 
 Cato Street Conspiracy, The 45, 46 
 Catchpennies :--Apparitin, The 261 
 
 ,, Burning Shame 281 
 
 „ Cruel Murder 264 
 
 „ Execution of Ward 273 
 
 ,, Extraordinary Marriage 285 
 
 ,, Horrid Murder 267 
 
 „ Liverpool Tragedy 270 
 
 ,, Murder by a Soldier 269 
 
 „ Murder of Capt. Lawson 264 
 ,, Murder of Two Lovers... 291 
 
INDEX, 
 
 307 
 
 Page. * 
 Catchpennies : — 
 
 „ Secrets Revealed 269 
 
 „ Scarborough Tragedy ... 265 
 
 „ Shocking News 289 
 
 ,, Shocking Rape 291 
 
 Catnach, John — the father,bom 1 
 
 ,, Married 2 
 
 ,, At Alnwick 3, 4, 5, 8 
 
 ,, At Newcastle 33 
 
 ,, A Bankrupt 35 
 
 ,, In London 35, 36 
 
 „ Death of. 37 
 
 Catnach, James, born 1792 ... 2 
 
 ,, His early life 38 
 
 „ Arrives in London 40 
 
 ,, Imprisoned for 6 months. 43 
 
 ,, Queen Caroline 47 
 
 ,, Verses on Caroline 48 
 
 ,, Life in London 57> 63 
 
 „ At Alnwiek 75, 76 
 
 ,, And Mother Cummins ... 81 
 
 ,, His education 94 
 
 „ Nursery books . 94 
 
 ,, Christmas Carols 242 
 
 ,, His Woodcuts 257 
 
 ,, Dying Speeches 258 
 
 ,, His Retirement 295 
 
 ,, At Dancer's Hill 296 
 
 ,, Letter to his sister 297 
 
 ,, Return to London 298 
 
 ,, Deathof 299 
 
 ,, Will of the 301 
 
 Charlotte, The Princess of 42 
 
 „ „ „ Deathof 43 
 
 Christmas Carols ... 241 to 255 
 
 Collins, Dennis 88 
 
 Copy of Affectionate Verses ... 65 
 66, 67, 68, 80, 292 
 
 Clennell, Luke 4 
 
 Corder, Wm., The murderer ... 79 
 ,, ,, Execution of ... 80 
 
 Cruikshank, George 54 
 
 Cruikshank, Robert 55 
 
 Cubitt's Treadmill 64 
 
 Cummins "Mother" 81 
 
 and Catnach 81-2-3 
 
 Davison of Alnwick :— 
 
 Page. 
 
 Davison and Catnach i 
 
 ,, Partnership 9-11 
 
 ,, His chemistry 9 
 
 ,, Death of 15 
 
 Dennis Collins 88 
 
 Earl Grey 87 
 
 Executions- Public of :— 
 
 Bishop and Williams 85 
 
 Courvoisier 92 
 
 Corder 92 
 
 Fauntl eroy , Mr. H . , banker 73 
 
 Five Pirates, The 92 
 
 Greenacre 92 
 
 Muller 92 
 
 Mannings 92 
 
 Pegsworth 91 
 
 Thurtell 72 
 
 False News, circulating of. 14 
 
 Flying Stationer, The 66 
 
 Fortey, Mr 242-300 
 
 George the III, death of 45 
 
 George the IV 45 
 
 Goldie, Mr., of Alnwick 94 
 
 Graham, printer, Alnwick 39 
 
 Greenacre and Gale 91 
 
 Gurney, Mr. Baron 89 
 
 Haines, Mrs. nee Mary Catnach 38 
 
 "Hanging Matches" 65, 
 
 Hugo, Rev. Thomas 13, 15 
 
 ,, his Bewick collector... 1 6, 39 
 
 Jane Williams 292 
 
 Juvenile Books : — 
 
 A Apple Pie 177 
 
 Butterfly's Ball 163 
 
 Cinderella.. 203 
 
 Cock Robin 199 
 
 Easter Gift, The 171 
 
 Golden Pippin, The 113 
 
 Good Child's Alphabet ... 207 
 
 Guess Book, The 17 
 
 Jack Jingle 197 
 
 Jerry Diddle 129 
 
 Jumping Joan 145 
 
3o8 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 Juvenile Books : — 
 
 Mother Hubbard 187 
 
 New Year's Gift 205 
 
 Nurse Love-child's 97 
 
 Nursery Rhymes 193 
 
 Red Riding Hood 201 
 
 Simple Simon 195 
 
 Kent, Duke of, his death 45 
 
 Life in London, by Pierce Egan 52 
 
 on the Stage 54 
 
 Catnach's version 57, 63 
 Thackeray on 64 
 
 Likeness of the Murderer 69 
 
 ,, ,, William Corder ... 79 
 
 Lindsay, Printer, &c 4 
 
 Long, Song Seller, The 221 
 
 Marten, Maria, Murder of 78 
 
 ,, „ Verses on 80 
 
 Mayhew's " London Labour " 69, 92 
 Morgan, John, Poet! ... 43, 47, 82 
 
 Paul, Mr 296, 300 
 
 Pitts, John 40 
 
 „ Old Mother 41 
 
 Pizzey, Sausage Maker, The 43, 44 
 Pocock, Mr. C. J. of Brighton 57 
 
 Red Barn, The 78 
 
 Reform Bill, The 87 
 
 Page. 
 
 Ryle, Mrs. Anne 296, 297 
 
 „ death of 299 
 
 ,, Marion Martha 296 
 
 Sarah Gale 91 
 
 Seven Dials, The Bards of ...40, 41 
 
 ,, ,, The Trade in 42 
 
 „ „ and Queen Caroline 47 
 Shocking Rape and Murder ... 291 
 Smith, Mark, of Alnwick : — 
 
 „ Apprenticed to Catnach 9 
 
 ,, in London 35 
 
 ,, in Alnwick 74 
 
 „ hisautograph 39 
 
 „ thedeathof 74 
 
 Songs, 3 yards-a-penny 222 
 
 Thistlewood, The Conspirator 46 
 
 Thompson, John, Life of 34 
 
 Thurtell, and Weare 70 
 
 „ Execution of 72 
 
 Tom and Jerry 53, 55 
 
 ,, the Tears of 55 
 
 Treadmill, The 64 
 
 Vestris, Madame 89 
 
 Vint, John, Printer, &c 4 
 
 Walker, Mr., Paternoster Row 35 
 
 Weare, Mr., Murder of 70 
 
 William the IV 88 
 
 Willougby family Alnwick 36 
 
 a..w 
 
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