LANDING OF MUTINOUS CREW ON ISLAND.
A Brief Relation of the
ADVENTURES
OF
M. Bamfyeld Moore Carew
For more than forty Years past the
KING OF THE BEGGARS.
Printed and sold in London.
This Chap-book gives a very fair account of the adventures of this misguided man, who so wasted his fair natural abilities. It is hardly worth giving in extenso, but, as generally, his eventful life is not much known, it may be interesting to give the story, and some extracts.
Bamfylde Moore (so named from his two godfathers) Carew was the son of a clergyman near Tiverton, and was born in 1693. While at Tiverton School, he and some of his schoolmates got into serious trouble for hunting a deer, and, rather than face the certain chastisement, they ran away, and joined a company of gipsies, with whom Carew abode. He swindled a lady out of twenty guineas by pretending to tell her where a treasure was buried, and generally followed the bad example of his companions, until the fancy took him to return home. He did so; but the fascination of his wild life was too great, and he once more ran away and joined his beloved gipsies. His disguises were innumerable, and he even feigned madness successfully, at all events in a monetary point of view. Once, when disguised as a rat-catcher (see frontispiece), he was recognized, and a gentleman present, one Mr. Pleydell, said he had often wished to see him, but never had. "Yes, you have, replied Carew, and given me a suit of cloaths; do you not remember meeting a poor wretch one day at your stable door, with a stocking round his head, an old mantle over his shoulders, without shirt, stocking or scarce any shoes, who told you he was a poor unfortunate man cast away upon the coast with sixteen more of the crew, who were all drowned; you believing this story, generously relieved me with a guinea and a good suit of cloaths. Mr. Pleydell said he well remembered it, but on his discovery it is impossible to deceive him so again, come in whatever shape you will—The company blamed him for thus boasting, and secretly prevailed upon Carew to put his art in practice to convince him of the fallacy thereof; to which he agreed, and in a few days after, appointing the company present to be at Pleydell's house, he put the following scheme into execution. He shaved himself closely, and cloathed himself in an old woman's apparel, with a high crowned hat, and a large dowde under his chin; then taking three children from among his fraternity, he tied two to his back, and one in his arms; thus accoutred he comes to Mr. Pleydell's door, and pinching one of the brats, set it a roaring; this gave the alarm to the dogs who came out with open mouths and the whole family was soon alarmed; out came the maid, saying, Carry away the children, good woman, they disturb the ladies.—God bless their ladyships, I am the poor unfortunate grandmother of these helpless infants, whose mother and all they had, was burnt at the dreadful fire at Kirton, and hope the good ladies, for God's sake, will bestow something on the poor famishing starving infants. In goes the maid with this affecting story to the ladies, while our grandmother keeps pinching the children to make them cry, and the maid returned with half a crown and some good broth, which he thankfully received, and went into the court yard to sit down to eat it, as perceiving the gentlemen were not at home. He had not been long there before they came, when one of them accosted him thus—Where do you come from, old woman?—From Kirton, please your honours, where the poor unhappy mother of these helpless infants was burnt in the flames, and all they had, consumed.—Damn you said one of them, here has been more money collected for Kirton than ever Kirton was worth; however, they each gave the old grandmother a shilling, commiserating the hard case of her and the helpless infants; which he thankfully receiving, pretended to go away; but the gentlemen were hardly got into the house before their ears were saluted with a Tantivee, Tantivee, and a Holloo to the dogs, on which they turned about, supposing it to be some other sportmen, but seeing nobody, they directly suspected it to be Carew, in the disguise of the old Kirton Grandmother; so, bidding the servants fetch her back, she was brought into the parlour among them all, and confessed herself to be the famous Mr. Bamfylde Moore Carew, to the astonishment and mirth of them all; who well rewarded him for the diversion he had afforded them."