I called at Mr. Perkins’, and found that the doctor and young Perkins had just arrived. The doctor said to me that he had heard much of my extraordinary prisoner, and if I had no objection, he should be much pleased to see him and his show, he had heard so much of his great performance. Young Mr. Perkins said he would also like to see the show, and all went with me into the gaol and found Smith lying on his bed, but without appearing to take notice of any one present. Mr. Perkins, like everyone else, was much astonished at the appearance of his show, as it was exhibited on the wall, and had a great desire to see the performance.
He put down a quarter dollar by Smith, and said he would give it to him if he would make his puppets dance; but Smith would not take any notice of him, and young Perkins continued to urge him to the performance, but without effect, until now he was quite out of patience, and finally took up his money, which he had proposed giving for the exhibition, and left the gaol in quite an ill humor. After Perkins left the gaol Smith said, “now, if any of you want to see my family dance, you may see them in welcome;”—and took up his fiddle and went through the performance to the entire satisfaction of all present.
Now the reader may account for this mysterious prediction and its fulfilment upon whatever grounds he pleases; but the arrival of the young man from sea that day, his coming to Kingston, and his being affronted by Smith in the jail, are facts which cannot be disputed. The writer is aware that he may incur the imputation of weakness for narrating some things relative to the prisoner; but as they are all characteristic of him, in a high degree, and when all united, set him forth before the world as a character singular and unprecedented, he considered that every part of his sayings and doings had their interest, and were necessary to be narrated.
After closing the exhibition of his family for this time, he went on to say, that he had told his fortune from his tea-cup, and it came always alike; that he could tell a great deal by dreams. The devil helped fortune telling, he said, but dreams were the inspiration of God. When the hogs came to him by night he could tell a great deal by them. “Your neighbor,” he said to me, “had a black sow that had pigs, some black, some all white, and one with red dots before and behind.” By them he said he could tell much. I was aware that Mr. Perkins had a sow with young pigs, and I had the curiosity to look at them, but they did not answer to his description, and I consequently allowed these remarks of his relative to the sow and pigs to pass for nothing. However, in the evening, as I was leaving the jail, Smith said to me (and without a word having been said about my looking at the pigs.) “The pigs I told you about are not those you examined, they were six months old.” I made no reply, knowing that Mr. Scovil had a sow with pigs, answering to his description in every particular.
On Saturday morning, Smith said to the jailer, “Your neighbor over the way there, has a sow that has gone away into the woods, and she has pups,—some all black, some all white, and some black and white, and she will come home before night, and when she comes, she will have but one pig, and that will be a plump black pig, and they will never know what became of the others.” Accordingly, the sow about 4 o’clock, came home with her one “plump black pig,” and was immediately driven back into the woods the way by which she appeared to have come; but according to the precise terms of Smith’s prediction, the others were never found!
The next evening after I had received his pardon from Fredericton, I went to see him, and found him, in bed, but he said he could not eat; asked for some new potatoes, and remarked that the jailer’s wife had new potatoes yesterday; and did not appear in his usual good humor. Although he would both talk and act at times rationally, yet he had never recovered from his pretended insanity, nor even until his release from my custody, thus carrying out his scheme, in perfect wisdom, to the last. But now, with the pardon in my hand, I hoped to make some impression upon him, and if possible, bring him to some sense of his situation, by compassionately proposing my assistance to get him out of the Province. I then proceeded to inform him that I had received his pardon, that his attorney had proved his friend, and had petitioned the president and court, stating that he was a young man, and this having been the first instance of a case for horse-stealing before the court in this Province, prayed that mercy might be extended and his life spared; and that president and council had been graciously pleased to withdraw the sentence and grant his pardon; and that I was now authorized to release him on his entering into recognizance to appear in the Supreme court and plead his pardon when called upon. The only reply made was, “I wish you would bring me some new potatoes when you come again.”
I proceeded to say that as soon as he was ready, and would let me know where he wished to go, I would give him clothing, and would give him time to put his family in order, and a box to put them up in; observing that they might be a means of getting him a living until he could find better employment, without being driven to the necessity of stealing.
He replied. “Have you not got boys and girls that wish to see my family dance? Bring all your family to see them; I will show them as much as you please, but others must pay.” I remained with him nearly an hour afterwards without saying any more on the subject of his Pardon; during which time he continued to talk incoherently as he had done the evening before. That we must watch and pray lest we enter into temptation; that he prayed with his family; they could not pray for themselves; that we must be spiritually minded, for to be spiritually minded was life; but to be carnally minded was death; and much more of this kind, repeating large portions from the New Testament, nearly whole chapters.
He observed, “Now you see I can read as well to you without the book as others can with the book. I can read you almost all of any other chapter in the Bible you will name, either in the Old or New Testament, it makes not much difference; in the dark as well as in the light. My wife is a good little woman; she would get the Bible on Sunday, and say to me, ‘Henry, come sit down and hear me read the Bible’; but I would laugh, and tell her I could read better without the book than she could with it, and go out and look after my horse, or do anything on Sundays. I have been a bad fellow; when I was in England I gave all my attention to reading my Bible, and became a great Methodist, and went to all the Methodist meetings, and would pray and exhort amongst them, and finally became a preacher and preached in Brighton, Northampton, Southampton, and in London; and great numbers came to hear me. I was sometimes astonished to see how many followed to hear me preach the Scriptures, when I knew they were deceived. But I did not follow preaching long in London.” He went on to state his reasons for giving up preaching, or rather the reasons that prevented his continuing to preach. He had given himself up to the company of lewd women, and had contracted the disease common to such associations.
A course like this could not remain long concealed, and the issue was that he was prevented from preaching, and was eventually obliged to leave England, and come to this country. He went on to say—“I have been a bad young man. I am young now, only twenty-three years of age—not twenty-four yet”; and did not know but he would preach again; he could easily find converts; many would like to hear him preach. When he was a preacher he was spiritually minded, and all was peace and heaven to him; but ever since all was trouble, and misery to him. He never intended to leave this place; he was contented and willing to stay here until he died; he was better off here than anywhere else, and never wished to go into the world again unless he was a preacher.