John Gilpin

“ Not only John Gilpin and his wife, or Edwin and Angelina, seem to be of opinion that their preference or dislike of Russians, Servians, or Greeks, consequent, perhaps, on hotel adventures, has something to do with the merits of the Eastern Question; even in a higher range of intellect and enthusiasm we find a distribution of sympathy or pity for sufferers of different blood or votaries of differing religions, strangely unaccountable on any other ground than a fortuitous direction of study or trivial circumstances of travel. ”

“ Its effect upon others was even more powerful and upon John Gilpin, to send him into a shivering fit that alarmed Mrs. Locke.
“Why, Mr. Gilpin, what’s the matter? Are you ill?”
“Seems if—seems if—my last hour’s come! Needn’t tell me—them’s—just—just plain schoolgirls! They—they’re spooks right out the graveyard, [Pg 116] sure as preachin’ and I wish—I hadn’t come! And there’s no end of ’em! And it means—somethin’ terr’ble! I wish—do you suppose—Ain’t there a winder some’ers nigh? Is this Hall high up? Could I—could I climb out it?” ”

“ In justice to the Major and Judge of the old days of the South, it must be written that they were usually waiting for another sort of a tap-flow to be turned on, from a tap not of their own.
It is doubtful if the happy trio ever appreciated the greatness of this three weeks’ manifestation of themselves, through which they were unambitious but undoubted involuntary heroes among the country folk. John Gilpin could not have been more fortunate in the way of attracting attention from all beholders ”

“ The dogs did bark, the children scream'd,
Up flew the windows all;
And every soul cried out, Well done!
As loud as he could bawl.
Away went Gilpin--who but he?
His fame soon spread around:
He carries weight! he rides a race! ”

“ It is easy to imagine how the puffs of the iron horse scared the little sorrel and gave him, if possible, more speed. The passengers who saw him might have thought it was another "train band captain, John Gilpin," running after his wife. Nearly all the people of Dearborn (who were but few at that time) , had gathered in front of the arsenal, in the Chicago road, at the side of the Dearborn House and were anxiously waiting. From this point we could see half a mile down the Chicago road east, and we could see the smoke of the engine beyond the TenEyck place ... ”

“ His health had now become considerably re-established, and he enjoyed an unwonted measure of cheerfulness, which was fostered by the friendship of Lady Austin, who had become his neighbour. From her he received the story of John Gilpin, which he forthwith turned into his immortal ballad. Hers also was the suggestion that he should write at poem in blank verse, which gave its origin to his most famous poem, The Task. ”

“ But John he cried in vain;
That trot became a gallop soon,
In spite of curb and rein.
So stooping down, as needs he must
Who cannot sit upright,
He grasp'd the mane with both his hands,
And eke with all his might. ”

“ Picture Books
"The humour of Randolph Caldecott's drawings is simply irresistible, no healthy-minded man, woman, or child could look at them without laughing."
In square crown 4'o, picture covers, with numerous coloured plates.
John Gilpin The House that Jack Built The Babes in the Wood The Mad Dog Three Jovial Huntsmen Sing a Song for Sixpence The Queen of Hearts The Farmer's Boy The Milkmaid Hey-Diddle-Diddle and Baby Bunting A Frog He Would a-Wooing Go The Fox Jumps over the Parson's Gate Come Lasses,and Lads Ride a Cock Horse to Banbury Cross, &c. ”

“ Look’d like a citizen, indeed,
Array’d in all his best.
* * * * *
Davy Jones, a Gilpinic Tale, by Barnard de Burgh, 1823. This little work has some amusing illustrations, but a very misleading title, for it is not a parody of “John Gilpin.”
“John Gilpin” translated into Latin, was published 72 some years ago by Mr. J. Vincent of Oxford. The pamphlet was entitled “Johannis Gilpiniiter, Latine Redditum,” and may probably still be obtained in Oxford. ”

“ Gilpin, for what’s befell; but for a man that’s lived in a tobogganing country ever since he was born, you begun rather late in life to learn the sport. Why—”
“Ain’t no older’n the Bishop! Can’t one man do same’s t’other, I’d like to know, Mis’ Dawkins?”
“Seems not;” laughed the maid. “But, here, take this cup of hot spearmint tea. ’Twill warm your old bones and help ’em to mend; an’ next time you start playin’ children’s game—why don’t! And for goodness’ sake, John, quit groanin’! ”

“ With these heroes, John made a tour in the provinces and Scotland, extending over four or five years, in the course of which he gave and took more hard knocks, as an exhibition sparrer, from his formidable and dexterous colleagues, than would satisfy the ambition of most men; but, as we have said, the big man never acquired a taste for fighting. It was scarcely possible, under any circumstances, to surprise him out of one of the quietest dispositions and finest tempers with which giant was ever blessed ”

“ In one of the "sketches" he shows us his Majesty in the character of Johnny Gilpin carried along at headlong speed by his unmanageable grey steed "Reform." He flies past the famous hostelry at Edmonton, where his wife and her friends (represented by the Duke of Wellington and a party of Tories) are anxiously awaiting his arrival. The turnpike-keeper (John Bull) throws open the gate to let him pass, too delighted with the fun to think of any personal expense to himself, and conscious that if the gate is shut the inexpert horseman must come to unutterable grief. ”

“ How she intended treating the subject-matter of their lives, we cannot tell; probably more in their domestic relations to the people of Grasmere vale, than as athletes in the wrestling ring.
After John Barrow and the Dixons, it is somewhat singular and remarkable to note the large number [Pg 88] of first-rate lake-side wrestlers that came out; and it may not be amiss to bestow a passing notice on the foremost. Before the Dixons had retired, the two Longs—Rowland, commonly called Roan, and John—the one a giant in size and strength, and the other a big burly man—figured in the ring ”

“ He preached at Carlisle at the opening of the assize on 10 Sept. 1660. When Richard Sterne became bishop (2 Dec.) , Gilpin was not called upon to vacate his living. He resigned it on 2 Feb. 1661 in favour of the sequestered Morland, retired to Scaleby, and preached there in his large hall. He is also said to have preached occasionally at Penruddock, a village in Greystoke parish, where John Noble, one of his deacons, gathered in his own house a nonconformist congregation, afterwards ministered to by Anthony Sleigh (d. 1702) . ”

“ As a people, the Alstonians are thoughtful, studious, and intelligent. There are few places in Britain where a healthful class of literature, and general knowledge, are sought after with greater avidity, than by the mining population of the town and neighbourhood.
At one time the district was fruitful in producing good wrestlers. Thomas Lee, the publican, Jemmy Fawcett of Nenthead, powerful John Horsley, Tom and Frank Golightly, William Dickinson, Tom Todd of Knarsdale, and other stars of lesser [Pg 136] magnitude, rose and set in succession. ”

“ When Betty, screaming, came down stairs,
"The wine is left behind!"
Good lack! quoth he, yet bring it me,
My leathern belt likewise,
In which I bear my trusty sword,
When I do exercise.
Now Mrs. Gilpin (careful soul!) ”

“ After the contest had lasted for half-an-hour—the Threlkeld [Pg 139] man being much punished about the head, and Ridley about the body—the constables interfered and put an end to the combat.
We gladly resume our account of the wrestling. Sixty-six men entered the ring, to compete for various prizes. Dickinson came upon the Swifts in excellent trim, looking every inch a man as he stripped for the contest. Although Tom Nicholson, William Richardson, Robert Rowantree, John Earl, and James Scott, failed to put in an appearance, still a good field of dangerous hands met to contend. ”

“ Turning out as fresh as a lark, in the fourth round, Dickinson grassed William Ward; and in the fifth, James Routledge; the latter of whom had previously done good service by disposing of John Nicholson of Threlkeld, William Earl of Cumwhitton, and Joseph Peart. In the sixth round, the hero of the day was fortunate enough to be odd man; and then at the last faced George Dennison, (who had previously carried off William Slee of Dacre, with a clean hype.) The final fall was a [Pg 140] singular one. "Dennison," says Litt, "threw in his left side with much force, intending to buttock his opponent ”

“ The numbers assembled on the Swifts were estimated at twenty thousand. A long array of highly respectable ladies, including the Countess of Lonsdale, were interested spectators. Sixty-four men entered, and nearly all were calculated to weigh fourteen stones or upwards. In the morning, when the Caldbeck party were at Durdar, Tom "Dyer"—one of the very best hypers [Pg 56] of his time, indeed, a first-class man altogether—was very full of winning. The first man called into the ring, and the first that went down, proved to be Tom, being thrown by one John Hetherington. ”

“ Now let us sing, Long live the King,
And Gilpin, long live he;
And when he next doth ride abroad.
May I be there to see.
This work was published before January 1, 1928, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. ”

“ We are there told how Gilpin, who was an energetic preacher in the wild border-country, was ordered to preach before Barnes, and boldly denounced him for his want of due severity. The bishop went home with Gilpin, and said to him, ‘Father Gilpin, I acknowledge you are fitter to be the bishop of Durham than I am to be the parson of your church. I ask forgiveness of past injuries. Forgive me, father. I know you have enemies, but while I live bishop of Durham, be secure; none of them shall cause you any further trouble’ (cf. Carleton's and Gilpin's Lives of Bernard Gilpin) . ”

“ Still, those who are fitted for a life in the bush, and have led it for any length of time, quit it generally with regret, and return to it with satisfaction.
Never had the Gilpins been more busy. Their house was nearly finished. It was rather large for two bachelors, to be sure; but their ideas must have expanded of late. They had much more assistance than formerly rendered by Craven, their most efficient and active overseer, and his assistant, Larry. No one would have recognised the dispirited, almost broken-hearted hut-keeper in the fine, active, intelligent man he had now become. ”

“ Away went Gilpin out of breath, and sore against his will,
Till at his friend the calender's his horse at last stood still.
The calender, amazed to see his neighbor in such trim,
Laid down his pipe, flew to the gate, and thus accosted him:
"What news? what news? your tidings tell; tell me you must and shall—
Say why bareheaded you are come, or why you come at all?"
Now Gilpin had a pleasant wit, and loved a timely joke;
And thus unto the calender in merry guise he spoke:
"I came because your horse would come ”

“ He used his opportunities of influence with great judgment and disinterestedness, always acting as a peacemaker. His chief trouble was with the quakers, who abounded in his district; one of his relatives at Kendal, bearing his own surname, had been for a short time a quaker. Gilpin was in the habit of giving medical advice as well as spiritual counsel to his flock. By his purchase of the manor of Scaleby Castle, some twenty miles north of Greystoke, beyond Carlisle, he acquired a position in the county which gave him a lead in public affairs. ”

“ Godfather Gilpin can play delightfully when he has time, and he believes in fancy things, only he is so very busy with his books. But even when he is reading he will let you put him in the game. He doesn't mind pretending to be a fancy person if he hasn't to do anything, and if I do speak to him he always remembers who he is. That is why I like playing in his study better than in the nursery. ”

“ It would be difficult to find a more united, contented, and happy family than that now dwelling at Warragong, and certainly, if steady, persevering, industry and uprightness of conduct should be rewarded, the Gilpins richly deserved their success. Sam Green, too, had followed his young master’s example, and had taken to himself as a wife the eldest daughter of his old acquaintance, Sykes, the former coachman of Mr Henry Prentiss, who had followed his master into the country, and settled near him. Larry Killock won the heart of another daughter ”

“ A sad change had taken place in the once picturesque appearance of the surrounding scenery. In the place of the green wood, with many noble trees, a few blackened stems, gaunt and branchless, with still smouldering ashes at their base, were the only objects to be seen on the hillside. The Gilpins scarcely liked to keep Craven and his companion from their posts, though at the same time they felt the importance of having a sufficient guard over their prisoner. They were surprised that none of the stockmen or hut-keepers from the neighbourhood had made their appearance. ”

“ It is, indeed, worse, and one wonders what his feelings would have been had he persevered to the very end—to rough "Connemara" and flat, naked Bolerium! His strictures on the scenery would have amused the present generation. For all that repelled Gilpin and those of his time in nature, the barren or "undecorated," as he would say, the harsh and savage and unsuited to human beings, now most attracts us. And of all places inhabited by man this coast country is the most desert-like and desolate in appearance. ”