Eccentric Characters
Old BootsOLD BOOTS, OF RIPON
OLD BOOTS, OF RIPON
Amongthe infinite variety of human countenances, none was ever better calculated to excite laughter, than that of the person whose portrait we have given above. He was servant of an inn at Ripon, in Yorkshire, England, where it was part of his duty to wait upon travellers and take charge of boots and shoes. Hence, he went under the title of Old Boots.
It was his custom to introduce himself into the room, with a pair of slippers in one hand and a boot-jack in the other. His features at once amazed and diverted every visitor; for nature had given him such length of nose and chin, and brought them so near together, that he could hold a piece of money between them, like a thumb and finger, or a pair of nippers. This feat he was always ready to perform, and he became, in fact, the great curiosity of the place.
Captain SnarlyCAPTAIN SNARLY.
CAPTAIN SNARLY.
Thereis nothing more easy than to find fault, particularly after a little practice; for the thing grows upon us as we get used to it. Of all countries, there is none that furnishes such inveterate fault-finders, as England. Many of them are very much addicted to grumbling, even in their own country; but when out of it, everything goes wrong. The other day I saw a boy with a snapping turtle, which he had just taken out of a muddy pond. The creature was very savage—and if you pointed your finger at him, he would snap at you in the most spiteful manner. Nothing could move around him, but he would snap at it. I must confess that when I looked at the creature, he put me in mind of CaptainHall, Mrs. Trollope, Major Hamilton, and other English travellers, who have visited our country, and gone home and reviled everything they saw.
But we must now turn to the subject of the present article, Joseph Cappur, whose portrait is placed at the head of this article, and whom we call Captain Snarly. He lived at a place near London, called Kensington, and though he was rich, his habits were exceedingly stingy. He was chiefly famous for his love of finding fault; and he loved nothing so well as a snarling companion. One day, as he was walking about the place, he came to a small tavern. He entered, and asked the landlord if he could furnish him lodgings. “No!” said the landlord, fiercely—and then ordered him out of the house. This pleased old Snarly so much, that he immediately took up his abode at the place, and there he lived for twenty-five years. His greatest sport was to poke fun at the landlord and make him mad with fury.
Old Snarly was a great politician and a champion of the king. He would let nobody speak ill of either. He hated the French, and one of his chief occupations was to kill flies, which he called Frenchmen. He died at the age of seventy-two, and left one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to his relatives, whom he would not see while he was living.
John BakerJOHN BAKER.
JOHN BAKER.
Thisman was wonderful for the power he had over the muscles of his face. Though he had not a long nose, yet he could move it in such a manner as to take a piece of money up from a table between his nose and chin, and hold it there firmly. Nay more, he could draw his nose down in such a manner as to take it into his mouth, and then his under lip appeared even with his eyes and forehead! He could also put the stem of a tobacco pipe through his nose, and then take up a wine glass and hold it between his nose and chin, as shown in the portrait.
The performances of this man astonished all who saw him, and several eminent medical men expressed great wonder at his feats. He was both a sailor and a soldier, in the British service, and served in the revolutionary war, in America. He was twice married, and had a family of thirteen children. His life was one of great vicissitude, and when an old man, he was famous at Wapping, for his stories about what he had seen and done. He had a good opinion of himself, and used generally to wind off his long tales with the declaration that his equal was not to be found in the whole world!