Chapter 81

PADDY’S PURSUIT,A NEW SONG.From the county of Cork in dear Ireland I came,To England’sswateIsland a fortune to gain;Where I heard that thestrateswere all paved with gold,And the hedges grew Guineas! so Paddy was told!I jump’d on dry land to my neck up in water,Which to some spalpeens gave subject for laughter;But, says I, with a grin, as I dragg’d myself out,“I’m not come to England to be food for a trout.”Fal de ral, de ral lal, O whack!Then to London I came, thatmonstraciouscity,Where the lads dress so gay, and the ladies lookpratty;But, Och! blood-and-ouns! only mark my surprise,When only great stones in thestratesmet my eyes!No Guineas at all on the bushes there grew;Not a word that they told me, I found, sirs, was true:“Och! why wa’n’t I drown’d, and made food for the fish!”Thus I growled, ’till I lighted on oneMaster Bish.Fal de ral, &c.Master Bishhad found out the Philosopher’s stone,And a Thousand yellow Guineas he gave me for One!Thus Fortune to Pat wasmonstraciouslykind,Tho’ no gold on the bushes orstratesI could find!Then honeys attend, and pursue my advice;Och! to 9, Charing-cross, be off in a trice;Buy a Lottery Chance, for the Drawing Day’s near,And perhaps, like friend Paddy, a Fortune you’ll clear.Fal de ral, &c.

PADDY’S PURSUIT,A NEW SONG.

From the county of Cork in dear Ireland I came,To England’sswateIsland a fortune to gain;Where I heard that thestrateswere all paved with gold,And the hedges grew Guineas! so Paddy was told!I jump’d on dry land to my neck up in water,Which to some spalpeens gave subject for laughter;But, says I, with a grin, as I dragg’d myself out,“I’m not come to England to be food for a trout.”Fal de ral, de ral lal, O whack!Then to London I came, thatmonstraciouscity,Where the lads dress so gay, and the ladies lookpratty;But, Och! blood-and-ouns! only mark my surprise,When only great stones in thestratesmet my eyes!No Guineas at all on the bushes there grew;Not a word that they told me, I found, sirs, was true:“Och! why wa’n’t I drown’d, and made food for the fish!”Thus I growled, ’till I lighted on oneMaster Bish.Fal de ral, &c.Master Bishhad found out the Philosopher’s stone,And a Thousand yellow Guineas he gave me for One!Thus Fortune to Pat wasmonstraciouslykind,Tho’ no gold on the bushes orstratesI could find!Then honeys attend, and pursue my advice;Och! to 9, Charing-cross, be off in a trice;Buy a Lottery Chance, for the Drawing Day’s near,And perhaps, like friend Paddy, a Fortune you’ll clear.Fal de ral, &c.

“Bish” we find again attempting to attract, with thefollowing:—

THEPHILOSOPHER’S STONE.———————————— That stone,Philosophers in vain so long have sought,

THEPHILOSOPHER’S STONE.

———————————— That stone,Philosophers in vain so long have sought,

Says Milton, would not prove more valuable to its possessor than an absolute knowledge ofcertainnumbers which lie hidden in the Wheel of Fortune till Fate declares to the enraptured ears of the adventurer, who has founded his hopes of success on them, their union withcertainlarge sums of money, viz. Twenty, Ten, or Five Thousand Pounds; for there are many such sums yet in the wheel, yet to be determined, yet to be gained by hazarding a mere trifle.

He, who life’s sea successfully would sail,Must often throw a sprat to catch a whale.Apply this proverb then; think, ere too late,What fortune, honour, and what wealth awaitThe very triflingsum[484]of one pound eight.

“Bish,” of course, imagined, or wished, the public to be amazingly surprised at his popularity, and therefore indulged them with this song:

WHAT’S THE MATTER?By Quintin Query, Esq.Tune.—“O Dear, what can the Matter be?”“O dear, what can the matter be?”To tell, who can be at a loss?The people are running by dozens toBish’s,To make out their dreams, and fulfil all their wishes,And try to come in for the loaves and the fishes,At 4, Cornhill, and 9, Charing-cross.“O dear, what can the matter be?”I’ll tell you, good friend, if you wish;The people are trying dame Fortune to cozen,And the old women’s tongues are eternally buzzing,Aboutlucky numbers, 19 to the dozen,And all they can talk of isBish.“O dear, what can the matter be?”I dare say you’re dying to know;The horns blow about, be it rainy or sunny,The walls they are cover’d with bills all so funny,To shew you the way how to finger the money,And you all know that “makes the mare go.”“O dear, what can the matter be?”The bellman he rings such a peal?To tell those whose fortunes are rusted with rickets,To call atgood luck’s(that is,Bish’s) two wickets,And a transfer obtain for 500 Whole Tickets;How conceited they’d make a man feel!“O dear, what can the matter be?”For joy you’ll be dancing a jig;Forgoodluck most folks are delighted to choose a day,And a lucky day surely must be a good news day,Then the day of all days is the verynext Tuesday;Then, Misfortune’sblack Mondaya fig!

WHAT’S THE MATTER?By Quintin Query, Esq.Tune.—“O Dear, what can the Matter be?”

“O dear, what can the matter be?”To tell, who can be at a loss?The people are running by dozens toBish’s,To make out their dreams, and fulfil all their wishes,And try to come in for the loaves and the fishes,At 4, Cornhill, and 9, Charing-cross.“O dear, what can the matter be?”I’ll tell you, good friend, if you wish;The people are trying dame Fortune to cozen,And the old women’s tongues are eternally buzzing,Aboutlucky numbers, 19 to the dozen,And all they can talk of isBish.“O dear, what can the matter be?”I dare say you’re dying to know;The horns blow about, be it rainy or sunny,The walls they are cover’d with bills all so funny,To shew you the way how to finger the money,And you all know that “makes the mare go.”“O dear, what can the matter be?”The bellman he rings such a peal?To tell those whose fortunes are rusted with rickets,To call atgood luck’s(that is,Bish’s) two wickets,And a transfer obtain for 500 Whole Tickets;How conceited they’d make a man feel!“O dear, what can the matter be?”For joy you’ll be dancing a jig;Forgoodluck most folks are delighted to choose a day,And a lucky day surely must be a good news day,Then the day of all days is the verynext Tuesday;Then, Misfortune’sblack Mondaya fig!

“Bish,” on another occasion, treated the “gentle public,” like so many children, with another optical delusion.

FORTUNE’S GALANTY SHOW.Tune.—“GALANTY SHOW.”O pretty show, O raree show, O finey galanty show, O pretty galanty show!Chaunt.Come, all my merry customers, of high, middling, and low degree,Look in at one of these little glasses, and you shall see what you shall see;My fine galanty show you great wonders shall view in,You shall see the high road to Fortune, and that’s better than the road to Ruin.O pretty show, O raree show, O finey galanty show, O pretty galanty show!There you see the New Lott’ry Scheme, such as never was plann’d before!FewerTickets, andfewer Blanks, and yet thePrizesaremore;And besides the usual 5’s, 10’s, and 20 Thousands (Peep thro’ one of these wickets,)You shall see such a Prize as was never yet known, neither more nor less than 1000 whole Tickets!O pretty show, &c.And there you shall see, (Look a little to the right) Mr. BISH’s Shop onCornhill:(Now a little to the left) And there’s his other Shop atCharing-cross, where buy Shares if you will;You’ll get a part of the 1000 whole Tickets, I’ll be bound,And that’s very much like getting a part of more than aHundred Thousand Pounds!O pretty show, &c.Then look straight forward, and there you seeCoopers’ Hall, (Isn’t it a fine building?) there the Tickets they draw;And there you see the pretty little Blue-coat Boys, and nicer little fellows you never saw;There you’ll see ’em pulling the Numbers and Prizes out of the very Grand WheelsAnd when one has a Ticket in the Lottery, and sees such a sight, hownarvousone feels!O pretty show, &c.And there—(Rub the glass a little cleaner) there’s a sight I’d not have you miss fora pound,The little Boy draws out aNumber(Let me see what Number you have got) aye, that’s it, I’ll be bound;There don’t the Clerk (On the left hand) look exactly as if he was calling it, don’t youseehow hecries?And the other little Boy draws, and the other Clerk looks as if he bawl’d out a £20,000 Prize.O pretty show, &c.There you see (’tis no Dream of Castles in the Air, calledUtopia)There you see Fortune pouring theGuineasout of—what the deuce is it? a great long hard name—Oh! herCornucopia!That’s a fineGolden Horn, that holds all the Prizes, I declare,And to get its Contents would be a prettyHorn Fair!O pretty show, &c.

FORTUNE’S GALANTY SHOW.Tune.—“GALANTY SHOW.”

O pretty show, O raree show, O finey galanty show, O pretty galanty show!Chaunt.Come, all my merry customers, of high, middling, and low degree,Look in at one of these little glasses, and you shall see what you shall see;My fine galanty show you great wonders shall view in,You shall see the high road to Fortune, and that’s better than the road to Ruin.O pretty show, O raree show, O finey galanty show, O pretty galanty show!There you see the New Lott’ry Scheme, such as never was plann’d before!FewerTickets, andfewer Blanks, and yet thePrizesaremore;And besides the usual 5’s, 10’s, and 20 Thousands (Peep thro’ one of these wickets,)You shall see such a Prize as was never yet known, neither more nor less than 1000 whole Tickets!O pretty show, &c.And there you shall see, (Look a little to the right) Mr. BISH’s Shop onCornhill:(Now a little to the left) And there’s his other Shop atCharing-cross, where buy Shares if you will;You’ll get a part of the 1000 whole Tickets, I’ll be bound,And that’s very much like getting a part of more than aHundred Thousand Pounds!O pretty show, &c.Then look straight forward, and there you seeCoopers’ Hall, (Isn’t it a fine building?) there the Tickets they draw;And there you see the pretty little Blue-coat Boys, and nicer little fellows you never saw;There you’ll see ’em pulling the Numbers and Prizes out of the very Grand WheelsAnd when one has a Ticket in the Lottery, and sees such a sight, hownarvousone feels!O pretty show, &c.And there—(Rub the glass a little cleaner) there’s a sight I’d not have you miss fora pound,The little Boy draws out aNumber(Let me see what Number you have got) aye, that’s it, I’ll be bound;There don’t the Clerk (On the left hand) look exactly as if he was calling it, don’t youseehow hecries?And the other little Boy draws, and the other Clerk looks as if he bawl’d out a £20,000 Prize.O pretty show, &c.There you see (’tis no Dream of Castles in the Air, calledUtopia)There you see Fortune pouring theGuineasout of—what the deuce is it? a great long hard name—Oh! herCornucopia!That’s a fineGolden Horn, that holds all the Prizes, I declare,And to get its Contents would be a prettyHorn Fair!O pretty show, &c.

O pretty show, O raree show, O finey galanty show, O pretty galanty show!

Chaunt.

Come, all my merry customers, of high, middling, and low degree,Look in at one of these little glasses, and you shall see what you shall see;My fine galanty show you great wonders shall view in,You shall see the high road to Fortune, and that’s better than the road to Ruin.O pretty show, O raree show, O finey galanty show, O pretty galanty show!

There you see the New Lott’ry Scheme, such as never was plann’d before!FewerTickets, andfewer Blanks, and yet thePrizesaremore;And besides the usual 5’s, 10’s, and 20 Thousands (Peep thro’ one of these wickets,)You shall see such a Prize as was never yet known, neither more nor less than 1000 whole Tickets!O pretty show, &c.And there you shall see, (Look a little to the right) Mr. BISH’s Shop onCornhill:(Now a little to the left) And there’s his other Shop atCharing-cross, where buy Shares if you will;You’ll get a part of the 1000 whole Tickets, I’ll be bound,And that’s very much like getting a part of more than aHundred Thousand Pounds!O pretty show, &c.Then look straight forward, and there you seeCoopers’ Hall, (Isn’t it a fine building?) there the Tickets they draw;And there you see the pretty little Blue-coat Boys, and nicer little fellows you never saw;There you’ll see ’em pulling the Numbers and Prizes out of the very Grand WheelsAnd when one has a Ticket in the Lottery, and sees such a sight, hownarvousone feels!O pretty show, &c.And there—(Rub the glass a little cleaner) there’s a sight I’d not have you miss fora pound,The little Boy draws out aNumber(Let me see what Number you have got) aye, that’s it, I’ll be bound;There don’t the Clerk (On the left hand) look exactly as if he was calling it, don’t youseehow hecries?And the other little Boy draws, and the other Clerk looks as if he bawl’d out a £20,000 Prize.O pretty show, &c.There you see (’tis no Dream of Castles in the Air, calledUtopia)There you see Fortune pouring theGuineasout of—what the deuce is it? a great long hard name—Oh! herCornucopia!That’s a fineGolden Horn, that holds all the Prizes, I declare,And to get its Contents would be a prettyHorn Fair!O pretty show, &c.

“Bish” was pleased to devise the scheme of a Lottery to be drawn on St. Swithin’s day, wherein wine was added to the prizes, and therefore, and because its novelty was deemed alluring, we find one of his bills beginning with an apostrophising and propheticcouplet:—

Hail, famedSt. Swithin! who, with pow’r benign,Instead of rain pour showers of gold and wine!

Another in the same Lottery, beneath a wood-cut of a bunch of grapes, breaksout:—

On the 15th ofJulywhat agoldensupplyOfwinegivengratisby BISH,If you can get but ashare, you’ll have plenty to spare,And can treat all your friends as you wish.

“Bish,” on the same occasion, throws the “leer of invitation,” with

TRY IN TIME.Och! Judy, my jewel, come here when I call;We may now getwine gratis, fornothing at all;Andgoldlikeparateespil’d up in a heap,Which is offer’d us too, honey, almost as cheap.But there’s no time to lose if we’re meaning to try,For ’tisall in one day, on the15th July.And since the grand scheme is beyond all compare,He’s a spalpeen who won’t buy a fortunate share.

TRY IN TIME.

Och! Judy, my jewel, come here when I call;We may now getwine gratis, fornothing at all;Andgoldlikeparateespil’d up in a heap,Which is offer’d us too, honey, almost as cheap.But there’s no time to lose if we’re meaning to try,For ’tisall in one day, on the15th July.And since the grand scheme is beyond all compare,He’s a spalpeen who won’t buy a fortunate share.

Och! Judy, my jewel, come here when I call;We may now getwine gratis, fornothing at all;Andgoldlikeparateespil’d up in a heap,Which is offer’d us too, honey, almost as cheap.

But there’s no time to lose if we’re meaning to try,For ’tisall in one day, on the15th July.And since the grand scheme is beyond all compare,He’s a spalpeen who won’t buy a fortunate share.

“Bish,” in another bill, oddly enough, put an old, one-legged smoker, with apatchover one eye, a carbuncled nose, and his only foot flannelled up for the gout, the effects of drinking, in an arm chair, with the following linesbelow:—

“Laid up in Port.”Od’s blood! what a time for a seaman to skulk,Like a lazy land-lubber ashore;If I’m laid up at all, I’ll be laid up in port,And surrounded by prizes galore.Tommy Bish shall fill my glass,And the puppies, as they pass,Sha’n’t run down the old commodore,The rich old commodore, the cosey old commodore,The boozing old commodore he;While I’m friends with mightyBish,He will crown my ev’ry wish,Tho’ I’ll never more be fit for sea.

“Laid up in Port.”

Od’s blood! what a time for a seaman to skulk,Like a lazy land-lubber ashore;If I’m laid up at all, I’ll be laid up in port,And surrounded by prizes galore.Tommy Bish shall fill my glass,And the puppies, as they pass,Sha’n’t run down the old commodore,The rich old commodore, the cosey old commodore,The boozing old commodore he;While I’m friends with mightyBish,He will crown my ev’ry wish,Tho’ I’ll never more be fit for sea.

Then also, “Bish” favoured his “friends” with the opportunity of singing,

Bacchus and Plutus, or the Union.Tune.—“Derry Down.”A ROW was kick’d up in the regions above,ForPlutusandBacchusfor precedence strove;And in words such as these did their anger express,TillJoveswore he’d kick them both out of the mess.Derry down.FirstBacchusadvanc’d, tho’ he scarcely could stand,Determin’d, he swore, to have thewhip hand;And thus he began.—“Why, you sordid old elf,All your thoughts are employ’d in the scraping of pelf.“Can gold, I would ask, e’er enliven the soulLike the juice of the grape, or a full flowing bowl?Can the glittering bauble such pleasure impart,Or make the blood circle so warm round the heart?“That gold is an evil, there’s many will say,As my vot’ries oft find when the reck’ning’s to pay;Had gold ne’er existed, the true jolly fellowFor ever might tipple, and always get mellow.“I swear by old Styx!—that this truth it willstand:”But the wine in his noddle usurp’d the command,—Aknock-’em-down argumentBacchussoon found,For quickly he measur’d his length on the ground.“AsBacchusisdown,” then saysPlutus, “I’llrise;”And this speech he address’d to the knobs of the skies:—“That gold is a blessing, I’m sure I can prove:The soother of cares, and cementer of love!“You know the old proverb, ofpoverty, sure,’Tis something about—‘when she enters the door,That love, through the window, soon toddles away;’But if there were gold, I’m sure that he’d stay.“I’ll own that my bounties are sometimes misus’d:But pray why should I, sirs, for that be abus’d?”HereJovestopp’d him short, and with positive air,Insisted that they should their quarrel forbear.“Your claims I admit, sir, andBacchus’too;But a plan to unite you, I now have in view;You knowTommy Bish?”—“To be sure!” exclaim all,“’Tis on him, that dame Fortune her bounty lets fall!”“Well,—a Lottery he’s plann’d, with an union rare,Wheremoneyandwineeach come in for a share;There arethree thirty thousandsto gratifyyou;And thetwelve pipes of wine, sirs, forBacchuswill do.”SaysBacchustoPlutus—“Then give us your hand,I’ll tipple his wine, till no more I can stand;And asJovehas inform’d us there’smoneyenough,Why you, MisterPlutus, can finger thestuff.“Besides, I have heard, or my memory’s fail’d,How greatly last Lott’ry his luck has prevail’d;Thethree twenty thousands, he sold (the rum fish!)Then let us be off, and buy tickets of BISH!”Derry down.

Bacchus and Plutus, or the Union.Tune.—“Derry Down.”

A ROW was kick’d up in the regions above,ForPlutusandBacchusfor precedence strove;And in words such as these did their anger express,TillJoveswore he’d kick them both out of the mess.Derry down.FirstBacchusadvanc’d, tho’ he scarcely could stand,Determin’d, he swore, to have thewhip hand;And thus he began.—“Why, you sordid old elf,All your thoughts are employ’d in the scraping of pelf.“Can gold, I would ask, e’er enliven the soulLike the juice of the grape, or a full flowing bowl?Can the glittering bauble such pleasure impart,Or make the blood circle so warm round the heart?“That gold is an evil, there’s many will say,As my vot’ries oft find when the reck’ning’s to pay;Had gold ne’er existed, the true jolly fellowFor ever might tipple, and always get mellow.“I swear by old Styx!—that this truth it willstand:”But the wine in his noddle usurp’d the command,—Aknock-’em-down argumentBacchussoon found,For quickly he measur’d his length on the ground.“AsBacchusisdown,” then saysPlutus, “I’llrise;”And this speech he address’d to the knobs of the skies:—“That gold is a blessing, I’m sure I can prove:The soother of cares, and cementer of love!“You know the old proverb, ofpoverty, sure,’Tis something about—‘when she enters the door,That love, through the window, soon toddles away;’But if there were gold, I’m sure that he’d stay.“I’ll own that my bounties are sometimes misus’d:But pray why should I, sirs, for that be abus’d?”HereJovestopp’d him short, and with positive air,Insisted that they should their quarrel forbear.“Your claims I admit, sir, andBacchus’too;But a plan to unite you, I now have in view;You knowTommy Bish?”—“To be sure!” exclaim all,“’Tis on him, that dame Fortune her bounty lets fall!”“Well,—a Lottery he’s plann’d, with an union rare,Wheremoneyandwineeach come in for a share;There arethree thirty thousandsto gratifyyou;And thetwelve pipes of wine, sirs, forBacchuswill do.”SaysBacchustoPlutus—“Then give us your hand,I’ll tipple his wine, till no more I can stand;And asJovehas inform’d us there’smoneyenough,Why you, MisterPlutus, can finger thestuff.“Besides, I have heard, or my memory’s fail’d,How greatly last Lott’ry his luck has prevail’d;Thethree twenty thousands, he sold (the rum fish!)Then let us be off, and buy tickets of BISH!”Derry down.

A ROW was kick’d up in the regions above,ForPlutusandBacchusfor precedence strove;And in words such as these did their anger express,TillJoveswore he’d kick them both out of the mess.Derry down.

FirstBacchusadvanc’d, tho’ he scarcely could stand,Determin’d, he swore, to have thewhip hand;And thus he began.—“Why, you sordid old elf,All your thoughts are employ’d in the scraping of pelf.

“Can gold, I would ask, e’er enliven the soulLike the juice of the grape, or a full flowing bowl?Can the glittering bauble such pleasure impart,Or make the blood circle so warm round the heart?

“That gold is an evil, there’s many will say,As my vot’ries oft find when the reck’ning’s to pay;Had gold ne’er existed, the true jolly fellowFor ever might tipple, and always get mellow.

“I swear by old Styx!—that this truth it willstand:”But the wine in his noddle usurp’d the command,—Aknock-’em-down argumentBacchussoon found,For quickly he measur’d his length on the ground.

“AsBacchusisdown,” then saysPlutus, “I’llrise;”And this speech he address’d to the knobs of the skies:—“That gold is a blessing, I’m sure I can prove:The soother of cares, and cementer of love!

“You know the old proverb, ofpoverty, sure,’Tis something about—‘when she enters the door,That love, through the window, soon toddles away;’But if there were gold, I’m sure that he’d stay.

“I’ll own that my bounties are sometimes misus’d:But pray why should I, sirs, for that be abus’d?”HereJovestopp’d him short, and with positive air,Insisted that they should their quarrel forbear.

“Your claims I admit, sir, andBacchus’too;But a plan to unite you, I now have in view;You knowTommy Bish?”—“To be sure!” exclaim all,“’Tis on him, that dame Fortune her bounty lets fall!”

“Well,—a Lottery he’s plann’d, with an union rare,Wheremoneyandwineeach come in for a share;There arethree thirty thousandsto gratifyyou;And thetwelve pipes of wine, sirs, forBacchuswill do.”

SaysBacchustoPlutus—“Then give us your hand,I’ll tipple his wine, till no more I can stand;And asJovehas inform’d us there’smoneyenough,Why you, MisterPlutus, can finger thestuff.

“Besides, I have heard, or my memory’s fail’d,How greatly last Lott’ry his luck has prevail’d;Thethree twenty thousands, he sold (the rum fish!)Then let us be off, and buy tickets of BISH!”Derry down.

“Bish,” who in the former bill had subjoined, in plain prose, that “lotteries must end for ever,” likewise issued thefollowing—

Duties on wines.

The minister in reducing the duty, so that wines may be sold at one shilling per bottle cheaper, has done much to increase thespiritsof the people; at the same time he has adopted another measure that will in a few months DESTROY THE FREE TRADE of every person in the kingdom to obtain for a small sum a great fortune in a few weeks, by having determined to abolish Lotteries, which must soon end for ever; therefore, the present is one of the last opportunities to buy, &c.

“Bish,” according to the old plan, “ever ready to serve his friends,” issued

THE AMBULATOR’S GUIDEto the Land of Plenty.

By purchasing aTICKET,In the present Lottery,

You mayreapa goldenharvestinCornhill, and pick up thebullioninSilver-street; have an interest inBank-buildings; possess aMansion-houseinGolden-square, and an estate like aLittle Britain; pour red wine downGutter-lane; never be inHungerford-market; but all your life continue aMay-fair.

By purchasing aHALF,

You need never be confined withinLondon-wall, but become the proprietor of many aLong-acre; represent aBorough, or anAldermanbury; and have a snug share inThreadneedle-street.

By purchasing aQUARTER,

Your affairs need never be inCrooked-lane, nor your legs inFetter-lane; you may avoidPaper-buildings; steer clear of theKing’s-bench, and defy theMarshalsea; if your heart is inLove-lane, you may soon get intoSweetings-alley, obtain your lover’s consent forMatrimony-place, and always live in aHigh-street.

By purchasing anEIGHTH,

You may ensure plenty ofprovisionforSwallow-street; finger theColeinColeman-street; and may never be troubled withChancery-lane; you may castanchorinCable-street; set up business in aFore-street, or aNoble-street; and need never be confined within aNarrow-wall.

By purchasing aSIXTEENTH,

You may livefrugalinCheapside; getmerryinLiquorpond-street; soak yourhideinLeather-lane; be a wetsoleinShoe-lane; turnmaltsterinBeer-lane, orhammeraway inSmithfield.

In short, life must indeed be aLong-lane, if it’s without aturning. Therefore if you are wise, withoutMincingthe matter, beFleetand goPall-malltoCornhillorCharing-cross, and enroll your name in theTempleof Fortune, BISH’s.

Advertisement.

“BE IT KNOWN, thatSix Fair Pretty Young Ladies, with two sweet and engaging young children, latelyImported from Europe, having roses of health blooming on their cheeks, and joy sparkling in their eyes, possessing amiable manners, and highly accomplished, whom the most indifferent cannot behold without expressions of rapture, are to be RAFFLED FOR next door to the British gallery.Scheme:twelve tickets, at twelve rupees each; the highest of the three throws, doubtless, takes the most fascinating,&c.”[485]

The four engravings on this page, with the lines beneath them, are from other Lottery bills.

skinny man“ThrowPhysicto the Dogs,” for meThe bestcomposing draught’sa Fee;Forsinking Chest,low pulse, or cold,There’s noSpecificequals Gold.fat man“My Dancing Days are over!”milkmaidThough the lotteries soon will be over, I’m told,That now is the time to get pailsful of gold;And if there is any real truth in a dream,I myself shall come in for a share of the cream.We hail, ere the Sun, the first breath of the morn,And ’tis said “early birds get the best of the corn,”Of theFour Twenty Thousandsperhaps fortune mayHave in store one for me, as they’re drawn inOne Day!apple vendorFor the gay fruits of nature what wish can you feel,When compar’d with thefruitsof the lottery wheel;My basket of fruit I’d exchange with great glee,If onegolden pippinthey’d only give me.

skinny man“ThrowPhysicto the Dogs,” for meThe bestcomposing draught’sa Fee;Forsinking Chest,low pulse, or cold,There’s noSpecificequals Gold.fat man“My Dancing Days are over!”

skinny man

“ThrowPhysicto the Dogs,” for meThe bestcomposing draught’sa Fee;Forsinking Chest,low pulse, or cold,There’s noSpecificequals Gold.

fat man

“My Dancing Days are over!”

milkmaidThough the lotteries soon will be over, I’m told,That now is the time to get pailsful of gold;And if there is any real truth in a dream,I myself shall come in for a share of the cream.We hail, ere the Sun, the first breath of the morn,And ’tis said “early birds get the best of the corn,”Of theFour Twenty Thousandsperhaps fortune mayHave in store one for me, as they’re drawn inOne Day!apple vendorFor the gay fruits of nature what wish can you feel,When compar’d with thefruitsof the lottery wheel;My basket of fruit I’d exchange with great glee,If onegolden pippinthey’d only give me.

milkmaid

Though the lotteries soon will be over, I’m told,That now is the time to get pailsful of gold;And if there is any real truth in a dream,I myself shall come in for a share of the cream.We hail, ere the Sun, the first breath of the morn,And ’tis said “early birds get the best of the corn,”Of theFour Twenty Thousandsperhaps fortune mayHave in store one for me, as they’re drawn inOne Day!

apple vendor

For the gay fruits of nature what wish can you feel,When compar’d with thefruitsof the lottery wheel;My basket of fruit I’d exchange with great glee,If onegolden pippinthey’d only give me.

“Bish, contractor for another Lottery,” during the proceedings in parliament respecting the queen, availed himself of a celebrated answer by one of the witnesses at the bar of the house of lords, and issued thefollowing:—

NON MI RICORDO!OR,A few Questions on a new Subject.QUESTION.Good Signor, if your memory serves,A question I would ask or two;Then pray may I the favour beg,That you will answer, if I do?ANSWER.Non mi ricordo, I can’t say,Whether my mem’ry serves or no;But let me hear them first, I pray;What I remember you shall know.QUESTION.Since Lotteries in this realm began,And many good ones there have been,Do you suppose the oldest man,So good a Scheme at this has seen?ANSWER.Non mi ricordo, surely no;Comparisons are idle tales,For such a Lottery Scheme as this,I must confess my memory fails.QUESTION.Now what peculiar features, pray,Distinguish this from all the rest?And why do all the people say,“Unquestionably this is best?”ANSWER.Non mi ricordo, ’tis in vainFor me its merits now to say;To tell them all ’twould take, ’tis plain,From now until the Drawing Day.QUESTION.Its merits I will gladly own,But folks will questions ask, and prayIf your opinion is requir’d,Just tell me, sir, what you would say?ANSWER.Non mi ricordo: read the Scheme,One word will answer all your wish’Tis BISH’s plan, ’tis BISH’s theme,It must be good, ’tis plann’d by BISH.

NON MI RICORDO!OR,A few Questions on a new Subject.

QUESTION.

Good Signor, if your memory serves,A question I would ask or two;Then pray may I the favour beg,That you will answer, if I do?

ANSWER.

Non mi ricordo, I can’t say,Whether my mem’ry serves or no;But let me hear them first, I pray;What I remember you shall know.

QUESTION.

Since Lotteries in this realm began,And many good ones there have been,Do you suppose the oldest man,So good a Scheme at this has seen?

ANSWER.

Non mi ricordo, surely no;Comparisons are idle tales,For such a Lottery Scheme as this,I must confess my memory fails.

QUESTION.

Now what peculiar features, pray,Distinguish this from all the rest?And why do all the people say,“Unquestionably this is best?”

ANSWER.

Non mi ricordo, ’tis in vainFor me its merits now to say;To tell them all ’twould take, ’tis plain,From now until the Drawing Day.

QUESTION.

Its merits I will gladly own,But folks will questions ask, and prayIf your opinion is requir’d,Just tell me, sir, what you would say?

ANSWER.

Non mi ricordo: read the Scheme,One word will answer all your wish’Tis BISH’s plan, ’tis BISH’s theme,It must be good, ’tis plann’d by BISH.

“Bish,” in theannexed,puffsat Queen Anne’s prize of “5000 pounds,” as “so small.” This may be imagined to have been asserted under poetical licence; for, in fact, 5000l.in those days was almost equal to the largest prize in modern Lotteries.

THEBonne Boucheof Lotteries.Tune.—“Moderation and alteration.”In the reign of Queen Anne, when first Lott’ries were invented,With very few Prizes Advent’rers were contented;The largest of which, (so small were Fortune’s bounds,)“Paid in faire Plate,” was but 5000 Pounds.Moderation! Moderation!O, what a wonderful Moderation!Soon 5000l.was deem’d but a small Bait,And 10,000 then was the Great Prize of State:Twentyfollow’d soon after, thenThirty—bold push!And at last 40,000 was made theBonne Bouche!Alteration! Alteration! &c.Now the Lott’ry Contractors a New Plan pursue,All former outdoings resolv’d to outdo;And have struck out a Plan to increase Public Gain,By which,One Hundred ThousandPounds you may obtain.Temptation! Temptation! &c.If two Numbers are drawn in a specifi’d way,1000Whole Ticketsthe Holders repay;And a 1000 Whole Tickets a Chance may reveal,Of all the Great Prizes contain’d in the Wheel.Admiration! Admiration! &c.O, what a subject for Admiration!Now if you could get them, and ’twouldn’t be strange,For the rest of your life, how your fortune would change!A Coach, a Town-House, and a Country-House, too!Leading Man in the County!—O, wou’dn’t that do?Fascination! Fascination! &c.Then of Loans, and such fat things, such slices you’d gain!Then a Member of Parliament’s Seat you’d obtain!NextKnighthood—thenBaronet—and in a short space,A Peerage—“My Lord!” and at last, “Please your Grace!”Exaltation! Exaltation! &c.Such things are quite flattering, and surely such are,But a Pleasure far greater remains to declare;Consider, whatPowerWealth and Honour procure,To relieve the Oppress’d, and to succour the Poor.Exultation! Exultation! &c.Then with Patriot Ardour your Country to serve,For Riches are Curses,from[486]these if you swerve;And all this may be gain’d, if your Fortune you try,And of BISH, Fortune’s Favorite, a Ticket you buy.Expectation! Expectation! &c.

THEBonne Boucheof Lotteries.

Tune.—“Moderation and alteration.”

In the reign of Queen Anne, when first Lott’ries were invented,With very few Prizes Advent’rers were contented;The largest of which, (so small were Fortune’s bounds,)“Paid in faire Plate,” was but 5000 Pounds.Moderation! Moderation!O, what a wonderful Moderation!Soon 5000l.was deem’d but a small Bait,And 10,000 then was the Great Prize of State:Twentyfollow’d soon after, thenThirty—bold push!And at last 40,000 was made theBonne Bouche!Alteration! Alteration! &c.Now the Lott’ry Contractors a New Plan pursue,All former outdoings resolv’d to outdo;And have struck out a Plan to increase Public Gain,By which,One Hundred ThousandPounds you may obtain.Temptation! Temptation! &c.If two Numbers are drawn in a specifi’d way,1000Whole Ticketsthe Holders repay;And a 1000 Whole Tickets a Chance may reveal,Of all the Great Prizes contain’d in the Wheel.Admiration! Admiration! &c.O, what a subject for Admiration!Now if you could get them, and ’twouldn’t be strange,For the rest of your life, how your fortune would change!A Coach, a Town-House, and a Country-House, too!Leading Man in the County!—O, wou’dn’t that do?Fascination! Fascination! &c.Then of Loans, and such fat things, such slices you’d gain!Then a Member of Parliament’s Seat you’d obtain!NextKnighthood—thenBaronet—and in a short space,A Peerage—“My Lord!” and at last, “Please your Grace!”Exaltation! Exaltation! &c.Such things are quite flattering, and surely such are,But a Pleasure far greater remains to declare;Consider, whatPowerWealth and Honour procure,To relieve the Oppress’d, and to succour the Poor.Exultation! Exultation! &c.Then with Patriot Ardour your Country to serve,For Riches are Curses,from[486]these if you swerve;And all this may be gain’d, if your Fortune you try,And of BISH, Fortune’s Favorite, a Ticket you buy.Expectation! Expectation! &c.

Soon 5000l.was deem’d but a small Bait,And 10,000 then was the Great Prize of State:Twentyfollow’d soon after, thenThirty—bold push!And at last 40,000 was made theBonne Bouche!Alteration! Alteration! &c.

Now the Lott’ry Contractors a New Plan pursue,All former outdoings resolv’d to outdo;And have struck out a Plan to increase Public Gain,By which,One Hundred ThousandPounds you may obtain.Temptation! Temptation! &c.

If two Numbers are drawn in a specifi’d way,1000Whole Ticketsthe Holders repay;And a 1000 Whole Tickets a Chance may reveal,Of all the Great Prizes contain’d in the Wheel.Admiration! Admiration! &c.O, what a subject for Admiration!

Now if you could get them, and ’twouldn’t be strange,For the rest of your life, how your fortune would change!A Coach, a Town-House, and a Country-House, too!Leading Man in the County!—O, wou’dn’t that do?Fascination! Fascination! &c.

Then of Loans, and such fat things, such slices you’d gain!Then a Member of Parliament’s Seat you’d obtain!NextKnighthood—thenBaronet—and in a short space,A Peerage—“My Lord!” and at last, “Please your Grace!”Exaltation! Exaltation! &c.

Such things are quite flattering, and surely such are,But a Pleasure far greater remains to declare;Consider, whatPowerWealth and Honour procure,To relieve the Oppress’d, and to succour the Poor.Exultation! Exultation! &c.

Then with Patriot Ardour your Country to serve,For Riches are Curses,from[486]these if you swerve;And all this may be gain’d, if your Fortune you try,And of BISH, Fortune’s Favorite, a Ticket you buy.Expectation! Expectation! &c.

“Bish,” whose bills may be taken as a specimen of such kind of Lottery advertisements by whomever issued, will be observed to have constantly addressed them to the lowest minds and the meanest capacities. One more may further exemplify theremark:—

THE AGE OF WONDERS.Tune.—“Bang up.”This is aWonder workingage, by all it is agreed on,AndWondersrise up ev’ry day, for public gaze to feed on;To sketch a few ’tis my intent, while now I’m in the mind, sir,And crown them all withoneyou’ll own, will leave them far behind, sir.Then push along; forsomething new, the public taste will dash on:ForWondersnow are all therage, andnovelty’sthe fashion.Thejuggling Indiansshow such feats, a lady’s taste ’twould shock it,Theyswallow swords, andswallowtoo themoney from our pocket,A gentle fair, by fear unmov’d, with courage she so fraught is,Onred-hot ironskips adance, andbathes in aqua-fortis.Then push along; forsomething new, the public taste will dash on,ForWondersnow are all therage, andnovelty’sthe fashion.The greatestWonderyet to tell, which all the world surprizes,Is BISH’sfamous Lottery, and BISH’swondrousprizes,Threefifty thousandsgrace the scheme, which yet remain undrawn, sir,Awonderwhich was never known since any man was born, sir.Then push along, to BISH’s go! of fortune he’s the man, sir,A vote of thanks,nem. con.we’ll pass for such a noble plan,sir.[487]

THE AGE OF WONDERS.Tune.—“Bang up.”

This is aWonder workingage, by all it is agreed on,AndWondersrise up ev’ry day, for public gaze to feed on;To sketch a few ’tis my intent, while now I’m in the mind, sir,And crown them all withoneyou’ll own, will leave them far behind, sir.Then push along; forsomething new, the public taste will dash on:ForWondersnow are all therage, andnovelty’sthe fashion.Thejuggling Indiansshow such feats, a lady’s taste ’twould shock it,Theyswallow swords, andswallowtoo themoney from our pocket,A gentle fair, by fear unmov’d, with courage she so fraught is,Onred-hot ironskips adance, andbathes in aqua-fortis.Then push along; forsomething new, the public taste will dash on,ForWondersnow are all therage, andnovelty’sthe fashion.The greatestWonderyet to tell, which all the world surprizes,Is BISH’sfamous Lottery, and BISH’swondrousprizes,Threefifty thousandsgrace the scheme, which yet remain undrawn, sir,Awonderwhich was never known since any man was born, sir.Then push along, to BISH’s go! of fortune he’s the man, sir,A vote of thanks,nem. con.we’ll pass for such a noble plan,sir.[487]

“Bish” when, what he called, “The Last Lottery of All!” had arrived, very cavalierly turned round on the government; and, on the eve of becoming a candidate for a seat in the house of commons, paid his compliments to his future colleagues in the followingaddress:—

To the Public.

At the present moment, when so many articles, necessary to the comforts of the poorer classes, are more or less liable to taxation, it may surely be a question, whether the abolition of Lotteries, by which the state was a gainer of nearly half a million per annum, be, or be not, a wise measure!

’Tis true, that, as they were formerly conducted, the system was fraught with some evil. Insurances were allowed upon the fate of numbers through protracted drawings, and as the insurances could be effected for very small sums, those who could ill afford loss, imbibed a spirit for gambling, which the legislature very wisely most effectually prevented, by adopting, in the year 1809, the present improved mode ofdeciding the whole Lottery in one day.

As it is at present conducted, the Lottery is a voluntary tax, contributed to only by those who can afford it, and collected without trouble or expense; one, by which many branches of the revenue are considerably aided, and by means of which hundreds of persons find employment. The wisdom of those who at this time resign the income produced by it, and add to the number of the unemployed, may, as I have observed in a former address, surely be questioned.

Mr. Pitt, whose ability, in matters of financial arrangement, few will question, and whose morality was proverbial, would not, I am bold to say, have yielded to an outcry against a tax, the continuing of which would have enabled him to let the labourer drink his humble beverage at a reduced price, or the industrious artisan to pursue his occupation by a cheaperlight. But we live in other times—in the age of improvement!—To stake patrimonial estates at hazard or écarte in the purlieus of St. James’s ismerely amusement, but to purchase a ticket in the Lottery, by means of which a man maygainan estate at a trifling risk, is—immoral! nay, within a few hours of the time I write, were not many of our nobility and senators, some of whom, I dare say, voted against Lotteries, assembled betting thousand upon ahorse race?

In saying so much, it may be thought that I am somewhat presumptuous, or that I take a partial view of the case. It is, however, my honest opinion, abstracted from personal considerations, that the measure of abolishing Lotteries is an unwise one, and as such I give it to that public, of whom I have been for many years the highly favoured servant, and for whose patronage, though Lotteries cease, my gratitude will ever continue.

As one of the last contractors, I have assisted in arranging a scheme, &c.! &c.!! &c.!!!

After this, perhaps, the reader may exclaim “I am satisfied!” and therefore, as we have the assurance of Mr. Bish that there will “never be another Lottery” to be lamented, the time has arrived for subjoining the following

Epitaph.In Memory ofTHE STATE LOTTERY,the last of a long linewhose origin in England commencedin the year1569,[488]which, after a series of tedious complaints,Expiredon the18th day of October, 1826.During a period of 257 years, the familyflourished under the powerful protectionof theBritish Parliament;the minister of the day continuing togive them his support for the improvementof the revenue.As they increased, it was found that theircontinuance corrupted the morals,and encouraged a spiritof Speculation and Gambling among thelower classes of the people;thousands of whom fell victims to theirinsinuating and tempting allurements.Many philanthropic individualsin the Senate,at various times for a series of years,pointed out their baneful influencewithout effect,His Majesty’s Ministersstill affording them their countenanceand protection.The British Parliamentbeing at length convinced of theirmischievous tendency,His MajestyGEORGE IV.,on the 9th July,1823,[489]pronounced sentence of condemnationon the whole race;from which time they were almostneglected by the British Public.Very great efforts were made by thePartisans and friends of the family toexcitethe public feeling in favour of the lastof the race, in vain:It continued to linger out the fewremainingmoments of its existence without attentionor sympathy, and finally terminatedits career unregretted by anyvirtuous mind.

W. P.

A few remarkable facts, which were omitted in the proper order of narration, are now inserted.

About 1612 king James I., “in special favour for the plantation of English colonies in Virginia, granted a Lottery to be held at the west end of St. Paul’s; whereof one Thomas Sharplys, a taylor of London, had the chief prize, which was four thousand crowns in fairplate.”[490]

Old Baron d’Aguilar, the Islington miser, was requested by a relation to purchase a particular ticket, No. 14,068, in the Lottery to be drawn in the year 1802, (but which was sold some few days before). The baron died on the 16th of March following, and the number was thefirst-drawn ticket on the 24th, and, as such, entitled to twenty thousand pounds. The baron’s representatives, under these circumstances, therefore published an advertisement, offering a reward of 1000l.to any person who might have found the said ticket, and would deliver it up. Payment was stopped. A wholesale linen-draper, in Cornhill, who had ordered his broker to buy him ten tickets, which he deposited in his chest, on copying the numbers, for the purpose of examining them, made a mistake of one figure, and called it 14,168 instead of 14,068, which was the 20,000l.prize. The lottery being finished, he sent ten tickets to be examined and marked. To his utter astonishment, he then found the error of the number copied on his paper. On his demanding payment at the lottery office, a caveat was entered by old d’Aguilar’s executors; but an explanation taking place, the 20,000l.was immediately paid him.

This person, who inherited a good fortune from his parents, was prosperous in his business, and had every prospect of success and eminence in life, fell a victim to an unconquerable itch for gambling in the Lottery. At one time, the White-conduit-house, with its tea-gardens and other premises, as also the Angel-inn, now the best tavern in Islington, were his freeholds: and he rented land to the amount of 2000l.a year, in the neighbourhood of that place, and Holloway. He was remarkable for having the greatest quantity of haystacks of any grower in the neighbourhood of London. He kept his carriage and servants in livery, and was believed to have been worth 50,000l.He was not only the proprietor, but the landlord of White-conduit-house, to which, by his taste in laying out its grounds, and the manner of conducting his business, he attracted great custom. On one occasion, having been unusually successful in the Lottery, he gave a public breakfast at his tea-gardens, “to commemorate the smiles of Fortune,” as he so expressed himself upon the tickets of admission at thisfête champêtre.

At times he was very fortunate in the Lottery, and this tended to increase the mania which hurried him to his ruin. He was known to have spent upwards of 2000 guineas in a day for insurance, to raise which, stack after stack of his immense crops of hay were cut down and hurried to market, as the readiest way to obtain the supplies for these extraordinary outgoings; and at last he was obliged to part with his freehold, from accumulated difficulties and embarrassments, and he passed the remaining thirteen years of his life in great poverty, subsisting by the charity of those who knew him in “better days,” and by the paltry emolument he derived from serving as a juryman in the sheriff’s court for the county. His propensity to the Lottery, even under these degrading difficulties, never forsook him. Meeting one day, in the year 1807, with an old acquaintance, he told him he had a strong presentiment, that if he could purchase a particular number in the ensuing Lottery it would prove successful. His friend, after remonstrating with him on the impropriety of persevering in a practice that had been already attended with such evil consequences, was at last persuaded to advance the money to purchase a sixteenth, and go halves with him in the adventure. It was drawn a prize of 20,000l., and from the proceeds from this extraordinary turn of fortune, he was prevailed upon to purchase an annuity of 60l.per annum. Totally addicted, however, to the pernicious habit of insurance, he disposed of his annuity, and lost every shilling of the money; yet such was the meanness of his mind and circumstances, that he frequently applied to persons who had been served by him in his prosperity, for an old coat, or some other article of cast apparel; and not many days before he died, he begged a few shillings to purchase necessaries.

Bartholomew in intellect and manners was superior to the generality of men, and at one time possessed the esteem of all who knew him. His fate may be a warning to all ranks, particularly to those who are in trade, not to engage in hazardous pursuits. He died in a two pair of stairs room, in Angel-court, Windmill-street, in the Haymarket, in March, 1809, aged68.[491]

A correspondent refers to Rees’s Cyclopædia as containing a good account of Lotteries, with table of chances relative to their schemes; and he adds, that Dr. Kelly, the well-known calculator, assured him he had ascertained that the chances ofobtaining certain prizes were even more against the adventurer than would appear by those tables.

When the tickets were publicly drawn in Guildhall, and the drawing was protracted for several weeks, it was a curious sight for an indifferent spectator to go and behold the visages of the anxious crowd; to mark the hopes and the fears that seemed to agitate them, as their numbers or numbers near to theirs were announced. It is a fact, that poor medical practitioners used constantly to attend in the hall, to be ready to let blood, in cases where the sudden proclaiming of the fate of tickets in the hearing of the holders of them, was found to have an overpowering effect upon their spirits. The late Mr. Dalmahoy, of Ludgate-hill, was accustomed to affirm, that he owed his first establishment in a business which afterwards proved so prosperous, to the gratitude of a person, to whose assistance, when a young man, he had stept in, upon one of those criticalemergencies.[492]

The historian of “Inventions” says, that if, as some had done, he were to “reckon among the first traces of Lotteries every division of property made by lot, it might be said that Joshua partitioned the promised land into Lottery prizes before it was conquered.” In his opinion, the peculiarity of Lotteries consists in their numbers being distributed gratuitously, or, as in public Lotteries, for a certain price; it being left to chance to determine what numbers were to obtain the prizes, the value of which had been previously settled. He speaks of the “conditions and changes invented by ingenuity to entice people to purchase shares, and to conceal and increase the gain of the undertakers;” and, of the “delusion they occasion to credulous and ignorant people, by exciting hopes that have little probability in their favour.” He deems that the hint of modern Lottery was derived from the Romans. The rich persons at Rome, and particularly the emperors, endeavoured to attach the people by distributing among them presents consisting of eatables and other expensive articles, which were namedcongiaria. Tokens, or tickets, calledtesseræ(in Greek συμζολα,) were generally given out, and the possessors, on presenting them at the store or magazine of the donor, received those things which they announced. In many cases, these tickets were distributed to every person who applied for them, and then these donations resembled our distribution of bread, but not our Lotteries, in which chance must determine the number of those who were to participate in the number of things distributed. In the course of time, the Roman populace was called together, and the articles distributed thrown to them from a stage. Such things were calledmissilia, and belonged to those who had the good fortune to catch them; but as oil, wine, corn, and such like articles, could not be distributed in this manner, and as other articles were injured by the too great eagerness of the people, tokens or tickets were thrown in their stead. These were square pieces of wood or metal, and sometimes balls of wood, inscribed with the names of the articles. Those who had obtained thesetesseræwere allowed to transfer or sellthem.[493]

Under “Lottery,” an antiquary refers to thepittaciaof Petronius. The Romans issued gratis, to their visitors in the Saturnalia, tickets which were all prizes, and marked with inscriptions calledapophoreta. The Lotteries of Augustus were mere bagatelles for sport; Nero’s were very costly; those of Heliogabalus ridiculous; as, a ticket for six slaves, another for six flies, &c. these were handed round invases.[494]

Imitations, on a reduced scale, of the Romancongiariahave amused the continental princes and princesses of modern times. They distribute small presents to their courtiers, by causing trinkets or toys to be marked with numbers; the numbers being written on separate tickets, which are rolled up and put into a small basket orbasin.[495]

In Italy, during the middle ages, the merchants or shop-keepers, in order to sell their wares more speedily and advantageously, converted their shops into offices of luck, where each person, for asmall sum, was allowed to draw a number from the jar of fortune, which entitled the holder to the article written upon it; but as these shop-keepers gained excessive profits, and cheated the credulous people, by setting on their wares an extravagant price, which was concealed by the blanks, these practices were prohibited, or permitted only under strict inspection, and on paying a certain sum to the poor, or the sovereign.

From hence was derived the modern Lottery of the continent, when articles of merchandise were no longer employed as prizes, but certain sums of money instead, the amount of which was determined by the amount of money received, after the expenses and gain of the conductors were deducted. In these Lotteries, the tickets were publicly drawn by the charity boys, blindfolded. As they could not be conducted without defrauding the adventurers, it was at first believed, through old-fashioned conscientiousness, that it was unlawful to take advantage of the folly and credulity of the people, except for pious or charitable purposes. The gains were sometimes applied to the portioning of poor young women, the redemption of captives, or the formation of funds for the indigent, and other benificent objects. It was vainly imagined, that these public games of hazard would banish others still more dangerous; nor was it foreseen, that the exposure of tickets for sale, and their division into shares, would maintain and diffuse a spirit of gambling. This, however, was the result, and the profit from Lotteries became so great, that princes and ministers were induced to employ them as operations of finance: the people were forbidden to purchase tickets in foreign Lotteries, and, in order that the tickets of the state might be disposed of sooner, and with more certainty, many rulers were so shameless as to pay part of the salaries of their servants in tickets, and to compel guild companies and societies to expend in Lotteries what money they had saved. In 1764, this abuse was mentioned by the states of Wirtemburg among the public grievances, and in 1770 the duke promised that it should be abolished.

So early as 1521, the council of Osnaburg, in Germany, established a Lottery with wearing articles of merchandise for the prizes. In 1615, the magistrates of Hamburgh sanctioned a Lottery for building a house of correction in that city. An engraving is mentioned with the following title, “Representation of theLoto Publico, which was drawn in the large hall of the council-house at Nuremburg, anno 1715.” This is supposed to have been the first Lottery in that city. The first Lottery at Berlin was drawn in July, 1740; it contained 20,000 tickets at five dollars each; there were 4028 prizes; and the capital one was a house worth 24,000 dollars.

In 1549, a Lottery was drawn at Amsterdam for the building a church steeple; and another at Delft in 1595. In the hospital for old men, at Amsterdam, there is a beautiful painting by Daniel Vinckenbooms, which represents the drawing of a Lottery in the night time. He was born about 1578, and died in 1629.

In France, whither the Lottery was introduced from Italy, it was set on foot by merchants, and the only prizes were articles of merchandise: but, in 1539, Francis I. endeavoured to turn them to his own advantage. He permitted them under the inspection of certain members of the government, with a view, as was pretended, of banishing deceptive and pernicious games of chance; but on condition that he should receive for every ticket ateston de dix sols six deniers. It appears, however, from a royal order of recommendation, in February, 1541, that this Lottery was not then completed, and it is not known whether it ever was.

In 1572 and 1588, Louis de Gonzague duc de Nivernois established a Lottery at Paris, for the purpose of giving marriage portions to poor virtuous young women on his estates. The prize tickets were inscribedDieu vous a élue, or,Dieu vous console; the former insured to the young woman who drew it 500 francs on her wedding-day; the latter, inscribed on the blanks, suggested the hope of better fortune the year following. No Lottery was ever drawn with so much ceremony and parade. Pope Sextus V. promised those who promoted it the remission of their sins: and, before the drawing, which began every year on Palm Sunday, mass was said.

Ladies of quality were induced by this example to establish similar Lotteries for the building or repairing of churches or convents, and other religious or benevolent purposes. Three ladies set on foot a Lottery with tickets at 40 sous each, for redeeming persons who had fallen into slavery among the Turks. Some other ladies instituted a Lottery in behalf of their confessor, who had been made a bishop, that they might buy him a carriage and horses, with other requisites, to support his episcopal dignity.

French history records the institution of many Lotteries as the means employed to make valuable presents to ladies, and other persons of distinction. It is supposed the largest of the kind was one designed by cardinal Mazarine, to increase his splendour and popularity among the courtiers. The tickets were distributed aspresents.[496]

Louis XIV., on the days which were not fast days, went to dine at Marly with madame de Maintenon and other ladies. After dinner, the minister who wished to converse with him arrived, and when his business was finished, if they did not walk, he conversed, listened to music, played at cards, or helped to drawLotteries, the tickets of which cost nothing, but were all prizes. They were composed of trinkets, jewels, and silks; but there were never any snuff-boxes, because he could not endure snuff, or suffer those who used it to approachhim.[497]

In the seventeenth century these games of chance grew into Lotteries, in the proper sense of the word. During a scarcity of money which prevailed in 1644, Lawrence Tonti came from Naples to Paris, and proposed that kind of life-rents, or annuities, which are named after himTontines; though they were used in Italy long before his time. After tedious disputes, his proposal was rejected; for which, in 1556, he substituted, with the royal approbation, a large Lottery in order to raise funds for building a stone bridge and an aqueduct. This Lottery was never completed, and consequently never drawn; and a wooden bridge was constructed, instead of that which had been burnt. The first Lottery on the plan of Tonti was set on foot at Paris in 1660, when the conclusion of peace, and the marriage of Louis XIV., were celebrated. It was drawn publicly, under the inspection of the police. The price of each ticket was a Louis d’or, which at that time was only eleven livres; and the highest prize was a hundred thousand livres. This was gained by the king himself, but he would not receive it, and left it to the next Lottery, in which he had no ticket. In 1661, all private Lotteries were prohibited under severe penalties, and from that time there were no other Lotteries than theLoteriesroyales.[498]

The ill-famed Italian or Genoese Lottery in Germany was, as its name shows, an invention of the Genoese, and arose from the mode in which the members of the senate were elected; for when that republic existed in a state of freedom, the names of the eligible candidates were thrown into a vessel calledseminario, or, in modern times, into a wheel of fortune; and during the drawings of them it was customary for people to lay bets in regard to those who might be successful. That is to say, one chose the name of two or threenobili, for these only could be elected, and ventured upon them, according to pleasure, a piece of money; while, on the other hand, the opposite party, or the undertaker of the bank, who had the means of forming a pretty accurate conjecture in regard to names that would be drawn, doubled the stakes several times. Afterwards the state itself undertook the bank for these bets, which was attended with so much advantage; and the drawing of the names was performed with great ceremony. Thevenerabilewas exposed, and high mass was celebrated, at which all the candidates were obliged to be present.

A member of the senate, named Benedetto Gentile, is said to have first introduced this Lottery, in the year 1620; and it is added, that the name of Gentile having never been drawn, the people took it into their heads that he, and his names, had been carried away by the devil. But at length, the wheel being taken to pieces in order to be mended, the name, which by some accident had never been drawn was found concealed in it.

This mode of Lottery is presumed to have been peculiar to the Genoese, who, for their own benefit established in many continental towns commissioners, to dispose of tickets, and to pay the prizes to those who had been fortunate.

These pernicious Lotteries continued till the end of the eighteenth century, when they were almost every where abolished and forbidden. To the honour of the Hanoverian government, noLottowas ever introduced into it, though many foreigners offered large sums for permission to cheat the people in this manner. Those who wish to see the prohibitions issued against theLotto, after making a great part of the people lazy, indigent, and thievish, may find them in Schlozer’s Staats-Anzeigen,

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