Download files
Complete book:
Individual page:
Thumbnail gallery: Grid view | List view
great treat to be permitted to peep between the un-cut
leaves, before they were sent home to their owners. With
intense anxiety I have often watched the arrival of the
monthly wagon, and the removal of my friend's package to
his shop, and then passed by the door or made some excuse
to go in and see whether it was opened, an operation which
the old gentleman, to my great mortification, would some-
times postpone for several days. I reckon it one of the
most fortunate circumstances of my life to have fallen into
the good graces of the old bookseller, for at that time
Penzance afforded very little help towards the acquisition
of knowledge, — no book clubs, no public library, no reading
rooms, no scientific institutions of any kind ; and except a
little occasional stir by the novel introduction of Methodism
there was nothing to disturb the long established smoking,
drinking, and gaming-clubs, of which there were some for
all ranks, and for almost all ages. These were distinguished
by many ridiculous names, but all agreeing in drunkenness,
profanity, and card playing ; hard drinking, gaming and
swearing, were then considered gentlemanly accomplish-
ments, and destroyed the health and fortune of very many.
To the wonderful change which took place soon after the
breaking out of the late war, I ascribe much of the increase
of population which has since taken place. From the
pernicious influence of such society, I was in a great measure
preserved by a weak state of health, and a fortunate po-
verty, which left me very little to spend, and much less than
I was anxious to invest in books. This is a sad picture of
Penzance, such as it was before I knew it and when I lived
there from 1779 to 1784. When I visited it in 1792, I did
not observe much difference ; but when I again saw it in
1806, I was astonished at the change. Much of the moral
change we have seen may be traced to the spread of
Methodism, which, while it operated powerfully on the
labouring classes, reflected a benign influence on the higher
orders of society. Smuggling with its concomitant vices of
drunkenness and swearing was virtually encouraged by the
upper ranks, and was the bane of the miner and the fisher-
man. Against these especially, Wesley and Whitfield
levelled their powerful denunciations, and although their
followers were for a long time few and obscure, the evils
they condemned were too flagrant to admit of defence. So
uncivilized were our miners down to a period so recent as to
be within my memory, that one of the terrors of the nursery
to quiet froward children was to tell them that the Tinners
were rising. When these men felt or fancied some public
grievance, they collected in great bodies, and laid the
devoted towns and markets under such contributions or
restraints as the barbarous multitude thought proper to
impose. Among these men WeBley and Whitfield operated
a change of incalculable importance not only to the miners
but to the community at large."
In 1781, being then clerk to Mr. Luke, he went on business
to Falmouth, and as he was very fond of drawing, amused
himself with taking sketches of the harbour, and at length
wandered within the lines of Pendennis castle, not knowing
that it was forbidden ground , it being a time of war, and of
great terror about spies ; he was consequently arrested and
dismissed with a reprimand for the trouble his ignorance
had occasioned.
In 1782 he went on horseback to Plymouth on business.
Plymouth had hardly yet recovered from the panic occa-
sioned by the combined fleets of France and Spain, which
had menaced its destruction three years before, in the
month of August 1779. " Of that alarm I have still a vivid
recollection, caused probably by the violence of the original
impression, when the enemy with apparently an overwhelm-
ing force was in sight. Early one beautiful morning the
alarm was given that the grand fleet of England, chased
by the combined fleets of France and Spain was off the
Western Coast. Everybody ran to the hills, from which
could be seen at once the British fleet, under Sir Charles
Hardy, 38 ships of the line and a very few frigates, crowd-
ing sail to the eastward, and leisurely pursued by the com-
bined fleet, under Count D'Orvilliors, composed of about 70
ships of the line, with a cloud of frigates and smaller vessels.
The day was nearly calm, with now and then a little breeze
to the northward, so that for the long space of a summer's
day the Mount'sBay exhibited the uncommon scene, first, of
more than 100 ships of the line assembled, and secondly, of
the British Channel fleet flying before the enemy. With
the close of the day we lost sight of the fleet off the Lizard,
and the second day after, the enemy paraded triumphantly
before Plymouth, whence he drew off on the third night,
alarmed by a threatening storm with heavy thunder from the
south-east. I was told at Plymouth that a single ship
might have silenced all the batteries, so wretchedly unpre-
pared wore they to sustain any attack."
On the restoration of peace it occurred to him that if he
could learn to speak and write French with facility it would
be a recommendation, as that was an attainment becoming
more necessary in commercial affiairs, and far from common
among clerks in those days, " So scanty however were my
resources at this period, that the expense, though trivial, was
a formidable obstacle ; but as I could pass over by one of our
Mount's Bay boats for nothing, and contemplated only a
short stay, it was at length determined that I should go."
In the spring of 1785 therefore he landed at Roscoff in
Brittany, with the express object of improving his knowledge
of modern French, and resided for sometime with a French
family at Morlaix, to which he had been introduced by Mr.
M'Culloch (father of Dr. M'Culloch, the geologist), a mer-
chant whose acquaintance he had made at Penzance during
the war. " Here I was treated very kindly, and passed
about nine of the pleasantest months of my whole life.
Though Morlaix was a large town, living was then cheap
there. My board and lodging were thought liberally paid
at the rate of 400 livres, or about £16 a-year. Hairdresser,
fencing master, dancing master, and washerwoman, all im-
portant personages, and indispensable, were paid 3 livres, or
half-a-crown a month each ; and an excellent ecclesiastic,
L' Abbe Le Roux, gave me instructions in French, in
return for my help to a young man, his nephew, whom he
wished to learn English. Before the close of the year I
found a passage free to Wales in a British vessel, to whose
captain I had rendered service as an interpreter at Morlaix,
and from Swansea I got a passage home with a captain I
had formerly known, so that the whole of this expedition,
which was eventually the source of all my success in life,
cost less than twenty pounds."
On his return from France, after a brief attempt at setting
up in business at Newlyn, he in 1788 went to London,
where his knowlege of French proved all-important to him.
He became junior corresponding clerk in the bank of Messrs,
Ransom. Morland, and Hammersley, in Pall Mall — one of
the leading West end firms — and it fell to his lot to conduct
much of the correspondence of the emigrants who fled to
England during the revolution. To several of these he was
able to do much friendly service, and on their return to
France, after the peace of Amiens, the Bishop of Troyes and
others wrote him very grateful letters.
In 1792 he re- visited Cornwall to see his aged mother, to
whom he had for some time sent liberal help. He met his
elder brother Arthur (then in the bank at Tiverton, of which
he was afterwards a partner), by appointment at Exeter ;
and they rode on horseback to Penzahce, arriving on the
evening of the fifth day from his leaving London. It was
a tedious journey at that time, in a heavy stage coach, called
" The Fly," above forty hours on the road to Exeter, while
the only means of travelling further West was on horseback.
Of his eighteen days holiday, ten were spent in toilsome
travelling.
In 1792 also he became chief clerk, his services having
been highly appreciated ; and on the first of January 1799
leaves, before they were sent home to their owners. With
intense anxiety I have often watched the arrival of the
monthly wagon, and the removal of my friend's package to
his shop, and then passed by the door or made some excuse
to go in and see whether it was opened, an operation which
the old gentleman, to my great mortification, would some-
times postpone for several days. I reckon it one of the
most fortunate circumstances of my life to have fallen into
the good graces of the old bookseller, for at that time
Penzance afforded very little help towards the acquisition
of knowledge, — no book clubs, no public library, no reading
rooms, no scientific institutions of any kind ; and except a
little occasional stir by the novel introduction of Methodism
there was nothing to disturb the long established smoking,
drinking, and gaming-clubs, of which there were some for
all ranks, and for almost all ages. These were distinguished
by many ridiculous names, but all agreeing in drunkenness,
profanity, and card playing ; hard drinking, gaming and
swearing, were then considered gentlemanly accomplish-
ments, and destroyed the health and fortune of very many.
To the wonderful change which took place soon after the
breaking out of the late war, I ascribe much of the increase
of population which has since taken place. From the
pernicious influence of such society, I was in a great measure
preserved by a weak state of health, and a fortunate po-
verty, which left me very little to spend, and much less than
I was anxious to invest in books. This is a sad picture of
Penzance, such as it was before I knew it and when I lived
there from 1779 to 1784. When I visited it in 1792, I did
not observe much difference ; but when I again saw it in
1806, I was astonished at the change. Much of the moral
change we have seen may be traced to the spread of
Methodism, which, while it operated powerfully on the
labouring classes, reflected a benign influence on the higher
orders of society. Smuggling with its concomitant vices of
drunkenness and swearing was virtually encouraged by the
upper ranks, and was the bane of the miner and the fisher-
man. Against these especially, Wesley and Whitfield
levelled their powerful denunciations, and although their
followers were for a long time few and obscure, the evils
they condemned were too flagrant to admit of defence. So
uncivilized were our miners down to a period so recent as to
be within my memory, that one of the terrors of the nursery
to quiet froward children was to tell them that the Tinners
were rising. When these men felt or fancied some public
grievance, they collected in great bodies, and laid the
devoted towns and markets under such contributions or
restraints as the barbarous multitude thought proper to
impose. Among these men WeBley and Whitfield operated
a change of incalculable importance not only to the miners
but to the community at large."
In 1781, being then clerk to Mr. Luke, he went on business
to Falmouth, and as he was very fond of drawing, amused
himself with taking sketches of the harbour, and at length
wandered within the lines of Pendennis castle, not knowing
that it was forbidden ground , it being a time of war, and of
great terror about spies ; he was consequently arrested and
dismissed with a reprimand for the trouble his ignorance
had occasioned.
In 1782 he went on horseback to Plymouth on business.
Plymouth had hardly yet recovered from the panic occa-
sioned by the combined fleets of France and Spain, which
had menaced its destruction three years before, in the
month of August 1779. " Of that alarm I have still a vivid
recollection, caused probably by the violence of the original
impression, when the enemy with apparently an overwhelm-
ing force was in sight. Early one beautiful morning the
alarm was given that the grand fleet of England, chased
by the combined fleets of France and Spain was off the
Western Coast. Everybody ran to the hills, from which
could be seen at once the British fleet, under Sir Charles
Hardy, 38 ships of the line and a very few frigates, crowd-
ing sail to the eastward, and leisurely pursued by the com-
bined fleet, under Count D'Orvilliors, composed of about 70
ships of the line, with a cloud of frigates and smaller vessels.
The day was nearly calm, with now and then a little breeze
to the northward, so that for the long space of a summer's
day the Mount'sBay exhibited the uncommon scene, first, of
more than 100 ships of the line assembled, and secondly, of
the British Channel fleet flying before the enemy. With
the close of the day we lost sight of the fleet off the Lizard,
and the second day after, the enemy paraded triumphantly
before Plymouth, whence he drew off on the third night,
alarmed by a threatening storm with heavy thunder from the
south-east. I was told at Plymouth that a single ship
might have silenced all the batteries, so wretchedly unpre-
pared wore they to sustain any attack."
On the restoration of peace it occurred to him that if he
could learn to speak and write French with facility it would
be a recommendation, as that was an attainment becoming
more necessary in commercial affiairs, and far from common
among clerks in those days, " So scanty however were my
resources at this period, that the expense, though trivial, was
a formidable obstacle ; but as I could pass over by one of our
Mount's Bay boats for nothing, and contemplated only a
short stay, it was at length determined that I should go."
In the spring of 1785 therefore he landed at Roscoff in
Brittany, with the express object of improving his knowledge
of modern French, and resided for sometime with a French
family at Morlaix, to which he had been introduced by Mr.
M'Culloch (father of Dr. M'Culloch, the geologist), a mer-
chant whose acquaintance he had made at Penzance during
the war. " Here I was treated very kindly, and passed
about nine of the pleasantest months of my whole life.
Though Morlaix was a large town, living was then cheap
there. My board and lodging were thought liberally paid
at the rate of 400 livres, or about £16 a-year. Hairdresser,
fencing master, dancing master, and washerwoman, all im-
portant personages, and indispensable, were paid 3 livres, or
half-a-crown a month each ; and an excellent ecclesiastic,
L' Abbe Le Roux, gave me instructions in French, in
return for my help to a young man, his nephew, whom he
wished to learn English. Before the close of the year I
found a passage free to Wales in a British vessel, to whose
captain I had rendered service as an interpreter at Morlaix,
and from Swansea I got a passage home with a captain I
had formerly known, so that the whole of this expedition,
which was eventually the source of all my success in life,
cost less than twenty pounds."
On his return from France, after a brief attempt at setting
up in business at Newlyn, he in 1788 went to London,
where his knowlege of French proved all-important to him.
He became junior corresponding clerk in the bank of Messrs,
Ransom. Morland, and Hammersley, in Pall Mall — one of
the leading West end firms — and it fell to his lot to conduct
much of the correspondence of the emigrants who fled to
England during the revolution. To several of these he was
able to do much friendly service, and on their return to
France, after the peace of Amiens, the Bishop of Troyes and
others wrote him very grateful letters.
In 1792 he re- visited Cornwall to see his aged mother, to
whom he had for some time sent liberal help. He met his
elder brother Arthur (then in the bank at Tiverton, of which
he was afterwards a partner), by appointment at Exeter ;
and they rode on horseback to Penzahce, arriving on the
evening of the fifth day from his leaving London. It was
a tedious journey at that time, in a heavy stage coach, called
" The Fly," above forty hours on the road to Exeter, while
the only means of travelling further West was on horseback.
Of his eighteen days holiday, ten were spent in toilsome
travelling.
In 1792 also he became chief clerk, his services having
been highly appreciated ; and on the first of January 1799
Set display mode to: Universal Viewer | Mirador | Large image | Transcription
Images and transcriptions on this page, including medium image downloads, may be used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence unless otherwise stated.
Histories of Scottish families > Account of the families of Boase or Bowes > (21) |
---|
Permanent URL | https://digital.nls.uk/95441979 |
---|
Description | A selection of almost 400 printed items relating to the history of Scottish families, mostly dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Includes memoirs, genealogies and clan histories, with a few produced by emigrant families. The earliest family history goes back to AD 916. |
---|