The Project Gutenberg eBook of A history of English lotteries
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.
Title: A history of English lotteries
now for the first time written
Author: John Ashton
Release date: December 16, 2025 [eBook #77478]
Language: English
Original publication: London: The Leadenhal Press Ltd, 1893
Credits: deaurider and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HISTORY OF ENGLISH LOTTERIES ***
Transcriber’s Notes:
Underscores “_” before and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_
in the original text.
Equal signs “=” before and after a word or phrase indicate =bold=
in the original text.
Carat symbol “^” designates a superscript.
Small capitals have been converted to SOLID capitals.
Illustrations have been moved so they do not break up paragraphs.
Deprecated spellings have been preserved.
Typographical and punctuation errors have been silently corrected.
In addition to the numerous illustrations scattered throughout the
text, there are twenty-eight separately inserted old Lottery Bills in
facsimile on papers of various tints. It will be noted that the dirty
red ink in some of them is exactly imitated.
The “skeleton” bills were issued in 1816, and those of the “14 of June”
in 1821; most of the others are dated.
They are placed as follows:--
Facing _title page_; facing _pages_ 1, 16,
32, 48, 70, 96, 112, 128, 138, 144 (_two_),
146 (_two_), 160, 170, 176, 192 (_two_),
196, 208, 220, 224 (_two_), 240, 280
(_two_), 324.
[Illustration]
A HISTORY OF
ENGLISH LOTTERIES
_NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME WRITTEN_.
BY
JOHN ASHTON.
[Illustration]
1893.
PUBLISHED BY
The Leadenhall Prefs, Ltd:
50, Leadenhall Street, London, E.C.
Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., Ltd:
New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 743 & 745, Broadway.
[Illustration]
THE LEADENHALL PRESS, LTD: LONDON, E. C.
(T. 4630)
[Illustration]
PREFACE.
In the following pages I have endeavoured to trace the history of the
lottery in England, from the year 1569 to the present time; and it is
somewhat surprising that such has not been previously attempted. It
is possible that a paucity of material may have had something to do
with it; but, in my case, I cannot complain of insufficient matter,
but almost of an _embarras des richesses_; for not only could I draw
on the stores of information contained in the library of the British
Museum, but I also had the privilege of having the very fine collection
of Mr. Andrew Tuer placed unreservedly at my disposal. Thus, I have
been enabled to pick and choose my examples of lottery handbills and
engravings, without having to utilize all the material that came
to hand. I am especially indebted to the Leadenhall Press for the
very great care they have taken in rendering the engravings as near
facsimiles of the originals as possible.
I have tried, as far as in my power lay, to make this book one which
will be, I hope, not only agreeable and interesting to the general
reader, but one which, I also hope, will find its place in very many
libraries, as a book of reference, and an authority on the subject on
which I have written, as I have been very scrupulous as to verifying
dates, giving correct Acts of Parliament, etc.
JOHN ASHTON.
[Illustration]
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Antiquity of _the Lot_--Old lotteries--Derivation of
word--First lottery in England: its scheme 1
CHAPTER II.
Posies and mottoes--Forcing the subscriptions--Towns and
their mottoes--Lottery for armour in 1585--A Royal lottery
at Harefield in 1602 17
CHAPTER III.
The Virginia lottery of 1612--Private lottery--Licence for
lottery to supply London with water--Two other schemes
--Lottery in behalf of fishing vessels--Irish Land
Lottery--One for redeeming English slaves--One for poor
maimed soldiers--Gambling lottery, concession for--“Royal
Oak” Lottery--Evils of lotteries--“Royal Fishing Company”
Lottery--Patentees 28
CHAPTER IV.
A book lottery--One for poor military officers--Lottery for
Prince Rupert’s jewels--A penny lottery--First State
lottery--Another in 1697--Private lotteries suppressed
--Statelottery in 1710--Curious history of a private
lottery--State lotteries in the reigns of Anne and
George I.--Private lotteries again suppressed--Raine’s
Charity--Marriage by lottery 44
CHAPTER V.
Penalties on private lotteries--State lottery not subscribed
for--Lapse in State lotteries--Private lotteries
--Westminster Bridge lottery--State lotteries--Discredit
thrown on them--British Museum lottery--Leheup’s fraud 59
CHAPTER VI.
Crowd at a lottery--Another State lottery, eighty-seven
blanks to a prize--A ticket sold twice over--Extravagant
prices paid for tickets--Praying for success--A lucky
innkeeper--Lottery for Cox’s Museum--Adam’s Adelphi Lottery
--Blue-coat boys and the lottery--Future arrangements for
drawing 71
CHAPTER VII.
Counterfeiting lottery tickets--Curious lotteries--Suicide
--Method of starting a State lottery--Lottery
office-keepers to be licensed--Charles (or “Patch”) Price 86
CHAPTER VIII.
Lottery for the Leverian Museum--Prosecution of unlicensed
lottery office-keepers--Suicide--Robbery of employers--Sharp
practice over a prize--Cheating by lottery office-keepers
--Complaint of a prisoner 103
CHAPTER IX.
Winners of prizes--Attempt to put down the practice of
insuring--Steps taken to prevent it--Specimen handbill
--Bish, the lottery office-keeper--Lottery for the “Pigot”
diamond--Lottery-office agencies--Shortening the time of
drawing the lottery--Story of Baron d’Aguilar 118
CHAPTER X.
The Boydell Lottery--Bowyer’s “Historic” Lottery 133
CHAPTER XI.
Launching a lottery--“The City” Lottery for houses--Poetic
handbills thereon--Parliamentary Committee on the lottery
--Report and evidence 147
CHAPTER XII.
“The Lottery Alphabet”--“The Philosopher’s Stone”--
“Fortune’s Ladder”--Enigmatical handbill--Lottery drawn
on St. Valentine’s Day--“Public Prizes”--and other
poetical handbills 162
CHAPTER XIII.
“Twenty Thousand; or, Tom Truelove’s Journal”--“London
and the Lottery”--“The Persian Ambassador”--“An Enigma”
--“Gently over the Stones” 180
CHAPTER XIV.
“Master and Man”--“Altogether”--Dr. Thornton’s “Royal
Botanical Lottery”--“Two Gold Finches”--“Dennis
Brulgruddery”--“Shakespeare’s Seven Ages” 189
CHAPTER XV.
A lucky Spaniard--Miss Mitford’s prize--The _Spectator_
on lucky numbers--Other anecdotes on luck--“Gretna Green”
--“A Prize for Poor Jack” 204
CHAPTER XVI.
Beginning of the end of lotteries--Curious handbills 217
CHAPTER XVII.
Protests against lotteries--Epitaph on Vansittart--“Three
Royal Weddings”--More opposition to the lottery--
“Twelfth Night Character” handbills--Ditto of tradesmen 221
CHAPTER XVIII.
“A Dialogue”--“The Race of Fortune”--“The Wish”--Enigmatical
handbill 245
CHAPTER XIX.
Tomkins’s picture lottery--The lottery abolished--Handbills 252
CHAPTER XX.
The last lottery--Attempts to get up excitement--The
procession--Alteration of date--Advertising car--“A
Ballad, 1826”--Drawing of the last lottery 265
CHAPTER XXI.
Handbills--Metrical list of lottery-office keepers--Bish’s
manifesto--“Epitaph in Memory of the State Lottery”--
“Little Goes”--The _Times_ thereon--Their effect
on the public 279
CHAPTER XXII.
Description of lottery office-keepers--Insuring numbers
in the lottery--Servants bitten by the mania--_Morocco
men_--Many prosecutions--Cost to the country--Several
law cases--Story of Mr. Bartholomew 293
CHAPTER XXIII.
Suicides caused by the lottery--Story of a footman--Anecdote
told by Theodore Hook--Description of a lottery from its
commencement to its end 310
CHAPTER XXIV.
The lottery wheels--Anecdotes connected with the lottery--
The Glasgow lotteries--Advertising foreign lotteries--
“Art Union” Act--Dethier’s “Twelfth Cake Lottery”--
Tontines--Raffling--Pious lotteries--Sweet-stuff lotteries
for children--Hamburg lotteries 325
CHAPTER XXV.
“The Missing Word Competition:” its rise and fall 339
INDEX 353
[Illustration]
A HISTORY OF ENGLISH LOTTERIES.
CHAPTER I.
Antiquity of _the Lot_--Old lotteries--Derivation of word--First
lottery in England: its scheme.
[Illustration:
“A lottery _is a Taxation_
_Upon all the Fools in Creation;_
_And Heaven be prais’d_
_It is easily raised,_
_Credulity’s always in Fashion:_
_For Folly’s a_ FUND,
_Will never lose ground,_
_While Fools are so rife in the Nation._”]
So sang Henry Fielding in his play of “The Lottery,” which was first
acted at Drury Lane Theatre, January 1, 1732; and I think those who
have patience to read these pages will endorse his words.
Gambling, in some shape, is inherent in man, and dice for the casting
of LOTS have been found belonging to the Egyptians and Assyrians, in
the tombs of prehistoric man, were used alike by the refined Greeks and
Romans, and by the barbarous Northmen. The Bible teems with notices
of the LOT. It was recommended by Solomon as a means of deciding
disputes. “The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between
the mighty” (Prov. xviii. 18). It was used as a means of dividing land.
“Notwithstanding the land shall be divided by lot: according to the
names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. According to
the lot shall the possession thereof be divided between many and few”
(Numb. xxvi. 55, 56). Nay, one of the Apostles, Matthias, was chosen by
LOT (Acts i. 26). But if any one is curious to know how often the LOT
is mentioned in Holy Scripture, let him look at Cruden’s _Concordance_.
In this short sketch we see the antiquity of the Lot; but the LOTTERY,
the form of gambling of which this book treats, is of comparatively
modern invention. The Romans had something of the kind, but it partook
more of our presents from Christmas-trees than the modern lottery.
First of all were the _Apophoreta_, gifts which were presented to the
guests at table, and which they carried home with them--a custom which
obtained during the Saturnalia (something like a Silver King presenting
his guests with a silver _menu_ card, or the presents given to guests
at City Companies’ dinners); and this was sometimes done in a whimsical
manner, as is on record that Heliogobalus, at a banquet, presented one
guest with a ticket for a gold vase, and another for six flies. Other
prizes, which were drawn haphazard, were ten bears, ten pounds of gold,
or ten ostriches; and, whilst one might draw a thousand pounds, another
would gain a prize of a dead dog.
It is said that lotteries began in Italy in the sixteenth century, and
that its name is derived from the _Lotto_ of Florence; but I beg leave
to traverse both propositions. There is no doubt but that the Venetian
and Genoese merchants made use of the lottery as a vehicle whereby to
dispose of their stale goods, or to get rid of a valuable thing for
which they could not obtain a purchaser; but the earliest I can find
recorded was that of the widow of Jan van Eyck, which took place at
Bruges, on February 24, 1446, where the town archives record a payment
to her of two livres for her lottery.[1]
[1] Crowe and Cavalcaselle, _Early Flemish Painters_ (London, 1857), p.
68; _Messager des Sciences et des Arts_ (London, 1884), p. 51; and M.
Gilliodt’s dissertation in _La Flandre_ (Bruges, 1867).
As for the name. I think that there can hardly be two opinions about
it. Long before the Italian _Lotto_, was the Anglo-Saxon _Hleot-an_,
sortiri, to cast lots. In the Dutch the same meaning is expressed by
_Lot-en_, _Loot-en_; in Swedish, _Lotta_; whilst the Lot itself is in
Gothic, _Hlauts_; Anglo-Saxon, _Hlot_; German, _Los_; Dutch, _Lot_;
Swedish, _Lott_; French, _Lot_; and Italian, _Lotto_. So that there can
be very little doubt of its northern derivation, the Latin synonym,
_Sors_, being so totally different.
There is no doubt but that the lottery was imported into England from
abroad; and the first of which we have any record was one in the reign
of Queen Elizabeth, projected in 1566, but not drawn till 1569. As
far as is known, there is but one authentic record of this lottery in
existence, which has been happily preserved in the muniment-room at
Loseley House, in Surrey. It is in black letter, interspersed with
ordinary text and italics, and the bill is five feet long by nineteen
inches wide; and the text is surrounded by a border of ornamental
type. At top, it has an illustration of the prizes in plate, tapestry,
and money--and it is twenty inches in depth. As it is such an unique
curiosity, I give the bill at length.
“A verie rich Lotterie Generall, without any blancks,
contayning a number of good prices, as wel of redy
money as of plate, and certaine sorts of marchaundizes,
having ben valued and priced by the comaundement of
the Queene’s most excellent majestie, by men expert
and skilfull; and the same Lotterie is erected by her
majesties order, to the intent that such commoditie as
may chaunce to arise thereof, after the charges borne,
may be converted towardes the reparation of the havens
and strength of the Realme, and towardes such other
publique good workes. The number of lots shall be foure
hundreth thousand, and no more; and every lot shall be
the summe of tenne shillings sterling onely, and no
more.
“THREE WELCOMES.
“The first person to whome any lot shal happen, shall
have for his welcome, (bysides the advantage of his
adventure,) the value of fiftie poundes sterling, in a
piece of sylver plate gilte.
“The second to whome any lot shall happen, shall have
in like case for his welcome, (bysydes his adventure)
the summe of thirtie poundes, in a piece of plate gilte.
“The third to whome any price shall happen, shall have
for his welcome, besides his adventure, the value of
twentie pounds, in a piece of plate gilte.
“THE PRICES.
“Whoever shall winne the greatest and most excellent
price, shall receive the value of five thousande
poundes sterling, that is to say, three thousande
pounds in ready money, seven hundred poundes in plate
gilte and white, and the rest in good tapisserie meete
for hangings, and other covertures, and certain sortes
of good linen cloth.[2]
[2] All the following lots are abbreviated.
“2nd, 'great price’ £3500, _i.e._ £2000 in money,
£600 in plate, the rest in good tapisserie, &c.,
as above.
“3rd, £3000, _i.e._ £1500 in money, £500 in plate, the rest, &c.
“4th, £2000, _i.e._ £1000 in money, £400 in plate, the rest, &c.
“5th, £1500, _i.e._ £750 in money, £300 in plate, the rest, &c.
“6th, £1000, _i.e._ £500 in money, £200 in plate, the rest, &c.
“7th, £700, _i.e._ £400 in money, £100 in plate, the rest, &c.
“8th, £500, _i.e._ £250 in money, £100 in plate, the rest, &c.
“9th, £400, _i.e._ £250 in money, £100 in plate, the rest, &c.
“10th, £300, _i.e._ £200 in money, £50 in plate, the rest, &c.
“11th, £250, _i.e._ £150 in money, £50 in plate, the rest, &c.
“12th, £200, _i.e._ £150 in money, the rest in good tapisserie
and linen cloth.
“13th, £140, _i.e._ £100 in money, £40 in plate, tapisserie,
or linen cloth.
“12 prices, every price of the value of £100, that
is to say, 3 score and 10 pounds ready money,
and £30 in plate, tapisserie, or linen cloth.
“20 and 4 prices, every price of £50, £30 in
ready money, £20 in plate, tapisserie, &c.
“3 score prices of 4 and 20 pounds and ten shillings
(£24 10/-), £17 in ready money, and £7 10/-
in plate, &c.
“4 score and 10 prices, every price of £22 10/-
_i.e._ £15 in money, £17 10/- in plate, &c.
“One hundreth and 14 of £18, _i.e._ £12 in
money, £6 5/- in plate gilte and white.
“120 prices of £12 10/-, _i.e._ £7 10/- in money,
£5 in like plate.
“150 prices of £8, _i.e._ £5 in money, £3 in linen
cloth.
“200 prices of £6 10/-, _i.e._ £4 in money, 50/-
in linen cloth.
“300 prices of £4 10/-, _i.e._ 50/- in money, 40/-
in linen cloth.
“500 prices of £3 10/-, _i.e._ 40/- in money, 30/-
in linen cloth.
“500 prices of 50/- in money.
“2000 prices of 40/- in plate.
“6000 prices of 25/- in money.
“10,000 prices of 15/- in money.
“9418 prices of 14/- in money.
“And all the rest, to the accomplishing of the aforesayd
number of lottes, shall be allowed for every adventure
at the least 2 shillˢ and 6 pens in ready money.
“Conditions ordained for the advantage of the Adventurers
in this Lotterie, bysides the Prices before mentioned
in the Charte.
“The Queenes Majestie, of hir power royall, giveth libertie to all
maner of persons that will adventure any money in this Lotterie, to
resort to the places underwritten, and to abyde and depart from the
same in manner and forme foliowing; that is to say, to the Citie of
London, at any time within the space of one moneth next following the
feast of S. Bartholomew this present yeare 1567, and there to remain
seven days. And to these cities and towns following: York, Norwich,
Exceter, Lincolne, Coventrie, Southampton, Hull, Bristol, Newcastell,
Chester, Ipswich, Sarisbury, Oxforde, Cambridge, and Shrewesbury, in
the Realme of Englande, and Dublyn and Waterforde in the Realme of
Irelande, at any time within the space of three weekes next after the
publication of the Lotterie in every of the sayd severall places,
and there to remaine also seven whole days, without any molestation
or arrest of them for any maner of offence, saving treason, murder,
pyracie, or any other felonie, or for breach of hir Majesties peace,
during the time of their comming, abiding, or retourne.[3]
[3] This, however, was not acted on, for in the Domestic State Papers
in the Rolls Office is one dated April 30, 1569, endorsed, “I. Aldaye
to Cecill. Is a prisoner in the Counter for debt. Thought he should
have been protected under the Proclamation for the Lottery, but it was
made a jest of.”
“And that every person adventuring their money in this Lotterie may
have the like liberty in comming and departing to and from the Citie of
London, during all the time of the reading of the same Lotterie, untill
their last adventure be to them answered.
“Also, that whosoever under one devise, prose or poesie, shall
adventure to the number of thirtie lottes and upward, within three
monethes next following after the sayd feast of Saint Bartholomew, and
by the hazarde of the prices contained in this Lotterie gaineth not the
thirde pennie, or so much as wanteth of the same, shall be allowed
unto them in a yearely pencion, to begin from the day when the reading
of the sayd Lotterie shall ende, and to continue yearely during their
life.
“Whoever shall game the best, second, and third great prices, having
not put in the posies whereunto the sayd prices shall be answerable
into the Lotterie within three moneths next after the said feast of
Saint Bartholomew, shall have abated and taken out of the summe of
money contained in the said best price, one hundreth and fiftie pounds,
and of the sayd second price, one hundreth pounds, and out of the said
third price four score pounds, to be given to any towne corporate or
haven, or to any other place, for any good and desirable use, as the
partie shall name or appoint in writing.
“And whosoever shall gaine a hundreth poundes or upwarde in any price,
saving the three severall best prices next aforementioned, having not
put in his lots, whereby he shall gaine any such price, within three
moneths next following the sayd feast of Saint Bartholomew, shall have
abated and deducted (as above is sayd) out of every hundred pounds,
five pounds, to be employed as is next before sayd.
“Whosoever, having put in thirtie lottes under one devise or posie,
within the sayd three moneths, shalle winne the last lot of all, if,
before that lot wonne he have not gained so much as hath ben by him put
in, shall for his tarying and yll fortune be comforted with the reward
of two hundreth poundes, and for every lot that he shall have put in
besydes the said thirty lots, he shall have twentie shillings sterlyng.
“And, whosoever having put in XXX lots under one devise or posie,
within the sayd three moneths, shal win the last lot save one, and have
not gayned so much as he hath put in, shal likewise be comforted for
his long tarrying with the reward of C. pounds, and for every lot that
he shal have put in above XXX shall receive ten shillings sterling.
“Item, whosoever shall adventure from fortie lottes upwarde, under one
devise or posie, shall have libertie to lay downe the one halfe in
readie money, and give in bond for the other halfe to the Commissioner
that in that behalfe shal be appointed to have the charge for that
citie or towne where the partie shal thinke good to pay his money, with
condition to pay in the same money, for the which they shal be bound,
six weekes at the least before the day appointed for the reading of
the lotterie, upon payn to forfaite the money payde, and the benefit of
any price. Which day of reading shall begyn within the Citie of London
the XXV day of June next coming.
“And in case it shall fortune the same day of the reading to be
prolonged upon any urgent nedeful cause to a further day, the parties
having adventured and put their money into the lotterie, shall be
allowed for the same after the rate of ten in the hundred from the day
of the prorogation of the sayd readyng untill the very day of the first
reading of the lotterie.
“Item, every person to whome, in the time of reading, any price shall
happen and be due, the same price shal be delivered unto him the next
day following to dispose of the same at his pleasure, without that he
shall be compelled to tary for the same until the ende of the reading.
And, being a straunger borne, he shal have libertie to convert the
same, being money, into wares, to be by him transported into foraine
parts, paying only halfe custome for the same and other duties that
otherwise he should answer therefore.
“Whosoever at the time of the reading shall have three of his owne
posies or devises, comming together successively and immediately one
after another, the same having put in the sayd three posies within
thre moneths (as before), shall have for the same posies or devises so
comming together one after an other, three pounds sterling over and
besides the price answerable therfore.
“And whosoever at the time of the reading shall have four posies
or devises comming together successively and immediately one after
another, having put in his sayde posies within three monethes (as
before mentioned) shall have for the sayd foure posies and devises six
poundes sterling, besides the prices.
“And whosoever at the time of the reading shall have five posies
or devises comming together successively and immediately one after
another, having put in his lottes within thre moneths (as before),
shall have for the sayd five posies or devises ten pounds sterling,
besides the prices.
“And whosoever shall have the like adventure six times together, having
put in his lots, as afore, shal have for those VI posies or devises XXV
pounds sterling and the prices.
“And whosoever shall have the like adventure seven times together,
having put in his lots as afore, shall have for those seven posies or
devises a hundreth pounds sterling, and the prices.
“And whosoever shall have the like adventure eight times together,
having put in his lots as afore, shall have for those eight two
hundreth pounds sterling, and the prices.
“And so the posies or devises resorting together by increase of number,
he to whom they shal happen in that sorte, having put in his money,
as afore is said, shal have for every tyme of increase one hundreth
poundes sterling, and the prices.
“The receipt and collection of this present Lotterie shall endure for
the rest of the Realme besides London, until the XVᵗʰ day of April next
coming, which shal be in the yere 1568.
“And the receipt and collection of the City of London shal continue
unto the first day of May next following; at which dayes, or before,
all the collectors shal bring in their bokes of the collection of
lottes to such as shal be appointed to receive their accomptes, upon
paine, if they do faile to do so, to lose the profite and wages
appointed to them for their travell in that behalfe. Finally, it is to
be understanded that hir Majestie and the Citie of London will answere
to all and singular persons havyng adventured their money in this
Lotterie, to observe all articles and conditions contained in the same
from point to point inviolably.
“The shewe of the prices and rewardes above mencioned shall be set
up to be seene in Cheapsyde in London, at the signe of the Queene’s
Majesties’ arms, in the house of M. Dericke, goldsmith, servant to the
Queene’s most excellent Majestie.
“God save the Queen.
“Imprinted at London, in Paternoster Rowe,
by Henrie Bynneman, anno 1567.”
[Illustration]
CHAPTER II.
Posies and mottoes--Forcing the subscriptions--Towns
and their mottoes--Lottery for armour in 1585--
A Royal lottery at Harefield in 1602.
We see by this bill that in order that the subscribers should be
anonymous, their shares were not to be taken in their names; but, as in
some competitions nowadays--notably in architecture--the competitors
are only known by their mottoes, so every subscriber to this lottery
was to use a devise or posie. Of the posies of this particular lottery
one at least remains, and it may be found in Geffrey Whitney’s “Choice
of Emblemes” (Leyden, 1586), p. 61.
“_Written to the like effecte, vppon_
Video, & taceo
_Her Maiesties poesie, at the great Lotterie in London
begon_ M.D.LXVIII. _and ended_ M.D.LXIX.
I see, and houlde my peace: a Princelie Poësie righte,
For euerie faulte, shoulde not provoke, a Prince, or man of mighte.
For if that IOVE shoulde shoote, so oft as men offende,
The Poëttes saie, his thunderboltes shoulde soon bee at an ende.
Then happie wee that haue, a Princesse so inclin’de,
That when as iustice drawes hir sworde, hath mercie in her minde,
And to declare the same, how prone shee is to save:
Her Maiestie did make her choice, this Poësie for to have.
_Sed piger ad pænas princeps, ad præmia velox:
Cuique doles, quoties cogitur esse ferox._”
In a little black-letter book in the Loxley collection, intituled
“Prises drawn in the Lottery, from the XVI to the XXVI day of
February,” which is considered to relate to this lottery, are very many
of these posies, with the names of the persons, etc., whose ventures
they represented, the number of the lots, and the prizes they gained,
which were, naturally, in most cases under the ten shillings subscribed.
“If Fortune be forward my Angell[4] is gone,
But if Fortune be frendly with encrease it cometh home.
“Alice Crewe, London (268,223), 1_s._ 3_d._”
“Cast the grapple over the bote
If God wil, for the great lot.
“By me Nicholas Martin, free of the Companie of
Merchauntes of Exon. (18,236), 5_s._”
“I woulde be contente with a hundred pounde,
In my purse it would give a sounde.
“Per Thomas Chamberlayne, Horsted Teynes, Sussex (1129),
1_s._ 2_d._”
“Wee put in one lott, poor maydens we be ten:
We pray God send us a good lotte, that all we may say, Amen.
“Per Dorothie Hawes of Cheapside (44,963), 1_s._ 2_d._”
“God send a good lot for my children and me,
Which have had twenty by one wife truly.
“Per William Dorghtie de Westholme (195,315), 2_s._ 3_d._”
“I am a pore maiden and faine would marry,
And the lacke of goods is the cause that I tarry.
”Per Sibbel Cleyon (51,832), 2_s._ 1_d._”
“Although I can not wel see,
Yet I will venture in the Lottery.
”Per Sir Thom. Woodhouse of Warham (109,508), 2_s._ 1_d._”
“What chaunce to me befal
I am content withal.
”Sir George Speake of Whitlackington in Somersetshire,
Knight (193,066), 5_s._ 10_d._”
[4] The gold coin so called.
The highest prize drawn during these ten days seems to have been £16
13_s._ 3_d._, and the “devise” or motto was, “Not covetous.”
The public generally evidently did not take kindly to this venture, for
on September 13, 1567, the Lord Mayor found it necessary to supplement
the foregoing Proclamation of the Queen, of August 23, by one of his
own, guaranteeing the honesty of the scheme. “Nowe to avoyde certaine
doubtes since the publication of the sayde Lotterie, secretely moved
concernyng the answering thereof, wherein though the wiser sort may
finde cause to satisfie themselves therin, yet to the satisfaction of
the simpler sorte, the Lorde Maior of the sayd Citie, and his brethren
the Aldermen of the sayd Citie, by assent of the Common Councell of the
same, doe signifie and declare to all people by this proclamation that,
according to the articles of hir Majesties order conteined in the sayd
charte so published, every person shal be duly answered accordyng to
the tenour of hir highnesse sayd proclamation.”
Still the public looked askance at it, and the subscriptions came in
but slowly; so the Queen issued another proclamation on January 3,
1568, postponing the drawing, or “reading,” as it was called, giving
her reasons therefor thus: “Forasmuch as in sundry parts of the
realme, the principal persons that were appointed to be the treasurers
for the money that should be gathered in the severall shyres of
the realme, had not received their instructions and charge in such
due time as was requisite, by reason that upon the first nomination
of them, there were, after sundry alterations of some by reason of
sicknesse, of others by reason that they were dead aboute the time of
their nomination; and of some others, that afterward were so otherwise
occupied in publike offices, as the said service could not be by them
executed, so as of the sayd space of three moneths, there passed over a
good part, to the detriment of the adventurers.”
Yet it did not go off, and, to further stimulate the prosecution of
the scheme, the Earl of Leicester and Sir William Cecil, as Lords of
the Council, on July 12, 1568, sent a circular “To all and every the
Quene’s Ma’t’s Justices of the Peace, Treasurers, and Collectors of
the Lottery, and to all Mayors, Sheriffs, Bayliefes, Constables, and
to all others her highnes officers, ministers and subjects, spirituall
and temporale, as well as w^tin corporations, lib’ties, and franchises,
as w^tout, in the Counties of Kent, Sussex, Surry, Southehampton and
the Isle of Wight,” apprising them of the appointment of a Surveyor
of the Lottery, and enjoining them to do all in their power to get
subscribers.
This surveyor certainly did put the screw on most unmercifully,
visiting and writing to the country gentlemen, giving them “to
understonde what waie is devised for a further collection, and for
animating or moving the people, desiring you to put the same in
practise as sone as possible you may.”
This certainly did stimulate the subscriptions, and we find by entries
in their archives and by their posies that the towns all over England
contributed municipally.
_Winchester._--“July 30, 1568. _Itm._ That £3 be taken out of the
Coffers of the cytie and be put into the lottrey, and so moche more
money as shall make up evyn Lotts wᵗʰ those that are contrybutory of
the cytie, so that it passᵈ not 10_s._”
_Wells._--“Oct. 15, 1568. At this Convoc’on the M’r and his brethrene
w’the the condiscent of all the burgesses, hath fully agreed that ev’y
occupacōn w’thin the Towne aforesayde shall make their lotts for the
Lottery accordynge, as well to the Queene’s Ma’ty’s p’clamacōn as to
her p’vy L’res assigned in that behalf.”
Yarmouth seems to have sent two subscriptions.
“_To the fifteen pounds of the town’s money._
Yermouth haven, God send thee spede,
The Lord he knoweth thy great nede.”
“_To the fifteen pounds collected amongst the four and twenties
and the eight and forties._
Yf Yermouth great in Fortune’s favour be,
The greteste lott may chanse to fall to me.”
“Louth linct in love,
Lucky be thy lot.”
“In good hope, poor East Greenwiche, God send us to remain,
And of some good lotte to have the gaine.”
“Armouth for a haven is a fit place,
And a haven it may be, if it please the Queenes grace.”
“'Be meeke in spirite,’ per the parish of Southfleete Kent.”
“Give the best prise, I pray thee, good fortune,
Unto the Queene’s Majesties towne of Launston.”
“_For the hamlet of Radcliffe._
Mariner, hoist up thy saile,
If God sende us a good lot, it may us prevaile.”
“Topsham is buylded upon a red rydge,
I pray God sende a good lot to maintayne the kay and bridge.”
“Draw Brighthemston a good lot
Or else return them a turbot.”
“From Hastings we come,
God send us good speed;
Never a poor fisher town in England,
Of ye great lot hath more need.”
All the City Companies subscribed, and, at last, the lottery was drawn,
as Holinshed tells us (1569) that “A great lotterie being holden at
London in Poules Church yard, at the west dore, was begun to be drawne
the eleuenth of Januarie, and continued daie and night till the sixt of
Maie, wherein the said drawing was fullie ended.” Let us hope that the
ports and havens benefited therefrom.
The next lottery of which we have any knowledge is mentioned by Stowe
in his “Annales,” under date of 1585. “A lotterie for marvellous rich
and beautifull armor was begunne to be drawne at London in _S. Paules_
Churchyard, at the great West gate (an house of timber and boord being
there erected for that purpose) on _S. Peters_ day in the morning,
which lotterie continued in drawing day and night, for the space of two
or three dayes.”
In 1602 Queen Elizabeth visited Sir Thomas Egerton, the Lord Keeper
of the Great Seal, at his mansion at Harefield, Middlesex. She had a
particular liking for presents, and on the preceding New Year’s Day
he had given her an amulet of gold garnished with sparks of rubies,
pearls, and half-pearls, and his wife, dame Elizabeth, presented her
Majesty with “a round kirtell of velvet satten, cut and embroidered
all over like _Esses_ of Venice gold, and a border embroidered like
pyramids; and a doublet of silver chamlett, embroidered with pearls
like leaves, flourished with silver.” He was well aware of her
proclivities, for when she paid him this visit, he presented her with a
_divertissement_ called “a Lottery.” Enter--
“A Marriner with a boxe under his arme, contayning all the severall
things following, supposed to come from the Carricke,[5] came into the
Presence, singing this Song:--
“_Cynthia_, Queene of Seas and Lands,
That Fortune euery where commands,
Send forth Fortune to the Sea,
To try her Fortune euery way:
There did I Fortune meet, which makes me now to sing,
There is no fishing to the Sea, nor service to the King.[6]
“All the Nymphes of Thetis’ traine,
Did _Cinthia’s_ Fortune entertaine:
Many a Iewell, many a Iem,
Was to her Fortune brought by them.
Her Fortune sped so well, as makes me now to sing,
There is no fishing to the Sea, nor service to the King.
“Fortune, that it might be seene
That she did serue a Royall Queene;
A franke and royall hand did beare,
And cast her favors euery where.
Some toyes fel to my share; which makes me now to sing,
There is no fishing to the Sea, nor service to the King.”
[5] A small merchant vessel.
[6] When Queen Elizabeth visited Cowdray, in August, 1591, whilst
walking in the garden, a pseudo-angler met her, and made a long speech,
in the course of which he said, “Madame, it is an olde saying, 'There
is no fishing to the sea, nor service to the King;’ but it holdes when
the sea is calme, and the King vertuous.”
“And the Song ended, he uttered this short speech: God save you,
faire Ladies all; and for my part, if ever I be brought to answere my
sinnes God forgive me my sharking, and lay usury to my charge. I am
a Marriner, and am now come from the sea, where I had the Fortune to
light upon these few trifles. I must confesse I came but lightly by
them; but I no sooner had them, but I made a vow, that as they came
to my hands by Fortune, so I would not part with them but by Fortune.
To that end I ever since carried these Lots about me, that, if I met
with fit company, I might devide my booty among them. And now (I thanke
my good Fortunes) I am lighted into the best company of the world, a
company of the fairest Ladyes that ever I saw. Come, Ladyes, try your
Fortunes; and if any light vpon an vnfortunate Blanke, let her thinke
that Fortune doth but mock her in these trifles, and meanes to pleasure
her in greater matters.”
There were thirty-three lots, of which five were blanks, and the
“Marriner” had an appropriate couplet to say to all. The prizes were
as follow:--1, Fortune’s Wheel (?); 2, a Purse; 3, a Maske;[7] 4, a
Looking Glasse; 5, a Hand-kerchiefe; 6, a Plaine Ring; 7, a Ring with
this posie: “As faithfull as I finde;” 8, a Paire of Gloves; 9, a Dozen
of Points;[8] 10, a Lace; 11, a Paire of Knives; 12, a Girdle; 13, a
Payre of Writing Tables; 14, a Payre of Garters; 15, a Coyfe[9] and
Crosse Cloath;[10] 16, a Falling Band; 17, a Stomacher; 18, a Paire
of Sizzers; 19, a Chaine; 20, a Praier Book; 21, a Snuftkin;[11] 22,
a Fanne; 23, a Paire of Bracelets; 24, a Bodkin; 25, a Necklace; 26,
a Cushinet;[12] 27, a Dyall; 28, a Nutmeg with a blanke parchment in
it.[13]
[7] Used instead of a veil when in the open air.
[8] Staylaces.
[9] A lady’s head-dress.
[10] To wrap round the head or bosom.
[11] A small muff.
[12] A pin-cushion.
[13] Davison’s “Poems.” London, 1621.
CHAPTER III.
The Virginia lottery of 1612--Private lottery--Licence
for lottery to supply London with water--Two
other schemes--Lottery in behalf of fishing
vessels--Irish Land Lottery--One for redeeming
English slaves--One for poor maimed soldiers--
Gambling lottery, concession for--“Royal Oak”
Lottery--Evils of lotteries--“Royal Fishing
Company” Lottery--Patentees.
The next public lottery of which we hear was that of 1612, when “the
King’s maiestie in speciall favor for the present plantation of English
Colonies in _Virginia_, granted a liberall Lottery, in which was
contained five thousand pound in prizes certayne, besides rewardes of
casualitie, and began to be drawne, in a new built house at the West
end of _Paul’s_ the 29th of June, 1612. But of which Lottery, for want
of filling uppe the number of lots, there were then taken out and
throwne away threescore thousande blanckes, without abating of any one
prize; and by the twentith of July all was drawne and finished. This
Lottery was so plainely carryed, and honestly performed, that it gave
full satisfaction to all persons. _Thomas Sharpliffe_, a Taylor, of
London, had the chiefe prize, _viz._ foure thousand Crownes in fayre
plate, which was sent to his house in very stately manner: during the
whole tyme of the drawing of this lottery there were alwaies present
diuers worshipfull Knights and Esquiers, accompanied with sundry graue
discreet Cittizens.”
In 1612, one Cornelius Drebbel wrote a letter in Latin to Prince Henry,
complaining that the Lord Mayor had refused him permission to hold a
lottery; that he had no other means of subsistence, and he begged the
Prince to use his influence with the Lord Treasurer (Salisbury) for
leave to have one beyond the jurisdiction of the city. He also wrote to
the Lord Treasurer, enclosing a scheme of the proposed conditions of
his lottery.
In 1620 the holding of lotteries was suspended by Order in Council; but
on March 31, 1627, a licence was given to Michael Parker and Everard
Mainwaring to raise money by means of a lottery, to be employed in
carrying out the object indicated in the grant of same date to Sir
Nicholas Saunder, Henry Saunder, and Michael Parker, which gave them
power to convey water by a covered aqueduct from certain springs near
Hoddesdon, in co. Herts, and to disperse the same through the streets
and houses, paying to the Crown a rent of £4000 per annum. And again,
on February 11, 1831, Parker and Mainwaring obtained a licence to set
forth lotteries for raising money for bringing springs of water to
London. It is said, though I can find no warrant for it, that the first
lottery with money prizes was drawn in 1630.
There was another scheme for bringing water to London, for in 1637
the Regent and Professors of the _Musæum Minervæ_ petitioned the King
for money, and proposed several schemes for raising the same, the
third of them being, “By the Lottery granted to George Gage and others
for bringing a river to London, much money was collected, but, the
undertaking failing, the money remains _in deposito_, to be disposed
to Sir Edward Peyto and Colonel Hambleton upon the like project. It
is proposed that either this money be employed for the building of an
academy, or that another lottery may be granted for that purpose.”
Yet another water scheme. “Jan. 14, 1689. Warrant to pass the Privy
Seal appointing Sir Robert Pointz, K.B., and Edward Rudge, alderman of
London, for the just carriage and managing of the lottery authorized
by the King for the use of the aqueduct undertaken by Sir Edward
Stradling, Sir Walter Roberts and others.”
On February 9, 1640, the Earl of Pembroke sent a remonstrance to the
King about the damage the “Dunkirkers and other subjects of the King
of Spain” had done to the English _busses_, or fishing vessels, and
suggesting that “towards the cost of setting out their busses the
next summer, they pray a grant of a standing lottery, as the Virginia
Company had in 1612, to be managed by the most discreet of their
association;” and this his Majesty, Charles I., was graciously pleased
to grant.
In 1653, according to the _Perfect Account of the Daily Intelligence_,
November 23 of that year, a lottery was held, and this is the
“ADVERTISEMENT
_At the Committee for Claims for Lands in Ireland._
Ordered, That a Lottery be at Grocers Hall,
London, on Thursday, 15 Decem. 1653, both for
Provinces and Counties, to begin at 8 of the
clock in the forenoon of the same day; and all
persons concerned therein are to take notice
thereof.”
There was a lottery scheme August 7, 1660, which was granted. “The
Petition of Capt. Thomas Gardiner to the King, to empower him to hold
a lottery in England and Wales for three years, for ransom of English
slaves in Tunis, Algiers, or the Turkish galleys, or for any other
charitable use, paying in a third of the profits, and reserving the
rest for his expenses, and repair of his fortunes, ruined by loyalty.”
In November, 1660, Captain William Pleydell petitioned “for leave to
sell by lottery, during one year, some plate which he and others have
procured, in order to gain relief for himself, and to obtain £10 each
per annum for 12 poor maimed soldiers, named, of Lord Cottington’s
life-guard, who live by begging in the street.”
[Illustration]
This was a comparatively worthy object, although the “relief for
himself” might be capable of a very broad construction; but Charles
II. was liberal in his concessions. There was one man, Francis, or
Francisco, Corbett who was groom of the Privy Chambers to the Queen,
who obtained a licence for a gambling lottery--possibly something
like _roulette_ at Monte Carlo, called _L’Ocha di Catalonia_. On
November 23, 1661, an order was made forbidding a lottery carried on by
Francisco Finochelli, as being the same with the _L’Ocha di Catalonia_,
for which the sole licence was granted to Francisco Corbett, of whom we
shall hear more; but it is best to proceed chronologically, if possible.
We next hear of him in connection with the famous “Royal Oak Lottery,”
for on August 25, 1663, when a licence was granted to Captain James
Roche, Adjutant of the Guards, and Francis Corbett to set up and
exercise the lotteries of the Royal Oak and Queen’s Nosegay, in any
place in England and Wales; none else to set up the same, or any
lottery that approaches it, except Sir Anthony Des Marces, Bart., and
Lawrence Dupuy, to whom a similar licence has already been granted.
Meanwhile, Corbett and Finochelli had become partners, as we see by
the docket on the memorial of August 28 of same year, of one Simon
Marcelli, of money transactions between Captain Roche, Francis Corbett,
and Jean Francisco Finochelli, relative to the lottery of the Royal Oak
set up at Smithfield Fair. Captain Roche furnished £95, on condition
of not giving the company the patent till repaid; but, the sum being
paid, he gave up the patent.
Corbett must have found the lotteries profitable, for on December 3
of the same year, a grant was made to Francis Corbett of licence to
set up lotteries of a new invention, called the Royal Oak and Triomfo
Imperiale, in any city in the kingdom, permitting no others to exercise
the same except Sir Anthony Des Marces, Lawrence Dupuy, and Captain
James Roche, to whom a similar privilege is given, on paying five
shillings weekly to the poor where the lotteries are. But as soon as
he got the concession, Corbett seems to have sold out; for there is a
petition of Sir Anthony Des Marces, Bart., Lawrence Dupuy, and Richard
Baddeley, for a licence to exercise the lottery of the Royal Oak and
all others in England, Wales, and Ireland, as they had purchased the
other partners’ interests, spent large sums of money thereon, and
were checked in the exercise of them. Yet, still later on in the same
month, in order to obtain this licence, they had to sign an indenture
by which they agreed to pay a certain sum yearly to Sir John Crosland
and Captain Edward Bennett, in consideration of the services of
Secretary Bennet in procuring for them the licence. On that indenture
being signed came at once, the warrant for them to set up the lotteries
of the Royal Oak and L’Ocha di Catalonia, applying the whole profits
to support the fishing trade only, _the patentees receiving fit
recompense for their trouble_. So that we see that there were small
“Panama scandals” in those days. Indeed, this lottery seems to have
been a swindle; for, in a letter, January 6, 1664, from Nathaniel Cale,
who had been Mayor of Bristol, to Joseph Williamson, secretary to Sir
Henry Bennet, and afterwards keeper of State Papers, he says he “will
forward any lottery at the Bristol fair, except the Royal Oak, which
broke half the cashiers in Bristol, when last there.” Yet, on the 11th
of the same month, he writes to the same that he has prevailed with the
Mayor, Sir John Knight, to allow the Royal Oak Lottery during the eight
days of the fair; and, perhaps, the leave may be extended. But he has
a prejudice against it; for, at its last being there, many young men
ruined themselves, and his own son lost £50.
The sequel to this story is told later on. On February 14, 1664, Sir
John Knight wrote to Williamson that he had received his letters in
behalf of the Royal Oak Lottery men, who have spent three weeks there.
Last year they were there five months, and the cry of the poor sort of
people was great against them, because, not being allowed by the great
seal, they were clear against law. Will tolerate them some longer, but
thinks they will soon be warped out. Nathaniel Cale writes that the
Mayor has granted fourteen days to the Royal Oak, and then will grant
more.
It would be impossible to close the notice of this lottery without
quoting from a very rare little 12mo book,[14] as it gives us the inner
life of the scheme; and, besides, is amusing. The indictment, as the
wont of such documents, is cumbrous and heavy, and was terrible. The
first witness called was Captain Pasthope, who was examined by one of
the managers.
[14] “The Arraignment, Trial, and Condemnation of Squire Lottery,
_alias_ Royal Oak Lottery.” London, 1699.
“_Man._ Sir, do you know Squire _Lottery_, the prisoner at the Bar?
“_Pasthope._ Yes, I have known him intimately for near 40 years; ever
since the Restoration of King _Charles_.
“_Man._ Pray, will you give the Bench and Jury an Account of what you
know of him; how he came into _England_, and how he has behav’d ever
since?
“_Pasthope._ In order to make my Evidence more plain, I hope it will
not be judg’d much out of form, to premise two or three things.
“_Man._ Take your own method to explain yourself; we must not abridge
or direct you in any respect.
“_Pasthope._ In the year 60 and 61, among a great many poor Cavaliers,
’twas my hard fate to be driven to Court for a Subsistence, where I
continued in a neglected state, painfully waiting the moving of the
waters for several months; when, at last, a Rumour was spread that a
certain Stranger was landed in _England_; that, in all probability, if
we could get him the Sanction of a Patent, would be a good Friend to us.
“_Man._ You seem to intimate as if he was a Stranger; pray, do you know
what Countryman he was?
“_Pasthope._ The report of his Country was very different; some would
have him a _Walloon_, some a _Dutchman_, some a _Venetian_, and others,
a _Frenchman_; indeed, by his Policy, cunning Design, Forethought,
etc., I am very well satisfied he could be no _Englishman_.
“_Man._ What kind of Credentials did he bring with him to recommend him
with so much advantage?
“_Pasthope._ Why, he cunningly took upon him the Character of a
_Royal Oak Lottery_, and pretended a mighty friendship to antiquated
Loyalists; but, for all that, there were those at Court that knew he
had been banish’d out of several Countries for disorderly Practices,
till at last he pitch’d upon poor easy credulous _England_ for his
Refuge.
“_Man._ You say, then, he was a Foreigner, that he came in with the
Restoration, usurp’d the Title of a _Royal Oak_, was establish’d in
Friendship to the Cavaliers, and that for disorderly Practices he had
been banish’d out of several Countries; till, at last, he was forc’d to
fix upon _England_ as the fittest _Asylum_. But, pray, Sir, how came
you so intimately acquainted with him at first?
“_Pasthope._ I was about to tell you. In order to manage his Affairs,
it was thought requisite he should be provided with several Coadjutors,
which were to be dignify’d with the Character of _Patentees_; amongst
which number, by the help of a friendly Courtier, I was admitted for
one.
“_Man._ Oh! then I find you was a _Patentee_. Pray, how long did you
continue in your Patentee’s Post? and what were the Reasons that urg’d
you to quit it at last?
“_Pasthope._ I kept my Patentee’s Station nine years, in which time I
had clear’d £4000, and then, upon some Uneasiness and Dislike, I sold
it for £700.”
Francisco Corbett seems to have regretted the sale of his portion of
this lucrative lottery, for, in 1663, he petitioned for a share, at
least, in the lottery granted him by his Majesty, of which he was
deprived by the interposition of others during his late absence; also
for restoration to his place as groom of the Privy Chambers to the
Queen, into which another had intruded, and for payment of some part
of a pension promised him by his Majesty. We hear of him once more in
a petition to the King written in Italian, probably in 1664, in which
he said he was ill, on his journey to Paris, and too ill on his arrival
to see Madame. His Majesty promised him favour, if, owing to the
impediments that Sir Henry Bennet makes to his game, he cannot profit
by his promised letter of change. Had received no profit, and failed to
obtain the money he hoped for in Paris, and begged that he might return
to throw himself at his Majesty’s feet; but what became of him, I do
not know.
That these lotteries were an acknowledged evil is well shown by the
Domestic State Papers. Take, for instance, “July 11, 1663.--The King
to the Mayor, Sheriffs, etc., of Norwich. Is informed of the ill
consequences resulting from the frequency of lotteries, puppet-shows,
etc., whereby the meaner sort of people are diverted from their work.
Empowers him and his successors, magistrates of the city, to determine
the length of stay of such shows in the city, notwithstanding any
licences from his Majesty, or the Master of Revels.”
In 1664 this permission was relaxed, for Secretary Bennet wrote to
the Mayor of Norwich, that, although the King had given authority
to the magistrates of that town to allow or disallow the keeping of
shows, games, and lotteries, in order to avoid abuses happening by
their licentious exercise; but now he signified his pleasure that no
lotteries are to be allowed, except as appointed by Sir Anthony Des
Marces, to whom the management of the same is granted for the benefit
of the Royal Fishing Company.
Yet we find Court favour superseding this arrangement, for the same
year a warrant was made out for a licence to Thomas Killigrew to set
up a lottery for three years, after the expiration of the three years’
lottery granted to the Royal Fishing Company, called the Pricking
Book Lottery, on rental of £50, to be paid to the said company. But
Killigrew could not wait, and wrote offering £600 at once, or £650 in
two payments, for the Pricking Book Lottery, of which Sir Anthony Des
Marces had the power of disposal, and suggested that it was about the
best offer he could expect.
However, there were others in the field hankering after this profitable
gamble, for there is a letter from some person unknown to Killigrew,
asking him to prevail with Sir Henry Bennet that some friends may
have liberty from Sir Anthony Des Marces and Co. to use the Pricking
Lottery, paying £200 a year as long as Sir Anthony has the management
of it; which, excepting £100 fine, is as much as the Fishing
Commissioners ever offered. The reasons why they offered no more
were--that there were never more than eight lotteries in England, and
they were licensed by the Master of the Revels, and let at such rent
as from £25 to £30 a year. Another person offered to give Sir Anthony
£1000 for the reversion of the two unexpired terms in the lottery.
I fancy all this lusting after the profits of lotteries was noticed in
high places, for there is a proclamation dated from Whitehall, July
21, 1665, forbidding any persons to use or exercise lotteries in Great
Britain or Ireland, except Sir Anthony Des Marces, Louis Marquis de
Duras, Joseph Williamson, Lawrence Dupuy, and Richard Baddeley, to whom
the sole right of managing them is granted, in order to raise a stock
for the Royal Fishing Company. But Sir Anthony was not content with
this concession. He petitioned in 1666, together with his partners,
for a grant for seven years of all lotteries in Scotland, and the
foreign plantations. It seems possible that the interests of these
patentees, or monopolists, was sold; for, on February 25, 1667, the
Marquis of Blanquefort and George Hamilton petitioned the King for the
sole licence of holding lotteries in his Majesty’s dominions, giving
as a reason that the Royal Company to whom it was granted, in 1664,
for three years now expired, were indifferent to the renewal of their
licence. And this must evidently have been arranged, for, on the same
date, a warrant was issued giving them the sole licence of all sorts of
lotteries in the kingdom of England and Ireland and the plantations for
seven years.
CHAPTER IV.
A book lottery--One for poor military officers--Lottery
for Prince Rupert’s jewels--A penny lottery--First
State lottery--Another in 1697--Private lotteries
suppressed--State lottery in 1710--Curious history
of a private lottery--State lotteries in the reigns
of Anne and George I.--Private lotteries again
suppressed--Raine’s Charity--Marriage by lottery.
Very numerous were the unfortunate Cavaliers who had been ruined by
supporting the Royal cause, and who could get no compensation from the
Government. To help them, some asked to get rid of their plate, etc.,
by lottery, as we have seen in 1660, and, for their assistance, in 1668
a book lottery was established. In the _Gazette_ of May 18 of that
year is the following advertisement:--“Mr. Ogilby’s lottery of books
opens on Monday, the 25th instant, at the Old Theatre between Lincoln’s
Inn Fields and Vere Street, where all persons concerned may repair on
Monday, May 18, and see the volumes, and put in their money.” On May 25
is announced, “Mr. Ogilby’s lottery of books (adventures coming in so
fast that they cannot, in so short a time, be methodically registered)
opens not till Tuesday, the 2nd of June; then not failing to draw, at
the Old Theatre,” etc.
Letters patent, in behalf of the Loyalists, were from time to time
renewed, and from the _Gazette_ of October 11, 1675, it appears,
by those dated June 19 and December 17, 1764, there were granted,
for thirteen years to come, “all lotteries whatsoever, invented, or
to be invented, to several truly loyal and indigent officers, in
consideration of their many faithful services and sufferings, with
prohibition to all others to use or set up the said lotteries,” unless
deputation were obtained from those officers.
Prince Rupert died November 29, 1682, and his jewels were to be
disposed of by means of a lottery, but the public had been so cheated
by previous schemes, that they would not subscribe unless the King
consented to see that all was fair, and that Francis Child, the
goldsmith (or banker) at Temple Bar, should be trustee on their behalf.
The _London Gazette_, September 27-October 1, 1683, has the following
notice of this lottery: “These are to give Notice, that the Jewels of
his late Highness Prince _Rupert_, have been particularly valued and
appraised by Mr. _Isaac Legouch_, Mr. _Christopher Rosse_, and Mr.
_Richard Beauvoir_, Jewellers, the whole amounting to Twenty Thousand
Pounds, and will be sold by way of Lottery, each Lot to be Five Pounds.
The biggest Prize will be a great Pearl Necklace valued at £8000, and
none less than £100. A printed Particular of the said Appraisement,
with their Division into Lots, will be delivered _gratis_ by Mr.
_Francis Child_, Goldsmith, at Temple Bar, _London_, into whose hands,
such as are willing to be Adventurers, are desired to pay their Money,
on or about the first day of _November_ next. As soon as the whole
sum is paid in, a short day will be appointed (which ’tis hoped will
be before _Christmas_) and notified in the _Gazette_, for the Drawing
thereof, which will be done in His Majesties Presence, who is pleased
to declare, that he himself will see all the Prizes put in amongst
the Blanks, and that the whole shall be managed with all Equity and
Fairness; nothing being intended but the Sale of the said Jewels at a
moderate Value. And it is further notified for the satisfaction of all
such as shall be Adventurers, that the said Mr. _Child_ shall and will
stand obliged to each of them for their several Adventures, till the
said Lottery be drawn. And that each Adventurer shall receive their
Money back, if the said Lottery be not drawn and finished before the
first day of _February_ next.”
There are three other notices of this lottery, one of which (_London
Gazette_, November 22-26, 1683) tells us the _modus operandi_ of its
drawing. “As soon as the Money is all come in, a day will be prefixed,
and published for the drawing thereof, as has been formerly notified.
In the morning of which day His Majesty will be pleased, publickly, in
the Banquetting-House to see the Blanks told over, that they may not
exceed their Number, and to read the Papers (which shall be exactly
the same size with the Blanks) on which the Prizes are to be written;
which, being rolled up in his presence, His Majesty will mix amongst
the Blanks, as may also any of the Adventurers there present, that
shall desire it. This being done, a Child appointed by His Majesty, or
the Adventurers, shall, out of the Mass of Lots so mixed, take out the
number that each Person adventures for, and put them into boxes, (which
shall be provided on purpose) on the covers whereof, each Adventurer’s
Name shall be written with the number of Lots He or She adventures
for; the Boxes to be filled in succession as the Moneys was paid in. As
soon as all the Lots are thus distributed, they shall be opened as fast
as may be, and the Prizes then and there delivered to those that win
them; all which, ’tis hoped, will be done and finished in one day.”
I cannot find whether this lottery was ever drawn.
Perhaps the smallest sum ever adventured in a regular lottery was a
penny, which was drawn at the Dorset Garden Theatre, near Salisbury
Square, Fleet Street, on October 19, 1698, with a capital prize of
a thousand pounds. There was a metrical pamphlet (price threepence)
published thereon in the same year, entitled “The Wheel of Fortune; or,
Nothing for a Penny,” etc., “written by a Person who was cursed Mad he
had not the Thousand Pound Lot.” He thus describes the drawing--
“So a Lord of high Title and Birth,
First vow’d he was just,
And in, Sirs, he thrust
The Tickets, which caus’d mighty mirth.
Those who were before sad,
Look’d jocund and glad,
Not doubting but right would be done;
Since a Peer who laid claim
To Honour and Fame,
Swore that all should be paid that was won.
For tho’ we all knew
’Twas certain and true,
That the Tickets should all be drawn out,
Yet some were afraid
They would never be paid,
And, at what time they will’s, yet a doubt.”
[Illustration]
But not long after this, the State began to see what a profitable
business lottery-keeping was, and applied it to its own purpose.
In 1694, by Act of Parliament (5 Will. and Mary, c. 7), a loan of
£1,000,000 was authorized to be raised by lottery in shares of £10
each, the contributors being entitled to annuities for sixteen years
from September 29, 1694, charged on a yearly fund of £140,000,
appropriated out of certain salt and beer duties named in the Act.
Holders of the blanks received 10 per cent. on every share, and 2500
fortunate ticket-holders a larger payment; of which the principal prize
was £1000 a year. The contributors were allowed 14 per cent. for prompt
payment from the day of payment to September 29, 1694.
In 1697 (8 Will. III. c. 22) a loan of £1,400,000 was authorized to be
raised by a lottery of 140,000 tickets of £10 each. Of these, 3500 were
to be prizes of from £10 to £1000; the holders of 136,500 blanks, and
of 2800, £10 prizes, were to receive back £10 with interest from June
24, 1697, at the rate of ¼ _d._ per day (_i.e._ 2½ per cent. per day,
or £3 16_s._ 0½_d._ per cent. per annum) until the whole was paid.
Then came a virtuous wave, and by 10 and 11 Will. III. c. 17 lotteries
were suppressed after December 29, 1699, the preamble to which Act
sets forth that, “Whereas several evil-disposed persons, for divers
years past, have set up many mischievous and unlawful games, called
_lotteries_, not only in the Cities of _London_ and _Westminster_,
and in the suburbs thereof, and places adjoining, but in most of the
eminent towns and places in _England_, and in the Dominion of _Wales_,
and have thereby most unjustly and fraudulently got to themselves great
sums of money from the children and servants of several gentlemen,
traders and merchants, and from other unwary persons, to the utter
ruin and impoverishment of many families, and to the reproach of the
_English_ laws and government, by cover of several patents or grants
under the great seal of _England_ for the said lotteries, or some of
them; which said grants or patents are against the common good, trade,
welfare and peace of His Majesty’s kingdoms: for remedy whereof be
it enacted, adjudged and declared, and it is hereby enacted, adjudged
and declared by the King’s most excellent Majesty, by and with the
advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons,
in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the
same, That all such lotteries, and all other lotteries, are common and
publick nuisances, and that all grants, patents and licences for such
lotteries, or any other lotteries, are void and against law.”
But this show of virtue only lasted a very short time, for in 1710
(8 Anne, c. 4) a loan of £1,500,000 was negotiated by means of a
lottery--of £150,000 tickets at £10 each, every ticket-holder becoming
entitled to an annuity for thirty-two years, the blanks to 14_s._ per
annum, and the prizes to greater annuities, from £5 to £1000 per annum.
Previous to this there was a private lottery, the story of which
Hutchins tells in his “History of the County of Dorset.”[15] The
Sydenham here spoken of was the nephew of the celebrated Thomas
Sydenham, M.D., who adopted the cool treatment in small-pox, and used
quinine (or bark, as it was then called) and laudanum in agues. “This
manor and farm continued in the Sydenhams, till William Sydenham, the
last of the family, esquire of the body to King William III., and the
last that held that office, put up his estate at a private lottery. It
was generally supposed that there was some trick designed; for it was
contrived, or at least hoped, that the fortunate ticket would fall to
the share of a confidant in the family, who they imagined would have
been prevailed upon to return the estate upon a small consideration.
That ticket happened to be hers; but, to their great disappointment,
she immediately married Doyly Michel, Esq. But, it being necessary
that Mr. Sydenham and his two daughters should make a formal surrender
of the estate to the vendee, on their refusal they were committed to
Dorchester prison about 1709, where they ended their days.”
[15] Ed. 1864, vol. ii. p. 706.
In 1711 there were two State Lotteries. The first (9 Anne, c. 6) was
for a loan of £1,500,000 by the sale of 150,000 lottery tickets at
£10 each; the whole money to be repaid, both on blanks and prizes,
in thirty-two years, with interest at 6 per cent. per annum, payable
half-yearly; and the additional sum of £428,570 to be divided amongst
the prizes, and paid with the same interest in thirty-two years. The
second (9 Anne, c. 23) was a loan of £2,000,000, by the sale of 20,000
lottery tickets at £100 each, divided into five classes with the chance
of receiving from £10 to £135, according to the class drawn, with
interest at 6 per cent. until paid off. This lottery consisted of all
prizes, these being formed by dividing an additional sum of £602,200
among the subscribers, those in the lowest class obtaining a profit of
£10.
There were also two in 1712. One (10 Anne, c. 19) was a loan of
£1,800,000 by the sale of 180,000 tickets at £10 each; the whole sum
advanced, with an additional capital of £541,740, to be repaid in
thirty-two years, with interest at 6 per cent., payable half-yearly.
The other (10 Anne, c. 26) was for the same amount, only they were to
be £100 tickets divided into five classes, with an additional capital
of £541,990, to be repaid with interest at 6 per cent. in thirty-two
years.
Next year, 1713 (12 Anne, stat. I. c. 11), there was a comparatively
small lottery of half a million, granted to discharge the debt and
arrears of the civil list, raised by the sale of 50,000 lottery tickets
at £10 each; the whole sum, with an additional capital of £133,010,
to be repaid with interest at 4 per cent. in thirty-two years. In the
last year of the reign of Queen Anne, 1714 (12 Anne, stat. II. c. 9), a
loan was negotiated of £1,400,000, by means of 140,000 lottery tickets
at £10 each, the blanks to have their whole money repaid, with interest
at 5 per cent. in thirty-two years, and the prizes to be formed by an
additional capital of £476,400: the whole capital of the prizes to bear
4 per cent. interest.
Whether Jacobite trouble was the cause or not, there was no State
lottery until 1719. But private lotteries seem to have been to the
fore, so much so that in 1718 they were again made illegal by Act of
Parliament (5 Geo. I. c. 9, s. 43), whereby a fine of £100 could be
inflicted on the transgressors, but the Act was a dead letter. In 1719
two State lotteries were launched (5 Geo. I. c. 3), both for the same
amount, and under similar conditions, except that the first was to bear
interest at 4 per cent. until redeemed by Parliament, and the second
was to be paid at the expiration of thirty-two years. They were each
for half a million, to cover which, 168,665 tickets of £3 each were
issued, making a total of £505,995, the excess over the half-million
being taken for the expenses of the lottery.
In 1719 was instituted a very curious lottery, which exists to this
day, and is thoroughly legal. It is no less than a marriage portion
given by lottery every year to a girl who has been brought up in
Raine’s School, in the parish of St. George-in-the-East, London. I
take the following newspaper cutting, which, though not dated, the
occurrence it narrates must have taken place between 1842 and 1862,
during the time the Rev. Bryan King was rector.
“Wednesday, being the first of May, a most interesting ceremony took
place connected with the asylum and schools founded in 1719 by Mr.
Henry Raine, formerly a brewer, near Parson’s Island, Wapping. This
gentleman, having amassed a princely fortune, endowed, by deed of
gift, the above charity. There are vested in trustees, formed into a
corporation, a perpetual annuity of £240 a year, and the sum of £4000,
which is laid out in a purchase. The charity combines two objects. It
provides for the scriptural education of fifty boys and fifty girls;
and in the asylum provision is made for forty other girls, who are
taught needle and house work, in order to qualify them for service, to
which they are put when they have been put upon the foundation three or
four years. During the whole of this time they are entirely maintained;
and, after the age of twenty-two years, six of them, producing
certificates of their good behaviour during their servitude, and
continuing unmarried, and members of the Episcopal Church of England,
draw twice a year for a marriage portion of £100, to settle them in the
world, with such honest and industrious persons as the majority of the
trustees shall approve of. The bridegrooms must belong to the parish of
St. George-in-the-East, St. John, Wapping, or St. Paul, Shadwell, and
be members of the Church of England.
“On Wednesday morning, at nine o’clock, Sarah Salmon and Mary Ann
Pitman were married in consonance with the terms of the will; after
which the whole of the trustees and children of both establishments
attended Divine Service. The procession to and from the church was
most orderly, and thousands assembled to witness the interesting
scene. Immediately after the return of the governors and children
to the asylum, the process of 'drawing’ took place. There were
four candidates, and four pieces of paper being rolled up by the
governors, three of which were blanks, were dropped into a wide-necked
tea-canister, and shaken well together. After a hymn had been sung,
each candidate was taken by the arm by a governor, and led to the
drawing. Having taken out one roll each, they were led to the opposite
end of the room. The rector, the Rev. B. King, then desired each of
them to open their tickets, and the prize of £100 was discovered to be
in the possession of Jane McCormack. The successful candidate was then
addressed in a most touching manner by the rector, and exhorted to seek
a partner for life who would strive to make her happy by his affection,
and keep her comfortable by his industry. Those who were unsuccessful,
he also addressed with much earnestness and feeling, bidding them not
despair, as they would have the opportunity of trying again. To witness
this part of the ceremony, not fewer than a thousand persons were
present, including the principal families in the neighbourhood, and a
great number of ladies.”
Since the above was written, this charity has been revised, and, by the
scheme of January 26, 1886, the governors are empowered to set apart
the yearly sum of £105 out of the income of the foundation, to provide
marriage portions, according to the will of the founder; but they may,
in any year, intermit the payment of any marriage portion, and they
may, at any time, by resolution, altogether abolish the payment of
marriage portions, and devote the money to educational purposes under
the scheme.
CHAPTER V.
Penalties on private lotteries--State lottery not
subscribed for--Lapse in State lotteries--Private
lotteries--Westminster Bridge lottery--State
lotteries--Discredit thrown on them--British Museum
lottery--Leheup’s fraud.
Once more came a wave of virtue against private lotteries, and in
1721, by the 36th sec. of 8 Geo. I. c. 2, was prescribed a penalty
of £500 for carrying on such lotteries, in addition to any penalties
inflicted by any former Acts; the offender being committed to prison
for one year, and thenceforward until such times as the £500 should be
fully paid and satisfied. Yet the Government themselves, the very same
year, brought out a lottery to raise £700,000 by 70,000 tickets at £10
each; 6998 prizes from £10,000 to £20; 63,002 blanks at £8 each, about
nine blanks to a prize, paid soon after being drawn. And there were
lotteries for the same amount and on the same terms in 1722, 1723, and
1724.
After that a curious thing in the history of lotteries happened, the
reason whereof may be that the offer was not sufficiently tempting. In
1726 a lottery was launched for raising a million, by 100,000 tickets
at £10 each, the prizes to be made stock at 3 per cent. But 11,093 of
these tickets were returned into the Exchequer unsold, and drawn in
prizes and blanks only £103,272 10_s._, whereby £7657 10_s._ was lost
to the Exchequer.
This may probably account for there being no other State lottery till
1731 (4 Geo. II. c. 9), when £800,000 was raised by 80,000 tickets of
£10 each, the blanks being entitled to £7 10_s._ each, and the whole
bearing interest at 3 per cent. This capital was merged (25 Geo. II.
c. 27) into the Consolidated Three per Cents., and this course of
converting into stock, instead of paying the money, was adopted in many
subsequent lotteries.
Once more they were prohibited by legislation, for “An Act for the more
effectual preventing of excessive and deceitful gaming” was passed in
1739 (12 Geo. II. c. 28), the first section of which dealt with private
lotteries. Yet the Government acted on Shakespeare’s dictum--
“That in the Captain’s but a cholerick word--
Which in the soldier is flat blasphemy;”
and, as we shall see, kept lotteries to themselves, whilst condemning
them as sinful in the hands of private speculators--which was perhaps
necessary, as in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_, 1739, p. 329, I find a
private lottery for £325,000, in which there were two prizes of £10,000
each (and in number 16,310), down to £10, whilst there were 48,690
blanks.
“THE STATE LOTTERY.”
This was a lottery drawn between December 10, 1739, and January 25,
1740, for building the first bridge over the Thames, in lieu of the old
Horse-*ferry--12,500 tickets at £5 each, not more than three blanks to
a prize. It really was drawn at Stationers’ Hall, but there is no doubt
but that the illustration is meant for the Guildhall. Below the design
are the following verses, which show the valuation put upon the lottery
even then:--
“The Name of a Lott’ry the Nature bewitches,
And City and Country run Mad after Riches:
My Lord, who, already, has Thousands a Year,
Thinks to double his Income by vent’ring it here:
The Country Squire dips his Houses and Grounds,
For tickets to gain him the Ten Thousand Pounds:
The rosie-jowl’d Doctor his Rectorie leaves,
In quest of a Prize, to procure him Lawn Sleeves.
The Tradesman, whom Duns for their Mony importune,
Here hazards his All, for th’ Advance of his Fortune:
The Footman resolves, if he meets no Disaster,
To mount his gilt Chariot, and vie with his Master.
The Cook-Maid determines, by one lucky Hit,
To free her fair Hands from the Pot-hooks and Spit:
The Chamber-maid struts in her Ladies Cast Gown,
And hopes to be dub’d the Top Toast of the Town:
But Fortune, alas! will have small Share of Thanks,
When all their high Wishes are bury’d in Blanks.
For tho’ they for Benefits eagerly watch’d,
They reckon’d their Chickens before they were hatch’d.”
“THE LOTTERY.”
This has connection with the same lottery, but a description would be
too long for these pages, so I only quote the three concluding lines
of the verses under the engraving, to show how, in the height of its
folly, they could moralize on the lottery--
“To Knaves and Fools the Wheels turn round;
The various kinds do come and go
With five to one ’tis Thro’ Bridge Ho.”[16]
“THE LOTTERY; or, The Characters of several in
genious, designing Gentlewomen, that have put into it.
A Noted lottery Pachter.”[17]
[16] Shooting the arches of London Bridge at high tide was always a
dangerous experiment.
[17] Pactor--a dealer, maker of bargains.
This was probably intended as a satire upon Cox, who kept a lottery
office near the Royal Exchange, and was a bookseller, which is shown in
his portrait (a very fat man, with his coat buttoned all down, and a
sash round his body), where in his sash is stuck a book, marked “Book
Sold.”
Up to the early eighteenth century, the only communication between
Westminster and the Surrey side of the river was by a ferry (still
commemorated in Horse-ferry Road), which was the property of the
Archbishop of Canterbury, and for the privilege of which he paid an
annual rent of twenty pence. The landing-place on the Surrey side was
close to the Episcopal palace. This ferry, however, was inconvenient,
and, in 1736, an Act of Parliament was procured (9 Geo. II. c. 29),
after much opposition on the part of the city of London, “For building
a bridge cross the river _Thames_, from the _New Palace Yard_, in
the city of _Westminster_, to the opposite shore in the County of
_Surrey_.” Commissioners for building the bridge were to be chosen, to
meet in the Jerusalem Chamber, June 22, 1736, and adjourn to appoint
in what manner and with what materials the bridge shall be built. No
houses to be erected thereon.
The result of their deliberations was another Act (10 Geo. II. c.
16) for explaining and amending the above. By this £700,000 was to
be raised by way of lottery, the residue of the money after payment
of the prizes to be applied towards the building of the bridge, and
tolls might be levied at the following rates:--“Every coach, etc.,
drawn by six horses, 2_s._; by four horses, 1_s._ 6_d._; by less than
four horses, 1_s._ For every waggon, etc., drawn by four horses, 1_s._
6_d._, and by less than four horses, 1_s._ For every horse, etc., not
drawing, 2_d._ For every foot passenger on Sundays, 1_d._, and on every
other day, ½_d._ For every drove of oxen, 1_s._ per score. For every
drove of calves, hogs, sheep, or lambs, 6_d._ per score.”
I have before me the originals of two schemes for the erection of
this bridge. One is “For raising £60,000 without any Tax upon the
Inhabitants of the City of _Westminster_, for the building a Bridge
cross the River of _Thames_, the Legs of Stone, and the Arches turn’d
with Bricks (made on purpose, like those us’d in the Dome of _St.
Paul’s_ which is 110 Foot wide) after the manner of the Brick-Bridge
of _Thoulouse_, the greatest Arch of which is 100 Foot span; and to
become a free Bridge, in twenty-one years, except a small Duty to
keep it in repair.” It was proposed to raise a loan of £60,000 at 5
per cent. interest on the security of the tolls to be levied, which,
it was calculated, would be repaid within the period specified, the
tolls being estimated to produce £6000 per annum. The other is “A
Plan of a Lottery to raise upwards of £100,000, free of all Expences
and Deductions, for Building a Bridge at _Westminster_,” and it was
proposed to have a lottery of £625,000, in 125,000 tickets at £5 each,
only three blanks to a prize, and to deduct 16 per cent. from all
prizes, which would amount to £100,000.
There was another Act passed in 1738 (11 Geo. II. c. 25) respecting
this bridge, which provided that the bridge should be built from the
wool staple at Westminster, of what materials the Commissioners should
think fit, and they were to account yearly. On January 29, 1739, the
first stone was laid by Henry, Earl of Pembroke, and the same year
another Act was passed (12 Geo. II. c. 33), which not only empowered
the Commissioners to make compulsory purchases of houses and land,
but allowed them to issue a lottery of £325,000, and to take 15 per
cent. of that sum, amounting to £48,750, for the purpose of building
the bridge. An Act confirming this was passed (13 Geo. II. c. 16),
and on December 8, 1740, the drawing of the Bridge Lottery began at
Stationers’ Hall. The total cost of the bridge, which took eleven years
and nine months to build, was £389,500, and it was opened on November
17, 1750.
There were State lotteries in 1743-4-5-6-7-8, for sums varying from
£1,000,000 to £6,300,000, all of which were converted into stock by
Acts of Parliament in the reign of George III. In 1751 the next State
lottery was authorized by Parliament (24 Geo. II. c. 2), £700,000
in tickets of £10 each; but, somehow, this did not go down with the
public. The _Gentleman’s Magazine_ for July, 1751 (p. 328), says,
“Those inclined to become adventurers in the present lottery were
cautioned in the papers to wait some time before they purchased
tickets, whereby the jobbers would be disappointed of their market and
obliged to sell at a lower price. At the present rate of tickets the
adventurer plays at 35 per cent. loss.”
This was further illustrated by some figures which appeared in the
_London Magazine_ for August, same year, giving the following odds
against winning, the chances being--
34,999 to 1 against a £10,000 prize.
11,665 ” ” 5,000 ” or upwards.
6,363 ” ” 3,000 ”
3,683 ” ” 2,000 ”
1,794 ” ” 1,000 ”
874 ” ” 500 ”
249 ” ” 100 ”
99 ” ” 50 ”
6 ” ” 20 ” or any prize.
In fact, such discredit was thrown upon this lottery, that a Mr.
Holland publicly offered to lay four hundred guineas, that four hundred
tickets, when drawn, would not, on an average, amount to more than £9
15_s._ each, prizes and blanks; and his offer was never accepted. As
Adam Smith observed, it was an incontrovertible fact that the world
never had seen, and never would see, a fair lottery.
Hone, in his “Every-Day Book,” gives the two following illustrations
of the drawing of this lottery. Unfortunately, I have been unable to
verify them, but it strikes me that the first one is of earlier date,
judging by the costumes, and that the halls in which the lottery is
drawn are totally different.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Drawing of the Lottery in Guildhall, 1751.]
By an Act of Parliament (26 Geo. II. c. 22), passed in 1753, the
nation purchased for £20,000 the library and collection of Sir Hans
Sloane, and incorporated with it the library of Sir Robert Cotton, and
that known as the Harleian library, thus forming the nucleus of the
British Museum. The next thing was to find a house wherein to keep
this collection, and to raise money for the same, at the least cost.
This was done, in the same Act, by means of a lottery, the managers
and trustees of which were, singularly enough, the Archbishop of
Canterbury, the Lord Chancellor, and the Speaker, each of whom was
to have £100 for his trouble. The subscription to the lottery was
£300,000, in tickets of £3 each. £200,000 was to be distributed in
prizes varying from £10,000 to £10, and the remainder was to go towards
the purchasing of the Sloane collection and library, and the Harleian
library, finding suitable cases for the property acquired, house-room
and attendants. The lottery was to be drawn on November 26, 1753,
and all prizes were to be paid by December 31, 1754, when those not
presented would be forfeited.
And this Act is the only trace I can find of this lottery, although I
have had the willing and zealous aid of the officials of the British
Museum in searching after it.
In connection with this lottery was a gross fraud, into which the House
of Commons caused an inquiry to be made, and the committee eventually
reported that Peter Leheup, Esq., had privately disposed of a great
number of tickets before the office was opened, to which the public
were directed, by an advertisement, to apply; that he, also, delivered
great numbers to particular persons, upon lists of names which he
knew to be fictitious; and that, in particular, Sampson Gideon became
proprietor of more than six thousand, which he sold at a premium. The
House resolved that Leheup had been guilty of a violation of the Act
and a breach of trust, and the Attorney-General was instructed to
prosecute him. On June 9, 1855, he was found guilty, and sentenced to
pay a fine of £1000, which he could well afford, as it is said he had
made £40,000 by his rascality.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER VI.
Crowd at a lottery--Another State lottery, eighty-seven
blanks to a prize--A ticket sold twice over--Extravagant
prices paid for tickets--Praying for success--A lucky
innkeeper--Lottery for Cox’s Museum--Adam’s Adelphi
Lottery--Blue-coat boys and the lottery--Future
arrangements for drawing.
In 1755 there was a State lottery (28 Geo. II. c. 15) for £1,000,000,
tickets £10 each, the drawing of which commenced on October 6. At this
lottery the crowd at the Bank, willing and eager to subscribe, was so
great that the counters were broken by their eagerness to get at the
books. In the next year, 1756, one was started for £500,000 (29 Geo.
II. c. 7).
Then comes a lottery in 1757 (30 Geo. II. c. 5), called “The Guinea
Lottery,” by which it was sought to raise £1,050,000 by the sale of
tickets at one guinea each; half the amount to be applied to the
service of the year, and the other half to be returned in prizes. But
it was only partially successful, less than half the full number of
tickets being sold. The prizes ranged from £10,000 to £10. Blanks
received nothing; eighty-seven blanks to a prize. The prizes were
paid in ready money; but, as one half of the subscription only was
divided into prizes, these tickets were worth only half a guinea each,
notwithstanding the avidity with which they were bought up. The drawing
at the Guildhall commenced on September 5 and ended on October 15.
Connected with this is a sad story, which I find in the _Gentleman’s
Magazine_ for the year, p. 528. “November 5.--Mr. Keys, late clerk
to Cotton & Co., who had absented himself since the 7th of October,
the day the £10,000 was drawn in the lottery (supposed to be his
property), was found in the streets raving mad, having been robbed of
his pocket-book and ticket.”
There were State lotteries in 1758 (31 Geo. II. c. 22) for £500,000; in
1759 (32 Geo. II. c. 10) for £660,000; in 1760 (33 Geo. II. c. 7) for
£240,000, in £3 tickets; in 1761 (1 Geo. III. c. 7) for £600,000, in
£10 tickets, prizes from £10,000 to £20, blanks £6, about four blanks
to a prize; in 1763 (3 Geo. III. c. 12) for £350,000 in £10 tickets,
prizes from £10,000 to £20, blanks £5, about five blanks to a prize;
in 1765 for £600,000, in £10 tickets, prizes as usual, £6 blanks,
which were as four to one to the prizes; and another in 1766 (3 Geo.
III. c. 39), precisely similar in amount, etc. There was an incident
connected with this lottery, which was that a ticket was sold twice
over. No. 2099 was purchased in Change Alley for Pagen Hale, Esq., of
Hertfordshire, and the same number was divided into shares at a lottery
office near Charing Cross, and some of the shares actually sold. The
number purchased in the Alley was the real number, but that divided
by the office-keeper was done in mistake, for which he had to pay a
considerable sum.
In 1767 (7 Geo. III. c. 24) was another £600,000 lottery, with rather
more stringent terms. In the interval between the purchase of a ticket
and the drawing of the lottery, the speculators were in a state of
intense excitement. On one occasion a fraudulent dealer managed to
sell the same ticket to two persons, and it came up a five hundred
pounds prize. One of the two went raving mad when he found that the
real ticket was, after all, not held by him. Circumstances excited
the public to such a degree that extravagant biddings were made for
the few remaining shares in the lottery, until one hundred and twenty
guineas were given for a ticket on the day before the drawing. Nay, a
lady residing in Holborn had a lottery ticket presented to her by her
husband, and, on the Sunday preceding the drawing, her success was
_prayed for_ in the parish church in this form: “The prayers of this
congregation are desired for the success of a person engaged in a new
undertaking.”
The great prize of £20,000 fell to the lot of a tavern-keeper at
Abingdon. We are told that he gave the broker who went from town to
carry him the news, £100. All the bells in the town were set a-ringing.
He behaved very generously with his new-found fortune. He called in
his neighbours, and promised to assist this one with a capital sum,
that with another; gave away plenty of liquor, and vowed to lend a poor
cobbler money enough to buy leather to stock his stall so full that he
should not be able to get into it to work; and, lastly, he promised
to buy a new coach for the coachman who brought him down the ticket,
and to give a set of as good horses as could be bought for money. Yet
another anecdote of this lottery. During its progress Mr. Hughes, a
stockbroker, had his pocket picked in Jonathan’s Coffee-house of fifty
lottery tickets, the value of which--at the then current price--was
£800. On the same evening three other stockbrokers had their pockets
picked. A man was afterwards apprehended, on whose person was found
thirty-five of the stolen tickets. The others were never recovered, and
it was supposed they had been sent to Holland.
There was a State lottery in 1768 (8 Geo. III. c. 31) for £600,000,
another in 1769 (9 Geo. III. c. 33) for £780,000, and one in 1771 (11
Geo. III. c. 47) for £650,000.
In 1773 were two private lotteries, Cox’s Museum and the Adelphi, the
first being legalized by Act of Parliament (13 Geo. III. c. 41). James
Cox was a jeweller in Shoe Lane, who delighted in making automata,
which he hoped to dispose of in the East Indies; but he found that “on
account of the great value and price thereof, and also on account of
the present distress and scarcity of money in the _East Indies_, as
well as in _Europe_, it cannot easily be disposed of in the common way
of sale.” He therefore, as he had contracted large debts in completing
the said Museum, petitioned Parliament to grant him facilities for a
lottery by which he might dispose of his White Elephant; and his prayer
was granted. This was the scheme of the lottery.
2 prizes of the value of £5000 = £10,000
2 ” ” 3000 = 6,000
12 ” ” 1500 = 18,000
18 ” ” 750 = 13,500
52 ” ” 450 = 23,400
100 ” ” 300 = 30,000
212 ” ” 150 = 31,800
2 ” ” 50 = 100
2 ” first drawn 100 = 200
2 ” last drawn 750 = 1,500
120,000 tickets of admission to
the Museum at 10_s._ 6_d._ = 63,000
--------
£197,500
60,000 tickets marked A }
} 120,000 at £1 11_s._ £126,000
60,000 ” ” B }
Balance in favour of the public 71,500
--------
£197,500
There were two automata of “a pair of bulls, with clocks, chimes,
mechanism and pedestal eight feet high,” which have been immortalized
by Sheridan in _The Rivals_--“And her one eye shall roll like the
bull’s in Cox’s Museum.” He even included in his collection the larger
forms of animal life, for he had “a Rhinoceros, with timepiece, musick
and mechanism,” and “an Elephant and silver temple, with musick,
mechanism, clock and pedestal;” in fact, there were two of both these.
It is impossible to give the whole of the prizes in this curious
Museum: two must serve as illustrations. “An automaton figure of a
Chinese, that plays on the flute with musical chimes and mechanism,
upon a commode of lapis and gold stone, which contains an Organ, and
in front, artificial water works, with a water mill and bridge; and
terminates with a spiral star; nine feet high.” “A swan, large as life,
formed of silver, filled with mechanism, beating time with its beak to
musical chimes, seated on artificial water, within reflecting mirrors;
under the swan are water works, terminating at the top with a rising
sun, upwards of three feet in diameter; the whole eighteen feet high.”
COX’S LOTTERY.
A SONG, TO THE TUNE OF “THE ROAST BEEF OF OLD ENGLAND.”
Whoe’er in this season of public distress,
Would court Lady Fortune with certain success,
To her shrine let him now with alacrity press,
For tickets in Cox’s new lottery,
Let him haste, and buy tickets of Cox.
The sly slippery Goddess here plays you no tricks,
Nor smiles in your face, while your pocket she picks;
A method is found out her wheel how to fix,
If we buy into Cox’s new lottery,
Then let us buy tickets from Cox.
In his matchless Museum, the boast of our land,
For a guinea, a ticket we all may command;
Then, if for our country we’d gloriously stand,
O haste, and buy into the lottery,
Let us haste, and buy tickets of Cox.
Whoe’er in this Lott’ry judiciously buys,
Will give a most exquisite feast to his eyes,
And is sure in that feast of a capital prize:
Then haste, and buy into the Lott’ry,
Let us haste and buy tickets of Cox.
But besides this luxurious regale to the sight,
(Worth ten times the price, did we pay for delight)
Their own obvious int’rest should all men excite
To buy into Cox’s new Lott’ry,
Then haste, and buy tickets from Cox.
You may get for your guinea, it plainly appears,
Five thousand hard pounds, or an income for years,
Or earrings worth more than a whole head and ears:
Then haste, and buy into the Lott’ry,
O haste, and buy tickets from Cox.
Here, birds made of jewels their plumage unfold;
Here fly ruby lizards, here chase snakes of gold,
And wonders too mighty in words to be told,
Are prizes in Cox’s new Lott’ry,
Then haste, and buy tickets from Cox.
If genius or splendor with pleasure you view,
See here more than Athens or Rome ever knew,
And feel for those Arts, which pour honour on you;
O haste then, and buy in the Lott’ry,
O haste, and buy tickets from Cox.
Thus Britain’s white sails shall be kept unfurl’d,
And our commerce extend, as our thunders are hurl’d,
Till the Empress of Science is Queen of the World,
If we haste to buy into the Lott’ry,
If we haste to buy tickets from Cox.
A fraud was attempted with regard to the drawing of this lottery.
On June 1, 1775, a man was brought before the Lord Mayor, charged
with attempting to bribe the two Blue-coat boys who drew the lottery
tickets, to conceal one, bring it to him, and he would return it to
them next day. His intention was to insure it in all the offices, with
a view to defraud the office-keepers. The boys were honest, gave notice
of the intended fraud, and pointed out the delinquent; who, however,
was discharged, there being no law to punish the offence.
The preamble to the other Lottery Act of this year (13 Geo. III. c.
75) sets forth that “Whereas John, Robert, James, and William Adam ...
have erected many great and expensive buildings, with commodious wharfs
and warehouses, upon a piece of ground formerly called _Durham Yard_,
now called _the Adelphi_, situate in the parish of _St. Martin in the
Fields_, and adjoining to the river _Thames_; and have, by means of
subterraneous streets, pointed out a new and effectual method to keep
the access to the houses distinct from the traffick of the wharfs and
warehouses, thereby connecting grandeur and magnificence with utility
and commerce; and have also erected some great and expensive buildings
in _Queen Anne Street_ and Mansfield Street in the Parish of St. Mary
le bon, and are possessed of several shares of Stock in the Carron[18]
Company, and of many valuable statues, pictures and antiquities,” etc.
They found themselves in debt, and in want of money to complete their
works; so they petitioned that they might sell such of their property
as they wanted to, and that they might have a lottery, not to exceed
£224,000, in tickets of £50 each. Their prayer was granted, and it was
duly drawn: there were 110 prizes--the first drawn ticket receiving
£5000, and the last drawn £25,000.
[18] A large iron foundry and engineering works at Larbert, co.
Stirling, principally employed in founding ordnance. _Carronades_ were
first made here.
It is singular that two similar cases of swindling should have been
perpetrated in the same year; but, on December 5, 1775, a man appeared
before the magistrates at Guildhall, charged, with another man not
in custody, with defrauding a lottery office keeper of a large sum
of money. “The latter said that, about a fortnight previously, the
prisoner insured No. 21,481 six times over, for the following day of
drawing; that the conversation he had with the prisoner at that time,
and the seeming positiveness there appeared in the latter that the
ticket would come up, caused him to inquire at other lottery offices,
when he found the same number insured in the prisoner’s name at all
the principal offices about the 'Change; that the ticket was drawn the
first hour of drawing the subsequent day; that this, with his former
suspicions, alarmed him, and he immediately went to Christ’s Hospital
and saw the boy who drew the ticket; that he interrogated him whether
he had clandestinely taken that number out of the wheel, or whether he
had been solicited to do so; which the boy positively denied; and that,
observing that he answered rather faintly, he importuned him to tell
the truth, which, after some hesitation, produced an acknowledgment of
the fact. The next witness was the Blue-coat boy. He said that, about
three weeks ago, the person who is not in custody, and whom he had
known before he went into the hospital, took him to a coffee-house,
where they breakfasted together; that he wanted to know of the witness
whether it was possible to get a ticket out of the wheel, to which
the latter answered, No; that, being afterwards solicited by him for
the same purpose, to secrete a ticket, he, at length, promised to
do it; that he took two at one time out of the wheel, gave one to
the person who called it over, and put the other in his pocket; that
the person who induced him to do it, was then in the gallery, and
nodded his head to witness to signify when was a proper time; that,
after witness came out of the hall, he gave the ticket to the person
who sat in the gallery, and who was then waiting for the witness in
Guildhall Yard; that next time the witness drew the lottery, the
person returned him the ticket, which the witness put into the wheel,
and drew out the same day; that he did this three several times, and
received from the person for whom he did it, several half-guineas; that
he had heard the prisoner’s name mentioned by him, but never heard
the latter acknowledge any connection between them in insurance, and
had never before seen the prisoner.” The prisoner acknowledged that
he had insured the ticket seventy-nine times for one day, but--he was
discharged!
To prevent, for the future, a repetition of such frauds, the Lords of
the Treasury (on December 12, 1775) issued an Order, from which the
following is an extract: “IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED, for preventing the
like wicked practices in future, that every boy, before he is suffered
to put his hand into either wheel, be brought by the proclaimer to
the managers on duty, for them to see that _the bosoms and sleeves
of his coat be closely buttoned, his pockets sewed up, and his hands
examined_; and that, during the time of his being on duty, _he shall
keep his left hand in his girdle behind him, and his right hand open,
with his fingers extended_: and the proclaimer is not to suffer him,
at any time, to leave the wheel, without first being examined by the
Manager nearest him.”
[Illustration]
It was also “requested of the Treasurer of Christ’s Hospital, not to
make known who are the twelve boys nominated for drawing the lottery
till the morning the drawing begins; which said boys are all to attend
every day, and the two who are to go on duty at the wheels are to be
taken promiscuously from amongst the whole number, by either of the
secretaries, without observing any regular course or order; so that no
boy shall know when it will be his turn to go to either wheel.”
Here we have a very good representation of the Blue-coat boy with his
hand in his girdle behind his back, and also of the lottery wheel and
boxes. They were in those days marked A and B; later on they had the
King’s cypher crowned.[19]
[19] The earliest lottery ticket I have seen, is in the collection of
Miss Sophia Banks, sister of the famous Sir Joseph (Brit. Mus. 1890,
_e_). It represents an eighth share in the lottery of 1775.
CHAPTER VII.
Counterfeiting lottery tickets--Curious
lotteries--Suicide--Method of starting a State
lottery--Lottery office-keepers to be licensed
--Charles (or “Patch”) Price.
In 1776 was a lottery for £600,000 (16 Geo. III. c. 34), and in 1777
was one (17 Geo. III. c. 46) for £500,000. On January 6, this year, two
Jews, Samuel Noah and Joseph Aarones, were examined before the Lord
Mayor, charged with counterfeiting the lottery ticket, No. 25,590, a
prize of £2000, with intent to defraud Mr. Keyser, an office-keeper,
knowing the same to be false and counterfeit. Mr. Keyser had examined
the ticket carefully, and had taken it into the Stock Exchange to sell,
when Mr. Shewell came into the same box, and desired to look at the
ticket, having, as he recollected, purchased one of the same number a
day or two before. This fortunate discovery laid open the fraud, and
the two Jews were committed to take their trial for their ingenuity.
It was so artfully altered from 23,590 that not the least erasure
could be discovered. Aarones had but just come to England, and Noah was
thought to be a man of property. On February 21, Joseph Aarones and
Samuel Noah were tried for forging and counterfeiting a lottery ticket;
their defence was that the prisoner Aarones found it, and persons were
brought to swear to the fact; on which they were acquitted. The figure
altered was so totally obliterated by a certain liquid, that not the
least trace of it could be perceived. The numbers being written in
ordinary ink rendered this extremely easy.
On February 24, 1777, Daniel Denny was tried for forging,
counterfeiting, and altering a lottery ticket, with intent to defraud;
and, being found guilty, he was condemned. He, probably, was not
prepared with false witnesses as were the Jews--a custom which,
unfortunately, as regards the foreign importations, exists to an
alarming extent in our own time.
With regard to this lottery, the _Annual Register_ for 1777 says
(p. 206), “The following is a true state of the different methods
of getting money by lottery-office keepers, and other ingenious
persons, who have struck out different plans of getting money by the
State lottery of 1777. First, His Majesty’s royal letters patent for
securing the property of purchasers. Secondly, a few office-keepers
who advertise 'By authority of Parliament’ to secure your property in
shares and chances. Thirdly, several schemes for shares and chances,
only entitling the purchasers to all prizes above twenty pounds.
Fourthly, a bait for those who can only afford to venture _one
shilling_.
“Then come the ingenious sett of lottery merchants, viz. Lottery
magazine proprietors, Lottery taylors, Lottery stay-makers, Lottery
glovers, Lottery hat-makers, Lottery tea-merchants, Lottery snuff and
tobacco merchants, Lottery handkerchiefs, Lottery bakers, Lottery
barbers (where a man, being shaved, and paying threepence, may
stand a chance of getting ten pounds), Lottery shoe-blacks, Lottery
eating-houses (one in Wych Street, Temple Bar, where, if you call for
sixpenny-worth of roast, or boiled beef, you receive a note of hand,
with a number, which, should it turn out fortunate, may entitle the
eater of the beef to sixty guineas), Lottery oyster stalls, by which
the fortunate may get five guineas for threepenny-worth of oysters.
And, to complete this curious catalogue, an old woman, who keeps a
sausage-stall in one of the little alleys leading to Smithfield, wrote
up in chalk, 'Lottery _sausages_, or five shillings to be gained for a
farthing relish.’”
Sad to say, this year’s lottery led to at least one suicide, for, on
January 10, the body of a young man, clerk to a merchant in the city,
was found in the river, below bridge; he had been dabbling in the
lottery with his master’s money, and chose this method of settling his
accounts.
In 1778 there was a lottery for £480,000 (18 Geo. III. c. 22), another
in 1779 (19 Geo. III. c. 18) for £490,000, one in 1780 (20 Geo. III.
c. 16) for £480,000. At this time, and afterwards, the State lotteries
became a regular institution. At first they were spasmodic, and were
of help to the Government at a time when rates were hardly known; they
now developed into a voluntary taxation, appealing to the national
taste for gambling, and fostered by the Government, in order to help
out the annual supplies. The _modus operandi_ was that the Chancellor
of the Exchequer would invite a few of the leading stockbrokers to
a conference, in which he would state his views. That he intended
to issue a lottery for, say, £500,000 in £10 tickets--all to be
distributed in prizes; and then he asked them at what price they would
tender for them. In the competition that ensued, a final offer would be
accepted, and the whole lot disposed of at, say, five pounds premium
per share, which would give the Government a clear profit, without
risk, of £250,000. Of course, those who got the concession put up
the price of the tickets at once, but, as single shares were seldom
bought--most people taking a fourth, an eighth, or a sixteenth of a
ticket--the rise was not much felt by the public, and at this time they
seem to have been thoroughly subscribed for.
In 1780 and 1781 were drawn lotteries (20 Geo. III. c. 16, and 21 Geo.
III. c. 14) for £480,000 each, and in 1782 another for £405,000 (22
Geo. III. c. 8).
Private lotteries, although illegal, still flourished, and the
Government, in order to keep up its own monopoly in this lucrative
gambling, got an Act passed in 1782 (22 Geo. III. c. 47) whereby
lottery-office keepers were to pay £50 licence, under a penalty for
not doing so of £100. In 1783 there was a lottery (23 Geo. III. c. 35)
for £480,000, and one in 1784 (24 Geo. III. c. 10) for £360,000; but
this seems to have been rather unfortunate, as not more than a third of
the tickets were sold before drawing. From this time lotteries, as aids
to State revenue, were disconnected from loans, with which they had
hitherto been associated, and in 1785 (25 Geo. III. c. 59) was one for
£650,000, of which £500,000 was given in prizes, and it yielded a net
profit to the Government of £137,250. Next year, 1786 (26 Geo. III. c.
65), one for £688,750, prizes £500,000, net profit £176,000.
An episode of crime in the annals of the lottery may well be introduced
here, for on January 25, 1786, Charles, _alias_ “Patch,” Price
hanged himself, and so terminated his worthless life. The following
particulars respecting him are condensed from the very lengthy
biography in Hone’s “Every-Day Book.”
[Illustration: CHARLES PRICE.
Ordinary Dress. Disguise.]
He was the son of a tailor, who came, about 1702, from South Wales to
London, where, in 1710, he settled in Monmouth Street (a famous place
for cheap tailors and second-hand clothes) as journeyman to a salesman
there. He afterwards set up for himself in the Seven Dials. Charles
was sent to school when six years old, and when twelve years of age
had to help his father; but he developed such cunning and roguery that
he had to be apprenticed to a hatter and hosier, whom he tricked, and,
being discovered, he ran away. His father died, disinheriting him;
but before his death Charles went as servant to two gentlemen, with
one of whom he went the tour of Europe. He became a brewer, then set
up a distillery, defrauded the revenue, was sent to the King’s Bench,
released by an Insolvent Act, again turned brewer, and defrauded a
gentleman out of £6000. He then became a lottery office-keeper, courted
a Mrs. Pounteney, and ran away with her niece. He practised innumerable
frauds, became an adept at swindling, and had the effrontery to avow
his depredations and laugh at those he injured.
Price was intimate with a Mr. R____, a grocer retired from business,
with whom he had, for a long time, passed as a stockbroker. Price, who
then lived at Knightsbridge, frequently used to request the favour
of Mr. R____ to take a bank-note or two into the city, and get them
changed into small ones. In this he had a twofold plot. He informed his
friend that he was intimately acquainted with a very old gentleman,
exceedingly rich, who had been an eminent broker in the Alley, but had
long retired; that his monies in the funds were immense; that the only
relation he had in the world was one sister, to whom he intended to
bequeathe the best part of his property; and that his sister was near
fifty years of age, had never been married, and was determined never to
marry; and that it was impossible that the old gentleman could live
long, as he was very old, very infirm, and almost incapable of going
out of doors. This old gentleman, Price said, had often asked him to
become his executor; and besought him to recommend another person, in
whose fidelity, character, and integrity he could repose an entire
confidence, and that he would make it well worth their while if they
would undertake so friendly and solemn an office. “Now,” said Price to
Mr. R____, “here is an opportunity for us to make a considerable sum
in a short time, and, in all probability, a very capital fortune in a
few years; for, the sister being determined not to marry, and having
no relations in the world, there is no doubt but she will leave us the
whole of the estate; and, after his decease, she will become totally
dependent upon us. I shall see the old gentleman, Mr. Bond, to-day,
and, if you will join in the trust, the will shall be immediately made.”
To this proposal Mr. R____ consented. In the evening Price returned
to Knightsbridge. He told Mr. R____ that he had visited Mr. Bond,
who expressed great happiness and easiness of mind on such a
recommendation, and desired to see Mr. R____ the next day. Price
appointed to meet him at twelve o’clock at Mr. Bond’s. At the appointed
hour Mr. R____ knocked at the door. He was shown upstairs by the
aforementioned sister, and introduced to Mr. Bond, seated in a great
chair, his legs in another, and his head covered with a night-cap.
The poor, infirm, weak, debilitated old gentleman regretted the
absence of his ever dear friend, Mr. Price, the most worthy man in the
world, and rang a peal on his friendship, honour, honesty, integrity,
etc., accompanied with emaciated coughs--was obliged to go to a City
coffee-house--a punctual man--never failed an appointment--it was the
soul of business; and he then told Mr. R____ that his dear friend
desired to meet Mr. R____ there, exactly at one o’clock. He approved
highly of Mr. Price’s recommendation, and was now quite happy in his
mind; it wanted but a quarter to one, he believed, and he hoped Mr.
R____ would not fail, as his dear friend was very exact indeed. The
usual compliments passed; the sister conducted Mr. R____ to the door,
who posted away to the City coffee-house, and left old Mr. Bond, who
was in reality no other than Price, and his maiden sister, who was Mrs.
Pounteney, to laugh at Mr. R____’s credulity. Mr. R____ had not been
five minutes in the coffee-house before he was joined by his friend
Price, to whom Mr. R____ recapitulated what had passed; and, as soon
as Price had despatched some pretended business, he proposed calling
on Mr. Bond. This was readily acquiesced in by Mr. R____, and away
they drove to Leather Lane. When they got there, they were informed by
the lady that her brother had just gone out in a coach, on an airing,
to Highgate. In short, Price carried on the scheme completely for
several days, during which time Mr. R____ had twice or thrice seen the
old gentleman. The will was made, and, on the strength of the joint
executorship and expectancy, Mr. R____ was swindled out of very nearly
a thousand pounds in cash, and bonds to the amount of two hundred
pounds. This seems to have been his first attempt at disguise.
As a lottery office-keeper he continually cheated his clients, and,
to avoid their clamour and importunity, he had to shift his offices
frequently, the last he had being at the corner of King Street, Covent
Garden, from which he privately decamped.
[Illustration]
Having a wife and eight children to support, and being incapable of
earning an honest living, he commenced forging the notes of the Bank
of England. His first attack on the Bank was about the year 1780, when
one of his notes had been taken there, so complete in the engraving,
the signature, the water-marks, and all its parts, that it passed
through various hands unsuspected, and was not discovered till it
came to a certain department, through which no forgery whatever can
pass unnoticed. The appearance of this note occasioned considerable
alarm among the directors; and forgery upon forgery flowed in, about
the lottery and Christmas times, without the least probability of
discovering the first negotiators. Various consultations were held,
innumerable plans were laid for detection, and they were traced, in
every quarter, to having proceeded from one man, always disguised, and
always inaccessible.
Had Price permitted a partner in his proceedings, had he employed an
engraver, had he procured paper to be made for him, with water-marks
upon it, he must soon have been discovered; but he “was himself
_alone_.” He engraved his own plates, made his own paper with the
water-mark, and, as much as possible, was his own negotiator. He,
thereby, confined a secret to himself, which he deemed not safe in
the breast of another; even Mrs. Price had not the least knowledge or
suspicion of his proceedings. Having practised engraving till he had
made himself a sufficient master of the art, he then made his own ink
to prove his work. He next purchased implements and manufactured the
water-mark, and began to counterfeit hand-writings.
All attempts to discover him proving fruitless, the Bank issued a
minute description of his disguise, and of Mrs. Pounteney’s appearance,
which forced him to refrain from the circulation of his forgeries,
and for some months to put a total stop to them. But his wits did not
fail him, and he obtained a negotiator for his notes, in answer to an
advertisement for a man-servant who had been used to live with a single
gentleman. A very honest fellow, whose Christian name was Samuel,
called upon him, and was engaged, at a salary of eighteen shillings per
week, to attend on a young nobleman who was then in Bedfordshire; and,
pending his arrival, he was to wait on an old invalid gentleman named
Brank (Price), at 39, Tichfield Street, Oxford Street.
A few days afterwards Samuel was told that the young nobleman wished
to buy some lottery tickets, and was given some seeming banknotes, one
for £20, and another for £40. With the first he was to purchase an
eight-guinea chance at a lottery office in the Haymarket, and then was
to go to another, and purchase a similar chance out of the second note.
He executed his commission, and was entrusted with more notes, which he
duly changed. This time Mr. Brank called to him out of a coach, saying
how fortunate it was he had met him; made him get in, and, driving to
the City, gave him false notes of presumably £400 value, and told him
to purchase chances at the different offices round the Exchange, after
which he was to call on Mr. Brank at a coffee-house. The lad did as
ordered, waited a little for the invalid, who came hobbling up, and
the two drove in a coach to Long Acre. For his attention and fidelity,
Samuel received a guinea.
Samuel was made the innocent means of passing numerous forged notes,
until he was arrested and committed to Tothill Fields Bridewell; but
the authorities believed his artless tale, and a watch was set. After
a few days a message came for Samuel to meet Mr. Brank next day at
Mill’s Coffee-house, exactly at eleven o’clock. The police told him to
keep the appointment, but to be five minutes late. Brank was punctual,
and waiting close by in a coach, when he observed Samuel talking to a
Bow Street runner in disguise, whereupon he took to immediate flight.
The police made a raid at once upon the house in Tichfield Street;
but Mr. Brank had only occupied the apartments for a week, and had
long since left. The advertisements were again issued, and handbills
showered around to no purpose. Poor Samuel, however, having tolerably
established his innocence, was, after suffering eleven months’
imprisonment, discharged with a present of £20.
In the ensuing lottery, Price played the same artful game with notes of
higher value; those of £20 and £40 were grown too suspicious. Another
lad was taken, another _rush_ made, and Price was missed again by a
moment.
These are only a few of his rogueries. He was caught at last, and taken
to Bow Street, where he was extremely insolent, until he was confronted
with Samuel, who, never having seen him except in a disguise, could
only swear to his voice. He was committed to Tothill Fields Bridewell,
where he sent for his wife and eldest son. To his wife’s utter
astonishment he confessed everything to her, and having written a
letter, which he concealed in the sole of his son’s boot, told him to
go with it to Mrs. Pounteney, who, upon receipt thereof, burnt all his
disguise, had his press and apparatus taken down and duly burnt, tried
to melt the engraved plates, and gave them to Price’s son to take to
the adjacent fields and distribute them beneath the dust-heaps; and the
pieces lay there till, by a stratagem, they were discovered and taken
to Bow Street.
As there was no shadow of doubt as to his guilt and ultimate
punishment, and wishing to avoid a public execution, he informed his
son that the people of the prison came into his room sooner than he
wished, and that he had something secret to write, which they might get
at by coming suddenly upon him, which he wished to prevent. On this
pretence, he gave his son money to purchase two gimlets and a sixpenny
cord, pointing out to him how he would fasten the gimlets in the post,
and tie the cord across the door, which opened inwards. The poor youth
obtained the implements, and Price, having fastened the gimlets under
two hat screws, hanged himself effectually. He, having committed
suicide, was buried at a cross-road; but, in about a week, his body was
privately removed by night.
Mrs. Pounteney, although both cajoled and severely interrogated, would
not say a single word which could possibly incriminate her former
lover, and was never punished for her share in the frauds.
CHAPTER VIII.
Lottery for the Leverian Museum--Prosecution of unlicensed
lottery office-keepers--Suicide--Robbery of employers
--Sharp practice over a prize--Cheating by lottery
office-keepers--Complaint of a prisoner.
Sir Ashton Lever, who was born in 1729, and who died in 1788, was the
eldest son of Sir James Darcy Lever, whose seat was at Alkrington,
near Manchester. He was an ardent collector of specimens of natural
history, minerals, fossils, and shells, and his museum was famous. In
the May number of the _Gentleman’s Magazine_ for 1773, is a letter from
a gentleman who had visited it late in the previous year, and, from
his account, we find that, not only did he collect every legitimate
specimen of natural history he could lay hold of, but also any _lusus
Naturæ_ that came across his path; as, for instance, “A double-headed
Calf: A Pig with eight legs, two tails, one backbone, and one head:
a Leveret with seven legs, eight feet, and one head: A Kitten, a
perfect Polypheme, having one eye only, and that in the middle of
the head: a Pupp with two mouths and one head.” Stuffed birds, fish
preserved in spirits, reptiles, crustaceæ, fossils, marbles, medals,
and casts, all were in profusion, nor did he disdain comparatively
trifling curiosities, such as “A few pictures of birds in straw, very
natural, by Miss Gregg; a basket of flowers cut in paper,--a most
masterly performance; the flowers are justly represented, not the least
dot of the apices of the stamina wanting, or the least fault in the
proportion; every part is so truly observed, that it was new to me
every time I went to see it, and gave me great delight. This curious
basket of flowers was executed by Mrs. Groves. There are a number of
antique dresses of our own and other nations.... Here is a head of his
present Majesty, cut in Cannil Coal, said to be a striking likeness;
indeed, the workmanship is inimitable. Here, also, is a drawing in
Indian Ink of a head of a late Duke of Bridgewater, valued at 100
Guineas,” etc., etc.
This collection was costly, and Sir Ashton’s income could not
stand it. In 1774 he brought it to London, and christened it the
_Holophusikon_, and, having taken Leicester House, in Leicester
Square, formerly the residence of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and in
modern times, Miss Linwood’s Gallery of Needlework, Madame Wharton’s
_Posés Plastiques_--on its site now stands the “Empire Palace of
Varieties”--it filled sixteen rooms, and various passages and
staircases, and he advertised that they were on view, from ten to four,
“admittance 5_s._ 3_d._ each person.”
But, as his purse could not stand the drain upon it, he made up his
mind to part with his collection, applying to Parliament for power to
dispose of it by lottery. The committee valued it at £50,000, and he
offered it to the nation at a considerable reduction on this valuation,
but the trustees of the British Museum declined to purchase it. So he
got an Act of Parliament in 1784 (24 Geo. III. c. 22), by which he was
empowered to dispose of his museum by lottery, without being liable
to any penalty. Sum to be raised not to exceed £37,800, and number of
tickets 36,000. To advertise such sale by December 25, 1784, and before
he sell, etc., any tickets, with an account of the pieces composing
the museum, in the _London Gazette_. To consist of one prize, to be
determined by the lottery of 1785, if it consists of 36,000 tickets,
or upwards. If no lottery in 1785 that shall consist of 36,000 tickets,
then by a private lottery, after February 2, and before March 25, 1786,
under the inspection of ____, or any three of them, and the first
number to be the prize.
Here is an advertisement of his show, taken from a newspaper
advertisement, January 28, 1785:--
“SIR ASHTON LEVER’S Lottery Tickets are now on sale at Leicester House,
every day (Sunday excepted) from nine in the morning till six in the
evening, at one guinea each; and, as each ticket will admit four
persons, either together or separately, to view the Museum, no one will
hereafter be admitted but by the Lottery Tickets, excepting those who
have already annual tickets.
“This collection is allowed to be infinitely superior to any of the
kind in Europe. The very large sum expended in making it, is the cause
of its being thus to be disposed of, and not from the deficiency of
the daily receipts (as is generally imagined), which have annually
increased, the average amount for the last three years being £1833 per
annum.
“The hours of admission are from Eleven till Four.
“Good fires in the Galleries.”
The lottery was drawn, but poor Lever only sold 8000 tickets out of his
36,000, and the lucky winner was a Mr. James Parkinson, who erected,
for its reception, a curious building, called the “Rotunda,” on the
Surrey side of Blackfriars Bridge. Here the collection was exhibited,
until it was sold on July 18, 1806, the sale lasting sixty-five days,
and the lots numbering 7879. The “Rotunda” fell from its high estate,
and became a low music-hall, or “penny gaff.”
In 1787 (27 Geo. III. c. 41) was a State lottery which produced
£756,875. £500,000 was distributed in prizes, and it resulted in a
net profit to the Government of £243,925. As we have seen, an Act was
passed in 1782 compelling lottery-office house keepers to pay a £50
licence, but this did not prevent illegal practices. Sales of chances
still continued to be made by unlicensed persons, and other schemes
were prepared with so much ingenuity as to evade the Act. Accordingly,
in 1787, an Act was passed (27 Geo. III. c. 1) to render more effectual
the laws then in being for suppressing unlawful lotteries. The licensed
lottery office-keepers complained, and made a representation to the
Lords of the Treasury as to the nature and extent of the mischief
of these fraudulent proceedings. They stated that the sale of these
chances was equal to the whole of the State lottery, and that it
was impossible for them to find a market for the sale of the duly
authorized lottery tickets. In consequence of these representations,
proceedings were taken, under the Act of 1787, to have persons who sold
the illegal tickets apprehended and committed, under the third section,
as rogues and vagabonds. The convictions obtained effectually put an
end to the system, and it was never afterwards renewed.
Here is a specimen of one of these unauthorized lotteries, from
a handbill (1787) of Mr. John Clarke, who had just received from
the Grand Lottery Committee, held at the Royal Exchange, London,
the “Annual Gold Lottery Medal, given to the Author of the best
Plan, or Plans, for the Public to purchase in.” He “submits, with
the utmost deference and respect, his New Plans, for the present
Lottery, to the general perusal. _First Plan_ at Sixpence--_Second_
at Half a Crown--_Third_ at Five and Sixpence--_Fourth_ at half a
guinea--_Fifth_ at One Guinea.” And his scheme was, at 6_d._ If you
were participant in a prize of £20,000, you might receive an annuity
of £20, or a capital sum of £40. If £10,000 prize, annuity of £10, or
£30 money; if £5000, annuity of £5, or £25; £2000 prize, annuity of £2,
or £20; £1000, annuity of £1, or £15; £500, annuity of 10_s._, or £15.
If, however, you paid half a crown, on winning £20,000 you would get
an annuity of £100, or a capital sum of £200; and for a prize of £100,
an annuity of 10_s._, or £50. The other shares of five and sixpence,
half a guinea and one guinea, were based on the same scale, only each
doubled the other.
We read in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_ of this year of a suicide clearly
traceable to lottery speculation, and it gives what purports to be
“a copy of a paper left by the unhappy young gentleman who lately
shot himself with two pistols in Queen Street, Westminster,” wherein
he curses “the head that planned, and the heart that executed, the
baneful, destructive plan of a lottery.”
In this same year, during the debate on cap. 1 before quoted, a member
of Parliament, named Francis, said his own family furnished a striking
instance of the dreadful effects of a passion for gambling in the
lottery. He had given at different times, to a female servant, sums
of money, to the amount of two hundred pounds, to pay his tradesmen’s
bills; but, to his great surprise, he afterwards found that, regardless
of his character, or her own, she had risked the entire sum in insuring
in the lottery, and had lost it. He would have been glad had the loss
of money been the only one, for he would have taken it upon himself;
but the poor woman lost her life within a week after this discovery had
been made, dying broken-hearted and distracted.
In 1788 (28 Geo. III. c. 21) a State lottery, nominally for £480,000,
realized by tender the sum of £750,600, of which the net profit to the
Government was £256,958 9_s._ 8_d._
In this lottery, a guinea share of a ticket drawn, a prize of
£20,000, had been duly registered by Shergold and Co., who sold it,
and acquainted the holder, by letter, that it entitled him to £1500.
This lucky man, who lived in the country, attended his club the same
evening, and imparted the good news he had received. His joy, however,
was considerably damped by a person present, who assured him that
he would never be paid, that his prize was not worth a groat, and
that he himself knew one, at the beginning of the lottery, who had
half-a-guinea share in a prize of £20,000, and was entitled to £700,
but was glad to compromise it for £50. After reciting a variety of
circumstances to the same effect, and cunningly working up alarm to
the highest pitch, he at length told the owner of the prize that he
knew some of the proprietors in Shergold’s house, and he believed
he might be able to get some money where another could get none; he
would, therefore, venture to give £100 for the prize. This proposal
being rejected, he advanced to £200, thence to £300, and at last
to £600, which was accepted. He accordingly paid the money to the
_fortunate_ adventurer, got possession of the prize, immediately set
off for London, and received the £1500 without difficulty. Several
eminent lawyers, on considering the misrepresentations used in this
transaction, were of opinion that it was what is termed a catching
bargain, and advised the owner, who was cozened out of £900, to apply
to Equity for relief. He seems to have been afraid of the remedy, for,
though he took Counsel’s opinion, it does not appear that he followed
it into Chancery.
1789 had its lottery (29 Geo. III. c. 33), bringing in the Government
£771,562 10_s._, of which £500,000 was distributed in prizes,
leaving a net gain of £258,175 13_s._ About this time there were one
or two somewhat shady lottery office-keepers, notably Mr. Margray
and Shergold--of whom we shall hear more in 1791. In this lottery,
Margray, in his prospectus, says, “So that it may be said, without
any Exaggeration, that by an adventure of a guinea and a half, in
this Plan, a person may become possessed of Prizes of £18, up to
£30,000, considering at the same time, that the Subscription Money
is returned if drawn a Blank, or a Prize of Eighteen pounds, during
half the drawing of the Lottery: Adding to this the Security of the
Office, in which, on the same Spot, Business has been transacted for
upwards of Twenty Years with the strictest Honour and Integrity,” etc.
Shergold and Co. say in their prospectus, “The integrity and solidity
of Shergold’s House have been fully tried and proved. They give
clear, plain reference to eminent Bankers where any one can satisfy
themselves. They possess and have merited the public confidence in a
most eminent degree.”
[Illustration]
In 1790 was the usual lottery (30 Geo. III. c. 30), when £500,000 was
distributed in prizes, and the Government netted £277,606 3_s._ 1_d._;
and in 1791 another (31 Geo. III. c. 53), same amount given in prizes,
net Government profit £291,108 10_s._ 7_d._
In 1791, at Covent Garden Theatre, was produced a comedy called _The
School for Arrogance_, and the prologue was spoken by a news-hawker,
who, “_after sounding, and calling 'Great News!’ without, enters with a
postman’s horn, newspapers, cap, and livery_.”
“Great news! here’s money lent on bond, rare news!
By honest, tenderhearted, Christian Jews!
Here are promotions, dividends, rewards,
A list of Bankrupts, and of new-made Lords.
Here the debates at length are, for the week;
And here the deaf and dumb are taught to speak.
Here Hazard, Goodluck, Shergold, and a band
Of gen’rous gentlemen, whose hearts expand
With honour, rectitude and public spirit,
Equal in high desert, with equal merit,
Divide their tickets into shares and quarters.
And here’s a servant maid found hanging in her garters!
Here! here’s the fifty thousand, sold at every shop!
And here’s the _Newgate Calendar_, and drop.”
That portion relating to the lottery office-keepers is, evidently, “rit
sarcastical,” for both Shergold and Margray, who had brought their
honour and integrity before the public, were convicted of evading
the law, by a peculiar mode of dividing and insuring tickets; and in
Michaelmas Term, 1791, the question was argued, in the King’s Bench,
whether the sellers of their receipts were liable to be apprehended
and committed as vagrants under the Lottery Act of 1787, and the Court
decided that they were vagrants within the true intent of the Act.
One at least was committed to the Fleet, for here is his moan and
plaint from that place of confinement:--
“READER,
“Look to the following Caution, which
has been published by Order of the Stamp
Commissions.
SHERGOLD & CO., MARGRAY & CO., &C., &C., &C.
CAUTION TO THE PUBLIC.
“It is hoped that the following Affidavit of _Nicholas Williams_, late
of Exeter, Coal-dealer, will serve as a Caution to all Vendors of
illegal LOTTERY SHARES, not to offend against the Statute in future.
“In the Exchequer, between _Richard King_ and _Nicholas Williams_.
_Nicholas Williams_, late of the City of Exeter, in the County of
Devon, Coal-dealer, but now a Prisoner in His Majesty’s Prison of the
Fleet, and the Defendant in the above Cause, maketh Oath, and saith,
that about the 9th Day of October last, he, this Deponent, received
a Letter, dated the 7th Day of the said Month of October, signed _W.
Sherman_, which is now in the Defendant’s custody, including several
Pieces of Paper, with the Name _Shergold and Co._ written thereon;
which Pieces of Paper were therein described as Share Receipts, by
which this Deponent understood was meant legal Shares in the Irish
Lottery; and this Deponent was desired to sell the same, and for which
he was to be allowed £10 per cent. for his Trouble.
“And this Deponent further saith, that being ignorant that the said
Pieces of Paper were _illegal Shares of Lottery Tickets, and liable
to a Penalty of £50, for the Sale of each_, he, this Deponent, did
sell several such Pieces of Paper, signed _Shergold and Co._, and
for which Offence, the Commissioners of the Stamp Office, as this
Deponent had been informed and believes, ordered this Prosecution to
be commenced against him for £500 Penalties, incurred by such Sale, as
aforesaid. And this Deponent further saith, that on applying to the
House of the said _Shergold and Co. No. 50 Lombard St._ for Assistance
in bailing him from Prison, it was refused, and, therefore, he was
carried to Jail; and this Deponent now remains there, in Consequence
thereof, at the Mercy of the said Commissioners of the Stamp Office.
And this Deponent further saith, that he never knew the person of the
said _Shergold_ whose name is signed to the before mentioned Pieces of
Paper, nor does he believe that there is, in being, any such Person.”
His brother brokers sat heavily on this “Mrs. Harris,” and said and
published hard things concerning the peccant firms. In one handbill,
premising that the printer of a morning paper had been fined £100 for
inserting in his paper the advertisements of Shergold and Margray, and
noting that every printer throughout the realm was liable to a penalty
of £50 for inserting one of their advertisements, _inter alia_, it
says, “After the solemn Declaration of Lord Kenyon, upon the Bench,
that Shergold and Co. and Margray and Co., and all of their Description
were the most PROFLIGATE, the most INFAMOUS and the most ABANDONED of
Mankind”--“_Shergold and Co._ (and, when I mention one Impostor, I mean
all) sell a _Thing_--a Slip of Paper--a printed Scrap--for SIX GUINEAS,
which, according to fair and honest Calculation, is not worth SIX
PENCE: Here in the First Instance is a most _Infamous Fraud_. _Shergold
and Co._ pretend to have a real and responsible Existence:--Now it
is well known, that there are no such Persons living--no Person of
the name of _Shergold_, that dares to answer for the iniquitous
Transactions of that scandalous House. Consequently, assuming a false
Name, for illegal Purpose, is an _Infamous Fraud_.” And very much more
to the same purpose.
CHAPTER IX.
Winners of prizes--Attempt to put down the practice
of insuring--Steps taken to prevent it--Specimen
handbill--Bish, the lottery office-keeper--Lottery for
the “Pigot” diamond--Lottery-office agencies--Shortening
the time of drawing the lottery--Story of Baron
d’Aguilar.
As usual, the annual lottery for 1792 was passed in Parliament (32
Geo. III. c. 28), which, giving £500,000 in prizes, brought in a net
profit of £300,136 6_s._ 10_d._ This lottery began drawing February 18,
1793, and in a handbill of Messrs. Richardson, Goodluck, and Co., a
very respectable firm of office-keepers, whose offices were by the Bank
of England, we learn to what varied grades in life the lottery prizes
fell. It was No. 12,087 ticket, a £30,000 prize in the last lottery,
sold by this firm in sixteenths.
1 sixteenth to a Clergyman near Brigg, Lincolnshire.
” ” Tradesman at Dartford, Kent.
” ” Gentleman in Scotland Yard, Westminster.
” ” Housekeeper in a Gentleman’s family,
King Street, Grosvenor Square.
” ” Tradesman in Long Acre.
” ” Servant at Newbury, Berks.
” ” Gentleman and Lady in St. Martin’s Lane.
” ” Innkeeper at Gillingham, Kent.
” ” Gentleman at Malverton, Somersetshire.
” ” Gentleman at Hazlemere, Surrey.
” ” Two Gentlemen’s Servants, in Hamilton
Street, Hyde Park Road.
” ” Two Gentlemen at Newmarket.
” ” Two young ladies (sisters), Bloomsbury.
” ” Two Servants to a Widow Lady at Epsom.
” ” Six Servants at a Merchant’s,
St. Mary-at-Hill.
” ” Twelve Tradesmen in King’s Gate Street,
Holborn.
Hornsby and Co., another respectable firm, advertise the capital prizes
sold by them in the last two lotteries.
No. 33,979 a Prize of £30,000
42,569 ” 30,000
41,346 ” 10,000
36,986 ” 2,000
41,574 ” 2,000
9,192 ” 1,000
35,254 ” 1,000
44,057 ” 1,000
43,875 ” 1,000
43,549 ” 500
33,225 ” 500
1,144 ” 500
41,081 ” 500
9,950 ” 500
In 1793 was a lottery drawn February 17, 1794 (33 Geo. III. c. 62),
which was not so successful as its predecessors, for though the same
amount, £500,000, was distributed in prizes, the Government reaped but
a poor net profit of £160,218 10_s._ 10_d._ In connection with this
lottery a determined stand was made against the custom of insuring
lottery tickets, of which I shall have more to say by-and-by. These
insurances consisted in the payment of a small premium to insure the
payment of a larger sum, if any given number in the lottery, on a given
day, were drawn blank or a prize. The premiums were adapted to all
descriptions of people; any sum might be insured from one to twenty
guineas, so that persons of the poorest class might be accommodated.
The price of an insurance for a guinea, at the commencement of the
drawing of a lottery, was eight-pence and gradually increased as
the drawing of the lottery proceeded, and the numbers to be drawn
diminished from day to day.
Every exertion was made, by prosecutions for penalties, as well as
by proceeding against the offenders, as rogues and vagabonds, under
the third section of the Act of 1787, to put an end to this growing
evil; but these exertions were ineffectual, owing to the apparently
inexhaustible fund of ingenuity practised in evading the laws. In
connection with these prosecutions, a most serious nuisance sprang up
from the power given to magistrates, by the Act, 27 Geo. III. c. 1,
to commit the persons prosecuted to the House of Correction, there
to remain till the next General Quarter Sessions. It was open to any
common informer, aided by professional attorneys, to issue process
at his own discretion against any persons he might think proper,
specifying the amount of penalties sued for, and to arrest them for
the same. Hundreds of persons were sent to prison upon the oaths or
pretended oaths of people who could not afterwards be found, and solely
for the purpose of extorting money. The arrests were, usually, on a
Saturday evening, in order to keep the party in custody on a Sunday,
as being the most favourable day for the prosecutor to make his terms
of compromise; and there was too much reason to believe that some
of the sheriff’s officers were in collusion with the common informer
or his attorney. The writs of _Capias_ were said to have become so
numerous, that the sheriff represented that his officers could do no
other business, so that it became necessary in this year’s Lottery
Act (33 Geo. III. c. 62) to insert a clause, that no prosecution for
penalties should be instituted, except in the name of His Majesty’s
Attorney-General.
The evil, however, of illegal insurance appears to have continued
unabated, by the distribution of the knowledge of the numbers of the
tickets drawn, the easy access to the Guildhall, where the lotteries
were drawn, and the facility with which numerical books were obtained.
Any person might take down the numbers of the tickets as they came out
of the wheel; and so prevalent was the mischief, that the insurance was
carried on, even from hour to hour, during the drawing. The evidence
given before the Commission of 1808 states that the seats provided
for persons who attended to take down the numbers, were not confined
to the clerks of licensed lottery office-keepers, but any person who
could raise enough money to pay for a seat was admitted, and many of
the persons who attended to take down the numbers, were employed solely
to enable themselves and others to carry on the system of insurance.
Immediately after each day’s drawing, they assembled at different
places appointed for the purpose, where a great number of others also
met to post their books. The result of each day’s drawing becoming
known by this means, the persons interested were enabled to ascertain
the event of their insurance, and to renew the same, if so minded, from
day to day, during the continuance of the drawing.
The profits derived from letting these seats in the Guildhall made part
of the revenue of the Corporation of the City of London, and amounted
to between four and five hundred pounds per annum.
To remedy this evil, the Commissioners of Stamp Duties directed that an
agreement should be made with the Corporation to rent that part of the
hall during the drawing of the lottery, in order that the seats might
be under their authority, and be confined to the clerks appointed by
the managers and directors, and also the clerks of the office-keepers
licensed by the Commissioners of Stamps.
In order that the agreement might have full effect, regulations were
introduced, in 1793, in the annual Lottery Act of 33 Geo. III. c. 62--
(1) That no person should attend to take down the numbers of the
tickets, as the same should be drawn, unless employed as clerk to the
managers and directors, or be licensed to do so by the Commissioners of
Stamp Duties.
(2) That every person so licensed should provide proper numerical
books, of large dimensions, to be stamped by the Commissioners on
every leaf thereof, and that they should grant such licences to such
persons who should be duly licensed to keep lottery offices, and to no
others, and that one person only should be licensed for each office;
and that all persons present at the drawing, not being duly authorized,
who should take down the number of the tickets, should be liable to
penalties, and that magistrates should have power to issue their
warrants to apprehend offenders, and to commit them for non-payment.
(3) That persons summoned as witnesses, and not appearing, should be
subject to a penalty of £50.
In this way the event of each day’s drawing became known only to the
licensed lottery office-keepers, and the effect was to check the
illegal insurances very considerably, and to lead to the shutting up of
a great number of offices, hitherto kept open solely for transacting
the business of insurance.
In a handbill anent this lottery, it says, “_Somebody must_ have a
_Prize_. _Any body may_ have a _Prize_. _Nobody_ can tell who _will_
have a _Prize_. And, therefore, _Every body_ is justified in trying
for a _Prize_. Thus, _Hope_ animates their waking thoughts--_Hope_
inspires their dreams--_Passions_ are _corrected_ by the _Hope_ of a
_Prize_--_Tempers_ are _sweetened_ by it. The fireside brightens when
the prudent parent communicates to his wife and children that they have
a chance for the THIRTY THOUSAND POUNDS.... In England and Ireland
there are Ten Millions of people. There are but 50,000 tickets for the
whole. To rate persons of property in both Kingdoms at Five Hundred
Thousand, (and the Fund holders, alone, nearly amount to that,) there
is but the _tenth part_ of a _Ticket_ for each of them--but, when we
consider the _Middle Classes_, who, if not _Rich_, are, _generally,
highly comfortable_ in their _circumstances_, and who buy, at least,
30,000 tickets in Shares, can we possibly doubt, for a single Moment,
but that _tickets this year_ will at least be
EIGHTEEN GUINEAS.
But we can _now_ buy for less than _Sixteen Guineas_, we can _now save
Two Guineas_ a ticket; and, by _saving_ we _gain two Guineas_. We will
therefore _buy now_....
“In pining Love what healing Balm is found
To ease the Heart, like THIRTY THOUSAND POUND?
To the dull Mind, when anxious Cares abound,
What Joys burst forth in THIRTY THOUSAND POUND!
We that have oft complain’d that Fortune frown’d,
Now seek her Smiles in THIRTY THOUSAND POUND!
They dread no Claims when Quarter-day comes round,
Who boast a share of THIRTY THOUSAND POUND!
The Bells ring out, we hail the welcome Sound,
And clasp with Bliss the THIRTY THOUSAND POUND!”
In 1794 there was the usual Lottery Act passed (34 Geo. III. c. 40),
£500,000 given in prizes, and this year an improvement in the price
paid to the Government, the net gain being £229,893 0_s._ 7_d._ In
1795 (35 Geo. III. c. 36), the prizes being £500,000, the net gain was
£245,208 18_s._ 11_d._ This lottery was drawn on February 22, 1796, and
it is in connection with it that we are first introduced to the name
of T. BISH, who afterwards was the best-known lottery office-keeper,
especially noted for his varied powers of advertising, before whom our
most celebrated advertising firms must “hide their diminished heads,”
and from whom they might take many useful lessons. Of his origin, or
previous career, we know nothing, but in this year he was a partner
with a very respectable stockbroker and lottery office-keeper, James
(afterwards Sir James) Branscomb, who had been established in business
for thirty years. They dissolved partnership at the end of 1798, and
Bish took over Branscomb’s offices at 4, Cornhill, and started a branch
at Manchester. He afterwards had branch establishments or agents in all
the principal towns in England, Scotland, and Ireland. We know that he
contemplated obtaining a seat in Parliament, for a highly ornamental
card is extant. “Mr. Bish, Candidate to represent in Parliament the
Ancient and Independent Borough of LEOMINSTER, solicits the Honour of
your Vote and Interest.” We also know that he was the prominent broker
in every lottery from 1799 to the last one in 1826, and that is all we
know of him.
Prizes. Net Profit.
£ £ _s._ _d._
1796 (36 Geo. III. c. 104) 500,000 267,831 13 10
1797 (37 Geo. III. c. 113) 500,000 130,919 11 8
1798 (38 Geo. III. c. 75) 500,000 154,824 6 8
1799 (39 Geo. III. c. 91) 500,000 191,385 8 8
1800[20] (39 & 40 Geo. III. c. 52) 500,000 311,191 19 11
1801 (41 Geo. III. c. 27) 500,000 185,589 6 11
[20] Bish’s price in December, 1800, for a ticket in this lottery was
£16 18_s._, and he says, “Tickets and Shares will rise gradually, as
the Drawing approaches.”
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The Right Hon. George, Lord Pigot, died, and, among his other property,
was a large diamond of the estimated value of £30,000. As his property
had to be divided amongst his heirs, and no purchasers could be found
for a diamond of this size, an Act was passed (39 and 40 Geo. III. c.
102) to enable his heirs to dispose of it by lottery--11,428 tickets at
two guineas each, or £23,998 16_s._ This lottery was drawn on January
2, 1801, and the diamond was won by a young man. It was afterwards
sold at Christie’s on May 10, 1802, to Messrs. Parker and Birketts, of
Princes Street, pawnbrokers, for 9500 guineas, Mr. Christie remarking
at the sale “that its owners were unfortunate in its being brought to
a market where its worth might not be sufficiently valued, where the
charms of the fair needed not such ornaments, and whose sparkling eyes
outshone all the diamonds of Golconda. In any other country the Pigot
diamond would be sought as a distinction where superior beauty was
rarely to be found.”
It was again sold, and is said to have passed into the possession of
Messrs. Rundell and Bridge, Court jewellers, Bond Street, who are
reported to have sold it to an Egyptian Pasha for £30,000. It is not
known in whose possession it is now. There is some discrepancy among
authorities as to its weight, Mawe giving it as forty-nine carats,
Emanuel as eighty-two and a half.
To show how widely spread was the lottery fever at this time, and how
deep were its ramifications all over the country, we need only look
at Branscomb and Co.’s list of agencies--Aberdeen, Bath, Beverley,
Bristol, Blandford, Boston, Bridgewater, Birmingham, Bury, Coventry,
Canterbury, Chatham, Chester, Chichester, Dorchester, Dundee, Exeter,
Gloucester, Glasgow, Gosport, Hull, Liverpool, Marlborough, Newark,
Norwich, Northampton, Plymouth, Portsea, Reading, Salisbury, Stamford,
Shrewsbury, Sherborne, Tiverton, Weymouth, Wolverhampton, Worcester,
Yarmouth, and York.
In 1802 was the largest lottery (42 Geo. III. c. 54) since 1755, the
amount given in prizes being £900,000, and the net profit accruing
thereon being £340,458 5_s._ 1_d._
In this Act alterations were introduced as to the preparing and method
of drawing tickets, and fixing the days of drawing, etc., and, as the
method now introduced, for the first time, of drawing the lottery in
eight days instead of forty-two days was designed to considerably
reduce the illegal insurance, if not put an end to it, several new
regulations were introduced into this and subsequent Lottery Acts, with
a view to extend the sale of lottery tickets and the legal shares of
tickets as much as possible. By the same statute the Irish lotteries
were abolished, and the tickets of the lottery in Great Britain were
divided into three separate drawings. After the conclusion of the
third drawing, directions were given by Mr. Vansittart, then one of
the secretaries of the Treasury, that inquiry should be made as to
the effect of these regulations. It was elicited, that by drawing the
lottery in eight instead of forty-two days, the business of illegal
insurance had undergone a complete change, by being rendered dangerous
and unprofitable to both parties. It had driven all the men of large
capital out of the business, and the agents usually employed by them,
who had before gained a livelihood by collecting the insurances in
coffee-houses and private families, and others who kept unlicensed
offices for that purpose, were reduced to the greatest distress, and
rendered incapable of obtaining a living.
There is a story told in connection with the lottery drawn this
year, that old Baron d’Aguilar, the Islington miser, was requested
by a relation to purchase a particular ticket, No. 14,068, in this
lottery, but it had been sold some few days previously. The baron died
on the 16th of March following, and the number was the first drawn
ticket on the 24th, and, as such, entitled to £20,000. The baron’s
representatives, under these circumstances, published an advertisement,
offering a reward of £1000 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 a chest), on copying the numbers for the
purpose of examining them, made a mistake in one figure, and called
it 14,168 instead of 14,068, which was the £20,000 prize. The lottery
being finished, he sent his tickets to be examined and marked. To his
utter astonishment, he then found the error in 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 £20,000 was paid to the lucky linen-draper.
The lottery office-keepers plumed themselves on their sale of tickets
which became prizes, and certainly did not hide their lights under
bushels. The following is a list of “Capital Prizes sold by Richardson,
Goodluck, and Co. in the State Lotteries drawn in and for the year
1802”:--
Three prizes of £20,000
Three ” 5,000
One ” 2,000
Three ” 1,000
Four ” 500
CHAPTER X.
The Boydell Lottery--Bowyer’s “Historic” Lottery.
1803 had its usual annual lottery (43 Geo. III. c. 91), in which
£710,000 was given in prizes, and the Government netted £204,354 4_s._
9_d._ Another in 1804 (44 Geo. III. c. 93) has £800,000 in prizes, and
the net profit was £266,924 5_s._ 11_d._
This year is famous for the Shakespeare, or Boydell, Lottery. John
Boydell was an engraver in the city of London, of which he was elected
Alderman in 1782, Sheriff in 1785, and Lord Mayor in 1790. He died,
on December 12, 1804, aged 86. He was very ambitious, and brought
himself to financial grief over a magnificently illustrated edition of
Shakespeare, on which he employed all the best artists of the day. Let
him tell his own story, as contained in a letter from him to Sir John
William Anderson, and read by the latter in the House of Commons, when
applying for leave to dispose of the Shakespeare paintings, etc., by
lottery.
“You will excuse, my dear sir, some warmth in an old man on this
subject, when I inform you that this unhappy Revolution has cut up,
by the roots, that revenue from the Continent, which enabled me to
undertake such considerable works in this country.... Had I but laid up
ten pounds out of every hundred my plates produced, I should not now
have had occasion to trouble my friends, or appeal to the Public; but,
on the contrary, I flew with impatience to employ some new artist, with
the whole gains of my former undertakings. I now see my error, for I
have thereby decreased my ready money, and increased my stock of Copper
plates to such a size, that all the printsellers in Europe could not
purchase it, especially at these times, which are so unfavourable.” The
letter concludes with the suggestion that Parliamentary sanction should
be given to a lottery. “The objects of it are my pictures, galleries,
drawings, etc., etc., which, unconnected with my copper plates and
trade, are much more than sufficient to pay, if properly disposed of,
all I owe in the world.”
The following is the scheme of the
“SHAKESPEARE LOTTERY,
To be drawn pursuant to an Act of Parliament passed in the 44th year of
His Majesty’s reign, entitled 'An Act to enable John Boydell, Esq., one
of the Aldermen of the City of London, and Josiah Boydell, his Nephew
and Partner, to dispose of their Collection of Paintings, Drawings, and
Engravings, together with the Leasehold Premises in Pall Mall, called
the Shakespeare Gallery, by way of Chance.’
“The number of Tickets to be 22,000, at the price of THREE GUINEAS a
Ticket.
“The Capital Prizes are 62, which are to be decided by the sixty-two
Tickets first drawn. The holders of each and every of the 21,938
undrawn Tickets, are to receive a Print or Prints aggregately of the
estimated value of One Guinea, from the Collection of the said John and
Josiah Boydell, consisting of 4432 Copper-plates, according to their
Alphabetical Catalogue, lodged at the Shakespeare Gallery, in Pall
Mall, pursuant to the said Act.
“The Capital Prizes and Prints to be obtained by the holders of the
22,000 Tickets, amount to upwards of £69,800, according to the prime
cost proved before both Houses of Parliament; where evidence was also
given that the Copper-plates engraved from the pictures and drawings
that constitute the following prizes, had cost Messrs. Boydell upwards
of £300,000.
“The whole may be viewed at the Shakespeare Gallery--Admittance One
Shilling each person--such exhibition being reserved to Messrs. Boydell
by the Act.
“The Catalogue of the Shakespeare Pictures to be had as above, at one
shilling and sixpence each; and the Alphabetical Catalogue at the same
price. Both Catalogues may be seen and inspected at the Gallery, and at
No. 90, Cheapside.”
The first twenty-six prizes were framed paintings, by Poussin, Titian,
Teniers, Rubens, Caracci, Vernet, Hogarth, Copley, Northcote, Rigaud,
Peters, Stodhart, Angelica Kauffman, and other artists.
The next eighteen prizes were framed drawings, by Guido, Rubens,
Rembrandt, Vanderwerff, Both, Smirke, Westall, West, Angelica Kauffman,
Wright of Derby, Gainsborough, etc.
Prize No. 45 was thirty-seven drawings (unframed) by Linck.
The fourteen succeeding prizes were prints, and books with prints.
The sixty-first prize was twenty-eight large framed drawings by Richard
Westall, R.A., in colours, for the poetical works of Milton.
But the plum was the sixty-second and last prize, which consisted of
“the whole of the large pictures, from Shakespeare, now exhibiting,
and from which the large plates have been taken. Also the whole of
the small pictures, from which the plates have been engraved, for
the Embellishment of the Great National Edition of Shakespeare in
Nine Volumes, Folio. Also Seven Pictures of the Ages, by Smirke, R.A.
Together with all the Estate, Right and Interest of Messrs. John and
Josiah Boydell, in these Premises, which were erected by them, and in
which they hold an unexpired Term of sixty-four years, at a Ground Rent
of £125 per Annum.
“The Pictures are all framed, and are fully described in the
Shakespeare Gallery Catalogue, and amount, in the Whole, to 167;
besides which there are Three Supernumerary Pictures, not in the
Catalogue, and which have not been engraved.
“This Prize will also include the Alto Relievo in Front of the Gallery,
by T. Banks, R.A., and two Basso Relievos by the Hon. Anne Damer.
“What is given in this last Prize, for the Sixty Second Drawn Ticket,
has cost the Proprietors upwards of £30,000.”
This prize was won on June 28, 1805, by Mr. Tassie, a sculptor, who
lived in Leicester Square, and he, not wanting such a white elephant,
sent the pictures to Christie’s, where they were sold on May 17, 18,
and 20, 1805, realizing 10,237½ guineas.
On June 27, 1805, was passed another State lottery (45 Geo. III.
c. 74), which gave £750,000 in prizes, and yielded a net profit of
£363,070 9_s._ 11_d._ £250,000 of this lottery was drawn on September
30, 1805. On May 31 was drawn the last portion of the 1804 lottery.
Probably encouraged by the success of Boydell’s lottery, another
engraver followed his example, and had a lottery to get rid of his
unsaleable stock. It was drawn before September 30, 1805.
[Illustration]
“MR. BOWYER presumes he need not inform the Friends of Literature
and the Arts, that the Works which he has received the Sanction of
Parliament to dispose of by way of Lottery, are deemed the most
splendid Publications in Europe; he can, however, at all events, assure
them that these Works have cost him above a Hundred Thousand Pounds;
and that, after the Lottery is over, a single Copy of either cannot be
had on any terms whatever.
HISTORIC LOTTERY.
_Without a Possibility of the least Loss._
TICKETS, THREE GUINEAS EACH.
_Contains One Thousand Four Hundred and
Fifty-One_ CAPITAL PRIZES.
“Every Ticket not drawn one of the Capital Prizes will, never the less,
be entitled to and the Holder will _fairly_ and HONOURABLY receive
the FULL AMOUNT _of the Original Cost of the Ticket in_ BEAUTIFUL
ENGRAVINGS, most of them new Subjects never yet published; and that
Purchasers may be SATISFIED of receiving no other Engravings for the
Blanks but those of the VERY FIRST CLASS; Specimens of the WHOLE are
now exhibiting at the Historic Gallery, Pall Mall, and No. 73, Cornhill.
And of these they are warranted to receive fine
Impressions.
“LIST OF THE PRIZES.
_For the First drawn Ticket, Value Ten Thousand
Pounds._
£ _s._ _d._
No. of | All the Pictures composing the
prizes. | Historic Gallery in Pall Mall,
| painted by Members of the
| Royal Academy, and have cost
| the Proprietor, as proved before
| the Committees in both
| Houses of Parliament 8,433 4 0
| Four sets of the History of
| England, at £73 10/- each 294 0 0
| Four sets of do., the Plates on
| India Paper, at £147 588 0 0
1 --| Four sets of the Engravings, at
| £50 each Copy 200 0 0
| Four sets of the Historical
| Engravings, £24 10/- each Set 98 0 0
| Four sets of the Etchings of the
| above Work, at 30 Guis. each 126 0 0
| Four complete Sets of Views in
| Egypt, etc., etc., at £55 4/- 100 16 0
| One large Picture of the Battle
| of the Nile, by R. Smirke, jun.,
| from a design by Anderson 160 0 0
| ---------------
| £10,000 0 0
_For the Second to the Three Hundred and First drawn
Tickets, both inclusive._
|THREE HUNDRED PRIZES. Each £ _s._ _d._
| Prize to consist of a complete
| Set of the History of England,
| in Seventy Numbers, at one
| Guinea each Number. This
| work contains nearly 200 Engravings,
300 | has cost upwards of
| £68,000, and is deemed the
| most magnificent Work in
| Europe. Three Hundred
| Prizes, therefore, at £73 10/-
| each, the price to Subscribers,
| is 22,050 0 0
_For the three Hundred and Second to the Eight
Hundred and First drawn Tickets, both inclusive._
|FIVE HUNDRED PRIZES. Each
| Prize to consist of a Complete
| Set of Engravings, being near
| Two Hundred in Number,
500 | and which form the entire
| Embellishments to the Splendid
| Work of the History of
| England, at the price to
| Subscribers, being £50 per set 25,000 0 0
_For the Eight Hundred and Second to the Nine Hundred
and Fifty First drawn Tickets, both inclusive._
|ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY
| PRIZES. Each of these Prizes
| to consist of a Complete Set of
150 | the Historical Engravings to
| the above Work, at £24 10/-
| each Set 3,675 0 0
_For the Nine Hundred and Fifty Second to the Twelve
Hundred and Fifty First drawn Tickets, both inclusive._
| THREE HUNDRED PRIZES. Each
| of these Prizes to consist of a
| Series of Four Engravings, 29
| Inches high by 17 Inches wide,
| to commemorate the four great
| Naval Victories of the late
| War, and containing near One
300 | Hundred Portraits of the
| Admirals and Captains who
| were engaged in those National
| Achievements. The Work is
| done up in Boards, with a
| History of each Action, printed
| by Bensley, at the Subscription
| price of Nine Guineas, is 2,835 0 0
_For the Twelve Hundred and Fifty Second to the
Fourteen Hundred and Fifty First drawn Tickets,
both inclusive._
| TWO HUNDRED PRIZES. Each of
| these Prizes to consist of a
| Complete Copy of a magnificent
| and interesting Work, just
| finished, of Views in Egypt,
| Palestine, and other parts of
| the Ottoman Empire, from the
| celebrated Collection of Drawings
200 | in the possession of Sir
| Robert Ainslie, Bart., in 2 Vols.
| Folio, containing Ninety-six
| Views, beautifully coloured to
| imitate the original Drawings;
| with a History of those Countries,
| at the Subscription Price,
| per Copy, of Twenty-four
| Guineas, is 5,040 0 0
----- ---------------
1,451 Capital Prizes. £68,600 0 0
------ ===============
20,549 Tickets, which, if not drawn either of the
22,000 Tickets. Capital Prizes above mentioned, will,
====== nevertheless, be entitled to new and
beautiful Engravings, of the Estimated
Value of 3 Guineas, being the Price of
each Ticket.
The whole of the Collection is, by the Act, vested in
Trustees for the Holders of the Tickets.”
The scheme then goes on to say that, if any one, taking more than one
share, should have duplicate engravings allotted to them, they will be
exchanged for others. The following were some of the subjects, and had
never before been published:--
“Matrimony; } These four Engravings are executed
Confirmation; } by Meadow, from four of the
Christening; } most beautiful Drawings ever
and the Lord’s } made by Mr. Westall. Size of
Supper. } Plates, 24 in. by 18.
} From the two celebrated Pictures
The Tired } by Opie, which were exhibited
Soldier, and its } two years ago at the Royal
Companion. } Academy. Size of Plates, 24
} in. by 19.
The Young } From two exquisite Pictures by
Cottager, and } Gainsborough. Size of Plates,
Companion. } 28 in. by 20.
Rural Innocence; } From two very fine Pictures by
Cottage } Sir Francis Bourgeois. Size,
Cares. } 28 in. by 20.
The Blind } From an interesting Picture by
Hermit. } Stothard. Size, 28 in. by 20.
Winter and }
Cottagers; } From beautiful Pictures by Morland.
Summer and } Size, 24 in. by 19.
Fishing. }
Wood Cutter, } All from Drawings by Morland.
and Six other } Size, 22 in. by 18.
Engravings. }
Fishermen } From two Pictures by Bigg. Size,
going out; } 24 in. by 19.”
Ditto returning. }
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
This lottery rather hung fire, and, before its drawing, an additional
stimulus was given by the promise that every purchaser, at the time
of buying a ticket, should be presented with an engraved portrait of
Nelson or Collingwood, at their option.
In 1806 a State lottery was granted (46 Geo. III. c. 148), July 22, in
which £900,000 was the amount of prizes, and net profit £378,039 16_s._
2_d._
Bish issued a handbill relative to the lottery began to be drawn on
February 3 this year.
“FIRST 5000 TICKETS.
T. BISH, Contractor for the approaching grand Lottery, solicits the
Public to notice that the first 5000 Tickets drawn are sure to be
ALL PRIZES,
From £22 to £20,000, and the First drawn Ticket,
MONDAY, February 3^{rd}, cannot be less than
£10,022,
And may be more: The advantage in buying before the Drawing begins, is,
therefore, obvious, as those whose Tickets are drawn early will be
SURE TO GAIN,
And, if their tickets are not drawn Capital Prizes in the _first_
instance, they will have the advantage of CHANGING them (without any
additional expence) for
_Undrawn Tickets_
Or Shares, by which means they have a DOUBLE CHANCE for the numerous
Prizes with which the Scheme abounds, from
£50 to £20,000;
Or, if they should wish to part with them, there is not a doubt but
they may easily find Purchasers (at a profit), as Tickets at that
time[21] will be scarce, especially as the first drawn Ticket on the
fourth Day is entitled to
£20,000.
[21] “In the Lottery which drew this time last year, every Ticket was
sold before the third day of Drawing, notwithstanding they were as high
as £22 before the Drawing began.”
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XI.
Launching a lottery--“The City” Lottery for houses--Poetic
handbills thereon--Parliamentary Committee on the
lottery--Report and evidence.
By the 47 Geo. III. sess. 2, c. 9, July 25, 1807, another lottery was
legalized. £700,000 was given in prizes, and a profit resulted of
£308,888 18_s._ 5_d._ And here we may note the method of starting a
lottery, which is taken from a newspaper cutting of February 15, 1807.
“On Thursday morning, the gentlemen who had given in their proposals
for the ensuing lottery, waited upon the Minister to receive his
answer. To the former lists were added those of Messrs. Walsh and
Nesbit, and they then stood as follows:--
“Messrs. Bish and Co.; Messrs. Cope and Co.; Messrs. Richardson, Swift,
and Co.; Messrs. Hensley, Pulley, and Co.; Messrs. Towgood and Co.;
Messrs. Walsh, Nesbit, and Co.
“Lord Grenville opened a sealed paper, which mentioned the lowest price
at which Government would dispose of the lottery, namely, at the rate
of £16 10_s._ per ticket. Upon examination of the several biddings,
it was found that the five former lists had offered each the sum of
£16 2_s._ 6_d._ per ticket, and Walsh and Nesbit £16 1_s._ 1_d._ per
ticket; consequently, the proposals falling short of the lowest sum
which Government had determined to take, the gentlemen were informed
that none of these would be accepted. It was suggested, on the part
of the Minister, that the contractor for the late lottery took it at
several shillings above the prices now proposed; and, from the present
appearance of things, it was likely to turn to a beneficial account.
This was answered by saying that the City Lottery (as it was called),
being about to be drawn, would materially affect the next regular
lottery by diminishing the sale of tickets.
“The conversation terminated without any future day being proposed for
a fresh bidding.
“If no proposition should be made equal to the sum expected by
Government, it is, we understand, intended that the tickets should be
sold to the public at the bank.”
That they did come to terms is evident, for I find in another newspaper
cutting of March 22, 1807, that the present price of--
Whole tickets £19 17_s._ 0_d._
Half ” £10 3_s._ 0_d._ = 20 6 0
Quarter ” 5 3 0 = 20 12 0
Eighth ” 2 12 0 = 20 16 0
Sixteenth ” 1 6 6 = 21 4 0
“The City Lottery,” alluded to above, was a large affair, which took
three drawings, the first of which, consisting of house property valued
at over £100,000, at Temple Bar and Snow Hill, the approaches to both
places having been improved. The scheme of the first drawing is as
follows:--
SCHEME.
First drawn ticket a capital, substantial Freehold
Dwelling House, with extensive warehouses and manufactory,
valued at--
£10,000.
Being No. 44 in SKINNER STREET.
2nd draw, a ditto. No. 13, Skinner St., on lease at £250
per annum.
3rd ” ” ” 46 ” not occupied.
4th ” ” ” 10 ” on lease £225 per annum.
5th ” ” ” 5 ” on lease £185 per annum.
6th ” ” ” 16 ” not occupied.
7th ” ” ” 47 ” ” ”
8th ” ” ” 2 ” on lease £200 per annum.
9th ” ” ” 27 ” ” £180 ”
10th ” ” ” 3 ” not occupied.
11th ” ” ” 12 ” ” ”
12th ” ” ” 1, Pickett Street, Temple Bar,
not occupied.
13th ” ” ” 8 ” ” ”
14th ” ” ” 9 ” ” ”
15th ” ” ” 3 ” ” ”
16th ” ” ” 2 ” ” ”
17th ” ” ” 6, Skinner Street, on lease £150 per annum.
18th ” ” ” 7 ” not occupied.
19th ” ” ” 1 ” on lease £155 per annum.
20th ” ” ” 11 ” ” £120 1_s._ ”
21st ” ” ” 28 ” at the corner of Green
Arbour Court in the Old
Bailey, on lease £105
per annum.
22nd ” ” ” 14 ” on lease £89 3_s._ 4_d._
per annum.
The next drawing took place on April 26, 1808, of which twenty lots,
amounting in value to £104,000, were prizes ranging from the Grand
Hotel, No. 9, Skinner Street, appraised at £25,000, to property worth
£2500. The third and last portion, valued at £101,500, was disposed of
on December 4, 1808, the chief prize being premises said to be worth
£15,700, and the lowest a house put down at £500.
[Illustration: ONE OF THE CAPITAL PRIZES.]
Bish naturally burst into verse on this occasion--his earliest effort
in this direction, as far as I am aware, but the pioneer of countless
rhymes.
“FREEHOLDS AND FORTUNES.
_By_ PETER PUN.
_Tune_--'Drops of Brandy.’
Dame Fortune is full of her tricks,
And blind, as her portraits reveal, sir;
Then the best way the Goddess to fix,
Is by putting a spoke in her wheel, sir;
Her favours the Lott’ry unfolds,
Then the summons to Bish’s don’t scorn, sir;
For, as _her_ Cornucopia _he_ holds,
He’s the lad for exalting your horn, sir.
_Rum ti iddity, etc._
With Poverty who would be known,
And live upon orts in a garret, sir;
Who could get a good _house_ of his own,
And fatten on roast beef and claret, sir;
In the _City_ Scheme this you’ll obtain,
At Bish’s where all folks _pell-mell_ come;
By a Ticket a _Free_-hold you’ll gain,
And it cannot be more _free_ than _welcome_.
_Rum ti iddity, etc._
This House, when you once realize it,
Upholders will look sharp as lynxes,
For an order to _Egyptianize_ it,
With Catacomb fal-lals and sphynxes.
Chairs and tables, a _mummy_ like crew,
With Crocodile Grooms of the Stole, sir,
Sarcophagus _coal_ scuttles too,
And at Bish’s you’ll fill them with _cole_,[22] sir.
_Rum ti iddity, etc._
For, when you’re thus furnish’d in state,
And a pretty establishment got, sir,
Ten to one but it pops in your pate,
You’ll want sticks to be boiling the pot, sir;
Then to Bish’s away for supplies,
For _mopusses_[23] they are so plenty,
You may chuse a _Ten Thousand_ Pound prize,
And, if you don’t like it, a Twenty.
_Rum ti iddity, etc._
Then Bish for my money, I say,
The likes of him never was known, sir;
As _Brulgruddery_ says in the play,
'_That man’s the philosopher’s stone, sir_.’
Then what shall we do for this man,
Who makes all your fortunes so handy?
Buy his Tickets as fast as you can,
And drink him in _Drops of Brandy_.
_Rum ti iddity, etc._”
[22] A slang term for money.
[23] A slang term for money.
Pickett Street owed its name to Alderman Pickett, who, in 1789,
propounded a plan for making it; and between the years 1795 and 1811,
Acts of Parliament were obtained, and, at an expense of over £250,000,
the houses were pulled down, the street widened, and the site let for
long terms to contractors for the new buildings. But, unfortunately, as
Leigh Hunt observed, “They turned out to be on too large a scale,” the
lease-holders being fast ruined, for they had soon expended £850,000
on the buildings, which, since 1802, had remained unlet. At last they
hit upon a plan to release themselves, which was to obtain an Act
of Parliament to enable them to dispose of their interest in their
property, and also other property in Skinner Street and Fleet Market,
by means of a lottery.
“THE TRADESMAN.
The man who depends on the profits of trade,
When debts are collected and bills are all paid,
May think himself happy to find he stands clear,
With Credit still good at the end of the year;
Or, should his endeavours, and constant attendance,
Obtain in the end but a small independence,
’Tis more than is likely, while many as willing,
Strive hard all their lives, and can ne’er save a shilling.
How diff’rent the Chance of the Lott’ry from this,
By vent’ring a trifle, you scarcely can miss:
Your business is done, you may rise beyond bounds,
Possess’d of Ten, Twenty, or Five Thousand Pounds.
Some ground would you gain, with No Land Tax to pay?
’Tis time to look out, and get rich while you may;
New Houses you’ll have, when in April they deal
Estates at Guildhall, from the City’s Rich Wheel.”
[Illustration]
The usual Lottery Act was passed on June 30, 1808 (48 Geo. III. c.
139), but it was only for £600,000--for a reason given below--and the
net profit thereon was £146,527.
This year a Committee of the House of Commons was appointed, to inquire
how far the evils attending lotteries had been remedied by the laws
passed respecting the same, and to report their observations thereon,
as well as upon such further measures as might be necessary by way of
remedy. Pending the completion of the evidence, the committee reported
resolutions to the House, of which the following is the first--the
others being more or less stringent.
“That (if it was thought expedient to continue State Lotteries) the
number in each year should be limited to two lotteries of not more
than 30,000 tickets each; that the number of days allowed for drawing
should be reduced from ten to eight; that the number of tickets to be
drawn each day should be uncertain, and left to the discretion of the
Commissioners of Stamp Duties, and kept secret till the close of the
drawing each day, care being taken, as the lottery proceeded, not to
leave too great a number undrawn on the latter days of drawing, but
that one moiety or upwards, be drawn on the four first days thereof.”
In the report of this Committee, various instances were adduced of
the most serious evils arising from lotteries, by most respectable
witnesses, some of which are so striking, that mention must be made
of them. One case, which was attested by the Rev. W. Gurney, is
particularly interesting, as it shows to what an amazing extent this
kind of gambling will carry persons, who, had it not been for the
temptations held out by lotteries, might have lived with comfort and
respectability, but who, from these kinds of speculations, have been
reduced to the most abject state of poverty and distress.
“I knew,” said Mr. Gurney, “a widow in a good line of business as a
silk dyer, which, I suppose, brought her in about £400 a year, clear.
She kept a very good house, and I was in habits of intimacy with
the family. The foreman she had was in the habit of insuring in the
lottery; he was led astray by an acquaintance, and he and his mistress
insured to the amount of £300 to £400 in a night, although the foreman
had only £30 a year wages. It appeared, on his decease, he had insured
immense sums of money within the last year of his life. I found that
he had expended upwards of 100 guineas in the lottery, purchasing one
ticket at £16, and insuring away the rest. It came up a blank at last,
and I verily believe the disappointment was the cause of his death. He
died insolvent, and I acted as his executor, and paid three or four
shillings in the pound to his creditors. He had received a great many
bills for his mistress which he had never accounted for, and was the
ruin of her also. She was not able to pay three shillings in the pound,
was obliged to go into an almshouse, and died there in four or five
months. They would send all the plate she possessed to raise money to
carry on an insurance, which had, perhaps, begun at a low rate. The
gentleman who drew the foreman into this practice was also ruined by
it. His wife had an annuity of £400 per annum settled upon her; he sold
her life-interest, and she was obliged to live afterwards upon charity,
while her husband, who had formerly kept his carriage and lived in
a good house in Queen Square, spent the last hours of his miserable
existence within the rules of the Fleet Prison.”
Various other instances of a similar kind were mentioned in the
Appendix to the Report of the Committee, where the parties, formerly in
respectable circumstances, were reduced to misery and distress. What,
however, served to mark the evil of lotteries the stronger is--that it
was not only the unsuccessful adventurer that was ruined by the failure
of his speculation, but there were many cases where a successful
speculator had reason to deplore his first connection with this species
of gambling.
Robert Baker, Esq., deposed that “he remembered one very strong
instance of distress arising out of the transactions in the lottery
four or five years ago. It was the case of a journeyman who belonged
to a Club, which Club purchased a ticket which came up the great
prize. The share of this man was £100, or thereabouts; he had been an
industrious working man previously, and he was persuaded by his friends
to invest the money in the Stocks, in the joint names of himself and
wife, in order to prevent his making away with it. He did so, but
soon fell into habits of idleness after he became possessed of the
money; and he wanted his wife to join in the transfer of it. This
occasioned quarrels, which proceeded to assaults; he changed his habits
of industry to those of drunkenness and idleness, he destroyed all his
domestic comfort, and was the ruin of the peace of his family.”
Many other cases of a similar description are given in this Appendix.
In some of them, mothers had neglected their children, and left them
destitute of the common necessaries of life, while the money by which
those necessaries could have been purchased, had been gambled away
in the insurance of certain numbers in the Lottery. In other cases,
the wife had robbed an industrious and careful father of the small
and hard-earned savings of many months, and even of many years; and
he, instead of finding his little treasure in the drawer in which it
was deposited, and which he was about to increase by another small
addition, found that the whole had been gambled away in lottery
speculations, and every article of his clothes, which were not likely
to be immediately wanted, had been pawned, in order to recover the
former loss. In other cases, children had robbed their parents,
servants their masters; suicides had been committed, and almost every
crime that can be imagined had been occasioned, either directly or
indirectly, through the baneful influence of lotteries.
[Illustration]
The Committee, in the course of their Report, declared that, “the
foundation of the lottery system is so radically vicious, that your
Committee feel convinced that under no system of regulations which
can be devised will it be possible for Parliament to adopt it as an
efficacious source of revenue, and, at the same time, divest it of all
the evils of which it has, hitherto, proved so baneful a source.”
CHAPTER XII.
“The Lottery Alphabet”--“The Philosopher’s
Stone”--“Fortune’s Ladder”--Enigmatical
handbill--Lottery drawn on St. Valentine’s Day--
“Public Prizes”--and other poetical handbills.
Three of Bish’s handbills belong to this lottery.
“THE LOTTERY ALPHABET.
=A= stands for _All_ who for Affluence wish,
=B= means _Be_ sure _Buy_ a Ticket of BISH.
=C= _Cash_ in plenty by BISH you may gain;
=D= _Don’t Delay_ soon a Chance to obtain;
=E= Shows that _Every One_, if he is wise,
=F= would _Find out_ where to purchase a Prize;
=G= _Gives_ the place; it is 4, in Cornhill;
=H= _Has_ a prize, for _Have_ it who will,
=I= _Independence_ by BISH you may gain;
=J= _Join_ with me, a grand Prize to obtain;
=K= _Keep_ in view, in October’s the day
=L= _Lott’ry_ draws; then no longer delay.
=M= _Many_ prizes the Scheme has in view;
=N= _No one_ knows but a winner are you.
=O= shows that _Opulence_ there may be found;
=P= _Proves_ that _Prizes_ in _Plenty_ abound.
=Q= _Questions_ not but the Scheme will delight ye;
=R= most _Respectfully_ begs to invite ye.
=S= _Stands_ for _Shares_, if a Ticket don’t suit ye,
=T= _Turns_ your Luck, and with _Treasure_ recruits ye
=U= shows that all, with _Unanimous_ wishes,
=V= _Vow_ they’ll _Venture_ and purchase at BISH’S.
=W= _Would Wish_ in a Club to unite ye;
=X= _Ten_ to One but good luck will requite ye.
=Y= hopes that _You_ have, like others, a wish,
=Z= with _Zeal_ to adventure and purchase of BISH.”
“THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE.
BY AN ALCHYMIST.
TUNE--'_Golden Days of good Queen Bess._’
Ye Alchymists, attend my lay, and occult speculators,
I’ve made a grand discovery, according with your natures;
I ha’n’t found out the longitude, nor motion that’s perpetual,
But the Stone that’s called Philosopher’s, a Thousand Pounds I’ll
bet you all.
And merry be his memory, who such a thing invented,
Tho’ some folks, if they could make gold, would never be contented.
Perhaps you might have read about an ancient sage philosopher,
Whom Hudibras informs you had read Alexander Ross over;
Who Alick Ross was, I don’t know, and you are not much wiser;
But he first gave the hint of what I mean to advertise here.
And merry, etc.
It isn’t Loan--it isn’t Scrip--nor long, nor short Annuities,
But, if I don’t explain the thing, what matter what to you it is?
In short, then, ’tis the Lottery, from which this fact’s deducible,
It makes Gold ten times faster than the Alchymist’s fam’d Crucible.
And merry, etc.
The 5th of OCTOBER they draw, and when the wheel goes round,
sir,
If you’re lucky, you may gain a Twenty Thousand Pound, sir;
Ye souls of Venture, then, who hope to share the Lott’ry’s riches,
To Fortune straight your suit unfold, and She’ll befriend your
wishes.
And merry, etc.
And should you wish to get a Prize, if ’tis but Twenty Thousand,
You’ll not be disappointed much; and would you know the house, and
The owner’s name, it BISH is, and he, with zeal quite
fervent,
Declares himself to be, kind sir, your very humble servant.
And merry, etc.
And, if you doubt of buying Prize, you are only to be told, sir,
That Three of Twenty Thousand Pounds, last Lottery he sold, sir,
And so disinterested be, if you your luck would try it,
He says he hates to sell a blank, as much as you to buy it.
And merry, etc.”
“FORTUNE’S LADDER.
(TO BE READ FROM THE BOTTOM.)
The drift of this Ladder, to well comprehend,
Take a Paddy’s advice and _begin_ at the _end_.
(3)
[Illustration]
She answer’d thus, “If you are wise,
You’ll try at BISH’S for a Prize.”
The thought inspir’d with hope the man,
Who off to BISH’S quickly ran.
(_Go to No. 4._)
(2)
[Illustration]
“My dearest wife, the times are bad,
And, as to Cash, it can’t be had,
In this sad plight, what what shall we do?
Or, pray, what plan can we pursue?”
(_Go to No. 3._)
(1)
[Illustration]
A wight, by poverty oppress’d,
By duns and creditors distress’d,
Thus to his dame in dudgeon said,
While dreams of horror fill’d his head.
(_Go to No. 2._)
(6)
[Illustration]
Not long he waits, the lucky youth
Who drew the Prize, proclaims the truth,
And in his breast “fond hopes arise,
It is a Twenty Thousand Prize!”
(_Go to No. 7._)
(5)
[Illustration]
At home arriv’d, he tells his dear,
And anxiously expects to hear
The glorious, heart-inspiring sound,
“’Tis drawn, a Twenty Thousand Pound!”
(_Go to No. 6._)
(4)
[Illustration]
And, passing by, he saw the Scheme,
Of universal praise the theme;
Then went to BISH, a Ticket bought,
In hopes that Fortune he had caught.
(_Go to No. 5._)
(9)
[Illustration]
His friends, relations, uncles, cousins,
To wish him joy, flock in by dozens;
And those, who ’gainst him clos’d their door,
Obsequious bend unto the floor.
(_Go to No. 10._)
(8)
[Illustration]
And, now, behold how chang’d the scene,
To what it formerly had been;
No duns to vex--of gold a hoard,
While wealth and plenty crown his board.
(_Go to No. 9._)
(7)
[Illustration]
To BISH he goes with Prize in hand,
Who pays the Money on demand,
With many thanks for favours past,
And hoping that his luck may last.
(_Go to No. 8._)
(10)
[Illustration]
Possess’d of all that wealth can give,
In style he now begins to live;
His carriage keeps, but yet can spare
A Fortune to his son and heir.
_Finis._
On June 10, 1809, sanction was given by Parliament to a lottery (49
Geo. III. c. 94), for the £600,000 recommended by the Committee, and
the net profit derived therefrom was £327,006 0_s._ 10_d._
In this year Bish produced an enigmatical handbill, such as were very
popular about that time, and for ten years later.
The solution to the handbill on p. 169 is, “If you are a man struggling
to get through the world, or surrounded by crosses; or if you wish to
lay by a fortune for your children, go to BISH or his agents, who may
make you independent, and above the frowns of the world.”
[Illustration]
This other one (p. 170) is notable principally for the costumes.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The 15th June, 1810, brought its lottery (50 Geo. III. c. 94). Prizes
£600,000, profit £186,886 8_s._ Judging by this small amount of profit,
the public interest in the lottery was waning, and it would seem to
be so, by the extra stimulus given to the handbills issued this year,
which were more numerous than heretofore, especially for that drawn on
14th February.
[Illustration: An Engraver’s design for heading to a Lottery Handbill.]
[Illustration: Engraver’s design for a Lottery Handbill.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
A VALENTINE.
No fresh Damask Rose, when held to the Nose,
No Cowslip or Daffy-down-dilly,
No Hyacinth’s bloom, or Pink’s rich perfume,
Nor Jessamine sweet, nor the Lily;
_These_ Emblems of Love, _this_ Knot or _this_ Dove;
_This_ Pair, or _this_ One with a Letter,
_This_ Torch and _these_ Darts, _these_ two wounded Hearts,
Nor Cupid, nor Hymen’s round Fetter;
Not _all these_ Devices can match the great Prizes,
Nor can Bacchus or Venus so brisk,
Afford such a boon
As next Valentine’s Noon,
When the Prizes are gained _without risk_.
The inevitable Bish comes to the fore with
“PUBLIC PRIZES.
BY A PRIZE-MASTER.
TUNE--'_Ye Scamps, ye Pads, ye Divers_.’
In London Town, are Prizes for ev’rything that’s made,
In every profession, manufactory, or trade;
_Prize Cattle_ long have noise made, but don’t the _price_
decrease,
But I can tell of _Prize Sheep_, each with a _Golden Fleece_.
With a tol, etc.
How oft you’ll advertis’d see a _Prize Boot_ or a _Shoe_,
Which Crispin’s sons to gain, must either strap or buckle to;
To 'buckle Fortune on your back,’ you’d scrape your _shoe_ to do’t
I’ll tell you, and for a _Prize_, to make a _leg_ to _boot_.
With a tol, etc.
_Prize Flow’rs_ you hear of in plenty, of every kind and hue,
The best of them but fade at last, however fine to view;
Your Florist’s of Carnations, Pinks, and Tulips forth may hold,
The Prize Flower I present to you, is _Fortune’s Marigold_.
With a tol, etc.
_Prize Themes_ they write at College, in ev’ry style and tongue,
Producing _Wisdom_, greatest _Prize_, enlightening the young;
My _Theme_ is, too, a _Prize Theme_, a richer scarce is found,
I mean the _Prize_, for that may turn out Eighty Thousand Pound.
With a tol, etc.
The Theme I mean’s the Lottery, on Valentine they draw,
With Prizes full 5,000, a Scheme to gain _éclat_;
_Two Hundred Thousand Pounds_ in all; among them too you have
_Twelve_ £1000’s, Four £5000’s and Four £20,000’s--brave.
With a tol, etc.
And BISH is the _Prize-Master_, who sells most of them well,
At Charing Cross, No. 9, or Blue Coat Boys, Cornhill;
For Thousand _Twenties_, _Five and Twenties_, _Thirties_,
_Forties_ too,
He more has sold than all the Trade, and he’ll sell one to you.
With a tol, etc.”
Hazard and Co. give us the three following:--
“The _Prize Bird_ of VENUS, commissioned by LOVE,
The bounties of FORTUNE this Month to display,
Announces to all who her favours would prove,
That the Lottery draws on St. Valentine’s Day.
Young Maidens for Lovers no more need despair,
Since FORTUNE and LOVE have together combin’d,
To bestow their best gifts on the youth and the Fair,
Who by HYMEN’S soft fetters would wish to be join’d.”
“SWEETHEARTS AND GOLD;
OR,
THE MATRIMONIAL RECIPE.
Sweethearts, blithesome, spruce and gay,
Haste ye, haste ye, haste away,
Soon is Fortune’s holiday!
Why so loiter thus your time?
’Tis, indeed, a monstrous crime,
Thus to waste your youth and prime!
Haste then, Sweethearts, haste away,
Soon is Fortune’s Holiday!
Prizes may be had by all,
Rich and Poor, and Great and Small.
If you have a mind to call
Where they always may be had;
And where, too, they’re always glad
To assist where Luck’s been bad!
Haste ye, Sweethearts, haste away,
Soon is Fortune’s Holiday!
If you would to church be led,
By the Man you’d wish to wed,
(Ne’er to part till one is dead,)
Here the way I’ll surely show,
How most likely to do so,
Get a Prize--he’ll ne’er say 'No!’
Haste then, Sweethearts, haste away
Soon is Fortune’s Holiday!
If your lovely Lass has charms,
To excite your Love’s alarms,
Lest she fly to others’ arms,
[Illustration]
Buy a Share--a Prize go buy--
Then for you she’ll heave a sigh,
And with pleasure soon comply!
Haste then, Sweethearts, haste away,
Soon is Fortune’s Holiday!
Fifty Thousand Guineas rare,
May be had, and I know where,
They’ll the Prizes doubtless share!
HAZARD’S House, with fame o’er grown,
Has for Prizes long been known,
As the House of greatest _ton_.
Haste then, Sweethearts, haste away,
Soon is Fortune’s Holiday!
Never hesitate, nor stand,
For the time is close at hand,
When this Holiday is plann’d;
Good St. Valentine, you see,
And Dame Fortune, both agree
In the closest harmony.
Haste then, Sweethearts, haste away,
Soon is Fortune’s Holiday!”
“THE DOUBT.
To buy, or not to buy, that’s the question,
Whether ’tis nobler in the purse to suffer
The mournful emptiness of Fortune’s daughter,
Or to buy Tickets at a Lott’ry Office,
And by a Prize to end them. A Prize! Hard Cash!
And by possession of that Cash to end
The heart-ache, and a thousand cruel shocks
That Poverty is heir to. ’Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d--Guineas--Bank-Notes--
A Prize--perchance a Blank[24]--aye, there’s the rub,
That makes necessity of so long life;
For who would bear the scorn of empty pockets;
The insolence of riches, and the spurns
That ragged small-clothes from the well-drest take,
When he, himself, might a fine fortune make
With a mere Share?
Thus Prudence doth make cowards of us all,
And Lottery Prizes of great pith and moment,
By sad delay are flown from us for ever,
And lose the name of benefits!”
[24] The present Lottery contains only half the usual proportion, viz.
_Not two Blanks to a Prize_.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Gye and Balne, Printers, 38, Gracechurch-street.]
CHAPTER XIII.
“Twenty Thousand; or, Tom Truelove’s Journal”--“London
and the Lottery”--“The Persian Ambassador”--“An
Enigma”--“Gently over the Stones.”
“TWENTY THOUSAND;
OR, TOM TRUELOVE’S JOURNAL.
’Twas past meridian, half-past four,
_Good Luck_, I thought I’d try to nick it,
At six, up _Cornhill channel_ wore,
And bought of BISH a Lott’ry _Ticket_;
At seven, home with my ticket sped,
At eight, _in air built many a house_, and
At nine I supp’d and went to bed,
And dreamt at ten of _Twenty Thousand_.
'Rose six a.m. with hope agog,
In hopes of having pretty pickings,
O’erhaul’d, at seven, Fortune’s log,
And _counted_, tho’ _not hatch’d, my chickens_.
At eight, absorb’d by Fancy’s power,
For breakfast scarcely cared _a sous_, and
At nine, heard Church clock strike the hour
I hop’d would bring me _Twenty Thousand_.
At ten, I went to _Coopers Hall_,
To see them draw the Blanks and Prizes,
Eleven, my number heard ’em call--
Here, in my bosom transport rises.
The Hall, I, ere _meridian_, left,
(Your expectation I arouse, and
Will satisfy) of care bereft,
I found my chance was _Twenty Thousand_.
At one, I sought the gen’rous lass,
Who long for me and love had tarried,
And told her what had come to pass;
At two, we settled to be married;
At three, we bought the wedding-ring,
At four, resolved to take a house, and
Till five, did nought but dance and sing,
For joy of getting _Twenty Thousand_.
At six, saw BISH, my prize he paid,
In _gold_, with such polite behaviour,
It seem’d--tho’ he’d my fortune made,
As if I’d done him some great favour
At seven, with cargo, sail I set,
(My thoughts in Hope’s delights carouse) and
At eight again my girl I met,
And, in her lap, threw _Twenty Thousand_.
Next morn, at nine (the licence bought),
I rigg’d, and in my house I waited;
At ten, in consort _Church_ we sought,
And, at eleven, we were mated.
And I, while rapture fill’d each sense,
At twelve saluted Polly’s _bows_, and
With grateful heart thank’d Providence,
Who gave me her, and _Twenty Thousand_.”
Here is another of Bish’s Handbills for 1810:--
“LONDON AND THE LOTTERY.
_By a_ RARITY HUNTER.
O! LONDON’S a wonderful city,
In wonderful wonders abounding,
Some astonishment raise, and some pity,
And all faculties some are confounding;
For instance, there’s _Westminster Hall_,
Where at puzzle-cap pleaders play well, sir;
Black _white_ and white _black_ often call,
By the rule of the oyster and shell, sir.
Rum ti iddity, etc.
_Guildhall_, too, with wonder one treads,
Where the two _wooden giants_ stand guard, sir
And besides _theirs_, enough _wooden heads_
You’ll find, if you search every Ward, sir;
These giants are guards of the _clock_,
And you’ll own that’s a _time-serving station_;
But each sticks to his _place_ like a stock,
As all time servers do in the nation.
Rum ti iddity, etc.
At the new _Auction Mart_ you next stare,
Which, a fine place we’re bid to consider;
Like political consciences, where
All things are knock’d down to best bidder;
The fam’d _Stock Exchange_ then you view,
Where there’s plenty of bother and bubble,
And ’twere well if Stock Jobbers, a few,
Were set in the _Stocks_ for their trouble.
Rum ti iddity, etc.
The Bank your attention receives,
Where Fortune holds court for her minions;
And _Bank Notes_, like fam’d _Sybilline Leaves_,
_Faith_ makes current for “_golden opinions_.”
The _Parliament House_ awe creates,
That guard ’gainst the strong of the weaker;
Where they hold ev’ry day _long_ Debates,
Which is odd, as they have but _one Speaker_.
Rum ti iddity, etc.
There’s _St. Paul’s_, too, and _Westminster Abbey_,
To the curious to see ’em a feast ’tis;
There’s the _Monument_, crazy and shabby,
And the _Tower_ where they show the wild _Beastes_.
The _British Museum_ Fame sings,
All rarities there they receive ’em;
And they tell you such wonderful things!
And you, if you like, may believe ’em.
Rum ti iddity, etc.
There’s one _Cooper’s Hall_ I forgot,
Where the Lott’ry they draw every year, sir;
And the 8th of next June, on that spot,
They’ll draw it again, as I hear, sir;
And then there’s a house on _Cornhill_,
Where a man they call BISH advertises,
That he _there_, or at _Charing Cross_ will
Sell most of the _Capital Prizes_.
Rum ti iddity, etc.”
To show how keenly Bish looked after anything on which he could hang an
advertisement, read the following, which must have been written before
June 8, 1810, as that date is given on the back of the handbill, as
the drawing of the lottery. No doubt the coming of an ambassador from
Persia created almost as great a sensation as that of the Shah in June,
1873, and his Excellency Mirza Abdul Hassan, envoy extraordinary from
the Shah of Persia to the Court of Great Britain, reached these shores
on November 30, 1809, had an audience of George III., and presented his
credentials on December 20. Sir Gore Ouseley, the celebrated Persian
scholar, attended on him during his stay in this country.
“THE PERSIAN AMBASSADOR.
By the TOWN CRIER.
TUNE--“_The Frog in an Opera Hat_.”
The Persian Ambassador’s come to town;
Heigho! says Boney;
He’s a person of rank and renown,
Says in Persia they’ll knock all French politics down,
With their _Parlez vous_, _Voulez vous_, gammon and spinach too;
Heigho! says Emperor Boney.
To see the Ambassador all the folks run,
Heigho! says Boney;
'He has sixty-three children,’ says Boney, 'well done!
What a devil of a fellow! while I haven’t _one_!
With my _Parlez vous_, _Voulez vous_, Josephine and others too,’
Heigho! says Emperor Boney.
Till presented he’d been he could not go about;
Heigho! says Boney.
So he went to the _Court_, while the folks made a rout,
And being presented, had leave to go out,
With a _Parlez vous_, _Voulez vous_, Johnny Bull, how d’ye do?
Heigho! says Emperor Boney.
To the Op’ra the Persian Ambassador went;
Heigho! says Boney;
He said, to go often it was his intent,
For he liked it so much, he scarce knew what it meant,
With his _Parlez vous_, _Voulez vous_, Naldi and Vestris too,
Heigho! says Emperor Boney.
To the Play-house the Persian Ambassador hied;
Heigho! says Boney;
At the sorrows of _Lear_ he sobb’d and he sigh’d,
And then at the Pantomime laughed till he cried,
With their _Parlez vous_, _Voulez vous_, Joey Grimaldi too,
Heigho! says Emperor Boney.
With the East India Company next he din’d;
Heigho! says Boney;
To shew him all honour their Worships designed,
So some walked before him, and others behind,
With their _Parlez vous_, _Voulez vous_, tit-bits and turtle too,
Heigho! says Emperor Boney.
At the Bank he found _Specie_ was scarce in the place;
Ho! ho! says Boney;
But they shew’d him a vast many '_Notes_ on the case,’
By that learned Annotator on Cash, Henry Hase,
With his _Parlez vous_, _Voulez vous_, Water Mark Promise too,
Heigho! says Emperor Boney.
To what place next will his Excellence hie?
Heigho! says Boney;
Perhaps, if he means his good fortune to try,
To BISH’S, a Lottery Ticket to buy,
With his _Parlez vous_, _Voulez vous_, good lucky Number too,
Heigho! says Emperor Boney.
If a Prize the Ambassador chances to bank,
Heigho! says Boney;
And no doubt MR. BISH, to a man of his rank,
Wouldn’t so impolite be as to sell him a blank:
With his _Parlez vous_, _Voulez vous_, Capital prizes too,
Heigho! says Emperor Boney.
If a best Prize he gets, in A, B, C, or D,
Heigho! says Boney;
Won’t matter, no doubt quite contented he’ll be,
And at going, say, 'Johnny Bull, thank ye for me,’
With a _Parlez vous_, _Voulez vous_, 'Bish, I’ll remember you,’
Heigho! says Emperor Boney.”
An ENIGMA.
To one-fourth of a passion which governs mankind
Add a circle, and part of my meaning you’ll find;
To these let one-fourth of the killer of kings,
The subverter of empires, and all human things,
Be united; and then if two-thirds of a drink
Used in Europe and China, is added, I think
The best part of the puzzle you’ll guess very well.
One-third of a West Indian spirit then tell;
And if, to all these, the last letter but one
In the Alphabet’s added, the puzzle is done.
If you place all these rightly, the means will be clear,
How an income to gain of five thousand a year.
EXPLANATION.
Soft Love is the passion which governs mankind,
And an =L= is the fourth of that word you will find.
The circle’s an =O=; and the killer of kings,
The subverter of empires and all human things,
Is TIME; now the fourth of this word is a =T=;
And the drink used in Europe and China is TEA,
Two-thirds of which word are explain’d by =TE=.
The West Indian spirit is RUM, I declare,
One-third of which word by an =R= is made clear:
And, as the last letter but one is a =Y=.
The whole put together will form LOTTERY.
Now _Five_ Twenty Thousands the Scheme doth contain,
And the whole of these Prizes five Tickets may gain,
If bought of one number: and thus, it is clear,
That an income you’ll gain of five thousand a year.
“_Gently over the Stones._”
The Ancients used to mark all lucky Days with a _White Stone_; now
_Blackstone_ was a Judge, and could tell you that _Blue Stone_ is
not half so corrosive as poverty, which brings a man’s nose to the
_Grindstone_, while Riches make his Happiness durable as _Free
Stone_. Now, under this heap of Stones a Truth is hidden, which will
be powerfully elucidated on the 8th of June, the near approach of
which should be a _Whetstone_ to all who intend purchasing a lucky
Number, which, as the Scheme proves, may produce _Mill-Stones_ in
Gold, _Precious Stones_ in Jewels; and, in short, holds out so many
_astonishing_ advantages, that _no Stone_ should be left unturned to
procure a Share of them.
CHAPTER XIV.
“Master and Man”--“Altogether”--Dr. Thornton’s “Royal
Botanical Lottery”--“Two Gold Finches”--“Dennis
Brulgruddery”--“Shakespeare’s Seven Ages.
The State lottery for 1811 was passed June 26 (51 Geo. III. c. 113),
£600,000 in prizes--net profit, £208,007 17_s._ 8_d._, about five
blanks to a prize. Of this year there are one or two good handbills.
“MASTER AND MAN.
A DIALOGUE.
_Q._ Well, _Richard_, and what brings you to town?
_A._ Why, I’d a wee bit business to do for mysen, and the like for your
honour’s lady, so I’ve kill’d two birds with one stone, you see.
_Q._ Well, well, sit down and rest yourself a bit; you seem tired?
_A._ A small matter, your honour, 'case, d’ye see, I walked all the way
up.
_Q._ The Devil you did! Why didn’t you ride old Dobbin?
_A._ I couldn’t, your honour, 'case he’s dead.
_Q._ Dead! and how came that about?
_A._ ’Twere my own fault, poor beast!--I rode so hard from Doncaster,
to tell Dame _Bridget_, our Housekeeper, the good News.
_Q._ What News?
_A._ Why, that she had got a share in a Capital in the Lottery.
_Q._ And how came she to buy Lottery Tickets?
_A._ Oh! bless you, mun! she didn’t buy it at all.
_Q._ Didn’t buy it? Why, how then?
_A._ Why, Mistress guv’d it to her, like.
_Q._ She’d better have say’d the money to pay off the Mortgage.
_A._ Oh, that’s all settled.
_Q._ Settled?
_A._ Yes; she paid it all off on the same day.
_Q._ What day?
_A._ Why, the day they paid her the money.
_Q._ What money?
_A._ Why, the Lottery money, from t’ Office.
_Q._ I thought you said, just now, that _Bridget_ had got the Prize?
Your head’s wool-gathering.
_A._ So she did, but Mistress got one too.
_Q._ And it was drawn a....
_A._ A Prize of Twenty Thousand!--and now your Honour knows all about
it.”
For a wonder, the above has no lottery office-keeper’s name attached to
it--unlike the following.
“ALTOGETHER!
TUNE--'_Reuben, he had wit and grace_.’
'Reuben, he had wit and grace’
Altogether.
And much esteemed Henry Hase[25]
Altogether.
Quoth he, 'Dear Ruth, a wish I have,
A little store of cash to save,
That Fortune’s frowns we both may brave,
Altogether.’
Now Ruth, she was a charming maid,
Altogether.
And unto Reuben then she said,
Altogether,
'The Spirit moveth me to say,
If we’d be put in Fortune’s way,
To BISH’S we must go this day,
Altogether.
Then Reuben lifted up his eyes,
Altogether;
And to the Damsel thus replies,
Altogether;
'Friend Ruth, thy counsel likes me well,
I know friend BISH doth Prizes sell,
So, unto him, our mind we’ll tell,
Altogether.’
Then, unto BISH they straightway went,
Altogether;
And of their walk did not repent
Altogether;
Quoth Reuben, 'Damsel, verily,
We acted right our luck to try,
I love the Mammon heartily,
Altogether.’”
[25] Secretary or head-cashier to the Bank of England.
On May 21, 1811, was passed an Act (51 Geo. III. and the first year
of the Regency, c. 113) to enable Dr. Thornton to get rid by lottery
of his very expensive works on botany, which were warranted “entirely
of British Manufacture.” The scheme was 20,000 tickets at two guineas
each, and there were to be 10,000 prizes.
“BRITONS! join Hand and Heart in promoting
the ARTS and SCIENCES of your COUNTRY,
by the IMMEDIATE PURCHASE OF A TICKET.”
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
ROYAL
BOTANICAL LOTTERY.
_First_, THE GRAND _Prize_.
(Intitled the LINNÆAN GALLERY), Being all the Original Paintings of
the choicest Flowers, Allegorical Subjects, and Heads of Botanists,
executed by the most eminent Painters, OPIE, R.A. dec., RUSSELL, R.A.
dec., HOWARD, R.A., REINAGLE, R.A., HENDERSON, &c., &c., accompanied
with a superb Copy of each of the other prizes, most elegantly bound,
valued together at upwards of
£5,080 0 0
_Also 199 Capital Prizes._
Each containing THE TEMPLE OF FLORA, being representations of
the choicest Flowers of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, NEW
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE LINNÆAN SYSTEM and PHILOSOPHY OF BOTANY, making
together Five Grand Volumes, including several Hundred Plates, by
those most eminent Artists BARTOLOZZI, EARLOM, LANDSEER, MILTON,
LOWRY, TOMKINS, DUNKARTON, WARD, &c., &c. (the Plates afterwards to be
destroyed, according to Act of Parliament); each set of these Grand
National Works is valued at £80
15,920 0 0
_Also 200 Capital Prizes._
Each being a Copy of the BOTANICAL COLOURED PLATES in the TEMPLE OF
FLORA, forming a most elegant Portfolio of Botanical Flower Plates,
with a Descriptive Catalogue in 8vo, value £30 each Copy
6,000 0 0
_Also 609 Capital Prizes._
Each being the TEMPLE OF FLORA 4to Size, richly coloured, and Letter
Press, valued at £15 each
9,000 0 0
_Also 2000 Capital Prizes._
Viz. FLORA of the UNITED KINGDOM, being a Description of every British
Plant, and their Virtues, 400 Plates, Five Volumes 8vo, valued at £10
each
20,000 0 0
_Also 7000 Capital Prizes._
Viz. ELEMENTS of BOTANY, Two Volumes 8vo, with 200 Plates, valued at £3
each
21,000 0 0
Total Value of all the Prizes in the
-----------
ROYAL BOTANICAL LOTTERY £77,000 0 0
===========
“_Address to the Public._
DR. THORNTON
Respectfully informs the Nobility and Gentry, that, after a labour of
upwards of Twenty Years, he has accomplished a series of BOTANICAL
WORKS, which he hopes are honourable to the Nation. The House of
Commons, and the Lords, were so well satisfied with them, from
examination, that a LOTTERY for the sale of the same was unanimously
granted; for it was seen, that FEW could afford to give EIGHTY POUNDS
for a book, who would cheerfully venture TWO GUINEAS for the same. To
convince a generous Public of the Value of the Prizes in the ROYAL
BOTANICAL LOTTERY, he begs leave to present Extracts from the Reports
laid before the Honourable House of Commons, being Letters from Persons
of Eminence.
CERTIFICATES.
“Sir,--I very readily comply with your request to certify, that _His
Majesty’s_ Library, and also that of _Her Majesty_ the Queen, have
been _enriched_ with your _elegant_ Works; and I heartily wish you may
succeed in your endeavours to recover some of the expense you have
so _liberally_ incurred, in bringing them to their present degree of
_perfection_.
“I am, Sir, your most obedient, humble servant,
“FRED. AUG. BARNARD,
“Librarian to the King.
“Queen’s Palace, Feb. 20, 1811.
“Sir,--His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Russia, having, with much
satisfaction, received your _splendid_ and _elaborate_ Botanical
Works, has directed me to transmit to you the Ring sent herewith, as a
mark of his benevolence, and a proof of his regard for everything which
is of public utility.
“I have the honour to be your most obedient, humble Servant,
“N. NOVOSSILSOFF,
“Pres. of the Imp. Acad.
“Dec. 30, 1807.”
Here follow other letters, etc., not worth quoting, and the prospectus
winds up thus: “Dr. Thornton concludes this Address with confidence,
that every ENGLISHMAN who has a love for the honour, glory and
prosperity of the BRITISH NAME, will encourage the Fine Arts and
Science of the Country, by entering into this BOTANICAL LOTTERY, which
is intended to be drawn before the 4th of JUNE, 1812, provided the
encouragement from the Public has been such, that One Third of the
Tickets are disposed of by that time; which, from the present generous
patronage the Public has already exhibited, Dr. Thornton cannot
entertain one moment’s hesitation about. As the Tickets in all the
other PRIVATE LOTTERIES have risen, at the conclusion, from three to
six, or eight guineas, each, the present is the most favourable moment
for the purchase of a Ticket in the ROYAL BOTANICAL LOTTERY.”
[Illustration]
The State lottery of 1812 was passed on July 13 (52 Geo. III. c. 125).
Prizes, £600,000, net profit, £221,260 3_s._ 1_d._ I know not by whom
the following handbill was drawn:--
“_Two Gold Finches, vis-a-vis,_
_Are now perching on a Tree._
“I explain the above Motto thus--the two Gold Finches are the two
Twenty Thousand Pound Prizes, one of which is the First-drawn Prize
above £25, entitled to £20,000, Next Friday, the 27th, the Second Day
of Drawing; and the other Gold Finch is the _other_ £20,000 the lucky
Sportsman thinks his Ticket will be drawn; so that with getting _one_,
and being entitled to the _other_, he means of his £20,000, to make a
Forty Thousand Pound Prize. This would indeed be killing two Birds with
ONE STONE.”
53 Geo. III. c. 93, passed July 2, was the Lottery Act for 1813.
Prizes, the usual £600,000; net profit, £212,285 12_s._ 6_d._ For a
few years the stimulating handbills are scarce; still, one or two more
can generally be found.
[Illustration]
“_Mrs. B._ WHY, DENNIS BRULGRUDDERY, surely you’re mad!
Are these times, I wonder, to laugh and be glad?
I suppose that, as usual, you’ve been in the cellar,
And, beast as you are, with the ale have got mellow.
_Dennis._ Be quiet now, Mistress BRULGRUDDERY, dear,
And let me just whisper a word in your ear;
Be aisy, my darling, and open your eyes;
Don’t you see I’ve got hold of a Capital Prize?
_Mrs. B._ A capital fiddlestick!--DENNIS, you’re crazy.
_Dennis._ My Jewel!--I tell you again, now, be aisy;
Don’t bother my gig, and I’ll tell you the matter;
But paice now, and let’s have no more of your clatter.
_Mrs. B._ Well, tell your fool’s tale, and, for my part, I’m dumb;
You know I hate talking--I always am mum;
You should hear Mrs. GABBLE--she....
_Dennis._ Will you be quiet?
_Mrs. B._ Oh, certainly, Sir;--there’s no need of a riot;
I was only a saying,--but on with your tale. }
}
_Dennis._ You know who it was sav’d the Brazier from jail, }
And 10 Thousand Pounds paid him “_down on the nail_.” }
_Mrs. B._ Mr. PEREGRINE, sure....
_Dennis._ T’other day, in the thicket,
He slipp’d in my hand, faith! a Lottery Ticket;
A reward for our kindness to MARY, my dear;
Little share of that matter was yours, though, I fear:
I thank’d him, be sure, and now, by the pow’rs,
A fortune of Ten Thousand Pounds, dear, is ours!
_Mrs. B._ A Ten Thousand Prize is a _Capital_ thing;
But better luck still, the next venture may bring:
I’ve a Scheme in my pocket, by which it is plain,
That a trifling sum may _twice Ten Thousand_ gain!
_Dennis._ Good luck to the craturs! and who would say, nay?
I’m off for a Ticket as sure as the day;
Och! this is the saison for making of hay!
_Exeunt._”
The Lottery for June 17, 1814 (54 Geo. III. c. 74), was for £600,000;
but the net profit was small, only £174,533 1_s._ 3_d._
[Illustration]
“_SHAKESPEARE’S SEVEN AGES._
A PARAPHRASE.
All the World’s a LOTTERY,
And men and women mere _Adventurers_:
As planets rule, do mortals play their parts
Throughout life’s seven ages. First the _Infant_--
For him, his mother, anxious to obtain
An independence, buys a _Lottery Chance_,
And marks the _Ticket_ with her darling’s name.
The _School Boy_ next--with Christmas Box well stored,
And face all shining with the rays of hope,
Creeps, in his way to school, t 'a Lott’ry Fane,
Empties his hoard, and buys a _Sixteenth Share_;
Then sums his _Fortune_ by the _Golden Rule_.
[Illustration]
The _Sighing Lover_, fond, but poor in purse,
A woeful ballad sings to Beauty’s Goddess,
To crown his purchas’d _Chance_ with plenteous wealth;
That he may speedy gain, in wedded bands,
The greatest _Prize_--the maiden he adores.
The daring _Soldier_ next--full of ambition
To acquire honor, fame, and high command,
Woos the blind Goddess--fav’rer of the bold--
And swears he’d brave the loaded cannon’s mouth,
T’ obtain a _Prize_ of TWENTY THOUSAND POUNDS.
[Illustration]
A _Justice_ now--full anxious to support,
With Capons fat, and turtle season’d high,
His big round belly, a _Ticket_ buys, in hope
To gain promotion, and ennobled blood.
The sixth _Advent’rer_, is the _Pantaloon_--
He eager views, by aid of spectacles,
The luring _Tickets_--buys--and hopes to pouch
A CAPITAL--it rises to his wish--
His shrunk shank lengthens--and his deep fault’ring voice,
With shrilly pipe proclaims the joyful news.
But, last of all--to crown _advent’rous_ life,
Would be no second childishness; to gain
A _Prize_ that comfort yields--when age becomes--
Sans teeth--sans eyes--sans taste--sans everything.
Would every _Age_ know _Where_, with prospect bright,
Of great success, is _Fortune’s_ fav’rite Fane,
FAME tells ’tis kept by BISH--who never fails,
In each new _Scheme_ to Sell--PRIZES IMMENSE.”
CHAPTER XV.
A lucky Spaniard--Miss Mitford’s prize--The
_Spectator_ on lucky numbers--Other anecdotes
on luck--“Gretna Green”--“A Prize for Poor Jack.”
1815, of course, had its State lottery, June 7 (55 Geo. III. c. 73), in
which £624,400 was given in prizes, and it resulted in a net profit of
£224,311 18_s._ 1_d._; but this may be partly owing to the fact that
there was one prize offered of £40,000, the only other instance of such
an enormous prize being in the lottery of 1807.
There is a curious story about this prize (1815). During the drawing of
the lottery, a Spaniard, Don Tomas Isturity, was walking near the Royal
Exchange, when the inclination to spend some twenty pounds in dabbling
in the lottery came strongly upon him. He entered the office of Martin
and Co., Cornhill, but was unable to make up his mind what numbered
ticket to choose. At last he settled on the number of days he had been
absent from Madrid, which, on reference to his pocket-book, he found
to be 261. He therefore asked for the ticket bearing that number, but
it was nearly half an hour before it could be obtained, and only after
a strict search among the lottery offices in the City. At length a
half-ticket of No. 261 was procured at two o’clock, and at five it was
drawn the £40,000 prize, so that the lucky don lay down that night a
richer man by £20,000 than he had risen in the morning.
This is not a solitary instance of luck attending the choosing a
lottery ticket. Miss Mitford, in her “Literary Recollections,” tells
a good story of the old lottery days. Speaking of her father, she
says, “In the intervals of his professional pursuits, he walked about
London with his little girl [herself] in hand; and one day--it was
my birthday, and I was ten years old--he took me into a not very
tempting-looking place, which was, as I speedily found, a lottery
office. An Irish lottery was upon the point of being drawn, and he
desired me to choose one out of several bits of printed paper (I did
not then know their significance) that lay upon the counter.
“'Choose which number you like best,’ said my dear papa; 'and that
shall be your birthday present.’
“I immediately selected one, and put it in his hand--No. 2224.
“'Ah!’ said my father, examining it, 'you must choose again. I want to
buy a whole ticket, and this is only a quarter. Choose again, my pet.’
“'No, dear papa; I like this one best.’
“'Here is the next number,’ interposed the lottery-office keeper--'No.
2223.’
“'Ay,’ said my father, 'that will do just as well. Will it not, Mary?
We’ll take that.’
“'No,’ returned I, obstinately, 'that won’t do. This is my birthday,
and you know, papa, I am ten years old. Cast up _my_ number, and you’ll
find that makes ten. The other is only nine.’
“My father, superstitious, like all speculators, struck with my
pertinacity, and with the reason I gave, which he liked none the less
because the ground of preference was tolerably unreasonable, resisted
the attempt of the office-keeper to tempt me by different tickets, and
we had nearly left the shop without a purchase, when the clerk, who had
been examining different desks and drawers, said to his principal--
“'I think, sir, the matter may be managed if the gentleman does
not mind paying a few shillings more. That ticket, 2224, only came
yesterday, and we have still all the shares--one-half, one-quarter,
one-eighth, and two-sixteenths. It will be just the same, if the young
lady is set upon it.’
“The young lady was set upon it, and the shares were purchased. The
whole affair was a secret between us, and my father, whenever he got me
to himself, talked over our future twenty thousand pounds--just like
Alnaschar over his basket of eggs. Meanwhile time passed on, and one
Sunday morning we were all preparing to go to church, when a face I
had forgotten, but my father had not, made his appearance. It was the
clerk of the lottery office. An express had just arrived from Dublin,
announcing that 2224 had been drawn a prize of twenty thousand pounds,
and he had hastened to communicate the good news.
“Ah, me! In less than twenty years, what was left of the produce of the
ticket so strangely chosen? What, except a Wedgwood dinner-service,
that my father had made to commemorate the event, with the Irish harp
within the border on one side, and his family crest on the other? That
fragile and perishable ware long outlasted the more perishable money.”
This belief in lucky numbers in the lottery was of old standing; for in
No. 191 of the _Spectator_, October 9, 1711, is the following:--
“... When a man has a mind to venture his money in a lottery, every
figure of it appears equally alluring, and as likely to succeed as
any of its fellows. They all of them have the same pretensions to
good luck, stand upon the same foot of competition, and no manner of
reason can be given why a man should prefer one to the other before
the lottery is drawn. In this case, therefore, Caprice very often
acts in the place of Reason, and forms to itself some groundless,
imaginary motive where real and substantial ones are wanting. I know a
well-meaning man that is very pleased to risk his good fortune upon the
number 1711, because it is the year of our Lord. I am acquainted with a
tacker that would give a good deal for the number 134.[26]
[26] “In the year 1704 a bill was brought into the House of Commons
against occasional conformity; and, in order to make it pass through
the House of Lords, it was proposed to tack it to a money bill. This
occasioned warm debates, and at length it was put to the vote, when 134
were for tacking; but a large majority being against it, the motion was
overruled, and the bill miscarried.
[Illustration]
“On the contrary, I have been told of a certain zealous Dissenter, who,
being a great enemy to popery, and believing that bad men are the most
fortunate in this world, will lay two to one on the number 666 against
any other number, because, says he, it is the number of the Beast.[27]
Several would prefer the number 12,000 before any others, as it is the
number of the pounds in the great prize. In short, some are pleased to
find their own age in their number; some, that have got a number which
makes a pretty appearance in the cyphers; and others, because it is the
same number that succeeded in the last lottery. Each of these, upon no
other grounds, thinks he stands fairest for the great lot, and that he
is possessed of what may not be improperly called 'the golden number.’
[27] Rev. xii. 18.
“These principles of election are the pastimes and extravagances
of human reason, which is of so busy a nature, that it will be
exerting itself in the meanest trifles, and working even when it
wants materials. The wisest of men are sometimes acted[28] by such
unaccountable motives, as the life of the fool and the superstitious is
guided by nothing else.
[28] Actuated.
“I am surprised that none of the fortune-tellers, or, as the French
call them, the _Diseurs de bonne Aventure_, who publish their bills
in every quarter of the town, have turned our Lotteries to their
advantage. Did any of them set up for a caster of fortunate figures,
what might he not get by his pretended discoveries and predictions?
“I remember, among the advertisements of the _Post-Boy_ of September
the 27th, I was surprised to see the following one:--
“'This is to give notice, that ten shillings over and above the market
price will be given for the ticket in the £1,500,000 lottery, No. 132,
by Nath. Cliff, at the Bible and Three Crowns, in Cheapside.’
“This advertisement has given great matter of speculation to
coffee-house theorists. Mr. Cliff’s principles and conversation have
been canvassed upon this occasion, and various conjectures made why he
should thus set his heart upon No. 132. I have examined all the powers
in those numbers, broken them into fractions, extracted the square
and cube roots, divided and multiplied them all ways, but could not
arrive at the secret, until about three days ago, when I received the
following letter, from an unknown hand, by which I find that Mr. Nath.
Cliff is only the agent, and not the principal, in this advertisement:--
“'Mr. SPECTATOR,
“'I am the person that lately advertised
I would give ten shillings more than the
current price for the ticket No. 132 in the lottery
now drawing; which is a secret I have communicated
to some friends, who rally me incessantly
upon that account. You must know that I have
but one ticket, for which reason, and for a certain
dream I have lately had more than once, I resolved
it should be the number I most approved. I am
so positive that I have pitched upon the great
lots, that I could almost lay all I am worth upon
it. My visions are so frequent and so strong upon
this occasion, that I have not only possessed the
lot, but disposed of the money which in all probability
it will sell for. This morning, in particular,
I set up an equipage which I look upon to be the
gayest in the town; the liveries are very rich, but
not gaudy. I should be very glad to see a speculation
or two upon lottery subjects, in which you would oblige
all people concerned, and in particular,
“'Your most humble Servant,
“'GEORGE GOSLING.
“'P.S.--Dear Spec., If I get the £12,000, I’ll
make thee a handsome present.’
“After having wished my correspondent good luck, and thanked him for
his intended kindness, I shall for this time dismiss the subject of the
lottery, and only observe that the greatest part of mankind are in some
degree guilty of my friend Gosling’s extravagance.”
The “Percy Anecdotes” are responsible for the following story:--“A
merchant, somewhat remarkable for absence of mind, had left his
counting-house for the Bank, with a large sum of money which he
intended to deposit there. On reaching Lombard Street, he found his
pocket cut, and his pocket-book missing. He immediately suspected
that his pocket had been picked of all his money, and, returning
home, mentioned the circumstance to his clerk. What, however, was
his astonishment in finding that he had left the money behind, and
that, though his pocket-book had been taken from him, yet it contained
nothing but a few papers of little consequence.
“Pleased with the integrity of his clerk, who gave him the money
he thought he had lost, he promised him a handsome present; but,
neglecting to fulfil his promise, was reminded of it. Unwilling to
part with money, he gave the clerk one of two lottery tickets he had
purchased. The young man would have preferred money, as he had parents
far advanced in years, who depended upon him for support. He, however,
was contented; and, as it afterwards proved, had cause to be so, for
his ticket was drawn a prize for £20,000, which, enabling him to begin
business for himself, he soon rose to great eminence and wealth as a
merchant.”
Before closing this subject, I cannot help quoting from a newspaper
cutting (_Daily News_, date unknown), which, although not belonging
to English lotteries, shows how, even in modern times, superstition
plays its part in the lottery. From a letter by a correspondent to
this paper, it appears that, in Venice, it is believed that, in the
event of a stranger dying in one of the hotels, the numbers of his
rooms will be the lucky cyphers at the next drawing of the lottery. An
illustration of this recently occurred on the death of the late Sir W.
Stirling Maxwell at one of the best-known hotels, when, immediately on
his decease, the _employés_ subscribed to take shares in the numbers of
the two rooms occupied by the late Member for Perthshire, both of which
numbers, strangely enough, were afterwards drawn prizes. In talking
over the matter with the writer, a person connected with the hotel
bitterly lamented that he had been prevented, by sudden illness, from
taking the whole of the lucky numbers, and thus realizing a handsome
fortune at one stroke.
On the opposite page we give a lottery handbill, but with no name of
an office-keeper attached to it. It is called, “Gretna Green; or, The
Elopement.”
“A PRIZE FOR POOR JACK.
By JACK JUNK.
TUNE--'_Poor Jack_.’
'Go, patter to lubbers’ of _Blanks_, do you see;
Let them catch at Fortune who wish;
The chance of a _Lottery Ticket_ give me,
But, mind, I must buy it of BISH.
[Illustration]
I know very well it may come up a _Blank_,
And then I’m but where I begun;
But if it should happen to come up a _Prize_,
Then 'hey for the fiddle’ and fun!
The ocean of Fortune may quicksands conceal,
But that never takes me aback:
There’s a nice little Blue Coat Boy stands at the Wheel,
To pull out a Prize for Poor Jack.
Last Lottery, BISH Twenty Capitals sold,
And why mayn’t he sell Twenty more?
Why not _one_ to _me_ (if I may be so bold),
To pocket of _Thousands_ a score?
You’ll say, as to that, it’s all twenty to one,
About counting our losses and gains;
_You advise_, and if chance I the _Twenty_ should get,
I’ll give you the _One_ for your pains.
On the ocean of Fortune my vessel may reel,
But still I shall keep to my tack:
For the nice little Blue Coat Boy stands at the Wheel,
To pull out a Prize for Poor Jack.
Of a _new Packet_ launch’d too, moreover, they tell,
Her lading a rare one, you’ll say;
Four Hundred _Whole Tickets_, and that’s pretty well!
And I’d like ’em to come in my way.
If they were not _all Prizes_, why, I’d be content;
For 'Enough is as good as a Feast;’
And a man, sure, might count on, and not be much out,
_Half the Capitals_ getting, at least.
Then the ocean of Fortune I’ll plough with Hope’s keel,
BISH the Pilot shall be on each tack,
While the nice little Blue Coat Boy fix’d at the Wheel
Will pull out a Prize for Poor Jack.”
CHAPTER XVI.
Beginning of the end of lotteries--Curious handbills.
56 Geo. III. c. 61, passed June 20, was the Act for the lottery of
1816, in which the prizes were £609,730, and the profit £164,686 15_s._
8_d._ Year after year the introduction of the annual Lottery Act was
the occasion of an endeavour to induce the Chancellor of the Exchequer
to discontinue the practice of raising revenue by this means; but, for
a long time, all such pleadings were ineffectual. The reply vouchsafed
was invariably to the same effect, that it was impossible for the
Chancellor of the Exchequer to consent to renounce a sum which must be
supplied by some other tax, which would in all probability operate even
more oppressively on the people.
And now we come to a very singular series of handbills, which are so
curious that I am loth to leave out one. Some are undoubtedly issued by
BISH, and I should feel inclined to ascribe the others to him, only
they are too modest in not making full use of his name.
FORTUNE’S TRAIN, OR THE ROAD TO RICHES!
[Illustration]
Go where Fortune leads the way,
Gain her favours while you may.
[Illustration]
I’m the wisest, you’ll declare,
For I have bought of BISH a share.
[Illustration]
At your feet a suppliant pair,
Lott’ry riches hope to share.
[Illustration]
I’m the wisest of the Two,
A Ticket here behold to view.
[Illustration]
While other people make wry faces,
We’ll dance ourselves in Fortune’s graces.
[Illustration]
I’m the luckiest of the Three,
A £20,000 he sold me!
[Illustration]
Madam, will you join the Train?
Fortune’s never sued in vain.
[Illustration]
The same to me, but best of all,
_For another I shall call_.
The Lottery Act for 1817 was passed on May 23 (57 Geo. III. c. 31),
when £599,643 1_s._ 5_d._ was distributed in prizes, at a profit to
Government of £217,966 5_s._
Here is a rather clever skit on the newspapers of the day.
“WAYS AND MEANS;
OR, FORTUNE’S BUDGET.
TUNE--'_Lunnun is the Devil._’
_Times_ are hard, they say,
_Gazette’s_ with Bankrupts full, Sir,
The _Patriot_ mourns the _Day_,
And pities _Johnny Bull_, Sir,
The _Englishman_ complains
Bad debts his _Ledger_ fill, Sir,
And all the _Statesman’s_ pains,
Can’t remedy the ill, Sir.
But search the _Globe_ around,
The _Traveller_ will tell us,
_Examiners_ have found
Worse woes than have befel us;
And all this _Hue and Cry_
A keen _Observer_'ll find, Sir,
Is spread by some deep _Spy_,
Who wants to raise the wind, Sir.
But _Echo_ spreads the _News_,
SEPTEMBER’S FORTUNE’S BUDGET;
_Dispatch_, then prithee use,
_Express_ to BISH’S trudge it;
For Fortune’s _Herald_, BISH,
Your _Oracle_, advises,
If opulence you wish,
Take _Post_, and buy his prizes.
_Review_ the Scheme, say I,
Of wealth its _Advertiser_,
Your lucky _Star_ then try,
And BISH’S Tickets buy, Sir;
Each _Journal_ tells his name,
To Luck he is conductor,
He’ll _Pilot_ you to Fame;
Take him as your _Instructor_.
Buy Shares, if wealth you wish
Of Fortune’s own _Selector_;
A _Phœnix_, Sir, is BISH,
Of Prizes, he’s _Inspector_;
Try him, if wind you’d raise,
A _Monitor_ advises--
His _Register_ displays
A _Chronicle_ of Prizes.”
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XVII.
Protests against lotteries--Epitaph on Vansittart--“Three
Royal Weddings”--More opposition to the lottery
--“Twelfth Night Character” handbills--Ditto of
tradesmen.
On June 3, 1818, was passed the Lottery Act (58 Geo. III. c. 71) when
£606,200 were given as prizes; net profit thereon, £212,551 16_s._
8_d._ But legislators were getting disgusted at the immorality of the
lottery, and during the passage of this Bill, Mr. Parnell protested
against great questions of justice and morality being sacrificed to
expediency, and, in the course of his speech, made the suggestion that
the following humorous epitaph should be inscribed on the tomb of the
Chancellor of the Exchequer:--
“Here lies the Right Hon. Nicholas Vansittart, once Chancellor of the
Exchequer; the patron of Bible Societies, the builder of Churches, a
friend to the education of the poor, an encourager of Savings Banks,
and--a supporter of Lotteries!”
Bish took advantage of every public event to force himself into
notoriety, but why he should only record _three_ Royal marriages
in 1811, when there were _four_, I cannot tell, April 7, Princess
Elizabeth to Prince of Hesse Homburg; June 1, Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge were re-married according to the rites of the Church of
England; and on July 13, the Duke of Kent married Princess Victoria of
Saxe-Coburg, mother of our Queen; and the Duke of Clarence, afterwards
William IV., married Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen.
“3 ROYAL WEDDINGS
and
3 £30,000 PRIZES.
O, did you hear
What glorious cheer
There’s for the land providing, O!
O, there’s to be
Such Jubilee
And many a merry _briding_, O!
_Three Royal Weddings_ there will be,
To meet the Nation’s wishes, O!
And _Prizes, Thirty Thousands, Three_,
And these you’ll meet at BISH’S, O!
’Tis loudly said,
With Danish maid,
Bold _Clarence_ will be billing, O!
For better, for worse,
_They’ll_ find a _Purse_,
And Purses, they want filling, O!
The way to fill it, found have I,
To meet the Nation’s wishes, O!
A _Thirty Thousand Pound Prize_, buy,
And that they’ll buy at BISH’S, O!
Then _Cambridge_, he
From _Germany_,
Across Old Neptune’s gutter, O!
A maid will wed,
Then for their bread,
They’ll want some _Cambridge butter_, O!
And I know where there is a _churn_
Will make it to their wishes, O!
For _Thirty Thousand Pounds_ 'twill turn,
And may be bought at BISH’S, O!
The fair _Princess_,
A Prince of _Hesse_,
Has chosen for her hubby, O!
And _John Bull_ ne’er
To _please the fair_,
Is ungallant, or scrubby, O!
He’ll volunteer them _fair supplies_,
And _John_, to meet your wishes, O!
Another _Thirty Thousand Prize_
You now may buy at BISH’S, O!
'Tween you and I,
They mean to buy,
And, if all three, they get ’em, O!
For you and me
Now left will be,
So take care you don’t let ’em, O!
But make _first_ choice, in luck you’ll be,
_Two_ leaving for their wishes, O!
You’ll get _One_ Thirty, out of _Three_,
That’s if you buy at BISH’S, O!”
There are very few more lotteries left to chronicle; that of 1819 (59
Geo. III. c. 65) was passed on July 2. £681,758 11_s._ 6_d._ in prizes,
£213,324 15_s._ 2_d._ net profit; and the following resolutions were
moved in the House of Commons by Mr. Lyttleton:--
“1. That by the establishment of State lotteries, a spirit of gambling,
injurious, in the highest degree, to the morals of the people, is
encouraged and provoked.
“2. That such a habit, manifestly weakening the habits of industry,
must diminish the permanent sources of the public revenue.
“3. That the said lotteries have given rise to other systems of
gambling, which have been but partially repressed by laws, whose
provisions are extremely arbitrary, and their enforcement liable to the
greatest abuse.
[Illustration]
A MILITARY ANECDOTE.
It was customary with Marshal Basompiere, when any of his soldiers were
brought before him for heinous offences, to say to them--“Brother,
_you_ or _I_ will certainly be hanged”--which was a sufficient
denunciation of their fate. A spy, who was discovered in his camp was
addressed in this language; and next day, as the wretch was about to
be led to the gallows, he pressed earnestly to speak with the marshal,
alleging that he had somewhat of importance to communicate. The marshal
being made acquainted with his request, said, in his rough manner--“It
is always the way of these rascals; they pretend some frivolous story,
merely to reprieve themselves for a few moments; however, bring the
dog hither.” Being introduced, the marshal asked him what he had to
say--“Why, my lord,” said the culprit, “when first I had the honour of
your conversation, you were pleased to say that either you or I should
be hanged; now I am come to know whether it is your pleasure to be so,
because, if _you_ won’t, _I_ must; that’s all.” The marshal was so
pleased with the fellow’s humour, that he ordered him to be released.
I have told you this for your amusement; now let me impart something
which may prove to your advantage. The new State Lottery, which will
soon be drawn _in One Day_, contains Forty Capital Prizes, amounting
with smaller ones, to the immense sum of £200,000, besides Four Extra
Prizes of Tickets, with all the Prizes they may contain, by which
plan One Ticket may produce the good round sum of £100,000!!! The
great advantages of the Scheme are unparalleled--Tickets will (from
the very great demand at all the offices) most likely be raised in
price--therefore you should not be tardy in availing yourself of an
opportunity of realising a _princely fortune_, by purchasing either
a Ticket or Share; and should it prove fortunate, you will, I hope,
remember the story of Marshal Basompiere.
James Whiting, Printer, Finsbury Place, London.
“4. That this House, therefore, will no longer authorize the
establishment of State lotteries under any system of regulations
whatever.”
The Chancellor of the Exchequer saw no reason for abandoning so
lucrative a branch of the revenue without having some equivalent held
out, by which the public would derive an equal benefit. He thought
it unfair to attribute the principle of gambling to the lottery, and
stated that arguments might be readily adduced to prove that the
spirit of gambling existed independently of the State lottery. It
must be confessed, however, that, in the course of the debate, very
forcible arguments were adduced in favour of the discontinuance of
State lotteries; and, although the resolutions of Mr. Lyttleton were
negatived by a considerable majority, it was clear that the death-knell
of the lottery had sounded, and that its hours were numbered.
Some of the lottery handbills are very difficult to place, owing
to their giving no date of the year; and this is the case with the
following, which were a set of “Twelfth Night Characters” taken from
popular plays.
[Illustration]
FARMER ACRES.
_Farmer Acres_, he stupidly stares,
And laughs without wherefore or why;
He’s one of the rudest of bears,
And filthy as hogs in a sty.
But still he a merit attain’d,
Which with some hides whatever is base,
_A Prize_ of Ten Thousand he gain’d,
And that you know alters the case.
[Illustration]
SIR GABY GUTTLE.
Sir _Gaby Guttle_, you’re a beast,
To stuff the turtle so;
You’ll one day rue each pois’nous feast
From head to aching toe.
Bless me, your very eye-balls glare;
In _Lott’ry_ chances you had better share,
Than waste your money on such gouty fare.
[Illustration]
MOTHER GOOSE.
Though ’twixt my hooked nose and chin
I scarce can get my dinner in;
Though deaf, half-blind, decrepid, bald,
And simple _Mother Goose_ am call’d;
Yet wit and worth refin’d, if poor,
Get but half the notice I procure.
And why?--I’m rich. My _Goose_, to me,
Is worth a rich _State Lottery_.
[Illustration]
SAM SWIG.
_Sam Swig_, he drinks such a deal,
That his face is like Sylla’s, the Roman,
’Tis mulberry pepper’d with meal,
To water he is a sworn foe man.
T’afford so much money to spend,
Though only a jockey’s his trade,
He purchas’d _a Share_ with a friend--
In a twinkling his fortune was made.
[Illustration]
LADY BETTY MODISH.
At every rout I must be seen,
Clad in dresses fine and thin.
Never happy--always gay,
Run in debt--nor hope to pay;
Had a husband--forc’d to part,
Broke his fortune--and his heart.
Laugh at trifles such as these,
Fashion should be quite at ease;
But if the Lott’ry don’t befriend me,
In spite of all--a jail will end me.
[Illustration]
COWSLIP.
Mr. Lingo of old musty poets may speak,
And endeavour his learning to prove;
But, I think, ere he makes me an adept in Greek,
I shall teach him the language of love.
And if in next Lott’ry he gets a good prize,
I’ll speak to some tune with a pair of black eyes.
[Illustration]
QUEEN DOLLALOLLA.
Give me, rogues, a glass of gin,
And put a little bitters in,
And give a glass to Mr. Noodle,
To drink a Prize to Mr. Doodle.
Where’s my royal husband too?
Do prythee call him--Doodle, do.
But if directly come he won’t,
Then don’t stay for him--Doodle, don’t.
[Illustration]
MISS VIXEN VINEGAR.
Not want of wit, or want of charms,
Has kept a husband from my arms;
But all the men are grown so greedy,
They’ll wed no maid, though fair--if needy.
But should I get a Lott’ry Prize,
I need not envy Cowslip’s eyes,
For I’m in hopes of Mr. Noodle--
But if not him--I’m sure of Doodle.
[Illustration]
JOLLY DICK.
I’m _Jolly Dick_, a happier wight
There surely cannot live;
My heart, as well as heels, are light;--
So cheerful I, I cheer the night,
And pleas’d, I pleasure give.
Thus of my happy lot aware,
I’ve but one wish--a _Lott’ry Share_.
[Illustration]
LADY MARY MOUSETRAP.
I’m _Lady Mary Mousetrap_, round
Where’er I live the mice abound:
They even jump upon my lap,
And mount my shoulders while I nap
The reason’s plain why thus they teaze;
’Tis this--I smell like _haut gaut_ cheese.
I’ll purchase _Shares_, get rich, and see,
If vermin _then_ will croud round me.
[Illustration]
CALEB QUOTEM.
_Caleb Quotem_ looks wond’rous wise:
To hear him some gaze with surprize;
But oft he’s pronounc’d a great pest,
And then he says--“_Hic niger est_.”
His lips he ne’er opens to speak
But out flies some Latin or Greek;
They’d be better employ’d loud to call
Each _Prize_ that is drawn in the hall.
[Illustration]
CAPTAIN BOBADIL.
I’m sure I’m notic’d by the fair,
Because where’er I go, they stare;
And when I swear what feats I’ve done,
How many thro’ the body run,
I’m sure the girls are quite delighted,
They scream so loud, and look so frighted.
But bragging, swearing, and red jacket,
Won’t even do for Lady Racket.
Tho’ they love soldiers best of all clothes,
There must be money in the small-clothes.
So I must get a Lott’ry Prize,
To be complete in female eyes.
1820 brings us to 1 Geo. IV., and on July 15 an Act (c. 72) was passed,
authorizing another State lottery, of £718,606 4_s._ in prizes, which
gave a net profit of £199,643 16_s._ Here are two shares in the lottery
tickets.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The Lottery Act of 1821 (1 and 2 Geo. IV. c. 120) was passed on July
11. £600,000 in prizes; profit £184,409 3_s._; and in this year there
is almost an _embarras de richesses_ in the illustrated lottery
handbills, all of them relating to the drawing which took place on June
14. The following fourteen cuts are very quaint:--
[Illustration]
Here’s glorious news for the 14th of JUNE,
I needn’t remind you the day will be soon;
In the rich horn of plenty are prizes in store,
For those who the favors of Fortune implore.
[Illustration]
Come buy my Cross-buns; but that is all stuff;
Perhaps you will say, you’ve had crosses enough;
If your crosses and troubles you wish at an end,
Buy a Lottery chance, and your fortune may mend.
[Illustration]
Come buy my young lambs for a trifle apiece,
And, believe me, they’re clad in a fine _golden fleece_;
Here are two, and to keep all your spirits in tune,
There are 3000 more on the 14th of June.
[Illustration]
Tho’ a _dab_, I’m not _scaly_--I like a good _plaice_,
And I hope that good luck will soon smile in my face;
On the 14th of June, when Prizes in _shoals_
Will cheer up the _cockles_ of all sorts of _soles_.
[Illustration]
My _rabbits_, come buy--but a _rare bit_ I see,
Which the wealth of the Lottery Wheel may give me
If fortune I catch, and I finger the cole,
By the powers! I’ll then bid adieu to the pole.
[Illustration]
I hope, very soon, to get rid of my _yoke_,
For a prize in the Lottery Wheel I’ve bespoke;
And who knows how high in the world I may rise,
If Fortune should _butter_ my bread with a Prize?
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
For the gay fruits of nature what wish can you feel,
When compar’d with the fruits of the Lottery Wheel?
My basket of fruit I’d exchange with great glee,
If one _golden pippin_ they’d only give me.
_In a country town,
Of no little renown,
Some good fellows met to debate,
As the times look’d so blue,
What course to pursue,
And how they should mend their estate._
[Illustration]
I’m a Tailor, good Lord,
Just escap’d from the board,
With the times I am angry and wroth,
I’m _cross-grain’d_ to-day,
Things go the wrong way,
And I can’t _cut my coat to my cloth_.
[Illustration]
I’m a _Baker_, you see,
By the shape of my knee,
And I’m _crusty_, as well as yourself;
In riches some _roll_,
But for me, on my soul,
I could ne’er get a _crumb_ of the pelf.
[Illustration]
The _shoe_ pinches tight,
And affairs are not right,
Tho’ I _peg_ morn and night in my _stall_;
My _sole_, it quite melts,
For we’re off of the _welts_,
And I fear I shall soon lose my _awl_.
[Illustration]
I’m a _panes_-taking man,
But, do all that I can,
No _daylight_ will shine on my cares;
The _tables_, I fear,
Are turn’d, it is clear,
And adversity’s broken all _squares_.
[Illustration]
I’ve _felt_ like yourselves,
(For we’re unlucky elves,)
The times are _mis-shapen_ and queer;
But though, on my _block_,
I give many a knock,
No hopes for the better appear.
[Illustration]
I’m a sharp little _blade_,
And a _Cutler’s_ my trade,
But though, like a _razor_, I’m keen,
Fate’s _Scissors_, I dread,
Will sever my thread
Before better times will be seen.
[Illustration]
I’ve a _Motion_, d’ye see,
To which you’ll agree,
An _escapement_ from care I espy;
That you’ll hold up both _hands_,
To do Fortune’s commands,
And Lottery Chances to buy.
_They agreed, to a man,
And for Chances they ran,
And you’ll do the same if you’re wise;
For the Lottery in June
Will soon be in tune,
And you may come in for a prize._
CHAPTER XVIII.
“A Dialogue”--“The Race of Fortune”--“The
Wish”--Enigmatical handbill.
“A DIALOGUE
_Pat._ The top of the morning to you, Judy. Where are you trotting to,
my darlin’? Faith! you skip over the bogs as nately as a butterfly on a
frosty morning.
_Judy._ Och! none of your blarney, Mister Pat! Don’t I know you for a
deceiver? and would you be coming over me when I’m going to be made a
lady of?
_Pat._ A lady, sure! And the raison, Judy?
_Judy._ Because another lady, though she’s _blind_, poor soul! has
_looked_ kindly on me.
_Pat._ Good luck to her _bright eyes_! And what’s that scrap o’ paper
you’re scrumpling about so in your hand?
_Judy._ It’s a charm, Pat, that the lady _gave_ me, after I _paid_ for
it.
_Pat._ A charm, sure! and what’s that?
_Judy._ A small matter of a Lottery Ticket.
_Pat._ And who gave you the money, Judy!
_Judy._ A _rake_, Pat.
_Pat._ A _rake_, Judy! Oh! fie upon you!
_Judy._ A _hay-making rake_. Didn’t I save the money in the hay saison?
And, och! wont I look down now upon Mrs. Maloney, the cratur, who turns
her nose up at me, because she’s got a _silk_ petticoat that I belave
is nothing but _worsted_? And won’t this bit o’ paper bring me a good
Thousand Pounds to make these bog-trotters trimble?
_Pat._ Don’t be plucking your parataes before they are sown! May be
you’ll _gain_ a _loss_, Judy.
_Judy._ And how can that be, Paddy, seeing it’s drawn a Capital?
_Pat._ You’ll be forgetting your poor Paddy, now you’re a lady.
_Judy._ Mayhap I shall, and mayhap I shan’t; but I must be trotting off
for the money; and, d’ye hear, Pat? if you’d marry the _lady_, you must
be after making yourself a _jintleman_;--and here’s a bit o’ paper will
shew you the way.
_Pat._ A Lottery Scheme! and all on the 14th of June! I’ll be off for
a Chance: for if Judy should get a husband, we’d be an awkward _pair_,
the _three_ of us; and I’d be after making it a couple, by telling him
a piece of my mind with a shellalagh.”
[Illustration: THE RACE OF FORTUNE.]
On the 14th of June Fortune’s race will begin,
_Independence_ the prize to reward those who win;
If of old Father Care you would get the _whip-hand_,
You must clap _spur_ to _boot_, and do Fortune’s command.
So equal her justice, no favour she shews;
On the first at the goal the reward she bestows;
And, as _Somebody_ must win--_Nobody_ knows who,
And _Anyone_ may, it may chance to be _you_.
For Lottery Chances then hasten away;
The 14th of June is the Fortunate Day,
At the Wealth of the Scheme, you have only to look,
To wish your name enter’d in Fortune’s _Prize-Book_.
Then _mount_ and away, ere the _race_ has begun,
You are yet in good time to partake of the fun;
The sands of Time’s hour-glass fly very fast,
Don’t be such a flat as to come in _lag last_.
“THE WISH.
A DIALOGUE
between
PETER PENURY and PAUL POSITIVE.
_Peter._ 'I’ve often wish’d that I had clear
For life Three Hundred Pounds a year.’
So sang a better bard than me,
Or all the modern progeny
Of sonnet-writing, rhyming elves,
Whose hot-press’d works should grace the shelves
Not of the learned and the wise,
But those who deal in puffs and pies.
_Paul._ Stop! Stop!--You’re running on like mad;
Stick to your point, my honest lad,
And don’t abuse the modern school,
'T has lin’d the purse of many a fool;
And _you_ would think _your_ poem fine,
If you could get a Crown a line.
These are the poets’ _golden_ days,
They write for _money_, not for _bays_.
But come; your text:--let’s know your mind,
If this good fortune you should find;
What would you do, if you had clear
For life, 'Three Hundred Pounds a year?’
_Peter._ What I would do’s another case;
Stop till this bright event takes place:
But _when_ and _how_,--I must confess,
I’m really at a loss to guess.
_Paul._ Then I’m the wisest of the two,
For if you my advice pursue,
I’ll lay a plan before your eyes,
And you may gain the wish you prize.
'_The 14th of June_,’ you here may read____
_Peter._ I’m all attention, pray proceed.
_Paul._ '_The Lott’ry draws_'--behold the Scheme,
Of universal praise the theme,
The Prizes great--the Chances cheap,
If you’d the golden harvest reap,
And thrice Three Hundred pounds per ann....
_Peter._ Enough; I see----Paul, I’m your man;
I’ll realize this vision bright,
That comes across my dazzled sight;
Let poets toil with pen and brains--
I envy not their splendid gains.
Although they get a Crown a line,
A brighter prospect now is mine;
To make it sure, this very day
I’ll place myself in Fortune’s way.”
[Illustration]
[Illustration: EXPLANATION.--_Time_ is on the _Wing_, and _Flies_ to
share in _Fortune’s Favours_, 14^{th} of June.--Behold her _Treasures
unlocked_.]
CHAPTER XIX.
Tomkins’s picture lottery--The lottery abolished--Handbills.
There was a private lottery drawn July 24, 1821.
“TOMKINS’S
PICTURE LOTTERY
of the
BRITISH GALLERY OF PICTURES,
comprising
16,550 Prizes,
VALUED AT £152,225!
This Lottery consists of highly finished Paintings from the most
valuable pictures of the old Masters, in the Collections of Noblemen
and Gentlemen; a Set of Paintings faithfully representing the Marquis
of Stafford’s Splendid Gallery; Fifteen exquisite Oil Paintings by
Hamilton, illustrative of Thomson’s Seasons; Beautiful Water Colour
Paintings from the old Masters; several thousand Impressions of the
Selections from the old Masters, exquisitely coloured; the same in
black, Prints and Proofs; the Lease of the Premises, 54, New Bond
Street, where the above Pictures are now exhibiting _Gratis_, &c., &c.
The whole forming a complete _Chef d’Œuvre_ of the Arts.
TICKETS, Price £3 3s. Each,
are now on Sale at
No. 54, NEW BOND STREET,
Where the Prizes are exhibiting _gratis_.--And also
at all
_Lottery Offices, Printsellers’, and Booksellers’_.
A PERFECTLY NOVEL SCHEME.
“One half of the Tickets are printed in Black, and the other half in
Red Ink; and the drawing is so arranged, that if the last drawn Ticket
in the State Lottery, (which is to decide this) be an _even_ number,
then the Red Tickets will be all Prizes; but if an _odd_ number, then
the Black Tickets will be all Prizes; so that one Colour must be all
Prizes, and the other Colour all Blanks, by which arrangement
_The Purchaser of a Red Ticket and a Black
Ticket is_ SURE _to gain a Prize._
AMONG MANY OTHER
POINTS OF ATTRACTION
_Which this Lottery presents to the Public, are the
following_:--
“1. The Price of Tickets is considerably below their Estimated Value.
“2. The _certainty_ (as above stated) of gaining a Prize, by purchasing
two Tickets of different Colours.
“3. The great beauty and interest of all the Prizes, even the smallest,
to every individual possessing a taste for the fine Arts.
“4. The original Pictures from which the above are taken, are
acknowledged to be the finest in the world, and are executed by the
following admired Masters:--_Raphael_, _Claude_, _Rubens_, _Correggio_,
_Titian_, _Poussin_, _Gerard Douw_, _Paul Potter_, _Cuyp_, _Rembrandt_,
&c., each picture valued at from £1000 to £10,000.
“5. The exquisitely finished Copies of these masterly productions are
unique, and permission to copy them could only be obtained for the
above Grand National Work.
“6. The Copper-Plates will be destroyed, by Act of Parliament, which
will, of course, add to the value and scarcity of the Pictures.
“7. The encouragement afforded to the fine Arts.
“8. Trustees are appointed by Act of Parliament, for the faithful
performance of the Conditions of the Act.
“9. Testimonials in approbation of these beautiful imitations of
original Paintings have been received from the first and most
distinguished Artists in the world.
SCHEDULE OF THE PRIZES.
1 FIRST GRAND PRIZE, consisting of 291 Pictures,
in elegant Frames, representing the Marquis of
Stafford’s magnificent Gallery of Pictures; also
the Lease of the Premises, where the same are
exhibited; also a set of coloured Impressions of
the Marquis of Stafford’s Gallery, making Four
Grand Folio Volumes, superbly bound in Russia;
likewise Proofs and Etchings of the above
Works in Black; also a large Painting in Oil
Colours by Hamilton, R.A., value £7,500 0 0
1 SECOND GRAND PRIZE, consisting
of Fifty Two highly finished Paintings,
in elegant Frames, of a Selection from
the most valuable Paintings of the Old
Masters, in the Collections of Noblemen,
Gentlemen, and eminent Collectors in the £ _s._ _d._
United Kingdoms; together with a set of
highly finished Coloured Impressions,
bound in Russia: likewise a set of the
Marquis of Stafford’s Gallery, finely
coloured; likewise Proof Impressions
and Etchings of both Works in Black,
value 3,750 0 0
1 THIRD GRAND PRIZE, comprising
Ten Pictures, in elegant Frames,
exquisitely painted in Water Colours,
from the Old Masters; together with
a set of the Marquis of Stafford’s
Gallery, finely coloured; with Proofs
of both Works in Black, value 939 10 0
☛ The other Prizes consist of _sets of
the Work_, in Colours, Proofs, or
Prints, value as under:
40 Capital Prizes, each comprising a
set of Prints of the Marquis of
Stafford’s Gallery, finely coloured;
value of each Prize £171 14 0 6,868 0 0
150 Ditto, Proof Impressions
of ditto, each
value £71 8 0 10,710 10 0
1000 Ditto, Print Impressions
of ditto, each
value £35 14 0 35,700 0 0
40 Ditto, each comprising
a Set of the Selections
from the Old Masters,
exquisitely coloured,
each value 151 4 0 6,048 0 0
100 Ditto, Proof Impression
of ditto, each
value 25 4 0 2,520 0 0
399 Ditto, Print Impressions
of ditto, each
value 12 12 0 5,027 8 0
350 Ditto, each being a set
of 21 Engravings,
illustrative of Thomson’s
Seasons. Print
Impressions, value 8 8 0 2,940 0 0
1000 Prizes, being miscellaneous
subjects from the above
Works, exquisitely
coloured, value 6 6 0 6,300 0 0
4000 Ditto, finely coloured,
each value 5 5 0 21,000 0 0
9466 Ditto, Proof and Print
Impressions, each
value 4 4 0 39,757 4 0
1 Grand Capital Prize, being Four
highly finished Paintings in
elegant Frames, with sets of both
Works in Black, value 165 0 0
1 LAST GRAND CAPITAL PRIZE, being
15 Pictures handsomely framed,
finely painted in Oil, by the late
W. Hamilton, R.A., purposely to
embellish Thomson’s Seasons; together
with a copy of Thomson’s
Seasons, Imperial Folio, elegantly
bound in Russia, embellished with
21 Engravings by F. Bartolozzi,
R.A., and P. W. Tomkins, value 3,000 0 0
------ --------------
16,550 Prizes Grand Total £152,225 12 0
====== ==============
Letters commendatory of the Pictures and Scheme were received from
Benjamin West, P.R.A., Sir Thos. Lawrence, R.A., Sir Wm. Beechy, R.A.,
J. Ward, R.A., M. A. Shee, R.A., R. Smirke, R.A., T. Stothard, R.A., J.
Flaxman, R.A., J. Nollekens, R.A., and others.
The Lottery Act for 1822 (3 Geo. IV. c. 101) was passed on July 21. It
distributed £593,411 17_s._ 6_d._ in prizes, and made a profit to the
Government of £183,056 9_s._ 3_d._
The end of the Lottery had now virtually come, for, in the Lottery Act
of 1823 (4 Geo. IV. c. 60), passed July 9, provision was made for its
discontinuance after the drawing of the lottery sanctioned by that Act,
the Treasury being empowered to retain the services of the Lottery
Commissioners and their officers for three years longer, to enable them
to wind up all outstanding business. This lottery was for a much larger
sum than heretofore, prizes being given to the amount of £1,453,875;
but the net profit thereon was less than that of the previous year,
which was for a far smaller amount--in fact, less than half.
[Illustration]
“Run, Neighbours, run, the LOTTERY’S expiring,
When Fortune’s merry wheel it will never turn more;
She now supplies all NUMBERS you’re desiring,
ALL PRIZES, NO BLANKS, and TWENTY THOUSANDS FOUR.
Haste, Neighbours, haste, the Chance will never come again,
When, without pain, for little _Cash_, you’ll all be rich;
Prizes a plenty of, and such a certain source of gain,
That young and old, and all the world, it must bewitch.”
[Illustration]
“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 the _Four Twenty Thousands_, perhaps Fortune may
Have in store One for me, as they’re drawn in _One Day_.”
Here are four of Bish’s handbills, the woodcuts of which are better
executed than usual.
RAPTURE.
_A Member rehearsing his Speech_]
[Illustration]
SIR WILLIAM COURTEOUS.
_Hear him! hear him! Order! Order!_
All the Court is in disorder!
I echo, Sir, the _Public voice_--
What I hold here’s the _People’s choice_
A num’rous host stood forth of late
And BISH was chosen candidate
The loans of Fortune to supply
From the rich New Year’s Lottery,
In Sterling Money--(_Hear him, hear him!_)
The _Ayes_ have got it. (_Chair him, chair him!_)
Lottery begins 21ₛₜ This Month (Jan.)--2 of 20,000 Guineas, and 40
other Capitals--all Sterling Money (no Stock Prizes.)]
CURIOSITY.
_Jerry Sneak peeping at his Wife and the Major in the Summer House._
[Illustration]
JERRY SNEAK
Vile Curiosity goes creeping,
Into his neighbours secrets peeping:
So JERRY, peeping, all on thorns,
Thought on the Devil, and descried _his horns_
Go peep at BISH’S, and I’ll wager
Of Prizes he will share _the major_.
Lottery begins 21ₛₜ This Month (Jan.)--2 of 20,000 Guineas & 40 other
Capitals--all Sterling Money (no Stock Prizes)
MEANNESS.
_Endeavouring to read the Contents of a Letter_
[Illustration]
MRS. PRY
“What the eye never sees, we can never repent--
”What the heart never feels, we can never resent.”
Change the scene, paltry wretch--you would think it unkind
Were _your secrets_ expos’d, for concealment design’d
If you’d peep to advantage, to BISH’S then hie,
For a Prize in the rich New Year’s Lottery, Pry
Lottery begins 21ₛₜ This Month (Jan.)--2 of 20,000 Guineas, & 40 other
Capitals--all Sterling Money (no Stock Prizes.)
INDIFFERENCE.
_A Husband indifferent to his Wife’s Importunities._
[Illustration]
SIR SIMON SLENDERWIT
O turn, my love, I pray now do!
I never turn my back on you
I’ll fan the flame--O let it burn!
“How sweet’s the love that meets return.”
But if insensate to my wishes
I’ll get whate’er I want at BISH’S
Lottery begins 21ₛₜ This Month (Jan)--2 of 20,000 Guineas & 40 other
Capitals--all Sterling Money (no Stock Prizes)]
CHAPTER XX.
The last lottery--Attempts to get up excitement--The
procession--Alteration of date--Advertising car--
“A Ballad, 1826”--Drawing of the last lottery.
But the lamp was to flicker once more before it finally died out, and a
“last lottery” was decreed to be drawn in 1826. In the spring, and for
three weeks after midsummer of that year, the lottery-office keepers
incessantly plied every man, woman, and child, in the United Kingdom
and its dependencies, with petitions to make a fortune in “the last
lottery that can be drawn.” Men paraded the streets with large printed
placards on poles, or pasted on their backs, announcing “All Lotteries
End for Ever! 18th of July.” The walls were plastered all over with
posters, and handbills thrust into the hands of street-passengers,
besides being left at every house, containing the same heart-rending
announcement, and with the solemn assurance that the demand for
tickets and shares was immense! The prices had so risen, were so
rising, and would be so far beyond all calculation, that, to get
shares, or tickets at all, they must be instantly purchased! As the
time approached, a show was got up to proclaim that the deplorable
“Death of the Lottery” would certainly take place on the appointed
day; but, on some account or other, the pathetic appeal of the
benevolent contractors was disregarded. At length, finding that it
could not be floated by the 18th of July, the stony-hearted public were
“respectfully” informed that “the Lords of the Treasury had issued
a _reprieve_,” and that the “drawing” and “quartering,” etc., was
postponed till some day in October, “when lotteries will finish for
ever.” Here is a handbill relating to the 18th of July:--
[Illustration]
“What’s the odds?--while I am floundering here the gold
fish will be gone; and as I always was a dab at hooking
the right Numbers, I must cast for a Share of the
SIX £30,000 on the 18th JULY, for it is but 'giving
a Sprat to catch a Herring,’ as a body may say, and it
is the last chance we shall have in England.”
We can scarcely do better than follow Hone’s contemporary account of
this “last lottery;” it is so fresh, being written at the time.
“Incredible efforts were made in the summer of 1826 to keep the 'last
lottery’ on its legs. The price of tickets was arbitrarily raised, to
induce a belief that they were in great demand, at the very moment
when their sale was notoriously at a stand; and the lagging attention
of the public of the Metropolis was endeavoured to be quickened by all
sorts of stratagems, to the 18th of July, as the very last chance that
would occur in England of gaining 'Six £30,000 besides other Capitals,’
which it was positively affirmed were 'all to be drawn’ on that fatal
day. Besides the dispersal of innumerable bills, and the aspersions on
Government relative to the approaching extinction of the Lottery, the
parties interested in its preservation caused London and its environs
to be paraded by the following
_Procession._
“1. Three men in liveries, scarlet and gold.
“2. Six men bearing boards at their backs and on
their breasts, with inscriptions in blue and gold,
'All Lotteries end on Tuesday next,’ six £30,000.
“3. Band of trumpets, clarionets, horns, etc.
“4. A large purple silk banner carried by six
men, inscribed in large gold letters, 'All Lotteries
end for ever on Tuesday next,’ six £30,000.
“5. A painted carriage, representing the Lottery
Wheel, drawn by two dappled grey horses, tandem
fashion; the fore horse rode by a postillion in
scarlet and gold, with a black velvet cap, and a
boy seated in a dickey behind the machine, turning
the handle, and setting the wheel in motion.
“6. Six men with other Lottery Labels.
“7. A square Lottery Carriage, surmounted by
a gilt Imperial Crown; the carriage covered by
labels, with 'All Lotteries end on Tuesday next;’
drawn by two horses, tandem, and a postillion.
“8. Six men with labels.
“9. Twelve men in blue and gold, with boards on
poles, with 'Lotteries end for ever on Tuesday next.’
“10. A large purple silk flag, with 'All Lotteries
end on Tuesday next.’
“This procession, with its music, drew the heads of the servant-maids
to the windows in every suburb of the metropolis, and was followed by
troops of boys, till they tired of its frequency. It sometimes stopped,
and a man with a bell cried 'O yes!’ and 'God save the King!’ and,
between the two, proclaimed, in set words, the 'Death of the Lottery on
Tuesday next!’ The event was likewise announced as certain in all the
Newspapers, and by cart-loads of bills showered down areas, and thrust
under knockers; when, behold, 'the Lords of the Treasury were pleased
to order’ the final drawing to be postponed to Thursday, the 18th of
October; but all the good people so informed, were wisely uninformed
that this 'order’ was obtained by the lottery folks, to give them a
long day to get rid of their unsold tickets.
[Illustration]
“After this, the streets were cavalcaded by men, whose bodies were
concealed between long boards on each side of their horses to announce
the _next_ 'last of the Lottery on the 18th of October’ aforesaid; and
men on foot walked with labels on their breasts and backs, with the
same never-dying intelligence, according to the further figure in the
engraving of the lottery wheel, which represents one of the Government
Wheels, and the sledge it was drawn upon from Somerset House to
Cooper’s Hall, at the commencement of the drawing of every lottery; on
which occasion there were four horses to each wheel, and about a dozen
Horseguards to protect the instruments of _Miss_ Fortune.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
“But the most pageant-like machine was an octagon framework, covered
by printed lottery placards, with a single horse, and a driver, and a
guard-like seat at the back. When drawn along the streets, which was
at a most funereal pace, it overtopped the sills of the first-floor
windows. Its slow motion, and the route it chiefly took, evidenced the
_low_ hopes of the proprietors. St. Giles’s and the purlieus of that
neighbourhood seem to have been selected as the favoured spots, whence
favours were mostly to be expected. An opportunity offered to sketch
it, while it was pelted with mud and stones, and torn and disfigured by
the unappreciating offspring of the sons of fortune whose regards it
courted.
“The Artist’s letter describes the scene: 'As I was walking up
Holborn, on Monday, the 9th instant, I saw a strange vehicle moving
slowly on; and, when I came up to it, found a machine, perhaps from
twenty to thirty feet high, of an octagon shape, covered all over with
lottery papers of various colours. It had a broad brass band round
the bottom, and moved on a pivot; it had a very _imposing_ effect.
The driver and the horse seemed as dull as though they were attending
a solemn funeral, whilst the different shopkeepers came to the doors
and laughed; some of the people passing and repassing, read the bills
that were pasted on it, as if they had never read one before; others
stationed themselves to look at it as long as it was in sight. It
entered Monmouth Street, that den of filth and rags, where so great
a number of young urchins gathered together in a few minutes as to
be astonishing. There being an empty chair behind, one of them seated
himself in it, and rode backwards; another said 'Let’s have a stone
through it,’ and a third cried, 'Let’s sludge it.’ This was no sooner
proposed than they threw stones, oyster shells and dirt, and burst
several of the sheets; this attack brought the driver from his seat,
and he was obliged to walk by the side of his machine up this foul
street, which his show canvassed, halting now and then to threaten
the boys, who still followed and threw. I made a sketch, and left the
scene. It was not an every-day occurrence, and I accompany it with
these remarks.’
“This was the fag-end of the last struggle of the speculators on public
credulity for popularity to their last dying lottery.”
“A BALLAD, 1826.
A lazy sot grew sober
By looking at his troubles,
For he found out how
He work’d his woe,
By playing with Lott’ry bubbles.
And just before October,
The _grand_ contractors, zealous,
To _share_ their _last_ ills,
With puffs and bills,
Drove all the quack-doctors jealous.
Their _bill_ and _cue_ carts slowly
Paced Holborn and Long Acre,
Like a funeral
Not mourn’d at all,
The burying an Undertaker.
Clerks smiled, and whisper’d lowly;
'This is the time, or never,
There must be a rise--
Buy and be wise,
Or your chance is gone for ever.’
Yet, of the shares and tickets,
Spite of all arts to sell ’em,
There were more unsold
Than dare be told;
Although, if I knew, I’d tell ’em.
And so, worn out with rickets,
The _last_ 'Last Lott’ry’ expired;
And then there were cries--
'We’ve gained a _prize_
By the _loss_ we’ve so long desired.’
The lott’ry drew the humble
Often aside from his labour,
To build in the air,
And, dwelling there,
He beggar’d himself and neighbour.
If the scheme-makers tumble
Down to their proper station,
They must starve, or work,
Turn thief, or Turk,
Or hang, for the good of the nation.”
“At last, on Wednesday, the 18th of October, 1826, the State Lottery
expired, and its decease was announced in the newspapers of the next
day, by the following article:--
STATE LOTTERY.
“Yesterday afternoon, at about half-past six o’clock, that old servant
of the State, the Lottery, breathed its last, having for a long period
of years, ever since the days of Queen Anne, contributed largely
towards the public revenue of the country. This event took place at
Cooper’s Hall, Basinghall Street; and, such was the anxiety on the
part of the public to witness the last drawing of the lottery, that
great numbers of persons were attracted to the spot, independently of
those who had an interest in the proceedings. The gallery of Cooper’s
Hall was crowded to excess long before the period fixed for the
drawing (five o’clock), and the utmost anxiety was felt by those who
had shares in the Lottery, for the arrival of the appointed hour.
The annihilation of Lotteries, it will be recollected, was determined
upon in the Session of Parliament before last; and thus, a source of
revenue, bringing into the treasury the sums of £250,000 and £300,000
per annum, will be dried up.
“This determination on the part of the legislature is hailed, by far
the greatest portion of the public, with joy, as it will put an end to
a system which many believe to have fostered and encouraged the late
speculations, the effects of which have been and are still severely
felt. A deficiency in the public revenue, to the extent of £250,000
annually, will, however, be the consequence of the annihilation of
Lotteries, and it must remain for those who have strenuously supported
the putting a stop to Lotteries, to provide for the deficiency.
“Although that which ended yesterday was the last, if we are informed
correctly, the lottery-office keepers have been left with a great
number of tickets remaining on their hands--a pretty strong proof that
the public, in general, have now no relish for these schemes.
“The concourse of persons in Basinghall Street was very great; indeed,
the street was almost impassable, and everybody seemed desirous
of ascertaining the fortunate numbers. In the gallery the greatest
interest was excited, as the various prizes were drawn from the wheel;
and, as soon as a number ticket was drawn from the number wheel, every
one looked with anxiety to his share, in order to ascertain if Fortune
smiled on him. Only one instance occurred where a prize was drawn, and
a number held by any individual present. The fortunate person was a
little man, who, no sooner had he learned that his number was a grand
prize, than he buttoned up his coat, and coolly walked off, without
uttering a word. As the drawing proceeded, disappointment began to
succeed the hopes indulged by those who were present. On their entrance
to the hall, every face wore a cheerful appearance; but, on the
termination of the drawing, a strong contrast was exhibited, and the
features of each were strongly marked with dissatisfaction.
“The drawing commenced shortly after five o’clock, and ended at twenty
minutes past six.
“The doors of the various Lottery Offices were surrounded by persons
awaiting the issue of the drawing.”
CHAPTER XXI.
Handbills--Metrical list of lottery-office keepers--Bish’s
manifesto--“Epitaph in Memory of the State Lottery”
--“Little Goes”--_The Times_ thereon--Their effect
on the public.
Here are some of the handbills of 1826:--
[Illustration]
KITCHEN-MAID.
Mistress Molly, the Cook,
At the Scheme only look,
In wealth we may both of us roll;
If we _brush_ for a prize,
In the world we may rise,
And our _skuttles_ have plenty of _Cole_.
[Illustration]
COOK-MAID.
If what you say’s true,
I’m all in a _stew_,
Lest we miss what we so much desire;
Should we lose this good plan,
For a _sop in the pan_,
All the _fat_ will be soon in the fire.
[Illustration]
GARDENER.
I have been _digging_ for good luck all
my life; but I’ve found it waste _thyme_:
yet I am in hopes that a Lottery Ticket
will _transplant_ me to a better _soil_; that
a _sprig_ of good fortune will make me
as rich as the _Mint_, and all my _spades_
turn up trumps.
[Illustration]
GREEN-GROCER.
I am in the _basket_; but as I am a
_medlar_ in the Lottery, a Prise may
give bad luck _turnips_. I hope to
_cabbage_ a Capital; and in time to be
worth a _plum_.]
The following gives us a list of the principal lottery-office keepers:--
“THE LAST OF THE LOTTERIES.
The Chancellor has pass’d the stern decree,
The daily press rings out the doleful knell,
Warning each old adventurer, that he
Must now of Lotteries take a last farewell.
Dismay and wonder now pervade Cornhill--
The printers, too, are in a dismal rout,
Swearing they ne’er shall print another bill,
When those for whom they puffed, are now puffed out.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
O, Fredrick Robinson, thou man of death!
Our scanty pittance, why should you begrudge it?
Why--oh! why thus in dudgeon stop our breath,
And shut us cruelly from out thy budget?
What was it seem’d offensive in thine eyes,
And gave thine act a plausible pretence?
Say--didst thou think the selling a _large prize_
Was, in itself, a _Capital_ offence?
Whatever be the cause, the effect is sad,
Since soon must close his well-known lucky wicket,
_Bish_, our Leviathan, is gone half mad,
And looks as dismal as a blank drawn ticket.
_Carrol_--alas! his carols, turn’d to sighs,
Seem to his cheerful name to give the lie;
_Hazard_, with fear of _death_ before his eyes,
Declares he’ll stand the '_hazard of the die_.’
_Swift_ of the Poultry, too, is ill at ease,
His grief breaks forth in this pathetic swell--
'I go to pine on wretched bread and cheese,
For, ah! to _poultry_ must I bid farewell!’
_Martin_ complains his rapid flight is check’d,
And doth the ruin of his house deplore,
Wond’ring that _martins’_ nests don’t claim respect,
As they were wont to do in time of yore.
_Richardson_ says the world will team with crimes,
And woe and misery pervade the state,
For what can prosper in these hapless times,
When Goodluck is proscribed, and out of date?
The _web_ of death encircles _J. D. Webb_--
The common ruin on him, too, hath landed;
Him, too, must reach this melancholy ebb,
And all the fortunes of the _Strand_ be _stranded_.
_Pidding_, who did his corner much enjoy,
Says, while he contemplates the prospect dim,
'How oft have I _hung_ out my gay blue-coat boy--
Now I must _hang_ myself instead of him.’
Haply, next year, some friend shall say, and weep,
As up _Cornhill_, he takes his lonely way--
'Where are the _harvests_ that I us’d to _reap_
Beneath the sickle of each drawing day?’
Ah! where is _Sivewright_? where is _Eyton_ now?
Where are the placards which so lately told
The clustering Congregation when and how
The thirty thousands were all shar’d and sold?
Where dwelt activity, there reigneth gloom;
My well-known friends have lost their public rank;
The _Lottery_ has pass’d into the tomb,
And left the world a universal _blank_.”
Bish, anent the “Last Lottery of all,” wrote the following manifesto:--
“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 of gambling, which the legislature, very wisely, most
effectually prevented, by adopting, in the year 1809, the present
improved mode of _deciding the whole Lottery in one day_.
“As it is at present conducted, the Lottery is 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 arrangements 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 cheaper light. But we live in other times--in the age of improvement!
To stake patrimonial estates at hazard or _écarté_, in the purlieus
of St. James’s, is _merely amusement_, but to purchase a ticket in
the Lottery, by which a man may gain an 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 thousands upon a _horse 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.!!!”
It was no good moaning over the dead lottery; it was dead--there was
an end of it; and there was nothing more but to bury it decently, and
write its epitaph--which was duly done.
EPITAPH
In Memory of
THE STATE LOTTERY,
the last of a long line
whose origin in England commenced
in the year 1569,
which, after a series of tedious complaints,
_Expired_
on the
18th day of October, 1826.
During a period of 257 years, the family
flourished under the powerful protection
of the
British Parliament;
the Minister of the day continuing to
give them his support for the improvement
of the revenue.
As they increased, it was found that their
continuance corrupted the morals,
and encouraged a spirit
of Speculation and Gambling among the lower
classes of the people;
thousands of whom fell victims to their
insinuating and tempting allurements.
Many philanthropic individuals
in the Senate,
at various times, for a series of years,
pointed out their baneful influence,
without effect,
His Majesty’s Ministers
still affording them their countenance
and protection.
The British Parliament
being, at length, convinced of their
mischievous tendency
His Majesty GEORGE IV.
on the 9th July, 1823,
pronounced sentence of condemnation
on the whole race;
from which time they were almost
NEGLECTED BY THE BRITISH PUBLIC.
Very great efforts were made by the
Partisans and friends of the family to
excite
the public feeling in favour of the last
of the race, in vain:
It continued to linger out the few
remaining
moments of its existence without attention
or sympathy, and finally terminated
its career unregretted by any
virtuous mind.
We have thus traced the State lotteries to their end. But there
are many things connected with the lottery outside of them which
have yet to be mentioned--for instance, the illegitimate lotteries
called “Little Goes,” which for a time flourished in the last and the
commencement of this present century. Here is one of them. On October
14, 1770, a case was determined at the general quarter session of the
peace for the county of Wilts, held at Marlborough. A quack doctor
had been convicted before Thomas Johnson, Esq., of Bradford, in the
penalty of £200 for disposing of plate, etc., by means of a device or
lottery; and, by a second information, convicted of the same offence
before Joseph Mortimer, Esq., of Trowbridge. To both these convictions
he appealed to the justices at the general quarter session of the
peace, when, after a trial of near ten hours, the bench unanimously
confirmed the conviction on both informations, by which the appellant
was subjected to the penalties of £200 on each, and costs.
The _Times_ newspaper was especially indignant at these “Little Goes,”
and I make two or three excerpts therefrom on this subject.
_Times_, July 22, 1795.--“PRIVATE LOTTERIES. Amongst the various
species of gaming that have ever been practised, we think none exceeds
the mischiefs and calamities that arise from the practice of private
lotteries, which at present are carrying on, in various parts of the
town, to very alarming extents, much to the discredit of those whose
province it is to suppress such nefarious practices, as they cannot be
ignorant of such transactions. 'The little go,’ which is the technical
term for a private lottery, is calculated only for the meridian of
those understandings who are unused to calculate and discriminate
between right and wrong, and roguery and fair dealing; and, in this
particular case, it is those who compose the lower order of society
whom it so seriously affects, and on whom it is chiefly designed to
operate. No man of common sense can suppose that the lottery wheels are
fair and honest, or that the proprietors act upon principles anything
like honour or honesty; for, by the art and contrivance of the wheels,
they are so constructed with secret springs, and the application of
gum, glue, etc., in the internal part of them, that they can draw
the numbers out or keep them in at pleasure, just as it suits their
purposes; so that the insurer, robbed and cajoled by such unfair
means, has not the most distant chance of ever winning; the whole being
a gross fraud, and imposition, in the extreme. We understand that
the most notorious of these standards of imposition are situated in
Carnaby Market, Oxford Road, in the Borough, Islington, Clerkenwell,
and various other places, most of which are under the very nose of
magistracy, in seeming security, bidding defiance to law, and preying
upon the vitals of the poor and ignorant.
“We hope the magistrates of each jurisdiction, and those who possess
the same power, will perform their duty on behalf of the poor, over
whom they preside, and put a stop to such a growing and alarming
evil, of such pernicious and dangerous tendency: particularly, as the
proprietors are well-known bad characters, consisting of needy beggars,
desperate swindlers, gamblers, sharpers, notorious thieves, and common
convicted felons, most of whose names stand recorded in the Newgate
Calendar for various offences of different descriptions.”
_Times_, August 11, 1795.--“On Friday night last, in consequence of
searching warrants from the parochial magistrates of St. James’s,
Westminster, upwards of thirty persons were apprehended at the
house of one M’Call, No. 2, Francis Street, near Golden Square, and
in the house of J. Knight, King Street, where the most destructive
practices _to the poor_ were carrying on, that of _Private Lotteries_
(called Little Goes). Two wheels, with the tickets, were seized on the
premises. Upon examination of those persons, who proved to be the poor
deluded objects that had been there plundered, they were reprimanded
and discharged.
“The wives of many industrious mechanics, by attending these nefarious
houses, have not only been duped out of their earnings (which ought to
have been applied to the providing bread for their families), but have
even pawned their beds, wedding-rings, and almost every article they
were possessed of for that purpose.”
_Times_, August 13, 1795.--“The term of _little goes_ for the private
lotteries is apt enough, for the poor devils who risk their property
there have but little, and that little goes to nought.
“If the wheels of fortune, and the cash, seized at the private
lotteries, became the property of the police runners, the old adage
will be strongly verified, 'What is got over the devil’s back, will be
spent under his belly.’”
Gambling was then a national madness. Not content with the State
lotteries, which then took forty-two days to draw, with its concomitant
excitement of insurance, these Little Goes were introduced between the
drawings of the State lottery. They were known to be illegal, and we
have seen in what terms a leading newspaper speaks of them, but still
they existed. True, an attempt was made to put them down in 1802,
by the Act 42 Geo. III. c. 119, by which they were declared public
nuisances, and any person keeping an office or place for carrying on
the business of such lotteries was liable to forfeit £500, and be
deemed a rogue and a vagabond, within the meaning of the Vagrant Act
(17 Geo. II. c. 5).
But to show how futile was this Act, the Report of the Committee of the
House of Commons on Lotteries, 1808, says there were _little_ lotteries
on the same plan as the great State lotteries, and drawn in the same
manner. There were, generally, five or six “little goes” in the year,
and they were actually set up and conducted by two or three of the
licensed lottery-office keepers. The State lottery was the parent of
these little ones, and they were never heard of during the drawing of
the former, but the gambling fever had such a hold on the people that
they could not wait for the next State lottery.
CHAPTER XXII.
Description of lottery-office keepers--Insuring numbers in
the lottery--Servants bitten by the mania--_Morocco
men_--Many prosecutions--Cost to the country--Several
law cases--Story of Mr. Bartholomew.
What class of men these lottery-office keepers were, we learn in a
little book[29] believed to have been published about 1770.
[29] “The Frauds of London,” by Richard King. London, 1770? 12mo.
“For several years past these lottery-office keepers have had an ample
share in imposing on the town, and cheating the country; by vending of
books, handkerchiefs, and other things of little value, with shares of
tickets, said to be impending, or then drawing, in the State lottery,
with a note of hand, importing that if No. 45 should come a prize of
£20,000, the bearer of that ticket would be entitled to £50, and so for
other prizes in proportion; by this means thousands were taken in with
their eyes open (such an itch has the world for gambling), and paid
thrice the value for the commodity they purchased (allured by the hopes
of a prize in the lottery) than its real worth.
“On the drawing of the lottery, the lower part of the creation, who
were concerned in the above schemes for enriching themselves, would
quit their labour and industry, and repair to the Guildhall, to be
present at the drawing, in expectation of every next number called
being theirs, when twenty thousand to one of their getting a prize of
£10. Some few have been so lucky as to get the £20,000 and £10,000, but
I never knew that they received the sum stipulated, in the promissory
note given for that purpose. On the contrary, I have seen the
office-keeper’s windows and shops demolished by a deluded and justly
enraged mob, who have been ruined by the purchase of tickets, shares,
chances, and insurances thereon.
“The keepers had a custom, a day or two before the finishing the
drawing, to shut up their shops and decamp, for fear of their being
brought to account for their cheats and roguery, practised on the
ignorant and unthinking. The countryman, hearing that he had a prize in
the lottery, hastened up to town, at no small expense, to receive the
money due thereon; when, to his great sorrow, there was no keeper to be
found; but, as an alleviation of his grief, he saw hundreds deceived as
well as himself.
“To such an height were these lottery offices carried (as they called
themselves) that you might purchase shares and chances at sixpence
apiece, one of which is worth observing. An advertisement in the
_Morning Chronicle_, intimating that shares and chances were to be
disposed of at Fuller’s Eating House, in Wych Street, and tickets
insured; that whoever bought six pennyworth of beef, would be presented
with a ticket, and a note of hand to receive the sums inserted therein,
if the number of the ticket was drawn a prize of £20,000, etc.; and
told you that this was the most rational of all schemes hitherto
projected, as the purchaser, at least, would have, for his sixpence,
three pennyworth of meat, besides a chance in the lottery.
“Notwithstanding the law has taken every precaution to guard against
the itinerant cheat, who practises as lottery-office keeper, yet ways
are, and always will be, found to evade it. Therefore let me dissuade
the countryman, and others, from adventuring at this losing game, as
it is at best, there being better than two to one against you in the
State lottery, and more than fifty to one of your getting anything from
such as I have already described.”
The custom of insuring numbers in the lottery has already been noticed,
but only _en passant_. It was, in reality, pure betting. In return
for, say, a shilling, a pound would be promised if a certain specified
number turned up. Of course, these insurances were illegal, but they
were so profitable to the office-keepers, that no penalties could
keep them down. Many attempts had been made by magistrates and police
officers to enter houses and places kept for the purpose of carrying
on illegal insurances, and apprehending the offenders; but the parties
concerned opposed their attempts in every possible way, and employed
a desperate set of ruffians to defend them, who, with every kind of
offensive weapon, bade defiance to the execution of the warrants issued
for their apprehension. They also secured the rooms within the house
where this illicit business was transacted, with strong oak doors and
iron bars and bolts, so that the police officers could only obtain
admission by using force.
Such a state of things, of course, could not be tolerated in any
civilized community, and an Act was passed (33 Geo. III. c. 62), in
1793, empowering magistrates to allow any person authorized by the
Commissioners of Stamps, by day or night (but, if by night, then in
the presence of a constable), to break open the doors and apprehend
the offenders; and all persons who should obstruct the officers in the
execution of their duty, were liable to be seized and prosecuted, and
subject, on conviction, to be fined, imprisoned, and publicly whipped.
By a subsequent Act, this power was extended to any person or persons
authorized by a magistrate without restriction; and these provisions
were also introduced into the Act of 1802 (42 Geo. III. c. 119).
We have seen how, by the Act of 1793, no person, except the clerks of
licensed lottery-office keepers, were allowed to be in the Guildhall
during the drawing of the lottery; but, though this undoubtedly checked
this gambling, it was far from putting a stop to it. Mr. Colquhoun, a
well-known magistrate, declared that the keepers of these unlicensed
insurance offices were “as a class, in general, of very depraved
or distressed characters,” and the class they preyed upon were
principally male and female domestic servants; indeed, it was computed,
in 1800, that, on an average, each servant in the metropolis spent,
annually, as much as twenty-five shillings in this vile practice of
lottery insurance; the sum total so expended in a year, by the wage
earning-classes, being estimated at half a million sterling. They were,
especially the footmen, undoubtedly led away by the example of their
superiors in rank, and, from their idle and dissipated habits, they
entered keenly into the lottery. So long as they won, all went well;
but the chances were so great against them that this never happened for
long, and then, impelled by that fearful gambling fever, which we now
see in those who bet on horse-racing, money must be got, by any means,
fair or foul, and pilfering and peculation were the necessary results.
The insurance offices in the metropolis are said to have exceeded four
hundred in number. These had jackals, touts who provided prey for
them, in the shape of _Morocco men_, so called from the red Morocco
pocket-books they used to carry with them, and in which their notes
were made. These men haunted the public-houses and coffee-shops; nay,
they pushed themselves into every village, and into every house in
the village, to collect premiums from all sorts and conditions of men.
These people would take their books to their employers by night, and
receive the money from them to pay those who were fortunate enough to
obtain prizes.
Mr. Francis,[30] writing of these Morocco men, says, “They began life
as pigeons; they closed it as rooks. They had lost their own fortunes
in their youth; they ruined those of others in their age. Generally
educated, and of bland manners, a mixture of the gentleman and the
debauchee, they easily penetrated into the society they sought to
destroy. They were seen in the deepest alleys of St. Giles’s, and were
met in the fairest scenes of England. In the old hall of the country
gentleman, in the mansion of the city merchant, in the butlery of the
rural squire, in the homestead of the farmer, among the reapers as they
worked on the hillside, with the peasant as he rested from his daily
toil, addressing all with specious promises, and telling lies like
truth, was the Morocco man found, treading alike the finest and the
foulest scenes of society. They whispered temptation to the innocent;
they hinted at fraud to the novice. They lured the youthful; they
excited the aged; and no place was so pure and no spot so degraded,
but, for love of 7½ per cent., did the Morocco man mark it with his
pestilential presence. No valley was so lonely but what it found some
victim, no hill so remote but what it offered some chance; and so
enticing were their manners, that their presence was sought, and their
appearance welcomed, with all the eagerness of avarice.
[30] “Chronicles and Characters of the Stock Exchange,” by John
Francis. London, 1855.
“And little were they who dealt with these persons aware of the
characters with whom they trafficked. Of bland behaviour, but gross
habits, the nature of their influence on the unpolluted minds with
which they had to deal, may be judged from the fact that some of the
Morocco men ended their days at Tyburn; that transportation was the
doom of others, and the pillory the frequent punishment of many. To
such men as these were the morals of the people exposed through the
lottery.”
The Act was occasionally put in force, and once, in particular, a Mr.
Wood (according to the Report of the Commissioners in 1808) “was
seized with a sudden fit of severity, and, in the course of one term,
he caused to be arrested (for the crime of insuring lottery tickets),
by writs of _capias_, perhaps from 300 to 400 persons; who, with the
exception of a very few, perhaps about twelve, were persons of the
very lowest class of life, many of them married women, washerwomen,
charwomen, and persons of that description; so that Government
necessarily had to pay to the Solicitor of Stamps heavy costs for
having instituted so great a number of unproductive suits, and the
Treasury was greatly displeased. The poor were put into prison, and,
after remaining there, some a month, some two months, and some three
months, and so on.... When the Commissioners (of Stamps) came to know
what sort of wretched beings they had in prison, their humanity urged
them to set them at liberty by degrees.”
Mr. Baker, a magistrate, gave evidence before the Commission, and
stated that the annual loss to the public, by the lottery, was
£1,275,000, which loss was made up by the cost of tickets, the cost
of illegal insurances, and the profits of the agents, contractors,
office-keepers, etc. He also said that “no revenue has been obtained
to the State at half the expense, in point of pecuniary sacrifice to
the public, independent of the excessive injury to the morals of the
people, as lotteries, in the manner they are now constituted. They
have been a productive harvest to the most idle, the most profligate,
and the most abandoned and depraved members of the community, many of
whom have through this medium acquired princely fortunes within the
last thirty years. These successes have stimulated others to follow the
evil example; great capitals have been employed in the trade of illegal
insurances, and long practice has enabled these mischievous agents to
systematize their designs in so perfect a manner as to elude detection.
Their profits on the money received during each lottery are estimated
at 33⅓ per cent., clear of all expenses. From 7½ to 10 per cent. is
generally allowed to Morocco men, who go about soliciting persons to
insure. A very considerable portion of women who could write, and who
know a little of figures, are employed in this nefarious trade; and,
whenever any of them are convicted and imprisoned, there is generally
a stipulation with their principal that they shall be allowed two
guineas per week during the term of their imprisonment.”
[Illustration]
At all events, if their profits were great, they seem, according
to this illustration (date, October 5, 1780), to behave somewhat
generously to their clients, by paying quickly, and giving free
refreshment.
They were occasionally caught, but not always punished, as shown by the
following case. On March 1, 1773, a case came on to be tried before
Lord Mansfield, at the Guildhall, wherein the Lord Mayor was plaintiff,
and Messrs. Barnes and Golightly were defendants, in order to determine
the legality of insuring lottery tickets; but, on account of an error
in the declaration, the plaintiff was nonsuited.
On June 26, 1775, a case was tried in the Court of Common Pleas,
Guildhall, between a gentleman, plaintiff, and a lottery-office keeper,
who was the defendant. The cause of the action was as follows: The
gentleman, passing by the lottery office, observed a woman and boy
crying, on which he asked the reason of their tears; they informed him
that they had insured a number in the lottery on the over-night, and,
upon inquiry at another office, found it to have been drawn five days
before, and, therefore, wanted their money returned. The gentleman,
taking their part, was assaulted and beaten by the office-keeper, for
which the jury gave a verdict for the gentleman, with five pounds
damages.
In July, 1778, Lord Mansfield, at the Guildhall, tried a case in which
a merchant was plaintiff, and a lottery-office keeper defendant.
The action was brought for suffering a young man, the plaintiff’s
apprentice, to insure with the defendant during the drawing of the
last lottery, contrary to the statute, whereby the youth lost a
considerable sum, the property of the merchant. The jury, without going
out of court, gave a verdict for the plaintiff, thereby subjecting the
defendant to pay £500 penalty, and to three months’ imprisonment.
About the beginning of January, 1785, several lottery-office keepers
were convicted, before the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, in penalties of £50
each, for insuring numbers, contrary to law; and, in Trinity Term, the
following cause was tried at Westminster, before Lord Loughborough.
A lottery-office keeper near Charing Cross was plaintiff, and the
Sheriff of Middlesex defendant. The action was to recover one thousand
five hundred and sixty-six pounds, levied by the Sheriff, about a year
past, on the plaintiff’s goods, by virtue of three writs of _fieri
facias_, issued from the Court of King’s Bench. It seems that the
above plaintiff was convicted in three penalties of five hundred pounds
each, for insuring lottery tickets; but, previous to the trials coming
on, for some indulgence, he had, by himself or agents, consented not
to bring any writ of error, and an order of _nisi prius_ was drawn up,
and served upon his attorney; notwithstanding which, three writs of
error were sued out. The Court of Queen’s Bench being then moved, made
an order that the executions should be levied according to the original
rule of Court; the Sheriff made the levy, and, the money being paid
and impounded in his hands, the above action was brought to get the
same returned. The novelty of the action caused much laughter among the
counsel; and, after a few minutes’ hearing, his lordship ordered the
plaintiff to be nonsuited.
I cannot leave the subject of insurance without mentioning an instance
of infatuation, recorded by Nelson in his “History of Islington.”
“Some years ago, this house and premises (_White Conduit House_) were
kept by Mr. Christopher Bartholomew, a person who inherited a good
fortune from his parents, and who brought much trade to the place, by
the taste he displayed in laying out the gardens and walks, and the
excellent manner in which he conducted the business of the house.
“This person, with every prospect of success and eminence in life, fell
a victim to an unconquerable itch for gambling in the lottery. At one
time the tea-gardens and premises, as also the Angel Inn at Islington,
were his freeholds; he rented land to the amount of £2000 a year in the
neighbourhood of Islington and Holloway; and was remarkable for having
the greatest quantity of haystacks of any grower in the neighbourhood
of London. At that time he is believed to have been worth £50,000, kept
his carriage and servants in livery; and, upon one occasion, having
been unusually successful at insuring in the lottery, gave a public
breakfast at his tea-gardens, '_to commemorate the Smiles of Fortune_,’
as it was expressed upon the tickets of admission to this _fête
champêtre_.
“He, at times, had some very fortunate hits in the lottery, and which,
perhaps, tended to increase the mania which hurried him to his ruin. He
has been known to spend upwards of 2000 guineas in a day for insurance,
to raise which, stack after stack of his immense crops of hay have been
cut down and hurried to market, as the readiest way to obtain the
supplies necessary for these extraordinary outgoings. Having at last
been obliged to part with his house from accumulated difficulties and
embarrassments, he passed the last thirteen years of his life in great
poverty, subsisting by the charity of those who knew his better days,
and the emolument he received as a juryman of the Sheriff’s Court for
the County.
“Still, his propensity to be engaged in this ruinous pursuit never
forsook him, and meeting, one day in the year 1807, with an old
acquaintance, he related to him a strong presentiment he entertained,
that, if he could purchase a particular number in the ensuing lottery
(which he was not then in a position to accomplish), it would prove
successful. His friend, after remonstrating with him on the impropriety
of persevering in a practice that had already been attended with such
evil consequences, was at last persuaded to go halves with him in a
sixteenth part of the favourite number, which, being procured, was most
fortunately drawn a prize of £20,000. With the money arising from this
extraordinary turn of fortune, he was prevailed upon by his friends to
purchase an annuity of £60 _per annum_; yet, fatally addicted to the
pernicious habit of insurance, he disposed of it, and lost it all. He
has been known frequently to apply to those persons who had been served
by him in his prosperity, for an old coat, or some other article of
cast-off apparel; and, not many days before he died, he solicited a few
shillings to buy him necessaries.
“A gentleman in his manners, with a mind rather superior to the
generality of men, he, at one time, possessed the esteem of all who
knew him; but was reduced from a state of affluence and respectability
to wretchedness and want, by following that baneful practice, which,
in spite of all laws made to the contrary, will ever exist whilst the
Government continues to resort to the unwise expedient of inducing the
individual to pay £20 for the liberty of gambling for £10. Let his fate
be a warning to all ranks, particularly to those engaged in trade, not
to engage in a pursuit which will, ultimately, be their ruin; and,
when tempted to insure, let them remember the fate of Bartholomew. He
died in a two-pair-of-stairs room, in Angel Court, Windmill Street,
Haymarket, in March, 1809, aged 68.”
CHAPTER XXIII.
Suicides caused by the lottery--Story of a footman--Anecdote
told by Theodore Hook--Description of a lottery from its
commencement to its end.
Another sad phase connected with the lottery was the number of suicides
which were the outcome of it. We need scarcely contemplate the serious
side of this melancholy question, if we can find the slightest
amusement therein; and to my mind there is some in the following
anecdote.
Early in the reign of George II. the footman of a lady of quality,
under the absurd infatuation of a dream, disposed of the savings of the
last twenty years of his life in purchasing two lottery tickets, which,
proving blanks, so preyed upon his mind that, after a few days, he put
an end to his existence. In his box was found the following plan of the
manner in which he would spend the £5000 prize he surely expected to
win.
“As soon as I have received the money, I will marry Grace Towers; but,
as she has been cross and coy, I will use her as a servant. Every
morning she shall get me a mug of strong beer, with a toast, nutmeg,
and sugar in it; then I will sleep till ten, after which I will have
a large sack posset. My dinner shall be on table by one, and never
without a good pudding. I will have a stock of wine and brandy laid in.
About five in the afternoon I will have tarts and jellies, and a gallon
bowl of punch; at ten, a hot supper of two dishes. If I am in a good
humour, and Grace _behaves herself_, she shall sit down with me. To bed
about twelve.”
Julian Young, in his journal, narrates the following, which was told,
in his presence, by Theodore Hook, at a dinner-party in 1831: “Not
long since, he went by stage-coach to Sudbourne, to stay with Lord
Hertford. Inside the coach he had but one companion, a brown-faced,
melancholy-looking man, with an expression of great querulousness,
quite in character with the tone of his conversation, which was
one of ceaseless complaining. 'Sir,’ said he, 'you may have known
unfortunate men, possibly, in your day; you may, for aught I know,
be an unfortunate man yourself; but I do not believe there is such
another unfortunate man as I am in the whole world. No man ever had
more brilliant prospects than I have had in my time, and every one of
them, on the very eve of fulfilment, has been blighted. ’Twas but the
other day that I thought I would buy a ticket in the lottery. I did
so, stupid ass that I was, and took a sixteenth. Sir, I had no sooner
bought it, than I repented of my folly; and, feeling convinced that
it would be a blank, I got rid of it to a friend, who, I knew, would
thank me for the favour, and, at the same time, save me from another
disappointment. By Jove! sir, would you believe it? I know you won’t;
but it is true,--it turned up £30,000.’ 'Heaven and earth!’ said Hook,
'it is incredible. If it had happened to me, I should certainly have
cut my throat.’ 'Well,’ said he, 'of course you would, and so did I;’
and, baring his neck, he exposed to Hook’s horror-stricken gaze, a
freshly-healed cicatrix from ear to ear.”
A description of the lottery wheels, and the drawing of the lottery as
practised in 1770, may be acceptable to the reader, especially as it is
very full in detail,[31] which ever after varied very slightly, if at
all.
[31] “The Lottery Display’d, &c.,” Lond., 1771.
“The first Step towards preparing the Tickets and Drawing is the
Appointment of Managers. These are appointed by the Commissioners of
the Treasury, and, after being sworn to execute faithfully their Trust,
meet occasionally at some public Office or Place, and cause Books to
be prepared, containing a sufficient Number of Leaves (in the present
Lottery 10,000), in which every Leaf is divided into three Columns,
which are all numbered 1, 2, 3, &c., to the last, or highest Ticket.
The Third Column, which is wider than the other two, has also the Form
of the Ticket of its respective Lottery printed on it, and, indeed, is
the real Ticket given out to the Subscribers, and negotiated among the
Public, which, for the present Lottery, is as follows--
LOTTERY
No. 39m894. for the year
M.DCC.LXXI.
_The Bearer_ of this Ticket will, in Pursuance
of an _Act_ made in the _Eleventh_
Year of _His present Majesty’s Reign_, be
intitled to such _beneficial Chance_ as shall
belong thereto, in the _Lottery_ to be drawn
by Virtue and under the Directions of
the said _Act_.
“This Form being signed by one of the Cashiers of the Bank, and cut out
of the Book, is what is properly called a Lottery Ticket. After these
Books are made, and properly number’d, the Managers carefully examine
them, and send them to the Cashiers of the Bank, taking Receipts for
the same, and these, as before observed, sign and cut out the Tickets,
and deliver them to the Subscribers, or Purchasers of the Receipts, on
their paying the remaining Payments due on them, and giving them up.
“The said Cashiers are likewise to permit any Subscriber or Purchaser,
who chuses it, to sign his Name on the Ticket of the middle Column,
these being the Tickets which go into the Wheel, which, in the Words of
the Act, I shall, for the future, call Box.
“About the Middle of _October_, the Cashiers return the Books to the
Managers, with what Tickets remain in them, which are sold, or disposed
of, by the Treasury.
“The Managers, on receiving the Books, cause the Tickets or Numbers of
the middle Column to be cut out, and fastened with Thread or Silk, and
put into a Box prepared for the Purpose, and which they are to cause
to be mark’d with the Letter A, (having first given public Notice in
the News-Papers, of the Time and Place of putting them in, that any
of the Purchasers may, if they chuse it, be there, to see that the
Counter-Part of their Tickets is certainly put into the said Box,)
which Box is immediately to be put into another strong Box, and to be
locked up with seven different Locks and Keys, sealed with seven of the
Managers’ seals, and by them taken care of during the Time of putting
in the Tickets, and till the Drawing; the Tickets of the innermost
Column remaining in the Books for discovering any Mistake or Fraud in
the Drawing or afterwards.
“The Numbers of the Lottery being thus made out and secured, the
Managers proceed to prepare other Books to contain also the whole
Number of the Tickets of the Lottery for the Prizes and Blanks.
“These Books are divided into two Columns, only one to be put into the
Wheel or Box, the other to remain in the Books for detecting mistakes,
&c.
“On as many of these Tickets as there are Prizes in the Lottery,
both on the inner and the outer Columns, are written the said Prizes
respectively according to the Scheme of the Lottery, which, for the
present Year, is as follows:--
THE SCHEME.
No. of Prizes. Value of each. Total Value.
2 of £20,000 is £40,000
3 ” 10,000 ” 30,000
5 ” 5,000 ” 25,000
10 ” 2,000 ” 20,000
15 ” 1,000 ” 15,000
30 ” 500 ” 15,000
100 ” 100 ” 10,000
250 ” 50 ” 12,500
16,275 ” 20 ” 325,500
------ -------
16,690 Prizes 493,000
First drawn for first }
Six Days £1000 } 6,000
each }
Last drawn 1,000
For use of Government }
and Expense } 150,000
of Drawing }
33,310 Blanks
------ -------
50,000 Tickets at £13 £650,000
“To this Scheme may be added, that 10 _per cent._ will be deducted from
the Prizes, so that for--
a £20,000 Government will pay only £18,000
10,000 ” ” 9,000
5,000 ” ” 4,500
2,000 ” ” 1,800
1,000 ” ” 900
500 ” ” 450
100 ” ” 90
50 ” ” 45
20 ” ” 18
“I have thus reduced the Prizes to their proper Value, as some
Adventurers may expect to receive them as they were paid in the last
Lottery, and cavil with the Officers about it.
* * * * *
“But to return to the Books which contain the Prizes and Blanks of the
Lottery, on which we are to observe that the Tickets of the outside
Column of these Books are cut out, and put into a Box marked B, and
that inclosed in another strong Box, in the same manner as the Box
A before mentioned, which contained the Numbers. This Part of the
Business is generally done at _Whitehall_, in _Westminster_, but a
Day or two before the Drawing. These Boxes, as they are called, are
carried from thence to _Guildhall_ in the City, where, on the Day
appointed in the Act, the Drawing begins, which is performed nearly in
the following Manner.
“But, in order to convey to the distant Reader, a clear Idea of the
Performance, it will be necessary to give a Description of the Lottery
Wheels, which, in Conformity to the Words of the Act, I have, hitherto,
been obliged to call Boxes. These are two Wheels, about Six Feet in
Diameter, and twelve or eighteen Inches thick, so that the Sides, being
thin, reserve a sufficient Cavity for containing the Tickets; they have
also convenient Openings in the Sides for putting in the Hand to draw
them, and are suspended on their Centers in a Manner very Convenient
for shaking, or mixing them. These, at the end of every Day’s Drawing,
are inclosed by two large Cases, which open in the Middle, each Part
sliding back towards the Circumference of the Wheel: These are what are
called in the Act, strong Boxes, though no more like a Box than a Ship.
But it is probable that, in the first Lotteries, Boxes were used, that
these Wheels and Cases are an Improvement on them, and that the present
Dissimilarity between the Theory and Practice of Lottery Drawing arises
from copying antiquated Acts of Parliament, as the old Schemes have
been lately transcribed in the Offices.
“Having given a Description of the Wheels, in which the Tickets are
deposited, we now proceed to the Manner of the Drawing.
“The Wheels, being placed at a convenient distance from one another, on
the Hustings, and seats prepared between them, previous to the Drawing,
for the Managers and Clerks, they are seated in their respective
Places. A Boy (generally taken from _Christ_ Church Hospital in
_London_) is stationed at each Wheel to draw the Tickets, and a Clerk
stands between each of them and the Managers, to receive and proclaim
the Numbers drawn; one Boy drawing a Ticket from the Wheel containing
the Numbers, and the other, the same Instant, one from that of the
Prizes and Blanks, and whatever Ticket of the latter, whether a Prize
or a Blank, comes up against the Ticket which contains the Number,
is filed with it, (but on two separate Files, the Blanks on one, and
the Prizes on another,) and recorded by the other Clerks, as the Fate
of that Number, in Books prepared for that Purpose, the Managers, in
the mean Time, receiving the Tickets from the Proclaimers, to see if
they had been rightly proclaimed, and to file them. Thus the Drawing
is continued, from Nine in the Morning till Two in the Afternoon,
(_Sunday_, _Christmas_, Fast and Thanksgiving Days excepted,) till
all the Prizes are drawn, and one of the Blanks, which Blank is to be
considered as last drawn Ticket, and entitled as such to the Prize in
the Scheme.
“As soon as the Drawing is finished, the Managers are, according to
the Act, to Cause all the fortunate Numbers, with their Prizes, to be
locked up in a Strong Box, and kept in their Custody till they shall
take them out, and settle and adjust the Property of them. The Managers
are also enjoin’d by the Act to print, as soon as possible, after the
Drawing is over, a List of all the Numbers of the fortunate Tickets,
with the Prizes drawn against them; and, if any Dispute arises about
the Property of a Prize, to determine to whom it is to belong: This
List is contained in a Book which is published a few weeks after the
Drawing is ended, by Mr. _Lee_, under the _Royal Exchange_, and is sold
for 5_s._ But, besides this, there is a half Sheet published every
Evening, during the Drawing, under the Authority of the Managers,
though not required by the Act, containing a List of the Prizes, which
is of great Service to the Brokers and Lottery Offices, and the Public
in general, and would be more so, did not an Error sometimes, though
but seldom, creep into it.
“Having related the Manner of the Drawing, we are next to take a View
of the Business of the Offices in consequence thereof, to see with what
Degree of Precision that Business is conducted, and in what Manner its
mis-management may affect the Adventurer.
“And first, whilst the Managers and their Assistants are performing
the Drawing, as before described, the Offices have Clerks to attend
it, who, having Seats prepared for them, as near as possible to the
Hustings, or Place of Drawing, sit and write down the Numbers as they
are proclaimed on the Hustings, with the Prizes of those that are
fortunate, on Sheets of Paper adapted to that Purpose by Columns or
Squares; these Sheets, called at the Offices 'Slips,’ are sent from the
Drawing to the Office, every Hour, by some Officer, (by others, who are
nearer, every half Hour,) in Order that the Clerks at these Offices,
who receive the Sheets, and post them into a Book ruled and numbered
on Purpose, may keep pace as near as possible, with the Drawing, and
that the Book may be ready to examine the Adventurer’s Numbers, as soon
after the Drawing, as possible, which is done _gratis_ if bought at
that Office, and for 1_d._ each if bought at any other.
“In this Book, which is called the Numerical Book, are also noted all
the Numbers which have been registered at that Office. Registering, as
it is generally performed, being nothing more than entering the Numbers
and Address of an Adventurer, in order to send him Intelligence as soon
as his Number is drawn, whether Prize or Blank. Now, as the Clerk at
the Office is posting the Slips, or Numbers received from the Drawing,
into the Numerical Book, when he comes to post a Number thus noted, he
makes, or ought to make, a Memorandum of it on a Paper, or Book, which
he must have by him while posting; the latter is best, as it will be
found exceedingly useful to keep these Memorandums during the whole
Drawing, thereby to correct Mistakes, and from these Memorandums he
fills up his Letters of Intelligence, and sends them to the Adventurers.
“His next Business with the Numerical Book, is to compare and check the
Prizes drawn that Day on his Book, with the printed half Sheet before
mentioned, commonly called the Commissioners’, or Prize List; whilst
this Business is in Hand, the Clerks are frequently interrupted by
Adventurers in Examining their Numbers.
* * * * *
“It may not, however, be improper to observe, that whatever Information
the Adventurer may have had of his Numbers before, it will be necessary
for him to make his final Enquiry at one of the Offices, about a
Month after the Drawing is ended, about which Time the Commissioners’
Numerical List of Prizes is published, and to see that his Number be
examined by that, as well as the Office Book; for, by using both Books,
if the eye of the Examiner should fall on the wrong number in one Book,
which is sometimes the Case, the Error may be corrected by the other.
If the Adventurer resides in _London_, he will probably see in the
Papers an Advertisement from _Whitehall_, where Numbers are examined
at 6_d._ each; but, by the above Method he may have equal Certainty
at an Office for 1_d._, the above mention’d Numerical List being an
exact Copy of the _Whitehall_ Manuscript, and the Office, where the
Number was not bought, can have no Interest in deceiving, but he may
also examine at two Offices for 2_d._, and then the certainty will be
greater, as _Whitehall_ is not possessed of Infallibility.
* * * * *
“For Shares, the Offices have hitherto paid the full Money, since
it has been so paid by the Government, to those who would wait till
_March_, or _April_, the Time of Payment at the Bank; but from those
Shares they paid before that Time, they deducted 5 _per Cent._ In this
Lottery, 10 _per Cent._ will be deducted by Government, consequently
the same Sum must be deducted by the Offices, and, if paid as soon as
Drawn, 5 _per Cent._ more; whence a £20 Prize in the present Lottery,
will be paid in the following Manner:--
To those who receive their Money To those who wait
before paid by the Government. till Government
pays.
£ _s._ _d._ £ _s._ _d._
A Half 8 11 0 9 0 0
A Quarter 4 5 6 4 10 0
An Eighth 2 2 9 2 5 0
A Sixteenth 1 1 4½ 1 2 6
A Thirty Second 0 10 8¼ 0 11 3
A Sixty Fourth 0 5 4 0 5 7½
“At least, this is what they come to.”
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XXIV.
The lottery wheels--Anecdotes connected with the
lottery--The Glasgow lotteries--Advertising
foreign lotteries--“Art Union” Act--Dethier’s
“Twelfth Cake Lottery”--Tontines--Raffling--Pious
lotteries--Sweet-stuff lotteries for children--
Hamburg lotteries
The place where the tickets were manipulated by the managers was
afterwards changed from Whitehall to Somerset House, and the
accompanying illustration shows the manner of conveying the lottery
wheels from Somerset House (or Place, as it was then called) to
Cooper’s Hall, in 1808. There were four sledges employed, two carrying
the wheels containing the tickets, and the other two the cases for the
wheels. They were escorted by a detachment of Life Guards, dismounted,
who had to do police duty, there being no police, as we know them, in
those days.
Here, too, may be found room for two or three anecdotes _re_ the
lottery, which have no appointed place.
[Illustration]
“Dr. B____, a physician at _Lime_ (Dorset), a few days since, being
under pecuniary embarrassment, and his house surrounded by bailiffs,
made his escape by a window into a neighbour’s house, from whence
he fled to London. The furniture was seized, and the sale actually
commenced, when it was stopped by a letter, stating that the doctor,
on his arrival in London, found himself the proprietor of the £20,000
prize. We guarantee the truth of this fact” (_Times_, December 27,
1797).
“The £20,000 prize, drawn on Friday, is divided amongst a number
of poor persons: a female servant in Brook Street, Holborn, had a
sixteenth; a woman who keeps a fruit-stall in Gray’s Inn Lane, another;
a third is possessed by a servant of the Duke of Roxburghe’s; a fourth
by a Chelsea carrier of vegetables to Covent Garden; one-eighth belongs
to a poor family in Rutlandshire; and the remainder is similarly
divided” (_Times_, March 19, 1798).
“MANSION HOUSE. A lady named _Free_, who had come up from the country
to try her fortune in the lottery, came to complain to the Lord Mayor
that she had been deprived of her property, the sixteenth share of a
£30,000 prize, by the misconduct of those engaged in conducting the
drawing. She stated that she chose the ticket No. 17,092.
“THE LORD MAYOR.--You had some particular reason, then, for selecting
that number?
“The complainant replied it was true, she had: she wished to have a
ticket with the number of the year in which she was born; and, finding
she could not get that precise number, she took one of 17,000, instead
of 1700, as the most fortunate approach. So, indeed, it turned out to
be, for she was sitting in the hall when the lottery was drawn, and
heard her number distinctly cried out as one of the £30,000 prizes;
and, with her own eyes, she distinctly saw the officer stamp it.
Nevertheless, another ticket had been returned as the prize.
“The LORD MAYOR doubted, from the manner in which the tickets were well
known to be drawn, whether the complainant’s anxiety had not made her
mistake a similar number for her own.
“The complainant.--Oh no! my lord, it is impossible I can be mistaken,
though other people say that I am. I shall not give up my claim on the
word of lottery-office clerks. If there’s any mistake, it is on their
part; I trust to my own senses.
“The LORD MAYOR observed that there was scarcely any trusting even to
the senses on such occasions, and asked her whether she did not almost
feel the money in her pockets at the same time she fancied she heard
her number announced.
“The complainant assured his lordship that she heard the announcement
as calmly as could be expected, and that she by no means fainted away.
She certainly made sure of having the property; she sat in the hall,
and went out when the other expectants came away.
“Mr. Cope, the marshal, who stated that he was in attendance officially
at the drawing, to keep the peace, declared that he heard all the
fortunate numbers announced, and he was sorry to be compelled to state
his conviction that this, belonging to the lady, was not one of them.
“The LORD MAYOR said he was afraid the complainant had deceived
herself. He dismissed the application, recommending her to go to the
Stamp Office, and apply to the Commissioners, who would do anything,
except pay the money, to satisfy her” (_Times_, November 3, 1826).
Although lotteries were declared illegal after that of 1826, the good
people of Glasgow did not think that it applied to them when municipal
improvements were in question, and went into them gaily, until stopped
by an Act in 1834 (4 and 5 Geo. IV. c. 37), passed July 25, 1834, the
preamble of which states the case thus: “WHEREAS an Act passed in the
First and Second Years of the Reign of His Present Majesty, intituled
_An Act to amend certain Acts passed in the Reign of his late Majesty,
King George the Fourth, for opening a Street from the Cross of_
Glasgow _to_ Monteith Row: And, whereas Lotteries have been drawn, and
advertised to be drawn, under colour of the said Act, called _Glasgow_
Lotteries; And, whereas it is expedient to prohibit the drawing of any
further, or other Lottery, after the Lottery announced and advertised
to be drawn as a Third and final _Glasgow_ Lottery in _July_ in this
year,” etc.--it was enacted that any further addition to the lottery
advertised to be drawn in July in that year, or any further continuance
of such lotteries, was illegal.
On August 13, 1836, was passed an Act (6 and 7 Geo. IV. c. 67) which
had been found necessary, “to prevent the advertising of Foreign and
other illegal lotteries,” and the penalty for advertising them was full
costs of suit and a fine of £50, one-half of which was to go to the
informer.
The laws respecting lotteries then slumbered until September 5, 1844,
when was passed an Act (7 and 8 Vict. c. 109) “to indemnify Persons
connected with Art Unions, and others, against certain Penalties.”
Certainly, the _Art Union of London_ and similar institutions were
clearly lotteries, but as they were for a good purpose, and not
for money-making, this short Act was passed whereby art unions and
the members thereof, and other persons, were discharged from all
suits, etc., to which they might be liable, touching the purchase
or distribution of works of art by chance, previous to the periods
mentioned in the Act.
The guardians of the law did not go to sleep, as we see by the
following lottery for Twelfth Cakes, when, on December 26, 1860, Louis
Dethier, a Frenchman, appeared before Mr. Henry, at Bow Street, to
answer a summons under the Act (42 Geo. III. c. 119) for keeping an
office at the Hanover Square Rooms for the purpose of carrying on a
lottery, “under the name, device, and pretence of a distribution of
Twelfth Cakes.”
A police inspector deposed that he went to the Hanover Square Rooms
on November 6, and saw the defendant there, with another person and
four clerks, who were engaged in selling tickets for the proposed
distribution of Twelfth Cakes. On the walls were bills and placards
similar to one produced, which was as follows:--
“Dethier’s Second Extraordinary Distribution of Twelfth Cakes.--£10,000
worth of Twelfth Cakes will be drawn for on 10 successive days, £1000
each day, commencing Wednesday, December 26, 1860 (Sunday excepted).
20,000 tickets now on sale for each day’s draw, at 1_s._ each, can be
obtained at the chief office, Hanover Square Rooms, open from 9 a.m.
to 7 p.m. The following is a list of prizes for each day’s draw:--1
at £25; 50 at £5; 100 at £2; 250 at £l; 300 at 10_s._; 500 at 5_s._;
total, 1201 prizes, amounting to £1000 for each day. All prizes to be
delivered on the following morning after each day’s draw, from 9 to
12 a.m. The successful numbers will be advertised each day in the
morning papers. L. Dethier, son of the late proprietor of the Great
Northern Hotel, King’s Cross, and late Cook to the Emperor of Russia,
begs to return thanks for the kind patronage he received at the last
distribution, during the Exhibition of 1851, which gave such general
satisfaction (see the public press of that period), and trusts the
nobility and gentry will render him the same patronage as upon that
occasion. L. D. having just arrived from the Continent, where he has
purchased a large quantity of goods, of the best quality, and the
most _recherché_ description, for beautifying this splendid and most
magnificent display of Twelfth Cakes, feels assured that this will meet
with general approbation. The Hanover Square Rooms will be open (free)
for inspection from Wednesday, December 19, 1860, to January 6, 1861.
Tickets sent to any part of the United Kingdom on receipt of 13 postage
stamps. Post Office Orders made payable to L. Dethier, Old Cavendish
Street, W.”
The case against Dethier was clearly proved; but it was ultimately
agreed that the lottery should be stopped at once, and that, in the
event of this condition being fulfilled, the prosecution should be
allowed to drop.
But the lottery, as already described, was not its only form--take the
“Tontine,” for instance. This was a scheme by which an annuity, after
a certain rate of interest, is granted to a number of people, divided
into classes, according to their respective ages; so that the whole
annual fund of each class is regularly divided among the survivors of
that class, until at last it falls to one, and, upon the extinction
of that life, reverts to the power by which the Tontine was erected.
It has a singular name, which is derived from its projector, Lorenzo
Tonti, a Neapolitan, who first proposed his scheme in 1653, but did not
then succeed in launching it.
This form of lottery is now, I believe, illegal in England, as is also
“raffling,” which is dependent on the casting of three dice. It is very
old, as Chaucer uses the word “rafles,” and as a gambling transaction.
Dryden thus speaks of it (_The Mock Astrologer_, act iii.)--
“_Wild._ What is the ladies’ game, Sir?
“_Lop._ Most commonly they use rafle. That is, to throw in with three
dice, till duplets and a chance be thrown; and the highest duplet wins,
except you throw in and in, which is called _raffle_; and that wins
all.”
There is no manner of doubt as to the illegality of raffling, yet it is
most prevalent; and at the seaside the evening used not to be complete
without a raffle at the Assembly Rooms, or Library, where also you
could, for a consideration, have a dip in the “Wheel of Fortune,” which
was a lottery pure and simple, as is also every sweepstake, a form of
gambling which is most unblushingly and openly indulged in, and which
sometimes, as in the case of the Bycullah Sweep, assumes enormous
proportions. Nay, piety itself does not disdain the lottery when funds
are needed for any purpose. No one sees any harm in a sawdust tub at a
bazaar, who would shudder at taking a lottery ticket; and I have heard
of such a thing as a pious raffle, on the strict quiet, of the unsold
things from a bazaar, or fancy fair, got up for the benefit of some
religious purpose.
In Ireland they go still further, and I suppose there are few of us
who have not been pestered to take tickets in the religious lotteries
which are freely drawn in the “distressful counthry.” There is a
great sameness in all the Irish schemes, and it is useful to note the
lowness of the price of the ticket, which brings it within the reach
of all, and the bait held out to persons to tout for and sell them. “A
complimentary Ticket is presented with each book of Twenty Tickets;
and, IN ADDITION, each person purchasing, or selling Two Books (Forty
Tickets), will be presented with a Free Ticket for the Special 'ALL
PRIZE’ DRAWING.”--“Every Holder of an 'All Prize’ Ticket is certain to
win a Prize.”
In my estimation, these pious lotteries are on a par with, even if
they are not worse than, the prize-packets of sweets, a lottery which
deludes the very babes; and, though always unfair, gives them a zest
for gambling which they might not otherwise obtain. Of these swindles,
perhaps the following is the last “up to date”:--
“NORTH LONDON POLICE COURT.--Egidio Fabrizi, an Italian confectioner
of Balls Pond-road, Islington, was summoned for keeping premises for
the purposes of a lottery not authorized by Act of Parliament. The
evidence of the police was that the Defendant sold certain sweet-stuff
'turnovers,’ some of which contained money; and, at the time of the
visit of Police-sergeant 35 J, there were fourteen or fifteen lads in
the shops, buying the sweets, in the hope--as admitted--that they
might get a prize. The 'turnovers’ were a halfpenny each, and one
lad, who purchased two, got a penny in one, and nothing in the other.
A boy named James Dewis, who made the purchase, said he and others
frequently bought the sweets, in the hope of getting prizes.--By Mr.
Lushington (Magistrate): There was not a halfpenny-worth of sweet-stuff
in the turnovers--the real value was about four for a halfpenny; but
the value was made up when they got pence.--The Defendant (to whom
the evidence was interpreted) said he was not aware he was acting
illegally. He bought the turnovers from Barrett’s, and they told him
how to sell them. Other shopkeepers in the same neighbourhood sold the
same sort of sweets.--Mr. Lushington convicted the Defendant as a rogue
and a vagabond, and ordered him to pay a fine of twenty shillings, or
fourteen days in default” (_Standard_, April 24, 1893).
But, as if we had not enough of our own sins to answer for, the
foreigner must needs try to dip his hand in the rich “Englander’s”
pocket, and see if some of John Bull’s fabled wealth cannot be made
subservient to him. All sorts of baits have been tried to allure him;
sometimes it would be an ancient castle, or schloss, that was dangled
before his eyes; sometimes it would be like a swindle I have before me,
referring to German Municipal loans.
First of all comes, by post, the scheme of the lottery.
Some silly mortal swallows the bait, send 18_s._, and receives in
return a letter of regret, and a ticket for a lottery in which the man
was never asked to join--leaving a balance in hand of 10_s._, which,
one might safely swear, would never be forthcoming if applied for.
To such proportions did this swindle grow, that the Post Office
authorities had to step in and protect those silly sheep, who were
offering their fleeces to the shearer, by refusing to cash the money
orders; and it must have been effective, as I have not heard of any
foreign lotteries lately.
CHAPTER XXV.
The “Missing Word Competition”: its rise and fall.
Lotteries being universally known to be illegal in England and
Scotland, no attempt has been made to revive them in their old form,
since their illegality has been definitely pronounced; but very many
ways of evasion of the law have been practised, sometimes with much
temporary success. Sometimes they developed into downright swindles,
and then they cured themselves; and this has been the fate of most of
the so-called “competitions.” But the greatest of these modern-times
lotteries, and one which permeated the land throughout its length and
breadth, was the “Missing Word Competition” which was so rife in 1892.
It was eagerly taken up by several weekly periodicals, but,
undoubtedly, the favourite competition was in _Pearson’s Weekly_. For
some time the public did not “catch on” to the scheme, and for the
first nine months their interest in it was comparatively languid,
the sum subscribed by the one shilling entrance fees only averaging
about £500 weekly; but, during the next three months (fifty-three
competitions being issued in all), the competition waxed fierce, and
when it was stopped, the proprietor of the magazine was in receipt,
for the competition in the number for December 10, 1892, of nearly
£24,000, which represented nearly half a million entries. No one doubts
but that these amounts were fairly divided amongst the winners, the
proprietor of the paper recouping himself by the enormously increased
circulation of his periodical. In the case of _Pearson’s Weekly_, its
normal circulation was about 350,000 a week; at the end of 1892 it
stood at 1,050,000 copies. Nor was this all. The correct solution of
the puzzle was not at once inserted in _Pearson’s Weekly_. Oh dear, no!
if you were impatient to know your fate, you had to buy next Thursday’s
_Society News_, which thus got a fictitious circulation, to the great
benefit of the conjoint proprietor’s pocket. And it became of such
importance, that as much as £350 a week was paid in salaries to persons
employed in dealing in various ways with the selections sent in.
It was, for a time, a veritable _furore_, which seized in its grip all
sorts and conditions of folk, the old as well as the young, and formed
such a topic of conversation as to be absolutely sickening. The _modus
operandi_ is best described by the paper itself. Let us take an extract
from _Pearson’s Weekly_ of December 10, 1892, the competition therein
contained being the one over which there was much litigation.
“The correct word in this competition will be found in the number of
_Society News_, which is on sale at all newsagents first thing on the
morning of Thursday, December 15. Full particulars will appear, as
usual, in _Pearson’s Weekly_ of the following Saturday.
“MISSING WORD COMPETITION. NO. 53.
“On the third column of page 331 is a paragraph about an experiment
with camphor. The last word is omitted. Readers who wish to enter this
competition must cut out the coupon below, fill in this word, together
with their names and addresses, and send it with a postal order for one
shilling, to reach us, at latest, by first post on Monday, December 12,
the envelope marked 'Word.’
“The correct word is in the hands of Mr. H. S. Linley, chartered
accountant, 124, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., enclosed in an envelope,
sealed with our seal. His statement with regard to it will appear with
the result of the competition in the issue for the week after next. The
whole of the money received in entrance fees will be divided amongst
those competitors who fill in the word correctly. It is hoped that
competitions will be posted to Temple Chambers, London, E.C., as early
in the week as possible. Members of the same family may compete, if
they like, and any one may send as many attempts as he or she chooses,
provided that each is accompanied by a separate coupon and a sufficient
remittance. All postal orders must be made payable to _Pearson’s
Weekly_. Coupons also appear in _Society News_ and the _Companion_,
which entitle purchasers to enter for _Pearson’s Weekly_ Missing Word
Competition, on payment of the usual shilling.”
In the place indicated (third column of p. 301) we find the
following paragraph, at the end of which the “missing word” has to
be interpolated: “Here is a little experiment which is well worth
showing to your friends. Procure a bit of ordinary camphor, and from
it break off tiny pieces. Drop these upon the surface of some pure
water, contained in any kind of vessel, and they will immediately
begin to rotate and move about, sometimes continuing to do this for
several hours. The water must be quite clean; for if a drop of oil,
or any grease, is in it, the experiment will not work. But, provided
that nothing of this sort gets in, the little pieces of camphor will
twirl about in a manner that is extremely ----.” No fewer than 472,574
coupons were sent in for this competition, accompanied by remittances
to the value of £23,628 14_s._
No very large sums were made at these competitions (except on one
occasion). Sometimes the successful competitor did not realize much
more than a sovereign; at other times, judging from the experience
of one gentleman, they might get £8 9_s._ 3_d._, as in the “awkward”
competition, or £13 4_s._ 6_d._, as in the following, when the missing
word was “evolved”:--
“Most of our readers will have noticed the fortune-telling automatic
machine in the railway stations and at street corners, and will
remember that the face of it is covered with various coloured
triangles. It is, in short, a handy roulette table, and certain people
have taken to dropping a penny in the slot, and betting upon what
coloured triangle the finger of the gipsy girl will rest. It would seem
as though a new form of gambling had been ----.”
Although the sums won were not large, in comparison with the lotteries
of old, yet the price of the ticket--one shilling only--was not
ruinous, and, as there were no limits to the number of coupons, any one
might send as many as he or she pleased, and if you plunged a bit, and
were lucky, the prize represented a sum well worth having. This was the
plan adopted by one person (Mr. Andrew Tuer), who won the largest sum
on record; but it must be confessed that, previous to this stroke of
luck, he was from £150 to £200 “to the bad.”
The competition was in _Pearson’s Weekly_ for December 3, 1892, and
finished up with a paragraph which dealt with the capacity of a
brick for absorbing water, and engendering consequences which, if
undetected, might be ----. The correct missing word was “awkward,” on
which the record-breaker had plunged seventy-five times, and as each
correct answer was entitled to a prize of £8 9_s._ 3_d._, he netted
a total of £634 13_s._ 9_d._--not altogether an unmixed blessing, as
he states in a letter to the _Star_ of December 21, 1892. “As soon as
my success became known, letters poured in from everywhere--letters
of abuse, letters from persons wanting to beg and borrow, and foolish
letters--all from women these--asking me for the 'tip’ for next week.”
While these competitions were in their infancy, no one heeded them
much; but when they spread as a great social cancer--when every one
was getting tainted with the fever of speculation, and the principal
streets of London were literally strewn with _Pearson’s Weekly_, not
bought to read, but to tear out the coupon page and then throw the
rest away--it was felt necessary that something should be done in the
matter. At first there was a little difficulty, arising not only in the
glorious uncertainty of the law on the matter, but from the fact that
most of the periodicals publishing these competitions were printed and
published within the precincts of the city of London, and the _patres
conscripti_ hesitated to commence litigation of which no man could
foresee the issue.
At last one was found outside the sacred pale, and its prosecution was
understood to be a test case; and on December 13, 1892, at Bow Street
Police Court, before Sir John Bridge, the chief magistrate, Mr. Henry
Reichardt, the proprietor, publisher, and editor of _Pick-Me-Up_,
and Messrs. Wertheimer and Lea, the printers, appeared to answer six
summonses for alleged infringements of the Lottery Acts. The summonses
were: (_a_) for publishing in a certain paper called _Pick-Me-Up_ a
scheme for the sale of chances and shares in a lottery known as “The
Missing Word Competition,” contrary to the statute 4 Geo. IV. c. 60,
sec. 41; (_b_) for selling certain chances in a lottery known as the
“_Pick-Me-Up_ Missing Word Competition,” contrary to the same Act;
(_c_) for publishing in the said paper a scheme for certain chances
in a lottery known as “The Weekly Art Competition,” contrary to the
same Act; (_d_) for the sale of certain chances in such lottery; (_e_)
for keeping open at No. 11, Southampton Buildings, a lottery, namely,
drawing by certain lots and coupons in a lottery known as “The Missing
Word Competition” of the same paper, contrary to 42 Geo. III. c. 119,
sec. 2; and (_f_) for suffering to be played and drawn, by means
of coupons, a lottery called “The Weekly Art Competition,” contrary
to the same statute. In this latter competition it was requisite to
send in lists of what the competitors thought were the best pictures
in a particular issue of the paper in question, with, of course, the
inevitable shilling.
The proceedings were taken at the instance of the public prosecutor.
The offence was proved, and the defence was that these competitions
were no lotteries. The magistrate, however, thought differently, and,
in giving his decision, said that if the scheme was one of risking
money, or gaining it by chance, then, undoubtedly, it was a lottery. On
the other hand, if it was carried out by skill and judgment, it would
not be one. The question whether it was chance or judgment must depend
upon a proper construction of the facts of the case. With reference
to the missing word competition, a good deal was to be said for the
contention as to the question of chance or judgment depending on the
selection of a particular word, or only of a proper word, which latter
would require skill. The defendants did not pretend to say that they
called for the selection of the proper word, or the word which would
be suitable to complete the sentence. Therefore, on that ground, he
thought that this case, as regarded the missing word competition, came
within the scope of the Act. With regard to the “Art Competition” the
case appeared to be slightly different, as it might be said that the
competitors might have to exercise judgment in deciding whether they
were artistic or not; but, looking at the whole case, it seemed to him
that persons were induced to stake their money upon chance, and he
must therefore convict, but should only impose the nominal penalty of
a shilling fine upon each summons. An appeal against this decision was
talked of, but never acted on.
Now, then, dismay fell upon the other culprits. Mr. Pearson
discontinued his competitions, and the money he had in hand was
impounded, and paid into the Bank of England for safe custody. Then
arose a curious state of things. Of course Mr. Pearson could not claim
the money--he had no right to it--nor could it be paid to the winners,
because it had been decided to be illegal. No one could keep it,
because it was not theirs, nor could it be confiscated, or given, as
some suggested, to hospitals and charities. The only remedy seemed to
be for some of the prize-winners to enter suits in Chancery against
Mr. Pearson for the payment of what they considered their due; and this
was done in two instances, which were tried on February 8, 1893, in the
High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, before Mr. Justice Stirling,
who, at the end of a long and elaborate summing up, thus delivered
himself:--
“As regards the defendant Pearson, no imputation is, or can be, made
on his good faith and honesty. He appears to have carried through a
large number of competitions without any interference, and the abrupt
termination of the competition in question was brought about by the
criminal proceedings against another person, to which I have already
referred. He is in some difficulty, through having destroyed the
coupons of the unsuccessful competitors, but no claim is now made to
the fund by any person except those represented by the plaintiff, and
the defendant Hearn. Under these circumstances, it would seem the best
and simpler course that the fund should be returned to the defendant
Pearson, who will then be able to defend himself, by means of it,
against any legal claims, and to dispose of the surplus in such way
as he may deem himself, in honour, bound to apply it. If, however,
this course should not commend itself to him, I am willing, in this
particular case, and without establishing a precedent, that the fund
should remain in Court, whereby there will accrue a benefit, in the
first place, to the legal profession, and, ultimately, I hope, to the
public, in whose favour it may be fairly expected that there will
result, at some date more or less remote, an extinguishment of some
portion of the National Debt.”
The finale to this lottery took place on March 27, 1893, when the
case of “Matthews _v._ Pearson” came before Mr. Justice Stirling in
Chambers. It was ordered, by consent, that the sum of £3566 4_s._,
paid into Court in this action, being the amount contributed to the
missing word competition, No. 7, in _Pearson’s Society News_, should be
paid out to the defendant Pearson, on his undertaking to pay the costs
of all parties to the action, as between solicitor and client. It is
understood that Mr. Pearson will pursue the same course with reference
to this fund as in the previous cases, viz. will pay the prize-winners
the amount due to them, less a deduction for costs.
It is said that Mr. Pearson has honourably fulfilled his pledge to the
public.
And now to wind up with an anecdote.
It was where two roads bisected, and a matter-of-fact policeman was on
the kerb, keeping watch on the four ways.
Then there appeared upon the scene a “Salvation Army Man,” who, after
a little time, gathered an audience of two or three girls and boys.
To them he addressed the message of salvation, inviting the juveniles
to “come and be washed,” etc.; and, at the end of this exordium, he
blossomed forth emphatically, emphasizing each paragraph with one fist
in the other palm. “HE spake the WORD, and Peter spoke it” (_pause_).
“And Paul spoke it” (_pause_), “Have you read the WORD?” (_pause_). “Do
you know the WORD?” (_long pause_).
And then came the inevitable policeman who, ungently pushing the
preacher on the shoulder, said gruffly, “You get away, young man; you
know it ain’t right. We can’t have no 'Missin’ Word Competitions’ 'ere.
You know they’re illegal, so just stow it.”
[Illustration: NO LUCK!]
“Throw Physic to the Dogs” for me.
The best composing draught’s a Fee;
For sinking Chest, low pulse, or Cold,
There’s no Specific equals Gold.
INDEX.
A
Aarones, Joseph, 86
Abolition of Irish lotteries, 130
Adam’s Adelphi Lottery, 80
Adelphi Lottery, 80
Alterations in drawing tickets, 130
“Altogether!” 191
Anecdote by Theodore Hook, 311
Anecdotes of luck, 204, 205, 213, 214
Anecdotes of the lottery, 327
_Annual Register_, 87
Apophoreta gifts, 3
Armour lottery, 24
Armouth and the lottery of 1568, 23
Art Union Act, 331
Attempts to put down lotteries, 217, 221
B
Baddeley, Richard, 34, 42
Baker, Robert, and lottery gambling, 159
Baker’s evidence before the Commission, 301
Ballad of 1826, 274
Banks, Miss Sophia, 85
Bank of England, fraud on the, 97
Bartholomew, Christopher, and insurance, 306
Bennet, Secretary, 35
Bennett, Captain Edward, 34
Bish, T., 127, 145
---- on the last lottery, 283
Bish’s enigmatical handbill, 169
---- lottery alphabet, 162
---- poetic effusions, 152, 180, 182, 191, 214, 218, 222, 261
---- “Public Prizes,” 174
Blue-coat boys and the lottery, 79, 82
Book lottery, 44
Bowyer’s lottery, 139
Boydell lottery, 133
---- Shakespeare winner, 138
Branscomb, James, 127
Branscomb’s agencies, 129
Brighthemston and the lottery of 1568, 23
British Museum, formation of, 69
Business of the offices of the lottery, 321
C
Cale, Nathaniel, 35
“Caleb Quotem,” 236
“Captain Bobadil,” 237
Chances of winning, 67
Child, Francis, 45
City Lottery, 149
Clarke, John, 108
Corbett, Francis, 32, 33, 39
Counterfeiting lottery tickets, 86, 87
“Cowslip,” 231
Cox’s Museum lottery, 75
Crosland, Sir John, 34
Curious handbills, 218, 219
---- lotteries, 88
D
D’Aguilar, Baron, 131
_Daily News_, extract from, on lottery superstition, 213
De Duras, Marquis, 42
Death of the State lottery, 276
“Dennis Brulgruddery,” 198
Denny, Daniel, 87
Des Marces, Sir Anthony, 33, 34, 42
Dethier’s “Twelfth Cake Lottery,” 331
“Dialogue,” a, 245
Disposal of “Missing Word Competition” money, 350
Drawing of the lottery, description of, 312, 319
Drebbel, Cornelius, 29
Dupuy, Lawrence, 33, 34, 42
E
Earliest lottery ticket, 85
East Greenwiche and the lottery of 1568, 23
End of the lottery, 258
England, first lottery in, 5
----, number of lotteries in, 42
English slave-ransom lottery, 32
“Enigma,” an, 187
Epitaph suggested for Vansittart, 221
---- on the last lottery, 285
Evil of lotteries, 40
Extravagant prices for tickets, 74
Eyck’s lottery, 4
F
“Farmer Acres,” 226
Fielding’s song of the lottery, 1
Finochelli, Francisco, 33
First lottery in England, 5
Fishing vessels lottery, 31
Footman’s plan to spend expected prize, 311
Foreign lotteries, 331
“Fortune’s Ladder,” 165
“Fortune’s Train,” 218
G
Gage, George, 30
Gambling lottery, 33
_Gentleman’s Magazine_, 61, 66, 72, 103, 109
“Gently over the Stones,” 188
Glasgow lotteries, 330
“Gretna Green,” 214
Guinea lottery, 71
Gurney, Rev. W., and lottery gambling, 157
H
Hale, Pagen, 73
Hambleton, Colonel, 30
Handbills, 162, 180, 189
Harefield lottery, 25
Hastings and the lottery of 1568, 24
Hazard’s poetical handbills, 175
Historic lottery, 139
Holland’s wager, 67
Holophusikon, 104
Hone’s account of the last lottery, 267
Hook, Theodore, 311
Hornsby and Co., 119
I
Illegal insurance checked, 125, 130, 131
Insurance of lottery numbers, 296, 306
Insuring lottery tickets, 120
Irish Land Lottery, 31
---- lotteries abolished, 130
---- religious lotteries, 335
Islington miser, the, 131
J
“Jerry Sneak,” 262
“Jolly Dick,” 234
K
Killigrew, Thomas, 41
Knight, Sir John, 35, 36
L
“Lady Betty Modish,” 230
“Lady Mary Mousetrap,” 235
Last lottery, 265
---- ----, epitaph on, 285
“Last of the lotteries,” 280
Launston and the lottery of 1568, 23
Leheup’s fraud, 70
Lever, Sir Ashton, 103
Lever’s lottery, 106
“Little Goes,” 287
L’Ocha di Catalonia, 33
_London Magazine_, 66
London water supply lotteries, 29, 30
“London and the Lottery,” 182
Loseley House, lottery record in, 5
Loss to the public by lotteries, 301
Lots, early history of, 2
Lottery alphabet, 162
---- anecdotes, 327
---- drawing, description of, 319,
---- frauds, 79, 81
---- gambling, Parliamentary inquiry, 156
Lottery handbills--
A Prize for Poor Jack, by Jack Junk, 214
A Valentine, 173
Altogether, 191
An Enigma, 187
Bill of lottery in Queen Elizabeth’s reign, 5
Caleb Quotem, 236
Captain Bobadil, 237
Cook-maid, 279
Cowslip, 231
Cox’s Lottery, 77
Dennis Brulgruddery, 198
Farmer Acres, 226
Freeholds and Fortunes, 152
Fortune’s Ladder, 165
Fortune’s Train, 218
Gardener, 280
Gently over the Stones, 188
Green-grocer, 280
Gretna Green, 215
Jerry Sneak, 262
Jolly Dick, 234
Kitchen-maid, 279
Lady Betty Modish, 230
Lady Mary Mousetrap, 235
London and the Lottery, 182
Master and Man, 189
Miss Vixen Vinegar, 233
Mrs. Pry, 263
Mother Goose, 228
Queen Dollalolla, 232
Public prizes, 174
Sam Swig, 229
Shakespeare’s “Seven Ages,” 200
Sir Gaby Guttle, 227
Sir Simon Slenderwit, 264
Sir William Courteous, 261
Sweethearts and Gold, 176
The Doubt, 177
The Lottery Alphabet, 162
The Persian Ambassador, 184
The Philosopher’s Stone, 163
The Race of Fortune, 247
The Tradesman, 154
The Wish, 248
Three Royal Weddings, 222
Twenty Thousand, 180
Ways and Means, 219
Lottery numbers, insurance of, 296
---- office agencies, 129
---- ---- keepers, 293
---- ---- ---- licensed, 90
---- ---- ----, prosecution of, 114
---- record in Loseley House, 5
---- superstition, 213
---- ticket, the earliest, 85
---- ---- advertisement in _Post-Boy_, 210
---- tickets, 238
---- ----, counterfeiting, 86, 87
---- ----, insurance of, 120
----, the last, 265
---- wheels, description of, 312, 318
Lotteries, attempts to put down, 217, 221
Lotteries, curious, 88
----, derivation of, 3, 4
---- disconnected from loans, 91
----, discontinuance of, 258
----, earliest records of, 4
---- introduced into England, 5
----, loss by, 301
----, method of starting, 147
----, Parliamentary inquiry into, 156
----, suppression of, 50, 107
----, suspension of, 29
----, unauthorized, 108
Louth and the lottery of 1568, 23
Lucky lottery tickets, 205
Lyttleton’s resolutions in the House of Commons, 224
M
Maimed soldiers’ lottery, 32
Mainwaring, Everard, 29
Marcelli, Simon, 33
Margray, Mr., 112
Marriage portions by lottery, 56
“Master and Man,” 189
Military officers’ lottery, 45
“Miss Vixen Vinegar,” 233
Missing Word Competition, 339
Mitford’s (Miss) lottery ticket, 205
Morocco men, 298, 302
“Mother Goose,” 228
“Mrs. Pry,” 263
N
Noah, Samuel, 86
Norwich and lotteries, 40
O
Ogilby’s book lottery, 44
P
Parker, Michael, 29
Parkinson, James, 107
Parliamentary inquiry into lotteries, 156
_Pearson’s Weekly_ competitions, 339
Penalties on private lotteries, 59
Penny lottery, 48
“Percy Anecdotes,” 212
“Persian Ambassador,” 184
Peyto, Sir Edward, 30
“Philosopher’s Stone,” 163
Physician’s Fortune, 327
_Pick-Me-Up_ and Missing Word Competition, 346
Pickett, Alderman, 154
Pigot Diamond Lottery, 128
Pleydell, Captain William, 32
Pointz, Sir Robert, 30
Posies, 17, 19
Posie by Alice Crewe, London, 18
---- Dorothie Hawes, Cheapside, 19
---- Nicholas Martin, Exon, 18
---- Sibbel Cleyon, 19
---- Sir George Speake, Whitlackington, 19
---- Sir Thom. Woodhouse, Warham, 19
---- Thomas Chamberlayne, Horsted Teynes, 19
---- William Dorghtie de Westholme, 19
_Post-Boy_, advertisement in, for lottery ticket, 210
Pounteney, Mrs., 93, 101, 102
Praying for success in lotteries, 74
Price (or “Patch”), Charles, 91
Pricking Book Lottery, 41
Prince Rupert’s jewels lottery, 45
Prisoner’s complaint, 114
Prize, sharp practice over, 110
Prize-winners, 118
Prosecution of lottery-office keepers, 114
---- for insuring lottery tickets, 304, 305
“Public Prizes,” 174
Q
“Queen Dollalolla,” 232
R
Radcliffe and the Lottery of 1568, 23
Raffling, 334
Raine’s Charity, 55
Regulations for lottery drawing, 83
Religious lotteries, 335
Richardson, Goodluck, and Co., 118
Roche, Captain James, 33, 34
Roman lottery, 3
Royal Fishing Company, 41
---- Oak Lottery, 33
Rudge, Edward, 30
S
Sale of ticket twice over, 73
Salvation Army man and “Word Competition,” 351
“Sam Swig,” 229
Saunder, Henry, 29
----, Sir Nicholas, 29
Servants and the lottery, 298
Shakespeare lottery, 135
Shakespeare’s “Seven Ages,” 200
Sharpliffe and the Virginian lottery, 29
Shergold and Co., 110, 112
“Sir Gaby Guttle,” 227
“Sir Simon Slenderwit,” 264
“Sir William Courteous,” 261
Southfleete and the Lottery of 1568, 23
Spaniard’s luck, 204
_Spectator_ on lucky numbers, 208
State lotteries, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 59, 60, 66, 71, 72,
75, 89, 107, 110, 118, 120, 126, 145,
189, 197, 204, 238
----, method of, 89
Story of a footman, 310
Suicides caused by the lottery, 89, 109, 310
Suppression of lotteries, 50, 54, 60, 107
Suspension of lotteries, 29
“Sweethearts and Gold,” 176
Sweet-stuff lotteries, 336
Sydenham lottery, 52
T
Tassie, the winner of the Boydell Shakespeare, 138
Ticket sold twice over, 73
_Times_ on “Little Goes,” 287
“The Doubt,” 177
“The Race of Fortune,” 247
“The Wish,” 248
Theft of tickets, 75
Thornton’s Royal Botanical Lottery, 193
“Three Royal Weddings,” 222
Tomkins’s picture lottery, 252
Tontine lottery, 334
Topsham and the lottery of 1568, 23
Twelfth Cake Lottery, 331
“Twelfth Night Characters” handbills, 225
“Twenty Thousand,” 180
“Two Gold Finches,” 197
Tuer (Andrew) and the Missing Word Competition, 344
U
Unauthorized lotteries, 108
V
Valentine, a, 173
Vansittart’s suggested epitaph, 221
Virginia lottery, 28
W
“Ways and Means,” 219
Wells and the lottery of 1568, 22
“Wheel of Fortune,” 335
---- handbill, 48
Westminster Bridge lottery, 65
Williamson, Joseph, 35, 42
Winchester and the lottery of 1568, 22
Winners of prizes, 118
Y
Yermouth and the lottery of 1568, 22
[Illustration: £10,000 PRIZE!
“My dancing days are over!”]
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HISTORY OF ENGLISH LOTTERIES ***
Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will
be renamed.
Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United
States without permission and without paying copyright
royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™
concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may
do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
license, especially commercial redistribution.
START: FULL LICENSE
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at
www.gutenberg.org/license.
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your
possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person
or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this
agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™
electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the
Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual
works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting
free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™
works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily
comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when
you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no
representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
country other than the United States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear
prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work
on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the
phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed,
performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws
of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is
derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™
trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works
posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg™ License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format
other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official
version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website
(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain
Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the
full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
provided that:
• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has
agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation.”
• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™
License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™
works.
• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
receipt of the work.
• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than
are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
cannot be read by your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right
of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
without further opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO
OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in
accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or
additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any
Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™
Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
from people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future
generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.
The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website
and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread
public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state
visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be
freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of
volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
edition.
Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
facility: www.gutenberg.org.
This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
