Sufferings of Lieutenant George Spearing, in a Coal Pit. gr

day, when I completed my fortyfirst year; and I think it was the next day that fome of my acquaintance, having accidentally heard that I had gone the way I did, fent two or three porters out purpofely to fearch the pits for me. Thefe men went to the miller's house, and made enquiry for me; but, on account of the very great rain at the time, they never entered the wood, but cruelly returned to their employers, telling them they had fearched the pit, and that I was not to be found. Many people in my difmal fituation would, no doubt, have died with defpair; but, I thank God, I enjoyed a perfect ferenity of mind; fo much fo, that in the Tuesday afternoon, and when I had been fix nights in the pit, I very compofedly (by way of amufement) combed my wig on my knee, humming a tune, and thinking of Archer in the "Beaux Stratagem."

At length, the morning, Sept. 20, the happy morning for my deliverance, came: a day that, while my memory lafts, I will always celebrate with gratitude to Heaven! Through the bram. bles and bushes that covered the mouth of the pit, I could difcover the fun fhining bright, and my pretty warbler was chaunting his melodious ftrains, when my attention was roused by a confufed noife of human voices, which feemed to be approaching faft towards the pit; immediately I called out, and moft agreeably furprized feveral of my acquaintance, who were in fearch of me. Many of them are ftill living in Glafgow; and it is not long fince I had the very great fatisfaction of entertaining one of them at my apartments. They told me that they had not the most distant hope of finding

me alive; but wished to give my body a decent burial, fhould they

be fo fortunate as to find it. As foon as they heard my voice, they all ran towards the pit, and I could diftinguish a well-known voice exclaim, "Good God! he is ftill living!" Another of them, though a very honeft NorthBriton, betwixt his furprize and joy, could not help aking me, in the Hibernian fiyle, if I were ftill living? I told him, "I was, and hearty too;" and then gave them particular directions how to proceed in getting me out. Fortunately at that juncture a collier, from a working pit in the neighbourhood, was paffing along the road, and hearing an unufual noife in the wood, his curiofity prompted him to learn the occafion. By his affiftance, and a rope from the mill, I was foon fafely landed on terra firma. The miller's wife had very kindly brought fome milk warn from the cow; but, on my coming into the fresh air, I grew rather faint, and could not tafte it. Need I be afhamed to acknowledge, that the first dictates of my heart prompted me to fall on my knees, and ejaculate a filent thanksgiving to the God of my deliverance; fince, at this diftant time, I never think of it but the tears of grati tude starts from my eye.

Every morning while I was in the pit, I tied a knot in the corner of my handkerchief, fuppofing that, if I died there, and my body should be afterwards found, the number of knots would certify how many days I had lived. AImoft the first queftion my friends asked me was, how long I had been in the pit? Immediately I drew my handkerchief from my pocket, and bade them count the knots. They found feven, the exact number of nights I had M 2

been

92

Stewards of the Races for 1793.

my feet. I do not mean, by re

been there. We now hafted out of the wood. I could walk with-lating this circumftance, to re. out fupport; but that was not allowed, each perfon present striving to fhew me how much they were rejoiced that they had found me alive and fo well. They led me to the miller's houfe, where a great number of people were collected to fee me. A gentleman, who had a country-houfe juft by, very kindly, at my requeft, fent for a glafs of white-wine. I ordered a piece of bread to be toafted, which I foked in the wine and ate. I now defired the miller's wife to make me up a bed, fondly thinking that nothing more was wanting than a little refreshing fleep to terminate my misfortune. But, alas! I was ftill to undergo greater fufferings than I had yet endured. By the almoft continual rains, together with the cold damp arifing from the wet

flect on the faculty in general at Glasgow; for, I was afterwards attended by gentlemen who are an honour to the profeffion. The fame method was purfued for feveral days, without even giving me the bark till I mentioned it myself. This happily ftopt the progrefs of the mortification, which the doctors did not know had taken place till the miller's wife fhewed them a black spot, about as broad as a fhilling, at the bottom of my left heel. In a day or two more the whole skin, together with all the nails of my left foot, and three from my right foot came off like the fingers of a | glove.

(To be concluded in our next.)

ground on which I lay, and not To the Editors of the Sporting

being able to take the leaft exercife to keep up a proper cir

Magazine,

GENTLEMEN,

F you

think the following

Iculation of the blood, my legs worth inferting,
I

Some of my friends, obferving
this, propofed to fend to Glaf-
gow for medical advice. I at first
declined it, and happy had it
been for me if I had purfued my
own inclinations; but, unfor-
tunately for me, a phyfician and
furgeon were employed, both of
them ignorant of what ought to
have been done. Inftead of order.
ing my legs into cold water, or
rubbing them with a coarfe towel,
to bring on a gradual circulation,
they applied hot bricks and large
poultices to my feet. This, by
expanding my blood-veffels too
fuddenly, put me to much greater
torture than I ever endured in
my life, and not only prevented
me enjoying that refreshing fleep
I fo much wanted, but actually
produced a mortification in both

You'll oblige

Your's, &c.

C. W.

STEWARDS OF THE RACES' FOR
1793.

Abingdon, Lord Craven, W. T.
Darby, Efq.

Afcot Heath, Rt. Hon. Earl of
Sandwich.

Bath, H. H. Coxe, Ed. Andrews,
Efqrs.

Bedford, S. Whitbread, J. Har-
vey, junrs. Efqrs.
Blandford, R. E. D. Grosvenor,
Efq.
Boroughbridge, S. H. Goodricke,
Bart. Captain Norton.
Bridgnorth, Major Halliday, R.
Pigott, Efq.
Brighthelmftone, Sir C. T. Bun-
bury, Bart.

Burford,

Stewards of the Races for 1793.

Burford, Lord Sherborne, Ed- | Litchfield, Lord Grey, H. Wrot

Lewes, Lord Montague, J. C. | Stockton, G. F. Johnson, S. T.

94
Tewkesbury, Hon. F. Charteris,
P. Snell, Efq.
Wakefield, W. Sotheron, T. R.
Beaumont, Efqrs.
Winchefter, Sir W. Heathcote,
Bart.

Singular Horfe Race.-Sporting Contrafts.

Worcester, I. D. Halliday, Efq. Fork Spring Meeting, S. C. Turner, Bart. W. Sotheron, Efq. York Auguft Meeting, Col. Ratcliffe, William Bethell, W. Garforth, Efqrs.

To the EDITORS of the SPORTING
MAGAZINE,

GENTLEMEN,

A

LTHOUGH an account of

the following performance would certainly not have efcaped your vigilance, yet as I can give it you from better authority, than in all probability it might come to your hands, I have no doubt but you will infert it.

May 10, 1794,

Your's, &c.

R.

was performed two minutes and a
half fooner than the me propo-
fed. The horfe which, before,
this extraordinary exploit, was
never confidered of any great
confequence, is now rifen fo
much in the estimation of those
who know him, that Mr. D
has offered 3co guineas for him,
which has been refufed by his
owner. It may not be improper
to obferve, that Mr. H. rode
fifteen ftone and a half.

SPORTING CONTRASTS. (Continued from page 20.)

afford food for REFLECTION, O the contemplative let it to the indolent let it produce excitement to INDUSTRY, and to the changeling let it become a ftimulus to ftability to be authentically informed, that RUSTICUS, a well known character in the SPROTING WORLD, originally emerged from the obfcurity of an earthen potter's yard at Cove, in the county of HANTS, to difplay In confequence of a bet made his abilities in the more popular fome little time before, between character of POST-BOY (alias chaife two gentlemen well known on the driver) to TILBURY, who then turf (Mr. Hy, and J. D—d, kept the Red Lion, at BAGSHOT. Efq.) the former gentleman un- Here, though totally a ftranger dertook to ride his own horfe to the rudiments of the belles leteleven miles in 30 minutes, for tres, (unable either to write ar one hundred guineas, which was read), he became a proficient in decided in his favour on Monday the game of cribbage, and acquired May 5. At half paft five o'clock fome knowledge in the doctrine in the morning of that day, Mr. of chances. Having induftriously Hy arrived at the place ap-accumulated a fmall aggregate for pointed to start from, and foon after mounted his horfe with that coolnefs which generally marks thofe who are confident of fuccefs, and immediately proceeded | on the turnpike-road between HAMPTON and STAINES, with uncommon cafe both to the animal and himself. The wager

his embarkation, he bade adieu to the dreary journies dependent upon the whip, and commenced SPORTSMAN upon fuch an extenfive and fuccessful scale, as foon rendered him an object of no inferior eftimation.. A very few years afford. ed ample proof of his indefatigable zeal and unremittingperfeverance;

he

Sporting Contrafts.

he had feveral horfes conftantly in training, and they were as conftantly winners; his BETS were always made with judgment, and even envy has never prefumed to fuppofe they were ever paid or received but with the most un

Jullied punctuality. After continuing to attend for more than thirty years, all the fashionable meetings, and fuppofed to have accumulated from twenty to thirty thousand pounds, he has fecured a farm of very confiderable magnitude within, a day's ride of the metropolis; where he is frequently feen rather as a diftant obferver, than AN ACTOR in fcenes that afford us by their effects ample scope to admit

95

MY

ar

of this appearance wiped away by a proper explanation, he was induced to retract what in his fears was propofed, and became fpeedily initiated in the STERIES OF PHYSIC as PORTER to a DRUGGIST not a hundred miles from Tower Hill, where his knot and his yarn ftockings were the moft diftinguishing appendages to the dignity of his fituation. From hence after a couple of years attentive and faithful fervitude, he became transplanted to the more FERTILE and BRILLIANT scenes of the weft end of the town, where he officiated in the more duous and complicated department of affiftant, &c. here in the courfe of five years only, with a FRUGALITY hardly to be believed, he abfolutely faved fufficient to embark in an established shop, upon the death of the poffeffor, in which he has not only conIn direct conformity with the tinued his practice with a degree above versatile difpofition of FOR-of integrity and honour, for more TUNE, let it be known, and known than thirty years, but acquired unonly to be corroborated by the der the fanction and patronage of incontrovertible evidence of THE an approving public, a fufficiency WRITER, that there is now in the for the handfome fupport of age metropolis, one who fome years whenever his infirmities may comfince held the plough, and oc-pel, or his choice influence him cafionally ran after the hounds in to retire from the fatigues of a certain part of Gloucestershire, practice.

The ways of Heaven are dark and intricate,

Puzzled with mazes and perplexed in

errors,"

VICE VERSA. The great

the

but prompted by a JUSTICE'S WARRANT for poaching to leave the country, he made his private GEORGE MATTOCKS of mufical entry into London, and fafely de-memory, who fo long gave operatic pofited himself with the wag- laws to Covent Garden Theatre, goner at an inn upon SNOW HILL; and gratified his appetite with the from whence obferving twenty-moft expenfive luxuries of every four malefactors going to the place of execution at Tyburn, in fix carts, on the first morning after his arrival, he was preparing to return into the country with all the HORRORS of CONVICTION upon his mind, faying "if they hung twenty-four in a day, he was fure it would foon come to his turn;" but having the first hock

feafon; who was looked up to by the fafcinated females as theatric Adonis of the day, and occafionally ported his perfon in his SEDAN, (or rather Mrs. Mattocks's), lined with white fattin, is now more happily fet down in the neighbourhood of Liverpool, with feventy pounds a year from THE FUND; which, with an occafional