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 A
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; DECEMBER 23. 1634

t. from Lost

1
1
Caraboo .
The particulars connected with these
recitals , and her general conduct , were
romantic in the extreme . At the end of
twe months she disappeared ; and, to the cІ то F
astonishment of the persons whose sym I
D T
E R que
pathies shehad excited, the lady Caraboo,
à native of Javasu, in the east, was dis
covered to have been born at Witheridge
in Devonshire, where her father was a cob
bler ! A very full account of her singular
imposition is given in “ A Narrative,”
published by Mr. Gutch of Bristol, in
1817, from whence this sketch is taken .
After her remarkable adventures , she
found it convenient to leave this country.
A Bath correspondentwrites as follows:
To the Editor of the Every- Day Book.
In the year 1824, Caraboo having re- F THE PRINCESS “ CARABO0 ." - Such of
turned from America, took apartments in as are interested in the history of impostors
New Bond- street,where she made a pub- er that many years since a person who styled
lic exhibition of herself - admittance one Princess Caraboo " created a sensation in the
shilling each person ; but it does not ap fashionable circles of Bath and other places,
till it was discovered that the whole affair was
pear that any great number went to see everly sustained and acted out by a young and
her. 2. girl. On being deposed from the honours
which had been accorded to her, the “ Princess" accepted
the situation, retired into comparatively humble life, and
married . There was a kind of grim humour in the occupa
tion which she subsequently followed --that of an importer
of leeches ; but she conducted her operations with much
judgment and ability, and carried on her trade with credit
to herself and satisfaction to her customers. The quondam
nell died recently at Bristol, leaving a daughter,
be possessed of considerable
Parco 5

247
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MarryWiepro
ofAW beridge Devonshirea alias
CARABOO .

Drawn Engravedbby N. Brannchalie.

 Caraboo.
A

NARRATIVE
OF A

SINGULAR IMPOSITION,
PRACTISED UPON THE BENEVOLENCE OF A LADY

RESIDING IN THE VICINITY OF THE CITY OF BRISTOL,

By a young Woman
OF THE NAME OF

MARY WILLCOCKS, alias BAKER, alias BAKERSTENDHT, alias

CARABOO, PRINCESS OF JAVASU .

Illustrated with TWO PORTRAITS, engraved from Drawings by

E. BIRD, Esq. R.A. and Mr. BRANWHITE .

QUI VULT DECIPI DECIPIATUR,

PRINTED BY J. M. GUTCH, 15, SMALL STREET, BRISTOL ;

AND PUBLISHED BY BALDWIN, CRADOCK AND JOY, PATERNOSTER

ROW, LONDON.

Price 5s.

1817.
 The following Narrative, having been compiled in great
part from conversation , it has in many instances been printed
verbatim , as it was spoken or dictated by the party ; many
tautological, ungrammatical and vulgar expressions may there
före occur, for which the indulgence of the reader will no doubt
be granted .
J. M. G.

Steady
8261370 67

2009
 ON
n Thursday evening the 3rd of April 1817 ,
the Overseer of the Poor of the parish of Almondsbury,
in the county of Glocester, called at Knole Park, the
residence of Samuel Worrall, Esq . to inform that Gen
tleman and his Lady, that a young Female had entered
a cottage in the village, and had made signs, that it was
her wish to sleep under its roof ; but not speaking a
language, which its inhabitants or the Overseer under
stood, the officer thought it right to refer to Mr. Worrall ,
* a Magistrate for the county, for his advice ; knowing
also, that there was a man servant residing in Mr.
Worrall's family, who was conversant with several fo
reign languages, and who could probably comprehend
that in which the stranger spoke. The female was in
consequence ordered to be brought up to Knole Man
sion, but to which removal she shewed signs of strong
reluctance ; and when there, refused for some time to
enter its doors. After some entreaty, she was prevailed
upon to go in, and was presented to Mr. and Mrs.
Worrall , who, with their servant, were unable to under
stand the language in which she addressed them ; but
intimated to her by signs, that they wished to ascertain,
whether or not she had any papers in her possession ;
upon which she took from her pocket a few halfpence,
with a bad sixpence, and implied, that she had nothing
else. She had a small bundle on her arm containing a
very few necessaries, and a piece of soap pinned up in a
bit of linen . Her dress consisted of a black stuff gown,
with a muslin frill round the neck , a black cotton shawl
on her head, and a red and black shawl round her shoul
ders ; both loosely and tastefully put on , in imitation of
the Asiatic costume ; leather shoes and black worsted
stockings. The general impression from her person and
manners was attractive and prepossessing. Her head
 2

small ; her eyes and hair black ; forehead low ; nose

short ; complexion a brunette ; her cheeks faintly tinged
with red ; mouth rather wide ; white teeth ; lips large
and full, under lip a little projecting; and her chin small
and round. Her height about five feet two inches. Her
hands were clean, and apparently unaccustomed to la
bour. No ear-rings, but the marks of having worn them .
Her age appeared about twenty-five. After a short
consultation , Mr. and Mrs. W. deemed it most ad
visable to send her for the night to a public house in
the village ; and as Mrs. W. felt much interested by her
apparent distress, she ordered her own maid and foot
man to accompany her, it being late in the evening, and
to request that the landlady would let her sleep in a pri
vate room , and provide her with a good supper and
a comfortable bed ; and that Mrs. W. would call upon
her early the following morning. The young woman
seemed much fatigued, and walked with difficulty.
Upon being shewn into the parlour of the public house,
she was particularly struck with a print on the wall, re
presenting the Annana, and made those present under
stand , it was a fruit of her own country, the represent
ation of which afforded her much pleasure. Upon some
preparation being made for her supper, she expressed a
wish that she preferred tea ; and before she partook of
it, she covered her eyes with her hand , and appeared to
repeat a prayer, bowing her head at the conclusion.
Upon a second cup of tea being poured out, she refused
taking it, until the cup was thoroughly washed ; and
when she had drank it, she repeated the same form of
prayer with much seeming devotion. When shewn to
the room in which she was to sleep, she appeared reluct
ant to go to bed, and pointed to the floor ; but upon the
landlady's little girl getting into the bed, and making her
understand the comfort of it, she undressed , and after
kneeling, and appearing to say her prayers , she con
sented to lie on the bed. At seven the next morning
Mrs. W , walked down to the public house, and found
the stranger sitting by the fire, apparently very disconso
late, and as she thought with strong traces of sorrow
 3

and distress on her countenance, though she express

ed much joy at the sight of Mrs. W. and accepted
with visible marks of gratitude a change of linen ,
which Mrs. W. had brought for her . While her break
fast was preparing, the Clergyman of the parish, who
had heard of her arrival, came in, bringing with him se
veral books, thinking it probable she might recognize
some one of the countries described in the plates they
contained ; and upon looking them over, she gave the
spectators to understand, that she had some knowledge
of the prints which were descriptive of China ; but made
signs, that it was not a boat, but a ship which had
brought her to this country. Gaining very little infor
mation from this enquiry, Mrs. W. determined to take
her back with her to Knole, and keep her under her
roof, till something satisfactory transpired concerning
her ; and upon being invited, she followed Mrs. W.
again exhibiting symptoms of reluctance and appre
hension . Upon passing through the church-yard in
her way to Knole, she tried , if the church door was
open, and seemed much disappointed to find it fastened.
Upon her arrival at Kuole, she was led to the house
keeper's room, where the servants were at breakfast ;
and observing some cross-buns on the table (it being
Good Friday) she took one, and after looking earnestly
at it she cut off the cross, and placed it in her bosom .
Upon Mrs. W.'s return from church, she summoned
the young woman before her ; and fearful of imposition ,.
she attempted to interest the stranger by addressing her
in the following soothing and compassionate language ;
My good young woman, I very much fear that you
are imposing upon me, and that you understand and can
answer me in my own language; if so, and distress has
driven you to this expedient, make a friend of me ; I am
a female as yourself, and can feel for you, and will give
you money and clothes, and will put you on your jour
ney, without disclosing your conduct to any one ; but it
must be on condition that you speak the truth. If you
deceive me, I think it right to inform you, that Mr.
W, is a Magistrate, and has the power of sending you to
B 2
 4

prison , committing you to hard labour, and passing you

as a vagrant to your own parish.”—During this address,
the countenance of the stranger evinced an ignorance of
Mrs. W.'s intentions, at thesame time, making it ap
parent that she did not comprehend what Mrs. W.had
said to her ; and she immediately addressed Mrs. W. in
her unknown tongue.-Mrs. W. then attempted to ascer
tain her name, by writing her own upon paper, and
placing it before her, and pronouncing it several times,
and putting a pen in her hand , intimated her wish, that
she would write her name ; but this she declined, shak
ing her head, and crying CARABOO, CARABOO, pointing
to herself. Upon shewing her some of the rooms at
Knole, she appeared delighted at seeing some pieces of
furniture with Chinese figures, &c. upon them , making
signs that they belonged to her country, or that she had
been in the country from whence they came. At dinner
she declined all animal food, and took nothing to drink
but water, shewing much disgust at meat, beer, cyder,
&c. On the following day ( Saturday) it was thought
advisable to take her into Bristol to examine her before
the Mayor at the Council House ; where no discovery
could be made of her country or language, or whence
she came, or whither she was going.* She was there
fore in the regular mode of commitment of persons in
such situations, taken to Saint Peter's Hospital, the re
ceptacle for vagrants and the poor of the city of Bristol.
Here she remained till the following Monday, and it is
well authenticated , that during her continuance in this

* During her examination there was an observation of a magistrate

present, which impressed her very forcibly, and which probably first
induced her to persevere in acting the character she had assumed . The
magistrate declared, that her language and manners were such as he had
never before heard or seen .
It is not inappropriate to the developement of the imposture here
also to mention, that it appears on her first essay to have been her in
tentionto personate a French character. Before she had left the con
fines of the city, passing through Park Row, she encountered two or
three of the French lace -makers from Normandy, who have established
a manufactory in that part of the city. She watched their movements,
 5

house, she refused food of every description . On the

Monday Mrs. W. whose solicitude for the welfare of her
strange and singular guest had rather increased than
diminished , went to Bristol and visited her at the Hos
pital. Her friendless situation had in the interim become
public,and several gentlemen had called upon her, bring
ing with them foreigners oftheir acquaintance in the hope
of discovering who she was. One gentleman who bad
travelled much in the East, and was about to embark
immediately from Bristol to Malta, was trying to converse
with her, when Mrs. W. called at the Hospital. This
gentleman, some weeks after he left Bristol , addressed a
letter to Mrs. W. on the subject, and the impression
which this interview had made upon his mind was so
strong, and is by himself depicted in such lively colours,
that the insertion of his letter entire, in this place, wiil
best explain what passed on this occasion.
66
“ MADAM, Leith, 16th June 1817.

“ The peculiar case of the unknown female foreigner, who at

present is fortunate enough to enjoy the shelter and protection of your
hospitable roof, must naturally excite in the breast of every feeling crea
ture emotions of interest and of sympathy. These emotions I perhaps
feel in a double degree, frow having seen her when in distress. I never
can forget the circumstances of my first interview with ber, nor the
gratitude she so eloquently expressed on recognizing you, Madam, in
the Hospital at Bristol.
“ Probably, Madam , you may have no recollection of me, and were
it not that I have been an eye-witness of your goodness, I should hesi
tate muchto
subject. Youuse the liberty
must, which
however, I now
be so kind do
asin addressing
pardon me foryoumyonintru
this
sion, and believe that I should not have troubled you, had I not felt ex
tremely interested in the fate of your protegée .

and perceived that every body stared at them . This was food enough for
the impostor's inventive genius. She fixed her eyes on the Frenchgirls'
peculiar bead -dress, and it immediately occurred to her, that in the garb .
of a foreigner she might obtain that which was denied to an English
woman . She soon twisted her handkerchief into a turban, outlandished
her general attire, and set off on the Glocestershire road. After walk
ing a few miles, a gentleman accosted her ; and perceiving that she was
fatigued, took her to the next public -house, and gave her meat andspi
ritsand water, which she, not being as yet an Hindoo, demolished,
u la Françoise, for she was now a French woman !
 6

“ I left England a few days after I had the pleasure of seeing you iu
Bristol, and on my return to this country, about a week ago, I found,
in an Edinburgh newspaper, a full account of all the circumstances at
tending this unknown lady, since she was found near the Knole. This
revived, or rather added to, my desire of finding out her country, and
I think, at least, that I have got a clue to it.
“ I think her name is not Caraboo, as stated in the newspapers, but
rather that that is her country. I consider that she comes from the Bay
of Karabouh, on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea, and situated in
IndependentTartary. She may easily have come from thence by the
Persian Gulf, or still more easily by the Black Sea. The latter I con
sider by far the more likely , as many vessels (many hundreds) have come
from the Black Sea to the European ports in the Mediterranean , since
the commencement of the present year. I leave these observations,
Madam, to your consideration. She might be able to recognize the
place I have mentioned on a map, or she might know the names of those
places in the immediate vicinity. But you are better able than I am to
decide on the manner, that this ought to be gone about. I therefore
beg to remit it to yourself, and trust that some good may arise from the
hint I have taken the liberty of giving to you.
“ I request again, Madam , that you will pardon my presumption in ad
dressing you ; and if you will have the goodness to do so, might I still
further presume to beg of you to let me know, by some means or other,
any thing that you may think proper respecting this interesting fair one.
“ I am, with the greatest respect,
“ Madam ,

Your most obedient humble Servant,

“ J. S. ”

At the Hospital, it is butjustice to remark, that the

most humane attentions, which are allowed of by the
house, were shewn to the stranger. Finding she rejected
the usual food , eggs and other delicacies were provided
for her. But she was firm in her refusal of all kinds of
nourishment ; and she neither eat or drank , or slept on
the beds of the Hospital, while she remained there.
Mrs. W. still feeling a lively interest in her fate, determin
ed upon again removing her, and had her taken to the
office of Mr. W. in Bristol, where she remained during
ten days, under the care of Mrs. W.'s housekeeper.
Daily efforts were made to discover her language and
country, but without effect. At last a foreigner of the
 7

name of Manuel Eynesso, a Portuguese from the

Malay country, who happened to be in Bristol, was in
troduced to her, and he declared that he could under
take to interpret her language. The tale, this impostor
pretended to extract from her, was, briefly, that she was
a person of consequence in her own country, had been
decoyed from an island in the East Indies, and brought
to England against her consent, and deserted . That
the language she spoke was not a pure dialect, but a
mixture oflanguages used on the coast of Sumatra, and
other islands in the East. This Manuel Eynesso in
short invented a story so plausible, and one so well suited
to the imposition the girl had determined to practice,
that Mrs. W. was induced a second time to take her to .
Knole, intending to communicate the particulars of her
history, as far as she could collect them , to some res
pectable individual at the East India House, and extend
her protection to her till the truth ofher story could be de :
veloped. She accordingly resumed her old apartment at
.
Knole. And from the 3rd of April till the 6th of June,
she not only ingeniously and most effectually contrived
to deceive her benevolent hostess, her family, and their
domestics ; but she had the address to delude and highly
interest numbers of visitants at Knole, who were eager
and solicitous to examine and listen to the unknown
foreigner. There was no one who took a greater interest
in her fate and adventures, than one gentleman who had
made several voyages to the East-Indies, who was con
versant with every creek and harbour in those seas, and
well acquainted with the customs of China. This gen
tleman committed to writing the following particulars,
either extracted from the girl at various times by signs
and gestures ; or as it now appears, in the warmth ofhis
anxiety to discover her history, he most probably assist
ed her in the creation and composition of them .
That her name was CARABOO ; that she was the
daughter of a person of rank , of Chinese origin, by a
Maudin, alias, a Malay woman, who was killed in a war
between the Boogoos ( Cannibals) and the Maudins
( Malays.) That whilst walking in her garden at Javasu ,
attended by three sammens (women) she was seized by
 8

the people ofa pirate prow , commanded by a man of

the name of Chee-min, and bound hand and foot, her
mouth also covered, and that thus she was carried off.
That her father swam after her ; and in pursuit shot an
arrow, which killed one of her women, who were taken
on board with her. That she wounded herself two of
Chee-min's men , with her crease, when she was seized ;
one of whom died , but the other was recovered by the
Justee ( a Surgeon .) After eleven days she was sold to
the captain of a brig called Tappa Boo ; the brig sailing
during the transaction ; she being conveyed from one
ship to the other in a boat. That after four weeks the
brig anchored at a port,* rernained there two days, and
having taken on board four female passengers sailed
again, and in five weeks more anchored at another port ,
where the four females were landed ; that they staid
three days, and then sailed for Europe, which she reach
ed in eleven weeks ; being near some part of the coast
of England , in consequence of the ill usage she expe
rienced , she formed and carried into execution the reso
lution to jump overboard, and she swam to shore. That
the dress she had on consisted of a gown worked with
gold ; a shawl on her head of the same description,
which was exchanged by an English woman, the door
of whose house was green ; for which she gave her a
black stuff gown, a cotton shawl, and several other arti
cles ; in which dress, after wandering about for six weeks,
during which period she was frequently admitted into
various houses, she found her way to Almondsbury.
Her father's country she called Congee ( China )-her
own island , from whence she was taken, she called Ja
vasu, and that of her mother the Maudins ( Malay .) She
described her mother's teeth as being blackened, herface
and arms painted , and that she wore a jewel at her nose,
with a gold chain from it to the left temple; which de

* Supposed to be Batavia.
+ Supposed to be the Cape of Good Hope.
1 From chewing beetle nut.
1
 1

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PRINCESS
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OF
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Do
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BAKER
MARI
alias
1
 9

corations her mother wished to have adopted for her,

but her father would not consent. That he had three
more wives, and that he was carried on the shoulders of
Macratoos (common men ) in a kind of sedan or palan
quin, and wore a gold button in his cap, with three
peacock's feathers on the right side of his head, a gold
twisted chain round his neck , to which was suspended
a large square locket of amber -coloured stone, set in
gold . That she herself wore seven peacock's feathers on
the right side of her head . Upon givingher some calico,
she made herself a dress in the style she had been ac
customed to wear.* It was very short in the petticoat,
the sleeves uncommonly wide and long enough to reach
the ground, but only half-scored up, and confined at the
wrists. A very broad band round the waist, which she
described as embroidered , as was the bottom of the pet
ticoat ; embroidery also was round the bosom, and round
the open part of the sleeves. She wore no stockings, but
open sandals on the feet with wooden soles. She pro
nounced her father's name Jessu Mandu, and her own
Sissu Mandu, which was afterwards changed to Caraboo,
in consequence of her father having conquered his ene
mies. That he had the commandof soldiers, and that
when any people approached him, they made their salam
or obeisance on both knees, lifting the right hand to the
right temple, and that they presented fruit in a dish
balanced upon the points of their fingers, kneeling
upon both knees to her father, and upon one to herself.
That servants salam to a gentleman with the right
hand to the head, to ladies with the left. That dur
ing her father's dinner the Macratoos played to him
upon an instrument of music, consisting of a reed,
through which they blew, and which was affixed to a
kind of harp held between the knees and played upon
with the fingers. That her father's complexion was
white ; he was 47 years oldt ; hermother's Malay colour,

* Vide Mr. Bird's representation of her.

+ This she explained by tying knots upon a string.
 10

very yellow or brown. That the Boogoos ( Cannibals )

were black . That when they took white prisoners, they
cut off their heads and arms, and roasted them by a fire,
round which they danced , and then eat them . When
shewn the drawing of an idol, the object of worship at
Prince's Island , she expressed the greatest abhorrence,
and implied , that she did not do so ; but that she wor
shipped Allah Tallah ; and that her mother told her,
if she did as her father did , who prayed to an image, that
she would be burnt in the tire. She described the Pirate
Prow as having only one mast and no guns ; her colours
Venetian war. Cheemin, the commander, was copper
coloured, wore a turban, short petticoat trowsers, and a
kind of scarf thrown over his shoulders. That Tappa
Boo's was a dark complexion ; he had long black whisk
ers, and long black hair plaited down the back, and
knotted at the end in a bow ; that he wore a kind of seal.
skin cáp, and an ear-ring in his right ear. That his brig
had guns, but did not know how many ; there were
about 40 men , among whom was a Justee( a Surgeon ;) the
vessel carried Spanish colours. The ladies, who were
passengers used to talk and write, but she could not un
derstand them , neither did they understand her. That
she was very ill after Tappa Boo bought her, for which
she was cupped in the back of her neck , and bled in the
arm and wrist; her hair also, which was extremely long,
was cut off, and she was confined to her bed a consi
derable time. That her illness was occasioned by her
crying and great unhappiness in consequence of her mi
serable and forlorn situation . She explained, that at the
same time when Tappa Boo bought her of Cheemin, that
he bought a bag of gold dust ; and that the water was so
shoal or shallow at Javasu, that a large vessel could not
come near. She described the sails of Cheemin's boat
as seained up and down , and of a different shape from
those of Javasu, which were of matting or rush ; that the
Chinese were made across with split Bamboo sticks.
Upon having a plate of the flags of all nations shewn to
her, she fixed upon the Venetian war as Cheemin's ; the
Spanish as Tappo Boo's, and the Chinese as her father's.
 11

When made sensible, that she was requested to point out

the colours hoisted at the different ports at which she
stopped, she placed her fingers upon her closed eyes,
and shook her head, as much as to say, she never saw
them ,making it understoodat the same time, that she was
kept below in the ship . She expressed much pleasure
at the sight of a Chinese chain purse, which was shewn to
her, which she instantly recognised, and described as
belonging to her father's country ; also a rose-coloured
scarf, which she put on, first in the Chinese and after
wards in the Javasu fashion ; in both instances veiling her
face. She sometimes twisted her hair and rolled it
up on the top of her head , fastening it with a skewer.
She also acknowledged the pierced ivory fans, and the
Chinese puzzle, Indian ink, sattin stone, garnets, white
and brown sugar candy, and green tea, as belonging to
her father's country ; and that cinnamon or cassia , white
pepper, rice, mother of pearl, flying fish, and an apple
differing from ours, as belonging to Javasu ; and that
the cocoa nut, long pepper and coral,* were of her mo
ther's or the Malay country. She described the dead
as not being buried in coffins at Javasu, but that they
were placed in the ground ; and when made to under
stand, that if she was to bardoo ( die ) here, she would
be buried flat in a box, as she had seen a corpse in the
church -yard, she expressed much dislike and apprehen
sion . She marked time by knots on a string in a pecu
liar manner, and by this means pointed out the periods
and distances of her voyage. A chart of the supposed
places she stopped at, as drawn by herself, is inserted in
the appendix.t She pourtrayed the method of writing
in her own country by a sort of reed upon the back or
leaf of a tree ; and that in Congee they wrote with a

* The different articles here specified, with many others, were all
placed before her ; and with very few exceptions, she described the
countries, from which they came, or in which they were in use.
+ She afterwards ackuowledged, that she drew this chart by a gentle
man leading her from one place to the other, and prompting her as it
were to the delineation,
C2
 12

Camel's hair pencil and Indian ink. A vocabulary of

words and the meanings to which she applied them ,
collected from her own mouth during the period of her
visit at Almondsbury, and after her detection, is inserted
also in the appendix. She was always consistent and
correct in usiug them in the same sense, meaning or ob
ject. Her Autograph ofMary Baker is also subjoined.
Such was the detail of the Princess's life, previous to
her supposed arrival in England. But there were of
course many singular occurrences, which happened du
ring her residence at Knole, and which tended in no
trifling degree to confirm the description, which she had
given of herself, as well as the manners and customs of
the country from which she represented herself as coin
ing. A few of the most prominent and curious were
the following :
The Gibberish language, in which she made herself
understood, was aided in a very striking manner by ges
tures and animation of countenance, which it is impos
sible to describe ; and singular to relate, that during the
ten weeks which she resided at Knole and in Bristol,
she was never heard to pronounce a word or syllable
which resembled her native tongue. Mrs. W.'s house
keeper, who slept with her, never heard at any interval
any other language or toue of voice than that which she
first assumed . * The servants once said in her hearing,
that they would lie awake, to listen if she talked in her
sleep; and on that night, and afterwards, she feigned to
be asleep, and began talking her gibberish . In return
ing from Bristol sometimes in Mrs. W.'s carriage, she
was so fatigued, that she fell asleep ; but Mrs. W. though
she awokeher suddenly, never found a word or a sound
escape her, which could lead to detection . In the
choice of her food she was also equally consistent and
uniform , and affected much peculiarity and nicety:
* One of Mrs. W.'s sons, who suspected her to be an impostor, and
who one day declared before her, that she was a cheat, provoked herto
exclaim , “ Caraboo, no cheat;" but this did not occur, till after she had so
long resided in Mrs. W.'s house, as to enable her to imitate the sound of
several English words and phrases, and of course led its inmates to believe
that she must have learnt them there.
 13

She dressed every thing herself ; preferred rice to

bread ; eat no meat, drank only water and tea. She
was very fond of Indian curry, which she frequently
dressed herself, and made very savoury. She refused a
pidgeon ( a Rampue) that was dressed , but having a live
one put into her hands, she cut off its head, which she
buried together with its blood under the earth, and then
dressed and eat the other part. Fish she served in the
same way. She always said her prayers night and
morning, and rigidly fasted every Tuesday ; on which
day she contrived to ascend to the roof of the mansion
at Knole ; frequently at the imminent peril of her life.
Ablutions she was particularly fond of: she was once
seen to plunge into a pond in Knole Park , and she re
gularly knelt down and washed her hands and face by
the side of it. She was equally correct and clean in
washing the utensils in which she eat and drank. The
tenants, and farmers, and their daughters about Knole
and at Almondsbury grew very fond of her, and she often
visited them with Mrs. W.'s leave, but they never found
her tripping or off her guard , either in her conversation
or general manners, always observing the custom of
washing her tea cup, &c. One day she appeared to be
highly exhilirated, and gave the servants to understand,
that it was her father's birth -day, and that he was forty
seven years old. During her stay she used to exercise
herself with a bow and arrows, and made a stick answer
to a sword on her right side, the bow and arrows slung
on her left shoulder. She oftentimes carried a gong on
her back , which she sounded in a very singular manner,
and a tambourine in her hand, the sword by her side and
a bow and arrow slung as usual, her head dressed with
flowers and feathers, and thus she made it appear she
was prepared for war. During her residence at Knole,
she had heard people say, that this was the custom
abroad, and so she imitated it. Sometimes she would
row in the boat in the pond at Knole, using the oars very
dexterously.* She learnt her salams, or mode of greet-:
* After the discovery of her cheat she declared, she often wished to
have prevailed on Mr. W.’s Greek servant to get into the boat with her ;
 14

ing from what she overheard ; and from the observa

tions of people, who had been in the East, and whu con
versed with her, she appears to have modified her sys
tem of deception. One gentleman happening to observe,
that if she was an Hindoo, she would make the salam with
an inclination of the head and both hands gradually
brought down from the forehead ; and if a Malay, she
would put her hands on the side of her head, she imme
diately put her hand on the right side to a gentleman,
and on the left to a lady. When dancing she would as
sume an infinite variety of attitudes, far from destitute
of elegance; bend her body in numberless shapes, but
never offensive to delicacy or propriety, occasionally
dropping on one knee, and then rising with uncommon
agility, holding up one foot in a sling, and performing
a species of waltz with the most singular twists and con
tortions. She presented a plate of fruit, holding it on the
points of her fingers and thumb with peculiar grace.
Mrs. W. was one evening absent from Knole on the day
of a wake in the parish, and on her return found her
missing. The gardens were searched, and she was dis
covered sitting in a high tree, in which she explained
herself to have climbed, because all the females in the
house had gone into the village, and she feared con
tamination from the men. In the garden also she one
day constructed an arbour as a temporary place of
worship, which she sprinkled with water and threw her
shawl over her head when she kuelt to prayers. She
never omitted a grace at any of her meals. Mr. P. of
Cathay, in the city of Bristol, a gentleman who had
visited Malay several years since, was supposed to be
able to throw some light on the business . He brought
with him to Knole a Malay crease (or dagger) which
Caraboo with great animation recognised as belong
ing to her country ; and her desire to have it in her
own possession was extreme, but from prudence it was
denied her ; this denial seemed only to increase her de
sire. She placed the dagger to her right side (where
she thought he always suspected her, and she meant to have given him
a ducking
 15

the Malays wear it)which confirmed this gentleman, that

she perfectly understood the custom, though not the lan
guage of that country. In fencing she was particularly
expert. Mr. W. who esteemed bimself a tolerable fencer
when young, could seldom disarm her when using the
long sword. At times she exercised herself with a sword
in the right hand and a dagger in the left. Among other
occurrences which shew the dexterity with which she sei
zed, and acted on what she heard , is the following ; a gen
tleman observed, that it was customary in the East to stain
the points of a dagger with vegetable poison ; the next
time a dagger was put into her hands, she went to
a flower stand, and rubbing a couple of leaves between
her fingers, applied the juice to the point, and then
touching her arm , pretended to swoon .-She, in truth,
conducted herself so correctly, and her manners were so
fascinating, that she soon became caressed , and per
fectly domesticated at Knole. She waited on Mrs.
W. at her toilette, and indeed had the whole range
of the house ; books of different descriptions, brought
or procured for the purpose of ascertaining who she
was, were constantly left in her way, and from these
she read , and, no doubt, copied the characters which she
wrote. The grand lever, however, by which she perform
ed all her deceptions, was, her own NATIVE ENGLISH,
which she could and did distinctly HEAR and profit by,
tho' she never spoke it. Another singular key to de
ception was, her astonishing command of countenance
and self-possession. A jocose clerical gentleman, of
Bath, tried to move her by FLATTERY : he drew his
chair close to her ; looked steadily and smilingly in her
face, and observed “ You are the most beautiful creature
I ever beheld . You are an angel.” — Not a muscle of
her face moved ; no blush suffused her cheek ; her
countenance was motionless . - After three weeks resi
dence at Knole, she was one morning missing. The
cacoethes errandi had returned upon her; and she was
panting for the shores of America . She had accordingly
decamped ; but returning again in the evening with a
bundle of clothes, and her shoes and hands dirty, she
 16

gave Mrs. W. and her servants to understand , that she

had dug them up from a place where she (risum teneatis
amici ? ) had buried them , to hide them from the Macra
tuos !—The truth was, that during her short absence,
she had hastened to Bristol ; but fearing she might be
pursued from Mrs. W.'s, she cut across the country, by
the Duchess of Beaufort's Woods, at Stoke, making her
way through hedges, and over ditches, till she reached
her old landlady's house in Lewin's Mead, Bristol.
From thence, packing up a trunk, which she had left in
her care, she ran to the Quay to look for a ship, the
captain of which she had been in treaty with for her
passage to America, before she set out on her vagrant
expedition to Almondsbury ;-but the vessel had sailed !
Returning to her lodgings, she paid her arrears of rent;
had her trunk conveyed into Thomas-Street; sent it to
her father by one of the Exeter waggons, and returned
with her bundle of clothes to Knole, with all possible
expedition . Was it a wonder the girl should have been
foot sore and sick ?* Having disposed of her heavy
baggage she had nothing to look to but herself and bun
dle, and was thus ready for a march at a moment's no
tice, whenever circumstances occurred which were like
ly to lead to detection. Soon after her return she was
taken very ill, and the attendance of a respectable medi
cal gentleman of Bristol was necessary. This gentle
man had also been in the East, but during the painful
hours of sickness, she contrived to elude even his scru
tinizing endeavours to discover her country and lan
guage. During her illness, in the presence of Mrs. W.
and two medical men who came to visit her, one suspi
cious circumstance certainly arose : it suddenly occur

* Why did not Mrs. W. on her return try to trace her out, by adver
tising a description of the clothes which she brought with her, is here a
natural question ? Indeed, in the course of the Narrative, several oc
currences are stated , which, had they been noticed at the time, must.
have led to detection . This Mrs. W. does not disavow : but there were
other personages deceived as well as Mrs. W. who had not her motives
of humanity to plead in excuse, and to whom the motto in the title page
equally applies " Qui vult decipi decipiatur.”
 17

red to one of them to try the effect of alarming her, by

stating to Mrs. W. her extreme danger, and that it was
probable she could not survive twenty-four hours longer ;
when in an instant her face becaine crimsoned . This
circumstance, however, lost much of its weight from the
maid , who constantly attended her, stating, that such
flushings had taken place five or six times every day
during the continuance of her illness ; an occurrence very
common in typhus fever. After her recovery the sym
pathy of Mrs. W.’s Greek servant was much excited in
behalf of Caraboo. He had previously supposed her
an impostor, and had constantly behaved towards her
with coldness and suspicion. His unbelief, however,
began now to waver ; and as if to recompence her for
his former unkindness, he treated her with double at
tention, pity and respect.
Disappointed in her intended escape to America,* she
appears to have reconciled herself to stay a little longer
under Mrs. W.'s protection. But whether she grew
tired of the confinement at Knole ; whether she dreaded
discovery from the frequent visits she paid to Bristol , in
company with Mrs. W. when she might chance to meet
the eye of her old landlady, of Lewin's Mead ; or
whether she heard under Mrs. Wi's own roof of an inten
tion of sending her to London , to be examined at the
East- India House ; or under whatever apprehensions
she may have laboured, she began to meditate another
escape. And on Saturday the 6th of June, she again
took her flight. Mrs. W. undoubtedly felt much un
easiness at her disappearance. She had as before taken
with her not a pin or a ribbon , which did not belong to
her. Indeed her principles of honesty have been found
unimpeachable, in whatever situation of life she has been
discovered . It was towards Bath , that she had now
bent her way ; and on the following Sunday Mrs. W.
received information of the place to wbich her protegée
had flown. She again determined to reclaim her ; and

* What an impression her visit would have made, had the Princess of
Javasu escaped to America or elsewhere, leaving the imposture undis
covered ? D
 18

Mrs.W.reached Bath on Sunday afternoon. Here she

found the Princess at the very pinnacle of her glory and
ambition, in the drawing -room of a lady of haut ton.
Cervantes himself could not have expected the realiza
tion of so fine a scene. What was the situation of
Savcho Panza at the Palace of the Duchess, in compa
rison with the Princess of Javasu in the drawing-room of
Mrs. . ? Oh ! that we had the pen of a Foote or a .
Garrick to pourtray the inimitable acting and the con
summate deception of this day's adventure. The draw
ing room was crowded with fashionable visitants, all
eager to be introduced to the interesting Princess.
There was one fair female kneeling before her, another
taking her by the hand , another begging a kiss !—The
girl afterwards declared, that this was the most trying
scene she ever encountered , and that on this occasion
she had more difficulty to refrain from laughing, and es
cape detection , than in all the singular occurrences of her
life. The same gentleman, who took down the detail of
her pretended adventures before her arrival in England ,
saw her in the public -house in Bath, previous to her
making her appearance in Mrs. = 's drawing-room .
Upon first noticing him, her spirits forsook her, and she
burst into a flood of tears, which fell most copiously for
some time, during which she kept her face covered with
her handkerchief (from an apprehension no doubt that
the discovery bad taken place ); so soon, however, as
she was satisfied , that her enquirers were still in the
dark , she recovered herself, and again proceeded as
actively as ever in the imposition. “ Can it be possible,”
says this gentleman, writing to Mrs. W. " that she
should be deranged in her mind, and yet have been en
abled to carry on her deception so long and with such
consistency ?' We have heard of the power of maniacs
to concert deep-laid plans with the greatest subtlety,
but I recollect no one being carried on so successfully,
for so long a time, and under such a variety of circum
stances.”
Dr. Wilkinson ofBath, was another of the Cognos
centi, who was led likewise by the same love of themar
 19

vellous, which had duped so many other of the visitants

at Knole, to try his skill at developing the character
and nation of the unknown foreigner. And the publi
city which the Doctor gave to his visit by detailing
in the public prints a description of her person, manners,
and situation was eventually the means of leading to a
detection of the imposture. The learned Doctor was no
less fascinated , than the gentleman from China , with the
character he had beheld . The two letters, which he
published, form so excellent a corollary to the farce that
was acting, that it would be inexcusable in this place to
omit them. They were as follow :
“ TO THE EDITOR OF THE BATH CHRONICLE .
SIR ,

The present inexplicable appearance of a young female foreigner

in the vicinity of Bristol, having excited considerable curiosity ; as I
have had theopportunity of being in her company, and of obtaining
what information is at present known, from herbenevolent protectress,
Mrs. W. of Knole, at whose house she resides ; I am desired to request,
you will be so obliging as to insert these particulars in your Chronicle,
with the hope thatthey will be copied into many provincial papers ; so
that by such a general dissemination, they may be read by some who
have observed a female, corresponding to the description here given ;
and may ultimately lead to the developement of those circumstances,
which have placed a most interesting female in a situation truly
distressing.
I am, Sir,
Your's ,

C. H. WILKINSON . "
June 1st,
Burlington -street, Bath .

“ ABOUT two months since, a female presented herself at the door of

4 cottage at Almondsbury, near Bristol : the door being open and a
couch in view, she made signs of a wish to repose herself. She appear
ed in a very debilitated and distressed condition, as if exhausted by much
fatigue. The cottagers, not comprehending her language, reported the
case to Mrs. W. who resides about a mile from Almondsbury ; and that
lady kindly visited, and gave orders for the most humane attention to be
D 2
 20

paid to her. Her language was equally unknown to Mrs. W. but her
appearance and graceful manners so interested that lady, that she took
her under her own roof, where she has since experienced the most un
remitting kindness. Her head is small ; ber eyes and hair are black ;
her eye-brows finely arched ; the forehead low ; nose rather short;
complexion very trifling sallow , rather more corresponding to a bru.
nette, with a pleasing colour on the cheeks ; a sweet smile ; hermouth
rather large ; her teeth beautifully white and regular ; her lips a little
prominent and full, under lip rather projecting ; her chin small and
round ; no ear-rings, but marks of having worn them ; her hands unac
customed to labour ; in height five feet two inches. — Her dress consist
ed of a black stuff gown, with a muslin frill round the neck ; a black
cotton shawl on the head , and one red and black round the shoulders ;
leather shoes and black worsted stockings. She appears to be about 25
years of age ; her nianners are extremely graceful, her countenance sur
prisingly fascinating Such is the general effect on all who behold her,
that, if before suspected as an impostor, the sight of her removes all
doubt. Her mode of diet seems to be Hindoostanic, as she lives prin
cipally on vegetables, and is very partial to curry ; she will occasion
ally take fish , but no other animal food ; water is her beverage ; and
she expresses great disgust at the appearance of wine, spirits, or of any
intoxicating liquors: whatever she eats, she prepares herself. She is
extremely neat in her attire ; is very cautious in her conduct with res
pect to gentlemen ; never allows them to take hold of her hand, and
even if their clothes should casually come into contact with hers, she
retires from them : when she takes leave of a gentleman, it is by the ap
plication of the right hand to the right side of the forehead, and, in like
manner, ou taking leave of a lady, it is with the left hand. She appears
to be devout ; and on a certain day in the week is anxious to go to the
top of the house, and there to pay adoration to the sun from the rising to
the setting. She casually saw a dagger ; and, as if anxious to inform
her kind patroness of all the customs of her country, which she calls
Javasu, she placed the dagger to her right side. She fences with great
dexterity, holding the sword in her right hand and the dagger in her
left. She is very fond of bathing ; and swims and dives with consider
able activity. She carries about with her a cord, on which some knots
are made, like the Chinese abacus, which afterwards gave rise to the
sliding beads, the suon puon. She writes with great facility from left to
right, as we are accustomed . She has made Mrs. W. understand, that in
her country neither pens or paper are used ; but what is supposed to be
a camel hair pencil and a species of papyrus. Soon after her residence
at Mrs. W.'s house, she wasattacked with a typhus fever, and was placed
under the care of Mr. Mortimer, an eminent surgeon of Bristol : upon
her recovery, pleased as she must have been at his kind and constant
attention to her, she wrote him a letter of thanks, calling him, as
a doctor, Justee, and herself Caraboo. All the assistance be de
rived from a Polyglott Bible, Fry's Pantographia, or Dr. Hager's Elemen
tary characters of the Chinese, do not enable us to ascertain either the
nature of her language, or the country to which she belongs : one or
two characters bear some resemblance to the Chinese, particularly the
 21

Chinese cho, a reed : there are more characters which have some simili
tude to the Greek, particularly the 5, 7, and e ; different publications,
have been shewn to ber, in Greek, Malay, Chinese, Sbanscrit, Arabic,
and Persic, but with all she appears entirely unacquainted. Her letter
has been shewn to every person in Bristol and Bath, versed in oriental
literature, but without success : a copy was sent to the India-House, and
submitted by the chairınau of that Company to the examination of Mr.
Raffles, one of the best oriental scholars, yet he could not decypher it :
the original letter was sent to Oxford, and the members of that Univer
sity* denied its being the character of any language ; it has been by some
conjectured as being an imperfect Javanese ; others have supposed it the
style of the Malay of Sumatra . From my own observation, although
entirely unacquainted with any single character of her writing, I have
deemed her more resembling a Circassian ;f her countenance, her con
plexion and her manners, favour such a supposition ; and probably her

* Every gentleman who perused it very properly, and without a mo

ment's hesitation, pronounced it a Humbug.

+ DR . WILKINSON was not singular in this opinion, if this will beany

consolation to bim ; as the following letter will testify. This letter was
one among twenty, all addressed to Mrs. W. expressive of equal anxiety
and interest in the fate of the stranger.
Edinburgh, June 14th, 1817 .
“Mrs. WORRALL, MADAM,
“ I wish to be excused for making so bold as to trouble yon with
a letter, making a few inquiries respecting the female foreigner, whom,
being destitute , you have so kindly, humanely and generously sheltered
under your hospitable roof. I have carefully read the description given
of her in various Scottish publications, and the supposition that she is
a Circassian (as I myself was brought up in that country ) niakes me par
ticularly anxious to know about her. Her features, food, mode of eat
ing ; the caution in her conduct with respect to gentlemen ; the use she
makes of her hands in taking leave of ladies and gentlemen ; ber disgust
at wine, spirits, and intoxicating liquors, all favour Mr. Wilkinson's
opinion. Her mode of worship too, on the house top with her face
towards the east, resembles that of the Circassians, were it not thatshe
pays adoration to the sun. The Circassians worship and pay adoration
to none other, but the true God, facing Mecca ; under the impression
that, on their Prophet Mahomet's account, the Author of all things on
earth makes that spot his chief abode ; the God they worship, they call
ALLA- Tallah. It is probable the female foreigner, in this respect, may
be misunderstood ; instead of worshiping the sun, she, like them ( the
Circassians) may, with her face towards Mecca , worship the same God,
as it evidently appears from her giving her God the same name, ALLA
TALLAH, by interpretation, GOD ALMIGHTY . If thus misunderstood,
her mode of worship likewise supports the idea, that she is a Circassian,
 22

appearance here may be connected with the Corsairs who have been
hovering about our coast. She has by signs intimated, that she was on
board a ship , and so ill-treated, thatwhen she came within sight of land ,
she jumped over-board and swam ashore. She also, in the same manner,
expressed, that she was ill on board, her hair cut off, and an operation
on the back performed : I examined the part, it had been scarified, but
not aceording to the English mode of cupping, or to any Europeanman
ner with which I am aequainted ; the incisions are extremely regular,
and apparently employed with the caustic, mode of cupping adopted
in the East. The Supreme Being she stiles aAlla Tallah. All who have
seen her are highly interested about her. A fac-simile of her letter is
placed in the Kingston Pump-Room for examination. I beg leave to
observe, that I have seen her write, and she writes with grace and
facility .
“P.S. Since writing the above, I have been informed of the following

“ There are, however, other things which make her being a Circassian
doubtful. Her dress, as far as I can understand from the newspapers,
differs. I do not recollect ever seeing a Circassian female wear a
black stuff gown, with a muslin frill round her neck, inclined at all to
a continental fashion. The worsted stockings also, to the best of my
knowledge, are no part of a Circassian dress ; but these articles have not
been made sufficiently plain, and a description of the clothes she after
wards brought, has been wholely omitted. The next most doubtful of all
is her writing. All the while I was in Circassia, I neither saw nor heard
of more than two of their women being capable of writing, and even
those wrote with an Arabic character from right to left; but she, the
female foreigner, is said to write from left to right, with a character as
yet unknown, and that with great facility. I am unacquainted with
either of the names Javasu , Malay, Jesse-Mandue and Caraboo, as ap
plied ; though some of their parts may have meaning, either in Tartar
or in Circassian. The part Java, of the name Javasu, in Circassian,
may either signify a surface of any thing, or the second person impera
tive mode of the verb to drink ; the latter part, su, signifies water in
Tartar. The part Mal, of the name Malay, signifies a sheep in Circas
sian ; the other, ay, is an interjection in Tartar and in Circassian, of the
same meaning as in English. The first part Jesse, in the nameJesse
Mandue, in Tartar signifies an owner ; to the last part I can give no
signification. The first part of the female foreigner's name, Čara, is
either a Tartar adjective signifying black, or the second person impera
tive mood of the Tartar verb to look ; the last part, boo, signifying this
or that, is a pronoun in the same language. It will not be improper
here to observe, that by the name alone it is impossible to know a Cir
cassian ; names being given at random, made up with words of two or
three languages, and often of none at all. Having stated the reasons
for my thinking her a Circassian, and those which make me doubtful, I
shall now, in Roman Characters, set down a few questions in the Circas
sian and Tartar languages, which being carefully read to her, by the
observation of the rules given, may lead to a discovery whether she be
 23

circumstances :-Caraboo quitted Mrs. W.'s house for one whole day,
to procure a few clothes, which she signified to Mrs. W. that she had
buried, to conceal them from the Macratoos ( rogues) ; the distance
must have been considerable, as her feet were blistered ; and the violent
illness which followed, was owing to the fatigue. Mrs. W. whose op
portunities of observation have necessarily been superior to those of any
other person, is persuaded her father is Chinese, and that her mother,
who is dead, was Malay ; that her father's name is Jessee Mandue, and
that he is a man of considerable consequence in his own country. -
Caraboo describes a gold chain he wears about his neck.”

a
Circassian or Tartar. - Rule for the Circassian questions: sound all
the letters as in English ; the vowel a, as in fat; u, as in full; and 8, hard
before e aud i. Along with the questions I shall set down the translation.
“ CIRCASSIAN . - 1st. Adigivzar uptshera ? Do youunderstand Circas
sian -2d . Uadiga ? Are you a Circassian . - 3d. Set etsh ukyka ? What
land do you come from._4th. Ui yader adigit ? Was your father a Cir
cassian .-5th . Etsar Setit ? Whatwas his name -6th . Ui yaner adigit ?
Was your mother a Circassian . — 7th . Uitshema etsar set ? ' What is the
name of your country . — 8th . Adigivzer uptshama, ege unjessa pess
elthahema juap kuzat ? If you understand the Circassian language,
give an answer to the words now spoken . Note.-Sound u, in the last
word, as in urn.
" Rule for the TARTAR questions: sound a again as in fat; the dip
thong oi, as in oil ; e marked thus ē, as in me; e marked thus ě, as in
Eden; g hard before e , as formerly . — 1st. Nogoi tillën bēllasěnma ? Do
you understand the Tartar language . — 2d. Nogi sěnma ? Are you a
Tartar. 3d . Ně jerden shukhansen ? From what land are you.—4th .
Atang nogoi ěděma ? Was your father a Tartar. - 5th. Ata ně ědě
What was his name.-6th. Anang nogoi pěshy ěděma ? Was your mo
ther a Tartar woman . — 7th. Sěnung jerungnung ata nēdēr ? What is
the name of your country . - 8th . Eger nogoi tilida bēllzung , sorrahan ?
humha juab běr ? If you understand the Tartar language, answer the
questions asked you . Note - Sound the u , in shukhansen (3d q.) as ai
luck .-- I hope the above will afford some degree of satisfaction ; but if
she undertand none of the sentences I have set down, her giving the Su
preme Being the name Alla-Tallah will be a wonder to me, being a Circas
sian word, and one familiar to me.
“ Have the goodness to send me an answer to this letter, with a des
cription of all her clothes, some of the characters she writes, a few
words of the language she speaks, and, if a Circassian, her answers to
the question I have given.

“ Thus you will oblige your humble Servant,

A. B.”
 24

The following is a copy of the Doctor's second letter :

“ Last Saturday evening, about seven o'clock, Caraboo arrived at the
Pack-Horse Inn, in this city. It appeared, that the driver of a caravan
invited her to ride ; and at about three miles distance from Bristol, on
the road to Bath, she got into the vehicle, but would not admit of any
assistance from the driver. When brought to the above Inn, consider
able embarrassment was experienced from the inability of comprehend
ing her language : but the landlady paid the kindest attention to her, and
at length comprehended her wish , from her delineating a tree, which was
fortunately conjectured to be the tea tree. The arrival of a stranger
under these circumstances soon excited considerable attention, and par
ticularly that of a gentleman, a Mr. Carpenter ; who, having a few
minutes before read the account given in our last Chronicle, supposed
this person to be the one described, and in consequence sent iuformation
of her to Dr. Wilkinson . The Doctor received it too late to visit her
that evening; but between seven and eight o'clock the next morning,
he went to the Inn, and found her at breakfast with the landlady ; she
immediately recognised him, and Dr. W. adopted those measures which
would the most expeditiously intimate to her kind patroness, Mrs. W.
the situation of Caraboo . Assoon as breakfast was finished, she disap
peared : Dr. Wilkinson casually met her alone in the Circus ; she walked
about for sometime, and then returned to the Inn ; where she readily
followed Dr. W. into the dining-room, and he left her in charge of a
female in the house . About twelve o'clock , it appearing that public cu
riosity would be considerably excited, and that probably Caraboo would
be annoyed by many visitors, two ladies, who had been sitting by ber for
sometime, and who experienced for an interesting female, thrown, by
circumstances yet unknown, on a country where the inhabitants and the
language are equally strange to her, those feelings, which shew in the
most inestimable point of view the buman mind, offered the protection
of their house in Russell-street, and thither Caraboo was immediately
removed in a chair. Her confidence, by the kind treatment she received,
was soon excited ; her countenance became animated with smiles of
gratitude ; and she endeavoured to erplain to the ladies the customs of
her country, by actions the most graceful, and by manners highly fascinat
ing ! In the evening, her benevolentprotectress appeared immediately
on the sight of her, the situation of Caraboo, —the graceful manner in
which she prostrated herself to solicit pardon for haviug left Mrs. W.'s
house, -most sensibly affected every person present. Upon inquiry, it
appears, that Caraboo, anxiously wishing to return home to her father,
her husband, and h -r child , thought this could sooner be accomplished
by her removal to some other place. All the circumstances attending
her leaving Knole evinced a mind formed on the most correct principles
of honour; various little articles and trinkets, which had been presented
to her, also money in a purse, were all left in the greatest order in her
room ; and she quitted Knole without a single farthing in her pocket.
Upon every occasion she has shewn a great dignity of mind ; and her
astonishing power of interesting all around her appeared most satisfac
 25

torily, in the great interest excited in the truly amiable mind of her
protectress. When Caraboo's absence was ascertained, Mrs. W.'s anxi
ety was indescribable; ten or twelve persons were sent in different
directions to find her ; and as soon as the intimation arrived of her being
in Bath, the carriage was immediately directed to the same place.
Every circumstance, which has transpired since our last communication,
additionally contributes to the proof, that Caraboo is the character, she
represents herself to be ; and those who have paid the greatest attention
to her have no doubt, but that she is a native of one of the Japanese
Islands, called Javasu, and that her father is Chinese ! From some cir :
cumstances it would appear, that her mother was of European descent,
probably Portuguese ; she is evidently acquainted with the principles of
Christianity ; she described the crucifixion and resurrection.- What has
been reported of a similar female having been seen at Cork, upon inquiry
turns out incorrect; nothing has yet transpired to authorise the slightest
suspicion of Caraboo, nor has such been ever entertained, except by those
whose souls feel not the spirit of benevolence, and wish to convert into
ridicule that amiable disposition in others ! It ought to be remarked,
that, from the indefatigable attention of Capt. Palmer, and from the
jourual of Mrs. W. a more correct account of this surprisingly interest
ing female may be expected . ”

“ Bath , June 9, 1817. "

The Bath Herald, after noticing the arrival of the

impostor in that city, says, “ It was now thought ad
visable to adopt some effective measure for the relief of
this most interesting creature ; an appeal to the East
India Directors was determined on - Dr. Wilkinson
proceeded to London on the charitable mission on
Tuesday--aud was to be followed the next day by
Caraboo herself .” — At the very moment that the Doctor's
letter was printing at Bath, Caraboo was making a full
confession of her imposture at Bristol !-What a rebuke
for a Philosopher !

The unexpected arrival of Mrs. W. in the drawing

room in Russell-Street, Bath, was another occurrence
which severely put to the test the girl's ingenuity and self
command . Mrs. W. burst suddenly into the room , and
in an instant Caraboo recognised her benefactress. She
fell on her knees with that graceful prostration which she
so well and so frequently practised, and embraced Mrs.
W. with an ardour of attachment and an appearance of
E
 26

joy and gratitude, which captivated every spectator

She seemed to have forgotten the brilliancy of the scene
around her, and as ifoverpowered by the ingratitude she
had shewn in leaving Mrs. W.'s roof, she rushed through
the company, and in an instant disappeared . She was
followed down stairs by Mrs. W. and when she found
herself alone with her in the parlour below ,she had the ad
dress again to reconcile Mrs. W. to her escape, by making
her believe, it washer anxiety alone to re-visit her parents
at Javasu, which induced her to run away. Mrs. W.left
Bath with Caraboo in her company the same night ; and
the relation to Mrs.W.of the girl s exploits in the drawing
room , the commendations of such a host of spectators,
'aided by her apparently contrite expressions of sorrow ,
served to rivet stronger than ever the regard of Mrs. W.
and to convince her, that her protegée was indeed an
unfortunate Princess of Javasu . Far different must have
been the conflict of feelings passing at this time in the
bosom of Caraboo herself. Proud of, and conscious, that
on this occasion her powers of deception had surpassed
all former exertions, she was at the same time equally
conscious, that as her fame was extending, the hour
could not be far off, when the developement of such a
scene ofduplicity must arrive. She had heard at Knole,
that the newspapers contained a description of her person
and conduct, and an invitation to the public to interest
themselves in her behalf ; she felt, that suspicion might be
awakened as well as sympathy. Her tears at Bath
were the first symptoms of alarm and compunction
which she betrayed ; and on the Monday morning, after
her return to Knole, Mrs. W. observed her, not without
some degree of surprise and apprehension, turn the lock
of the chamber -door, after she entered Mrs. W's dress
ing-room . Her heart misgave her at this moment; and
Mrs. W. has not now a doubt upon her mind, but that
at this period the girl meditated an acknowledgment
of the duplicity of her conduct. The occurrence never
theless passºd by, without any remark from Mrs. W. and .
Caraboo resumed her usual cheerfulness throughout the
day. The bubble, however, was on the eve ofbursting.
 27

The re-publication in the Bristol Journal of Dr. Wilkin

son's first letter, led to the detection. Mrs. Neale, with
whom Caraboo had been lodging, read in that newspa
per, with no little surprise and amusement, the freaks of
Caraboo ; and in an instant recognised the character
of her quondam lodger. On Monday morning she called
upon Mr. Mortimer, and informed that gentleman of
her suspicions, and produced such irrefragable proofs
of her knowledge of Caraboo, that Mr. M. the same
evening, thought it prudent to communicate the intelli
gence to Mrs. W .; and singular to relate before Mr. M.,
left the parlour at Knole, a youth arrived from Westbury,
the son of a wheelwright there, who had met with the girl
on her first expedition to Knole, and who well remem
bered, that when in his company spirits and water were
not quite so repugnant to her taste, as they had been at
Knole. This double disclosure flashed immediate con
viction on Mrs.W's mind, and coupling these occurrences
with the agitation of Caraboo in the morning, Mrs. W.
did not now hesitate to probe such suspicions to the
bottom . She accordingly determined to wear the same ap
pearance of friendship and kindness towards Caraboodu
ring the evening, and in the morning to take her to Bristol
and confront her with Mrs. Neale. Under the idea that
she was going to Mr. Bird's to finish the sitting for her
portrait, which that gentleman was painting, she accom
panied Mrs. W. to that city , and they alighted at the
appointed time at Mr. Mortimer's, instead of Mr. Bird's .
The discovery was speedy and decisive. Mrs. W. having
conversed with Mrs. Neale and her daughters went alone
into a room with Caraboo, told her of the damning proofs
she had now obtained of her being an impostor, and after
having tried once more in her gibberish to interest Mrs.
W.by saying “ Caraboo, Toddy, Moddy ( father and mo
ther ) Irish ," she found she could not succeed ; and Mrs.
W. being about to order Mrs. Neale up stairs, she ac
knowledged the cheat ; begging that Mrs. W. would not
cast her off, or suffer her father to be sent for. This
Mrs. W. promised upon certain conditions ; one of which
was, that she would instantly give a faithful detail of her
E 2
 28

former course of life, disclose her real name, her parenta

age and history. Mrs. Neale being dismissed , the girl
immediately commenced a narrative to Mr. Mortimer, in
which , to account for her knowledge of Eastern customs,
she attempted to shew , that she had resided four months
at Bombay, and also at the Isle of France, as nurse in
an European family. But Mr. Mortimer having visited
Bombay, soon detected her, and she refused at that time
to communicate any further particulars. To another
gentleman , however, she soon was prevailed upou to
enter into a second detail ; of which the following narra
tive contains the leading circumstances :
That her name was MARY BAKER ; that she was born at
Witheridge, in Devonshire, in 1791 , and received no educa
tion, being of a wild disposition. At eight years of age, she
was employed in spinning-wool ; in the summer months,
she often drove the farmer's horses, weeded their corn ,
&c. From her earliest years she had always an ambi
tion to excel her companions, whether at any particular
game, playing at cricket, swimming in the water, or
fishing, &c .At the age of sixteen , her father and mother
procured her a situation at a farm -house ( Mr. Moon's,
Bradford, near Witheridge ). She staid there two years,
looking after children ; at this place, she often car
ried a sack of corn or apples on her back, endeavour
ing to do more than the labouring men. She left that
place because she had only ten-pence a week : she offer
ed to stay for a shilling. After which she returned to
her father's house. Her father and mother used her ill
on account of leaving her place ; and accordingly she
left them and went to Exeter, where she knew no one.
Being a stranger there, she inquired for a place, having
a written character with her from her late mistress, and
was directed by a fish-woman, whom she met in the
street, to Mr. Brooke's place , a shoemaker, in Fore
street. Being a country girl , Mrs. B. liked her appear
ance very much, but was afraid that she was an appren-.
tice thathad run away from her mistress . She offered to
give her £8. a year, if she returned to her father's house.
for a fortnight, that she might inquire whether she was
 29

an apprentice or not ; and at the expiration ofit, she hired

her. As she was expected to wash, iron and cook, to
which she was not accustomed , she only staid there two
months . Being at this time very fond of finery, she ap
plied the wages which she received in the purchase of
clothes, and then returned to her father's. On her re
turn he was much hurt to see her in white, and her
mother insisted on her taking it off, which she would not
do. She staid there only six days, during which time
she saw her friend, and her old master and mistress ;
but being dressed in white, they said , that she had dis
honestly procured it. Knowing her innocence, and not
enduring to hear this, she again decamped and returned
to Exeter. From whence she wandered through different
parts of the country, not knowing whither to go . She
had left her clothes at her father's, and had no money in
her pocket, and went begging at the different houses :
some gave her a little money ; some said , that it was a
pity for such a young creature to wander about the
country ; others proposed taking her up as a vagabond
and horse-whipping her, at which she cried very much ,
and was almost resolved to destroy herself. With this
determination she strayed from the highway down a
lane, and took her apron-strings and tied them together,
and fastened them to a tree to tie round her neck . She
either heard , or fancied that she heard , “ Cursed are they
that do murder, and sin against the Lord.” She then
untied the string, and proceeded on her journey . Being
very uneasy and unhappy, she was crying a great deal,
and at length met with an elderly gentleman ; he said ,
My pretty girl , what is the matter with you, crying so ?
Where are you going ? ” She told him her story, and the
late particulars of her being about to hang herself. He
was much agitated, and reasoned with her strongly about
the wickedness of it, and gave her five shillings, saying,
“ Go away in peace : put your trust in the Lord, and he
will never forsake you.” With that money she went in
to lodgings, and rested herself three days at Taunton .
All this was between Exeter and Taunton ; but being
very young, she did notrecollect the names of the places.
 30

From Taunton she proceeded on her journey to Bristol,

and pursued her plan of begging from house to house:
When she got money, she slept in lodgings ; otherwise
in a hay-loft, and often between hay.ricks. Thus she
arrived in Bristol ; where, having nothing to eat, and
being very hungry, she was directed to the Strangers’
Friend Society, at a Mr. Freeman's, by the Drawbridge.
(She always took care to conceal her own and her father's
name.) Mr. Freeman asked her various questions and
the reason of her leaving her home, which she did not
tell him . He gave her four shillings to get lodgings that
night, and desired her to come in the morning, that
he might inquire about her friends. Instead of going
to him, she left Bristol, as she did not chuse to be dis
covered to her relations . Thence she travelled on the
London road , and nothing particular occurred before
her arrival at Calne ; where she unfortunately begged at
a constable's house, who took her up to return her to
her friends. He intended to take her to the justice in the
morning , to swear her to her parish ; but, when he went
out for something in a yard behind the house, she made
her escape through the window . She thus proceeded
within thirty miles of London , when she was taken very
:11, being over -fatigued, and having had bad food . Be
ing unable to continue her journey , she sat down by a
hedge, until a waggoner passing by with two women in
a waggon, who said , that he had seven children of his own,
and did not know to what they might come, so he let her
ride to London in the waggon. They offered her some
thing to eat and drink, but being ill she was unable to:
take any thing. When they arrived at Hyde- Park Corner,
she and the other people left the waggon , as the wag
goner dared not suffer them to ride into London . The
women were unwilling to leave her, but asked her where
she was going. On her saying, that she knew no one,
and knew not where to go, they each took her by the
arm and led her to a house, until it was dark ; and when
it was dark , took her to the door of St. Giles's Hospital.
She sat down on the step, and they left her. She re
mained there about one quarter of an hour, when the
 31

Watchmen came. They asked her who she was, and

took her to the watch -house ; but she could not reply,
through illness and fatigue. They then brought Mr.
Burgess, a physician of the hospital : he shook his head
and said , that she was in a very dangerous state, and
ordered her to the hospital ; where she remained many
months insensible in a brain fever. The doctors shaved
her head and blistered it ; and the nurses told her, that
during her insensibility, they inquired of them every
morning whether she was not dead. After getting bet
ter, she asked Mr. Burgess to let her go down stairs in
the yard for a little air. He said, that she was not
strong enough ; but as she persisted, he told her, if she 1
would carry a tea-kettle that was on the fire to the end
of the ward, he would let her go down. The doctor did
not know that there was hot water in it. She fell down,
and scalded herself. The doctor caught her, as she was
falling. After which she kept her bed a wholemonth,
and when she got better, she was removed from the fever
to the decline ward , where she remained till she had
strength to go out. When it was time for her to leave
the hospital, the inatron and nurse asked her where she
was going, and whom she knew ; and they spoke to the
clergyman * who attended the hospital, and he recom
mended her to some ladies, who got her a place at Mrs.
Matthews's, No. 1 , Clapham Road- Place. There she
remained three years. Her father and mother not hear
ing from her all this time, the clergyman who took her
out of the hospital, having asked about her friends, sent
down a letter to know, whether it was true. To which
an answer was returned, that her father was living and
her mother very ill, through fretting about her. The
gentleman continued the correspondence with her friends.
Mrs. Matthews being a very good mistress taught her to
read , gave her religious tracts, and permitted her to use
the books in her bookcase. Her daughter Betsy wrote

This will afterwards be discovered to have been the Rev. Mr.

Pattenden..
 32

letters for her to copy, when she came home from school,
which she learnt very fast, and spent her leisure time in
reading, and made no acquaintance with any one.-A
Jew lived next door, and at length she got intimate with
his cook , and they continually were talking over the gar
den wall in the absence of their mistresses. She never
went out during the three years , except once in three
months, when she was allowed to see the clergyman and
lady, who got her the place. They always called her
their adopted child ; and she was as such introduced to
any one that was there, when she called upon them . At
the conclusion of the three years, there was to be a Jew's
wedding at the Horns, at Kennington, and this cook
asked her to go ; which she resolved to do, be the conse
quence what it would . She asked her mistress, for the
first time, for leave, which she refused ; saying, that being
young and inexperienced she insisted on her not going
She felt hurt at the denial, and began to contrive means
of going. Mrs. Baynes , a shopkeeper, was very intimate
with the gentleman and lady that called her their daugh
ter : she had lately lain in . She went out and got a
woman to write her a note, desiring her to write, that
Mrs. Baynes would be obliged to her mistress to let her
go to the christening, which was on that day. She put
it in thepost, and itwas received the next morning. She
carried it to her mistress, and obtained leave to go. She
told her to be at home at eight at night. She dressed her
self and went to theJew's wedding, which her mistress did
notsuspect, and returned at the time appointed. She said
nothing that night, but the next morning asked the
child's name, which she said was Edward Francis.
Mrs. M. asked whether there was a large party ; she said ,
yes ; on which she coloured , which excited suspicion.
Shewent to inquire, and detected the whole procedure.
On her return , she desired Mr. Pattenden to call. She
was very angry, and scolded very much . On which,
fearing to see Mr. P. she left the house without her bon
net and waited about, thinking that he would be gone in
half an hour, but he stopped all night. All which time
she was in the back lane. From thence in the morning,
 33

as she was walking up and down , Mrs. M. saw her and

sending for her, told her, that staying out that night
was an additional offence. She then took her clothes,
and left her. She went to a widow woman , who made
feathers and straw -bonnets, and supplied her mistress,
where she staid eight days. This woman wrote to her
father for her, informing him that she had left her place,
and sent him her clothes ; sayivg, that she wanted no
thing, and had left England with a travelling family.-
She had often observed the Magdalen, in Blackfriars'
Road , and conceiving it to be a nunnery, was resolved to
get into it. She asked this woman about it, and she said
that women went there the first Wednesday in a month .
Shecalled and knocked at the door on the appointed day,
where therewere many young women besides . As they en
teredthe room , their bonnets & caps were taken off. They
asked her, how long she had goneon in that way ? How long
she had been on the town ? —the meaning of which she
did not comprehend - she said she was sorry for her faults .
They talked very seriously with her, and made her cry.
They told her, as she was so young, if she was truly pe
nitent, they would take her in, which her tears prevented
her from answering. Then one of them said, poor thing,
she is very much affected, we will admit her. On her
admission she received a bit of paper with admitted
written on it, and then was ordered to deliver it in the
next room . She was taken into a bath , and every thing
was taken from her, and the Magdalen dress put on her;
which was a stuffgown ,a white tippet, and a plain border
ed cap, plaited round the face. She was there six months,
and acted as a sort of housemaid . Soon after, une of
the women was talking with her about her former life ;
on which she said, is it possible ? She replied, you are as
bad as we are, otherwise you would not be in this house.
Endeavouring, therefore, to vindicate herself, they ac
quainted Mr. Prince, who was the minister. He inter
rogated her ; she replied , that she suddenly left her
place, and came to the Magdalen. He accused her of
falsehood . She told him the particulars, and she was
summoned to the board the next day, and was then ex
F
 34

pelled the house. The Bishop confirmed her when there,

and she learned most of the Magdalen hymns. They
then delivered her clothes, and a pound note which she
had in her pocket, when she went in . She thought of
going into the country to her father and mother, in room of
getting a place; but instead of going directly there, being
afraid of walking over Hounslow Heath, on account of
robberies and murders , then prevalent, she changed her
own clothes at a pawn-broker's for men’s, and equipped
herself in thein . To try whether her sex would be de
tected , she went to a house to ask if there was a place
vacant for a young man , in which she succeeded, and
was laughed at as a little man . They told her of a per
son that did . She was introduced into the parlour,
where there were three gentlemen and four ladies. Her
hair being short, she powdered it and combed it in front;
and took the ear-rings out of her ears. They asked her
age, and how she was so short a man. They said, they
liked her, but they would not take her into the house,
because she looked so very wicked . Leaving this, she
tried her success by begging as a man , and thus she
started , till she got to Salisbury Plain, where she met
two men on horseback , who asked her, whether she had
any money ? She replied no, and was going to ask them
to give her some. They asked whether she would go
with them , and enter into their service, viz.: to look after
their horses, when they came home, and go out with them ,
when they went out by night. She asked where they
went to. They said, that if they found her faithful, they
would open the secret to her ; but as they did not know
that she was a woman, she accepted the offer, determin
ed to find out their business. When they came home to
a small house in a forest, they gave her something to eat
and to drink ; and when she had been there about half
an hour, four more came in. They asked, whether she
could fire a pistol? She told them no, that she had never
learnt to fire. They gave her a pistol, bidding her to fire it
off, showing her how to do it ; at which she was frightened .
They called her a chicken-heart ; and said , that she would
not be fit for their service, unless she plucked up a bold
 35

heart and courage. She fired off the pistol more dead
than alive, and screamed out that she was murdered.
They threatened to destroy her, having ascertained there
by her sex, if she did not tell , whether she did not come
there as a spy : then she fell on her knees, told them
every thing, and begged pardon ; hoping that they would
let her go free. On which the captain drew a sword and
said , if she would swear by the sword, and all the pow
ers above never to betray them, they would let her go
free. Which she did. They gave her a guinea and five
shillings, and she went off. She arrived atExeter, with
out any thing fresh. Thence she went to Witheridge, in
woman's clothes, to see her father and mother. They
were much surprised to see her, conceiving she was with
the travelling famiiy. She said , that she left them , and
lost her luggage by the coach . On which her father
gave her back her clothes. They wanted her to get a
place in the country, to which she agreed ; and she and
her mother went to Crediton, and got a place with Mr.
Pring, a tanner. She lived there three months ; but left
it on being obliged to do things out of her place, viz. be
ing obliged to heave the hides in the yard out of the cart.
She then went to Latford, and then she heard of a place
twomiles off, at a little village named Spring (near Calne ).
-There she hired herself , and staid three months.
In that severe winter with the deep snow, when, for
many weeks, they could not get to the butcher's or to
market, they sent her one night to see if she could go,
as they had killed most of their poultry, &c. She went
as far as she could, and sunk in the snow. Not being
able to get up, she staid there all night, and expected
never to be found. In the morning she was extricated ,
taken home, and put to bed . On which she resolved to
leave the country; gave them warning, and went back to
Exeter. There she inquired for service. She was at At
torney Sandford's, Goldsmiths' Street, as a cook : here
she stopped also three months, and went away because
the fire did not agree with her, and set off for London .
She wentinto lodgings and tried to get a place. She suc
ceeded at one Mrs.Hillier's, fishmonger, Dark -house Lane.
F 2
 36

Billingsgate. One day she went to the stationer's to get

some books, where she saw a gentlemanly -looking man .
He asked every particular about her, when she was
gone, her name, & c .: which the people of the shop told
him . In the evening, she received a letterfrom him, and
he called frequently to see her, when her mistress was
absent, and often met her. She left her place suddenly ;
and after two months acquaintance got married.* They
were married by a Romish priest. They took lodgings,
and stopped about a month in London. From whence
they went to Kingston, where they had lodgings ; and
from thence they travelled all round to Brighton, & c . &c .
From there toBattledore ( supposed Battle) afew miles from
Brighton. He then gave her some money to take her to
London ; her husband proceeding to Dover, and from
thence to Calais, promising to write and send for her,
which he never did . She then went to London, and
returned to service, at Mrs. Clark's, the Crab -tree, in
Tottenham - Court Road , where she remained till she
was taken in labour. Mrs. Clark got a coach , and took
her to the City -Road Hospital. She was there three
weeks, and returned to Mrs. Clark's, with the child, who
advised her totake lodgings and get the child into the
Foundling. She went to the Foundling, told them ,
that she was unable to support the child, and knew not
where the father was gone. She went three Wednesday's
following, and the child was admitted on the last. They
gave her a guinea, and , after waiting a month , they gave
the child Foundling clothes, and she left the child there.
She again went to service, at Miss Ferret and Miss
Field's, in Thornhaugh-Street, near Russell- Square.
Every Monday, between ten and four, she went to in
quire for the health of the child. The child shortly died,

* Whether she was really married to this foreigner, or whether he se

duced , and afterwards deserted her, has not been clearly ascertained.
There is little doubt, but that it was from this man who had probably
associated with Malays, or was acquainted with their language, that she
picked up the Eastern words and idioms which she used, as well as that
knowledge of some Asiatic customs, which so effectually enabled her
to effect her imposition . This person's name was Bakerstendht or
Beckerstein .
 37

and then she left London . She took a coach and return
ed to Witheridge. She stayed there a week and three
days, and her mother and self wentto Exeter. Her mo
ther carried her clothes for her to go to another place.
She sent her box to Bristol , by the waggon , to be left
till called for. She left Exeter and went towards Ply
mouth . She had not proceeded far, before she saw
some gypsies on the road. Having had nothing to eat,
she asked for something, and took some tea with them .
She stopped three days with them ; during which time,
they endeavoured to persuade her to continue with them ,
assuring her, that she would make her fortune. They
endeavoured to persuade her to do many things with
them , which she rejected, and accordingly left them.
Instead of going to Plymouth, after leaving them , she
went across thecountry to Teignmouth ; and from Teign
mouth she went to Honiton , acting all the way the part
of a foreigner, and begging thus at farm -houses. She
avoided gentlemen's houses, lest she should be detected ;
and alwayswore her bonnet. In this disguise, she pro
ceeded to Bristol. She had ten shillings with her, and
being tired got on the stage- coach, six miles the other
side of the city. She tried every where for lodgings,
and was not suited for a long time. She met a woman ,
whom she asked for such, who took her to Charlotte
Bennet's, near Lewin's Mead , who kept lodgings. She
could not accommodate her, but a woman , who used to
lodge there, was there at the time, and said , that she might
sleep with her, in Lewin's Mead . Her name was Elea
nor * she used to go out to work . She gave one
shilling a week , and was there nearly three weeks. Then
she did not pretend to be a foreigner, until one day,
when, for a frolic, she dressed herself in her turban, and
went out in the streets : she was with her ; and they went
begging, and she had five shillings given her, where she
spoke her lingo. This was the only house in Bristol to
which she went. Two or three days before, she went to the

* This was Eleanor Joseph, she had forgotten the real name of the
person ,
 38

Quay, to inquire if any vessel was bound for America,

and was answered, that there would shortly be two or
three. One Captain said , he would take her for £ 5 . to
find herself, and there were many passengers going. He
said, that the vessel would sail in fifteen days. Not hav
ing money to pay for her passage, she thought, that she
would, under the garb of a foreigner, try to get money
during those fifteen days to go there . She left her box
at Mrs. Joseph's, and left Bristol, on Tuesday, and went
towards Lamplighters ' Hall , by Lord De Clifford's.
The people at Lord De C.'s wanted to take her in, but she
would not, and went farther to a farm -house, where she
dined with the farmer and his wife, on roast veal , greens
and potatoes. After dinner, he sent his own daughter
with her to Lord De Clifford's, to see if the French
cook could understand her. She was loath to go in ; the
servants intreated her, but she would not : they offered
something to drink , &c . The cook could not understand
her ; and happening to ask her if she was an Espagnol ,
and she answering Si, he said, she was a Spanish woman.
One servant was going to take her to some Spanish fa
inilies in Bristol, when she ran to get her bonnet, and
made her escape through the fields, and slept in a la
bourer's house .* She overheard the labourer saying to
his wife, perhaps she is a rogue, or a disguised man, or
some one cometo murder us ; and she could not sleep
all night for laughing. She thought, she should have
died with laughing before the morning, as the woman
was nearly in fits, through fear that she was a disguised
robber. In the morning, having had one cup of tea, she
crossed the Marsh, and wentonthe Passage road . She
met a man , who said , it was a fine morning : she an
swered him in her lingo . She had all this timeher bon
net, not her turban . When they came to the village, he
said, what a pity it was for her to go on without know
ing any one, or beingunderstood. By signs, they want
ed her to go to a French governess, at a gentleman's

* Mr. Yates's cottage, in the Lanes by the Cherry Orchards

 39

houset just by, who concluded she was Spanish. She

proceeded on her journey towards the Passage, until
seeing a public-house, with a bench before it, as it was
very hot weather, she sat herself down to rest. The
mistress, by signs, begged her to come in, and refresh
herself, which she did . The same man , who took her to
the French governess, overtook her here. Some offer
ed her one thing, some another ; but she took nothing.
The man , that ran after her, said, that she was a Spani
ard , and that she must be fond of brandy, as much was
distilled in Spain. They brought her a decanter of
brandy. On making signs, no, they brought decanters
of gin and rum , to see whether she liked either of them .
She took a little rum , and filled it up with cold water,
and eat some biscuits. She proceeded on her journey
to the Passage, the man accompanying her.* They met
a soldier and another man , whom her companion asked,
if he could speak Spanish ; the man said yes, for he had
been in Spain many years, and wished he were there
now ; he spoke to her ; she answered him in her own lan
guage, and he replied, that she did talk Spanish , and came
from Madrid Hill !!! Hetold the man, that she said , she
had a father and mother, who were behind on the road ;
and seeing her touch a cow on the horn, he told her not to
touch them , because they were not like those in Spain ;
he said , women rode cows in Spain. She proceeded
till within three miles of the Passage, where finding her
self so near to Wales, she wished to return back . She then
took a paper from her pocket, that had been given to her
the preceding day, with CHARLES HARVEY, Esq . Queen
Square, French Consul, written ; and made signs, that
there she wished to go ; but her companion declared, that
he would see her safe one way or another, for he was paid
by the French Governess to do so. They called at the
same public houses, and had some beef steaks for din

+ Mr. Llewellyn's.

* This was the wheelwright's son who afterwards called on Mrs. W. to

tell her, that in his company she had drank spirits.
 40

ner ; after which she returned to the village, from which

she had before started , and they gave her some tea ; in
came the French Governess, and another lady and gentle
man , who though he had been in Spain could not talk
Spanish ; but from what the man narrated of the soldier,
he believed her a Spaniard. Hegave the man a direction
to a Spaniard in Clifton, to take her there ; she was
obliged to accompany him to Bristol, where she was
resolved to make her escape, and so made signs that she
would go to the French Consul , whom the young man
could not find . On his stopping to enquire of some ac
quaintance in Queen Square, she slipt round the corner,
and hid herself behind one of the barrels on the Quay, till
the man was out of sight. She then enquired in English
for lodgings for that night,and the nextmorning she start
ed for Almondsbury. About half ways,she took off her
bonnet and put on her handkerchief as a turban : most
people called her French . At a public house* where she
stopp'd , they gave her beer. When she got on Almonds
bury Hill , she went to a shoemaker's shop for lodgings,
butthey did not understand her, and put bread and butter
and water before her. Then they shewed her to Mr.
Hill's ‫ ;ܪ‬they sent her away from thence to the Rev. Mr.
Hunt's, who was not at home : she went in , saw a bed ,
and made signs that she wanted to sleep there ;but Mrs.
Hunt was alarmed at her appearance. They sent her to
the Overseer, who offered her sixpence. She made signs
she wanted not money, but lodgings. The Overseer sent
her to Mrs. Worrall's : she objected to go there, fearful of
being found out. The man servant was continually
asking what language she talked. She went in at their
invitation, and sat down in the kitchen .
[Her reception at Mrs. Worrall's, at Knole, has before
been given .]
In her narrative to Mr. Mortimer, as well in that which
has now been related , having asserted that her parish
was Witheridge in Devonshire, and that the name of her
parents was Wilcox ; Mrs. W. before she proceeded
farther in rendering her any assistance, determined to
* Patchway.
 41

ascertain how much of truth , and what there was fiction

in the account she had given of herself, requested a res
pectable tradesman of Bristol to visit her parents in
Devonshire ; and from the minutes which this gentleman
made on that occasion, the following particulars are
extracted :
On his arrival at Tiverton, where he had heard that
the Rev. Mr. Dickens, the vicar of Witheridge resided,
he introduced himself to him , and described the object
of his visit. Mr. Dickens knew the parties well , and
expressed much surprise that a girl, so uneducated as he
knew MaryWillcocksto be, could so well have supported
a part of such duplicity . Her father, he said, had al
ways borne a good character, was an honest hardwork
ing man, and her mother a sober industrious woman ,
who had brought up a large family ; they were very poor;
the father's trade a cobler, he had known them for the
25 years, he had been vicar of Witheridge. He had read
in the Exeter paper the accountof the stranger's arrival
at Bristol, and little suspected that one of his parishion
ers could be the girl, who had excited so much curiosity .
Mrs. Dickens offered to accompany the Gentleman to
Witheridge, where they went ; and on their arrival at the
vicarage-house, Willcocks and his wife were sent for, Be
fore the gentleman acquainted them with the object of
his visit & enquiry, they informed him , that they had four
children—the eldest a son about 32, a daughter Mary
25, and another son and daughter 15 and 9 years old .--
On asking if he could seetheir daughter Mary, they
looked confused ; and after hesitating, the father said, he
could not fetch her, for she had left them, and he did
not know where she then was. It was about eight years
since she first left him , and he had seen her several times
since, but could not tell the reason of her leaving him,
the last time she went away. It was not on account of
his beating her with a strap, though he had once done so,
for going with another girl to a fair at Exeter, He
had flogged her well about two years ago, for going there
contrary to his consent. That, at the age of fifteen ,
she went into service with a Mr. Moon , of Exeter, where
G
 42

she remained upwards of two years, and then ran away

to London . He heard of her going to London from a
girl who ran away with her, and grew tired of her jour
ney and returned ; that he learnt afterwards, that his
daughter was taken ill on her journey, that a waggoner
gave her a lift to London , and set her down at an Hos
pital , where she was a long time confined in a frenzy
fever ; that the day on which she was to be discharged,
a gentleman , whose name was Pattenden, was visiting
a poor woman in the same ward ; being informed of her
forlorn and friendless situation, heenquired ofherthe par
ticulars of her life, and promised to ascertain the truth
of them from Mr. Moon , and if she was correct, he would
endeavour to place her in a respectable situation. He
prevailed on the guardians of the house to let her re
main there, till he heard from Mr. Moon. Mr. Mc's an
swer confirming her account of herself, and giving her a
good character, he took her to his own home, and pro
cured hera place very soon after, with a Mr. Matthews,
Clapham -Road Place, where she continued three years.
That her parents frequently heard from her ; that she sent
them a pound bill , said she was very happy and com
fortable, and when she wrote, sent them money, when
ever she could save a little before hand . They always
heard she was very much liked , wherever she lived.
That on leaving Mrs. Matthews, she came down to Wi
theridge and staid a little while at home, and then went
into service with Mr. Sandford , Attorney, at Exeter, with
whom shelived sometime, and lefthim with a good charac
ter. She then went again to London, and Mr. Pattenden
having promised always to befriend her, she applied to
him, and he soon placed her in the service of Mrs. Field,
where she staid a few months ; again quitted London ,
and returned to her native place. This was about a fort
night before last Lady-day.
Upon the gentleman's asking, if her parents had ever
the curiosity to make enquiries who Mr. Pattenden was,
they said, yes ; that a son of a neighbour, a linen -draper
in London, had done so, and found him a highly respecta
ble character, a Presbyterian Minister, much beloved
in his neighbourhood.
 43

That when their daughter left them , she could not

write, but Miss Matthews had taught her ; that she
learnt to read at a school in Witheridge ; was always
fond of her book, and when out of work spent most of
her time in reading. When she returned to them from
Mrs. Field's, they knew she had been married ; she wrote
them word so ; that she had a child four months old, who
died before she left London. Never saw her husband ;
told them, she had left him at Dover, and that she was
come to take her leave of them, before she went to
the Indies. Did not say whether she was going to the
East or West- Indies. She gave them some money and
took her leave, and they had never heard of her since.
Upon being asked if they observed any difference in her
manners, or any thing particular in her conduct, during
her last visit, the father said , she was very learned, and
could talk French very fast : she used to talk for two or
three hours in a morning to her sister in bed . He knew
it was French, because the folks in the village said it
was so. But he really thought, she was not always right
in her head . Ever since she was fifteen years old , in
consequence of a rheumatic fever, which affected her
head , he believed she was not right in her mind . At
spring and fall she was particularly uneasy, always wish
ing to go abroad. She was never fond of tippling, never
drinking other but water. Upon asking for a sightofsome
letters which they had alluded to , the mother instantly
fetched them, and gave them into the gentleman's custo
dy. There is an allusion in one of them to a present,
that her mother had sent her. Mrs. Willcocks did notre
member what it alluded to, but the father brought to
her recollection, that it was three fat ducks and a pint of
cream , which they had sent to Mr. P.—who they thought
had been her deliverer and saved her from ruin, by his
kind attention and good advice.
The gentleman then explained to them the object of
his visit, and the part their daughter had been acting :
They were much affected ; were anxious to know if she
had committed any other crime, and hoped the lady at
whose house she was staying would forgive her, and en
G 2

1
 44

deavour to place her in some situation, where she might

maintain herself; for which they should ever feel grate
ful , and hoped to hear of her future welfare, through
the Rev. Mr. Dickens.
· The following are the letters, which her parents placed
1

in this gentleman's hands. The two first are written by

herself; those which follow, are alike in the hand-writing,
but have more the appearance of a male than a female
character .
My dear father and
“ Mother and my Love and duty to my dear brothers and sister
I hop i shall find you all in good helth Ples give my Love to grand
mother and ant burgess and all friends Im in most delightful place and
ny mistress Treats me with all Imaginable kindness and my youn miss
is Larnd me to write and ihope ishall nax Letter isen belebi to write
þefor I hve ver good friends but my dear Motber i m got so fat that you
wel not lard now me but I wnt to now the situation that you Live in
with it is beter now and it nas when i Live ther it was bad Enough then
with I bop it is beter now and i hop you will send me letter toLet me
now how all of you are but my dear fatheri bop hoo will kip my dear
sister fom ple for it will be the raun of her for i never did my time pass
mor agreeably for i do my work wil paleasure wen i hav dond reading
for i never go yout yout is to church and i naver so happy when im
bmy salf butmy dear mother I whe you wer so happy as im I hop my
dear brothers will never let you want for ant thin I wich it was in my
por to mker you comfortable but my dear mother I have send you wau
pond not and I hop it wall Łse acceptable presents wen my dearfather I
have got wan vever to beg of youthat is to send my aged for i wich to
now how hold im wich I her yous most humbly dutyf Loving daughter
Mary Willcocks Mr. Mathews clapham rod place kennington No 1
November 24
* “ Mrs. Baker would thank Mrs. Wilcock to call at Mr. Horsewell's
Linen Draper No. 81 Fore-street Exeter to let her know if this arrive
safe 22 Dec. 1811"
“ Thomas Willcocks
® Witheridge near Crediton Devon.”

“Mary Willocks
“ Mr. Mathews Clapham road Place
“ Kinnington N 1 August 19 1812
My Dear Father and My Mother i hop you are wall as iam tho
ihe blesed of god I have ben vary hill but Iam Much bater thenk The

In another hand -writing .

 45

Lord for it Pleace to give My Duty and Love to Mydear Brothers and
sester and i hop they Are wall and i hop you will be so kind as to re
member Me to ant Burgess and all Friends I want to Bed a favory of
you if you pleace to sen me Word wre sally dinner live as I wich to see
her I have very good friends so you see i have got thee 3 Fathers ther is
Mr. Pattenden you Mu Dear and i hope i have got a heavenly Father I
hope you willtell me of any good that may Attend you give me oppor
tunity to rejoice hide Not from me any evil that may befal you That i
may mingle My tears with yours i Bend me down with gratitude for the
Last Paternal gift you made me which has Proved My salvation and it
will add Batternessto my Years force to my groans and sharpness to the
stripe if the virtues and sufferings of this life are Not sufficient to atone
for the last ast of disobedience May every happiness and comfort attend
you My Last Prayers in this world will Be for those that have loved me
wich I am your most obliged affestionate ”
( No Signature. )

“ London , July 1st, 1816.

· My dear Father and Mother,
“ What apology to make I know not for my undutiful conduct,
for which I beg your forgiveness. I have been travelling abroad with a
family this long time back, and have lately returned from the Continent.
You have, I believe, heard that I was married , and have got a young
child about four months since, which we have called John Edward
Francis. I am going to Norwich with my husband, who is a native of
that place ; butI am not sure whether we shall remain there or not, but
I will write to you every three months, and let you know every particu
lar of our situation . Give my love to my brother Thomas, and sister
Susan : let me know what trade you intend to bind him to. I send you
as a small mark of my love and duty, and I shall send you in future,
please God, half-a -crown a week ; but it will answer as well to send it
quarterly .
66
I beg you will write to me directly, for fear I should happen to
leave London before I receive your answer.
• I conclude with my love to brothers and sister, and kind compli
ments to all friends.
“ Your ever dutiful daughter,
“ MÄRY Wilcocks.”
“ P.S. Direct for me to Mr. Paddington, No. 29, Coppice Row ,
Clerkenwell, London.
My husband (Baker) whose christian name is the same as the
child, sends his love and duty to you."

« Dear Sir, • London, Jan. 18th, 1817.

“ Being a friend and acquaintance of your daughter's, Mrs. Baker,
who went to France before Christmas to her husband, she left me a
pound note in charge for you, which I now enclose. I would have sent
it before according to her orders, but waited in hopes of receiving a
 46

letter from her, that I might be able to acquaint you of her safe arrivat
in France ; but as I have not heard from her since, I judged it not right
to delay sending you this letter and its inclosure any longer.
I hope you have heard from her before now. I have a box of
clothes belonging to her, asalso a check on the bank for £25. which she
desired me tosend to you in case of any thing happening to her. She
sent by Betsey Dinner, two gowns to her sister, before she went to
France. I almost forgot to mention, that her child died about a fort
night before she left London .
“ You will please to answer this by return of post, as I mean to
write to her shortly .
“ I am, Sir, with respect, your very humble Servant,
“ ELIZABETH FLOWER.”
“ Please to direct to me at No. 24, Wilmot Street, Brunswick Square,
London . "
“ For Mr. Thomas Willcocks,
“ Witheridge, near Crediton, Devonshire."

Mrs. Worrall , having thus obtained corroborative tes

timony of the truth of the principal occurrences of the
last eight years of the life of her Protegée, and also pos
session of the letters which her parents gave to the gen
tleman who visited Witheridge, and which containedthe
addresses of the different families in which she had
been in service in the metropolis, agreed , with the full
approbation and consent of the girl, to procure her a
passage for America , to which country her mind was
fully bent on proceeding. The Robert and Ann, Capt.
Robertson, had at that timenearly completed her cargo,
and was about to sail fromBristol for Philadelphia. In this
vessel Mrs. W. agreed with the Captain for her passage,
and furnished her with clothes and money sufficient to
support her, till she could find a service in Philadelphia ;
and three young females of Bristol , who were going in
the same ship to that city, as teachers in a Moravian es
táblishment there, were prevailed upon to notice and
protect her during her voyage ;* at the termination of
which , should they approve of her conduct, Mrs. W. with
* It has been asserted, that she was smuggled on board this vessel ;
the assertion is false. She was regularly entered as a passenger, not in .
the name of Baker it is true, but in that of Burgess, her mother's maid .
en name .
This was done from no other motive than to prevent the
visits and enquiries ofstrangers.
 47

the same kindness and liberality which she had uniform

ly extended towards her, authorised the ladies to present
her with farther pecuniary assistance.
Before the departure of Caraboo, the public curiosity
to gain a sight of her was rather increased than diminish
ed . The Earl of Ck came from Bath for the sole
purpose of conversing with her. The Marquis of Sấy
wrote to request the same indulgence, but she was sup
posed to have left Bristol . She was in fact visited by per
sons of all descriptions - natives and foreigners, linguists,
all
painters, physiognomists, craniologists, and gypsies;Psal
were anxious to see and converse with this female
manazar. Some pitied her, some condemned her, & others
upheld her. Of her being a Christian there was now no
doubt ; and Mrs. W.'s first wish was to have placed her in
some pious family. She was therefore preached to and
prayed by ; but the visits of the divines made no impres
sion, as one of them said, on her impenetrable heart. She
continued under the roof of Mr. Mortimer till her depar
ture. During which time she shewed no signs of contri
tion for the part she had been acting, but appeared
highly gratified and proud of the number of dupes and
proselytes, who had attached themselves to her for such
a length of time. It would be unjust, however, not to ex
cept Mrs. Worrall from this general charge of want of feel
ing and ingratitude. She certainly did not appear insensi
ble of her great kindness and unwearied attentions to
her comfort and happiness, and the day before she sailed,
she left the following singular epistle, directed to Mrs.
W. which is here copied verbatim :
friendship thou charmer of the mind thou sweet deluding
ill the brightest moments mortals find and sharpest pains can feel fate
has divided all our shares of pleasure and of pain in love the friendship
and the cares are mixed and join again the same ingenious author iii
another place says tis dangerous to let loose our love between the
eternal fair for pride that busy sin spoils all that we perform .”
One of the Moravian Ladies has also written word,
that while the vessel waslying inKingroad, she more than
once shed tears, when she saw Knole* in the distance .

* Knole is a very conspicuous land -mark looking up the Bristol

Channel.
 48

Since she has left Bristol, a friend of Mrs. Wi's has

visited London, and made enquiries into her mode of
life and conduct there, of the several persons whose ad
dresses were contained in the letters, which her parents
received from her. The following are selected from se
veral other very singular occurrences :
The first person whom the enquirer sought for was
the Rev. Mr. Pattenden, a dissenting clergyman, who
lives at No. 29, Coppice-Row , Spafields. Mr. Patten
den confirmed all that the girl had told of his knowledge
of her ; that he took her out of the Hospital, procured
her the place at Mrs. Matthews's, got her child into the
foundling-Hospital, and his daughter, who had gone to
enquire after it, was informed that it was dead. She had
told him , that its father was the master of a family in
whose service she had lived in the country. That during
a twelvemonth he had lost sight of her ; that his family
always took a great interest in her welfare, and whenever
she was out of place or wanted help, she applied to them.
They did not think there was anyharm in her ; but she
was always so odd and eccentric, that Mr. P. said it
would fill a volume, if he were to transcribe all that he
knew of her. The following letter has been since receiv
ed from Miss Pattenden, in answer to one written
by Mrs. Wi's friend, to ascertain some dates more
accurately :
“ Hon. Madam ,
66
Agreeable to your request, I write to you what further infor
mation I can respectingMary Willcocks ; we suppose, Madam, that she
lie-in in February 1816, as to the place where, her accountwas contra
dictary ; to one she said, the child was born on the road to London ; to
another she said, she lie-in at Westminster lying -in hospital. The child
was taken into the Foundling the 6thday of July 1816, and wesuppose
was baptized there, and we think it lived about two months after, or a
little more ; we have 'not seen her I believe since last Christmas. The
familyshe lived with at Islington , was a Mr. Starling's, the corner of
Norfolk Street, near the. Thatched House, the lower part of Islington.
The рау she said she received for the child was from Lambeth work
house, and it is likely they can give some account of the father :* her

* Nothing can be traced respecting her here.

 49

story in this, as in many other matters, varied . To some she said it

was by her master, a French gentleman at Exeter ; to others she said it
was by a young gentleman under his care ; and to others, that the father
was alabouring man who worked at her master's ; this she said at the
Foundling, and that his name was Baker. I think, Madain, you have
the address of Mrs. Matthews, No. 1, Claphani-road Place, where she
lived soon after we first had knowledge of her ! I wish, Madam , we
could give you more information ; and I sincerely pray, notwithstand
ing all her past conduct, which displays such great wickedness, the
Lord may give her grace to repent ; and that in some future day we may
hear of her being a bright and shining character, one that truly fears
God and departs from all iniquity.
60
" I am , dear Madam, your very humble Servant,
« P. PATTENDEN.

“ 29, Coppice Row, Spa Fields."

" July 15th, 1817."

The next enquiry was made at the Crab -tree public

house, in Tottenham-Court Road , kept by a Mrs. Clark .
She lived there six months, and staid till she was taken
in labour ; but she did not go to the City Lying - in Hos
pital, as she herself stated to Mrs. W. She took a
hackney coach, when she left the Crab-tree, and went
on the Bayswater road . The coachman, who drove her,
was curious to find out, where she was going, and after
he put her down, he watched her, but, with her usual
dexterity, she eluded him ; and though she called at the
Crab -tree afterwards, with the child in her arms, they
never could find out where she lie-in. During the six
months she lived there, she conducted herself with the
greatest propriety ; was particularly modest in her be
haviour, and one of the most cleanly, regularly, good
servants they ever had. She then passed by the name
of Hannah ; but in a Bible, which she used to read on a
Sunday, the name of MARY BAKER was written . She
told them , her husband was dead , but they thought she
never had been married. They were very partial to her.
She scarcely ever went out; but told such odd unac
countable stories, that she became proverbial amongst
them for the marvellous ; they were stories, however,
H
 50

which never did harm to any body, but seemed to arise

from the love of telling something extraordinary.
Mr. Cole and the family, mentioned in one of her letters
as living at No. 24, Wilmot- Street, also spoke well of her
character, but nothing particular transpired from them,
except that she left Wilmot-Street on account of being
with child .
From Mrs. Field and Mrs. Ferret, who were living at
No. 32, Thornaugh -Street, according to the direction in
the letter, but who had removed to No. 18, Cumberland
Street, New -Road, Mrs. W.'s friend found, that the
girl had lived with them six months, had conducted
herself to their satisfaction , and was a very pleasing
good servant.
Mrs. Matthews was the next person called upon.
Mrs. W's friend describes this lady as a most worthy
excellent woman . She was pleased to see her, and had
frequently thonght of writing to Mrs. W. since she had
heard of CARABOO in thenewspapers. She confirmed the
account which Caraboo and Mr. Pattenden had given
of her having lived three years in her service; that she
had the illness in her house, which she described ; that
her conduct was always correct in every respect, except
that she told terrible stories, yet after all they were such
as did no injury to others, or good to herself. Her beha
viour was always strange and eccentric, and her ways so
mysterious, that Mrs. M. said , that no one who did not
know the girl would believe them , were she to relate
what occurred . That she ran away from her suddenly,
on finding Mr. Pattenden was coming to talk to her, for
having played some unaccountable prank, or told some
unaccountable story. Notwithstanding the eccentricity
of her conduct, Mrs. M. was very partial to her , and
every one, who came to her house and saw hér, tuok an
interest in her ; that she was a very capable, good ser
vant, and seldom went out ; that she would sometimes
say, she should like to go and live in the woods ; and
sometimes she would not eat for several days together,
to shew how long she could live without food ; that she
had left her service about four years, but in the course
 51

of thatperiod, had called several times upon her. Once

she called to say, that a gentleman from the Foundling,
would wait on Mrs. M. for her character, and if she spoke
well of her, her child would be admitted there. The
gentleman came, and the child was taken in. The last
time she saw her was in November 1816 ; she said , she
was in place at Islington, that her child was dead, and
she was dressed in mourning. She then told Mrs. M.
that the child's father was a bricklayer. It was through
Mr. Pattenden, that Mrs. M. first took her. Mr. P. had
gone to St. Giles's Workhouse, to pray with a sick young
woman , he saw Mary, and found she was to be dismiss
ed the next day ; that she was friendless, and thought it
was a pity she should be thrown on the wide world, and
Mrs. M. being in want of a servant, took her on the
emergency. Mrs. M.'s daughter, who taught her to
write, is no more. Neither Mrs. Matthews nor Mr. Pat
tenden thought she had ever been abroad , though they
considered it not impossible, as they lost sight of her at
intervals, for a considerable time.
In consequence of the information in Miss Pattenden's
letter, enquiries were made at Mr. Starling's, the corner
of Norfolk - Street, near the Thatched -House, Islington,
where she went to live in July 1816, and continued until
November, when she was dismissed, *for setting two beds
on fire in the course of one week !! * The motive was,
that a fellow -servant, whom she did not like, might be
suspected and sent away. Though Mrs. Starling did
not think she meant to let the fire proceed to such an
height, that she could not herself extinguish it, yet hav
ing played the trick, she could never sleep in peace while
she was under her roof. That she was the best servant
she ever had in her house, but so odd and eccentric, that
she frequently thought she must be out of her mind . She
was very fond of her children , but told them such strange

* Undoubtedly the greatest blot upon her character ! But as the pre
šent Narrative may be depended upon as a statement of every material
fact, which has been deemed worth recording relative to this singular
creature, it would have been wrong to suppress such an occurrence.
H 2
 52

stories about gypsies and herself, that she frightened them

out of their wits. She once came into the parlour, and
had dressed herself up so like a gypsey, that the child
ren did not know her. She told them she had been in
the East- Indies and America ; that she was in Philadel
phia ; was brought to bed by the side of a river ; that a
lady and gentleman going by in a carriage took her up,
and had her taken care of. Mrs. Starling could not re
collect a quarter of her vagaries. She went to Mrs.
Starling's just as her child died ; made her mourning
there, and so quick , that they were surprised when she
put it on . They did not know , who the father of the
child was . She said , she had been married by a Catho
lic priest to a Frenchman , who had left her, and the child
had died at her mother's. She used to go somewhere
to receive money, as she said , once a month, but they
could never discover where. In short, the part she
played with them was incredible ; yet they liked her,and
had it not been for the affair of the fire, would have kept
her. When Mr. and Mrs. Starling read the story of Ca
raboo in the papers, they recognised the servant that had
lived with them, and thought of writing to Mrs. Worrall
about her, but feared, if she discovered that they had in
terfered , she would have returned to London, and way
laid Mr. Starling in his walks home, through the fields
to Islington .
The information gained at the Magdalen Hospital was
as follows :
“ Anne BURGESS-admitted into the Magdalen
Hospital February 4th , 1813, and discharged at her own
request July 22nd, 1813,
Stated , she was born November 11th, 1792 ; that
her parents were dead ; that her father died when she
was a month old ; that he was a shoemaker, at Wither
idge, in Devonshire ; that her mother had been dead four
years and a half ; that her mother on her death-bed re
commended her daughter (A.B.) to the protection of the
Rev. Mr. Luxham, Minister of Reckingford, near With
eridge; that he took her into his service, in which she
was seduced by a gentleman who visited the family, who
 53

brought her to London , lived with her a month , when

he deserted her, and she went on the town , and led a
loose life ; said she had been in an hospital two years
before.
“ After being in the house, acknowledged the preced
ing account ofherself was untrue, except that her father
died in her infancy ; her name not Burgess ; no such
person as Rev. Mr. Luxham ; had a female friend at
Exeter ; did not know of her misconduct ; said to the
women, she had assumed the name of Willcocks and
Baker, and that she had lived (in 1811) in service in the
Clapham -Road, and in Edgeware-Road.
“ During the short time she was in the Magdalen
Hospital, her conduct was very eccentric ; she did not
betray any propensity to vice, but was unsettled from
the time of her admission , till she left the house. * Much
pains being taken to persuade her to disclose who her
friends were, she became more restless than before ; said ,
if.it was discovered who she was, she would hang her
self. On the 8th and 15th of July, she asked for her
discharge; but, with much solicitation, was prevailed
on to stay until the 29th of the same month , when no
further entreaty had any weight ; said then, she was not
a fallen woman, and that she had been married, but
would disclose nothing further. On the day after ber dis
charge, she called at the house, not in the tattered clothes
in which she left the house on the preceding day, but in
others of a better quality, and said , she had a box of
clothes at a friend's. Heard no more of her till October
15th, 1814, when she called at the Magdalen Hospital,
very decent in her dress, general appearance and man
ners ; said , that she had walked to Exeter since she left
the Magdalen, and at Exeter found her former mistress,
Mrs. Partridge (whose town-house is in Bloomsbury
Square); was going with her to France in the capacity
of a cook ; had told Mrs. P. she had been in the Magda

* The following memorandum was made by one of the officers,

during her continuance in the house, relative to her conduct : - " Anne
Burgess conducts herself with great propriety, and seems repentant
almost to despondence . "
 54

len Hospital, and that Mrs. P. said , I know the Magda

len very well, and I hope you will never forget the good
advice you received there."
Upon computing the time that she lived with Mrs.
Matthews, her service with Mrs. Clark at the Crab-tree,
her continuance in the Magdalen, and in other places,
it appears that the last eight years of her life are nearly
accounted for ; and her assertion , that she had been in
the East or in America, must have been one of those
unaccountable fictions, in which she so strangely indulg
ed . To whom she was married , or who was the father of
her child, are also some of those events in her life, which
have hitherto bafiled every attempt to ascertain the truth .

The foregoing Narrative lays claim to no other atten

tion from the public, than the Detail of Facts which it
contains of the singular adventures and unparallelled
success in deception, which this Young Femalepractised,
undiscovered, for the space of nearly ten weeks. That
an illiterate girl, unaided by education, in her usual
manners and common appearance by no means elegant
or striking, and with no apparent object, but an ambi
tion to excel in deceit, should have so conducted her
self both in the language she made use of, and in her ge
neral demeanour, as to have induced hundreds to believe,
that she was no less a personage than an unfortunate ,
unprotected, and wandering Princess from a distant
Eastern Island, cast uponthe shores of Britain by cruel
and relentless Pirates that she should have sustained
this character, with a countenance never changed by the
most abject flattery, or the most abusive invective, con
stantly surrounded by persons of superior talent and
education, as well as by those in her own rank of life,
who were always on the watch to mark any inconsist
ency, or to catch at any occurrence that could lead to
detection ;-and that on no occasion was she found to
lose sight of the part she was acting, or once to betray
herself ;—is an instance of consummate art and duplicity
 55

exceeding any occurrence in the annals of modern im

*
posture. The fasting woman of Tetbury, Johanna
Southcote, the famous cheats and disguises of Bamp
field More Carew himself do not exhibit cunning, talent,
and perseverance half so extraordinàry. The weapons
of imposition , which she handled with so much dexterity,
were, it is true, furnished her by her admiring specta
tors ; for although Caraboo could not speak a word of
English , Mary Willcocks could , and she could hear it
and profit by it too. The principal words she used ,
which smattered of Malay, Arabic, or other Eastern lan
guages , some she learned no doubt from the foreigner
with whom she co-habited , and others from the gypsies
with whom , it is not improbable, she resided a longer
time than she thought it prudent to disclose. The cha
racters which she wrote, she copied from her recollec
tion, by a glance she caught of different Eastern lan
guages, exhibited to her in books, and written before
her at Knole. Her acquaintance with Indian manners,
habits, &c . she obtained from the different persons who
visited her, and who had been in India, and were all
eager to display their knowledge to the surrounding au
ditory ; and which the listening and cunning Caraboo
eagerly imbibed, as readily imitated, and never failed to
turn to account .
That the talents of such a girl should have been hither
to directed to no better purpose, every one must lament.
Her object in visiting America could never be correctly
developed . That she had some wild and desperate en
terprise in view, appeared from her telling one of her
enquirers, that she predicted she should return to Eng
* It is omitted to be stated in the page in which her Bath visit is re
corded, that so fully persuaded was one gentleman of the reality of the
fiction, and so highly bad she worked upon his feelings, that he declared
in her presence, he would willingly subscribe £500 . to send her home
to Javasu, or to whatever island it should be discovered , that she
belonged . A collection was once indeed set on foot before her, and
bank-notes were strewed on the table ; but with her usual non chalance,
she picked them up as so many pieces of blank paper for what were
black -letter tens and twenties, with the words BANK OF ENGLAND
staring her in the face, to her, who could neither read or write the English
language !
 56

land in her carriage and four horses . Poor, visionary,

deluded girl !!
But what: shall be said of all the learned travellers,
the philosophers, the cognoscenti , the blue stocking la
dies, and the numerous dupes of various denominations,
who were so completely juggled and out-witted ?-They
must console theniselves with the doctrine of Hudibras,
“ That the pleasure is as great
“ In being cheated, as to cheat. "
BUTLER .

In regard to Mrs. Worrall, should any reflection be

thrown upon her character, for the part which she has
acted , she has no doubt ample consolation in the benevo
lent feelings which animated her bosom, and induced
her, through every stage of the imposition, to be active
and zealous in well-doing.
 57

Appendir.
A VOCABULARY OF WORDS, WITH THEIR MEANINGS,
MADE USE OF BY CARABOO .

Allah Tallah God Oree Onions

Samen Heaven Savoo a Knife
Tarsa Earth Foso a Fork
Mordains the Malay Oser Salt
Buis, or Bugos any Wild People Makey Pepper
Manjintoo Gentlemen Arra an Eclipse
Lazor Ladies Sanatoo the Sun
Makrittoo Servant Men Toree a Stone
Somens Servant Women Bardoo Dead
Justo or Justu Doctor Smache Cayenne
Kala Time Botee an Arrow
Alkader Lot, Destiny Doteau Gold Dust
Mono Morning Sirrea Mother of Pearl
Anna Night Nontee an Orange
Vellee Bed Botin the Head
Apa Fire Nater the Arm
Ana Water Nease the Foot
Savee Rain Tenzenee a Sail
Meller Yes Tuzar a Ship
Beek Good Bosve a Boat
No bo No good Toose to swim
Dosi Dinner Paza Peacock's Feathers
Sacco Supper Word in common
Ake Brasidoo Come to Breakfast use in Malay , li
Ake Dosi
Ake Sacco
Zee
Come to Dinner
Come to Supper
Tea
Puloponnaung Siterally the Betel
Nut Island in the
Straits of Malac
Suso Sugar ca

Passa Flour Khalifaton

Mo Milk Kader
Words to which she
Bras Rice Zimam affixed no deter
Pakey Child Ziban minate meaning.
Vatan Gown Prabha Head
Mozum Fish her Father's Coun
Tamah Fowl Indue
try
Rampue orRambu a Pidgeon herMother'sCoun
Nee Egg Induis try
Archee Potatoe Inju Jagoos Do not be afraid .
THE FOLLOWING WERE THE FEW GYPSEY WORDS, WHICH
SHE USED .

Mosha a Man Tanner a Sixpence

Raglish a Woman Bob a Shilling
Gosha a Landlady Junk two Shillings
Tanee a Halfpenny Bub five Shillings.
Win a Penny
I
 58

CHARACTERS made use of by CARABOO, and her AUTOGRAPH of MARY BAKER .

The lettered reader will perceivea few perfectly-formed and conjoined Arabic characters ;
it need not to be added , that she copied them from those which some Oriental Scholar wrote
before her .

‫ه ق ع فر‬ -r EI내치 에
G
@ct fit for Gil fratt
32
‫الله الله گر مالي‬ ‫تعالی‬
‫التاليہ‬
Mary Baker Divonshwe 1

‫بو‬.

Allah Tallah .
 59

NUMERICAL CHARACTERS, with their Significations, made

use of by CARABO0 .

1 Eze

2 Duce
&RAR
3 Trua

Tan

5 Zennee

6 Sendee

7 Tam

分行 Nunta

9 Berteen
我 不
10 Tashman

11
“ 大 Limmenee
否 包
12
} Judgbennee 、

13
他 3 Artinne

14
* / Ferney
15 门 分 Fissmen

Infuse red paint..

5b
 60

CHART, of her Voyage to Europe, drawn by CARABOO .

Congee ,
or
China .

er 's
h"mother
country
Javus a

.
,
Batavia .

Europe.

Cape of Good
Hope . }
{

St. Helena
 61

The following Jeu D'ESPRITS appeared in the different Bristol and

Bath NEWSPAPERS, during the period which this imposture formed
a topic ofpublic conversation .
[FROM THE BATH HERALD .]
CARABOO.
OH ! aid me, ye spirits of wonder ! who soar
In realms of Romance where none ventur'd before ;
Ye Fairies ! who govern the fancies of men,
And sit on the point of Monk Lewis's pen ;
Ye mysterious Elves ! who for ever remain
With Lusus Naturæs, and Ghosts of Cock-lane ;
Who ride upon broom-sticks, intent to deceive
All those who appear pre-disposed to believe,
And softly repeat from your home in the spheres
Incredible stories to credulous ears ;
With every thing marvellous, every thing new,
We'll trace a description of Miss CARABOO .
JOHANNA's disciples, who piously cane
To present babies' caps to their elderly dame,
Though all hope of their virgin's accouchement is o'er,
They shall meet with the smile of derision no more ;
Their wonders were weak, theircredulity small
Caraboo was engendered by nothing at all !
And where did she come from ? and who can she be ?
Did she fall from the sky ? did she rise from the sea ?
A seraph of day, or a shadow of night ?
Did she spring upon earth in astream of gås-light ?
Did she ride on the back of a fish , or sea-dog ?
A spirit of health, or a devil incog . ?
Was she wafted by winds over mountains and stream ?
Was she borne to our isle by the impulse of steam?
Was she found in complete fascinatiou ” elate ?
Or discovered at first in a chrysalis state ?
Did some philosophic analysis draw
Her component degrees from some hot-water spa ?
Did some chemical process occasion her birth ?
Did galvanic experiments bring her on earth ?
Is she new ? is she old ? is she false ? is she true ?
Come read me the riddle of Miss Caraboo.

Astronomers sage may exhibit her soon

As daughter-in-law to the man in the moon ;
Or declare that her visit accounts for the rain,
Which happened last year, and may happen again ;
That dark spots appear in the course she has run,
Coeval perhaps with the spots in the sun ;
That she may be connected with corsairs ; all these,
And as many more possible things as you please.
 62

In what hand does she write ? -in what tongue does she speak !
Is it Arabic, Persic, Egyptian, or Greek ?
She must be a blue-stocking lady indeed,
To write an epistle which no man can read ;
Though we have some publishing scribes I could name,
Whose letters will meet with a fate much the same.

She then wore no ear -rings, tho' still may be seen

The holes in her ears, where her ear-rings have been ;
Leather shoes on her feet ; a black shawlround her hair :
And of black worsted stockings an elegant pair ;
Her gown was black -stuff, and my readers may guess,
If her story contains asmuch stuff as her dress.
Of the fam'd Indian Jugglers we all must have heard,
Who to gain a subsistence would swallow a sword ;
But men (withoutproof) who believe tales like these,
Will undoubtly swallow whatever you please.
I have heard, those who thought, that she wished to deceive,
After seeing her person have learned to believe ;
Even those, who have doubted the truth of her case,
Have forgotten their doubts when they look'd in her face.
I have never seen her ; but if when I see,
The truth of her tale is apparent to me,
I will cancel these lines, and most gladly rehearse
Her swimming and fencing ju beautiful verse;
In the graces and charms of my muse to adorn her,
Shall be the employment of
Bath , June 10, 1817. Q IN THE CORNER .

[FROM THE BRISTOL MERCURY .]

ODE TO MISS MOLLY BAKER, alias
PRINCESS CARABOO.
O MOLLY, what a wag thou art
So effectually to play the part
Of wandering, friendless Caraboo,
Bespeaks a talent few could boast
Ev'n from juggling India's coast
But prythee, tell mecan it All be true ?
If thou, when heathen Greek inditing,
Didst rival Rapier in his writing
(So versatile thy nature,
And sweetly plastic every limb),
Like ROLAND fence, like Dolphin swim
Thou art indeed an interesting creature.
 63
Wert thou with all the men so shy,
As ev'n tby beauteous hand deny
In common salutation ?
Was there no tender téte -a - téte,
Thy admirers thus to fascinate,
Who puff'd thy beauty through the nation ?
Thy sloe-black eyes, and teeth so white,
(By Nature form’d to charm or bite)
With lady-airs in plenty
Like opiates all the senses lulld,
Of reason and of vision gulled ,
Th' all-knowing Cognoscenti.
When to the house-top prone to stray,
And would'st to ALLA - TALLAH pray,
Had'st thou no HIGH PRIEST near thee ?
I mean not that imperious sun
Of reckless Juggernaut, but ONE
Well pleas'd to assist and hear thee ?
But where did'st learn ( for Heav'n's sake ),
To swim and dive like duck or drake,
When water-dogs pursue ?
And when for pure ablution quipp'd,
Lurk'd there (as when Godiva stripp’d )
No Peeping Tom - or wanton Makratoo ?

Plague on that meddling tell-tale NEALE,

Eager thy hisťry to reveal,
And mar the pleasing fable:
Too sudden came the denouement,
Which proves thou art from down-along,
Where dumplings grace each table .
“ Drat her pug nose, and treacherous eyes ,
" Deceitful wretch !" the Doctor cries,
(No more inclin'd to flattery ;)
- When next I meet her (spite of groans)
“ I'll rive her muscles, split her bones
“ With my Galvanic Battery."
But heed him not - for ('on my soul)
Whether at Bristol, Bath, or Knole,
I admir'd thy Caraboo.
Such self-possession at command,
The bye-play great-th' illusion grand :
In truth-~ 'twas every thing but TRUE.
 64

Then Molly, take a friend's advice,

( To make thy fortune in a trice)
All wand'ring gypsey tricks resign
Fly to thy proper forte — the STAGE :
Where thou in this half- mimic age,
Princess of Actors, would'st unrivallid shine !!!
Bristol, June 21st, 1817. X.

[FROM THE BRISTOL MIRROR .]

YOUNG CARABO0 !-A Parody .
[See “ YOUNG LOCHINVAR, ” in “ MARMION." ]
0 young Caraboo is come out of the West,
In frenchified tatters the damsel is drest ;
But, save one pair of worsted, she stockings had none,
She walk'd half unshod, and she walk'd all alone ;
But how to bamboozle the doxy well knew
There never was gipsey like young Caraboo .
She staid not for brake, and she stopp'd not for stone,
She swam in the Avon where ford there was none ;
But when she alighted at Worralby gate,
The Dame and the Doctor received her in state ;
No longer a gipsey, the club of Bas-bleu
To a Princess converted the young Caraboo .

So boldly she enter'd the Worralby Hall,

Amidst linguists, skull-feelers, blue stockings, and all ;
Then spoke the sage doctor, profoundly absurd,
(But the sly Caraboo utter'd never a word)
“ Art thou sprung from the Moon, or from far Javasu,
Or a Mermaid just landed, thou bright Caraboo ?”
To these questions sagacious she answer denied
' Tho' hard was the struggle her laughter to hide
“ But, since they decree me these titles so fine, 1
I'll be silent, eat curry, and touch not their wine ;
With this imposition I've nothing to do ;
These are fools ready made" —thought the young Caraboo.
She looked at a pigeon,the dame caught it up ;
Caraboo had a mind on the pigeon to sup.
She look'd down to titter , she look'd up to sigh,
With the bird in her hand, and the spit in her eye,
She dress'd it, she ate it, she call'd it Rampoo
“ This proves," swore the Doctor, “ she’s Queen Caraboo."
 65

When she fent'd with the Doctor, so queer her grimace,

Sure never a hall such a galliard did grace;
But her Host seem'd to fret (tho' the Doctor did fume,
Should any to question her titles presume, )
And 'twas currently whisper'd, the best they could do,
Was to send up to London young Queen Caraboo.
The hint was enough ; as it dropp'd ou her ear
It ruin'd her hopes, it awaken'd her fear ;
So light to the Quay the fair damsel she ran,
“ Oh take me, dear Captain, away if you can !”
She's aboard ! She is gone ! “ Farewell Doctor Rampoo ;
They'll have swift ships that follow,” said young Caraboo.
There was bustling 'mong dames of the Worralby clan ;
The Blue-stocking Junto they rode and they ran;
There was racing and chasing from Bath to the Sea,
But the lost Queen of Javasu ne'er more did they see.
What a hoax on the Doctor, and club of Bus-bleu !
Have ye e'er heard of gipsey like young Caraboo ?

[ FROM THE BRISTOL MIRROR .]

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE EXTRA !

CARABOO is entered to run for the Knole plate ! She is thought by

all who have seen her to be the cleverest mare in this part of the country,
being very perfect in all her paces, an easy pleasant goer, and of great
speed. She is well bred, shews a good deal of both blood and bone, and
has an admirable forehand. She is 5 feet 2, and rising 26. Caraboo's
pedigree is warranted to be true Circassian ; got by the Chinese Corsair,
JESSUE MANDUE, out of a Devonshire Gipsey; own sister to FORTUNE
TELLER. She has been long a favorite with the turf ; and has been
lately in famous training (about a mile from Almondsbury ) at the mews
of LEUMAS LLARROW , Eriuqse, many years well kuown as a keen
Glocestershire Sportsman , and an excellent Judge- of horse-flesh ! Her
feeder assures every body, that her mode of dieting seems to be Hindoo
stanic, as she lives principally on vegetables, and has no objection to
curry-combing! She is rather dainty : prefers going to the pond instead
of drinking out of the bucket; and has once or twice taken a swim, to
the astonishment of the stable-boys . This is chiefly after galloping
about in the Sun, which she seems almost to adore - this the Cognos
centi suppose is caused by his being the patron of Hay-makers; butupon
this point, there is a difference of opinion . Though quite free from
vice , she kicks with great dexterity ; but it is all an idle report that she
gives out the near leg behind to a lady, and the off one before to a gentle
man ! There is however a peculiarity about her, which is, that she
winces if the stable-boy.only touches her housings. The master of the
mews one day happening only just to pat her neck, she began to neigle
K
 60

like a filly , so tremendously that the like was never before heard in that
quarter. How Caraboo ever came to submit to be hogged in the mane,
and fired , is most surprising ; though it is indeed stated, that the latter
was not performed after the English method, or after any European
fashion whatsoever. We learn too, that “ she is shod with leather ;"
from wliich circumstance it seems certain, that there are people who
know the length of her foot ! It is acknowledged, that she is fond of
playing at hide and seek, and is very apt to bolt
She is so very hard mouthed, that the veterinarians of Oxford, Cam
bridge, and the India House, have been unable to find a bit that will suit
her ; although an exact fac-simile of her blarney has been sent to them,
upon a species of papyrus. Her jabber-nowl, notwithstanding so her
mouth is rather large, " is so beautiful and prepossessing, that a bird's-eye
view of it has been taken by an eminent Artist, and will no doubt form a
very interesting study for the lovers of the Arabesque.
The followers of Doctors GALL and SPURZHEIM will learn with great
pleasure, that Caraboo has been Craniologized by several Ladies of dis
tinction, and that she exhibits numbers 1, 2, 9, 12, and 32, in great
perfection. Indeed it is the finest specimen of number 12 ever seen
since the days ofGEORGE PSALMANAZAR--the late JOHANNA SOUTH
cott, and the Tetbury Fasting Woman not excepted .
When she starts for the Knole plate, her rider will be one JUSTEE, a
famous Jockey from Bath. He will run her against Cho, Abacus, Suon
puon, Iota , Pi, Epsilon , and other noted horses, whose names may be
seen at the Kingston Pump-Room .
This match has excited uncommon bustle amongst the Greeks, Malay
ans, Chinese, Shanscritians, Arabians, Persians, Sumatrans,—and ALLAH
TALLAH only knows how many Ans besides .
Some disputes however have arisen respecting the long odds, for which
no authority can be found either in the Polyglot, Fry's Pantographia,
Hager's Elementaria, or WILKINSON's Humbugania ! -- so that it is
thought this Tail of Mystery will be referred to the Town -clerk and the
Macratoos (gentlemen of the long robe) at the ensuing Quarter Sessions
for the city and county of Javasu !!!

[PROM THE BRISTOL MIRROR. ]

CRANIOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION OF CARABOO.
ALTHOUGH many of
our Readers think the system of Dr. SPURZHEIM
altogether fanciful, yet others continue of a different opinion. At all
events, it may be curious to observe how far the organization of this
girl's Head answers to these notions. We shall therefore record it,
not in mere jest, but as a matter of information.
Judging by this index, we should say, that she was constitutionally
cold, and indifferent to physical love-or, tospeak more intelligibly, not
amorous. She has boundless AMBITION ; indeed this organ is so strongly
marked, that to be thought a PRINCESS would be to her the summum
bonum . She has great ATTACHMENT, or capability of firm friendship ;
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no quarrelsomeness, or wish to injure any one-which is, in the idiom of

the science, no COMBATIVENESS, or DESTRUCTIVENESS. Not the
least coVETIVENESS ; that is, she is perfectly indifferentto the acquirea
ment or keeping of money or property. She has comparatively very
little SECRETIVENESS : this organ is the one by which , the GALL -ites
say, the possessor keeps his own secret,-wraps himself up in impenetra
ble mystery,-keeping all real knowledge of himself and his intentions
carefully concealed in his own heart, under a specious exterior. Now ,
how is it possible, that this organ, which it might be supposed CARABOO
would have in the greatest perfection, should be defective, or how far
hier general conduct actually squares with it in point of fact, we leave to
others to determine, contenting ourselves with recording the fact. The
paradox will appear the wider when we state, that she has CIRCUMSPEC
TION or CAUTION in a monstrous degree. Her WARINESS is ally
equalled by her VANITY . Her organization in this respect, if it could
speak , would say plainly, “ I, I, I, it is I, who can nose-lead you , and
make fools of ye all ! I am this CARABOO, about whom you have made
such a fuss ! It is I who have had one Lady offering upon her knees
' a bowlof cream for my Royal Highness !' - it is I who have had another
bowing in vacant amazementat the grandeur and sublimity of my IM
PERIAL MAJESTY !"
She has no BENEVOLENCE, but a great deal of VENERATION . The
latter would induce her to behave kindly towards her Parents ; and the
facts here bear the system out, for she has, from time to time sent them
money, and written affectionate letters to them. As to her VENERA
TION in a religious point of view, it is a feeling of the heart which can
only be known to herself.
It is doubtful whether she has IMAGINATION OF IDEALITY-in other
words, we cannot judge whether she could write a Novel or a Farce
although we venture to say that she herself forms an excellent SUBJECT
for one .
She has INDIVIDUALITY-that is she remembers persons and things;
and stores them up to be used as occasion requires. She is not wanting
in FORM or COLOUR ; and has IMITATION in the greatest perfection. -
She would soon rival Mr. THELWALL or Mr. MATTHEws in fac-similies
of every body whom she might choose to mimic.
In a word, if there be any truth in Craniology, she would, to the ex
tent of her physical powers, make an admirable Actress ;* but she would
have nothing original : she would borrow here and there ; but she would
never strike out any thing absolutely new. She has not much CUMPA
RISON : so that probably her judgment of what is excellent and what is
otherwise would not be correct. Hence she would be as apt to copy
faults as perfections ;but the picture would be an exact copy-her imi
tation would be the thing itself.
She has space exceedingly developed in other words, she must be
of a roving disposition, and prefer liberty, and the whole world before

* [After the discovery, she more than once expressed a wish, that the
tale might be dramatized ; and nothing, she said, would have given her
greater pleasure, than to have acted the part of CARABOO !! ]
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her, where to chuse, ” to good cheer and a collar, even although it were
of gold — that is, she is fitted for a Gypsey-to which she will return , if
there be faith in SPURZHEIM !—for we strongly suspect, that if the
whole truth were known, she has been three years instead of three days
amongst this ancient society of Vagabonds.
To sum up all, her knowing faculties infinitely outweigh her animal
propensities ;-and if there should be any attempt to reclaim this stray
sheep, her Guardian must take this for his guide - if there be any truth
in Craniology !

FINIS.

J. M.Gutch , Printer, Bristos

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