THE DULWICH HERMIT. 361 bondizing fet, that, from the prefents which he received from his visitors, &c. he was very rich. While he was under cure, he became difgufted with his old habitation, which he deferted for about a year and a half, and went to his native place, in Wales, to his fon's house, where he remained until he was recovered, when he foon contrived to make his escape, unknown to his fon, who lived in repute there, and was drawn back again by fome ftrange impulfe to his former mode of life, at Dulwich: being foon weary of common and focial intercourfe, he again obtained permiffion to construct a new hut and cave, the former having been dilapidated by the gipfeys. At this period, however, these enemies to his peace were more difperfed, or, at least, the fear of punishment kept them more within the bounds of decorum. In rebuilding his cave, he made confiderable alterations; by digging it with a mouth refembling an oven, into which he had just room to crawl; and when laid down, he contrived generally in bad weather to hang an old rug or blanket before the entrance which served for a door. Here, in this habit of life, he remained till the day of his death, except when he followed his avocations, or went into the villages adjacent for provifions. We cannot país unnoticed a circumftance much to the praife of Lord Thurlow, who, in a late fevere froft, exprefsly fent a servant to know the welfare of the old man, with orders, if he found him, to bring him home: he was found in a diftreffed fituation, and brought to his Lordship's houfe, and was hofpitably treated, and permitted to stay as long as he pleafed; and, on his departure, was defired to call as often as he liked. He would occafionally go to a public-house, and take a pint of porter; but he never called for lefs, or drank more, at one time. Such was now his reclufe life, that he was univerfally tiled the Dulwich Hermit. But unfortunately for the poor old man, the belief that he was in poffeffion of money, ftill VOL. I. No. 8. prevailed, 3 A prevailed, and on December 28, 1802, he was found murdered near his cave or hermitage. There were feveral contufions in his head, his jaw-bone was broken in two places, part of which had penetrated through the flesh of his cheek, and his head very much fwelled; but no other marks of violence appeared about his body. He was weltering in his blood, and bore every indication of having been robbed of the little he had, as well as murdered; no money or any thing of value being found upon his perfon. The body was found by fome boys who at Christmas-time had always made a practice of paying this old man a visit: it was covered with fern, &c. and under the arm was an oaken stick about fix or seven feet long, with which, it appeared, the horrid deed was perpetrated; this had been cut immediately in the neighbourhood, as the branches which had been cut off it, were found fcattered about the ground, and preferved to be shown to the Coroner's inqueft who fat upon the body at the French Horn, Dulwich; at which houfe the deceased had been on the preceding evening, and had as usual purchased a supply of food, and was known to have had feven or eight fhillings change when he had left Dulwich, none of which were to be found, his pockets having been turned out, as was a fecret pocket, which was only difcovered after his death, and was not known to any of the perfons who had been acquainted with him; but which did not escape the prying eyes of his robbers and murderers. This extraordinary man was near 70 years of age, and was not only visited for his fimplicity, and admired for his civility; but respected for his punctuality in all his little dealings in the neighbouring villages. On the morning of the 31, Charles Jemmet, Efq. coroner of the county of Surry held the inquifition.-Nathaniel Field, the first witnefs, was one of the boys who had, on the above morning, gone, as was their cuftom, to visit the old THE DULWICH HERMIT. 363 old man of the wood. On fearching his cave they only found his bottle and fcrip; on looking narrowly about the outside of his hut, they found the body covered with two old coats, and fome fern; he, with his companion, gave information of the circumftance to the parifh-officers of Dulwich, wheu Mr. Kitchen, a furgeon and apothecary, went to examine the body; he was lying on his back, his jaw-bone broke in two, and his mouth filled with coagulated blood; one part of the jaw-bone forced through the outer skin. Mr. Kitchen had known the fingular character of old Mathews, and from the mode in which he usually flept, with his feet towards the entrance of the cave, believes the oaken plank produced to be the inftrument with which his death was effected, and that the murderers had hitched the hooked part into his mouth, and by the violence which they ufed to drag him out the jaw-bone was broken; and being kept on his back (in which position he was found), the coagulated blood had caufed fuffocation. His pockets, when found, were turned infide out; and to prove he had been robbed, Mr. Turk, a butcher at Dulwich, depofed, that on the evening preceding the murder, the deceased came to his fhop, and received 8s. 2d. in change of half-a-guinea, after discharging a debt of 2s. 4d. Mr. Turk was fo pleafed with the old man's promptitude on this occafion, that he gave him a breast of mutton to carry home with him. Thomas Day, a watchman and conftable, and a young lad named James Browne, were examined at fome length as to circumftances relating to perfons, or gipfeys in cuftody on fufpicion. On January 2, 1803, the remains of this poor Dulwich Hermit were interred in the Chapel-ground at Dulwich. The corpfe was followed by Mr. Wood and his wife of the French Horn, Mr. Turk the Baker and another Gentleman; Mr Turk entreated the deceafed's daughter not to fee her father or to attend the funeral, who confequently prudently declined it, but who to defray the expences, gave Mr. Turk a 101. note. If this had not been done, it was the benevolent intention of the above mentioned Gentlemen and others, to have made a fubfcription for his decent interment: the funeral was alfo followed by several of the refpectable inhabitants of the parish; and an immense number of men, women, and children, who had known and respected the deceased in his life-time. The ceremony was altogether conducted in a way highly creditable to all the parties concerned. **The perfon to whom we are indebted for many of the above particulars of this extraordinary old man, had been fome years in habits of intimacy with him, and almost conftantly visited him on Sundays, for the humane purpofe of affifting him with any thing he might be in want of. From this frequent intercourse, he became naturally attached to him, and, it is not to be wondered at, that he laments, with the fincereft forrow, his untimely end, MR. GRANGER Sir, If the following Remarkable Account of the fudden Destruction of a Family of feven Perfons in the fhort Space of nine Months, is worthy infertion in your Entertaining Museum, it is wholly at your fervice. The authenticity of it you not doubt, as it was related by a gentleman of veracity of Lincolnshire, to the late Reverend Mr. John Wesley. Nottingham, Feb. 13. Your confiant Reader, C. T. P. need In the year 1738, a gentleman of the name of Hume, was IN riding out, and watering his horfe at a pond, the unruly beaft plunged into the water, out of his depth, by which Mr. OF THE DEATH OF A FAMILY OF SEVEN PERSONS. 365 Mr. Hume was fo wetted, that he caught a violent cold, which, followed by a fever, caufed his death. Lord the patron of Mr. Hume's living, was determined it should remain in the family as long as poffible, and therefore gave the eldest son a presentation to it. Mr. Hume, the father, had just built the parfonage-houfe before he died: the fon took poffeffion of it, before it was dry, and the dampness of it occafioned his fpeedy death. The fecond fon was then prefented to the living, and he died alfo a few weeks after his induction: the third fon (his brother dying fuddenly), fet off from Oxford to receive the prefentation. In his way he lay at the houfe of an old acquaintance of his father's. The gentleman of the house had a beautiful daughter, with whom he became enamoured; he therefore, before he departed, begged permiffion to return to make proposals, to which the father confented. Mr. Hume, after his induction to his living, returned according to his agreement, and in a few days the marriage was folemnized. But in fix weeks after the nuptials, the lady was brought to bed, and Mr. Hume foon after died of grief, "Now Sir," faid the Lincolnshire gentleman to Mr. Welley, "you may have a living and a wife;" for Loid - has declared, that if Mifs Hume is married within fix months of her brother's death, the living fhall be part of her fortune; and Mifs Hume has confented with apparent fatisfaction, that you fhall be invited to the church. But Mr. Wesley was too much impreffed with the thoughts of eternity, to pay any attention to this propofal. The conclufion of this epifode fhould not be omitted. Mrs. Hume, foon after the death of her third fon, received a letter from the only remaining one, informing her, he was just going to fail from Africa to England, with a fortune fufficient to make the whole family comfortable; and in a few days after, the received a letter from the captain of a faft-failing veffe, |