It cannot rain but it pours: or, London strow'd with rarities. Being, an account of the arrival of a white bear, at the house of Mr. Ratcliff in Bishopsgate-Street: as also of the Faustina, ... and of the copper-farthing dean from Ireland. And lastly, of the wonderful wild man.

Table of contents

- [titlepage]

- ADVERTISEMENT,

It cannot Rain but it Pours: OR, London strow'd with Rarities.

BEING An ACCOUNT of the Arrival of a White Bear, at the House of Mr. Ratcliff in Bishopsgate-Street, &c.

WE shall begin with a Description of Peter the Savage, deferring our other Curiosities to some following Papers.

Romulus and Remus, the two famous wild Men of Antiquity, and Orsin that of the Moderns, have been justly the Admiration of all Mankind: Nor can we presage less of this Wild Youth, as may be gathered from that famous and well-known Prophecy of Lilly's, which being now accomplish'd, is most easily interpreted.

When Rome shall wend to Benevento,

And Espagne breaking the Assiento;

When Eagle Split shall fly to China,

And Christian Folks adore Faustina:

Then shall an Oak be brought to Bed,

Of Creature neither taught nor fed;

Great Feats shall he atchieve—

The Pope is now going to Benevento; the Spaniards have broke their Treaty; the Emperor Trades to China; and Lilly, were he alive, must be convinced, that it was not the Empress Faustina that was was meant in the Prophecy.

It is evident by several Tokens about this Wild Gentleman, that he had a Father and Mother like one of us; but there being no Register of his Christning, his Age is only to be guessed at by his Stature and Countenance, and appeareth to be about Twelve or Thirteen. His being so young was the Occasion of the great Disappointment of the Ladies, who came to the Drawing Room in full Expectation of some Attempt upon their Chastity: So far is true, that he endeavour'd to Kiss the young Lady W—le, who for that reason is become the Envy of the Circle; this being a Declaration of Nature, in favour of her superior Beauty.

Aristotle saith, That Man is the most Mimick of all Animals; which Opinion of that great Philosopher is strongly confirm'd by the Behaviour of this Wild Gentleman, who is endow'd with that Quality to an extreme Degree. He receiv'd his first Impressions at Court: His Manners are, first to lick People's Hands, and then turn his Breech upon them; to thrust his Hand into every body's Pocket; to climb over Peoples Heads; and even to make use of the Royal Hand, to take what he has a mind to. At his first Appearance he seiz'd on the Lord Chamberlain's Staff, put on his Hat before the King; from whence some have conjectur'd, that he is either descended from a Grandee of Spain, or the Earls of Kingsale in Ireland. However, these are manifest Tokens of his innate Ambition; he is extremly tenacious of his own Property, and ready to invade that of other People. By this mimick Quality he discovered what wild Beast had nursed him: Observing Children to ask Blessing of their Mothers, one Day he fell down upon his Knees to a Sow, and mutter'd some Sounds in that humble Posture.

It has been commonly thought, that he is U— natural Brother, because of some resemblance of Manners, and the officious Care of U— about him; but the Superiority of the Parts and Genius in Peter, demonstrates this to be impossible.

Though he is ignorant both of ancient and modern Languages, (that Care being left to the ingenious Physician, who is entrusted with his Education) yet he distinguishes Objects by certain Sounds fram'd to himself, which Mr. Rotenberg, who brought him over, understands perfectly. Beholding one Day the Shambles with great Fear and Astonishment, ever since he calls Man by the same Sound which expresseth Wolf. A young Lady is a Peacock, old Women Magpyes and Owls; a Beau with a Toupee, a Monkey; Glass, Ice; Blue, Red, and Green Ribbons, he calls Rainbows; an Heap of Gold a Turd. The first Ship he saw, he took to be a great Beast swimming on her Back, and her Feet tied above her: The Men that came out of the Hold he took to be her Cubs, and wonder'd they were so unlike their Dam. He understands perfectly the Language of all Beasts and Birds, and is not, like them, confin'd to that of one Species. He can bring any Beast what he calls for, and no doubt is much miss'd now in his Native Woods, where he us'd to do good Offices among his Fellow Citizens, and serv'd as a Mediator to reconcile their Differences. One Day he warn'd a Flock of Sheep that were driving to the Shambles, of their Danger, and upon uttering some Sounds, they all fled. He takes vast Pleasure in Conversation with Horses; and going to the Meuse to converse with Two of his intimate Acquaintances in the King's Stable, as he pass'd by, he Neighed to the Horse at Charing-Cross; being as it were surpriz'd to see him so high, he seem'd to take it ill that the Horse did not answer him; but I think no body can undervalue his Understanding for not being skilled in Statuary.

He expresseth his Joy most commonly by Neighing; and whatever the Philosophers may talk of their Risibility, Neighing is a more noble Expression of that Passion than Laughing, which seems to me to have something Silly in it; and besides, is often attended with Tears. Other Animals are sensible they debase themselves, by mimicking Laughter; and I take it to be a general Observation, that the top Felicity of Mankind is to imitate Monkeys and Birds: Witness Harlequins, Scaramouches and Masquerades; on the other Hand, Monkeys, when they would look extreamly silly, endeavour to bring themselves down to Mankind. Love he expresseth by the Cooing of a Dove, and Anger by the Croaking of a Raven, and it is not doubted but that he will serve in Time as an Interpreter between us and other Animals.

Great Instruction is to be had from this Wild Youth in the Knowledge of Simples; and I am of Opinion, that he ought always to attend the Censors of the College in their Visitation of Apothecaries Shops.

I am told that the new Sect of Herbeaters intend to follow him into the Fields, or to beg him for a Clerk of their Kitchen: And that there are many of them now thinking of turning their Children into Woods to Graze with the Cattle, in hopes to raise a healthy and moral Race, refin'd from the Corruptions of this Luxurious World.

He sings naturally several pretty Tunes of his own Composing, and with equal Facility, in the Chromatick, Inharmonick, and Diatonick Stile, and consequently must be of infinite Use to the Academy, in judging of the Merits of their Composers, and is the only Person that ought to decide betwixt Cuzzoni and Faustina.

I cannot omit his first Notion of Cloaths, which he took to be the natural Skins of the Creatures that wore them, and seem'd to be in great Pain for the pulling off a Stocking, thinking the poor Man was a Fleaing.

I am not ignorant that there are disaffected People, who say he is a Pretender, and no genuine Wild Man. This Calumny proceeds from the false Notions they have of Wild Men, which they frame from such as they see about the Town, whose Actions are rather absurd than wild; therefore it will be incumbent on all young Gentlemen, who are ambitious to excel in this Character, to Copy this true Original of Nature.

The Senses of this Wild Man are vastly more acute than those of a Tame one; he can follow the Track of a Man, or any other Beast of Prey. A Dog is an Ass to him for finding Trouf•es; his Hearing is more perfect, because his Ears not having been co•fin'd by Bandages, he can move them like a Drill, and turn them towards the Sonorous Object.

Let us pray the Creator of all Beings, Wild and Tame, that as this wild Youth, by being brought to Court, has been made a Christian; so such as are at Court, and are no Christians, may lay aside their Savage and Rapacious Nature, and return to the Meekness of the Gospel.

It cannot Rain but it Pours: OR, London strow'd with Rarities.

BEING, An ACCOUNT of the Arrival of a White Bear, at the House of Mr. Ratcliff in Bishopsgate-Street: As also of the Faustina, the celebrated Italian Singing Woman; And of the Copper-Farthing Dean from Ireland.

And Lastly, Of the wonderful Wild Man that was nursed in the Woods of Germany by a Wild Beast, hunted and taken in Toyls; how he behaveth himself like a dumb Creature, and is a Christian like one of us, being call'd Peter; and how he was brought to Court all in Green, to the great Astonishment of the Quality and Gentry.

LONDON: Printed for J. ROBERTS, near the Oxford-Arms, in Warwick-Lane. MDCCXXVI. (Price Three-Pence.)

ADVERTISEMENT,

TO warn all Ladies and Gentlemen who intend to Visit this Wild Man, not to carry any Thing in their Pockets that is indecent, to prevent Accidents for the future.

Information about this book

Title statement

It cannot rain but it pours: or, London strow'd with rarities. Being, an account of the arrival of a white bear, at the house of Mr. Ratcliff in Bishopsgate-Street: as also of the Faustina, ... and of the copper-farthing dean from Ireland. And lastly, of the wonderful wild man.

Arbuthnot, John, 1667-1735.

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ID [ota]

http://ota.ox.ac.uk/id/3751

ID [isbn10]

1106007506

ID [isbn13]

9781106007506

ID [TCP]

K024720.000

ID [BIBNO]

CW3305173843

ID [ECSS]

0386600300

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— It cannot rain but it pours: or, London strow'd with rarities. Being, an account of the arrival of a white bear, at the house of Mr. Ratcliff in Bishopsgate-Street: as also of the Faustina, ... and of the copper-farthing dean from Ireland. And lastly, of the wonderful wild man., Arbuthnot, John, 1667-1735.. 10,[2]p. ; 8⁰. London :: printed for J. Roberts,. 1726.. [Probably started by John Arbuthnot, but completed by another hand.] [Doubtfully attributed to Dean Swift by Teerink in the first edition of his bibliography but ascribed to Arbuthnot et al. in the second edition.] [Reproduction of original from the British Library.] [English Short Title Catalog, ESTCT9689.] [Electronic data. Farmington Hills, Mich. : Thomson Gale, 2003. Page image (PNG). Digitized image of the microfilm version produced in Woodbridge, CT by Research Publications, 1982-2002 (later known as Primary Source Microfilm, an imprint of the Gale Group).]

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