The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1820-01-07 00:00:00

AN EXTRIORMVARY CAISk OF
LUNACY..

A- very eztraardina►y case of lunacy recently
rrecarred in a village in the West of England, which.
from the violent character of the proceetlingv con-
nected with it. and the great fa:stene, political in-
flamer. and respecsallitity el-11k T4E-it% has

caused vouch conversation among all ctn.«. of peo-
ple. There are many, indeed, wins do not scruple
;tar affirm, that the CotniiiissCOn was procured by very
artswArrantalde means, to gratify a certain private
pirlue, and that the mitry were induced to•hriurin
yuditt of Lariat, at• the illlll,lllCe of a set of
designing &Howl., Who, from having some i. ~oericr
with the Lord of the Manor, think in•brow-beat the
whole village,. sod haves it is feared, conspired
together in the present instance, for the purpose of
Utitaining the custody of the unfortunate lunatic's
person and estate. The circurnstances of the case
are in themselves so singelar, and the characters of
the person+ comprising this little coterie so question.

t.b!r, that the greatest pubhcity ought-to be given

to both.
The Lord of the Manor is a very worthy Gentle-
matt, and, although he lives very retired, is con-
fessedly one of the most accotnplashed men in Eng-,
:and. Those who know hem best love him most.'
end there is not a Man in the-manor who would not
he glad to hay down his life far the service of the.
Lord ; but it is the custom of the manor that the.
Lord should resign the entire management of the
estate to a number of stewards. and to this is at-
leihuical a want of humanity and of attention to the
interests .01 the poorer order of the tenant% which
is attended with the worst consequences, and makes.
many of them very discontented.
The little club we have already Noticed con-
sists of these stewards. Their conduct has in
many instances disgusted the tenants, whom
they keep at a rack rent, and continually harass
for money. until they have reduced many of
them from affluence to poverty. The head
steward is a Mr. ✓entry, a very plausible f►ir-spoken
man, who his the u►anugement of the money
matters; lie is assisted by a little old gentleman,
whose duty is to regulate the amount of the rents,
and receive them, and to take care that his master's
t:►ble is well supplied—the interests of his debts
kept down, and that there is money enough to pay
all the expenses of the house and estate; but while
Ise is busy in collecting the money o► the one hand,
Isis fellow stewards are Still more industrious in
spending it on the other, so that bis labour seems
to be as vain as that of the young ladies, who we
are told in ancient story, were condemned in hell
to fill a sieve with water. The Seneschal of the
minor was in his youth a lawyer, and having
snent a large portion of his life amidst the quibbles
e' the law, is very ill fitted for the management of
a Large, estate. • When he ventures upon this point
Is. commits many egregious blunders, but he gives
general satisfaction to the suitors of the manor
court by his inflexible integrity, and the extent of
h legal knowledge.

~ r •.

The moot prominent character among them.

however, is a fellow commonly known by the name
.)t Fighting Bob. This man was the son of a Toy
r.•prct:ible old lady io the west, and in his youth

dtviayed a noble spirit and much honourable am-
luoion. so that his old moihrr smiled upon the boy

maternal folidne4o, und her friends cungrstu-
I her upon a son who would crown her old age
with respect and honour. But he unfortunately
fell in with some sharpers who corrupted his mind,
and he soon became one of the worst of the whole
gaog. To gratify his bad passions, lie squandered
I is parent's property, and then wheedled and cheated
I er trio a very disadvantageous match with an old

gv,i;enrin in the neighbourhood, one Mr. Bull,
svi,o prinnit,ed on the marriage !o adopt Bob.
lady would not consent to the union, so

•br was dragged to the altar, and though she still
lingers on a miserable existence, tier bosom bears
t:int ks of the violence that was used:-her spirit,
before this event was daily rising, has been
bee.ten down, and her heart is almost broken, but
her hopeful son, sot, has been adopted by the old

cud still pursues hit old courses. He
has very much displeased his step-father lately, by
Lic e mtravagance; forin tome visits which he lately

made to Vienna, Aix-la-Clispelle, and Paris (who
but Bub 9) be mouldered immense sums, nobody
knows how, in company with some groat swells that
lie met there, and who probably cheated him, and he
brought home nothing for his money and some
esten,ive estate~ in the West Indies, but • few
sattif buses. which he says on his chimney-piece,
tither tot. anew, or is • memento of his folly. Bob
mice set up for a slowing:ft. but at a fair be met
with a Merry Andrew on a neighbouring stage, who
Laving more-wit and humour, was drawing off all
customers. Bob grew angry, but the jester
laingbrit at him, and said lie was tot fit for a show-
woo. §o Bub chal!trized the Merry Andrew to
box, and had rather tilt-boner of it in the scratch.
Soon afterwards. liar:Tist, they met again, sod
made up iiirsr•ibtferenctwover a pot of porter, and
agreed to jute Comicirtyviri ruture. By Bois's in-
tegre& ,/,,draw obtained-. 4' place from the Lord of
511! Nlanur. Fie!was tirsta little awkward io his
situation. (pr ist every tura lie met souse person
iir•uwit forriletly to. ridicule ; but he was
Bieber much trirubled• with anikruise Amite. itto he
brouuril it out, awl eltitiougli be Rill iffains a .vil•
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