The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-04-21 00:00:00

FUNERAL EXTRAORDINARY.

•
•• • ' • (From a correspondent of the Timei.)-
. The bnitle of that bustling -place, Leadenhall-market, 'has
been considerably, inereased lately in consequence -of thelyinic_,
in,state of an' oldinhabitant of•lhst. °spa lately deceased, who,
was.known amongst the pouttererk and"purVeVors- there liy the
Cognothen of " Old 'Porn. For the last 12 years he has been
seen running about,: winter and surrither,-Iwithout.shoeS Or stock-
legs, and wearing the same. oat. He was a native of France,
lived a useful life, and was much. respected by all his acquaint-
ances. . But to !avoid mistake, though a biped-,!* geritla reader,
the 'deceased was: only .a goose: By his odd tricks and sagacity,
he Seethed to himself a host of friends, and did nine)) to rescue
bis order
from-the tutpigoMh t.t. sttirfidifyi-Whiehlhas,been almost'
unirsearliof
This
singular birth was hatched at,
OstendOstendJune,- 1707, and became the property of M..Bottai4,
a dealer in poultry of that port, who employed him in the Cepa.,
v
city of a decoy, goose.• Upon, the death of ibis-his first master,
ii was purchased at a- large price by another aaleT; named'
Blayney, in whose.serviee,he'reinainetchittil the yetil-823, per-;
forming the,cletiesof.his-officewitb great-success, and frequentiY
travelling at ,tbe lied of a numerous and. obsequious flock up.°
lwards.bfiten miles alday,- leadPnt therii to the -plate otelhbarta-.
tion. I While at Ostend he lived a merry life;: was taught
dred diverting tricks„ and at the annual fair was always seen
ttir.OngSt The-fanttistic'grburp-irith a 'Mask 'and other g,rotesque'
arpendagest, exciting considerable-amusement .; and rt.ceivlog
general applause. By some accident, poor TQIII ,was sent to,
Mr.:•Grover; Of Leadenhallmarket,' with 'a retinue' he' had'
escorted to Calais., As soon as hie departure seas .discovered,
letters were sent: to.request that he might he saved froin the fate,
which :awaited hii companions, and' retai'n'ed 'to his master.
But it seemed that -he was not destined toc.revisit his native
country, for though he was easily selected from the rest by,,
calling "Tom" and offering a piece of .bread, as 'often as he
was sent to the-Custom-house in a retarn-basket, some accident
or oycrsight caused his further detention. He had many oar-,
row escapes for his life, 'and' ittlB29 •waS"dent to Mr: Levy's'
shop in liounsditch with eleven- othem: nine- of . which were
already slaughtered, when Mr. Grover's son.arrived ;lost in.time.
'to save his neck front being wrung.- At length his legitimate
master arrived in London, and was resogsaised by his old ser-
vant as; soon as he saw him. Having, however, decliued busi-
ness, M: Blavney, after pointing -out Tom's acquirements, re-
quested -Mr. Orover to keep him, and. be would cheerfully pay
all his expenses. Tom, the gander, then became the patriarch
and guardian of all the geese and goslings that came to the
market, and,he was•never known to let one- go astray.- 'He was
a favourite with all, and the pet of many. :He was a frequent
visitor at the neighbouring gin-palaces, and would take several
drams of the "cream of the valley" in the course of the day—
not, indeed, without being-the worse for it sometimes; and then
he would be, (lathe polite term it, both "drunk and-disorderly."
;Such was the effect which hattcompany had upon him; but it
should be remembered that Torn was only a goose, and could
'not help -himself lie distinguished his kindest friends by a
'mode of expression peculiar to- him4elf, and-clapping his wings.
At a particular hour every day,Tom might beseen walking with
great dignity into the sign of the Buie and Crown, the hostess
‘of which had some .delicious morsels -alwava prepared fot' him:
One morning. pen! Tom was missed from his accustomed route,
and on search being made, was foUnd dead in his nest, having
'lived upwards of 37 years. Some of his survivors' immediately
:set about paying ,their last tokens of respect to their deceased
acquaintance. A process similar to that of embalming was
one through, and thehody,- placed in a 'deal him three' feet
long, wag deposited in one of his master's ,stalls, where-he lay
-in state, surrounded with funeral furniture, two of his favourite
geese:being posted at the door dressedin'erape: A penny was
demandedof those whose curiosity led theni to take a. last look,
and the money. thus colleeted was appropriated to the pnrchase
of a stone tablet, and the-other expenses of his internient.. Oil'
the lid of his coffin is an-engraved plate; with hiS name.and.age;
'Poor Toni is this day to he buried in a grave dug in the centre
'of the poultry-market, over -which 'the Stone will be laid; and
;the passenger may read thereon the following inscription and
epitaph : . , , • •

"The grave of Pour Old7Tenn:
• , In memory of Old Tom the Landed. = 3
Obit 19th March, 183.71 xtat. 37 years. 9 mouths, and six days
This famous gander, while in stubble
Fed-freely;.without care or trouble:
Grew fat with corn And sitting- still;
And scarce.eould cross the barn-door sill:
And-seldom waddled forth to'coot
His belly in the neighbouring pool.
Transplanted to another scene,
'''He-stalrk'd in state o'er Calais-green,
With full Ere hundred geese behind.
To his superior care consign'd,
Whom readily he would engage
To lead in. march ten miles a-stage.
Thus a decoy he lived and died.
The chief of geese, the, poulteree.s.pride'
[The epitaph on " Poor Old Torn, the Gander," was written,
see understand, by• George Robins, the auctioneer.. No•one
.whoints.read the writings of-this celebrated poet can entertain
the Slightest doubt about the matter.—L. S.]
. A • ..