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AMES BOLLAND, the unfortunate fubject of this narrative, was born in or about the year 1727, in Caftle-ftrect, in the Mint, in the Borough of Southwark. His father dying while he was very young, his mother fupported her fon, by the employment of making rattles for children, which fhe fold to the toyfhops, She likewife kept a chandler's shop, and lent out money in fmall fums to poor people.

At about fourteen years of age, our hero was bound apprentice to a butcher in the Borough, and behaved tolerably well during his apprenticeship-----Soon after he was out of his time, he married the daughter of the perfon who then kept a public-houfe, the fign of the Nine Bells in St. Saviour's, commonly called St. Mary Over's, church-yard, in Southwark. After fome time, the father and mother-in-law refigned the bufinefs to Bolland, who kept the houfe open about a year, at the expiration of which time he failed.

Soon after this he kept company with one Sarah Blake, a fish-woman in the Borough-market, with whom he cohabited feveral years. This woman has been the belt friend that perhaps Bolland ever had, and it is faid that the continued her friendship to him to the last moment. Some time after he had cohabited with Blake, the fupplied him with money to ake a butcher's fhop, near St. George's

Church, Southwark, in which he continued three or four years, during a part, if not the whole of which time, he ferved a parish workhouse with meat. At this time it was that Bolland's character began to appear in its proper colours: He was often fufpected to have fent in lefs than the quantity of meat contracted for.

At length, however, he was detected in having delivered thirty ftone of beef, fhor of the weight, for which offence he was profecuted in the court of King'sBench, convicted, and fined in the penalty of one hundred pounds.

After this we find our hero acting as an officer under the fheriff of Surry, and in this capacity he is charged with many acts of rapine and violence. The wicked tranfactions of Bolland, already publickly known, are too numerous for infertion here, we have therefore given the few following, by no means the worst, from which fome idea may be formed of his character.

We are affured, that when Bolland had a debtor in his house, it was his ufual custom to get the names of his feveral creditors, under pretence of fettling his affairs. The neceffary infor mation being obtained, Bolland ufed to run round to the creditors, and get as many detainers against the unhappy debtor, as poflible. Shocking as this practice is, we are informed it is very

common

tune.

Bolland, fome time fince, arrested a gentleman, who remained fome time in his houfe for want of bail. Bolland applied to Mr. Clarke, a piece-broker in White-Horfe-Yard, Drury-lane, to bail the man at length Clarke complied, on Bolland's becoming a joint fecurity, and both parties gave their notes of hand for the requifite fum, which notes were left in Bolland's poffeffion. Bolland afterwards fued Clarke on this note, carried an execution into his houfe, ruined the man, his wife, and three children. Clarke's final refuge from Bolland's vilJainy was the King's Bench Prifon.

It is afferted, that within fix months paft, Bolland arrested Sarah Blake, on an extorted bond, and carried her to Wood-ftreet Compter. She procured a Habeas Corpus, by virtue of which the was carried before Lord Mansfield at Caen-Wood, and from thence conveyed to the King's Bench Prifon. After remaining in prifon fome time, Mrs. Blake gave Bolland her gold watch, and feveral pieces of plate, in order to obtain her liberty. This feems to be a proof of Bolland's gratitude to his best bene

factor.

A fhort time before the Fleet-marriages were abolished by act of parliament, Bolland became acquainted with an old widow, who was worth about fifteen hundred pounds, and taking care to get her intoxicated, he carried her in a coach, with two of his accomplices, to the Rules of the Fleet, where one Mr. Wyat was found, who happened to have more confcience than thofe gentlemen in general had. Wyat fcrupled to read the marriage ceremony, on account of the woman being in a ftate of intoxication, but this fcruple was at length got rid of, by Bolland's giving a guinea to the parfon. The parties were married, and Bolland went home, and to bed with his wife. When the lady waked in the morning, fhe was furprized to find a bedfellow the did not expect. She demanded to know what impudent fellow was in bed with her. Bolland faid he was her lawful husband. The

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woman doubted, as well she might, the veracity of the tale. Bolland fettled her fcruples, by demanding her keys, and ftripped the houfe of bank-notes, and other things of value, to the amount of a thousand pounds. This unhappy woman afterwards died very poor, having long worked as a basket-woman in Fleer

market.

On

A tradefman in the Butcher-Row, without Temple-Bar, was arrested by Bolland for one hundred and five pounds, and fix-pence, in the name of a Jew, whom the fuppofed debtor did not know. Bolland took the prifoner to his house : when there, he fent for his attorney, who happened to be out of town. the arrival of the attorney, the Jew was traced, and found at a coffee-house in Duke's Place, from whence he was taken before the fitting alderman, before whom he confeffed that he had a guinea from Bolland for fwearing the debt. On being asked how he could be guilty of fo atrocious a crime, he faid, that for ten and fix-pence, or a guinea each, he could procure an hundred Jews who would do the like.

A young gentleman in Holborn, worth three thousand pounds, who had lost a large fum of money among a fet of gamblers at Newmarket, refufed payment. The gamblers applied to Bolland, who is faid to be one of the gang, to arreft the young fellow for the money. Hefitation was not one of Bolland's vices. He did arreft the man, and took him to his houfe: but well knowing the illegality of the act he had committed, he offered the gentleman his releafe for five guineas. Liberty was fweet---the offer was accepted: but Bolland, ever true to his own intereft, told the debtor, that his creditors would feize his goods for the debt, and advised the affignment of the goods to himfelf. This advice was complied with. Bolland obtained a bill of fale, fold all the goods, and funk all the

[AVING laughed heartily the other works of the immortal Swift, A difcourfe to prove the antiquity of the English tongue, fhewing from various inftances that Hebrew, Greek and Latin were derived from the English, the humourist was fo fenfibly engrafted on my mind, that fleep could not divert my attention.

I thought I was fitting as before, with his works in my hand, when, on looking round, the ever-memorable Swift ftood before me. Humour and good fenfe feemed to vie with each other, in the difplay of fo illuftrious a character. "It has ever given me the greatest pleafure, cries he, to lay before the publick the beauties as well as originality of the English language. The latter of which, and though I truft fufficiently evincing from the difcourfe before you, yet, I think, another proof, which I fhall offer, will further corroborate my affertions. It has been univerfally fuppofed and maintained, that we are indebted to the Hebrew language for our vowels. I have lately difcovered a manufcript of very great antiquity, wherein the following circumftance is faid to have happened almott time immemorial: Vowel and Diphthong are here recorded as debtors to one Confonant, who, at laft out of all patience, and worried with difappointment, haftily demanded the payment of his debt. Vowel's pretended fubterfuge is very remarkable. His anfwer was thus, "Ah, he, I owe you! why?" I have been almott tempted, as the antients were feldom known to ufe more words than they abfolutely wanted, to confider Ah as an expletive, and that it was originally He, I, &c. &c. A being more immediately applicable

:

to Diphthong. But the learned perhaps clamation of Ah (a) preceding he (c). To the above words, anfwered Confonant, "Ah you Vow-ill," meaning no doubt you pay little regard to your vows allowing for the great imperfection of the English tongue at that time, I think, it may from hence be very reafonably deduced, that we are under no obligation to the Hebrew, for this highly-effential decoration of our language. The character of Confonant and Vowel are unluckily erafed, I was juft able to difcover that Diphthong was a man of wonderful taciturnity---was never known to contradict, was fo wonderfully civil, that he would fay (ai) when he should have faid no, and was fometimes feen to laugh. We may naturally infer from the above that Vowel was a man, whose confcience very feldom interfered with his inclinations. Perhaps indeed, Vowel might have been the character, rather than the name of that man, to whom we are indebted for our a, e, i, o, u, y. All great men have had their imperfections. That the word itfelf is English, is, I think, indifputable. Diphthong and Confonant were both Englishmen. These circumftances are very ftrong motives to induce my belief, as they are not involved in that extreme obfcurity, which generally attends refearches into antiquity: Aleph, &c. are mere chimerical fuppofitions." During his whole fpeech, I could not, for the life of me conjecture, to what I might attribute the honour of a vifit, but the difcovery immediately followed on his taking leave, for the cock that warned him away, waked me.--

The DREAMER.

For