God almighty bless Mary Joyce Clare and her family now and forever — Amen
God almighty bless Martha Turner Clare and her family now and forever — Amen
[N8, 21]
Fern hill
at the back of the chapple a beautifull retreat from a mad house
[N8, 25]
Jack Randalls Challange To All The World
Jack Randall1 The Champion of the Prize Ring Begs Leave To Inform The Sporting World That He Is Ready To Meet Any Customer In The Ring Or On The Stage To Fight For The Sum Of £500 Or £1000 Aside A Fair Stand Up Fight half Minute Time Win Or Loose he Is Not Particular As To Weight Colour Or Country All He Wishes Is To Meet With A Customer Who Has Pluck Enough To Come To The Scratch
Jack Randall
May 1st 18412
[N8, 42]
Note for ‘Child Harold’
Easter Sunday — 1841 Went In The Morning To Buckhurst Hill Church And Stood In The Church Yard — When A Very Interesting Boy Came Out While Organ Was Playing Dressed In A Slop Frock Like A Ploughboy And Seemingly About Nine Years Of Age He Was Just Like My Son Bill When He Was About The Same Age And As Stout Made — He Had A Serious Interesting Face And Looked As Weary With The Working Days As A Hard Working Man I Was Sorry I Did Not Give Him The Last Halfpenny I Had And Ask Him A Few Questions As To His Age And Name And Parents But Perhaps I May See Him Agen
Byron
[N8, 43]
Easter Monday — At The Easter Hunt I Saw A Stout Tall Young Woman Dressed In A Darkish Flowerd Cotton Gown As A Milkmaid Or Farm Servant And Stood Agen Her For Some Minutes Near A Small Clump Of Furze — I Did Not Speak To Her But I Now Wish I Had And Cannot Forget Her — Then I Saw Another Get Out Of A Gig With A Large Scotch3 Shawl On And A Pretty Face
Note for ‘Child Harold’
[N8, 44]
April 21st 1841
1 Weeks Labour — 2s/6d — Drawn 1s — 1s left 6d
April 27th Recieved 1s
May 1st Do 1s 6
May 3rd Do 6
Mathew Gammons over 5d a day —
worked all the week and recieved only 6d — due or left 2s
May 10 Recieved 6d
May 14 Do for Song of Deborah 1s
May 18 Recieved 1s
May 22 Do 1
Do for Child Harold — 1s 0
May 24 Recieved 1s
Do 29 Do 1s
May 30 Recieved 1s
Monday
[N8, 46]
Retrieved from C.Redding4 while in Prison on Leopards Hill Eleven books two Given and the rest returnable — viz — Child Harold — Reddings Poems — and following lent viz Don Juan 1 Vol 5 Cantos — 2nd Part Cants 6.7.8 Part 3rd Cants 9,10,11 — Part 4th 12,13,14 — Part 5th Cants 15,16,
[N8, 60]
1 Jack Randall: John Randall was born in 1794 in the London slums, but found fame and fortune as undisputed champion of the Prize Ring. He retired in 1819 to keep the ‘Hole in the Wall’ tavern in Chancery Lane, which became a centre for Prize Ring enthusiasts. Perhaps Clare met him there. Certainly he would have seen him officiating at London prize-fights. ‘In consequence of some chaffing at Tom Gibb’s benefit at the Fives Court on June 1st, 1824, a match was made between Harry Jones and Brown (the Sprig of Myrtle)’. See: H.D. Miles, Pugilistica (1880), vol.2, pp.516-17. Harry Jones was the ‘Sailor Boy’, he was seconded by Oliver, and Randall acted as time-keeper. As to the ‘Challange To All The World’, Miles records that when Randall formally left the ring in 1819 he issued a public challenge to all England at 11 stone, for 500 guineas. Perhaps Clare saw a copy of this challenge, which is no longer extant. See also Tom Bates, ‘John Clare and “Boximania”’, The John Clare Society Journal, no. 13, July 1994, pp.5-13.
2 Clare has written below the date, later: ‘So let thine enemies perish O Lord’.
3 Scotch: Clare has written ‘Sctoch’.
4 C.Redding: Cyrus Redding (1785–1870), who visited Clare in May 1841, recorded his impressions and published some of Clare’s poems in the English Journal, 15 and 29 May 1841.