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entitled—Bath characters or sketches from life—published in 
1807, Tom Rattle is Thomas Mathews. Some one approaches 
singing, when says— 
Ramrod. Do my ears deceive me or is it my old friend Tom 
Rattle. 
Rattle. The same in sober truth my dear Ramrod. 
Ramrod. I protest the sight of your phizz is quite a cordial 
to me, a very opthalmic, a cure for a distempered 
vision. But prythee Tom, where hast thou con- 
cealed that comical face of thine these last three 
years past. From what region dost thou now 
come. 
Rattle. Surfeited with fiddling and casino, family dinners, 
monday’s lies and every day scandal, with political 
preachers and preaching politicians, I turned my 
horses heads one morning towards the mountains 
of Wales,—then—crossing St. George’s channel I 
landed safely in my own dear country which I 
had not visited for almost half a century. 
_ First here he speaks of Ireland as his own country which 
it could only have been by the chance of birth. Then it was 
“almost” half a century since he had seen it. If we could 
take this to mean say forty eight years from the date of this 
skit, the difference takes us back to 1759 when he would be 
sixteen, entitled to the larger income and his working life about 
to begin. He was not baptized at Llandaff. 
Next on the 29th May 1762 Thomas Mathews was com- 
missioned as ensign in the 86th regiment of foot. In 1765, 
f ) April, he exchanged to the 54th regiment* to rank with 
the date of his first commission. He left this regiment, 26th 
1767. Next he appears married, but where or exactly when 
this event happened, as almost always usual, it is hard to 
* Army List. 
