210 



JOHN METCALF, ROAD MAKER. 



PART III. 



High Bridge. At home, in the evenings, he learnt to 

 play the fiddle, and became so skilled 011 the instrument, 

 that he was shortly aLle to earn money by playing dance 

 music at country parties. At Christmas time he played 

 waits, and during the Harrogate season he played to the 

 assemblies at the Queen's Head and the Green Dragon. 

 On one' occasion, towards dusk, he acted as guide to 

 a belated gentleman along the difficult road from York 

 to Harrogate. The road was then full of windings and 

 turnings, and in many places it was no better than a 

 track across unenclosed moors. Metcalf brought the 

 gentleman safe to his inn, the Granby, late at night, and 

 was invited to join in a tankard of negus. On Metcalf 

 leaving the room, the gentleman observed to the land- 

 lord " I think, landlord, my guide must have drunk a 

 great deal of spirits since we came here." " Why so, 

 Sir?" " Well, I judge so, from the appearance of his 

 eyes" " Eyes ! bless you, Sir," rejoined the landlord, 

 " don't you know that he is blind ? " " Blind ! What 

 do you mean by that ? " "I mean, Sir, that he cannot 

 see he is as blind as a stone." " Well, landlord," said 

 the gentleman, " this is really too much : call him in." 

 Enters Metcalf. " My friend, are you really blind ? " 



knew ivverybody.' To the town- 

 crier I went, but could learn nothing 

 satisfactory from him. I then walked 

 up and down the streets, looking into 

 the doors and windows, and wherever 

 I saw an old head I walked into the 

 house, and asked the possessor if he 

 or she knew Blind Jack. I was at 

 last directed to the Rev. Thomas Col- 

 lins, an aged gentleman, to whose 

 father's house Jack had been accus- 

 tomed to go regularly to play the 

 fiddle. Mr. Collins did not know 

 his exact birthplace, but directed me 

 to seek out a certain Mr. Calvert, 

 aged ninety-five, the author of ' The 

 History of Knaresborough,' and from 

 this gentleman I learned that Jack's 

 l>i rlli place was pulled down to make 

 room lor the house in which the Rev. 

 Mr. Collins himself resided. He also 



described to me Jack's house, its cha- 

 racter and extent ; from which I could 

 form a very accurate idea of it. As 

 Jack's garden and croft came down as 

 far as the churchyard, my next move 

 was to the top of the chureh-tower, 

 from which place 1 sketched, de- 

 signed, and filled up, from the descrip- 

 tions given me, the view of Blind 

 Jack's birthplace ; and 1 believe it to 

 be as faithful a representation of the 

 house as it is possible, under the cir- 

 cumstances, to present. The gable- 

 end, at the low right-hand corner, is 

 the grammar-school, which was then 

 only one-story high. A street of 

 houses and cottages must have gone 

 up from thence towards the castle at 

 the top of the hill, though trees might 

 have hid most of them from sight." 



