62 TRANSACTIONS OF THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 
with men and women of the humbler classes. He was always 
alive to anything absurd, and any out-of-the-way expression, 
either grave or gay, falling from any one, it mattered not who, 
was sure to take a hold on his memory, and to be reproduced for 
the amusement of the world. 
One of Hicks's early and best friends was George Wightwick, a 
man much sought after as a fine talker, a good story teller, and 
one of the best readers of Shakespeare's plays that ever read 
to the public. 
In speaking of Hicks I must give a passing glance at his fellow 
wit. George Wightwick of Plymouth, a friend of Macready's, 
was the architect of the Lunatic Asylum at Bodmin, of which 
Hicks was the Governor, and one of the first to bring Hicks 
into notoriety. Wightwick was an enthusiast, and a great 
appreciator of merit in others. He was delighted with Hicks's 
fun, and put him forward as the most amusing person to be found 
in the West of England. Wightwick, as well as Hicks, was a 
well-known man throughout the West of Devon and Cornwall, 
and was much sought after as an entertainer of fellow guests 
at those most delightful parties at country houses, where many 
meet for a day or two in the mansion of a country gentleman. 
Perhaps there is nothing in the world so pleasant as a large party 
gathered together in an English country house — a fine old mansion 
situated in beautiful scenery — where every luxury is at command, 
and true hospitality well understood. Wightwick and Hicks in 
such a company, with their talk, their stories, and their music — 
they were both songsters — would be in themselves luxuries of the 
highest order. These two celebrities told stories of one another. 
Hicks used to tell stories of one Captain Blank. I must use 
unreal names that I may not hurt the feelings of living persons, 
descendants or relations of the heroes of the stories, and I must 
pick out the commonest names in order to avoid identification, 
though the real Cornish names will be a great loss. Hicks told 
many absurd stories of this Captain Blank, a mining Captain. 
The title of " Captain " is a very favourite one in Cornwall, and 
is always bestowed on miners in authority. Wightwick, having 
heard many stories of Captain Blank, met him one day when in 
company with Hicks in Cornwall. Wightwick, with his usual 
enthusiasm, went up to Captain Blank and shook him warmly by 
