13 
 
 work : Whittington replied, that ije 
 would work, if any one would employ 
 him, only for some victuals, for he had 
 eaten nothing for three days, was a poor 
 country lad, and nobody would give him 
 work. He then endeavoured to get up, 
 but was so weak that he fell down again ; 
 this excited compassion in the merchant, 
 and he ordered the footman to take hiih 
 in, and give him meat and drink, aiijj 
 
 for Whittington s Cat, which surprised 
 him beyond description, and he cried 
 out, — 
 
 Go, call poor Dick, let's tell him of his fame ? 
 And Mr. Whittington shall he his name. 
 
 Dick endeavoured to excuse him- 
 self, saying, the floor was just rubbed, 
 and his shoes were dirty and full of 
 nails. The merchant however, ordered 
 a chair to be set for him, and took him 
 by the hand, and said, Mr. Whitting- 
 ton, I congratulate you on the sur- 
 prising success of your Cat, she has 
 produced you more riches than I am 
 worth, and may you long enjoy them. 
 
 When they opened the casket, and 
 shewed him the treasure, which they 
 assured him was his own, he fell on 
 his knees, and returned thanks (o God 
 for his goodness ; and then laid the 
 whole at his master's feet, became: him 
 
 3 CO o 
 
 to accept it: this Mr. Fitzwarren re- 
 
 T 
 
 THE 
 
 HISTORY OF 
 DICK WHITTINGTON 
 
 LORD MAYOR OF LONDON ; 
 
 With the Adventures of his 
 
 CAT. 
 
 BANBURY : 
 PRINTED BY J. G. RUSHER. 
 
 1 
 
Sir Richard Whittington, 
 
 AND HIS CAT. 
 
 I 
 
 Dick Whittington was but a 
 very little boy when his father and mo-, 
 ther died, indeed so young that he! 
 knew neither of them, nor the place he" 
 was born in. After strolling about the 
 country, as ragged as a colt, for along^ 
 time., he met with a waggoner, going toi 
 London, who gave him leave to walk) 
 all the way by the side of his waggonj 
 without paying a farthing for his pass-! 
 age, which very much pleased little 1 
 Whittington, for he sadly wanted to 
 see London ; as he had heard the streets 
 were paved with gold, his intention 1 
 was to get a hat full : but how great 
 was his disappointment to find the 
 streets covered with dirt, and himself 
 
 tington to send for tradesmen to dress 
 him suitable to his fortune. He in a 
 little time lost that sheepish behaviour 
 occasioned by depression of spirits, and 
 grew a sprightly companion. Miss 
 Patty, who always viewed him with an 
 eye of compassion, now looked on him 
 in another light, which was probably 
 occasioned by his readiness to oblige 
 her. When the merchant discovered 
 they had a great regard for each other, 
 he proposed a ;match, to which both 
 joyfully consented, and a day was fixed 
 for the ceremony. They were esteemed 
 the happiest couple in England, and 
 lived to a good old age, leaving several 
 children behind them. 
 
 Sir Richard was Sheriff of London 
 in 1340, and was three times Mayor 
 of London ; and King Henry V. in 
 Whittington 's last mayoralty knighted 
 him. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 t 
 
 14 
 
 fused, saying, he heartily rejoiced at his 
 prosperity. He next applied to his 
 mistress and Miss Patty, who refused 
 taking the smallest part. Mr. Whit- 
 tington rewarded the captain, factor, 
 and the ship's crew, for the care they 
 had taken of his cargo, and made 
 presents to the servants, even to his 
 old enemy the cook. 
 
 Mr. Fitzwarren advised Mr. Whit- 
 
 ithout food, friends, money, or any 
 t erson to give him a character. 
 
 In this situation, Dick askedcharityof 
 s Bveral people, and, at length, half dead 
 Dr want of food, he laid himself down 
 t the door of Mr. Fitzwarren, a mer- 
 hant. Cicely, the cook, first saw him, 
 ,nd told him to go about his business. 
 i \x this moment the merchant came 
 1 mme, and began to scold the boy for 
 itting at his door, and bid him go to 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
6 
 
 saw one in a woman's arms, but she 
 asked more than a penny for the cat; 
 however Dick at last had the cat for 
 for his penny, and puss drove away and 
 destroyed all the vermin. 
 
 Mr. Fitzwarren having a ship ready 
 to sail, called his servants, and proposed 
 each sending a venture, to try their 
 fortunes. All appeared but Dick; arc! 
 his friend, Miss Patty, ordered him to 
 be called, and offered to lay down some- 
 
 11 
 
 small creature on board his ship, that 
 would despatch them presently. Let 
 the creature be brought, said the king, 
 and, if she drives the vermin from my 
 court, I will, in exchange for her, load 
 your ship with gold, and the richest 
 jewels of my country. 
 
 The factor fetched puss, and as soon 
 as she saw the vermin, she sprang out 
 of his arms, and killed or drove away 
 every rat and mouse from the room. 
 
 The king was astonished to see so 
 small a creature drive away his old ene- 
 mies, and the queen begged to have 
 her brought near her. At first she 
 was afraid of puss, but the captain 
 stroked her; the goodnatured animal 
 kept purring and singing, and the 
 queen took the cat in her lap, where 
 she presently sang herself to sleep. 
 
 The king bought all the merchand- 
 ise the captain had in his ship, and 
 
 taken off, a large quantity of rats and 
 mice jumped on the table, and devoured 
 the whole. The factor, in surprise, 
 turned to one of the nobles, and asked 
 if the vermin were not offensive. O 
 yes, said he, very ; for they not only 
 eat his food, but assault him in his 
 chamber, so that a guard is obliged to 
 be kept while their majesties sleep. 
 
 The captain recollected Dick's Cat, 
 and told their majesties there was a 
 
 i 
 
 j 
 
 7 
 
 thing for him; but Mr. Fitzwarren said 
 it must be something of his own. I 
 have nothing, said Dick, but a cat : 
 Fetch the cat, my boy ? said the mer- 
 chant, and send it. 
 
 Whittington delivered the cat with 
 tears, saying, I shall now be devoured 
 by the rats and mice. 
 
 While puss was beating the billows, 
 Whittington was cruelly beaten at home 
 by the cross cook, who made sport of 
 him for sending his cat : at last the 
 poor boy determined to run away. 
 
 He set out early in the morning f 
 AUhallow's day: having got as far as 
 Holloway, he sat down to rest on a 
 stone, which is still called Whittington 's 
 stone, when Bow bells began ringing ; 
 and he fancied they invited him to re- 
 turn, by saying, Turn, turn again 
 Whittington, Lord Mayor of London ? 
 Lord Mayor of London ! said he to 
 
J 
 
 8 
 
 himself; what should not one endure 
 to arrive at the honour of riding in such 
 a fine coach, with six horses; well, I'll 
 go hack to Cicely, rather than lose 
 the pleasure of being Lord Mayor. So 
 home he ran, before Cicely came down 
 stairs. 
 
 The ship that carried out his cat, 
 was very near being lost, and after con- 
 tending with the boisterous seas, the 
 sailors had the comfort to discover the 
 
 9 
 
 coast of Barbary ; great was their joy at 
 having escaped the dangers. 
 
 The captain returned Almighty God 
 thanks for their wonderful preservation. 
 The inhabitants received them kindly, 
 the captain shewed them the patterns 
 of his cargo, and the king invited the 
 captain and the factor to dine at the 
 palace. 
 
 Here they were seated on elegant 
 chairs, and the floor covered with car- 
 pets, flowered with gold and silver. 
 
 The king and queen being seated 
 at the upper end of the table, and 
 dinner brought in a number of covered 
 dishes, the moment the covers were 
 
 12 
 
 5 
 
 then paid him for the cat, which 
 amounted to ten times as much money 
 as the whole cargo. 
 
 The captain assured their majesties 
 the cat was with young, so that it was 
 likely she would stock the country. 
 
 It was that day twelvemonth, about 
 the same time in the morning, on 
 which Dick Whittington fancied Bow 
 bells advised him to return, that Mr. 
 Fitzwarren, who was an early riser, 
 was sitting at his desk in the counting 
 house, and heard a rap at the door : 
 Who is there P said the merchant. A 
 friend, answered the other ; I have 
 brought you good news of your ship 
 Unicorn ; the merchant then admitted 
 the captain and factor. They present- 
 ed him with the casket of jewels, 
 which his cargo had fetched ; then 
 they shewed him the caskets of dia- 
 monds and rubies they had received 
 
 let him help the cook to do any of her 
 dirty work. 
 
 Whittington would have lived happily 
 in this family, if he had notbeen bump- 
 ed about by the cook ; till Miss Patty, 
 her master's daughter, took compassion 
 on him, and made her use him more 
 kindly. Mrs. Fitzwarren ordered a 
 flock bed to be put up in the back 
 garret for him, and such a number of 
 n.ts and mice were in that room that 
 he could get no rest. A gentleman was 
 on a visit to his master, and gave Dick 
 a 'penny; this he carefully put by, in- 
 tending to lay it out in the first Cat 
 
 that was to be sold : soon after this, he 
 
 i