eum, Liverpool, which came from
Warrington, where, however, the brank formerly used at Carrington is
preserved, and there are several places--Newcastle-under-Lyne (now in the
Mayer Collection), Manchester, and others--where they have existed.
There is a very grotesque one in Doddington Park, which is a mask, having
eyeholes, and a long funnel-shaped peak projecting from the mouth; and
there are some very terribly cruel ones, with fearful gags; but these can
scarcely come under scold's or gossip's bridles. There was one at
Forfar, with a spiked gag, which pierced the tongue, and an even more
severe one is at Stockport; whilst those at Ludlow and Worcester are,
also, instruments of torture.

CHAPTER V.

Thom, the religious fanatic--His riots and death--Delusions of his
followers.

From the earliest ages of Christianity _pseudo-Christoi_, or false
Christs, existed. Simon Magus, Dositheus, and the famous Barcochab were
among the first of them, and they were followed by Moses, in Crete, in
the fifth century; Julian, in Palestine, _circa_ A.D. 530; and Screnus,
in Spain, _circa_ A.D. 714. There were, in the 12th century, some seven
or eight in France, Spain and Persia; and, coming to more modern times,
there was Sabbatai Zewi, a native of Aleppo, or Smyrna, who proclaimed
himself to be the Messiah, in Jerusalem, _circa_ 1666. A list of
religious fanatics would be a long one, but the _pseudo-Christos_ of
modern times was, certainly, John Nicholl Thom, of St. Columb, Cornwall,
_alias_ Sir William Percy Honeywood Courtenay, Knight of Malta, and King
of Jerusalem; who also claimed to be Jesus Christ, in proof of which he
shewed punctures in his hands, and a cicatrice on his side.

He was first introduced to public notice in Michaelmas, 1832, when he
paid a visit to Canterbury, and took up his abode, for some time, at the
"Rose Inn," where he was remarkable for his eccentric behaviour, passing
under the name of Rothschild. His countenance and costume denoted
foreign extraction, while his language and conversation showed that he
was well acquainted with almost every part of the kingdom. He often
dressed in a fine suit of Italian clothing, and, sometimes, in the gayer
and more imposing costume of the east. In December of the same year, he
surprised the inhabitants of Canterbury by proposing himself as a
candidate for the representation of that city in Parliament, under the
name of Sir W. P. H. Courtenay. His canv