Introduction
What follows is a paraphrase of the famous story of Dick Whittington and His Cat as told in verse by Richard Johnson in his Crowne Garland of Goulden Roses (1612), and in prose by Thomas Heywood in The Famous and Remarkable History of Sir Richard Whittington (1659). Sir Richard Whittington (?1354-1423) was a real historical person, so some notes are added to help separate fact from fiction.
WHEN Alice Fitzwarren saw her father, a merchant by Leadenhall Market, turn away a young lad asking for work,* she did not rest until she had coaxed Mr Fitzwarren into offering him a job in the kitchen, minding the spit and scouring pans; and though Cook was always boxing his ears, Dick (for such was his name) endured his lot. There was the soft sound of Bow Bells,* and ‘blessed be the bells’ he would sigh. There was the cat he had bought for penny because his garrett was infested with mice. And there was Alice, who always took his part.
Mr Fitzwarren* insisted that whenever his ship sailed everyone in his household must invest something, however small, in the adventure. As Dick was penniless, Fitzwarren (who would not let Alice pay for two) commandeered his cat. This and another beating from Cook decided him: he would go and never return.
Dick stole away before dawn, and had reached Bunhill Fields* when far-off Bow Bells began to ring in All Hallows Day.* To Dick’s startled ears, they seemed to chime:
‘Turn again, Dick Whittington,
Thrice mayor of London!’*
Wonderingly he turned and went back to Fitzwarren’s house.
* Dick’s rags-to-riches tale was frankly a romance, and known to be so, as is shown by an exchange in If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody (Pt II, 1606) by Thomas Heywood (?1570s-1641):
Hobson. For I have heard he was a scullion,
And rais’d himself by venture of a cat.
Nowell. They did the more wrong to the gentleman.
This did not stop Heywood writing in the The Famous and Remarkable History of Sir Richard Whittington (1659) that Whittington “was so obscurely born that he could scarcely give account of his parents or kindred, and being almost starved in the country, necessity compelled him up to London”. Richard Johnson (1573-?1659) claimed he was of lowly birth in Lancashire. In fact, Richard Whittington (?1354-1423) was the third son of Sir William Whittington MP (?-?1558), a Gloucestershire landowner, and his wife Joan (née Maunsell), widow of Thomas de Berkeley. For more biographical details see The Mirror of Charity.
* The bells of the church of St Mary-le-Bow in the heart of the City of London; the present building was erected after the Great Fire of 1666 destroyed the old church. Tradition has it than anyone born within earshot is a true Cockney. Leadenhall Market is a short distance east.
* The real Richard Whittington did indeed marry Alice, daughter of Sir Ivo (John) FitzWaryn MP (1347-1414) and granddaughter of Sir William FitzWaryn of Whittington Castle in Shropshire. Sir Ivo owned substantial properties in Devon, Dorset, Berkshire and across the southwest.
* Bunhill Fields is now a churchyard in London where many famous people are buried. They include writers John Bunyan, Daniel Defoe and William Blake, statistician Thomas Bayes and hymnographer Isaac Watts. In the time of Richard II however it was moorland, and the name Bunhill itself may be sixteenth-century. It is less than a mile from St Mary-le-Bow so Dick could quite plausibly have heard the chimes floating across the City. Later accounts have Dick halt at Highgate Hill, which is considerably further away.
* The feast of All Saints on November 1st. The previous night is Halloween.
* Sir Richard Whittington (?1354-1423) was elected Lord Mayor of London three times. The first was in 1397, the second in 1406 and the third and last time was in 1419 (each term lasted one year). Whittington had also been appointed to the role earlier in 1397 by King Richard II after the holder, goldsmith Adam Bamme, died in office, making four terms in all. See The Mirror of Charity.
Précis
According to a sixteenth-century folktale, penniless boy Dick Whittington decided to quit London forever after his employer, Mr Fitzwarren, sent Dick’s beloved cat to sea on one of his merchant ships. Dick had not gone far, however, when he fancied he heard Bow Bells promise he would be Lord Mayor of London, so he turned and went back. (58 / 60 words)
According to a sixteenth-century folktale, penniless boy Dick Whittington decided to quit London forever after his employer, Mr Fitzwarren, sent Dick’s beloved cat to sea on one of his merchant ships. Dick had not gone far, however, when he fancied he heard Bow Bells promise he would be Lord Mayor of London, so he turned and went back.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: besides, if, must, or, otherwise, since, whereas, whether.
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