DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.70301#0049
MEMOIRS OF GENERAL JOHN REID.
35
than in a dirty drab-coloured coat, black breeches, a very
small cocked hat, and black stock, with his hair tied in a
queue; a cane in one hand, and the other invariably placed
within the bosom of his coat. This dress, from which he
never deviated, so far from according with the rank of the
wearer, seemed to bespeak the pressure of poverty, and
this inference was confirmed in the mind of every observer
by the appearance of his person, which was tall and very
slender. All these circumstances together gave to his figure
a character truly grotesque, which is faithfully preserved in
the annexed portrait.
His daily perambulations were as invariable as his dress.
He never failed to walk up one side of Piccadilly, through
Hyde Park, along the wall of Kensington Gardens, and re-
turn by the other side of Piccadilly, without stopping or
speaking to any person. In the same solemn melancholy
pace he would traverse the Strand, Fleet Street, St. Paul’s
Church yard, and proceed to the Bank, where he would walk
about without taking notice of any one, and then return the
same way that he had come. For upwards of twenty years
he continued this practice without the least alteration; and
notwithstanding the enquiries occasioned by the singularity of
his appearance, as he was never seen in company, or speak-
ing with any person, his real name and character remained
enveloped in profound mystery, so that he was generally
known by no other appellation than the Walking Rushlight.
The singularities of General Reid were probably the off-
spring of parsimony, a quality which has generally been con-
sidered as a distinguishing trait in the character of the natives
of the northern division of our island; but it was certainly
carried by him beyond what the world would deem compa-
tible with his station in life. The fruits of his economy must
have been considerable, though the amount cannot be ascer-
tained.
In his will, which bears evident marks of the same eccen-
F 2
35
than in a dirty drab-coloured coat, black breeches, a very
small cocked hat, and black stock, with his hair tied in a
queue; a cane in one hand, and the other invariably placed
within the bosom of his coat. This dress, from which he
never deviated, so far from according with the rank of the
wearer, seemed to bespeak the pressure of poverty, and
this inference was confirmed in the mind of every observer
by the appearance of his person, which was tall and very
slender. All these circumstances together gave to his figure
a character truly grotesque, which is faithfully preserved in
the annexed portrait.
His daily perambulations were as invariable as his dress.
He never failed to walk up one side of Piccadilly, through
Hyde Park, along the wall of Kensington Gardens, and re-
turn by the other side of Piccadilly, without stopping or
speaking to any person. In the same solemn melancholy
pace he would traverse the Strand, Fleet Street, St. Paul’s
Church yard, and proceed to the Bank, where he would walk
about without taking notice of any one, and then return the
same way that he had come. For upwards of twenty years
he continued this practice without the least alteration; and
notwithstanding the enquiries occasioned by the singularity of
his appearance, as he was never seen in company, or speak-
ing with any person, his real name and character remained
enveloped in profound mystery, so that he was generally
known by no other appellation than the Walking Rushlight.
The singularities of General Reid were probably the off-
spring of parsimony, a quality which has generally been con-
sidered as a distinguishing trait in the character of the natives
of the northern division of our island; but it was certainly
carried by him beyond what the world would deem compa-
tible with his station in life. The fruits of his economy must
have been considerable, though the amount cannot be ascer-
tained.
In his will, which bears evident marks of the same eccen-
F 2