The Life of Black Tom

A popular form of writing in the sixteenth and seventeeth centuries was the ‘jest-biography’. A typical jest-biography is a piece of cheap fiction, published in pamphlet form, telling the life story of a trickster or rogue in a series of episodes. In most of these episodes he (very occasionally she) has an encounter with some dupe, victim or enemy, usually coming out on top. The story below comes from a pamphlet of this type, The Unlucky citizen, or, A pleasant history of the life of Black Tom, published in the later Restoration period.

First, the title: in this context, at this date, ‘unlucky’ means ‘mischievous’ rather than ‘unfortunate’. Black Tom, the hero/anti-hero, is the London-born son of a black father, who was brought to England as a slave, and an English mother. Tom is a thief and robber, but he is not a villain. His activities are nowhere explicitly condemned. However, the author twice finds it necessary to warn the reader against imitating Tom’s activities. This suggests to me that a juvenile readership is expected. Tom is a comic-book hero in the days before children’s comics. His enemies are the city watchmen, whose job was to patrol the streets to keep them safe at night. Watchmen were officious, they were always on the look out for tips, which often shaded into bribes, and they were not very popular. In the story below, the watchman-victim is also a miser, a hoarder, mean with his money. Misers were culturally disapproved of and were highly unpopular. We can safely imagine the original readers of this story cheering Tom on:

Black Tom had not lain long still, but he deviseth a new Project to take him a Lodging at the Horse-Ferry in Westminster; he had not been above two days, but his Fingers itched to be at work. Now, there liv’d a certain watchman hard by, that had gotten a considerable quantity of wealth, who was an old dry Batchelor that liv’d alone, and one that liv’d more upon looking on his Coin, than making use on it; for he had at any time rather beg, then part with a Farthing of Money. Now Tom was plotting how he might get this Money from this old Miser: So Tom lay a bed most part of that morning, contriving on his Pillar (sic), but getting up, walks towards the Watch-mans House, where he found him standing at the door, makes several bows and cringes, and afterwards made him this Speech.

Gwide Maystre, Me non Inglant by mine Phace, none Inglant by mine Twang: Me de great strawnger of Aphric, me de pherry phull of Maney; me sa have van Hundred Poonds in mine Phocquet, no phlace to put it shafe, you have de gwide Lodgings; let me de gwide me give gwide Maney.

The old Miser lik’d this speech very well, and was resolved (as he was a Stranger) to make him pay dearly for his Lodging; so Black Tom gave him twenty shillings before-hand, and was to pay him twenty shillings every Saturday Night. But Black Tom had not been long there before the old Man was to go out upon the Watch, and that Night Black Tom conveyed a Coffer out of his House, wherein the Old Man’s Treasure lay, and ne’er returned to his Lodging more.

( What happened next )

After this, Black Tom becomes the terror of the watchmen of London, whom he holds up and robs with impunity. In the final story, he meets a poor black servant who has lost his job and after forcing the watchmen to give the man some money, teaches him ‘his Trade’ of shaking down the watchmen. After this, he leaves the man to take over as the new Black Tom, while he himself goes off to Venice with his loot, with the aim of turning himself into a merchant.

from The Unlucky citizen, or, A pleasant history of the life of Black Tom (1686)


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