2-714-123 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Bampfylde Moore Carew - King of the Beggars', 1821. Portrait of Bampfylde Moore Carew (1693-1759), English rogue, vagabond and impostor. He apparently 'had the dexterity to defraud a lady near Taunton of twenty guineas, under the pretext of discovering to her, by his skill in astrology, a hidden treasure.' Carew was convicted of vagrancy and transported to Maryland. He eventually made his way back to England and settled down after winning a lottery. He claimed to be King of the Beggars, and was also known as King of the Gypsies. Carew became famous from his memoirs, in which he describes himself as the Noted Devonshire Stroller and Dogstealer. From "Wonderful Characters: Comprising Memoirs and Anecdotes of the Most Remarkable Persons of Every Age and Nation", Vol. I, by Henry Wilson. [J. Robins and Co. Albion Press, London, 1821]