A Blind Road-Maker.

sports . At the age of manhood it is said his mind possessed a self-dependence rarely enjoyed by those who have the perfect use of their faculties ; his bod y was well-proportioned to his mind , for when twenty-one years of age he was six feet one ancl a-half inches in height , strong , ancl robust in proportion . We may mention that one day Metcalf being wishful to obtain a little fish , he without aid drew a net measuring eighty yards in length in the deepest part of the River Wharfe for three hours together . At one time he held the lines in his mouth , being obliged to swim . Respecting the River Wharfe , an old Yorkshire couplet tells us that the

Wharfe is clear , and the Aire lithe , Where the Aire drowns one , Wharfe drowns five . At the age of twenty-five , be was engaged as a musician at Harrogate . About this time he was frequently employed during the dark nights as a guide over the moors ancl wilds , then abundant in the neighbourhood of Knaresborough . He was a lover of horse-racing , and often rode his own steeds at the

races . His horses he so trained that when he called them by their respective names they came to him , so he was able to find his own amongst any number , ancl without trouble . Particulars of the marriage of this individual read like a romance . A Miss Benson , daughter of an innkeeper , reciprocated the affections of onr hero ; however , the suitor did not please the parents of the " fair lady , " and they selected a Mr . Dickinson as her future husband . Metcalf

hearing that the object of his affection was to be married the next day to a young man selected by . her father , he hastened to free her , and induced the damsel to elope with him . Next day they were made man ancl wife , to the great surprise of all who knew them , ancl to the disappointment of the intended son-in-law . To all it was a matter of wonder how a handsome woman as any in the country , the pride of the placecould link her future with " Blind Jack "

, , ancl reject many good offers for him . The bride set the matter at rest by saying : " His actions are so singular , and his spirit so manly ancl enterprising that I could not help liking him . " At Harrogate he continued to give his musical performances in the season ; he at this place of public accommodation set up a four-wheeled chaise , and a one-horse chair ; it is worth y of note , he was the first to establish these for

visitors . For two seasons he kept chaises , but the innkeepers commencing to run vehicles he gave them up , as he also did racing ancl hunting . He next bought horses and went to the coast for fish , which he took to Leeds and Manchester . We are told he was so indefatigable that he would frequently walk for two nights and a clay with little or no rest ; for as a- family was coming on , he was as eager for business as he hacl been for diversion , still keeping up his spirits , as the Giver of Goodness blessed him with good health .

Next we find when the rebellion of 1745 broke out in Scotland , "Blind Jack " joined a regiment of volunteers , raised by Colonel Thomas Thornton , a patriotic gentleman , for the defence of the house of Hanover , shared with them all the clangers of the campaign , defeated at Falkirk , victorious at Culloden . It is said Jack afterwards carried on a small contraband trade between the ports on the east coast and the interior , as well as in galloways for Scotland , in which he met with many strange adventures . He was the first to set

up ( in 1754 ) a stage wagon between York and Knaresborough ; this he conducted himself twice a week in summer ancl once in winter . This employment he continued until he commenced to contract for making roads . His first contract was making three miles of road between Miniskip and Ferronsby . After this he made hundreds of miles' of road in Yorkshire , Lancashire , Cheshire , ancl Derbyshire ; bridges and houses he also erected . He was a dealer in timber and hay , which he measured and calculated the solid contents by a peculiar method of his own . The hay he always measured with his arms ,