Dolly Pentreath c1770
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Dolly Pentreath c1770

The original engraving by Richard Scaddon (of Penzance) in 1770, as instructed upon the interview of Daines Barrington with Dolly Pentreath. Said to be a true likeness of her by Dr Borlase of Castle Horneck, to whom she often visited to sell fish.
In that year she was 83.
In 1770 came the celebrity status of Dolly, So Peter Pindar writes ...

Pilchards! whose bodies yield the fragrant oil,
And make the London lamps at midnight smile;
Which lamps, wide spreading salutary light,
Beam on the wandering beauties of the night,
And show each gentle youth their cheeks' deep roses,
And tell him whether they have eyes and noses.

Hail, Mousehole! birth-place of old Doll Pentreath ,
The last who jabber'd Cornish—so says Daines,
Who, bat-like, haunted ruins, lane, and heath,
With Will-o'-wisp, to brighten up his brains.

Daines! who a thousand miles, unwearied, trots
For bones, brass farthings, ashes, and old pots,
To prove that folks of old, like us, were made
With heads, eyes, hands, and toes, to drive a trade.
 

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