The Seven Dials Press was busily engaged in working off "papers" descriptive of every fact that could be gleaned from the newspapers, and that was suitable for street sale. Catnach was not behind his compeers, as he published several statements in respect to the Princess's death, and _made_ the following lines _out of his own head_! And had, continued our informant--a professional street-ballad writer--"_wood_ enough left for as many more":--
"She is gone! sweet Charlotte's gone! Gone to the silent bourne; She is gone, She's gone, for evermore,-- She never can return.
She is gone with her joy--her darling Boy, The son of Leopold, blythe and keen; She Died the sixth of November, Eighteen hundred and seventeen."
The year 1818, proved a disastrous one to Catnach, as in addition to the extra burden entailed on him in family matters, he had, in the way of his trade, printed a street-paper reflecting on the private character and on the materials used in the manufacture of the sausages as sold by the pork butchers of the Drury-lane quarter in general, and particularly by Mr. Pizzey, a tradesman carrying on business in Blackmore-street, Clare-market, who caused him to be summoned to the Bow-street Police Court to answer the charge of malicious libel, when he was committed to take his trial at the next Clerkenwell Sessions, by Sir Richard Burnie, where he was sentenced to six months' imprisonment in the House of Correction, at Clerkenwell, in the County of Middlesex.
During Catnach's incarceration his mother and sisters, aided by one of the Seven Dials bards, carried on the business, writing and printing off all the squibs and street ballads that were required. In the meanwhile the Johnny Pitts' crew printed several lampoons on "Jemmy Catnach." Subjoined is a portion of one of them that has reached us, _vivâ voce_, of the aforesaid--John Morgan--professional street-ballad writer:--
"Jemmy Catnach printed a quarter sheet-- It was called in lanes and passages, That Pizzy the butcher, had dead bodies chopped, And made them into sausages.
"Poor Pizzey was in an awful mess, And looked the colour of cinders-- A crowd assembled from far and near, And they smashed in all his windows.
"Now Jemmy Catnach's gone to prison, And what's he gone to prison for? For printing a libel against Mr. Pizzey, Which was sung from door to door.