John "Mad Jack" Mytton (1796-1834) was a carefree English aristocrat who was born into
immense wealth. However, he died a poor man after a life that was once described as "a series of
suicide attempts". So, what went wrong?
As a young boy, Jack went to Westminster School, but after only one year he was expelled for
fighting with a teacher. He was then sent to Harrow School but only lasted three days before he was
also thrown out. He was eventually educated by private tutors.
After school, Jack went to Cambridge University. He arrived with 2,000 bottles of port, but left
without graduating - he found university life boring. Later, he joined the army, enlisting with the 7th
Hussars. As a young officer, he spent a year with the regiment in France as part of the occupation
force after Napoleon"s defeat in 1815. Jack passed the time gambling and drinking before resigning
his commission. At the age of 21, he returned to his country house just in time to receive his inheritance.
With an annual income of over ￡800,000 in today"s money, Jack was extremely rich… but it didn"t
take him long to spend it all. In 1819, he became an MP. In order to secure his seat, he offered voters
￡10 notes to vote for him, spending more than ￡10,000 in total. However, he found politics dull and
went to parliament only once. Back at home, he would often drop bank notes in the gardens of his
estate, and gave his servants vast amounts of spending money. Once he lost his racetrack winnings
(several thousand pounds) when the wind blew all the money away.
One of Jack"s favorite pastimes was hunting. He would go in any kind of weather, occasionally
with no clothes on. Sometimes, he would get up in the middle of the night, take off with a gun to look
for something to shoot.
Jack also kept a large number of pets. These included about 2,000 dogs. Some were fed on steak
and Champagne and even wore livery. A favorite horse had free range inside Halston Hall and would
often lie with Jack in front of the fire.
Jack was a bit of a practical joker, too. He once left a horse in the bedroom of a guest. Another
visitor fell asleep and woke up to find a live bear and two bulldogs in his bed. In 1826, as a result of a
bet, Jack rode his horse into the Bedford Hotel, up the grand staircase and onto the balcony. Then,
still sitting on the horse, he jumped off the balcony, landing among the diners in the restaurant below.
Another time, he invited a local doctor to dine at Halston Hall. As soon as the doctor had left,
Jack put on a highwayman"s costume and raced ahead to rob the unsuspecting man. On another
occasion, a passenger in Jack"s carriage admitted that he"d never been in an accident, so Jack drove
the carriage up a hill and turned it over. He would also slip red-hot coals into people"s pockets as a
joke.
Eventually, Jack ran out of money and fell into debt. In 1830, he fled to France to avoid his
creditors(债主), but returned a couple of years later, ending up in prison in Southwark, London. Jack
died there in 1834, a poor, lonely man. |