Wefket immmediately left him, locking him in, but returned foon afterwards with a bottle of rum ; and Bradley then fhewed him his piftols and tinder-box, which Wefket took from him, and then left him again. Wefket was afterwards to and again feveral times, but always locked the door, and took the key with him, when he went away. About twelve o'clock, lord and lady Harrington came home; and between one and two Wesket came to him, and told him the family were fecure:"Take a draught "of rum, fays he, have courage, " and follow me."

They then went into the kitchen, and Wefket fhewed him a very high window, which opened with a pully and firing, telling him, that must be his way out when the business was done. To this Bradley objected for a very good reafon, because he did not know where he should come when he got out of the window. He faid, however, that the purpofe intended might be answered with ont trouble or rifque; and immediately pulling off his fhoes, which were dirty, he made the

mark of his foot upon the dresser, which it was neceffary to mount to get at the window, and then he daubed the window and the wall, to make it appear that fome body with dirty feet had 'got out of it.

When this was done they both went very foftly to the bureau in my lord's ftudy, when Wesket, giving Bradley the candle, took a gimblet and chiffel out of his pocket and broke open the bureau. He took out two bank notes, one for a hundred pounds, and the other for thirty, three gold fnuff-boxes, four hundred pounds in money, and other things, to the value of two thousand pounds ; he gave this booty to Bradley, and, leaving the tinder - box behind, conducted him again down stairs, and then giving him the piftols, he with great caution opened the ftreet door and let him out, defiring he might not fee him for a fortnight or three weeks. The ftreet door he left a-jar, fearing to fhut it left he should be heard, and went to bed.

Bradley made the beft of his way with his booty to Cooper's houfe, having defired him to fit up for him; Cooper, however, when he came thither, was not at home, whereupon Bradley went about in fearch of him, but without fuccefs. Bradley then returned to his houfe and depofited the treafure, which he had carried about the street all night, in a kind of fhed in the yard under no lock. It was then near four o'clock, and Cooper was not yet come home; he therefore went out again to feek him, and by accident met him near Temple-bar. It might reasonably be thought, that they

would

would then have gone immediately back to fecure the money, but instead of that they went both to a night-houfe, where they fat drinking together till it was light.

Cooper being acquainted with the bufinefs Bradley had done, and fhewed the booty, put all but the negotiable notes and bills of private perfons, which they deftroyed, in a box, and buried it in his cellar.

It was very ftrange that Wefket and Bradley should be fo carelefs to fecure what they had with fo much danger obtained. Wefket gave Bradley the whole booty without knowing its value, and Bradley fuffered Cooper to keep it where he might at any time have accefs to it without his confent, or even knowledge; neither did he examine what he had got till it had been thus depofited

near a month.

When a maid fervant of lord Harrington's came down ftairs on Sunday morning, the day after the robbery, between feven and eight o'clock, fhe found the street door wide open; and, as fhe was laying the fire in the fteward's room, Wefket came to the door, and asked her if he had let in an old man, that used to be frequently about the houfe; she faid, no, but that the door was wide open when the came down ftairs; upon which he turned away, and said, D-n it, who could go and leave the door open?

Between ten and eleven my lord came out of his chamber into the room where the bureau ftood, and immediately perceived that it had been broke open. A fearch was immediately made to difcover

where the thief had got in or out. The dirt on the dreffer in the kitchen, and against the window, was obferved, and the window alfo was found open; but as rogues are always cunning by halves, Wefket, when he contrived thefe appearances of perfons having come in or out of that window, had not taken care to have him traced out of the place into which he muft have come from the window; this place was inclofed with a wall about five feet high, and the top of the wall was grown with mofs, fo that, if any body had got over it, a mark must have been feen; the appearance therefore of dirt about the window, and its being open, only confirmed the notion, that the robbery must have been committed by a fervant.

over

The fteward went to the lodge and examined Wefket's fhoes, which he found clean. The marks of a gimblet and chiffel being found on the bureau, a little box of tools that was kept in a place, where all the fervants had accefs to it, was fearched, and a gimblet and chiffel were found that exactly answered the marks. This was further evidence that a domestic was the thief. Lord Harrington, therefore, fent for Mr. Spinnage, a juftice of peace, to examine the fervants; and Wefket was chiefly fufpected, as my lord's footman and valet de chambre were newly come, and the prifoner was the only perfon in the houfe, except the fteward and a maid or two, that knew the drawers where the bills and money were; his box was fearched, and a drinking horn was found with fixteen guineas in it; but nothing else appearing,

and he alledging he had received it for wages, he was not taken into cuftody, nor did any thing appear that juftified a fufpicion of any other perfon in the family..

.15

Weket, however, was not long afterwards turned away. The firft time Bradley faw him after the robbery, was in a,fide box at the play. Bradley. who ho was in the gallery, met him as he came out, and they went together to houfe in the Piazza, Covent Garden; where Wefket faid everything was fafe, meaning that the tenquiry had ended in nothing and was fatisfied with Bradley's as count of the things, 91 ba m After this they met feveral times, when Wefket blamed Bradley for not putting off the bank notes Bradley then propofed to go abroad with them, having been abroad, before; but Wefket telling him my lord was well known at all; the courts of Europe, he determined to carry them to Chefter, tupaɔzpoɔ są to a To Chefter, therefore, he went, at the Midfummer fair of 1764m and pretending to be a young trader, he bought fome linen of the Irih factors, and changed both his bank notes, taking linen and cash, and bills on perfons in London, in exchange on

fair.

The bills they got accepted and paid, and had now reafon to think themfelves fafe beyond a poffibili ty of detection, if they did pop béay each other. They were, however, difcovered by an, accident to remarkable, that it would probably been blamed as exceeding probability, if it had been een made, an incident in a novel. Sometime after Wefket had been

difcharged from his place, a gentleman happened to pick up a woman of the town, in Conduitftreet; and in the courfe of their converfation at a tavern, fhe told him, that he had been feduced, under pretence of marriage, by John Wefket, who lived porter with lord Harrington when he was robbed; and the gave fuch an account of his manner of dresfing and living, that the gentleman brought her to Sir John Fielding..

She faid that fhe firft became acquainted with Wefket, after his quitting lord Harrington's, that he had lived with him, that they had been parted about a month, but that the ftill went by his name. She gave an account, alfo, of his acquaintance, and, among them, of Bradley, and put into the juftice's hand fome letters, which he had received from Wefket's acquaintance while the lived with him, among which was, one written by Bradley. She faid alfo, that she had very lately feen fixty guineas in Wefket's poffeffion.

3

D

In the meantime, lord Harrington, happening to have an exact defcription of the thirty pound bank notel had advertifed it; and

about