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unhappiness. I was not acquainted with John Dyer till about nine months after Mr. Sibley was robbed. I have committed many robberies, but never any murder. I justly merit the shameful death I must suffer. I beg all young men to be warned by me, and reject the solicitations of vicious companions."

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Passing over Dick Whiting, as audacious a dog," to quote the Ordinary's impressive words, "as ever stretched a halter," we come to the account of John Stanley, for murder. There is nothing more than mere cruelty to distinguish this gentleman's feats from those of several of his calendar associates; but after the case is brought home to the very bone, and Mr. Stanley gets fairly into the condemned hole,—

"He gave an account of his being once attacked and robbed by foot-pads in Hampstead-road, as he was returning from Belsize; and another time by highwaymen, as he was going into Gloucestershire, and upon drawing his sword, one of them shot, and narrowly missed him; and after that they beat him in so violent a manner, that he was hardly able to stand. "And is it not hard now, says he, that I, whom no sword could dispatch, no gun could kill, and no storm could drown, must at last die like a dog in an ignoble halter? That I, who have lived like a gentleman, been a companion for officers, and the favourite of the ladies, must die with street robbers ?'"

The Ordinary is extremely sprightly and particular in his account of Stanley. The following is written with a delightful pen-plucked, it should seem, from the wing of no common goose.

"He declared before several, that he would never die by a rope, offering in his airy way to lay wagers upon that matter. But afterwards being convinced that there was no bravery in not being able to sustain misfortunes, but getting from under them, he changed his intent, and said, he would die like a gentleman, and a soldier, though in the manner of a dog: that his enemies should see he could appear with the same face at the time of his death, as during the time of his life."

Stanley died suddenly at Tyburn on the 23d of December, 1723, aged twenty-five years.

In the account of Stephen Gardiner for a burglary (a fellow of no great likelihood), the following curious fact is related. The verses exhibit a strange mixture of coarse strength and disgusting doggrelism (if we may use such a word). We who live under the very gloom of Newgate-i.e. in the backshop of our publisher, never heard these admonitory lines doled out. They are the bell-man's verses with a vengeance.

"It has long been a custom for the bell-man of St. Sepulchre's

parish (on the night before the prisoners are to be executed) to come under Newgate and ring his bell, and repeat the following verses to the criminals in the condemned-hold.

All you that in the condemn'd-hold do lie,
Prepare you, for to-morrow you shall die.
Watch all and pray, the hour is drawing near,
That you before th' Almighty must appear.
Examine well yourselves, in time repent,
That you may not t' eternal flames be sent:
And when St. 'Pulcre's bell to-morrow tolls,
The Lord above have mercy on your souls!-

Past twelve o'clock !

According to Stow's Survey, [edit. 1618, 4to. p. 195,] it appears, that the Ordinary, or some holy man, ought to exhort thus poetically to the hopeless men. We do, however, think, that it was an uncharitable deed in any person to compel a dying man to listen to such shabby heroic verses. Mr. Fitzgerald, the tavern poet, could hardly be guilty of a more atrocious poetical misdemeanour.

Stow thus quaintly writes.

"Robert Dove, citizen and merchant-tailor, of London, gave to the parish church of St. Sepulchre, the sum of 501. That after the several sessions of London, when the prisoners remain in the gaol, as condemned men to death, expecting execution on the morrow following: the clerk [that is, the parson] of the church should come in the nighttime, and likewise early in the morning, to the window of the prison where they lye, and there ringing certain tolls with a hand-bell, appointed for the purpose, he doth afterward (in most Christian manner) put them in mind of their present condition, and ensuing execution, desiring them to be prepared therefore as they ought to be. When they are in the cart, and brought before the wall of the church, there he standeth ready with the same bell, and after certain tolls rehearseth an appointed prayer, desiring all the people there present to pray for them. The beadle, also, of merchant-tailors-hall, hath an honest allowed stipend, to see that this is duely done."

We wonder whether the beadle of merchant-tailors attends to his duty; surely, Mr. Brougham ought to make this one of the subjects of inquiry into charitable abuses. Is the stipend dead?

Skipping over Fred. Schmidt, for forgery, Lewis Houssart, for murder, Constantine Magennis, for the like impropriety, and Peter Curtis, for burglary, we come full bolt upon Jack Sheppard! the gallant, famous, infamous, muscular Jack Sheppard!-Such burglaries never graced the Newgate Annals before or since his time! He was, indeed, the Beau Ideal of a housebreaker!

Jack was convicted, thanks to Jonathan Wild; and then follows an ample and able account, from the Ordinary's acute pen, of this eminent varlet. After much preliminary wickedness, which, no doubt, must have been pointed and pleasant enough at the time, we come to Sheppard's active days. Jack robs away through several pages,—at length,—

"On Monday morning, August 30, the warrant came down to Newgate, for the execution of Joseph Ward, for robbery, Anthony Upton, for burglary, and John Sheppard.

"A little within the lodge at Newgate there was, on the left hand, a hatch, with large iron spikes: this opened into a dark passage, from whence you went up a few steps into the condemned-hold. The prisoners were permitted to come down to this hatch to speak with their friends. Sheppard being provided with implements, found means to cut one of the spikes in such a manner, that it would easily break off. In the evening two women of his acquaintance coming to see him, he broke off the spike, and thrusting his head and shoulders through the space, the women pulled him down, and so he made his escape undiscovered, though some of the keepers were at the same time drinking at the farther end of the lodge."

Jack no sooner escapes, than he dashes his hand through a watchmaker's window, and his fingers being professionally hooked, he snatches out three watches,-and, for this daring robbery, he is again "returned to the place from whence he

came.

"On Wednesday, October 14, the sessions began at the Old Bailey, and Jack knew that the keepers would then have so much business in attending the court, as would leave them but little leisure to visit him; and therefore thought, that this would be the only time to make a push for his liberty.

"The next day, about two in the afternoon, one of the keepers carried Jack his dinner, and, as usual, examined his irons, and found all fast, and so left him. He had hardly been gone an hour, before Jack went to work. The first thing he did, he got off his hand-cuffs, and then with a crooked nail, which he found upon the floor, he opened the great padlock that fastened his chain to the staple. Next he twisted asunder a small link of the chain between his legs, and drawing up his feet-locks as high as he could, he made them fast with his garters. He attempted to get up the chimney, but had not advanced far, before his progress was stopped by an iron bar that went across withinside, and therefore being descended, he went to work on the outside, and with a piece of his broken chain picked out the mortar, and removing a small stone or two about six feet from the floor, he got out the iron bar, which was an inch square, and near a yard long, and this proved of great service to him. He presently made so large a breach, that he got into the Red-room over the castle. Here he found a great nail, which was another very useful implement. The door of this room had not been

opened for seven years past; but in less than seven minutes he wrenched off the lock, and got into the entry leading to the chapel. Here he found a door bolted on the other side, upon which he broke a hole through the wall, and pushed the bolt back. Coming now to the chapel-door, he broke off one of the iron spikes, which he kept for farther use, and so got into an entry between the chapel and the lower leads. The door of this entry was very strong, and fastened with a great lock, and what was worse, the night had overtaken him, and he was forced to work in the dark. However, in half an hour, by the help of the great nail, the chapel spike, and the iron bar, he forced off the box of the lock, and opened the door, which led him to another yet more difficult; for it was not only locked, but barred and bolted. When he had tried in vain to make this lock and box give way, he wrenched the fillet from the main post of the door, and the box and staples came off with it: and now Sepulchre's chimes went eight. There was yet another door betwixt him and the lower leads; but it being only bolted withinside, he opened it easily, and mounting to the top of it, he got over the wall, and so to the upper leads.

"His next consideration was, how to get down; for which purpose looking round him, and finding the top of the turner's house adjoining to Newgate was the most convenient place to alight upon, he resolved to descend thither; but as it would have been a dangerous leap, he went back to the castle the same way he came, and fetched a blanket he used to lie on. This he made fast to the wall of Newgate, with the spike he stole out of the chapel, and so sliding down, dropped upon the turner's leads, and then the clock struck nine.

"Luckily for him the turner's garret-door on the leads happened to be open. He went in, and crept softly down one pair of stairs, when he heard company talking in a room below. His irons giving a clink, a woman started, and said, Lord! What noise is that? Somebody answered, the dog or the cat; and thereupon Sheppard returned up to the garret, and having continued there above two hours, he ventured down a second time, when he heard a gentleman take leave of the company, and saw the maid light him down stairs. As soon as the maid came back, and had shut the chamber-door, he made the best of his way to the street-door, unlocked it, and so made his escape about twelve at night.

"It is uncertain where he took up his lodging for the remaining part of that night, or rather morning, or when, or how he got the irons off his legs: but on the first of November, not only his feet-locks, but his hand-cuffs too, were found in a room belonging to Kate Cook, and Kate Keys, in Cranbourn Alley.

"He had not been many days at liberty before he wrote the two following letters; and dressing himself at night like a porter, went to Mr. Applebee's house in Blackfriars, and left them with his maid

servant.

“Mr. Applebee,

"This with my kind love to you, and pray give my kind love to Mr. Wagstaff, hoping these few lines will find you in

good health, as I am at present; but I must own you are the loser for want of my dying speech: but to make up your loss, if you think this sheet worth your while, pray make the best of it. Though they do say, that I am taken among the smugglers, and put into Dover Castle, yet I hope I am among smugglers still. So no more, but

"Your humble Servant,

"JOHN SHEPPARD.

"And I desire you would be the postman to my last lodging, so farewell, now I quit the English shore.

"Mr. Austin,

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Newgate farewell.

"You was pleased to pass your jokes upon me, and did say you should not have been angry with me, had I took my leave of you; but now pray keep your jokes to yourself, let them laugh that win for now it is an equal chance, you to take me, or I to get away, but I own myself guilty of that ill manners; but excuse me, for my departure being private and necessary, spoiled the ceremony of bidding adieu. But I wish you all as well as I am at present. But pray be not angry for the loss of your irons, had you not gave me them I had not taken them away; but really I had left them behind me had convenience served. So pray don't be angry.

"How Austin and Perry you did say,
If e'er the Sheppard got away,
That in his room hang'd you'd be,
Upon that fatal Tyburn tree.

“But that rash way I pray forsake,
Tho' Sheppard is so fortunate,
I would have you with patience wait,
Till that again you do him take.

"For you are large and heavy men,
And two the weight what was of him;
And if a way to that tree you take,
Upon my word you'd make it shake:
So farewell now, my leave I take.

"And what is amiss done, you write, for my scholarship is but small.

"This from your fortunate prisoner,

"JOHN SHEPPARD."

Sheppard immediately broke open a shop, and with the

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