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THE
CHRONICLES OF CRIME.
[Illustration: FRONTISPIECE.
_The Man with the Carpet Bag._
"In an instant the smile of the hostess turned to a frown, and, without
further explanation, she exclaimed, looking over the bar at the same
time at my unfortunate carpet-bag, 'No, sir; we have no room; it won't
do here'."]
CHRONICLES OF CRIME
_Edited by Camden Pelham_
OF THE INNER TEMPLE BARRISTER-AT LAW
with
ILLUSTRATIONS FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS
BY PHIZ
[Illustration: _Escape of the Mayor of Bristol._
"His worship, seeing me, said, 'For God's sake, young man, assist me
up.' I stooped down & helped his worship up, the female servants
assisting him behind."]
THE
CHRONICLES OF CRIME;
OR,
The New Newgate Calendar.
BEING
A SERIES OF MEMOIRS AND ANECDOTES
OF
NOTORIOUS CHARACTERS
WHO HAVE OUTRAGED THE LAWS OF GREAT BRITAIN FROM THE EARLIEST
PERIOD TO 1841.
COMPRISING
COINERS.
EXTORTIONERS.
FORGERS.
FRAUDULENT BANKRUPTS.
FOOTPADS.
HIGHWAYMEN.
HOUSEBREAKERS.
INCENDIARIES.
IMPOSTORS.
MURDERERS.
MUTINEERS.
MONEY-DROPPERS.
PIRATES.
PICKPOCKETS.
RIOTERS.
SHARPERS.
TRAITORS.
&c., &c.
INCLUDING
A NUMBER OF CURIOUS CASES NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.
EMBELLISHED WITH FIFTY-TWO ENGRAVINGS,
FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS BY "PHIZ."
BY CAMDEN PELHAM, ESQ.,
OF THE INNER TEMPLE, BARRISTER-AT-LAW.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
T. MILES & CO., 95, UPPER STREET.
1887.
PREFACE
Few words are necessary to introduce to our readers a work, the
character and the object of which are so legibly written upon its
title-page. "Chronicles of Crime" must comprise details, not only
interesting to every person concerned for the welfare of society, but
useful to the world in pointing out the consequences of guilt to be
equally dreadful and inevitable. It is to be regretted that in most of
the works of the present day, little attention is paid to the ultimate
moral or beneficial effects to be produced by them upon the public mind;
and that while every effort is made to afford amusement, no care is
taken to produce those general impressions, so necessary to the
maintenance of virtue and good order. The advantages of precept are
everywhere admitted and extolled; but still more effectual are the
lessons which are taught through the influence of example, whose results
are but too frequently fatal. The representation of guilt with its
painful and degrading consequences, has been universally considered to
be the best means of warning youth against the danger of
temptation;--the benefits to be expected from example are too plainly
exhibited by the infliction of punishment to need repetition; and the
more generally the effects of crime are shown, and the more the horrors
which precede detection and the deplorable fate of the guilty are made
known, the greater is the probability that the atrocity of vice may be
abated and the security of the public promoted.
Having said thus much in recommendation of the object of this work, a
few words as to its precise character may be added. Amusement and
instruction are alike the results which are hoped to be secured. It is
admitted by men, whose desire it is to make themselves acquainted with
human nature, that jails and other places of confinement afford them a
wide field for contemplation. The study of life, in all its varieties,
is one no less interesting than useful. The ingenuity of thieves,
depicted in their crimes, is a theme upon which all have opportunities
to remark, in their passage through a life of communication with the
world; and no less worthy of observation are the offences of men, whose
outrages or cruelties have rendered them amenable to the laws, framed
for the protection of society. All afford matter of contemplation to the
mind, most likely to be attended with useful results. It may be observed
that to persons of vicious inclination, effects the opposite to those
which are suggested may be produced; but an answer as conclusive as it
is just may be given to any such remark. The consequences of crime are
as clearly exhibited as its motives and its supposed advantages, and few
are hardy enough to declare or to exhibit a carelessness for punishment,
or a contempt for the bitter fruits of their misdeeds. Presenting an
example, therefore, of peculiar usefulness, it is trusted that the work
will be found no less interesting than instructive. Combining these two
most important qualities to secure its success, it is hoped that the
patronage afforded it will be at least commensurate with the pains which
have been bestowed upon its production.
It will be observed that in the preparation of these pages much care has
been taken to preserve those features only which are likely to be
acceptable to society. The most scrupulous attention has been paid to
the rejection of such instances of guilt, the circumstances of which
might be deemed unfit for general perusal. In a compass so circumscribed
as that to which the work is confined, it would be impossible to give
the history of every criminal who has undergone punishment for his
offences, during the period to which our Chronicles extend: neither is
that the object of the work. It is intended to embrace within its limits
all those cases which from their details present outlines of attraction.
The earlier pages are derived from sources of information peculiarly
within the reach of the Editor, while those of a later period are
compiled from known authorities as accurate as they are complete.
The comparison of the offences, and of the punishments of the last
century, with those of more recent date, will exhibit a marked
distinction between the two periods, both as to the atrocity of the one,
and the severity of the other. Those dreadful and frequent crimes, which
would disgrace the more savage tribes, and which characterised the lives
of the early objects of our criminal proceedings, are now no longer
heard of; and those characters of blood, in which the pages of our
Statute-book were formerly written, have been wiped away by improved
civilisation and the milder feelings of the people. It is but just to
say that the provisions of a wise Parliament have not been unattended
with proper results. Humanity has been permitted to temper the stern
demands of justice; and however atrocious, it must be admitted, some of
the crimes may be which have been recently perpetrated, and however
numerous the offenders-it cannot be denied that the general aspect of
the state of crime in this country is now infinitely less alarming than
formerly.
The necessity for punishment as the consequence of crime, can neither be
doubted nor denied. Without it the bonds of society must be
broken--government in no form could be upheld. If, then, example be the
object of punishment, and peace and good order, nay, the binding
together of the community, be its effects, how useful must be a work,
whose intention is to hold out that example which must be presumed to be
the foundation of a well-ordered society.
The cases will be found to be arranged chronologically, which, it is
presumed, will afford the most satisfactory and the most easy mode of
reference. This advantage is, however, increased by the addition of
copious indices.
LONDON, JULY 1, 1840.
CONTENTS.
NOTE.--_The offence mentioned opposite to each name is that alleged
against the person charged._
PAGE
ADAMS, Agnes. Forgery, 505
ALDEN, Martha. Murder, 445
ALLEN, George. Murder, 444
ALLEN, William. Returned Transport, 330
ARMITAGE, Richard. Forgery, 506
ASLETT, Robert. Embezzlement, 410
ATKINS, James, _alias_ Hill, _alias_ Jack the Painter. Arson, 269
ATTAWAY, James. Burglary, 226
ARAM, Eugene. Murder, 168
AVERSHAW, Lewis Jeremiah. Murder, 347
BAILEY, Richard. Burglary, 226
BALFOUR, Alexander. Murder, 3
BALMERINO, Lord. Treason, 107
BALTIMORE, Lord. Rape, 213
BARRINGTON, George, _alias_ Waldron. Pickpocket, 363
BATEMAN, Mary. Murder, 458
BELLINGHAM, John. Murder, 527
BENSON, Mary, _alias_ Phipoe. Murder, 358
BIRMINGHAM RIOTS (1780), 326
BLACKBURN, Joseph. Forgery, 575
BLAKE, Joseph, _alias_ Blueskin. Burglary, 35
BLANDY, Mary. Parricide, 148
BODKIN, John, and Dominick. Murder, 105
BOLLAND, James. Forgery, 229
BOUNTY, Mutiny of, 328
BOURNE, John. Conspiracy, 332
BRADFORD, Jonathan. Murder, 107
BRIANT, Mary. Returned Transport, 330
BRISTOL, Countess of, _alias_ Duchess of Kingston. Bigamy, 250
BROADRIC, Ann. Murder, 343
BROWN, Nicol. Murder, 157
BROWN, Joseph. Murder, 456
BROWNRIGG, Elizabeth. Murder, 204
BURT, Samuel. Forgery, 316
BURGH, Rev. Richard. Conspiracy, 332
BUTCHER, John. Returned Transport, 330
BUTTERWORTH, William. Murder, 342
BUXTON, James. Murder, 202
CADDELL, George. Murder, 7
CAMERON, Dr. Archibald. Treason, 154
CAMPBELL, Alexander. Murder, 452
CAMPBELL, Mungo. Murder, 227
CARR, John. Forgery, 124
CARROLL, Barney. Cutting and Maiming, 197
CARSON, Thomas. Murder, 590
CAULFIELD, Frederick. Murder, 141
CHANDLER, William. Perjury, 145
CHARTERIS, Col. Francis. Rape, 76
CLAYTON, John. Burglary, 522
COBBY, John. Murder, 127
COLLEY, Thomas. Murder, 138
COOK, Thomas. Murder, 8
COOKE, Arundel. Cutting and Maiming, 31
COOPER, James. Murder, 454
COUCHMAN, Samuel. Mutiny, 131
COYLE, Richard. Piracy, 84
COX, Jane. Murder, 507
CUMMINGS, John. Conspiracy, 332
CROSSWELL, John. Conspiracy, 49
DAGOE, Hannah. Robbery, 197
DAVIS, James. Conspiracy, 332
DAWSON, Daniel. Poisoning Race-horses, 524
DAWSON, James. Treason, 122
DE BUTTE, Louis, _alias_ Mercier. Murder, 272
DE LA MOTTE, Francis Henry. Treason, 301
DERWENTWATER, Earl Of. Treason, 19
DESPARD, Col. Edward Marcus. Treason, 389
DIGNUM, David Brown. Fraud, 268
DIVER, Jenny, _alias_ Mary Young. Pickpocket, 96
DIXON, Margaret. Murder, 71
DODD, Dr. William. Forgery, 274
DONALLY, James. Robbery, 292
DOWNIE, David. Treason, 335
DRAMATTI, John Peter. Murder, 9
DREW, Charles. Parricide, 102
DUNCAN, William. Murder, 436
DURNFORD, Abraham. Robbery, 292
ELBY, William. Murder, 10
EMMET, Robert. Treason, 382
FARMERY, William. Murder, 236
FARRELL, James, _alias_ Buck. Murder, 202
FAVEY, James, _alias_ O'Coigley. Treason, 360
FENNING, Elizabeth. Murder, 569
FERGUSON, Richard, _alias_ Galloping Dick. Robbery, 371
FERRERS., Earl. Murder, 181
FLEET MARRIAGES, 159
FOSTER, George. Murder, 380
FRANCIS, John. Treason, 389
FRYER, James. Burglary, 288
GADESBY, William. Robbery, 325
GALLOPING DICK, _alias_ Richard Ferguson. Robbery, 371
GARDELLE, Theodore. Murder, 188
GENTLEMAN HARRY, _alias_ Henry Sterne. Robbery, 315
GIDLEY, George. Murder, 199
GOODERE, Capt. Samuel. Murder, 103
GORDON, Thomas. Murder, 318
GOW, John. Piracy, 72
GRANT, Jeremiah. Burglary, 588
GREGG, William. Treason, 12
GRIERSON, Rev. Jno., unlawful performance of the Marriage Ceremony, 159
GRIFFENBURG, Elizabeth. Accessory to a Rape, 213
GRIFFITHS, William. Robbery, 234
GUEST, William. Diminishing the Coin of the Realm, 203
HACKMAN, the Rev. James. Murder, 289
HADFIELD, James. Treason, 370
HATFIELD, John. Forgery, 394
HAGGERTY, Owen. Murder, 437
HAMILTON, Col. John. Manslaughter, 16
HAMMOND, John. Murder, 127
HARDWICK, James. Conspiracy, 349
HARRIS, Samuel. Murder, 311
HARVEY, Anne. Accessory To a Rape, 213
HAWDEN, John. Conspiracy, 349
HAWES, Nathaniel. Robbery, 28
HAYDEN, James. Conspiracy, 349
HAYES, Catherine. Murder, 65
HAYWOOD, Richard. Robbery, 417
HEALD, Joseph. Murder, 378
HEBBERFIELD, William. Forgery, 521
HENDERSON, Matthew. Murder, 116
HENLEY, John. Conspiracy, 349
HILL, James, _alias_ Jack the Painter, 269
HODGES, Joseph. Cross-dropping, 351
HOLLOWAY, John. Murder, 437
HOLMES, John. Body-stealing, 273
HORNE, William Andrew. Murder, 179
HORNER, Thomas. Burglary, 288
HOUSDEN, Jane. Murder, 18
HUNTER, the Rev. Thomas. Murder, 1
HUTCHINSON, Amy. Murder, 133
JACKSON, the Rev. Mr. Treason, 346
JACK THE PAINTER, _alias_ Hill. Arson, 269
JACOBS, Simon. Conspiracy, 349
JEFFRIES, Elizabeth. Murder, 152
JENKINS, William. Burglary, 522
JENNISON, Francis. Murder, 342
JOBBINS, William. Arson, 324
JOHNSON, William. Murder, 18
JONES, Laurence. Robbery, 333
KEARINGE, Matthew. Arson & Murder, 453
KEELE, Richard. Murder, 18
KENDALL, Richard. Robbery, 552
KENMURE, Lord. Treason, 19
KIDD, Capt. John. Piracy, 4
KILMARNOCK, Earl Of. Treason, 107
KING, William. Cutting and Maiming, 197
KINGSTON, Duchess of, _alias_ Countess of Bristol. Bigamy., 250
KNIGHT, Thomas. Mutiny, 131
LANCEY, Capt. John. Arson, 156
LAYER, Christopher. Treason, 32
LAZARUS, Jacob. Murder, 227
LE MAITRE, Peter. Stealing, 267
LEONARD, John. Rape, 235
LILLY, Nathaniel. Returned Transport, 330
LISLE, _alias_ Major J. G. Semple. Swindling, 564
LONDON, Riots of, 295
LOVAT, Lord. Treason, 118
LOWE, Edward. Arson, 324
LOWTHER, William. Murder, 18
LUDDITES, The, 549
MAGNIS, Harriet. Child-stealing, 510
MAHONY, Matthew. Murder, 103
MALCOLM, Sarah. Murder, 79
MALE, Samuel. Robbery, 236
MARRS, Murder of the, 513
MARTIN, James. Returned Transport, 330
MASSEY, Capt. John. Piracy, 30
MATHISON, James. Forgery, 295
MAYNE, Robert. Mutiny, 196
M'CAN, Townley. Conspiracy, 332
M'CANELLY, John. Burglary, 151
MERRITT, Amos. Burglary, 237
MERCIER, Francis, _alias_ De Butte. Murder, 272
METYARD, Sarah, and Sarah Morgan. Murder, 210
MILLS, John. Murder, 132
MILLS, Richard. Murder, 127
M'ILVENA, Michael. Unlawfully performing the Marriage Ceremony, 560
MITCHELL, Samuel Wild. Murder, 415
MITCHELL, James. Murder, 562
M'KINLIE, Peter. Murder, 199
M'NAUGHTON, John. Murder, 191
MORGAN, Edward. Murder and Arson, 158
MORGAN, John. Mutiny, 131
MORGAN, Luke. Burglary, 151
MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY, 328
MUTINY AT THE NORE, 353
NEWTON, William. Robbery, 300
NICHOLSON, Philip. Murder, 555
NORE, Mutiny at, 353
NORTH, John. Murder, 311
O'COIGLEY, James, _alias_ Favey. Treason, 360
PAGE, William. Robbery, 165
PALEOTTI, Marquis de. Murder, 25
PALMER, John. Burglary, 448
PARKER, Richard. Mutiny, 353
PARSONS, William. Returned Transport, 142
PATCH, Richard. Murder, 430
PERFECT, Henry. Fraud, 419
PERREAU, Robert and Daniel. Forgery, 244
PHILLIPS, Thomas. Robbery, 27
PHILLIPS, Morgan. Murder and Arson, 294
PHILLIPS, John. Conspiracy, 349
PHIPOE, Maria Theresa, _alias_ Mary Benson. Murder, 358
PHIPPS, Thomas, Sen. and Jun. Forgery, 319
PICTON, Thomas. Unlawfully Applying The Torture, 423
PORTEOUS, Captain John. Murder, 81
PORTER, Solomon. Murder, 227
PRICE, John. Murder, 26
PRICE, George. Murder, 87
PRICE, Charles. Forgery, 312
PROBIN, Richard. Cross-dropping, 351
QUINTIN, ST., Richard. Murder, 199
RANN, John, _alias_ Sixteen-stringed Jack. Robbery, 242
RATCLIFFE, Charles. Treason, 118
RICHARDSON, John. Piracy, 84
RIOTS, BIRMINGHAM (1780), 326
RIOTS OF LONDON, 295
ROACH, Philip. Piracy, 34
ROSS, Norman. Murder, 136
ROWAN, Archibald Hamilton. Sedition, 340
RUDD, Margaret Caroline. Forgery, 249
RYAN, John. Arson and Murder, 453
RYLAND, William Wynne. Forgery, 308
SAWYER, William. Murder, 566
SCOLDWELL, Charles. Stealing, 350
SEMPLE, Major J. G. Swindling, 564
SHEEBY, Father. Murder, 202
SHEPPARD, James. Treason, 24
SHEPPARD, John. Burglary, 38
SIMMONS, Thomas. Murder, 450
SIXTEEN-STRINGED JACK. Robbery, 242
SLIGO, the Marquis of. Enticing Seamen from H.M. Navy, 526
SMITH, John. Robbery, 11
SMITH, John. Mutiny, 196
SMITH, Robert. Robbery, 379
SMITH, Francis. Murder, 399
SOLOMONS, John. Conspiracy, 349
SPENCER, Barbara. Coining, 27
SPIGGOT, William. Robbery ib.
STERNE, HENRY, _alias_ Gentleman Harry. Robbery, 315
SWAN, John. Murder, 152
TAPNER, Benjamin. Murder, 127
TERRY, John. Murder, 378
THOMAS, Charles. Forgery, 506
THORNHILL, Richard. Manslaughter, 15
TILLEY, William. Conspiracy, 349
TOWNLEY, Francis. Treason, 122
TRUSTY, Christopher. Returned Transport, 310
TURPIN, Richard. Robbery, 89
TYRIE, David. Treason, 307
UNDERWOOD, Thomas. Robbery, 325
VAUX, James Hardy. Privately Stealing, 481
WALDRON, George, _alias_ Barrington. Pickpocket, 363
WALL, Joseph. Murder, 374
WALSH, Benjamin. Felony, 511
WATT, Robert. Treason, 335
WEIL, Levi and Asher. Murder, 227
WHITE, Huffey. Robbery, 552
WHITE, Charles. Murder, 103
WHITING, Michael. Murder, 509
WHITMORE, John, _alias_ Old Dash. Rape, 504
WILD, Jonathan. Receiving Stolen Goods, 51
WILKINSON, the Rev. Mr. Unlawfully performing the Marriage Ceremony, 208
WILKES, John. Sedition, 220
WILLIAMSON, John. Murder, 208
WILLIAMSONS, Murder of the, 513
WILLIAMS, Peter. Body-stealing, 273
WILLIAMS, Renwick. Cutting and Maiming, 320
WINTON, Earl of. Treason, 19
WOODBURNE, John. Cutting and Maiming, 31
WOOD, Joseph. Robbery, 325
WOOD, John. Treason, 389
YORK, William. Murder, 127
YOUNG, Mary, _alias_ Jenny Diver. Pickpocket, 96
ZEKERMAN, Andrew. Murder, 199
THE CHRONICLES OF CRIME,
OR,
THE NEW NEWGATE CALENDAR.
THE REV. THOMAS HUNTER.
EXECUTED FOR THE MURDER OF HIS PUPILS.
The case of this criminal, who was executed in the year 1700, for the
barbarous murder of his two pupils, the children of a gentleman named
Gordon, an eminent merchant, and a baillie, or alderman of the City of
Edinburgh, is the first on our record; and, certainly, for its atrocity,
deserves to be placed at the head of the list of offences which follows
its melancholy recital. From the title of the offender, it will be seen
that he was a preacher of the word of God; and that a person in his
situation in life should suffer so ignominious an end for such a crime,
is indeed extraordinary; but how much more horrible is the fact which is
related to us, that on the scaffold, when all hope of life and of
repentance was past, he expressed his disbelief in that God whom it was
his profession to uphold, and whose omnipotence it had been his duty to
teach!
The malefactor, it would appear, was born of most respectable parents,
his father being a rich farmer in the county of Fife, and at an early
age he was sent to the University of St. Andrew's for his education. His
success in the pursuit of classical knowledge soon enabled him to take
the degree of Master of Arts, and his subsequent study of divinity was
attended with as favourable results. Upon his quitting college, in
accordance with the practice of the time he entered the service of Mr.
Gordon in the capacity of chaplain, in which situation it became his
duty to instruct the sons of his employer, children respectively of the
ages of eight and ten years. The family consisted of Mr. and Mrs.
Gordon, the two boys, their sister (a girl younger than themselves), Mr.
Hunter, a young woman who attended upon Mrs. Gordon, and the usual
menial servants. The attention of Hunter was attracted by the comeliness
of the lady's-maid, and a connexion of a criminal nature was soon
commenced between them. The accidental discovery of this intrigue by the
three children, was the ultimate cause of the deliberate murder of two
of them by their tutor.
The young woman and Hunter had retired to the apartment of the latter,
but, having omitted to fasten the door, the children entered and saw
enough to excite surprise in their young minds. In their conversation
subsequently at meal-time, they said so much as convinced their parents
of what had taken place, and the servant-girl was instantly dismissed;
while the chaplain, who had always been considered to be a person of
mild and amiable disposition and of great genius, was permitted to
remain, upon his making such amends to the family as were in his power,
by apologising for his indiscretion. From this moment, however, an
inveterate hatred for the children arose in his breast, and he
determined to satisfy his revenge upon them by murdering them all.
Chance for some time marred his plans, but he was at length enabled to
put them into execution as regarded the two boys. It appears that he was
in the habit of taking them to walk in the fields before dinner, and the
girl on such occasions usually accompanied them, but at the time at
which the murder of her brothers was perpetrated she was prevented from
going with them. They were at the country-seat of Mr. Gordon, situated
at a short distance only from Edinburgh, and an invitation having been
received for the whole family to dine in that city, Mrs. Gordon desired
that all the children might accompany her and her husband. The latter,
however, opposed the execution of this plan, and the little girl only
was permitted to go with her parents. The intention of the murderer to
destroy all the children was by this means frustrated; but he still
persevered in his bloody purpose with regard to the sons of his
benefactor, whom he determined to murder while they were yet in his
power. Proceeding with them in their customary walks, they all sat down
together to rest; but the boys soon quitted their tutor to catch
butterflies, and to gather the wild flowers which grew in abundance
around them. Their murderer was at that moment engaged in preparing the
weapon for their slaughter, and presently calling them to him, he
reprimanded them for disclosing to their parents the particulars of the
scene which they had witnessed, and declared his intention to put them
to death. Terrified by this threat, they ran from him; but he pursued
and overtook them, and then throwing one of them on the ground and
placing his knee on his chest, he soon despatched his brother by cutting
his throat with a penknife. This first victim disposed of, he speedily
completed his fell purpose, with regard to the child whose person he had
already secured. The deed, it will be observed, was perpetrated in open
day; and it would have been remarkable, indeed, if, within half a mile
of the chief city of Scotland, there had been no human eye to see so
horrible an act. A gentleman who was walking on the Castle Hill had a
tolerable view of what passed, and immediately ran to the spot where the
deceased children were lying; giving the alarm as he went along, in
order that the murderer might be secured. The latter, having
accomplished his object, proceeded towards the river to drown himself,
but was prevented from fulfilling his intention; and having been seized,
he was soon placed in safe custody, intelligence of the frightful event
being meanwhile conveyed to the parents of the unhappy children.
The prisoner was within a few days brought to trial, under the old
Scottish law, by which it was provided that a murderer, being found with
the blood of his victim on his clothes, should be prosecuted in the
Sheriff's Court, and executed within three days. The frightful nature of
the case rendered it scarcely uncharitable to pursue a law so vigorous
according to its letter, and a jury having been accordingly impanelled,
the prisoner was brought to trial, and pleaded guilty, adding the
horrible announcement of his regret that Miss Gordon had escaped from
his revenge. The sentence of death was passed upon the culprit by the
sheriff, but it was directed to be carried into effect with the
additional terms, that the prisoner should first have his right hand
struck off; that he should then be drawn up to the gibbet, erected near
the locality of the murder, by a rope; and that after execution, he
should be hanged in chains, between Edinburgh and Leith, the weapon of
destruction being passed through his hand, which should be advanced over
his head, and fixed to the top of the gibbet. The sentence, barbarous as
it may now appear, was carried into full execution on the 22nd of
August, 1700; and frightful to relate, he, who in life had professed to
be a teacher of the Gospel, on his scaffold declared himself to be an
Atheist. His words were, "There is no God--or if there be, I hold him in
defiance." The body of the executed man, having been at first suspended
in chains according to the precise terms of his sentence, was
subsequently, at the desire of Mr. Gordon, removed to the outskirts of
the village of Broughton, near Edinburgh.
ALEXANDER BALFOUR.
CONVICTED OF MURDER.
The case of this criminal is worthy of some attention, from the very
remarkable circumstances by which it was attended. The subject of this
sketch was born in 1687, at the seat of his father, Lord Burley, near
Kinross; and having studied successively at Orwell, near the place of
his birth, and at St. Andrews, so successfully as to obtain considerable
credit, he returned home, being intended by his father to join the army
of the Duke of Marlborough, then in Flanders. Here he became enamoured
of Miss Robertson, the governess of his sisters, however; and in order
to break off the connexion he was sent to make the tour through France
and Italy, the young lady being dismissed from the house of her patron.
Balfour, before his quitting Scotland, declared his intention, if ever
the young lady should marry, to murder her husband; but deeming this to
be merely an empty threat, she was, during his absence, united to a Mr.
Syme, with whom she went to live at Inverkeithing. On his return to his
father's house, he learned this fact, and immediately proceeded to put
his threat into execution. Mrs. Syme, on seeing him, remembering his
expressed determination, screamed with affright; but her husband,
unconscious of offence, advanced to her aid, and in the interim, Balfour
entering the room, shot him through the heart. The offender escaped, but
was soon afterwards apprehended near Edinburgh; and being tried, was
convicted and sentenced to be beheaded by the _maiden_[1], on account of
the nobility of his family.
The subsequent escape of the criminal from an ignominious end is not the
least remarkable part of his case. The scaffold was actually erected for
the purpose of his execution; but on the day before it was to take place
his sister went to visit him, and, being very like him in face and
stature, they changed clothes, and he escaped from prison. His friends
having provided horses for him, he proceeded to a distant village, where
he lay concealed until an opportunity was eventually offered him of
quitting the kingdom. His father died in the reign of Queen Anne, but he
had first obtained a pardon for his son, who succeeded to the title and
honours of the family, and died in the year 1752, sincerely penitent for
his crime.
CAPTAIN JOHN KIDD,
SURNAMED THE WIZARD OF THE SEAS, AND DARBY MULLINS.
HANGED FOR PIRACY.
The first-named subject of this memoir was born at Greenock, in
Scotland, and was bred to the sea; and quitting his native land at an
early age, he resided at New York, where he eventually became possessed
of a small vessel, with which he traded among the pirates, and obtained
a complete knowledge of their haunts. His ruling passion was avarice,
although he was not destitute of that courage which became necessary in
the profession in which he eventually embarked. His frequent remarks
upon the subject of piracy, and the facility with which it might be
checked, having attracted the attention of some considerable planters,
who had recently suffered from the depredations of the marauders who
infested the seas of the West Indies, obtained for him a name which
eventually proved of great service to him. The constant and daring
interruptions offered to trading ships, encouraged as they were by the
inhabitants of North America, who were not loath to profit by the
irregularities of the pirates, having attracted the attention of the
Government, the Earl of Bellamont, an Irish nobleman of distinguished
character and abilities, was sent out to take charge of the government
of New England and New York, with special instructions upon the subject
of these marine depredators. Colonel Livingston, a gentleman of property
and consideration, was consulted upon the subject by the governor; and
Kidd, who was then possessed of a sloop of his own, was recommended as a
fit person to be employed against the pirates. The suggestion met the
approbation of Lord Bellamont; but the unsettled state of public affairs
rendered the further intervention of Government impossible; and a
private company, consisting of the Duke of Shrewsbury, the Lord
Chancellor Somers, the Earls of Romney and Oxford, Colonel Livingston,
and other persons of rank, agreed to raise 6000_l._ to pay the expenses
of a voyage, the purpose of which was to be directed to the removal of
the existing evil; and it was agreed that the Colonel and Capt. Kidd,
who was to have charge of the expedition, should receive one-fifth of
the profits. A commission was then prepared for Kidd, directing him to
seize and take pirates, and to bring them to justice; but the further
proceedings of the Captain, and of his officers, were left unprovided
for.
A vessel was purchased and manned, and she sailed under the name of the
"Adventure," from London for New York, at the end of the year 1695. A
French ship was seized as a prize during the voyage; and the vessel
subsequently proceeded to the Madeira Islands, to Buonavista, and St.
Jago, and thence to Madagascar, in search of further spoil. A second
prize was subsequently made at Calicut, of a vessel of 150 tons burden,
which was sold at Madagascar; and, at the termination of a few weeks,
the "Adventure" made prize of the "Quedah Merchant," a vessel of 400
tons burden, commanded by an Englishman named Wright, and officered by
two Dutch mates and a French gunner, and whose crew consisted of Moors.
The captain having carried this vessel into Madagascar, he burned the
"Adventure," and then proceeded to divide the lading of the prize with
his crew, taking forty shares for himself.
He seems now to have determined to act entirely apart from his owners,
and he accordingly sailed in the "Quedah Merchant" to the West Indies.
At Anguilla and St. Thomas's, he was refused refreshments; but he
eventually succeeded in obtaining supplies at Mona, between Porto Rico
and Hispaniola, through the instrumentality of an Englishman named
Button. This man, who thus at first affected to be friendly to the
pirate, soon showed the extent to which his friendship was to be relied
upon. He sold a sloop to Kidd, in which the latter sailed, leaving the
"Quedah Merchant" in his care; but on proceeding to Boston, New
England, he found his friend there before him, having disposed of the
"Quedah Merchant" to the Spaniards, and having besides given information
of his piratical expedition. He was now immediately seized by order of
Lord Bellamont, before whom he endeavoured to justify his proceedings,
by contending that he had taken none but lawful prizes; but his lordship
transmitted an account of the whole transaction to England, requiring
that a ship might be sent to convey Kidd home, in order that he might be
punished. A great clamour arose upon this, and attempts were made to
show that the proceedings of the pirate had been connived at by the
projectors of the undertaking, and a motion was made in the House of
Commons, that "The letters-patent granted to the Earl of Bellamont and
others, respecting the goods taken from pirates, were dishonourable to
the king, against the law of nations, contrary to the laws and statutes
of this realm, an invasion of property, and destructive to commerce."
Though a negative was put on this motion, yet the enemies of Lord Somers
and the Earl of Oxford continued to charge those noblemen with giving
countenance to pirates; and it was even insinuated that the Earl of
Bellamont was not less culpable than the actual offenders. Another
motion was in consequence made to address his Majesty, that "Kidd might
not be tried till the next session of parliament; and that the Earl of
Bellamont might be directed to send home all examinations and other
papers relative to the affair." This was carried, and the king complied
with the request which was made. As soon as Kidd arrived in England, he
was sent for, and examined at the bar of the house, with a view to show
the guilt of the parties who had been concerned in sending him on the
expedition; but nothing arose to criminate any of those distinguished
persons. Kidd, who was in some degree intoxicated, made a contemptible
appearance at the bar of the house; and a member, who had been one of
the most earnest to have him examined, violently exclaimed, "I thought
the fellow had been only a knave, but unfortunately he happens to be a
fool likewise." Kidd was at length tried at the Old Bailey, and was
convicted on the clearest evidence; but neither at that time, nor
afterwards, did he charge any of his employers with being privy to his
infamous proceedings.
He was executed with one of his companions, at Execution Dock, on the
23d of May, 1701. After he had been tied up to the gallows, the rope
broke, and he fell to the ground; but being immediately tied up again,
the Ordinary, who had before exhorted him, desired to speak with him
once more; and, on this second application, entreated him to make the
most careful use of the few further moments thus providentially allotted
to him for the final preparation of his soul to meet its important
change. These exhortations appeared to have the wished-for effect; and
he died, professing his charity to all the world, and his hopes of
salvation through the merits of his Redeemer.
The companion in crime of this malefactor, and his companion also at the
gallows, was named Darby Mullins. He was born in a village in the north
of Ireland, about sixteen miles from Londonderry; and having resided
with his father, and followed the business of husbandry till he was
about eighteen, the old man then died, and the young one went to Dublin:
but he had not been long there before he was enticed to go to the West
Indies, where he was sold to a planter, with whom he resided four
years. At the expiration of that term he became his own master, and
followed the business of a waterman, in which he saved money enough to
purchase a small vessel, in which he traded from one island to another,
till the time of the earthquake at Jamaica in the year 1691, from the
effects of which he was preserved in a miraculous manner. He afterwards
went to Kingston, where he kept a punch-house, and then proceeding to
New York, he married; but at the end of two years his wife dying, he
unfortunately fell into company with Kidd, and joined him in his
piratical practices. He was apprehended, with his commander, and, as we
have already stated, suffered the extreme penalty of the law with him.
GEORGE CADDELL.
EXECUTED FOR THE MURDER OF MISS PRICE, WHOM HE HAD SEDUCED.
This delinquent was a native of Bromsgrove, in Worcestershire, where he
was articled to an apothecary. Having served his time, he proceeded to
London to complete his studies in surgery, and he then entered the
service of Mr. Randall, a surgeon at Worcester, as an assistant. He was
here admired for his extremely amiable character, as well as for the
abilities which he possessed; and he married the daughter of his
employer, who, however, died in giving birth to her first child. He
subsequently resided with Mr. Dean, a surgeon at Lichfield; and during
his employment by that gentleman he became enamoured of his daughter,
and would have been married to her, but for the commission of the crime
which cost him his life.
It would appear that he had become acquainted with a young woman named
Elizabeth Price, who had been seduced by an officer in the army, and who
supported herself by her skill in needle-work, residing near Mr.
Caddell's abode. An intimacy subsisted between them, the result of which
was the pregnancy of Miss Price; and she repeatedly urged her paramour
to marry her. Mr. Caddell resisted her importunities for a considerable
time, until at last Miss Price, hearing of his paying his addresses to
Miss Dean, became more importunate than ever, and threatened, in case of
his non-compliance with her wishes, to put an end to all his prospects
with that young lady, by discovering everything that had passed between
them. Hereupon Caddell formed the horrid resolution of murdering Miss
Price. He accordingly called on her on a Saturday evening, and requested
that she would walk in the fields with him on the afternoon of the
following; day, in order to adjust the plan of their intended marriage.
Thus deluded, she met him at the time appointed, on the road leading
towards Burton-upon-Trent, at the Nag's Head public-house, and
accompanied her supposed lover into the fields. They walked about till
towards evening, when they sat down under the hedge, and after a little
conversation, Caddell suddenly pulled out a knife, cut the wretched
woman's throat, and made his escape. In the distraction of his mind, he
left behind him the knife with which he had perpetrated the deed,
together with his case of instruments. On his returning home it was
observed that he appeared exceedingly confused, though the reason of the
perturbation of his mind could not be guessed at; but, on the following
morning, Miss Price being found murdered in the field, great numbers of
people went to see the body. Among them was the woman of the house where
she lodged, who recollected that she had said she was going to walk with
Mr. Caddell; and then the instruments were examined, and were known to
have belonged to him. He was in consequence taken into custody, and
committed to the gaol of Stafford; and, being soon afterward tried, was
found guilty, condemned, and executed at Stafford on the 21st of July,
1701.
THOMAS COOK.
EXECUTED FOR MURDER.
The death of this person exhibits the singular fatality which attends
some men who have been guilty of crime. Cook was the son of a butcher,
who was considered a person of respectability, residing at Gloucester.
He was apprenticed to a barber-surgeon in London; but running away
before his time had expired, he entered the service of one of the pages
of honour to William III.; but he soon after quitted this situation to
set up at Gloucester as a butcher, upon the recommendation of his
mother.
Restless, however, in every station of life, he repaired to London,
where he commenced prize-fighter at May-fair; which, at this time, was a
place greatly frequented by prize-fighters, thieves, and women of bad
character. Here puppet-shows were exhibited, and it was the favourite
resort of all the profligate and abandoned, until at length the nuisance
increased to such a degree, that Queen Anne issued her Proclamation for
the Suppression of Vice and Immorality, with a particular view to this
fair; in consequence of which the justices of peace issued their warrant
to the high constable, who summoned all the inferior constables to his
assistance. When they came to suppress the fair, Cook, with a mob of
about thirty soldiers, and other persons, stood in defiance of the
peace-officers, and threw brickbats at them, by which some of them were
wounded. Cooper, a constable, being the most active, Cook drew his sword
and stabbed him in the belly, and he died of the wound at the expiration
of four days. Hereupon Cook fled to Ireland, and, as it was deposed upon
his trial, while he was in a public house, he swore in a profane manner,
for which the landlord censured him, and told him there were persons in
the house who would take him in custody for it; to which he answered,
"Are there any of the informing dogs in Ireland? we in London drive
them; for at a fair called May-fair, there was a noise which I went out
to see--six soldiers and myself--the constables played their parts with
their staves, and I played mine; and, when the man dropped, I wiped my
sword, put it up, and went away."
The fellow was, subsequently, taken into custody, and sent to Chester,
whence being removed to London, he was tried at the Old Bailey, was
convicted, and received sentence of death.
After conviction he solemnly denied the crime for which he had been
condemned, declaring that he had no sword in his hand on the day the
constable was killed, and was not in company with those who killed him.
Having received the sacrament on the 21st of July, 1703, he was taken
from Newgate to be carried to Tyburn; but, when he had got to High
Holborn, opposite Bloomsbury, a respite arrived for him till the
following Friday. On his return to Newgate he was visited by numbers of
his acquaintance, who rejoiced on his narrow escape. On Friday he
received another respite till the 11th of August, but on that day he was
executed.
JOHN PETER DRAMATTI.
EXECUTED FOR THE MURDER OF HIS WIFE.
This unfortunate man was the son of Protestant parents, and was born at
Saverdun, in the county of Foix, and province of Languedoc, in France.
He received a religious education; but when he arrived at years of
maturity, he left his own country, and went into Germany, where he
served as a horse-grenadier under the Elector of Brandenburgh, who was
afterwards King of Prussia. When he had been in this condition about a
year, he came over to England, and entered into the service of Lord
Haversham, and afterwards enlisted as a soldier in the regiment of
Colonel de la Melonière. Having made two campaigns in Flanders, the
regiment was ordered into Ireland, where it was dismissed from farther
service; in consequence of which Dramatti obtained his discharge.
He now became acquainted with a widow, between fifty and sixty years of
age, who pretended that she had a great fortune, and was allied to the
royal family of France; and he soon married her, not only on account of
her supposed wealth and rank, but also of her understanding English and
Irish, thinking it prudent to have a wife who could speak the language
of the country in which he proposed to spend the remainder of his life.
As soon as he discovered that his wife had no fortune, he went to London
and offered his services to Lord Haversham, and was again admitted as
one of his domestics. His wife, unhappy on account of their separate
residence, wished to live with him at Lord Haversham's, which he would
not consent to, saying, that his lordship did not know he was married.
The wife now began to evince the jealousy of her disposition, and
frequent quarrels took place between them, because he was unable to be
with her so frequently as she desired.
At length, on the 9th of June, 1703, Dramatti was sent to London from
his master's house at Kensington, and calling upon his wife at her
lodgings near Soho-square, she endeavoured to prevail upon him to stay
with her. This, however, he refused; and finding that he was going home,
she went before him, and stationed herself at the Park-gate. On his
coming up, she declared that he should go no further, unless she
accompanied him; but he quitted her abruptly, and went onwards to
Chelsea. She pursued him to the Bloody Bridge, and there seized him by
the neckcloth, and would have strangled him, but that he beat her off
with his cane. He then attacked her with his sword; and having wounded
her in so many places as to conclude that he had killed her, his passion
immediately began to subside, and, falling on his knees, he devoutly
implored the pardon of God for the horrid sin of which he had been
guilty. He went on to Kensington, where his fellow-servants observing
that his clothes were bloody, he said he had been attacked by two men
in Hyde Park, who would have robbed him of his clothes, but that he
defended himself, and broke the head of one of them.
The real fact, however, was subsequently discovered; and Dramatti being
taken before a magistrate, to whom he confessed his crime, the body of
his wife was found in a ditch between Hyde Park and Chelsea, and a track
of blood was seen to the distance of twenty yards; at the end of which a
piece of a sword was found sticking in a bank, which fitted the other
part of the sword in the prisoner's possession. The circumstances
attending the murder being proved to the satisfaction of the jury, the
culprit was found guilty, condemned, and, on the 21st of July, 1703, was
executed at Tyburn.
WILLIAM ELBY.
EXECUTED FOR MURDER.
This young man was born in the year 1667, at Deptford, in Kent, and
served his time with a blockmaker at Rotherhithe, during which he became
acquainted with some women of ill fame. After the term of his
apprenticeship had expired, he kept company with young fellows of such
bad character, that he found it necessary to enter on board a ship to
prevent worse consequences. Having returned from sea, he enlisted as a
soldier; but while in this situation he committed many small thefts, in
order to support the women with whom he was connected. At length he
deserted from the army, assumed a new name, and prevailed on some of his
companions to engage in housebreaking.
Detection soon terminated his career, and in September 1704, he was
indicted for robbing the house of ---- Barry, Esq. of Fulham, and
murdering his gardener. Elby, it seems, having determined on robbing the
house, arrived at Fulham soon after midnight, and had wrenched open one
of the windows, at which he was getting in, when the gardener, awaking,
came down to prevent the intended robbery with a light in his hand.
Elby, terrified lest he should be known, seized a knife and stabbed him
to the heart, and the poor man immediately fell dead at his feet. This
done, he broke open a chest of drawers, and stole about two hundred and
fifty pounds, with which he repaired to his associates in London.
The murder soon became the subject of very general conversation, and
Elby being at a public-house in the Strand, it was mentioned, and he
became so alarmed on seeing one of the company rise and quit the house,
that he suddenly ran away, without paying his reckoning. The landlord
was enraged at his being cheated; and learning his address from one of
his companions, he caused him to be apprehended, and he was eventually
committed for trial on suspicion of being concerned in the robbery and
murder.
On his trial he steadily denied the perpetration of the crimes with
which he was charged; and his conviction would have been very doubtful,
had not a woman with whom he cohabited become an evidence, and sworn
that he came from Fulham with the money the morning after the commission
of the fact. Some other persons also deposed that they saw him come out
of Mr. Barry's house on the morning the murder was committed; and he was
found guilty, and having received sentence of death, was executed at
Fulham, on the 13th September, 1704, and was hung in chains near the
same place.
JOHN SMITH.
CONVICTED OF ROBBERY.
Though the crimes committed by this man were not particularly atrocious,
nor his life sufficiently remarkable for a place in this work, yet the
circumstances attending his fate at the place of execution are perhaps
more singular than any we may have to record. He was the son of a farmer
at Malton, about fifteen miles from the city of York, who bound him
apprentice to a packer in London, with whom he served his time, and
afterwards worked as a journeyman. He then went to sea on board a
man-of-war, and was at the expedition against Vigo; but on his return
from that service he was discharged. He afterwards enlisted as a soldier
in the regiment of Guards commanded by Lord Cutts; but in this station
he soon made bad connexions, and engaged with some of his dissolute
companions as a housebreaker. On the 5th of December, 1705, he was
arraigned on four different indictments, on two of which he was
convicted. While he lay under sentence of death, he seemed very little
affected with his situation, absolutely depending on a reprieve, through
the interest of his friends. An order, however, came for his execution
on the 24th day of the same month, in consequence of which he was
carried to Tyburn, where he performed his devotions, and was turned off
in the usual manner; but when he had hung near fifteen minutes, the
people present cried out, "A reprieve!" Hereupon the malefactor was cut
down, and, being conveyed to a house in the neighbourhood, he soon
revived, upon his being bled, and other proper remedies applied.