prevent his future escape. He was put into a strong room, called the
Castle, handcuffed, loaded with a heavy pair of irons, and chained to a
staple fixed in the floor. The curiosity of the public being greatly
excited by his former escape, he was visited by great numbers of people
of all ranks, and scarce any one left him without making him a present
in money. Although he did not disdain these substantial proofs of public
generosity, which enabled him to obtain those luxuries, which were not
provided by the city authorities for his prison fare, his thoughts were
constantly fixed on the means of again eluding his keepers; and the
opportunity was not long wanting when he might carry his design into
execution.
On the fourteenth of October, the sessions began at the Old Bailey, and
the keepers being much engaged in attending the Court, he thought
rightly, that they would have little time to visit him, and, therefore,
that, the present juncture would be the most favourable to carry his
plan into execution. About two o'clock in the afternoon of the following
day, one of the keepers carried him his dinner; and having carefully
examined his irons, and found them fast, he left him. Sheppard now
immediately proceeded to the completion of the great work of his life,
his second escape from Newgate; in describing which we shall extract
from Mr. Ainsworth's work of "Jack Sheppard," in which that gentleman
has given a lasting fame to our hero, and has founded a most interesting
romance on the real circumstances of the life of this daring and
extraordinary offender. He says, "Jack Sheppard's first object was to
free himself from his handcuffs. This he accomplished by holding the
chain that connected them firmly between his teeth, and, squeezing his
fingers as closely together as possible, he succeeded in drawing his
wrists through the manacles. He next twisted the heavy gyves round and
round, and partly by main strength, partly by a dexterous and
well-applied jerk, snapped asunder the central link, by which they were
attached to the padlock. Taking off his stockings, he then drew up the
basils as far as he was able, and tied the fragments of the broken
chains to his legs, to prevent them from clanking, and impeding his
future exertions." Upon a former attempt to make his way up the chimney,
he had been impeded by an iron bar which was fixed across it, at a
height of a few feet. To remove this obstacle, it was necessary to make
an extensive breach in the wall. With the broken links of the chain,
which served him in lieu of more efficient implements, he commenced
operations just above the chimney-piece, and soon contrived to pick a
hole in the plaster. He found the wall, as he suspected, solidly
constructed of brick and stone; and, with the slight and inadequate
tools which he possessed, it was a work of infinite skill and labour to
get out a single brick. That done, however, he was well aware the rest
would be comparatively easy; and as he threw the brick to the ground,
he exclaimed triumphantly, "The first step is taken--the main difficulty
is overcome."
"Animated by this trifling success, he proceeded with fresh ardour, and
the rapidity of his progress was proclaimed by the heap of bricks,
stones, and mortar, which before long covered the floor. At the
expiration of an hour, by dint of unremitting exertion, he made so large
a breach in the chimney that he could stand upright in it. He was now
within a foot of the bar, and introducing himself into the hole, he
speedily worked his way to it. Regardless of the risk he ran by some
heavy stones dropping on his head or feet,--regardless also of the noise
made by the falling rubbish, and of the imminent risk to which he was
consequently exposed of being interrupted by some of the gaolers, should
the sound reach their ears, he continued to pull down large masses of
the wall, which he flung upon the floor of the cell. Having worked thus
for another quarter of an hour, without being sensible of fatigue,
though he was half stifled by the clouds of dust which his exertions
raised, he had made a hole about three feet wide and six high, and
uncovered the iron bar. Grasping it firmly with both hands, he quickly
wrenched it from the stones in which it was mortised, and leapt to the
ground. On examination it proved to be a flat bar of iron, nearly a yard
in length, and more than an inch square. 'A capital instrument for my
purpose,' thought Jack, shouldering it, 'and worth all the trouble I
have had in procuring it.' While he was thus musing, he thought he heard
the lock tried. A chill ran through his frame, and grasping the heavy
weapon, with which chance had provided him, he prepared to strike down
the first person who should enter his cell. After listening attentively
for a short time without drawing breath, he became convinced that his
apprehensions were groundless, and, greatly relieved, sat down upon the
chair to rest himself and prepare for future efforts.
"Acquainted with every part of the gaol, Jack well knew that his only
chance of effecting an escape must be by the roof. To reach it would be
a most difficult undertaking. Still it was possible, and the difficulty
was only a fresh incitement. The mere enumeration of the obstacles which
existed would have deterred any spirit less daring than Sheppard's from
even hazarding the attempt. Independently of other risks, and the chance
of breaking his neck in the descent, he was aware that to reach the
leads he should have to break open six of the strongest doors of the
prison. Armed, however, with the implement he had so fortunately
obtained, he did not despair of success. 'My name will not only be
remembered as that of a robber,' he mused, 'but it shall be remembered
as that of a bold one; and this night's achievement, if it does nothing
else, shall prevent me from being classed with the common herd of
depredators.' Roused by this reflection, he grasped the iron bar, which,
when he sat down, he had laid upon his knees, and stepped quickly across
the room. In doing so, he had to clamber up the immense heap of bricks
and rubbish which now littered the floor, amounting almost to a
cart-load, and reaching up nearly to the chimney-piece; and having once
more got into the chimney, he climbed to a level with the ward above,
and recommenced operations as vigorously as before. He was now aided
with a powerful implement, with which he soon contrived to make a hole
in the wall.
"The ward which Jack was endeavouring to break was called the Red-room
from the circumstance of its walls having once been painted in that
colour: all traces of which, however, had long since disappeared. Like
the Castle, which it resembled in all respects, except that it was
destitute even of a barrack bedstead, the Red-room was reserved for
state prisoners, and had not been occupied since the year 1716, when the
gaol was crowded by the Preston rebels. Having made a hole in the wall
sufficiently large to pass through, Jack first tossed the bar into the
room and then crept after it. As soon as he had gained his feet, he
glanced round the bare black walls of the cell, and, oppressed by the
misty close atmosphere, exclaimed, 'I will let a little fresh air into
this dungeon: they say it has not been opened for eight years, but I
won't be eight minutes in getting out.' In stepping across the room,
some sharp point in the floor pierced his foot, and stooping to examine
it, he found that the wound had been inflicted by a long rusty nail,
which projected from the boards. Totally disregarding the pain, he
picked up the nail, and reserved it for future use. Nor was he long in
making it available. On examining the door, he found it secured by a
large rusty lock, which he endeavoured to pick with the nail he had just
acquired: but all his efforts proving ineffectual, he removed the plate
that covered it with the bar, and with his fingers contrived to draw
back the bolt.
"Opening the door, he then stepped into a dark narrow passage, leading,
as he was well aware, to the Chapel. On the left there were doors
communicating with the King's Bench Ward, and the Stone Ward, two large
holds on the master debtors' side. But Jack was too well versed in the
geography of the place to attempt either of them. Indeed, if he had been
ignorant of it, the sound of voices, which he could faintly distinguish,
would have served as a caution to him. Hurrying on, his progress was
soon checked by a strong door, several inches in thickness and nearly as
wide as the passage. Running his hand carefully over it in search of the
lock, he perceived, to his dismay, that it was fastened on the other
side. After several vain attempts to burst it open, he resolved, as a
last alternative, to break through the wall in the part nearest the
lock. This was a much more serious task than he anticipated. The wall
was of considerable thickness, and built altogether of stone; and the
noise he was compelled to make in using the heavy bar, which brought
sparks with every splinter he struck off, was so great, that he feared
it must be heard by the prisoners on the debtors' side. Heedless,
however, of the consequences, he pursued his task. Half an hour's
labour, during which he was obliged more than once to pause to regain
breath, sufficed to make a hole wide enough to allow a passage for his
arm up to the elbow. In this way he was able to force back a ponderous
bolt from its socket; and to his unspeakable delight, found that the
door instantly yielded. Once more cheered by daylight, he hastened
forward and entered the Chapel.
"Situated at the upper part of the south-east angle of the gaol, the
Chapel of Old Newgate was divided on the north side into three grated
compartments, or pens, as they were termed, allotted to the common
debtors and felons. In the north-west angle there was a small pen for
female offenders; and on the south, a more commodious inclosure
appropriated to the master debtors and strangers. Immediately beneath
the pulpit stood a large circular pen, where malefactors under sentence
of death sat to hear the condemned sermon delivered to them, and where
they formed a public spectacle to the crowds which curiosity generally
attracted on those occasions. To return, Jack had got into one of the
pens at the north side of the chapel. The inclosure by which it was
surrounded was about twelve feet high; the under part being composed of
oaken planks, the upper part of a strong iron grating, surmounted by
sharp iron spikes. In the middle there was a gate: it was locked. But
Jack speedily burst it open with the iron bar. Clearing the few
impediments in his way, he soon reached the condemned pew, where it had
once been his fate to sit; and extending himself on the seat endeavoured
to snatch a moment's repose. It was denied him, for as he closed his
eyes--though but for an instant--the whole scene of his former visit to
the place rose before him. There he sat as before, with the heavy
fetters on his limbs, and beside him sat his three companions who had
since expiated their offences on the gibbet. The chapel was again
crowded with visitors, and every eye fixed upon him. So perfect was the
illusion, that he could almost fancy he heard the solemn voice of the
Ordinary warning him that his race was nearly run, and imploring him to
prepare for eternity. From this perturbed state he was roused by the
thoughts of his present position, and fancying he heard approaching
voices, he started up. On one side of the chapel there was a large
grated window, but, as it looked upon the interior of the gaol, Jack
preferred following the course he had originally decided upon, to making
any attempt in this quarter. Accordingly he proceeded to a gate which
stood upon the south, and guarded the passage communicating with the
leads. It was grated, and crested with spikes, like that he had just
burst open; and thinking it a needless waste of time to force it, he
broke off one of the spikes, which he carried with him for further
purposes, and then climbed over it. A short flight of steps brought him
to a dark passage, into which he plunged. Here he found another strong
door, making the fifth he had encountered. Well aware that the doors in
this passage were much stronger than those in the entry he had just
quitted, he was neither surprised nor dismayed to find it fastened by a
lock of unusual size. After repeatedly trying to remove the plate, which
was so firmly screwed down that it resisted all his efforts, and vainly
attempting to pick it with his spike and nail, he at length, after half
an hour's ineffectual labour, wrenched off the box by means of the iron
bar, and the door, as he laughingly expressed it, 'was his humble
servant.'
"But this difficulty was only overcome to be succeeded by one still
greater. Hastening along the passage, he came to the sixth door. For
this he was prepared: but he was not prepared for the almost
insurmountable difficulties which it presented. Running his hand hastily
over it, he was startled to find it one complicated mass of bolts and
bars. It seemed as if all the precautions previously taken were here
accumulated. Any one less courageous than himself would have abandoned
the attempt from the conviction of its utter hopelessness; but though it
might for a moment damp his ardour, it could not deter him. Once again
he passed his hand over the surface, and carefully noted all the
obstacles. There was a lock, apparently more than a foot wide, strongly
plated, and girded to the door with thick iron hoops. Below it a
prodigiously large bolt was shot into the socket, and, in order to keep
it there, was fastened by a hasp, and further protected by an immense
padlock. Besides this, the door was crossed and recrossed by iron bars,
clenched by broad-headed nails. An iron fillet secured the socket of the
bolt and the box of the lock to the main post of the door-way. Nothing
disheartened by this survey, Jack set to work upon the lock, which he
attacked with all his implements;--now attempting to pick it with the
nail;--now to wrench it off with the bar, but all without effect. He not
only failed in making any impression but seemed to increase the
difficulties, for after an hour's toil he had broken the nail, and
slightly bent the iron bar. Completely overcome by fatigue, with
strained muscles and bruised hands, streaming with perspiration, and
with lips so parched that he would gladly have parted with a treasure if
he had possessed it for a draught of water, he sunk against the wall,
and while in this state was seized with a sudden and strange alarm. He
fancied that the turnkeys had discovered his flight, and were in pursuit
of him--that they had climbed up the chimney--entered the
bed-rooms--tracked him from door to door, and were now only detained by
the gate, which he had left unbroken in the chapel. So strongly was he
impressed with this idea, that grasping the iron bar with both hands he
dashed it furiously against the door, making the passage echo with the
blows. By degrees his fears vanished, and, hearing nothing, he grew
calmer. His spirits revived, and encouraging himself with the idea that
the present impediment, though the greatest, was the last, he set
himself seriously to consider how it might best be overcome. On
reflection, it occurred to him that he might, perhaps, be able to loosen
the iron fillet--a notion no sooner conceived than executed. With
incredible labour, and by the aid of both spike and nail, he succeeded
in getting the point of the bar beneath the fillet. Exerting all his
energies, and using the bar as a lever, he forced off the iron band,
which was full seven feet high, seven inches wide, and two inches thick,
and which brought with it, in its fall, the box of the lock, and the
socket of the bolt, leaving no further hindrance. Overjoyed beyond
measure at having vanquished this apparently insurmountable obstacle,
Jack darted through the door.
"Ascending a short flight of steps, Jack found at the summit a door,
which, being bolted on the inside, he speedily opened. The fresh air,
which blew in his face, greatly revived him. He had now reached what
were called the Lower Leads--a flat, covering a part of the prison
contiguous to the gateway, and surrounded on all sides by walls about
fourteen feet high. On the north stood the battlements of one of the
towers of the gate. On this side a flight of wooden steps, protected by
a hand-rail, led to a door opening upon the summit of the prison. This
door was crested with spikes, and guarded on the right by a bristling
semi-circle of similar weapons. Hastily ascending the steps, Jack found
the door, as he anticipated, locked. He could have easily forced it, but
he preferred a more expeditious mode of reaching the roof which
suggested itself to him. Mounting the door he had last opened, he placed
his hands on the wall above, and quickly drew himself up. Just as he got
on the roof of the prison, St. Sepulchre's clock struck eight. It was
instantly answered by the deep note of St. Paul's; and the concert was
prolonged by other neighbouring churches. Jack had been thus six hours
in accomplishing his arduous task.
"Though nearly dark, there was still light enough left to enable him to
discern surrounding objects. Through the gloom he distinctly perceived
the dome of St. Paul's, hanging like a black cloud in the air; and,
nearer to him, he remarked the golden ball on the summit of the College
of Physicians, compared by Garth to a 'gilded pill.' Other towers and
spires;--St. Martin's, on Ludgate-hill, and Christ Church, in
Newgate-street, were also distinguishable. As he gazed down into the
courts of the prison, he could not help shuddering, lest a false step
might precipitate him below. To prevent the recurrence of any such
escape as that just described, it was deemed expedient, in more recent
times, to keep a watchman at the top of Newgate. Not many years ago, two
men employed in this duty quarrelled during the night, and in the
morning their bodies were found stretched upon the pavement of the yard
below. Proceeding along the wall, Jack reached the southern tower, over
the battlements of which he clambered, and crossing it, dropped upon the
roof of the gate. He then scaled the northern tower, and made his way to
the summit of that part of the prison which fronted Giltspur-street.
Arrived at the extremity of the building, he found that it overlooked
the flat roof of a house, which, as far as he could judge in the
darkness, lay at a depth of about twenty feet below.
"Not choosing to hazard so great a fall, Jack turned to examine the
building, to see whether any more favourable point of descent presented
itself, but could discover nothing but steep walls, without a single
available projection. Finding it impossible to descend on any side,
without incurring serious risk, Jack resolved to return for his blanket,
by the help of which he felt certain of accomplishing a safe landing on
the roof of the house in Giltspur-street. Accordingly he began to
retrace his steps, and pursuing the course he had recently taken,
scaling the two towers, and passing along the walls of the prison, he
descended by means of the door upon the Lower Leads. Before he
re-entered the prison he hesitated, from a doubt whether he was not
fearfully increasing his risk of capture; but, convinced that he had no
other alternative, he went on. During all this time he had never quitted
the iron bar, and he now grasped it with the firm determination of
selling his life dearly if he met with any opposition. A few seconds
sufficed to clear the passages through which it had previously cost him
more than two hours to force his way. The floor was strewn with screws,
nails, fragments of wood and stone, and across the passage lay the heavy
iron fillet. He did not disturb any of the litter, but left it as a mark
of his prowess. He was now at the entrance of the chapel, and striking
the door over which he had previously climbed a violent blow with the
bar, it flew open. To vault over the pews was the work of a moment; and
having gained the entry leading to the Red Room, he passed through the
first door, his progress being only impeded by the pile of broken
stones, which he himself had raised. Listening at one of the doors
leading to the master-debtors' side, he heard a loud voice chanting a
Bacchanalian melody; and the boisterous laughter that accompanied the
song, convinced him that no suspicion was entertained in that quarter.
Entering the Red-Room, he crept through the hole in the wall, descended
the chimney, and arrived once more in his old place of captivity. How
different were his present feelings, compared with those he had
experienced on quitting it! Then, full of confidence, he half doubted
his power of accomplishing his designs. Now he had achieved them, and
felt assured of success. The vast heap of rubbish on the floor had been
so materially increased by the bricks and plaster thrown down in his
attack upon the wall of the Red-Room, that it was with some difficulty
that he could find the blanket, which was almost buried beneath the
pile. He next searched for his stockings and shoes, and when found, put
them on. He now prepared to return to the roof, and throwing the blanket
over his left arm, and shouldering the iron bar, he again clambered up
the chimney, regained the Red-Room, hurried along the first passage,
crossed the chapel, threaded the entry to the Lower Leads, and in less
than three minutes after quitting the Castle, had reached the northern
extremity of the prison. Previously to his descent, he had left the nail
and spike on the wall, and with these he fastened the blanket to the
coping-stone. This done, he let himself carefully down by it, and having
only a few feet to drop, alighted in safety.
"Having now got fairly out of Newgate, for the second time, with a heart
throbbing with exultation, he hastened to make good his escape. To his
great joy he found a small garret door in the roof of the opposite house
open; he entered it, crossed the room, in which there was only a small
truckle-bed, over which he stumbled, opened another door and gained the
stair-head. As he was about to descend, his chains slightly rattled. 'O
lud! what's that?' cried a female voice from an adjoining room 'Only the
dog,' replied the rough tones of a man, and all was again silent.
Securing the chain in the best way he could, Jack then hurried down two
pair of stairs, and had nearly reached the lobby, when a door suddenly
opened, and two persons appeared, one of whom held a light. Retreating
as quickly as he could, Jack opened the first door he came to, entered a
room, and searching in the dark for some place of concealment,
fortunately discovered a screen, behind which he crept."
Having lain down here for about two hours, he once more proceeded down
stairs, and saw a gentleman take leave of the family and quit the house,
lighted by the servant; and as soon as the maid returned, he resolved to
venture at all hazards. In stealing down the stairs he stumbled against
a chamber door, but instantly recovering himself, he got into the
street.