resolved that, towards the supply, every one that resorts to any of the
playhouses, who sits in the boxes, shall pay one shilling; every one who
sits in the pit shall pay sixpence; and every other person threepence.
This resolution (to which the House disagreed upon the report) was
opposed in the committee by the courtiers, who gave for a reason "That
the players were the king's servants, and a part of his pleasure." To
this Sir John Coventry, one of the members, by way of reply, asked
"Whether the king's pleasure lay among the men or among the women
players?" This being reported at court, it was highly resented; and a
resolution was privately taken to set a mark on Sir John, to prevent
others from taking the like liberties.
December the 20th was the night that the House of Commons adjourned for
the Christmas holidays. On the 25th, one of the Duke of Monmouth's troop
of life-guards and some few foot, lay in wait from ten at night till two
in the morning, by Suffolk Street; and as Sir John returned from the
tavern, where he supped, to his own house, they threw him down, and,
with a knife, cut the end of his nose almost off; but company coming
made them fearful to finish it.
The debates which this affair occasioned in the House of Commons ran
very high, and one of the members emphatically called the attack on
Coventry "A horrid un-English act."
The result was that the statute in question was passed.
PETER M'KINLIE, GEORGE GIDLEY, ANDREW ZEKERMAN, AND RICHARD ST. QUINTIN.
EXECUTED FOR MURDER.
This case exhibits a remarkable series of adventures which occurred to
the unfortunate man, who, after having survived many engagements and
imprisonments, was doomed to become one of the victims of a horrid and
piratical scheme.
The unfortunate Captain Glass was the son of a minister of the Church of
Scotland, who obtained some notice from his writings, in which he
opposed the practice of religion according to particular forms, and was
founder of a sect called Glassites. At an early period of his life,
young Glass exhibited talents of no ordinary character; and having taken
a degree of Master of Arts at one of the Scotch universities, he applied
himself to the study of medicine. He made rapid progress in this new
line of learning; and after he had taken the necessary degrees, was
employed as a surgeon on board a trading vessel bound for the coast of
Guinea, and in that capacity he afterwards made several voyages to
America. His superior qualifications gained him a distinguished place in
the esteem of several merchants, who entrusted to him the command of a
vessel in the Guinea trade; and his conduct proved highly to the
advantage of his owners, and equally honourable to himself.
When the war against France was declared, Captain Glass found himself in
possession of a very considerable sum, a great part of which he
determined to venture on board a privateer; and he, in consequence,
caused a vessel to be fitted out with all possible expedition, and took
the command on himself.
In about ten days after they had commenced this voyage, they made prize
of a ship, richly laden, belonging to France, which they carried into a
port in the West Indies; but soon afterwards, being obliged to engage
two vessels of war, after an obstinate contest they were compelled to
submit to the superior power of the enemy and strike, but not until
Captain Glass had been severely wounded and most of his men slain. The
captain being conveyed to France, was there consigned to a prison; but
an interchange of prisoners taking place, he once more trod on British
ground.
Nothing daunted by the unsuccessful termination of his first venture, he
tried a second expedition of a similar character, in which he was
equally unfortunate, and was once again consigned to the keeping of a
French jailor, in whose custody he remained until the termination of the
war. He next conceived a design of sailing in search of discoveries; and
in pursuance of this plan he purchased a vessel adapted to his purpose;
and having carefully made every necessary preparation for the
prosecution of his object, he directed his course towards the coast of
Africa. Between the river Senegal and Cape de Verd he discovered a
commodious harbour, from which he entertained the reasonable expectation
that very great commercial advantages might be derived; and he returned
to England, and communicated his discovery to government, who granted
him an exclusive trade to the harbour for the space of twenty years.
That he might be able to pursue his project with the greater advantage,
he now engaged in partnership with two or three gentlemen of fortune;
and a vessel furnished with all necessary articles being again prepared,
he sailed for the newly discovered harbour, and arrived at it in safety.
He soon found, however, that the habits of the natives would not permit
any friendly intercourse to be maintained between them; and being in
great distress for provisions, the captain and three men proceeded in an
open boat to the Canary Isles. During their absence the natives made an
attack upon the vessel, but were repulsed; and the first mate, who had
been left in command of her, thought fit to sheer off, and having in
vain sought his captain, at length returned to England. Glass and his
companions meanwhile had arrived at one of the Canary islands, and
having landed, with a view of petitioning to be allowed to purchase
provisions, was instantly seized by order of the governor, and conveyed
to a dungeon as a spy. In this situation he remained for six months; but
at length he made one of his countrymen, a sailor, acquainted with his
condition by writing his name and the nature of his miseries on a
biscuit with a piece of charcoal, and throwing it to him through his
prison window when he was passing beneath. The sailor immediately
conveyed it to his commander; but the latter on making application for
his release was himself seized and subjected to treatment of similar
severity. The news of this circumstance was, however, directly carried
to England by a vessel, which was on the point of sailing; and speedy
complaint being made to the Spanish government, the liberty of the two
captains was soon obtained. At about this time the wife and daughter of
Captain Glass had arrived at the Canaries, in consequence of the reports
which had reached them of his captivity, and the first joy of again
meeting being passed, they all embarked on board a ship bound for
London, commanded by a Captain Cockeran. Miss Glass at this time was a
young lady about twelve years of age, and ill deserving the fate which
awaited her, as well as her parents. It appears that while the ship lay
at the Canaries, a plot was concerted between Peter M'Kinlie, the
boatswain, a native of Ireland; George Gidley the cook, born in the west
of Yorkshire; Richard St. Quintin, a native of the same county; and
Andrew Zekerman a Dutchman--for murdering all the other persons on
board, and seizing the treasure, which, including what Captain Glass had
shipped in behalf of himself and his partners, amounted to a hundred
thousand pounds in dollars. The villains made three attempts on
different nights to carry their horrid plan into execution, but were
prevented through the circumspection of their commander.
At length, however, the conspirators were appointed to the night-watch
on the 13th of November, when the ship had reached the British Channel;
and about midnight the captain going upon the quarter-deck to see that
all things were disposed in proper order, upon his return he was seized
by the boatswain, who held him while Gidley struck him with an iron bar,
and fractured his skull. Two of the seamen who were not concerned in the
conspiracy, hearing the captain's groans, came upon deck, and were
immediately murdered, and, with their captain, were thrown overboard.
Captain Glass, being alarmed, went up the gangway, and judging that a
mutiny had arisen, returned to fetch his sword. M'Kinlie, guessing his
design, followed him down the steps leading to the cabin, and waited in
the dark till he returned with a drawn sword in his hand, when getting
unperceived behind him, he seized both his arms, and then called to his
accomplices to murder him. Captain Glass, being a very powerful man, had
nearly disengaged himself from the ruffian, when Zekerman came up and
attacked him. The captain wounded him in the arm; but before he could
recover his sword he was overpowered, and the other villains soon joined
their associates. The unhappy man was no sooner disarmed than he was
many times run through the body, and he was then immediately thrown
overboard. Mrs. Glass and her daughter, terrified by the outcry, now
came on deck, and falling on their knees, supplicated for mercy; but
they found the villains utterly destitute of the tender feelings of
humanity; and Zekerman telling them to prepare for death, they embraced
each other in a most affectionate manner, and were then forced from each
other's arms, and thrown into the sea.
Having now put all the crew to death, excepting a boy who attended
Captain Glass, and another boy who was an apprentice on board the ship,
the murderers steered towards the Irish coast, and on the 3rd of
December found themselves within ten leagues of the harbour of Ross.
They then hoisted out the long-boat, and put into it dollars to the
amount of two tons; and after knocking out the windows of the ballast
ports, rowed towards shore, leaving the two boys to sink with the
vessel. Captain Glass's boy could not swim, and he was therefore soon
drowned; but the other lad swam to the boat, when Zekerman struck him a
violent blow on the breast, which caused him immediately to sink.
Having thus massacred eight innocent persons, the villains proceeded to
the mouth of the river Ross; but thinking it would be dangerous to go up
the river with so much riches, they buried two hundred and fifty bags of
dollars in the sand, and conveyed as much treasure as they could
possibly bear about their persons to a village called Fishertown, where
they stopped for refreshment. On the following day they went to Ross,
and there sold twelve hundred dollars; and, having purchased each a pair
of pistols, and hired horses for themselves and two guides, they rode
to Dublin, and took up their residence at the Black Bull in
Thomas-street.
The wreck of the ship was driven on shore on the day of their leaving
Ross; and the manner in which the villains had lived at Fishertown and
Ross, their general behaviour, and other circumstances, being understood
as grounds for suspicion of their being pirates, an express was
despatched by two gentlemen to the lords of the regency at Dublin,
exhibiting the several causes of suspicion, and giving a particular
description of the supposed delinquents.
On examining the wreck a sampler worked by Miss Glass was found, from
which it appeared that a part of the work was done on her birthday,
which afterwards turned out to be the day preceding that on which the
murders were perpetrated; and the sampler proved a principal means of
leading to a discovery of the guilt of these abominable villains.
The gentlemen who were commissioned to attend the lords of the regency
had no sooner communicated their business than the lord mayor and
sheriffs were sent for; and proper instructions being given them, they
on the same night caused M'Kinlie and Zekerman to be taken into custody.
The prisoners were separately examined; and they both confessed the
particulars of their guilt, and that their accomplices had that morning
hired a post-chaise for Cork, where they meant to embark on board a
vessel bound for England. Gidley and St. Quintin were then on the next
day secured at an inn on the road to Cork; and they followed the example
of the other prisoners in acknowledging themselves guilty. The sheriff
of Ross took possession of the effects found in the wreck, and the bags
of dollars that the villains had buried in the sand, and deposited the
whole in the treasury of Dublin for the benefit of the proprietors.
The prisoners being brought to trial, they confessed themselves guilty
of the charges alleged in the indictment; and they were condemned, and
suffered death on the 19th of December, 1765, after which their bodies
were hung in chains in the neighbourhood of Dublin.
FATHER SHEEBY, JAMES BUXTON, AND JAMES FARRELL, OTHERWISE CALLED BUCK
FARRELL.
EXECUTED FOR MURDER.
About the year 1766 Ireland was first visited by an atrocious gang,
calling themselves White Boys, who committed numerous atrocities in
armed bodies, but whose deeds of blood at this time were only a prelude
to those scenes of horror which have continued to be enacted even up to
the present day. They were encouraged, it was reported, by a number of
disaffected Roman Catholic priests, who seduced various misguided men of
property of their persuasion to connive at and assist them in their
nefarious practices.
In the present instance, Father Sheeby, a Romish priest, persuaded Mr.
Buxton, a gentleman of great property, and Mr. Farrell, a gay,
thoughtless youth, of good family, and many others, to murder several
Protestants who opposed the depredations of the White Boys. On the 28th
of October, 1764, this gang of murderers met on the lands of Shanhally,
where they were sworn by Father Sheeby to murder J. Bridge, Esq., J.
Bagnall, Esq., the Rev. Dr. Hewitson; and in fine, every person who
might oppose them. He also swore them to be true to the French king, and
to assist him to conquer Ireland, whereby they might completely
establish the Roman Catholic Religion. Thus prepared, these enthusiasts
sallied out in pursuit of the blood of their fellow-creatures. They soon
seized Mr. Bridge, accused him of giving information against the White
Boys, and insisted that he should contradict upon oath all that he had
said in his information; and on his refusing to do so, Edward Mecham,
one of the gang (whom, however, we do not find brought to punishment),
cleft his skull in two with a bill-hook, and he instantly expired in the
presence of the remainder of the gang.
The persons whose names are mentioned above, having been apprehended on
suspicion of being concerned in this cruel murder, were tried at
Clonmel, and being found guilty, were executed in 1766.
WILLIAM GUEST.
EXECUTED FOR DIMINISHING THE COIN OF THE REALM.
Guest was the son of a clergyman of unblemished character, of the city
of Worcester, who placed him apprentice to a genteel business. He passed
the term of apprenticeship to the satisfaction of his master, and then
came to London, and took a shop in Holborn, where he carried on business
some years with the usual success of trade. His father's good name
assisted him in procuring a clerkship in the Bank of England; and there
he pursued a system of fraud which procured his execution for a crime
amounting to high treason--that of diminishing the gold coin of the
realm.
He took a house in Broad-street Buildings, in a room in the upper part
of which he used to work. Having procured a curious machine for milling
guineas, not unlike that made use of by mathematical instrument-makers,
he used to take guineas from his drawer at the Bank, file them, and
return them to the Bank, and take out guineas of full weight in their
stead. Of the filings he made ingots, which he sold to an assayer, who,
on his trial, deposed that they were of the same standard as our
guineas.
About three years before his conviction he became a teller at the Bank,
and Mr. Leach, who was also a teller there, observing him picking out
new guineas from the old ones, and having some suspicion, watched him,
to discover whether this was a frequent practice; and finding that it
was, he communicated his suspicions to some others. On the 4th of July
1766, Mr. Guest paid thirty guineas to Richard Still, a servant to Mr.
Corner, a dyer, at Bankside, Southwark; and Leach observing him take
some gold out of a bag in the drawer, and put it among the rest on the
table, went after Still, asked him if his money was right, and begged he
would walk with him into the Pay-office, and let him tell it over. The
man consented, and Leach found three guineas that appeared to have been
newly filed, which he took away, giving Still other guineas for them. He
then carried the light guineas into the hall, and showed them to Mr.
Robert Bell, another teller, who carried them to Mr. Race, the principal
cashier. The latter weighed them, and found that they wanted from ten
pence to about fourteen pence of weight each; and he then, having
examined the edges, delivered them to Leach.
It is a custom at the Bank for the cashier in waiting to take the
tellers' bags every night, and lock them up; and Mr. Race, after these
suspicious circumstances had appeared against Guest, ordered his bags to
be examined after they were taken away. This was done by Mr. Thompson,
one of the under cashiers, and Kemp and Lucas, two in-door tellers, who
found the whole sum they contained to be 1,800_l._ 16_s._ 6_d._; and
they found in one bag forty guineas, which appeared to have been filed
on the edges, and each of which was found to be deficient in weight,
from eight pence to fourteen pence.
In consequence of this disclosure, Mr. Sewallis and Mr. Humberton,
servants to the Bank, went with proper officers to search Mr. Guest's
house in Broad-street Buildings, and in a room up two pair of stairs,
they found a mahogany nest of drawers, which, being broken open, was
discovered to contain a vice, files, an instrument proper for milling
the edges of guineas, two bags of gold filings, and one hundred guineas.
The nest of drawers had a flap before, to let down; and a skin was found
lying at the bottom, fastened to the back part of the flap, with a hole
in the front part, to fasten to a button on the waistcoat, in the manner
used by jewellers.
Mr. Guest was then apprehended, and being brought to trial, was found
guilty, and sentenced to be executed. He subsequently zealously applied
himself to the only duty which remained for him in this life to
perform--that of making his peace with God, and was hanged on the 14th
of October, 1767.
ELIZABETH BROWNRIGG.
EXECUTED FOR MURDER.
The case of this most notorious criminal is too well remembered to
render any introduction to it necessary. The long scene of torture in
which the inhuman wretch kept the innocent object of her remorseless
cruelty ere she completed the long premeditated murder, requires no
comment, engaging as it did the interest, and exciting the horror of all
ranks of people, and rousing the indignation of the populace more than
the case of any criminal whose offences it is our duty to record, in the
whole course of our melancholy narratives.
The wretched subject of this memoir passed the early part of her life in
the service of many respectable families in London; but at length, being
addressed by James Brownrigg, a plumber at Greenwich, she consented to
marry him; and they were accordingly united in that town. After having
resided at Greenwich during about seven years, they determined to remove
to London, and they, in consequence, rented a house in Flower-de-Luce
(Fleur-de-Lys) Court, Fleet-street, where Brownrigg carried on his trade
with so much success, that he was enabled to hire a small house at
Islington as a summer retreat. Their means, however, declining as their
family increased to the number of sixteen, Mrs. Brownrigg applied to the
overseers of the parish of St. Dunstan to be employed in the capacity of
midwife to the workhouse; and testimonials having been produced of her
ability--for she had already practised midwifery to a considerable
extent--she was duly appointed. Her services were found to give entire
satisfaction to the parish-officers, and she now hit upon a new mode of
adding to her income. She, in the year 1765, opened a house in which she
advertised her readiness to receive women to lie-in privately; but
finding that the expense of keeping servants would be very great, she
applied to the officers of the precinct of Whitefriars and of the
Foundling Hospital for girls to be apprenticed to her, to learn the
duties of household servants. Two girls, named Mary Mitchell and Mary
Jones, were immediately placed with her, the former from Whitefriars,
and the latter from the Foundling Hospital; and it would appear, that at
first the poor orphans were treated with some degree of consideration
and attention, but as soon as they became familiar with their mistress
and their situation, the slightest inattention was sufficient to call
down upon them the most severe chastisement. The first girl who
experienced this brutal treatment was Jones; and it appears that her
mistress would frequently, upon the smallest possible provocation, lay
her down across two chairs in the kitchen, and there whip her until she
was compelled, from mere weariness, to desist. The usual termination of
this scene of disgusting inhumanity was, that the mistress would throw
water over her victim, or dip her head into a bucket of water, and then
dismiss her to her own apartment. The room appointed for the girl to
sleep in adjoined the passage leading to the street-door; and, after she
had suffered this maltreatment for a considerable time, as she had
received many wounds on her head, shoulders, and various parts of her
body, she determined not to bear such usage any longer, if she could
secure her liberty. Observing that the key was left in the street-door
when the family went to bed, therefore, she opened it cautiously one
morning, and escaped into the street. Thus freed from her horrid
confinement, she repeatedly inquired her way to the Foundling Hospital
until she found it, and was admitted after describing in what manner she
had been treated, and showing the bruises she had received.
The child having been examined by a surgeon, (who found her wounds to be
of a most alarming nature,) the governors of the hospital ordered Mr.
Plumbtree, their solicitor, to write to James Brownrigg, threatening a
prosecution, if he did not give a proper reason for the severities
exercised toward the child; but no notice of this having been taken, the
governors of the hospital thinking it imprudent to indict at common law,
the girl was discharged, in consequence of an application to the
chamberlain of London. The other girl, Mary Mitchell, continued with her
mistress for the space of a year, during which she was treated with
equal cruelty, and she also at length resolved to quit her service. An
opportunity soon presented itself which favoured her design; but having
escaped from the house, she was met in the street by the younger son of
Brownrigg, who forced her to return home, where her sufferings were
greatly aggravated on account of her elopement. In the interim Mrs.
Brownrigg found it necessary to fill up the place occupied by her late
apprentice, Mary Jones; and she applied again to the overseers of the
precinct of Whitefriars, who, having learned nothing of the
ill-behaviour of the woman, bound a girl named Mary Clifford to her, who
was doomed to fall a victim to her brutality, and to be the cause of her
eventual execution. It was not long before the new apprentice
experienced equal if not greater cruelties than those inflicted upon the
other unfortunate girls. She was frequently tied up naked and beaten
with a hearth-broom, a horsewhip, or a cane, till she was absolutely
speechless; and the poor girl having a natural infirmity, her mistress
would not permit her to lie in a bed, but placed her on a mat in a
coal-hole that was remarkably cold. After some time, however, a sack and
a quantity of straw formed her bed, instead of the mat; but during her
confinement in this wretched situation, she had nothing to subsist on
but bread and water; and her covering, during the night, consisted only
of her own clothes, so that she sometimes lay almost perished with cold.