May following, he was charged with robbing John Devall, Esq. near the
nine-mile stone on the Hounslow road, of his watch and money. It
appeared that he had given the watch to a young woman with whom he
lived, named Roche, who had delivered it to Catherine Smith, by whom it
was offered in pledge to Mr. Hallam a pawnbroker, who, suspecting it was
not honestly obtained, caused the parties to be taken into custody.
Roche was now charged with receiving the watch, knowing it to have been
stolen; and Smith, being sworn, deposed that on the day Mr. Devall was
robbed, Roche told her that "she expected Rann to bring her some money
in the evening;" that he accordingly came about ten at night, and having
retired some time with Roche, she, on her return, owned that she had
received a watch and five guineas from him, which he said he had taken
from a gentleman on the highway; and that she, Smith, carried the watch
to pawn to Mr. Hallam at the request of Roche. Upon this charge the
prisoner Rann was again sent to Newgate; but on his trial in July 1774,
he was acquitted. On his appearing at the bar, he was dressed in a
manner above his style of life and his circumstances. He had a bundle of
flowers in the breast of his coat almost as large as a broom; and his
irons were tied up with a number of blue ribands.
Two or three days after this acquittal Rann engaged to sup with a girl
at her lodgings in Bow Street; but not being punctual to his
appointment, the woman went to bed, and her paramour being unable to
obtain admittance by the door, proceeded to effect an entrance through
the window; and had nearly accomplished his purpose, when a watchman
interrupted him, and took him into custody. He was charged at
Bow-street on the 27th of July with this alleged burglarious attempt;
but the "young lady" appearing, declared the prisoner could have had no
felonious intent, for that so far from her opposing his entry, had she
been awake, she would instantly have admitted him; and besides that he
was quite welcome to share everything that she possessed, even to her
bed. Upon this declaration, the prisoner was dismissed, with a caution
to adopt a less dangerous method of pursuing his amours.
After this it seems that the proceedings of our hero became pretty
notorious, and he took no trouble either to conceal or disguise his
person or his acts. He did not hesitate to proclaim himself as
"Sixteen-stringed Jack, the famous highwayman," and to appear at public
places attired in a peculiar manner so as to excite observation and
attention. It does not appear that his attacks were marked by any great
degree of atrocity; and the celebrity which he obtained was rather of
his own seeking. A short time before he was convicted of the offence
which cost him his life, he attended a public execution at Tyburn, and
getting in the ring formed by the constables round the gallows, desired
that he might be permitted to stand there, "for," said he, "perhaps it
is very proper that I should be a spectator on this occasion."
On the 26th of September, 1774, he went with William Collier on the
Uxbridge-road, with a view to commit robberies on the highway; and being
apprehended on the Wednesday following, they were examined at the public
office in Bow-street on the following charge. Dr. William Bell, chaplain
to the Princess Amelia, deposed that between three and four o'clock in
the afternoon of Monday, the 26th of September, as he was riding near
Ealing, he observed two men of rather mean appearance, who rode past
him; and that he remarked they had suspicious looks; yet neither at that
time, nor for some little time afterwards, had he any idea of being
robbed: that soon afterwards one of them, whom he believed to be Rann,
crossed the head of his horse, and demanding his money, said, "Give it
to me, and take no notice, or I'll blow your brains out." On this the
doctor gave him one shilling and sixpence, which was all the silver he
had, and a common watch in a tortoise-shell case.
It further appeared that, on the night of the robbery, Rann's companion
Eleanor Roche, and her maid-servant, Christian Stewart, went to the shop
of Mr. Cordy, a pawnbroker in Oxford-road, to pledge the watch, but that
he stopped it, and found out its owner by applying to Mr. Grignon, its
maker, in Russell-street, Covent-garden; and evidence was also adduced
as to the identity of Rann, who was proved to have been seen at Acton
within twenty minutes of the time of the robbery being committed. The
prisoners were thereupon sent to Newgate to take their trials; and Roche
and Stewart being also apprehended, were indicted as accessories after
the fact.
The evidence given on the trial, was in substance the same as that which
had been adduced at Bow-street; but some favourable circumstances
appearing in behalf of Collier, he was recommended to mercy, and
afterwards respited during the king's pleasure. Miss Roche was sentenced
to be transported for fourteen years; her servant was acquitted; and
Rann was left for execution.
When Rann was brought down to take his trial he was dressed in a new
suit of pea-green clothes; his hat was bound round with silver strings;
he wore a ruffled shirt, and his behaviour evinced the utmost unconcern.
Upon hearing the verdict of the jury, which consigned him to death, he
endeavoured to force a smile, but the attempt was a failure, and it was
evident that the confidence which he had before exhibited, now forsook
him. He had been so certain of acquittal, that he had ordered a supper
to be provided on the occasion; but his anticipations of pleasure were
quickly changed into the reality of sorrow. After conviction, his
behaviour was for a time unfitted for the melancholy condition in which
he was placed. On Sunday, the 23d of October, he had seven girls to dine
with him, and with their mirth endeavoured to shake off the heaviness
which beset him, but the warrant for his execution soon after arriving,
he became more sensible of his awful situation, and began to prepare for
the sad fate which awaited him. At his execution, he behaved with decent
resignation, and surveyed the gallows with an eye of confidence. He was
executed on the 30th of November, 1774; and having hung the usual time,
his body was delivered over to his friends for interment.
ROBERT AND DANIEL PERREAU.
EXECUTED FOR FORGERY.
The circumstances of the cases of these prisoners are of a very
remarkable description. It appears that the accused persons were twin
brothers, and were so much alike that it was with difficulty that they
were known apart. Robert Perreau carried on business in Golden-square as
an apothecary, and was in great practice; while his brother lived in a
style of considerable fashion, a Mrs. Margaret Caroline Rudd living with
him as his wife.
At the sessions held at the Old Bailey in June 1775, Robert Perreau was
indicted for forging a bond for the payment of 7,500_l._ in the name of
William Adair, Esq (then a great government contractor), and also for
feloniously uttering and publishing the said bond, knowing it to be
forged, with intent to defraud Messrs. Robert and Henry Drummond,
bankers.
From the evidence which was adduced at the trial, it appeared that on
the 10th of March, 1775, the prisoner under trial, whose character up to
that time had been considered unimpeachable, went to the house of
Messrs. Drummond, and seeing Mr. Henry Drummond, one of the partners,
said that he had been making a purchase of an estate in Norfolk or
Suffolk, for which he was to give 12,000_l._, but that he had not
sufficient cash to pay the whole purchase-money. That he had a bond,
however, which Mr. Adair had given to his brother Daniel, for 7,500_l._,
upon which he desired to raise a sum of 5000_l._, out of which he was
willing to pay 1,400_l._, which he had already borrowed of the firm.
Mr. Drummond, on the production of the bond, had no sooner looked at the
signature than he doubted its authenticity, and very politely asked the
prisoner if he had seen Mr. Adair sign it. The latter said he had not,
but that he had no doubt that it was authentic, from the nature of the
connexion that subsisted between Mrs. Rudd, who was known to live with
Daniel, and that gentleman; a suggestion having previously been thrown
out that she was his natural daughter. Mr. Drummond, however, declined
advancing any money without the sanction of his brother, and he desired
Perreau to leave the bond, saying that it should either be returned on
the next day, or the money produced. The prisoner made no scruple to
obey this suggestion, and he retired, promising to call again the next
day.
In the interim, Mr. Drummond examined the bond with greater attention;
and Mr. Stephens, secretary of the Admiralty, happening to call, his
opinion was demanded, when, comparing the signature to the bond with
letters which he had lately received from Mr. Adair, he was firmly
convinced that it was forged. When Perreau came on the following day,
Mr. Drummond spoke more freely than he had done before, and told him
that he imagined he had been imposed on; but begged, that to remove all
doubt, he would go with him to Mr. Adair, and get that gentleman to
acknowledge the validity of the bond, on which the money would be
advanced. This was immediately acceded to; and on Mr. Adair seeing the
document, he at once declared that the signature was a forgery. The
prisoner smiled incredulously, and said that he jested; but Mr. Adair
remarked that it was no jesting matter, and that it lay on him to clear
up the affair. On this he went away, requesting to have the bond, in
order to make the necessary inquiries--a request which was refused; and
persons being employed to watch him, it was found that immediately on
his arrival at his house, he and his brother and Mrs. Rudd got into a
coach, carrying with them all the valuables which they could collect,
with a design to make their escape. They were, however, stopped, and
taken into custody, and being conveyed to Sir John Fielding's, at
Bow-street, they there underwent an examination, and upon the evidence
adduced, were committed to prison. Other charges were subsequently
brought against them by Sir Thomas Frankland, from whom they had
obtained two sums of 5000_l._ and 4000_l._ on similar forged bonds, as
well as 4000_l._ which they had paid when the amount became due; and by
Dr. Brooke, who alleged that they had obtained from him 1500_l._ in
bonds of the Ayr bank, upon the security of a forged bond for 3100_l._;
and Mrs. Rudd was then admitted as evidence for the Crown. Her
deposition then was, that she was the daughter of a nobleman in
Scotland; that, when young, she married an officer in the army named
Rudd, against the consent of her friends; that her fortune was
considerable; that on a disagreement with her husband, they resolved to
part; that she made a reserve of money, jewels, and effects, to the
amount of thirteen thousand pounds, all of which she gave to Daniel
Perreau, whom she said she loved with the tenderness of a wife; that she
had three children by him; that he had returned her kindness in every
respect till lately, when, having been unfortunate in gaming in the
alley, he had become uneasy, peevish, and much altered to her; that he
cruelly constrained her to sign the bond now in question, by holding a
knife to her throat, and swearing that he would murder her if she did
not comply; that, being struck with remorse, she had acquainted Mr.
Adair with what she had done; and that she was now willing to declare
every transaction with which she was acquainted, whenever she should be
called upon by law so to do.
Upon the cross-examination of Mr. Drummond, however, he swore that Mrs.
Rudd on her being first apprehended, took the whole on herself, and
acknowledged that she had forged the bonds; that she begged them "for
God's sake to have mercy on an innocent man," and that she said no
injury was intended to any person, and that all would be paid; and that
she acknowledged delivering the bond to the prisoner. They then
entertained an opinion that the prisoner was her dupe; and Mr. Robert
Drummond having expressed a notion that she could not have forged a
handwriting so dissimilar from that of a woman as Mr. Adair's, she
immediately, in order to satisfy them of the truth of what she said,
wrote the name "William Adair" on a paper exactly like the signature
which appeared attached to the bond.
Mr. Watson, a money-scrivener, also deposed, that he had filled up the
bonds at the desire of one of the brothers, and in pursuance of
instructions received from him; but he hesitated to fix on either, on
account of their great personal resemblance; and being pressed to make a
positive declaration, he fixed on Daniel as his employer.
The case for the prosecution being concluded, the prisoner entered upon
his defence. In a long and ingenious speech, which he addressed to the
jury, he strove hard to prove that he was the victim of the artifices of
Mrs. Rudd.
He said that she was constantly conversing about the influence she had
over Mr. W. Adair; and that Mr. Adair had, by his interest with the
king, obtained the promise of a baronetage for Daniel Perreau, and was
about procuring him a seat in parliament. That Mr. Adair had promised to
open a bank, and take the brothers Perreau into partnership with him.
That the prisoner received many letters signed "William Adair," which he
had no doubt came from that gentleman, in which were promises of giving
them a considerable part of his fortune during his life; and that he was
to allow Daniel Perreau two thousand four hundred pounds a year for his
household expenses, and six hundred pounds a year for Mrs. Rudd's
pin-money. That Mr. Daniel Perreau purchased a house in Harley-street
for four thousand pounds, which money Mr. William Adair was to give
them. That when Daniel Perreau was pressed by the person of whom he
bought the house for the money, the prisoner understood that they
applied to Mr. William Adair, and that his answer was, that he had lent
the king seventy thousand pounds, and had purchased a house in Pall Mall
at seven thousand pounds, in which to carry on the banking business, and
therefore could not spare the four thousand pounds at that time.
He declared that all attempts at personal communication with Mr. Adair
were strenuously opposed by Mrs. Rudd as being likely to destroy the
effects of her exertions on his behalf, and contended that his conduct
throughout the whole transaction with Mr. Drummond, showed that he was
innocent of any guilty intention, and that he firmly believed that he
was acting honestly and justly.
He then proceeded to call the following witnesses, whose evidence we
shall give in the most concise manner:--
George Kinder deposed that Mrs. Perreau (the only name by which he knew
Mrs, Rudd) told him "that she was a near relation of Mr. James Adair;
that he looked upon her as his child, had promised to make her fortune,
and with that view had recommended her to Mr. William Adair, a near
relation and intimate friend of his, who had promised to set her husband
and the prisoner up in the banking business." He also deposed that she
said that Mr. Daniel Perreau was to be made a baronet, and described
how she would act when she became a lady. The witness further deposed
that Mrs. Rudd often pretended that Mr. William Adair had called to see
her, but that he never had seen that gentleman on any visit.
John Moody, a livery-servant of Daniel Perreau, deposed that his
mistress wrote two very different hands; in one of which she wrote
letters to his master, as from Mr. William Adair, and in the other the
ordinary business of the family. That the letters written in the name of
William Adair were pretended to have been left in his master's absence;
that his mistress ordered him to give them to his master, and pretend
that Mr. Adair had been with his mistress for a longer or shorter time,
as circumstances required. This witness likewise proved that the hand at
the bottom of the bond and that of his mistress's fictitious writing
were precisely the same; that she used different pens, ink, and paper,
in writing her common and fictitious letters; and that she sometimes
gave the witness half-a-crown when he had delivered a letter to her
satisfaction. He said he had seen her go two or three times to Mr. J.
Adair's, but never to William's; and that Mr. J. Adair once visited his
mistress on her lying-in.
Susannah Perreau (the prisoner's sister) deposed to her having seen a
note delivered to Daniel Perreau, by Mrs. Rudd, for nineteen thousand
pounds, drawn as by William Adair, on Mr. Croft, the banker, in favour
of Daniel Perreau.
Elizabeth Perkins swore that a week before the forgery was discovered,
her mistress gave her a letter to bring back to her in a quarter of an
hour, and say it was brought by Mr. Coverley, who had been servant to
Daniel Perreau; that she gave her mistress this letter, and her master
instantly broke the seal.
Daniel Perreau swore that the purport of this letter was "that Mr. Adair
desired her to apply to his brother, the prisoner, to procure him five
thousand pounds upon his (Adair's) bond, in the same manner as he had
done before; that Mr. Adair was unwilling to have it appear that the
money was raised for him, and therefore desired him to have the bond
lodged with some confidential friend, who would not require an
assignment of it; that his brother, on being made acquainted with his
request, showed a vast deal of reluctancy, and said it was very
unpleasant work; but undertook it with a view of obliging Mr. William
Adair."
The counsel for the prosecution demanding "if he did not disclaim all
knowledge of the affair before Mr. Adair," he said he denied ever having
seen the bond before, nor had he a perfect knowledge of it till he saw
it in the hands of Mr. Adair.
David Cassady, who assisted Mr. R. Perreau as an apothecary, deposed
that he lived much within the profits of his profession, and that it was
reported he was going into the banking business.
John Leigh, clerk to Sir John Fielding, swore to the prisoner's coming
voluntarily to the office before his apprehension, and giving
information that a forgery had been committed. Mr. Leigh was asked if
Mrs. Rudd "ever charged the prisoner with any knowledge of the
transaction till the justices were hearing evidence to prove her
confession of the fact;" and he answered that he did not recollect that
circumstance, but that on her first examination she did not accuse the
prisoner.
Mr. Perreau now called several persons of rank to his character. Lady
Lyttleton being asked if she thought him capable of such a crime,
supposed she could have done it as soon herself. Sir John Moore, Sir
John Chapman, General Rebow, Captain Ellis, Captain Burgoyne, and other
gentlemen, spoke most highly to the character of the prisoner; but the
jury found him guilty.
It will be unnecessary now to give anything more than a succinct account
of the trial of Daniel Perreau, which immediately followed that of his
brother. He was indicted for forging and counterfeiting a bond, in the
name of William Adair, for three thousand three hundred pounds, to
defraud the said William Adair, and for uttering the same knowing it to
be forged, to defraud Thomas Brooke, doctor of physic. Mr. Scroope
Ogilvie, clerk to Mr. William Adair, proved the forgery; and Dr. Brooke
swore to the uttering of the bond.
The defence set up by the prisoner was, that Mrs. Rudd had given the
bond to him as a true one; and he asserted, in the most solemn manner,
that he had had no intention to defraud any man. Like his brother, he
called several witnesses to show the artifices of which Mrs. Rudd had
been guilty; and many persons proved the great respectability of his
character.
The jury, however, returned a verdict of guilty, and both prisoners were
sentenced to death; but the execution did not take place until January
1776, in consequence of the proceedings which were subsequently taken
against Mrs. Rudd.
After conviction the behaviour of the brothers was, in every respect,
proper for their unhappy situation. Great interest was made to obtain a
pardon for them, particularly for Robert, in whose favour seventy-eight
bankers and merchants of London signed a petition to the king: the news
papers were filled with paragraphs, evidently written by disinterested
persons, in favour of men whom they thought dupes to the designs of an
artful woman: but all was of no avail.
On the day of execution the brothers were favoured with a
mourning-coach, in which to be conveyed to the scaffold; and their
conduct throughout was of the most exemplary description. After the
customary devotions were concluded, they crossed hands, and joining the
four together, in that manner were launched into eternity. They had not
hanged more than half a minute when their hands dropped asunder, and
they appeared to die without pain.
Each of them delivered a paper to the Ordinary of Newgate, which stated
their innocence, and ascribed the blame of the whole transaction to the
artifices of Mrs. Rudd; and, indeed, thousands of people gave credit to
their assertions, and a great majority of the public thought Robert
wholly innocent.
Daniel Perreau and Robert Perreau were executed at Tyburn on the 17th of
January, 1776.
On the Sunday following, the bodies were carried from the house of
Robert, in Golden-square, and, after the usual solemnities, deposited in
the vault of St. Martin's church. A mob of thirty thousand persons
attended the execution, and an equal number appeared at the funeral, but
nothing occurred to disturb the solemnity of either scene.
MARGARET CAROLINE RUDD.
TRIED FOR FORGERY.
On the 16th of September, 1775, Mrs. Rudd was put to the bar at the Old
Bailey, to be tried for forgery; but the counsel for the prisoner
pleading that, as she had been already admitted an evidence for the
crown, it was unprecedented to detain her for trial, and the judges
differing in opinion on the point of law, she was remanded to prison
till the opinion of the judges could be taken on a subject of so much
importance.
On the 8th of December, 1775, she was arraigned on an indictment for
feloniously forging a bond, purporting to be signed by William Adair,
and for feloniously uttering and publishing the same.
Mr. Justice Aston now addressed the prisoner, informing her that eleven
of the judges had met (the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas being
indisposed), "and were unanimous in opinion, that in cases not within
any statute, an accomplice, who fully discloses the joint guilt of
himself and his companions, and is admitted by justices of the peace as
a witness, and who appears to have acted a fair and ingenuous part in
the disclosure of all the circumstances of the cases in which he has
been concerned, ought not to be prosecuted for the offences so by him
confessed, but cannot by law plead this in bar of any indictment, but
merely as an equitable claim to mercy from the crown: and nine of the
judges were of opinion that all the circumstances relative to this claim
ought to be laid before the Court, to enable the judges to exercise
their discretion whether the trial should proceed or not. With respect
to the case before them, the same nine judges were of opinion that if
the matter stood singly upon the two informations of the prisoner,
compared with the indictments against her, she ought to have been tried
upon all, or any of them, for from her information she is no accomplice.
She exhibits a charge against Robert and Daniel Perreau, the first
soliciting her to imitate the hand-writing of William Adair, the other
forcing her to execute the forgery under the threat of death. Her two
informations are contradictory: if she has suppressed the truth, she has
no equitable claim to favour; and if she has told the truth, and the
whole truth, she cannot be convicted. As to the indictments preferred
against her by Sir Thomas Frankland, as her informations before the
justices have no relation to his charges, she can claim no sort of
advantage from these informations."