was to be attached to the scaffold. After he had fastened it in such a
manner as to satisfy his own mind, Thurtell looked up at it, and
examined it with great attention. He then desired the executioner to
let him have fall enough. The rope at this moment seemed as if it
would only give a fall of two or three feet. The executioner assured
him that the fall was quite sufficient. The principal turnkey then
went up to Thurtell, shook hands with him, and turned away in tears.
Mr Wilson, the governor of the gaol, next approached him. Thurtell
said to him, "Do you think, Mr Wilson, I have got enough fall?" Mr
Wilson replied, "I think you have, Sir. Yes, quite enough." Mr Wilson
then took hold of his hand, shook it, and said, "Good bye, Mr
Thurtell, may God Almighty bless you." Thurtell instantly replied,
"God bless _you_, Mr Wilson, God bless _you_." Mr Wilson next asked
him whether he considered that the laws of his country had been dealt
to him justly and fairly, upon which he said, "I admit that justice
has been done me--I am perfectly satisfied."
A few seconds then elapsed, during which every person seemed to be
engaged in examining narrowly Thurtell's deportment. His features, as
well as they could be discerned, appeared to remain unmoved, and his
hands, which were extremely prominent, continued perfectly steady, and
were not affected by the slightest tremulous motion.
Exactly at two minutes past twelve the Under-Sheriff, with his wand,
gave the dreadful signal--the drop suddenly and silently fell--and
JOHN THURTELL WAS LAUNCHED INTO ETERNITY.
Printed at J. Pitts, Wholesale Toy and Marble Warehouse, 6, Great St.
Andrew Street, Seven Dials.
ATROCIOUS MURDER OF A YOUNG WOMAN IN SUFFOLK.
SINGULAR DISCOVERY OF THE BODY FROM A DREAM.
[Illustration: THE RED BARN. THE SCENE OF THE MURDER, AND WHERE THE BODY
OF MARIA MARTEN WAS FOUND CONCEALED.]
Four years after the Thurtell and Weare affair, namely, in the month of
April, 1828, another "sensational" murder was discovered--that of Maria
Marten, by William Corder, in the Red Barn, at Polstead, in the county of
Suffolk. The circumstances that led to the discovery of this most
atrocious murder were of an extraordinary and romantic nature, and
manifest an almost special interposition of Providence in marking out the
offender. As the mother of the girl had on three several nights dreamt
that her daughter was murdered and buried in Corder's Red Barn, and as
this proved to be the case, an additional "charm" was given to the
circumstance. Hence the "Catnach Press" was again set working both day and
night to meet the great demand for the "Full Particulars." In due course
came the gratifying announcement of the apprehension of the murderer! and
the sale continued unabatingly, in both town and country, every "Flying
Stationer" making great profits by the sale.
[Illustration: LIKENESS OF WILLIAM CORDER.]
The trial of Corder took place at Bury St. Edmonds, on the 7th of August,
1828, before the Lord Chief Baron (Anderson). The prisoner pleaded "_Not
Guilty_," and the trial proceeded. On being called on for his defence,
Corder read a manuscript paper. He declared that he deeply deplored the
death of the unfortunate deceased, and he urged the jury to dismiss from
their minds all that prejudice which must necessarily have been excited
against him by the public press, &c. Having concluded his address, the
Lord Chief Baron summed up, and a verdict of "_Guilty_" was returned. The
Last Dying Speech and confession had an enormous sale--estimated at
1,166,000, a _fac-simile_ copy of which, with the "Lamentable Verses,"
said to have been written by Old Jemmy Catnach, will be found on the
opposite page.
CONFESSION AND EXECUTION OF WILLIAM CORDER,
THE MURDERER OF MARIA MARTEN.
Since the tragical affair between Thurtell and Weare, no event has
occurred connected with the criminal annals of our country which has
excited so much interest as the trial of Corder, who was justly
convicted of the murder of Maria Marten on Friday last.
THE CONFESSION.
"Bury Gaol, August 10th, 1828.--Condemned cell.
"Sunday evening, half-past Eleven.
"I acknowledge being guilty of the death of poor Maria Marten, by
shooting her with a pistol. The particulars are as follows:--When we
left her father's house, we began quarrelling about the burial of the
child: she apprehended the place wherein it was deposited would be
found out. The quarrel continued about three quarters of an hour upon
this sad and about other subjects. A scuffle ensued, and during the
scuffle, and at the time I think that she had hold of me, I took the
pistol from the side pocket of my velveteen jacket and fired. She
fell, and died in an instant. I never saw her even struggle. I was
overwhelmed with agitation and dismay:--the body fell near the front
doors on the floor of the barn. A vast quantity of blood issued from
the wound, and ran on to the floor and through the crevices. Having
determined to bury the body in the barn (about two hours after she was
dead). I went and borrowed a spade of Mrs Stow, but before I went
there I dragged the body from the barn into the chaff-house, and
locked the barn. I returned again to the barn, and began to dig a
hole, but the spade being a bad one, and the earth firm and hard, I
was obliged to go home for a pickaxe and a better spade, with which I
dug the hole, and then buried the body. I think I dragged the body by
the handkerchief that was tied round her neck. It was dark when I
finished covering up the body. I went the next day, and washed the
blood from off the barn-floor. I declare to Almighty God I had no
sharp instrument about me, and no other wound but the one made by the
pistol was inflicted by me. I have been guilty of great idleness, and
at times led a dissolute life, but I hope through the mercy of God to
be forgiven. WILLIAM CORDER."
Witness to the signing by the said William Corder,
JOHN ORRIDGE.
Condemned cell, Eleven o'clock, Monday morning,
August 11th, 1828.
The above confession was read over carefully to the prisoner in our
presence, who stated most solemnly it was true, and that he had
nothing to add to or retract from it.--W. STOCKING, chaplain; TIMOTHY
R. HOLMES, Under-Sheriff.
THE EXECUTION.
At ten minutes before twelve o'clock the prisoner was brought from his
cell and pinioned by the hangman, who was brought from London for the
purpose. He appeared resigned, but was so weak as to be unable to
stand without support; when his cravat was removed he groaned heavily,
and appeared to be labouring under great mental agony. When his wrists
and arms were made fast, he was led round twards the scaffold, and as
he paused the different yards in which the prisoners were confined, he
shook hands with them, and speaking to two of them by name, he said,
"Good bye, God bless you." They appeared considerably affected by the
wretched appearance which he made, and "God bless you!" "May God
receive your soul!" were frequently uttered as he passed along. The
chaplain walked before the prisoner, reading the usual Burial Service,
and the Governor and Officers walking immediately after him. The
prisoner was supported to the steps which led to the scaffold; he
looked somewhat wildly around, and a constable was obliged to support
him while the hangman was adjusting the fatal cord. There was a
barrier to keep off the crowd, amounting to upwards of 7,000 persons,
who at the time had stationed themselves in the adjoining fields, on
the hedges, the tops of houses, and at every point from which a view
of the execution could be best obtained. The prisoner, a few moments
before the drop fell, groaned heavily, and would have fallen, had not
a second constable caught hold of him. Everything having been made
ready, the signal was given, the fatal drop fell, and the unfortunate
man was launched into eternity. Just before he was turned off, he said
in a feeble tone, "I am justly sentenced, and may God forgive me."
The Murder of Maria Marten.
BY W. CORDER
Come all you thoughtless young men, a warning take by me,
And think upon my unhappy fate to be hanged upon a tree;
My name is William Corder, to you I do declare,
I courted Maria Marten, most beautiful and fair.
I promised I would marry her upon a certain day.
Instead of that, I was resolved to take her life away.
I went into her father's house the 18th day of May,
Saying, my dear Maria, we will fix the wedding day.
If you will meet me at the Red-barn, as sure as I have life,
I will take you to Ipswich town, and there make you my wife;
I then went home and fetched my gun, my pickaxe and my spade,
I went into the Red-barn, and there I dug her grave.
With heart so light, she thought no harm, to meet him she did go
He murdered her all in the barn, and laid her body low;
After the horrible deed was done, she lay weltering in her gore,
Her bleeding mangled body he buried beneath the Red-barn floor.
Now all things being silent, her spirit could not rest,
She appeared unto her mother, who suckled her at her breast,
For many a long month or more, her mind being sore oppress'd,
Neither night or day she could not take any rest.
Her mother's mind being so disturbed, she dreamt three nights o'er,
Her daughter she lay murdered beneath the Red-barn floor;
She sent the father to the barn, when he the ground did thrust,
And there he found his daughter mingling with the dust.
My trial is hard, I could not stand, most woeful was the sight,
When her jaw-bone was brought to prove, which pierced my heart quite;
Her aged father standing by, likewise his loving wife,
And in her grief her hair she tore, she scarcely could keep life.
Adieu, adieu, my loving friends, my glass is almost run,
On Monday next will be my last, when I am to be hang'd,
So you, young men, who do pass by, with pity look on me,
For murdering Maria Marten, I was hang'd upon the tree.
Printed by J. Catnach, 2 and 3, Monmouth Court.--Cards, &c., Printed
Cheap.
LIFE, TRIAL, CONFESSION, & EXECUTION OF
JAMES GREENACRE,
FOR THE EDGEWARE ROAD MURDER.
[Illustration]
On the 22nd of April, James Greenacre was found guilty of the wilful
murder of Hannah Brown, and Sarah Gale with being accessary after the
fact. A long and connected chain of evidence was produced, which
showed, that the sack in which the body was found was the property of
Mr. Ward; that is was usually deposited in a part of the premises
which led to the workshop, and could without observation have been
carried away by him; that the said sack contained several fragments of
shavings of mahogany, such as were made in the course of business by
Ward; and that it contained some pieces of linen cloth, which had been
patched with nankeen; that this linen cloth matched exactly with a
frock which was found on Greenacre's premises, and which belonged to
the female prisoner. Feltham, a police-officer, deposed, that on the
26th of March he apprehended the prisoners at the lodgings of
Greenacre; that on searching the trowsers pockets of that person, he
took therefrom a pawnbroker's duplicate for two silk gowns, and from
the fingers of the female prisoner two rings, and also a similar
duplicate for two veils, and an old-fashioned silver watch, which she
was endeavouring to conceal; and it was further proved that these
articles were pledged by the prisoners, and that they had been the
property of the deceased woman.--Two surgeons were examined, whose
evidence was most important, and whose depositions were of the
greatest consequence in throwing a clear light on the manner in which
the female, Hannah Brown, met with her death. Mr. Birtwhistle deposed,
that he had carefully examined the head; that the right eye had been
knocked out by a blow inflicted while the person was living; there was
also a cut on the cheek, and the jaw was fractured, these two last
wounds were, in his opinion, produced after death; there was also a
bruise on the head, which had occurred after death; the head had been
separated by cutting, and the bone sawed nearly _through_, and then
broken off; there were the marks of a saw, which fitted with a saw
which was found in Greenacre's box. Mr. Girdwood, a surgeon, very
minutely and skilfully described the appearances presented on the
head, and showed incontestibly, that the head had been severed from
the body _while the person was yet alive_; that this was proved by the
retraction, or drawing back, of the muscles at the parts where they
were separated by the knife, and further, by the blood-vessels being
empty, the body was drained of blood. This part of the evidence
produced a thrill of horror throughout the court, but Greenacre
remained quite unmoved.
After a most impressive and impartial summing up by the learned Judge,
the jury retired, and, after the absence of a quarter of an hour,
returned into court, and pronounced a verdict of "Guilty" against both
the prisoners.
The prisoners heard the verdict without evincing the least emotion, or
the slightest change of countenance. After an awful silence of a few
minutes, the Lord Chief Justice said they might retire, as they would
be remanded until the end of the session.
They were then conducted from the bar, and on going down the steps,
the unfortunate female prisoner kissed Greenacre with every mark of
tenderness and affection.
The crowd outside the court on this day was even greater than on
either of the preceding; and when the result of the trial was made
known in the street, a sudden and general shout succeeded, and
continued huzzas were heard for several minutes.
THE EXECUTION.
At half past seven the sheriff arrived in his carriage, and in a short
time the press-yard was thronged with gentlemen who had been admitted
by tickets. The unhappy convict was now led from his cell. When he
arrived in the press-yard, his whole appearance pourtrayed the utmost
misery and spirit-broken dejection; his countenance haggard, and his
whole frame agitated; all that self-possession and fortitude which he
displayed in the early part of his imprisonment, had utterly forsaken
him, and had left him a victim of hopelessness and despair. He
requested the executioner to give him as little pain as possible in
the process of pinioning his arms and wrists; he uttered not a word in
allusion to his crime; neither did he make any dying request, except
that his spectacles might be given to Sarah Gale; he exhibited no sign
of hope; he showed no symptom of reconciliation with his offended God!
When the venerable ordinary preceded him in the solemn procession
through the vaulted passage to the fatal drop, he was so overcome and
unmanned, that he could not support himself without the aid of the
assistant executioner. At the moment he ascended the faithless floor,
from which he was to be launched into eternity, the most terrific
yells, groans, and cheers were vociferated by the immense multitude
surrounding the place of execution. Greenacre bowed to the sheriff,
and begged he might not be allowed to remain long in the concourse;
and almost immediately the fatal bolt was withdrawn, and, without a
struggle, he became a lifeless corse.--Thus ended the days of
Greenacre, a man endowed with more than ordinary talents, respectably
connected, and desirably placed in society; but a want of probity, an
absolute dearth of principle, led him on from one crime to another,
until at length he perpetrated the sanguinary deed which brought his
career to an awful and disgraceful period, and which has enrolled his
name among the most notorious of those who have expiated their crime
on the gallows.
On hearing the death-bell toll, Gale became dreadfully agitated; and
when she heard the brutal shouts of the crowd of spectators, she
fainted, and remained in a state of alternate mental agony and
insensibility throughout the whole day.
After having been suspended the usual time, his body was cut down, and
buried in a hole dug in one of the passages of the prison, near the
spot where Thistlewood and his associates were deposited.
J. Catnach, Printer, 2 and 3, Monmouth Court.
The following is a fac-simile of the "Execution Paper," from the press of
Paul and Co.,--successors of Catnach.
TRIAL, SENTENCE, CONFESSION, & EXECUTION OF
F. B. COURVOISIER,
FOR THE Murder of Lord Wm. Russell.
THE VERDICT.
Old Bailey, Saturday Evening,
_June 20th, 1840_.
After the jury had been absent for an hour and twenty minutes, they
returned into court, and the prisoner was again placed at the bar.
The names of the jury were then called over, and the clerk of the
court said--"How say you, gentlemen, have you agreed on your verdict?
Do you find the prisoner Guilty or Not Guilty of the felony of murder
with which he stands charged?"
The foreman of the jury, in a low voice, said--"We find him GUILTY!"
The Clerk of the Court then said: Francois Benjamin Courvoisier, you
have been found Guilty of the wilful murder of William Russell, Esq.,
commonly called Lord William Russell; what have you to say why the
court should not give you sentence to die according to law?
The prisoner made no reply. The usual proclamation for silence was
then made.
SENTENCE.
The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE TINDAL, having put on the black cap, said:
Francois Benjamin Courvoisier, you have been found guilty by an
intelligent, patient, and impartial jury of the crime of wilful
murder. That crime has been established against you, not indeed by the
testimony of eye-witnesses as to the fact, but by a chain of
circumstances no less unerring, which have left no doubt of your guilt
in the minds of the jury, and all those who heard the trial. It is
ordained by divine authority that the murderer shall not escape
justice, and this ordination has been exemplified in your case, in the
course of this trial, by the disclosure of evidence which has brought
the facts to bear against you in a conclusive manner. The murder,
although committed in the dark and silent hour of night, has
nevertheless been brought clearly to light by Divine interposition.
The precise motive which induced you to commit this guilty act can
only be known to your own conscience; but it now only remains for me
to recommend you most earnestly to employ the short time you have to
live in prayer and repentance, and in endeavouring to make your peace
with that Almighty Being whose law you have broken, and before whom
you must shortly appear. The Learned Judge then passed sentence on the
prisoner in the usual form.
The court was very much crowded to the last.
THE CONFESSION OF THE CONVICT.
After the Learned Judge had passed sentence on the convict, he was
removed from the bar, and immediately made a full confession of his
guilt.
THE EXECUTION.
At eight o'clock this morning, Courvoisier ascended the steps leading
to the gallows, and advanced, without looking round him, to the centre
of the platform, followed by the executioner and the ordinary of the
prison, the Rev. Mr Carver. On his appearance a few yells of
execration escaped from a portion of the crowd, but the general body
of the people, great as must have been their abhorrence of his
atrocious crime, remained silent spectators of the scene which was
passing before their eyes. The prisoner's manner was marked by an
extraordinary appearance of firmness. His step was steady and
collected, and his movements free from the slightest agitation or
indecision. His countenance indeed was pale, and bore the trace of
much dejection, but it was at the same time calm and unmoved. While
the executioner was placing him on the drop he slightly moved his
hands (which were tied in front of him, and strongly clasped one
within the other) up and down two or three times, and this was the
only visible symptom of any emotion or mental anguish which the
wretched man endured. His face was then covered with the cap, fitting
so closely as not to conceal the outlines of his countenance, the
noose was then adjusted. During this operation he lifted up his head
and raised his hands to his breast, as if in the action of fervent
prayer. In a moment the fatal bolt was withdrawn, the drop fell, and
in this attitude the murderer perished. He died without any violent
struggle. In two minutes after he had fallen his legs were twice
slightly convulsed, but no further motion was observable, excepting
that his raised arms, gradually losing their vitality, sank down from
their own lifeless weight.
After hanging one hour, the body was cut down and removed within the
prison.
AFFECTING COPY OF VERSES.
Attention give, both old and young,
Of high and low degree,
Think while this mournful tale is sung,
Of my sad misery.
I've slain a master good and kind,
To me has been a friend,
For which I must my life resign,
My time is near an end.
Oh hark! what means that dreadful sound?
It sinks deep in my soul;
It is the bell that sounds my knell,
How solemn is the toll.
See thousands are assembled
Around the fatal place,
To gaze on my approaching,
And witness my disgrace.
There many sympathising hearts,
Who feel another's woe,
Even now appears in sorrow,
For my sad overthrow.
Think of the aged man I slew,
Then pity's at an end,
I robb'd him of property and life,
And the poor man of a friend.
Let pilfering passions not intrude,
For to lead you astray,
From step to step it will delude,
And bring you to dismay.
Think of the wretched Courvoisier,
Who thus dies on a tree,
A death of shame, I've nought to blame,
But my own dishonesty.
Mercy on earth I'll not implore,
To crave it would be vain,
My hands are dyed with human gore,
None can wash off the stain.
But the merits of a Saviour,
Whose mercy alone I crave;
Good Christians pray, as thus I die,
I may his pardon have.
Paul & Co., Printers, 2, 3, Monmouth Court, Seven Dials.
But the gallows was not always a fruit-bearing tree, and a "stunning good
murder" did not happen every day. Nevertheless the street patterer must
live, and lest the increase of public virtue should condemn him to
starvation, the "Seven Dials Press," stepped forward to his aid, and
considerately supplied him with a species of street-literature well known
to the trade as "Cocks," and which are defined in "Hotton's Slang
Dictionary" thus:--
COCKS, fictitious narratives, in verse or prose, of murders, fires and
terrible accidents, sold in the streets as true accounts. The man who
hawks them, a patterer, often changes the scene of the awful event to
suit the taste of the neighbourhood he is trying to delude. Possibly a
corruption of _cook_--a cooked statement, or may be "the story of a
cock and bull" may have had something to do with the term.
Improvements in newspapers, especially in those published in the
evening, and increased scepticism on the part of the public have
destroyed this branch of a once-flourishing business.
The late Mr. Albert Smith, the humourist and novelist, has very happily
hit off this style of thing in "The Man in the Moon," one of the many
rivals to "Punch," and edited by that very promising son of genius, the
late Angus B. Reach, 1832-56. It is entitled--
A COPY OF VERSES
_Found among the Papers of Mr. Catnach, the spirited Publisher of Seven
Dials; originally intended to have been "printed and published at the Toy
and Marble Warehouse, 2 and 3, Monmouth Court, Seven Dials."_
DEDICATED TO THE AUTHOR OF "LUCRETIA."
I.
_The Hero claims the attention of virtuous persons, and leads them to
anticipate a painful disclosure._
[Illustration]
Draw hither now good people all
And let my story warn,
For I will tell to you a tale,
What will wrend them breasts of yourn.
II.
_He names the place and hour of the disgraceful penalty he is about to
undergo._
[Illustration]
I am condemn'd all for to die
A death of scorn and horror;
In front of Horsemonger-lane Gaol,
At eight o'clock to-morrer.
III.
_He hints at his atrocity; and the ebullition produced by the mere
recollection of it._
[Illustration]
The crime of which I was found guilty,
Oh! it was shocking vile;
The very thoughts of the cruel deed
Now makes my blood to bile.
IV.
_He speaks of the happy hours of Childhood, never more to return._
[Illustration]
In Somersetshire I was born'd,
And my little sister dear
Didn't think then that my sad end
Would be like unto this here.
V.
_The revelation of his name and profession; and subsequent avowal of his
guilt._
[Illustration]
James Guffin is my hated name,
And a footman I'm by trade;
And I do confess that I did slay
My poor fellow-servant maid.
VI.
_He acknowledges the justice of his sentence._
[Illustration]
And well I do deserve, I own,
My fate which is so bitter:
For 'twas most wicked for to kill
So innicent a critter.
VII.