his majesty by the Recorder, and the following Tuesday, the 2d of May,
was fixed for the execution. The intelligence was on the same evening
conveyed to the prisoner, but he seemed to have made up his mind to the
impossibility of there being any mitigation in his punishment, and was
unmoved. He declared that he cared nothing for death, although he was
sacrificed to the prejudices of the world; but he shuddered at the
thought of quitting life with the brand upon him of a wilful murderer.
He maintained that he had committed no murder, and that he was to blame
for nothing except the mutilation of the body of the deceased. At his
meeting now with the ordinary, he declined his spiritual assistance, and
said that he could find no relief in anything but inward prayer.
On the following Sunday the condemned sermon was preached in the chapel
of the jail by Dr. Cotton, and the most intense anxiety was exhibited on
the part of the public, to procure admission to this ceremony. Greenacre
throughout the service conducted himself with much propriety, and
repeated the responses with accuracy and precision. During the sermon,
however, in which he was spoken of as a murderer, he appeared to be much
incensed; and on his being subsequently visited by the worthy ordinary,
he complained of the application of that term to him, and not without
warmth, he declared, that he thought the observations which had been
made might have been spared. Subsequently, however, he resumed his
wonted composure, and he appeared to receive the attentions of the
clergyman with more satisfaction. On Monday night he was requested to
join the ordinary in partaking of the sacrament, but he declined to do
so; and in the course of a conversation which passed upon the subject,
he asserted, that although he believed that the Saviour was a very good
man, he placed no credit in the assertion that he was the Son of God. To
further questions which were put to him, he said that he believed in the
existence of a Deity, and in a future state of rewards and punishments,
but that he had no doubt that he should be happy, for that the
sufferings through which he had passed in life were a sufficient
atonement for any faults of which he had been guilty. On Monday night he
slept soundly for several hours; but about four in the morning he arose
and dressed himself, and indited several letters. He had completed these
by seven, and at that hour he partook of some refreshment, and now, for
the first time since he had entered Newgate, he was observed to shed
tears. As the hour of eight approached his agitation increased, but he
remained absorbed in silent meditation. Upon the appearance of the usual
officers he submitted with calmness to the operation of pinioning; and
this being completed, he requested as a favour, that he might not be
long exposed to the gaze of the multitude without. The last words which
he uttered conveyed a request that his spectacles might be given to
Sarah Gale; and then, unheeding the remarks of Mr. Cotton, he joined the
procession to the scaffold.
The exterior of the jail meanwhile presented a wondrous scene of
confusion. The mob had begun to collect as early as ten o'clock on the
night before, and at day-break on Tuesday morning, every spot was
occupied from which a glimpse of the scaffold could be obtained. At four
o'clock the erection of the scaffold was commenced; and the appearance
of this instrument of death, as it was wheeled from the prison-yard, was
hailed with three cheers of deafening applause. The same terrible
welcome was given, at a subsequent period, to the transverse beam when
it was raised above the platform; and again to the executioner, when he
came forward to fasten the deadly halter on the chain which is suspended
from it. The pressure of the crowd as the hour of execution approached
became terrific; and many persons were carried from it, exhausted by
their exertions. At a quarter before eight the bell of St. Sepulchre's
Church began to toll, and from that moment the screams and groans
occasioned by the pressure from the two extremities of the crowd towards
the centre were perfectly appalling. When the executioner again
presented himself on the scaffold, however, to see that all the
preparations were complete, every feeling seemed to give way to that of
curiosity; but it became evident that there was a sensation in that
immense assemblage, which would express itself in clamorous exultation
as soon as ever the wretched criminal appeared, to atone for the blood
which he had so unrelentingly shed. No sooner did those officers who
usually precede the criminal to the place of execution, become visible,
than it burst forth with a loud, deep, and sullen shout of execration
against Greenacre, even before that miserable wretch came under the
terrible ordeal of their indignant glance. As soon as he mounted the
scaffold, the populace again exhibited their detestation of the bloody
atrocity of which he had been convicted, by setting up a wild hurrah of
approval of the retaliation which he was about to endure under the hands
of the ministers of justice. He placed himself at once in the hands of
the executioner, who was thus enabled to complete the final preparations
for his death with unprecedented rapidity. The ordinary then read the
commencing verse of the burial-service, and before it was concluded the
bolt was withdrawn, Greenacre fell, and the vengeance of the law was
accomplished. In two minutes from his first appearance on the platform
he ceased to be a living man. One grasp of his hands was observed on the
rope reaching its full tension,--nothing more, and then all but the
relentless shout of the multitude, was still. In a few minutes
afterwards the mob began to disperse; but a large concourse of persons
remained until nine o'clock, when the body was cut down amidst a yell of
triumph, which will live long in the memory of those who heard it. On
the same night the body of the criminal was buried within the precincts
of the jail, near to those of Thistlewood and others, who had been
executed for high-treason.
Gale, it may be observed, during the latter part of her imprisonment,
previously to the time of the execution of her late paramour, fell into
a state of great despondency. She had been informed that an interview
with Greenacre could not be permitted; and this, combined with the
certainty of his death, and her apprehensions as to her own fate,
reduced her to a state of the greatest mental weakness. The wretched
woman, after some delay produced by the applications of her friends in
her behalf, was, on the 26th of June, removed from Newgate to the Hulks,
from whence eventually, accompanied by her child, she was transported.
Having now related the particulars of this atrocious case, we shall
proceed to lay before our readers the sketch which Greenacre
himself published of his life, during the period of his
incarceration. It was in the following terms, and, as will be seen,
was written before his trial.
"Having furnished my counsel and legal advisers with every true and
particular statement of my case, I conceive it to be my necessary
duty towards myself, my family, and a reflecting public, to pen a
brief outline of my history, in the hope of counteracting the
vindictive feeling and public prejudice which have been excited
against me, through falsehood and exaggerated statements that have
appeared in the public newspapers, and which it is my duty to
refute, by immediately committing this narrative to paper, to prove
to the world that I am not that bloody-minded character which is
reported of me, to the prejudice of my character in the minds of
those persons in whose hands my life is placed.
"I am not immaculate; neither am I without many sins of commission
and omission; but that truth may appear, and that justice may be
done to my name when I am no more, should the prejudice of my jury
prevail over the extenuating facts of my case, I proceed to state
the circumstances of my life.
"I was born in 1785, in Norfolk (at a village called Westwinch, two
miles and a half from Lynn, we believe), of honest and industrious
parents, who were farmers. I only, of a large family, relinquished
the business of a farmer, and was put into business in the grocery
line, in the parish of St. George, in the Borough, by my own
parents, at the age of nineteen. From the moment I became a
landlord, no tenant of mine ever questioned the kindness of my
disposition; I have been many years in the possession of three
cottages, which I built in Jane-place, Old Kent-road, and have had
many tenants, but never distrained upon any of them for rent, but
have always taken pleasure in assisting them in any difficulty, and
have often, very often, given up to them their back rents or
arrears that unavoidably happen to poor persons in cases of
sickness, and the want of employment. I had also eight cottages in
Bowyer-lane, Camberwell, but I never once distrained upon a tenant
in my life, but have absolutely felt all the sympathy of a near
relative, when my claim for rent has been met by an apology through
sickness, in times of accouchment, and other causes of distress. I
can with perfect safeness say, that of these eleven cottages, and
those two in Carpenter's-place, I never distrained upon a poor
tenant in my life.
"Now, as regards my domestic history, I will just refer to a few
demonstrations of my disposition and general character, as a
husband, a father, and a respected friend. I have been a man of
affliction, in losing three amiable companions, with whom I always
lived in the most perfect harmony. It may be added, that I was no
fortune-hunter in these cases; but I always sought after the
prospects of my issue, by forming an alliance where my children
might reap the advantages of their mother's dower on the death of
their parents; and I have much consolation in finding that my
children, by each of my wives' parents, are amply provided for by
legacies. Before I pass over this trait in my character as a
husband and a father, the scandalous reports of my enemies make it
necessary to refer to the deaths of my wives. The first was the
daughter of Charles Ware, of the Crown and Anchor Tavern, Woolwich,
to whom I was married at the age of nineteen; my wife eighteen. I
was then in business in the grocery line, by the assistance of my
own parents, who were farmers in Norfolk. My wife died suddenly of
a putrid sore throat. She was attended by that eminent physician,
Dr. Blackburn, who, and whose assistants, admonished me not to go
near my wife to receive her breath; but such being the result of my
feelings, that I could not resist the force of affection, and there
are many persons now living who can bear testimony to the fact, I
took the complaint, and it nearly cost me my life. I engaged a
respectable woman as housekeeper, who, as nurse and housekeeper,
has since been in my service at intervals for a period equal to
thirteen years, and who is now living. My next wife was the
daughter of Mr. John Romford, a considerable land-owner in Essex.
By this lady I also had two children. This wife died of a brain
fever, brought on by exerting herself, I believe, riding on
horseback, whilst on a visit at her own relations; and having an
infant at the time, her milk was affected by the fever, which
caused her death. Mr. Culthred, now residing in the Borough,
attended her. My old housekeeper, who nursed my wife at each
accouchment, now became my housekeeper again. I continued a widower
fifteen months, and married Miss Simmonds, of Long-lane,
Bermondsey, with whom I also lived in harmony and affection up to
the time I went to America (May 1833). This amiable companion, with
whom I had arranged to come after I had provided a home for her,
died in London, of the cholera, about three weeks after my
departure. By this wife I had seven children, two only of whom are
living. My old housekeeper always attended as nurse to all my
wives, and upon all occasions of sickness, making a period of near
thirteen years. As a sober and affectionate husband, no person
living can deny but this has uniformly been my character. I have
always abhorred a public-house, and the babble of drunken men. The
society of my books, and wife, and children, have always been to me
the greatest source of delight that my mind could possibly enjoy.
"As a master and a friend, I trust the following statement will
show that kindness and liberality, and a desire to cultivate the
friendship of my neighbours and the tranquillity of my home, have
always been the object of my study, and a pleasure most dear to my
heart. My apprentices and servants have always manifested much
pleasure in their situations, and have always continued with me
several years. My apprentices have always been the sons of
respectable persons, and have generally been the means of
recommending each other, through their connexions with each other's
families. I always received a good premium with each apprentice,
one only excepted, who was a cast-off apprentice from the
Foundling, but who became a good servant under a kind master and
mistress, and staid with us many years after her apprenticeship was
expired. I have had seven male apprentices since I commenced
business, in 1814. Two were brothers, the sons of Mr. Falls, who
was then measurer in his majesty's dockyard, Deptford; and my last
apprentice, in 1833, was the son of Mr. Green, of the Royal Oak,
Sevenoaks, in Kent, whose eldest son had served his time, five
years, with me, and with whom I received a large premium. I have
always encouraged my servants and apprentices by very many
indulgences and kind treatment, and have always found them obliging
and assiduous in business. I had one who robbed me. This was the
son of a highly respectable tradesman in London. I gave the boy in
charge of the beadle, and, contrary to my wishes, he was remanded
to Horsemonger-lane jail. I applied to the youth's father, to
consult upon his son's escape. This gentleman's tears and distress
of mind I most acutely participated in, and had near been brought
into trouble by refusing to prosecute. No servant or inmate of my
house can say that I was ever intoxicated, or that I ever lifted my
hand against my wife, or caused a tear by harsh treatment. Now, as
a friend, I think I can give the most incontrovertible testimony;
and had it not been for the infamous lying and slandering
newspapers, who glory in any crime for the sale of their dangerous
weapons, I might have received the visits, advice, and assistance
of hundreds of friends, but all are frightened by those horrifying
falsehoods. I have received anonymous letters whilst in jail, which
I have shown to the governor of the prison, and have handed to my
solicitor, wherein the writers express their wishes to aid me, but
durst not avow their names. My counsel also have received
instructions to aid me by the receipt of anonymous letters
enclosing money, with the like expressions of the writers' fear
that their names may be known. Thus it is that I am compelled to
give this brief outline of my life, in the hopes of defeating the
power of falsehood and slander.
"I have continued in business twenty years in the parish of St.
George, in the Borough. I have always lived under the same firm, or
landlord, and have always experienced an increasing connexion of
customers and friends. This manifestation of friendship was evinced
by my numerous fellow-parishioners in their electing me to the
office of overseer, on Easter Tuesday, 1832, by the largest vestry
that ever assembled in the parish church of St. George. A poll was
demanded, and my friends increased, and never before or since have
there been so many parishioners polled. These numerous
parishioners, with whom I had resided so many years, would now most
willingly aid me by a subscription or other means, but that they
are naturally frightened by the false and slanderous newspaper
reports.
"As a debtor, when in business, no person was ever more punctual in
his payments; and at the time I went to America, my debts, about
150_l._, were never before so trifling, and the number of my
creditors were so few, I had left with my wife the invoices and the
cash to pay them; but her illness and sudden death by the cholera
caused the discharge of those bills to be neglected, when my
creditors, who knew that I had houses, and who, misconstruing the
cause of their not being called upon, proceeded by combining their
small accounts to make me a bankrupt. Never before, I believe, was
a person made a bankrupt whose debts were so trifling as mine. Had
fraud been my object in going to America, I could have easily had
ten times the debts and as many more creditors, with whom I had
dealt for many years. I have one creditor only who has refused to
sign my certificate, and from him I never demanded a stamp receipt,
which has saved him a sum nearly equal to the debt I owed him.
"I have mentioned my abhorrence of public-houses; I trust,
therefore, that the vice of drinking, the foundation of error and
crime, may not be considered the cause of my unhappy accident and
subsequent resolve to put away the body, which has produced my
disreputable notoriety. It was the horror of my feelings, and fear
only that took possession of my mind. I was actuated by no feelings
of a felonious or malicious kind. The unfortunate deceased was
evidently very much in liquor, when her chair went backwards; and
had candidly avowed her poverty when I talked to her on the
consequences of our marrying in deception, and of her having been
to a tally-shop to obtain a dress upon credit in my name. Felonious
intentions cannot be attributed to me, since it is well known, that
if she had property it might have been mine in a few hours' time by
the legal right of marriage."
With reference to this autobiography, there is no reason to believe that
any of the main facts which are stated are incorrect, but it appears
that, throughout his life Greenacre had been notorious among his
acquaintance for the violence of his political opinions, and the
unreserved manner in which he stated them. Rumours were afloat during
the period of his imprisonment, that he had been a party to the
atrocious plots of the Thistlewood gang, and that he had escaped from
the room where his coadjutors were apprehended in Cato-street, at the
very moment of the entrance of the officers. This was a story, the truth
of which, however, he utterly denied; but he admitted his acquaintance
with a person implicated in the conspiracy who was apprehended in his
presence, upon an occasion when he went to pay him a visit. We shall not
go into the particulars of the whole of the tales which were circulated
in reference to his past life. The public mind was so much excited
during the continuance of the proceedings against him, that it would be
both unfair and ungenerous to prejudice his memory by the repetition of
every unproved assertion which was made. The fact which he stated of his
being about to start for America on the day of his apprehension with
Gale, was found to be perfectly true; for it appeared that a portion of
his luggage had been put on board the vessel, which, however, had sailed
without its passengers on the 3d of April. The most remarkable part of
his conduct after the dreadful murder of which he had been guilty, was
that which referred to a new attempt on his part to enter into the bonds
of matrimony, by means of an advertisement in the public newspapers. The
specious nature of his disposition is well depicted in this transaction.
On the 23d of January, one month after the death of Mrs. Brown, an
advertisement appeared in the "Times" newspaper in the following
terms:--
"Wanted, a partner, who can command 300_l._, to join the advertiser in a
patent to bring forward a new-invented machine, of great public benefit,
that is certain of realising an ample reward. Applications by letter
only (post-paid), for J. G., at Mr. Bishop's, No. 1, Tudor-place,
Tottenham Court-road."
Among the answers to that advertisement was one from a female of great
respectability, whose name and address we, for obvious reasons, abstain
from making public; who, having a little money at her command,
indiscreetly wrote to him on the subject, and afterwards had two or
three interviews with him, without, however, coming to any arrangement.
Greenacre, with that tact for which throughout the proceedings he has
rendered himself so remarkable, clearly saw that it would be more
advantageous to him if he could form an alliance with the lady in
question, and he accordingly determined, without delay, to make her an
offer of his hand, which he did in a most specious letter, written on
Saturday, the 4th of February, the very day on which the inquest was
held on the limbs of his murdered victim, and probably at the very
moment while it was sitting. The following is an authentic copy of his
letter:--
"February 4, 1837.
"DEAR MADAM,--Having had several letters in answer to my
advertisement, yours is the third to which I have applied for an
interview, and is the last one I shall answer. I advertised in the
'Times' newspaper of the 23d of January for a partner with 300_l._
to join me in a patent to bring forward a new invented machine, of
which I have enclosed you a printed specification from scientific
gentlemen of property, each anxious to co-operate with me in it;
but upon mature consideration, and by the advice of my friends, I
have determined not to throw away the half of this most important
discovery for the trifling sum of 300_l._, as it is certainly worth
as many thousands.
"It is, therefore, my wish to meet with a female companion, with a
small capital, one with whom a mutual and tender attachment might
be formed, who would share with me in those advantageous pecuniary
prospects which are now before me, and thereby secure the
advantages of my own production.
"No man can have a greater aversion than myself to advertising for
a wife; nevertheless, this advertisement was intended to give an
opportunity, by which I might make propositions of an honourable
nature to one whom I might prefer as a companion for life. It may
be, however, that the first impression from our short interviews
has left very different feelings towards me than those by which I
am influenced to write this letter to you; I hope however
otherwise, or at least that you will not yield to any unfavourable
conjectures relative to the moderation of my views, as regards the
sum of money I named in my advertisement. It is, I think,
sufficient to convince you, or any of your advisers and friends,
that property forms but a small share of my hopes and object, in
turning my attention towards a partner for life.
"I am a widower, thirty-eight years of age, without any
incumbrance, and am in the possession of a small income arising
from the rent of some houses. I was sixteen years in a large way of
business, which I relinquished about three years ago, but have lost
much of my property by assisting others and confiding too strongly
in the professions of pretended friends. Under these circumstances,
I am induced to seek a partner, or a companion with a small sum, to
co-operate with me in securing the advantages of this machine,
which will be a great public benefit, and which has long been
attempted by many scientific persons, and is certain of realizing a
competency.
"Having given you this plain statement of my situation, I beg leave
to add, that my mind is thoroughly fixed upon making you the future
object of my affections and constant regard. If you should feel
disposed to favour my sincere and honourable intentions, I shall
take the liberty of calling upon you, and hope that you will divest
your mind of any idea beyond that of the most sacred candour and
honourable intentions on my part. Should you feel disposed to
communicate any remarks on the subject by letter, I hope that you
will do so.
"Excuse the dissimulation by which I have obtained an introduction
to you, and believe that my present proposal is dictated by every
honourable and affectionate feeling towards you.--I am, dear Madam,
yours most sincerely,
"JAMES GREENACRE.
"No. 6, Carpenter's-place, Camberwell, Surrey."