THe pleasures of sin are but for a sea­son; and after some numbers of years spent in lewd and dissolute Courses, the time of Reckoning comes, and the secure sinner is call'd to an unthought-of account for his past Crimes; how quick and sudden then, though sad and gloomy, are the periods and dispatches of that poor life, that must terminate in a deserv'd pu­nishment! To the end therefore that the Looser sort of people may beware by the dreadful Ex­amples of these that have already deservedly suffer'd, let them take this following account of their Confessions in Newgate.

J. W. for Burglary and Felony, for stealing se­ven pieces of Broad cloth, which were all found in his Chamber. The hainousness of his Crime was Burglary, upon which, if there were not a strict hand of Justice, no person could be safe in his Dwelling: As he was in the flower of his Youth, a better fate might have attended him; but his own was so great, that he could not be pardoned. He confessed the lewdness of his [Page 4] Youth, that he had been bred to a good Trade; but Vanity and ill Company overcoming him, had brought him to that evil End. He took very patiently the Exhortations of the Ministers that visited him, and shewed very great marks of Penitence at his death, desiring all the standers by to pray for him.

L. O. and L. T. for breaking into a house at Kentish town, and Feloniously taking away se­veral pieces of Cloth. The Crime which these committed was the same with the former: but as they had been longer at the trade, so these were the more hardned; the former being of a good Family, had drawn on the latter to his Confederate. As they had been accustomed to lewd Courses, they were the more hardened in their ends; neither is it possible that without erring from the Truth, that we should give a good accoount of all that die for their Crimes. However, they seem'd to be both very penitent all the time they were in Prison, and is hoped continued so to the last; the former of them two had a great Love, and that for the Maintenance of the Mother and the Child he took these evil Courses, his idleness not permitting him to take any better. He desires his Friends to see her and bid her be careful of the Infant, and to betake her self to some honest Labour, wherein she would finde more comfort than in those ways to which the Trade seduced him. Of the latter, we can onely say, that he continued with that seeming repentance which was most suitable for a dying Man.

[Page 5] J. D. R. O. and W. N. for committing a Mur­ther upon Richard Allen a Sea Chyrurgeon; as there is no Crime in the world that cries louder to Heaven than the sin of Murther, so had these the horrour of it in their Conscience. The E­vidence at their Tryals was plain, which made their Condemnation easily follow; but though they could not make satisfaction to the party slain, they did their endeavour to satisfie Hea­ven.

During their continuance in Newgate, they were visited by several Ministers, who with most pathetical Exhortations laid before them the Hainousness of their Offences, advising them to repent, for that it was high time, they being up­on the very brink of Eternity.

They remembred them of the sad condition they were in, as being doomed to die by the se­vere Sentence of Justice; that there was no hopes of longer life in this world, yet that there was a means left to serve them an Everlasting life in the next, and that it was an unspeakable Mercy that they had so much time spar'd them to make their peace with Heaven.

These pious Exhortations wrought much up­on R. O. and he continued very penitent con­fessing that he was as free to dye as to live, were it not for his wife and Children, lamenting more them, that they should be the offspring of such a Parent, desiring his friends to take care so to In­struct them, that their Fathers end might not hereafter be a reproach to them.

[Page 6] J. D. Confessed the sin ulness of his Life, but more particularly bewayl'd hi [...] sin of Sa [...] b [...]th­breaking, of which he had been very Guilty, that he had been no less a prophane heare [...], he was deeply sensible of the Injury he had done the person, whose Life he had taken away; and was willing to satisfy blood for blood, since no other satisfaction could be given.

W. N. Confessed that he had been a great oppressor of the poor in his Office, whom he had very much wronged by Extortion. That he had been a very great scoffer at the miscarria­ges of other men, and too much Guilty of that huffing pride and insolency, which is too com­mon among men of their Condition, he exhort­ed therefore all those that had the same Imploy­ment to take warning by him, not to exceed the b [...]unds of Mercy, nor to stand upon the utmost points of Rigour and Justice but above all to beware of being false to their trusts and of ex­tortion, by which he had undone many poor peo­ple.

Yet as mercy is not denyed the worst of sin­ners, they went not without hopes of mercy to the place of Execution, being all extreamly penitent and freely resigning themselves into the hand of Justice.

J. D. a little boy about 14 years of age, for murthering a Citizen and Silk man in Milk-street, which he confessed: Young in years but old in wickedness: yet had he been older he could not have been more sensible of his fact, nor more ap­prehensive [Page 7] of his approaching death, nothing more troubled him in the Prison, than that he was so dye so early, and that he had so soon im­bru'd his hands in blood, this youth had not ma­ny words to express himself, but he supply'd that defect with his tears, weeping continually, especially when his friends or the Minister came to prepare him for another Life, to whom he wept bitterly, acknowledging the small Follies that his you [...]h had been guilty of, more especi­ally, he confessed to his Father how he had been used to spend his mony at play with his Compa­nions, when he was sent to receive any parcel of mony: and that he had several times taken his mony for that purpose, his carriage to his death was the same, though not with any great prepa­ration, which could not be expected from his years.

G. F. for robbing upon the High way, and firing a Pistol at a Watch man, when he was ta­kens which did no execution, he afterwards threw the Pistol away; but the Robbery being prov'd, and for several other faults he was condemned to die. He was a stout Robber, and as he had committed many Crimes, which deserv'd the ut­most severity of the Law, he shewed no great Re­morse, neither at his Tryal nor at his death.

W. V. was taken with a bag of Gilts about him, which are great and small Picklock-keyes and other Instruments fit for that purpose: the Fact being proved by a woman that came in a­gainst him, that he was the man that broke open [Page 8] her Chest, and had taken away a parcel of mo­ney to a considerable value; and he being burnt in the hand before and these Instruments being found about him, he was found guilty and con­demned to die. He robb'd the man at the Wool-sack in Hounds-ditch, an Ale house kee­per, of twelve pounds in money, and two Silver­tankards, often frequenting the house, and ta­king an opportunity to slip into the man of the house his Bed chamber.

Another time he came into the Bull-head neer St. Dunstan's church, called for a double Sil­ver Tankard of Ale, and when the Drawer was gone he threw the Drink in the Chimny and went away with the Tankard. He was a per­son of an obscure Birth, and confessed himself to be a Thief, which was no more than was well known before.

R. C. for Felony and Burglary committed by him and some others in White chappel, and others making their escape, and he onely taken; the Fact being proved against him, he is likewise to die. If it were true that he confessed he deser­ved some pity, for he said he had not been long at the trade, it being the third time that he had been an offender, though not taken till the third time; and it seems probably because he was the onely person left in the lurch, he pretended that being a Button mould-maker, his Work-master broke, which drove him to necessity, that neces­sity into ill Company, and ill Company to his untimely end; for which he was very penitent.