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swore to its being, to the best of his belief, one of the twenty guineas of which he was robbed by the highwayman.

The judge, on summing up the evidence, remarked to the jury, on all the concurring circumstances against the prisoner: and the jury, on this strong circumstantial evidence, without going out of court, brought in the prisoner guilty. Jennings was executed some little time after at Hull, repeatedly declaring his innocence to the very moment he was turned off. This happened in the year 1742. Within a twelvemonth after, lo! Brunell, Jennings' master, was himself taken up for a robbery done on a guest in his own house; and the fact being proved on his trial, he was convicted, and ordered for execution. The approach of death brought on repentance, and repentance confession. Brunell not only acknowledged the cominitting of many robberies, for some years past, but the very one for which poor Jennings suffered!

The account he gave was, that he arrived at home by a nearer way and swifter riding, sometime before the gentleman got in who had been robbed. That he found a man at home waiting, to whom he owed a little bill, and that, not having quite loose money enough in his pocket, he took out of the purse one guinea, from the twenty he had just got possession of, to make up the sum; which he paid, and the man went his way. Presently came in the robbed gentleman, who, whilst Brunell was gone into the stables, and not knowing of his arrival, told his tale, as before related in the kitchen. The gentleman had scarcely left the kitchen, before Brunell entered it; and being there informed, among other circumstances, of the marked guineas, he was thunder-struck! Having paid one of them. away, and not daring to apply for it again, as the affair of the robbery and marked guinea would soon become publicly known,-detection, disgrace, and ruin, appeared inevitable. Turning in his mind every way to escape, the thought of accusing and sacrificing poor Jennings at last struck him. The rest the reader knows.

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TORTURE OF A GIRL AT LIEGE.

In the year 1764, a citizen of Liege was found dead in his chamber, shot in the head. Close to him lay a discharged pistol, with which he had apparently been his own executioner. Fire arms are the chief manufacture of that city; and so common is the use of pistols at that place, that every peasant who brings his goods to the market. there, is seen armed with them; so that the circumstance of the pistol did not, at first, meet with so much attention as it might have done in places where those weapons are not in such common use. But, upon the researches of the proper officer of that city, whose duty, like that of our coroner, is to inquire into all the circumstances of accidental deaths, it appeared, that the ball, which was found lodged in the head of the deceased, could never, from its size, have been fired out of the pistol which lay by him: thus it was clear that he had been murdered; nor were they long in deciding who was the murderer. A girl, of about sixteen, the niece of the deceased, had been brought up by him, and he had been always supposed to have intended to leave her his effects, which were something considerable; but the girl had then lately listened to the addresses of a young man whom the uncle did not approve of, and he had, upon that occasion, several times threatened to alter his will, and leave his fortune to some other of his relations. Upon these, and some other concurrent circumstances, such as having been heard to wish her uucle's death, &c., the girl was committed to prison.

The torturing a supposed criminal, in order to force confession, is certainly the most cruel and absurd idea that ever entered into the head of a legislator. This being observed by M. de Voltaire, who was then at Liege, to a magistrate of that place, on this very occasion, his defence. was:-"We never condemn to the torture but upon circumstances on which the English would convict; so that the innocent has really a better chance to escape here than elsewhere;" but, until it is proved that pain has a greater tendency to make a person speak truth than falsehood

this reasoning seems to have little weight with reasonable persons.

This unhappy girl was, therefore, horribly and repeatedly tortured; but still persevering in asserting her innocence, she at last escaped with life-if it could be called an escape, when it was supposed she would never again enjoy either health or the use of her limbs, from the effects of the torture.

M. de Voltaire learned, some years afterwards, that her innocence became manifest, by the confession of the real assassins, who, being sentenced to the wheel for other crimes, confessed themselves the authors of this, of which the girl had been suspected; and that, several pistols having been discharged at the deceased, they had, intending that it should appear a suicide, laid a pistol near him, without adverting that it was not the same by which he fell.

MELANCHOLY CATASTROPHE AT A MASQUERADE.

CHARLES the Sixth, King of France, was of so gloomy and melancholy a disposition, that all the courtiers strove to outdo each other in contriving means to amuse him. Nothing was to be seen at court but concerts, balls, tilting, and the like-in short, every day was distinguished by some new diversion. Queen Blanche gave a ball at her hotel in the suburb of Marceau. Hongrimen de Jansey the king's master of the horse, invented a masquerade, re presenting savages, or wild men, whose habits were of linen, upon which very fine tow was fixed with pitch to imitate hair. This uncouth kind of dress appeared very agreeable in those unpolished times, and was so much boasted of at court, that the king demanded a suit, with which he was so well pleased, that he determined to be present at the masquerade. It was then settled that the king, dressed like a savage, should enter the ball-room, holding five other savages in chains, which accordingly was executed. When the savages had entered, the king loosened them that they might dance, and seated himself on the knee of the Dutchess of Berry, who was extremely

beautiful. At this instant the Duke of Orleans arrived, who, astonished at any person taking so great a liberty with the Dutchess of Berry, ordered his pages to bring a flambeau, in order that he might discover who this mask was. One of the pages, having held his torch too near the savages who were dancing, set fire to their dresses, which being made of combustible materials, were instantly in flames: the musicians ceased, and nothing was heard but the most lamentable cries: one among the sufferers so far forgot his own distress as to cry-"Save the king." The Dutchess of Berry suspecting that he was the person who sat on her knees, covered him with her robe, and saved his habit from catching fire. All the noblemen who were in the savages' dress were burnt to death, except one, who recollecting that he had seen not far off a large tub of water, ran and threw himself into it. This unhappy news was soon spread throughout Paris. The people, who loved their king, believing that he was dead, uttered the most sorrowful lamentations; but Charles, in order to satisfy them, mounted on horseback next day, went, accompanied by a great number of gentlemen, to return thanks to God, at the church of Notre Dame. He caused the house where the accident happened, to be razed to the ground, and founded the chapel of Orleans in the church of the Celestines, to pray for the souls of those who perished by this catastrophe. The danger to which the king had been exposed affected his brain; he imagined he had phantoms or precipices continually before his eyes; in short, from that time till his death, he continued in a melancholy and languishing condition. This event happened in the year 1593.

THE FEMALE HUSBAND.

ABOUT the year 1736, a young fellow courted one Mary East, and for him she conceived the greatest liking; but he, going upon the highway, was tried for a robbery and cast, but was afterwards transported: this so affected our heroine, that she resolved ever to remain single. In the same neighborhood lived another young woman, who had

likewise met with many crosses in love, and had determined on the like resolution; being intimate, they communicated their minds to each other, and determined to live together ever after. After consulting on the best method of proceeding, they agreed that one should put on man's apparel, and that they would live as man and wife in some part where they were not known: the difficulty now was who was to be the man, which was soon decided, by the toss up of a halfpenny, and the lot fell on Mary East, who was then about sixteen years of age, and her partner seventeen. The sum they were then possessed of together was 301.; with this they set out, and Mary, after purchasing a man's habit, assumed the name of James How, by which we will for a while distinguish her. In the progress of their journey, they happened to light on a little public house at Epping, which was to let, they took it, and lived in it for some time: about this period a quarrel happened between James How and a young gentleman. James entered an action against him, and obtained damages of 500l., which was paid him. Possessed of this sum, they sought out for a place in a better situation, and took a public house in Limehouse-hole, where they lived many years, saving money, still cohabiting as man and wife, in good credit and esteem; they afterwards left this, and removed to the White Horse at Poplar, which they bought, and after that, several more houses.

About the year 1750, one Mrs. Bentley, who lived on Garlick hill, and was acquained with James in her younger days, knowing in what good circumstances she lived, and of her being a woman, thought this a good scheme to build a project on, and accordingly sent to her for 107., at the same time intimating that if she would not send it, she would discover her sex. James, fearful of this, complied with her demand, and sent her the money. It rested here for a considerable time, in which time James lived with his supposed wife in good credit, and had served all the parish offices in Poplar, excepting constable and church-warden, from the former of which she was excused by a lameness in her hand, occasioned by the quarrel already mentioned; the other she was to have been next year, if this discovery had not happened: she had been several times foreman

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