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<p n="147">My Lord & Gentlemen of the Jury.</p>
<p n="148">In compassion to my youth, & ignorance of knowing how to<lb></lb>
behave before so awfull a Court; Permit me to take this method, of<lb></lb>
speaking the truth in indication of myself On the day & at the time<lb></lb>
when the Prosecutor seized me, I was on an errand to fitch some necess-<lb></lb>
aries for my mother in <rs type="persName" id="LMSLPS15098_n148-1">George steel</rs>
<interp inst="LMSLPS15098_n148-1" type="given" value="George"></interp>
<interp inst="LMSLPS15098_n148-1" type="surname" value="steel"></interp>
<interp inst="LMSLPS15098_n148-1" type="gender" value="male"></interp>
<rs type="placeName" id="LMSLPS15098_geo117">Spittle fields</rs>
<interp inst="LMSLPS15098_geo117" type="placeName" value="Spittle fields"></interp>
<interp inst="LMSLPS15098_geo117" type="type" value="undefined"></interp>
, when two boys rushed<lb></lb>
in a great hurry by me, which caused me to have a severe fall on my<lb></lb>
face, in getting up from which, the Prosecutor laid hold of my collar,<lb></lb>
& dragged me back to a shop, where, the Prosecutor laid hold of my collar,<lb></lb>
silk stockings by his own confession my Lord, he lost sight of the per-<lb></lb>
son he was in pursuit of; & when he Judged me to be that person, he<lb></lb>
found no goods about me, that could justify his suspicion, neither is there<lb></lb>
any one from the shop, whence the goods were supposed to be lost, that ever<lb></lb>
rememberd my bring there, before I was forcibly led there so that I implicitly<lb></lb>
& Humbly rely on your Lordships goodness & the impartiality of the Jury,<lb></lb>
to determine the fate of a youth, who never knew what it was to be put to ye<lb></lb>
bar in his life before: & who is determined to take such warning from the<lb></lb>
present seene, as will prevent his ever bring introduced then again.</p>
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