thing that was good: That he had prophaned the Lord's-Day, and wholly neglected the Service of God: and though he would sometime drop into a Church, yet, as it was not with any intent to do, or learn, any thing that might tend to the Good of his Soul; so he always came out as wicked and as ignorant as he went in; adding, that besides his Sins of Swearing and Drunkenness, he was very much given to Gaming, which hasten'd his Ruine; and that he had, for a great while, kept Company with lewd and wicked Persons, whom he desires to take Warning by his sad and shameful End, and not (like him) defer their Amendment, and stay till it be too late to prevent their own Destruction. He said, that though he had been such an ill Liver, and done many wicked things; yet (he thank'd God) he never committed Murther. Upon which, I starting the Question, he could not deny but that he would have done it, and had actually prepared himself for it, in case he had been oppos'd in the Execution of his wicked Designs. And hereupon I shew'd him that such a Disposition made him guilty of Murther before God, and he ought to repent of it, as if he had actually committed it. He hearken'd to what I said; and finding himself still more criminal than he thought he was, he express'd his Sorrow for the Wickedness of his Life, and the Hardness of his Heart; saying, that he wish'd he could do any thing to be saved, and desired my Prayers to God for him. He declared, that though he had been unjust to others, yet he never was so to the Masters he served, as to steal any thing from them; abating his drinking too freely, and making his Friends drink at the Cost of some of them. He begg'd Pardon of God, and of all Men he had offended, and said, he dy'd in Charity.

To all this he added, That of late he had robb'd several Goldsmiths, and particularly one near Charing-Cross about 6 Months ago, out of whose Shop (in which there was only an ancient Woman) he stole a Glass, and ran away with it up St. Martins-Lane , and so made his Escape; no Body laying hold on him, though they pursu'd him, and cry'd Thief after him: That not long after that, he stole a pair of Buckles from Mr. Dingley, a Goldsmith in Bishopsgate-street , which Jacob Valt< no role > a Dutchman was (upon Suspicion) sent into the Compter for it: And that in February last, he stole a Glass, with several rich Goods in it, from Mr. Fordham, a Goldsmith in Lumbard-street ; taking it off his Compter, and carrying it to Richard Lewis< no role > 's House in Baldwin's-Garden : Which Lewis, together with Jacob Valt abovenam'd, he said, were Confederates with him in this Robbery. Upon which Declaration of his, I endeavouring to make him sensible of the great Mischiefs he had done to the World; and asking him what Amends he had made, or could now make to the Persons he had thus wrong'd; he answer'd, that he was sorry he could not help them to their Goods again; but said, that Mr. Fordham had recover'd the greatest part of his from Mr. Segars, the Thief-taker, who had received them from Lewis, and gave the said Lewis a certain Sum of Money for them, which was divided among them three, i. e. Hunter, Lewis, and Valt, and Hunter had 12 or 14 Guinea's for his Share. The particular Circumstances of which Robbery he discover'd to me; and they were these. On the 11th Day of February last , about 6 in the Evening, he, and his two Companions, Lewis and Valt, set out upon a Design of robbing some Goldsmiths in Lumbard-street ; and so accordingly he came to Mr. Fordham's Shop (while the other two were standing at some little distance off it) and took a Glass, as is aforesaid: which he carried to Lewis's House, and laid it on his Bed; and then all three broke the Glass open, and took the Goods out of it, which Lewis wrapt up in his Handkerchief, and put in his Pocket. This done, they carried the Glass to Red Lion-Fields , and there buried it in the ground; and thence (to avoid being suspected) made all the Haste they could to the Dog-Tavern near Newgate , where Sommers the Thief-taker came to them, and read aloud the Paper, which Mr. Fordham had sent abroad concerning his Loss; and thereupon Sommers asking them (and particularly Hunter) whether they knew any thing of it, they answer'd, no, though at the same time Lewis had about him all the Goods, that were mention'd in that Paper. But to remove all Suspicion of it from themselves, they immediately went to Mr. Segars in the Old Baily; where having staid a little while, and talked of the Matter, saying they knew nothing of it; yet they went to to the Three-Tun-Tavern on Ludgate-Hill ; and then went all to Dice with others of their Acquaintance that came thither. And when they had play'd some time, and Hunter and Valt lost 10 l. which Lewis had then lent them; Hunter was for going home. So they returned to Lewis's House, and digg'd a hole in his Cellar, and there buried those stoln Goods of Mr. Fordham's, which Lewis had all this while been carrying about in his Pocket. But soon after this, Valt (as is noted before) being sent to the Compter in Woodstreet , as being suspected to have robb'd the said Mr. Dingley, they removed those Goods from the Cellar to the Chimney in the same House, for fear of being discovered by Valt, then under Restraint. In the mean time, Lewis acquainting Mr. Segars that he could procure the Goods, Mr. Segars, not long after, went with Lewis's Wife in a Coach to Lewis's House, and had the said goods deliver'd to him by Lewis.

II. Sebastian Reis< no role > , condemned for breaking the House of Mr. Sarsford, and that of Mr. Abbot, and taking several Goods out of them. He confess'd that he was guilty: But (to extenuate his Crime, and excuse himself) said, that he was drawn in by others, one whereof turned Evidence against him; and that he was concerned in the first of those Facts, no otherwise than that he knew of it, and should have gone and join'd with those that committed it, but that something prevented him. As for the other, he plainly own'd, he was actually in it, and did now find (by his own sad Experience) that besides the guilt wherewith he had tainted his own Soul by his Consent to, and Concealment of the first of those Crimes, and actual Commission of the other, he was a great Fool to have put it in the Power of any one to hang him. He protested to me, that he never was before guilty of such Facts, nor of any other that might have brought him to such an untimely End as this. However, he acknowledg'd the Justice of this his Condemnation, and pray'd that those whom he had wrong'd (to whom he could make no other Amends than by his Death) would forgive him, and that Almighty God would please to pardon these Sins, and all the Irregularities of his Life, which were great and many. He told me, that he was a German, of about 33 Years of Age, born at Minicken in the Elector of Bavaria's Country ; and that his right Name was as I have set it above, and not (as in some other publick Prints) Augustine alias< no role > Sebastian, or Sylvester Rice< no role > : By which Names, or by any other than his own, he said, he never went. He said moreover, that he had served the EMPEROR, and afterwards King WILLIAM, in their Armies, but not very long; the chief Employment of his Life having been to work on his Trade of Shooe-Maker ; which he had served his Apprenticeship to, and us'd in his own Country; and also follow'd it in England ; where, (viz. in the Parish of St. James Westminster ) he had lived above 4 Years. He told me, he was marry'd to an English Woman, and a Protestant, though himself was brought up in the Romish Religion; in which, he said, he desired to die. He could read pretty well in his own Language, and seem'd to be very devout in his own Way, and was also very willing to hear me, and receive Instructions from me. Among his Devotions (as is usual with those of that Church) I found he had several Prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Saints: But yet he declared to me, that he was perswaded, his Prayers to GOD and CHRIST would do him the most good; and he profess'd to believe in, and rely upon the alone Merits of JESUS CHRIST for the Pardon of his Sins and eternal Life. Being told that he must throughly repent in this World of all the Evil he had done, or would have done, had he had Opportunity for it; this seem'd at first an unknown Doctrine to him: but at last he embraced it as most reasonable and most safe; saying, that he heartily repented of all his wicked Thoughts, Words, and Actions, and pray'd God to forgive him. When the Dead-Warrant was come, and he found that he must certainly die, he freely confess'd, that he was guilty before God of the first Fact abovemention'd: For his not being in Company with those that committed it, did arise only from his coming too late to meet them at the place they had appointed. And he acknowledg'd, that God was just, whose Divine Vengeance had overtaken him when he was like to have made his Escape from Justice, after he had broke out of the Gate-House, where he was at first a Prisoner.

This Day they being carry'd (in a Cart) to the Place of Execution, I met them there, and discharged my last Office to them by further Admonitions, Prayers, and Singing of Psalms. They did not say much there, but only desired all Standers-by and others, (and particularly young People engaged in wiched Courses) to take Warning by them, and amend their Lives; and so avoid their Ruine. Which God grant they may do. After this I left them with my Commendatory Prayer for God's Mercy to them, and their Souls Health. When I was retired from them, some further time was allow'd them for their private Devotions, Then the Cart drew away, and they were turn'd off; calling upon God to have Mercy on their Souls.

This is all the Account which (in this Haste and Shortness of Time) can be given by

PAUL LORRAIN< no role > , Ordinary of Newgate .

Wed. May. 21.1704.

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WHEREAS some Persons take the Liberty of putting out Sha-Papers, pretending to give an Account of the Malefactors that are Executed; in which Papers they are so defective & unjust, as sometimes to mistake even their Names and Crimes, and often (as lately in the Case of Mr. Harlackendon) quite misrepresent the State they plainly appear to be in under their Condemnation, and at the time of their Death: To prevent which great Abuses, These are to give Notice, That the only true Account of the Dying Criminals, is that which comes out the next Day after their Execution, about 8 in the Morning, the Title whereof constantly begins with these Words, The ORDINARY of NEWGATE his Account of the Behaviour, &c. In which Paper (the better to distinguish it from Counterfeits) are set down the Heads of the several Sermons preach'd before the Condemned; and after their Confessions and Prayers, an Attestation thereto under the Ordinary's Hand, that is, his Name at length; and at the bottom the Printer's Name,

J. Downing in Bartholomew-Close near West-Smithfield, 1704.