The ORDINARY of NEWGATE his Account of the Behaviour, Confession, and Last Speech of Peter Bennet< no role > , who was Executed at Tyburn on Wednesday the 25th of October, 1704 .

AT the Sessions held at Justice-Hall in the Old-Bailey, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the 11th , 12th , and 13th Instant, Two Men and Seven Women were try'd for several Felonies and Burglaries; and being found Guilty, they did all of them receive Sentence of Death accordingly. But Four of the Women, who were found with Quick Child, and the other Three, with one of the Men, through the QUEEN's especial Mercy being Reprieved; One only, viz. Peter Bennet< no role > , is now order'd for Execution:

On the LORD's-DAY, being the 15th Instant, I peach'd to them and others then in the Chappel of Newgate , both in the Morning and Afternoon, upon these Words of Elihu in Job, chap. 36. ver. 26: Behold, God is great, and we know him not; neither can the Number of his Years be searched out.

From which Words, shewing to us,

1st, The Greatness of God, infinitely surpassing our Knowledge of Him. Behold God is great, and we know him not. And,

2dly, His Eternity, not to be brought within the Compass of our Numbers. Neither can the Number of his Years be searched out.

I laid down this Proposition, viz.

That all the Knowledge we can have of God in this World, is very short and imperfect; and the very highest Conceptions which we can frame of his Majesty or Eternity, are very scanty and defective: Those Divine Perfections infinitely surpassing all our Measures, either as we are Mortal or Limited Creatures.

Which Proposition having first Illustrated, I then proceeded to draw from the Whole, these useful Inferences.

1st, What an inestimable Treasure the Holy Scriptures ought to be esteem'd by us; and how we should therefore diligently search them, seeing they contain all that is necessary for us, both to know and to do, in order to Salvation.

2dly, How reasonable it is for us to love one another in some Differences of Thought and Opinion; for where these have no Influences to a bad Life, nor disturb the Government, nor lead to a Necessity of throwing off the Authority of the Holy Scriptures, there our mutual Love and Forbearance (whatever else is) is an undoubted Command.

3dly, What an awful Reverence we should bear to that God, who is so highly and so infinitely exalted above us.

4thly, How we should repent of our Sins, and amend whatever we have done amiss; seriously considering how much we have by our wicked Lives affronted the Majesty of God, and trampled upon his Soveraign Authority; How much we have despised and abused his great Goodness and Mercy; And how much therefore we should be concern'd to prevent the Dreadful Effects of his Wrath, by a speedy, sincere and hearty Repentance, and stedfast Faith, working by Love, and flowing from a due sense of the infinite Excellency of the Divine Nature.

5thly, How we ought to depend upon God in all Events, and under all Circumstances, and wholly resign our selves to his Holy-Will and Pleasure.

6thly, How we ought to wean our Affections from this miserable and wicked World, and fix our Hearts upon God and Eternal Life.

7thly and lastly, How we should be earnestly longing after that happy State, where we shall be advanc'd to an unspeakable degree of God's Knowledge, and most ravishing Joy and Comfort: Where all our Troubles, and Fears, and Perplexities; all our Sins, and Punishments, and Miseries, shall be at an end; and our blisful and surpassingly transporting Enjoyments shall begin, encrease, continue and endure to all Eternity.

These Heads of Inferences after I had enlarged upon, I then address'd my self in particular to the Condemned, whom I exhorted to look back upon their Life past; To consider the sad Condition Sin had brought thm into: and to take a Prospect of their approaching future State; which should be a State either of Eternal Happiness, or Eternal Misery, according as they did, or did not, endeavour to improve those few precious Moments, which were remaining them in this World.

ON the Lord's-Day following, being the 22d Instant, I preach'd again to them, both in the Forenoon and Afternoon, upon part of the Epistle for the Day, viz. Eph. 4. 22, and 23. That ye put off concerning the former Conversation, the Old Man, which is corrupt according to the Deceitfulness of Lusts: And be renew'd in the Spirit of your Mind.

From which Words (first Illustrated) I shew'd,

1st, That there is a Corruption in our Nature, which is called the Old Man, because we derive it from our first Parent Adam, who by his Transgression of God's Command, brought this Corruption upon himself, and entail'd it to his Posterity.

2dly, That this Corruption, though inveterate and deeply rooted in our Nature, yet may be overcome and removed from us, so far as that it shall not prejudice the Interest of our Souls; if so be that we are renew'd in the Spirit of our Mind; that is, if we have the Spirit of Christ; which we shall certainly receive (accorcording to his Promise) upon our earnest asking for it: and by the Power of it we shall have our corrupt Nature chang'd into a State of Purity and Holiness, and consequently of Spiritual Joy and Comfort.

Upon these two Heads, I inlarged both my Morning and Evening Discourses, which I concluded with a particular Application and Exhortation to the Condemned Persons; pressing them to Repentance, and shewing them what Repentance was, and what were the blessed Fruits of it.

While they were under this Condemnation, I visited them twice every Day, and laid before them those Considerations I thought most proper and most conducive to their Reformation and Salvation. And indeed, I must say this of them, that they all did (while with me) behave themselves in outward Appearance, as Persons that were really sorry for what they had done; and I hope that those of them who are Repriev'd will make good the repeated Promises that they have made to God and me, of forsaking their Sins utterly, and amending their Lives effectually; which the Lord grant they may faithfully perform, to their Temporal and Eternal Comfort.

Now as the World will be able to judge of them by their future Life; so it may judge of him who is the principal Subject of this Paper, by the Confession and End he made; which, in Substance, is as follows.

Peter Bennet< no role > , alias French Peter, alias Peter Flower< no role > , the only Person now order'd for Execution, said that he was about 25 Years of Age, born of honest Parents at Niort in the Province of Poictou in France , and brought up in England , whereinto he came very young; and that his first Employment was the Silk-Weavers Trade , of which he work'd about two Years in Spittlefields, and then went into the late King William's Service ; in which, and in Her present Majesty's, he had been (both at Sea and Land) for these several Years past, and was actually in the Second Regiment of Foot-Guards , under the Command of Lieutenant Colonel Bradocke, when he was apprehended. He own'd himself to have been a very ill Liver, and formerly one of Moll Raby's Gang; and he did (with bitter Reflection upon his vicious Conversation, almost through the whole Course of his past Life) freely declare, that he had committed all manner of Sins that cou'd be nam'd or thought on, Murther only excepted; and said that though he earnestly desired to live, that he might lead a new Life, and give sensible Tokens of his Change and Reformation to the World; yet he was willing to submit to the Will of God, and the Stroke of Justice, by which he was appointed to be cut off from the Land of the Living: wherein he had done so little Good, but so much Harm. He confess'd, that he was justly brought to this Condemnation, who had no better improved the Mercy he receiv'd before, when under such another; and that he was guilty not only of the two Facts lately proved, but of all the Seven Indictments then preferr'd against him in the Old-Baily: And 1st, That he, together with Thomas Hunter< no role > , (who not long since was executed at Tyburn) and another, whom I shall forbear to name here (because I desire not his Confusion, but his Conversion) broke open, and robb'd the House of Mr. Annis, on the 19th of April last , taking thence 60 Yards of Crape, 90 Yards of Serge, 66 Yards of Holland, and 12 pair of Stockings; which Holland and Stockings they divided among them three; and as to the Crape and Serge, his Companions dispos'd