The ORDINARY of NEWGATE his Account of the Behaviour, Confession, and Last Speech of the Malefactor that was Executed at Tyburn, on Friday the 24th day of June, 1709 .

AT the Sessions held at Justice-Hall in the Old-Baily, on Wednesday the 8th , and Thursday the 9th instant , Three Persons were try'd for, and found Guilty of Capital Crimes; for which they all received Sentence of Death accordingly. Two of them have obtain'd a gracious Reprieve; which I hope they will take care to improve to the Glory of God; and the third Person, viz. Richard Hughes< no role > , a notorious House-breaker, is now order'd for Execution; which I heartily wish may prove a Mean to deterr others from such or the like unjust and wicked Practices.

While they were under this Condemnation I visited them constantly, and had them twice every day brought up to the Chapel of Newgate , where I pray'd with them, and read and expounded the Scriptures to them; drawing from thence such Arguments as I thought might convince them of the absolute necessity of their turning to God by Faith and Repentance and Amendment of Life.

On the Lord's Day the 12th instant , I preach'd to them, both in the Morning and Afternoon, upon Acts 19. v. 4, the Words being part of the Second Evening-Lesson, and these. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the Baptism of Repentance, saying unto the People, that they should believe on Him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

Which Words having first explain'd in general, I then proceeded to treat distinctly,

I. Of Faith: Shewing,

1. What it is: And,

2. What are the excellent Effects of it.

II. Of Repentance. And,

1. What Repentance is, and the Importance of it.

2. What are the just Motives thereto, and the blessed Fruits thereof.

On the Lord's Day the 19th instant , I preach'd again to them, both in the Morning and Afternoon, upon part of the Gospel for the Day; viz. Joh. 3. 3. Jesus answer'd and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a Man born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.

The Text I first explain'd at large, with the Context; and then endeavour'd to shew;

I. What the New, or Second, Birth is, which is here described by being born again; and how it is of absolute necessity to qualify us for the Kindom of God.

II. What is to be understood by the Kingdom of God; and how much it concerns every one to labour after the attainment of it.

Having inlarg'd upon these, I then laid before my Auditory these Considerations.

1. How an Habit of Sin, to which unthinking Men insensibly arrive by degrees, is directly opposite to this New Birth.

2. What Remedy there is for this; and how Men may be renew'd and born again, so as to be able to recover themselves out of those Sins into which they are fall'n, and avoid those Miseries which they thereby have deserv'd.

These two last Heads I treated of under several Particulars: And concluded both these, and my other Discourses, with pressing Exhortations to the Persons condemn'd; endeavouring to awaken them out of their Spiritual Lethargy, and make them sensible of the Misery which by their heinous Sins and repeated Provocations against God, they had brought upon themselves in this World, and the danger they were in of falling under much greater and most insupportable and endless Misery in the World to come; which could no other way be prevented, but by Faith and Repentance: Graces that are the free Gifts of God, and of whom alone they are to be ask'd through the Merits and Mediation of JESUS CHRIST.

Thus having acquainted them, both with their great Duty and everlasting Interest, by laying [before them] Precept upon Precept, and Line upon Line, I hope that did, or may hereafter make some impression upon them; and that they who are spar'd and suffer'd to live longer, will manifest it in their future Lives and Conversations, and thereby recommend themselves to farther Favour, so as to have their Reprieve turn'd into a gracious Pardon. And as for him that is now appointed to die, I leave it to others to judge of him, as they shall see cause, from the following Account, which in my private Conferences with him he gave me of himself. And it is this.

He said, he had been a great Sinner, and had many ways, and at sundry times, offended God and wrong'd his Neighbour; That about two years ago he broke open a publick House at Lambeth , taking thence only to the value of about 3 Shillings, because he could there find no more at hand; for which Fact he was try'd and condemned to die at the Assizes at Kingston upon Thames , but was then reprieved, and afterwards pardon'd, and pleaded his Pardon there in March last; and being to give Security for his good Behaviour, he was remanded to the Marshalsea in Southwark , where he was a Prisoner before his Trial, and continu'd under Confinement there after his Pardon, till Daniel Walter< no role > (who by his frequent resorting thither coming to be acquainted with him) bail'd him out. Then he was easily perswaded by him, who (he said) had been so kind to him as to procure him his liberty, to assist him in Robbing of Houses, as they did together at Tottenham Cross , Harrow on the Hill , &c. and last of all at Twittenham , where they broke open the House of Mr. George Clarke< no role > , and took diverse Goods from thence on the 27th of May last , for which Fact he stands now condemn'd; and own'd, that his Condemnation is just. He confess'd also, that he had committed several Facts of this nature, before he ever was discover'd; and that he did then act by himself, and had no body concerned with him in any such Facts before he came to be acquainted with the abovenamed Daniel Walter< no role > , who turned an Evidence against him in this Robbery for which he is to die. I found this Hughes ready enough to acknowledge the Justice of his Sentence, and that he had been also in other respects a great Offender; but he would not come to Particulars; saying, that he had forgotten a great many wicked things that he had been guilty of; neither could he make any Amends to the Persons he had injur'd, but begg'd GOD's Pardon and theirs for all that he had done contrary to the Laws of God and Man. I found him very ignorant in Matters of Religion, he not being able so much as to read. He told me, he was about 30 years of age, born at Bettus in the County of Denbigh in Wales ; That while he liv'd there, he follow'd Husbandry , and would now and then be pilfering, as he found opportunity, but was never brought before any Justice for it: That when some few years since he came up to London , he turned a Labouring Man , and served as such, for a while, in the Queen's Yard at Deptford ; and, That sometimes he resolv'd to live honestly by his Labour, but his idle Disposition, vicious Company, and more vicious Inclinations hindr'd him from it; so that he easily yielded to any Temptation he met with of doing ill: And for that, and the melancholy Con