The ORDINARY of NEWGATE his Account of the Behaviour, Confessions, and Last Speeches of the Malefactors that were Executed at TYBURN, on Friday the First of August, 1712 .

AT the Sessions held at Justice-Hall in the Old-Bay, on Wednesday the 16th , and Thursday the 17th of July last past, Five Persons, viz. Two Men and Three Women, who upon their Tryals were found Guilty of Capital Crimes, received Sentence of Death accordingly; and Three of them having since obtain'd the Mercy of a Reprieve, which I hope they will not abuse, the other Two are now order'd for Execution.

While they lay under this melancholy State of Condemnation, I visited them constantly, and had them brought up, twice every day, to the Chapel of Newgate, where I pray'd with them, and taught them in the Word of God publickly, as I did elsewhere in private; endeavouring to awaken them out of their Spiritual Lethargy, to a Life of Righteousness, and applying the Remedy of the Gospel unto their Sin-sick and stupefy'd Souls.

On the Lord's Day the 20th of July last , I preach'd to them, both in the Morning and Afternoon, upon part of the Epistle for the Day, viz. 1 Pet. 3. 11. Let him eschew Evil, and do Good.

Which Words I first explained in general, and illustrated by other Scriptures that inforce the same Duty; and then proceeded to shew from them in particular, these Three Things.

I. That we ought not only to abstain from all manner of Evil, in Thoughts, Words, and Deeds, but even from the very appearance of Evil, as the Apostle excellently exhorts, 1 Thes. 5. 22.

II. That to the end we may be constant in the Discharge of this first Part of our Duty of abstaining from Evil, and be kept from the Power of Temptation to Evil, we must carefully study to do Good, through the whole Course of our Lves; applying all our Faculties, and making all our Thoughts, Words, and Actions to conspire to this great End.

III. lt, That for a Reward of our faithful Performance both of this Negative and Positive Duty of abstaining from Evil, and doing good (in which we ought daily to make further Progress) God will render our Life comfortable to us in this World, and at last advance us to perfect Happiness and Glory in the next.

On the last Lord's Day, I preach'd again to the Condemn'd, and other Persons there present; and I took my Text out of the First Morning Lesson for the Day, viz. 2 Sam. 12. 13. And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also has put away thy Sin; Thou shalt not die.

In which Words, I told them there were contain'd these Two Principal Things, viz.

I. David's Confession, I have (saith he) sinned against the Lord.

II. The Absolution given him from God, by the Prophet, in these Words, immediately following upon that Confession; And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also has put away thy Sin; Thou shalt not die.

Now, What that Sin was, I shew'd it (in a general Explanation I gave, both of the Text and Context) to be the complicate Crime of Adultery and Murder, of which David was highly Guilty, who endeavouring to hide and smother the former, viz. Adultery, was driven (as most Criminals in this kind commonly are) to the Commission of the latter, i. e. Murder: The Heinousness of which irreparable Offence, I represented to my Auditory; and then laid before them the Character of a True Penitent, in the Person of David; proposing him to them as a sit Pattern for them to imitate in their Repentance, who had imitated him in his Sins.

And all these several publick Discourses, as well as my private Ones, I concluded with proper Applications and Exhortations to the condemn'd Persons; endeavouring to perswade their Return to God, that they might obtain his Grace to mollifie and soften the hardness of their Hearts (which I found were most obdurate) and melt them into true Repentance, to their Comfort here, and eternal Bliss hereafter.

In my private Discourses with them, and from my constant Observation of them, I found their respective Cases to be as I shall here represent them in the following Account.

1. Joseph Phillips< no role > , condemn'd for the Murther of Thomas Cook< no role > , an Infant of 6 years of Age. He confess'd that he was guilty of the Fact; but could not be brought at first to own; that it was a most crying and horrible Fact; he saying, That he did it only to be hang'd; for he mightily long'd to die. In this Perswasion he seem'd some time to be; and at other times said, he was sorry for what he had done, and would fain live, if he could. But I told him. He must die, for that he had chosen; and there was no room left for another Choice: but his great Business was to prepare for Death in good earnest, by praying to God that he might truly repent of that horrid Murther, (an Offence altogether irreparable) which he had committed, and which would certainly damn him to all Eternity, unless he repented of it with all his Heart. With these and such other Exhortations, which I thought might have moved him, he did not appear to be affected in the least; but remain'd still (as he was before) sullen, obstinate; and harden'd; and seemed all along to be very foolish, and insensible of his present Misery, and of the great Danger he was in, to fall into greater. And thus he was, till he saw Death coming close upon him, which in some measure awaken'd him, and drew from him such Expressions as these, I am very sorry for what I have done; and wish I had not done it. I pray God forgive me.