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I\ MEMORY Gb'

A MOTHER'S LOVE.

- ) ST. VALENTINES DA Y.

HUNTS CONFESSION.

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HUNTS CONFESSION. [CONCLUDED.] A FT R. ft dinner Probert said. Have you got every thing you want, Jack "No," answer- ed John Thurte',1, we must send Joe for a six- bvshel sack, a hank of cord, and the horse and chaise." Probert said, We must have some Plinell, Jack, before you start, and we must or- d: r it directly because it will not do for you to keep him in waiting." It was agreed that J. Thvrt'dl was to start first, and Probert aiul I were to follow him in about three quarters of an hour. I wished to stop and take some punch but Probert told me I had better be off, and get the things for Jack and as we were to remain for three quarters of an hour, wecouhlhave some punch tagether after he was gone- Resides these things, I wes sent by Thomas Thuitell to get a box coat belonging to him, which was at Mr. Cribb's, in Panton-street; and also wiih a note to the man who was in possession at the Cock, for a coat and red shawl of John Thnr- tell's, which were left in his room. This ml shawl was the same which John Thurtell had round his head when lie intended to destroy Woods, in Manchester-buildings, aiul wtiicli was afterwards found round the neck of Mr. Weare. I went to Probat's, the stable-keeper, to hire a horse and chaise—they had no chaise, but they lent me a horse, and I got a chaise at fl-Jr. Cross's. It had been previously arranged that 1 should say I was going to Dartford, and I did so. I then went to Buckingham's, in Broad-street, and there bought a sack and a bank of cord also to Cribb's for the box coat, but as he was not at home I could not get it. I then went to the Jock, and on delivering the note, got the great toat and red shawl, and drove to Tetsalls. When I returned into the room, 1 iound seve- nl persons who were strangers to me had joined tie Thurteils and Probert. I therefore called P-obert and John Thurtell into the passage, and told them every thing was ready, and shewed them the sack, which Probert examined, and said, "I am sure this is not a six bushel sack-, this will not be large enough for him Jack. — Thirtell answered, Never mind, BUI, we must make shift with it: we have no time to lose. And he further remarked, What a h--y fool my brother Tom is, to have a parcel of people here at a time like this I" Probert said it was a foolish thing, but he was sure Tom did not ex- pect any person, and as they were come to serve him about his bail, he could not well deny him- self. Thurtell then said, 1, Well, never mind, let them stop and be d—d. I must be off You go into the room, Bill, and bring me Tom s drab great coat." Probert went and fetched it ac- cordingly. John Thurtell put the red shawl round his neck, and the drab great coat on, and bein°- ready to start, he asked Probert to repay him "the itO which he had let him have to take up a bill a few days before, out of the money for which I had sold a horse to a Mr. Simcock and Thurtell said lie must have it, or a part of it, be- cause he had no money. Probert said he would let him have part then, and the rest next week but he had no money himself, and must therefore borrow it of Charles Tetsall, the landlord. He accordingly borrowed some money of Mr. Tet- sail, and gave it to Thurtell, but how much I cannot say. John Thurtell told Probert not to be long after him, and got into the gig, and drove off. After Thurtell was gone, Probert and my- self went into the room, and had some punch, and in about three quarters of an hour Probert desired Mr. TetsallV, son to bring his horse and chaise to the door. He then left the room, and in about five minutes returned, saying, Hunt, the chaise is ready." I wished the company good night, got into the gig, Probert followed, and we drove off. In Oxford-street I got out, and bought a line of pork, at the desire of Pro- bert. We then went on to a Mr. Harding's, a nublican in Edgewaie-road, where we had some brandy and water, and again started. On our o-ettinr near the Bald-faced Stag, Probert wish- ed that I should get out and walk on, saying that he would soon overtake me. It was not at my desire, on account of the horse clothes, as Probert stated at the inquest, for, so far from my wishing to avoid the people of the house, I on the following morning stopped there to break- fast with Thomas Thurtell and Probert's boy.— I had never been at the house but once, and that was to a svpper, at the invitation of P. obert aid the cloths were not lent to me, but borrowed by Probert for a friend of mine, named Morgan and I went away, leaving John Thurtell and Probei-t there. While they were in this house on that occasion, John Thurietl fought with three countrymen, and they af erwaids told me that in the confusion they robbed one of the countrymen of his watch, which 1 hurtell pawned for 2;)s. somewhere in London, and they divided the money between them. > At Edgeware we stopped at a corn chandler s, and Probert got out to purchase corn. While he was in the shop I saw Thurtell and Weare pass. When Probert came out, I told him they were gone by, and we went on to Fieldis, the A itichoke, at Elstree, where we waited in ex- pectatit,n of their passing us again, and had three or four glasses of brandy and water. At last the chaise with Thurtell and Weare passed the house, and Probert nudged, me and whispered, Theie ihey so We must be after tin m.' — Field, the laud lord, about this time brought us another shilling's worill of brandy and waier, and on my expressing my anxiety to be oil, 1 rooert said, Xe\ w mind, we shall be time enough for as their horse is a hired hoise, he uuiht be nearly knocked up and as our's is fresh, we shall soon overtake them." We finished our brandy and water, and then Probert set o',Y in a gallop in the same direction they had gone, and on arriving at a place where a road branches off, and which I now know is near Mr. Phiilimore's Lodge, but which [ was then totally unacquaint- ed with, as I had never been that road before, Probert said, You get out here, and I will go on to the cottage, and see if Jack is there, and if all is right." i accordingly got out, and Probert went oil with the horse and chaise as hard as he could down the lane. In our way down, Probert frequently alluded to the money that was expected to be found upon Weare and his apprehensions lest Thurtell should WELL IT (meaning, keep it to himself.) He said, "We know Jack is a very detei mined fellow, and is sure to do the trick; but if lie don'tdo the thing that is right by giving us oar share, we shall be sure to learn by the newspapers what amount he takes, and we shall know how to act hereafter." After an absence, of near an hour, Probert came back to the spot where he had left me and directly he was wiihin hearing, he began singin". Bright chanticleer proclaims the dawn, W; °and when I got into the chaise, ho said, "'it is all o ei Jack bus killed him (meaning I'hurtell had killed Weave.) I have seen Jack, and Jack has shewn me the murdeied man's hunting wa'cli." I said, He must have been at'your place some time." "O yes," replied Probert at least an hour, for his horse and chaise are put up, and the horse riresceu; but Jack tells me the man had not got so much mo- ney as he expected. On onr arriving at the cotfaga, Thurtell was leaning against the stable door, and'Probert's. lad was cleaning down his horse. Probert sent lad was cleaning dcwn his horse. Probert sent me into the kitchen with the loin of-pork,and told me to (lesheyre cook to dress it for supper, while he went into the stable'to Thurtell. In about ten minutes they came to me in the kitchen, •aid we all went into the parlour, where Probert introduced me to his v,-ife, qal-iiig,This is my friend Hunt, of wholll you have'so otfen heard j me speak as being- so good a singer and I have brought him down to enieriain you." After a little time had passed, Probert told his wife that while supper was getting ready, it v/ould be b.et- ter for us to get o it of her. way, and we should therefore go to th stable and see to the putting up of the horses. We accordingly went to the stable, and Piobert sent the boy into the kitchen, and told him to stop there till he gave him fur- ther orders. Directly the boy left us together, Thurtell shewed me the gold watch and appen- da.res and then he, Probert, and myse.f, took the la'nthorn from the stable, and went across a nioup hed field, in order to search for the body of the deceased. As we were proceeding to the snot J Thurtell said that he had got Wtaie s s )o i-te purse, which had only two or three, sovereigns in it but that he did not luive time to search thoroughly for the other money. On crossing the ploughed held, wt came di- rectly upon the body, which was kly'ng ncar the hedge on the inside, and tnere was a „ap in the hedge, which had evidently been made by dJ'g- g-ing the body through it. The had and fce were covered with Thurteirs red snavl, which, also appeared to be tied round K deceased. I held the bullhorn, and 3 up the body, under the. arms while; Jo Thi till rilled the pockets. Nothing was hmndul.de I was present, except four B ai.k were taken by Thurtell from of the deceased, These were folded carelessly, and not inclosed in ju y [ pocket-book. Thurtell and Probei t themselves as being much disappoint*d aid 1 also joined in similar expressIOns: bllt 1 ita'io 110 W r*. on the deceased, because it wa> not Weave would have brought so small a considering the object he had in view nor was tt probable that he would carry his rloU s. when he had a silk note case in hisposscbs • This note case had been taken by I h'U'U the deceased, before Probert and I anive <_ besides, how should he have been a e Probert that the man had not so much money about him as he expected, unless he 11a then made a complete search ? My opinion is, that he had got the money, and kept it. in his own pos- session, except the < £ "20 which he pu pocket as a blind to us and I am the more con- firmed in this opinion, because he afterwards had plenty of money, and has boasted that ne could give J:300 to get witnesses to clear him. v After the searching was finished, the body was put into the sack I had purchased, and wtncli Probert had brought from the ch ase, and when it was secured, we consulted as to how long it was to be left there, and it was arranged that the deceased was not to be removed until after the women should be gone to bed, and then the horse was to be taken to fetch the body to the garden so that it might be thrown into the pond until a convenient opportunity offered to bury it. The following is the account J. Thurtell gave us of the circumstances attending the actual com- mission of the njui-der:- On reaching TyburnTurnpike, I found Weare waiting" for me in the coach—I saw his head look- ing out of the window." As we were going along the dark lane, Weare said to me, I D-ii my eyes, Jack, here's a pretty place to cut a man's throat, if you want to get rid of him V Presently after I said to him, k I have missed the Lodge Gates—I must have passed them.' Then I turned the horse about, and followed your advice, Pro- bert, by telling him how nice the country looked that way this induced him to turn in the direc- tion I pointed, and I shot him through the head, but I have had a great deal of trouble to kill him. I never had so much trouble to kill a man in all my life, for at one time hend nearly got the bet- ter of me for after I had discharged my pistol at him, he jumped out of the gig and ran I followed and he fought with me till I knocked him down with the pistol, and he then struggled with me with great resolution, and actually got me under- most. While, however, I was in this situation, I took out my penknife and cut his throat, and in so doing I broke the blade of my knife. The blood rushed from him in large quantities, and some got down my throat and nearly choked me; at last, when his strength failed him by the loss of blood, I got up. He still lay and groaned for a short t iiiie, but I seon stopped that by tying my large red handkerchief round the b 's throat, and drag- ging him through the hedge. In the struggle I have unfortunately lost my penknife and the pistol, and we must endeavour to find them, lest ihey should be picked up by somebody, and create an alarm." PI obert said it was no use to look for them that night, but he would go early in the morning and find them; and it would be better for him to look tor them, because, as he was known to all the peo- ple about, no suspicion would be created by his being in the lane, and lie could take the dogs out with him as an excuse. On returning to the cottage, we had some bran- dy, and then John Thurtell drew the watch and chain from his pocket,and took off the chain, and s,ii,l to Mrs. Probert, "This belonged to a little Quakeress, a sweetheart of mine at Norwich but as I have turned her up, I mus1 beg of you 1 o keep it for my sake." He ihen placed ilie chain round her neck she received it very cordially, and promised never 10 part withb. I omitted to mention a circumstance communi- cated to me about a month before Mr. Weare's murder, and which this allusion to the Quakeress brings to my recollection. It is this—I was, said John Thurtell, upon terms of intimacy with a Quaker's family at Norwich, and privately paid my addresses to the daughter, who was, I believe, very fond of me; until a young man who was a viiend of the family, and a pretended friend of mine, told the father that I was a profligate bad character, and ought not to be permitted to visit at their house. The Old gentleman told his wife, and she communicated what passed to the daugh- ter, and the girl mentioned it to me. 1 soon after served him out for his treachery. I took him out with me in my boat, under pretence of fishing,but I took care he was never afterwards heard of.— But to return to my narrative. After we had finished our supper, and com- menced taking our grog or mixed liquor, Pro- bert said to his wife, You think me a good singer, Betsey, but you must hear my friend Mr. Hunt, who will sing you a song about Bet- sey- a favourite song of mine." They repeat- edly pressed me, and I sung the song he wished me. I> afterwards sung another. Probert also sung, arid' Thurtell endeavoured to sing, but could not get though the song he attempted,— About twelve o'clock Mrs. Probert was forward in liquor. Probert told her that as he had me there, he intended to sit up and enjoy himself. Miss Noyes should therefore get us the glasses and another bottle of rum, and then they had better go to bed. Miss Noyes accordingly went away with Mrs. Probert, who, at the time she left the room, said, 1 suppo-e you'll make a drunken bout of it, and I shan't disturb you."— Thurtell said, "Yes, ytn may expect to see I yosr Billy come up to bed (!aik enough."— In a little while after the women were gone to bed, Th urtell said, "We may as well look and see if there is any ehomt about the money, and .1 he examined the four notes, but there were no marks upon them. John Thurtell now pro- duced a small silk note case, such as is ge- nerally carried Dy sporting men, with different divisions in it for their notes. This was exa- mined, but it contained only Mr. Weare's shoot- ing licence, and a few memorandums; these, together with the iiiemorraidums, were burnt.— He next brought out a brown silk purse, in >. which there were three sovereigns and some silver: this parse also was burnt, and likewise a small betting-book. The money was then divided between us, by Thurtell giving- Pro- bert a.nd me a fixe pound note and a sovereign each, and reserving the remainder to pay for tlie horse and chaise, and the other expences. When Probert received his share, lie held out his hand and said, This is a bad look out—this is hardly worth coming down for Jack," Thurtell answered, It cannot be. helped. I thought Bill, we should have had a hundred or two at the least, but we must now make the best of it we can., This watch you must recollect Bill, will fetch twenty or thirty pounds." Very true," said Probert" and the gun, if it is good for any thing will fetch ten pounds and then addressing me he said, Go, Huat, and fetch the gun, and all the other things, and let's see what they are worth." I accordingly went into the stable,and brought the gun, a small box, and a travelling bag. Probert looked at the gun, and said, This is one of Manton's hlake: it will bring at least lOt." He then laid hold of the box, and said to Thurtell, rlns is the back- gammon board you were speaking, of. Jack." Yes," said Thurtell, that is the board to pick up a flat with." Probert, said, Come, Jack, let's open the bag: there may be some money hi that." Thurtell then took out of his pocket a handsome penknife, which he said he had taken from Mr. Weare's coat pocket, and cut the bag open, while Probert held it. The bag contained some linen, several waistcoats, and a shooting* dress also, two pair of dice, which I understood were loaded, and two or three packs of false cards. One pack of the cards Probert kept, the others were again put into the bag with the linen. Probert also took a yellow silk handkerchief, which was marked with Mr. Weare's name, and Probert burnt out the mark over the candle. After this division, it was pro- posed to go and fetch the body, and accordingly all three went to the stable, and the bridle being put to Thurtell's horse, lie and Probert went to the ploughed field, while I remained near the house to see that all was quiet, and if 1 found any one was stirring, to give an alarm, and pre- vent their being seen on their return. In a short time they came back, Thurtell leading the horse and Probert holding the body so as to keep it across the horse without falling. The horse was led into the garden near to the pond, and the body I was there tin own from the horse's back into the green sward by the side of the pond, when Thur- tell observed that the body would not sink unless some stones or something heavy were put into the sack whereupon Probert said lie, would o-et some of the large flints from his shrubbery, and he accordingly went and brought several laro-e slones, which were put into the sack, and the body was thrown with a swing, by Thurtell and Probert, into the pond. Before the body was thrown in, Probert said the feet would probably rise up, unless something was done to keep them under water; and to prevent it, he tied one end of a string to the'dead man's legs, and kept the other on the bank, and when the body was sunk, lie drew the string so as to keep the "legs down' and fastened the end to a particular spot by the pond side, where he said he could readily find it, and draw the body ashore whenever he wished. After the body was thus disposed of, we re- turned into the parlour, and Probert said he would go up stairs, and see if his old woman was asleep. He remained absent a few minutes, and on his return we entered into conversation, and sat drinking until about two o'clock, when Pro- bert left us and went to bed. In the course of this conversation, Mr. Probert said, There cannot be a better place in the world than this, to get rid of thatb—y thief. Holding you know how lie has robbed me, Jack, and it will be easy to get him here, and finish him in this parlour and as you know I must soon leave this cottage, it must be done quickly." Thurtell said, You have only to say the word, Bill, and it is done." Thus ends the history of this eventful night.

1iiiumiMMijaijiiwynrrej TRIAL…

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