The judges in confequence hereof met at Serjeant's Inn, and the cafe was argued before them by council; when they gave an unanimous opinion that he was guilty of wilful murder, because he did not kill Cope with the weapons he was originally ufing, but arofe from his fear and drew his Iword, which was deemed to imply a malicious intention,

Morgridge in the interim, however, made his efcape from the Marshalfea Prifon, and went into Flanders, where he remained about two years; but being uneafy till he re vifited his native country, he imprudently came back to England, and being apprehended, received fentence of death, and was hanged at Tyburn on the 28th of April, 1708.

John Morgridge was about forty years of age; the place of his birth was Canterbury, and his ancestors had ferved the crown for above two hundred years. He had been kettle-drummer to the first troop of horse guards for a confiderable time, and was on the point of being advanced in the army, when the unhappy difpute between him and Mr. Cope took place.

When convicted, he was truly fenfible of the crime of which he had been guilty, acknowledged the juftice of his fentence, and fubmitted to his fate with a devout with that his misfortune might have its proper effect, in the preventing fimilar deftruction happening to others.

Of feveral, this is but one inftance that we fhall have occafion to record, of the fatal confequences arifing from a connection with women of aban doned characters: but for a woman of this cast, the two men who were thus facrificed, the one to the impetuofity of paffion, the other to the rigour

of

of the law, might have lived a credit to themselves, and an advantage to the community.

It may not be improper here to remark on the horrid crime of feduction. The man who is guilty of feducing a modeft young woman from the paths of virtue is, in fome degree, an acceffary to every crime and misfortune fhe may hereafter be ex❤ pofed to.

In general women are of natures more gentle, of difpofitions more harmlefs, than men yet when the mind of a woman is once contaminated, the Commonly becomes more vicious even than a man of bad character; and the amiable foftnefs of the fex feems to be totally eradicated.

Should a youth be tempted to a criminal conection with a woman already debauched by another, let him reflect that he is but feeking to perpetuate that infamy the has acquired, and to render still Bafer a mind already contaminated. One would imagine thet a fight degree of thought would be fufficient to restrain youth from connections of this nature but, unhappily, the paffions are more prevalent than realon, and the connection is made before the youth has given himself time to think of its criminality. May this page of our work be an instructive one; and may those who are tempted to a commiffion of the crimes we would reprobate, remember the following lines in the proverbs of Solomon: "And why wilt thou, my fon, be ra"vifhed with a strange woman, and embrace the "bofom of a stranger? For the ways of a man "are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pon"dereth all his goings. His own iniquities thall "take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden "with the cords of his fins. He fhall die without inftruction; and in the greatnefs of his folly he fhall go aftray,"

*

Parricular

Particulari Account of the Life, Conduct, and Execution of WILLIAM GREGG, who was executed with Morgridge for High-Treafon, in correfponding with the Enemies of the Queen.

WILLIAM GREGG was born at Montrofe

in scotland, and having received the common inftructions in the grammar fchool of that town, finifhed his education in the University of Aberdeen, and was intended by his friends for the ftudy of divinity, but his inclination leading him to feek for advances ent in the ftate, he came to London and foon afterwards, went abroad as fecretary to the ambaffador to the court of Sweden. Gregg during his refidence abroad debauched Swedish ladies, and was guilty of fome other irregularitiesqia ganfequence of which the ambaf fadoridifmiffed him from his fervice, and he was glad to embark for London in the first ship that failedpow Agu, di to sxvapt ad, if a ma

toAs foon as be arrived in London, he was engaged by Mr. SecretarysHarley, to write dilpatches; and letters of great importance, were left unfealed and perufed by Gregg. As the account of this malefactor which was given by the ordinary of Newgate is very fuperficial and unfatisfactory, we fhall give the following extracts respecting him from Bishop Burnet's Hiftory.

"At this time two difcoveries were made very

unlucky for Mr. Harley: Tallard wrote often "to Chamillard, but he fent the letters open to "the fecretary's office to be perused and fealed "up, up, and fo to be conveyed by the way of Hol.. land.Thefe were opened upon fome fufpicion "in Holland, and it appeared, that one in the "fecretary's office put letters in them, in which,

66 as

* as he offered his fervice to the courts of France and St. Germains, fo he gave an account of all tranfactions here. In one of thefe he lent a "copy of the letter that the queen was to write in her own hand to the emperor: and he "marked what parts were drawn by the fecretary, and what additions were made to it by the "lord treasurer. This was the letter by which the queen preffed the fending prince Eugene into Spain: and this, if not intercepted, would "have been at Verfailles many days before it "could reach Vienna.

แ

"He who fent this, wrote, that by this they might fee what fervice he could do them, if "well encouraged. All this was fent over to the duke of Marlborough, and upon fearch it was found to be written by one Gregg, a clerk, "whom Harley had not only entertained, but "had taken into a particular confidence, with"out enquiring into the former parts of his life; "for he was a vicious and a neceffitous perfon, "who had been fecretary to the queen's envoy in Denmark, but was difmiffed by him for his ill σε qualities. Harley had made ufe of him to get. him intelligence, and he came to truft him "with the perufal, and fealing up the letters, "which the French Prifoners, heré in England, "fent over to France, and by that means he got "into the method of fending intelligence thither. "He, when feized on, either upon remorse or hopes of pardon, confeffed all, and figned his "oonfeffion; upon that he was tried, and plead"ing guilty, was condemned as a traitor; for "correfponding with the queen's enemies.

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"At the fame time Valiere and Bara, whom Harley had employed as his fpies to go

often

over to Calais, under the pretence of bringing

him intelligence, were informed against, as fpies employed by France to get intelligence "from England, who carried over many letters

to Calais and Bullogne, and, as was believed, ઠંડ gave fuch information of our trade and convoys, that hy their means we had made our great loffes at fea. They were often complain"ed of upon fufpicion, but they were always "protected by Harley; yet the prefumptions "against them were fo violent. that they were at laft feized on, and brought up prisoners."

The whigs took such advantage of this circumstance, that Mr. Harley was obliged to refign, and his enemies were inclined to carry matters ftill further, and were refolved, if poffible, to find out evidence enough to affect his life. With this view the house of lords ordered a committee, to examine Gregg, aud the other prifoners, who were very affiduous in the difcharge of their commiffion, as will appear from the following account written hy the fame author.

"The lords who were appointed to examine Gregg, could not find out much by him; he had but newly begun his defigns of betraying fecrets, and he had no affociates with him in "it. He told them, that all the papers of ftate lay fo carelefly about the office, that every one belonging to it, even the door-keepers, might have read them all. Harley's cuftom was to "come to the office late on poft-nights, and af"ter he had given his orders, and wrote his letters, he ufually went away, and left all to be copied out when he was gone. By that means "he came to fee every thing, in particular the queen's letter to the emperor. He said, he "knew the defign on Toulon in May laft, but "he did not discover it; for he had not entered

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