"

This offender further acknowledged, that having killed one of his companions in a quarrel, he was apprehended, tried, and condemned, for the fact, by a court-martial of officers, and fentenced to be executed on the following day, in fight of the army, which was to be drawn up to see the execution During the night, however, he found means to efcape, and took refuge in the church of St. Peter, in Ghent, where the army then lay: Being thus in a place of fanctuary, he applied to the priests, who made intereft with prince Eugene and their joint interceffion with king William, who arrived in the city about four days afterwards, obtained his full pardon, and he was permitted immediately to join the army.

One would imagine that the obligations he had to those priests would have infpired him with fen timents of gratitude; but this was far from being the cafe, that, in a few days after he had obtained his pardon, he broke into the church, and robbed it of plate to the value of twelve hundred pounds; which he was the better enabled to do, as he was acquainted with the avenues of the church, and knew where the plate was depofited? He was apprehended on fufpicion of this facrilege; for as a crime of this kind is feldom committed by the natives of the country, it was conjectured that it must have been perpetrated by fome one, at leaft, of the foldiers; and information being given that two Jews had embarked in a boat on the Scheldt, for Middleburgh, on the day fucceeding the robbery, and that Simpson had been seen in company with thefe Jews, this occafioned his being taken into cuftody; but as no proof arofe that he had fold any plate to thefe men, it was thought neceffary to difmifs him. €

VOL. I. No. I.

The

The army being ordered to England, and the regiment reduced, in confequence of the peace of Ryfwick, in the year 1697, Simpson was among those who were discharged, and with him were likewife difmiffed fome of thofe who had been concerned with him in his depredations in Flanders.

There is no wonder that those who had affociated together abroad fhould join to perpetrate acts of villany in their native country; and accordingly, we find that Simpson and his companions were concerned in a great number of robberies on the roads near London, Simpfon being chosen as the leader of the gang, and dignified by the title of captain. When they were unfuccefsful on the highway, they had recourse to housebreaking: and they continued thefe practices for about three years, during which period feveral of Simpson's companions were apprehended, tried, convicted, and executed.

Soon after Simpfon himself was taken into cuftody, and indicted at the feffions held at the Old Bailey in the month of July, 1700, for breaking open the dwelling houfe of Elizabeth Gawden, and ftealing two feather-beds, and other articles. To this indictment he pleaded guilty, and received fentence of death. He declared that he had never murdered any perfon in confequence of his robberies; but that he had killed four or five men in private quarrels. He was executed at Tyburn, on the 20th of July, 1700, having first declared that his real name was John Holliday, and that he had broken out of Newgate about Christmas preceding the laft apprehenfion.

The melancholy end of this malefactor prefents a ftriking leffon of caution to two kinds of

people,

people, viz. those of his own rank who are out of the army, and those that are in. The former will fee that in this inftance, as in every other, the paths of vice lead to deftruction: the latter will, we truft, be taught to learn obedience to their fuperiors; for if this offender had been properly impreffed with a fenfe of that duty, the robbing of his king could never have entered his imagination. The crime of facrilege, of which he was repeatedly guilty, has been held in univerfal abhorrence by all civilized nations, and is justly punished in the fevereft manner. Many years have now elapfed fince his offences brought him to a deplorable end; but it is to be hoped that the diftance of time will not weaken the impreffion: fince what was worthy of regard, and proper to enforce ferious ideas, at the beginning of this century, cannot be less so at the prefent mo Some good end may be answered, fome good refolution formed, by reading any fingle trial in thefe volumes; and we truft that those who shall peruse them all, will find their hearts amended while their minds are entertained, and that they will become wiser and better while they feek inftructions from the calamities of others.

ment.

Full Account of the Life, Intrigues, Crimes, &c. of GEORGE CADDELL, who was executed at Stafford, for the Murder of ELIZAreth Price, bis Miftrefs.

EORGE CADDELL was a native of the town of Broomfgrove in Worcestershire, at which place he was articled to an apothecary, with whom he ferved his time, and then repaired

to Londnn, where he walked feveral of the hofpitals, to give him an infight into the art of furgery.

Having obtained a tolerable proficience herein, he retired from London, and went to Worcester, where he lived with Mr. Randall, a capital furgeon of that city; and in this fituation he was equally admired for the depth of his abilities, and the amiableness of his temper. Here he married the daughter of Mr. Randall, who died in labour of her first child.

After this melancholy event he wen: to refide at Litchfield, and continued upwards of two years with Mr. Dean, a furgeon of that place. During his refidence here, he courted the daughter of that gentleman, to whom he would probably have been foon married, but for the commiffion of the following crime which coft him his life.

A young lady named Elizabeth Price, who had been debauched by an officer in the army, lived near Mr. Caddell's place of refidence, and, after her misfortune, fupported herself by her skill in needle-work. Caddell becoming acquainted with her, a confiderable degree of intimacy fubfifted between them; and Mifs Price, degraded as fhe was by the unfortunate step she had taken, ftill thought herself an equal match for one of Mr. Caddell's rank of life.

This young lady now informed Caddell that a pregnancy was the confequence of their connections; and repeatedly urged him to marry her, to prevent her being a fecond time difgraced in the eyes of the public.

Mr. Caddell refifted her importunities for a confiderable time; at laft Mifs Price heard of his paying his addreffes to Mifs Dean; on which the be

came

came more importunate than ever, and threatened that if he refuted his confent to wed her, she would put an end to all his profpects with that young lady, by difcovering every thing that had paffed between them.

"It was on this unhappy occafion that Caddell formed the horrid refolution of murdering Miss Price; for he could neither bear the thought of forfeiting the esteem of a woman that he courted, nor of marrying her who had granted the Jaft favour to at least one other man, as well as himself

1

I his dreadful scheme having entered his head, he called on Mifs Price on a Saturday evening, and requested that he would walk in the fields with him on the afternoon of the following day, in order to adjust the plan of their intended marriage. Mifs Price thus deluded now thought the wound in her reputation would be healed, and on the following day fhe met him on the road leading towards Burton upon Trent, at a houfe known by the fign of the Nag's Head.

Having accompanied her fuppofed lover into the fields, and walked about till towards evening, they then fat down under a hedge, where having spent fome time in converfation. he pulled out a knife, cut her throat, and made his escape; but not before he had waited till fhe was dead,

Caddell, however, in the distraction of his mind, left behind him the knife with which he had perpetrated the deed, together with his cafe of inttruments. When he came home it was observed that he appeared exceedingly confused; though the reason of the perturbation of his mind could not even be gueffed at. But on the following morning Mifs Price being found murdered in the