Van-Berghen washed the blood of the deceased from the floor of the room. The cloaths which had been stripped from the deceased were put up in a hamper, and committed to the care of Dromelius, who took a boat, and carried them over to Rotherhithe, where he employed the waterman to carry the hamper to lodgings which he had taken, and in which he propofed to remain until he could find a favourable opportunity of embarking for Holland.

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The next morning at low water, the body of a gentleman was found, and feveral of the neighbours went to take a view of it, and endeavoured to try if they could trace any blood to the place where the murder might have been committed but not fucceeding in this, fome of them, who were up at a very early hour, recollected that they had feen Van-Berghen and Dromelius coming almost from the pot where the body was found; and remarked that a light had been carrjed backwards and forwards in Van-Berghen's house.

Upon this the house was fearched; but no difcovery was made, except that a little blood was found behind the door of a room which appeared to have been lately mopped. Enquiry was made after Dromelius; but Van-Berghen and his wife would give no other account than that he had left their service; on which they were taken into cufdody, with the fervant-maid, who was the principal evidence against them. At this juncture the waterman who had carried Dromelius to Rotherhithe, and who knew him very well, appeared and was likewife taken into costody.

On the trial all the circumstances above mentioned appeared fo ftriking to the jury, that they did not hesitate to find the prifoners guilty, and accordingly

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accordingly they received fentence of death. The prisoners were tried by a jury of half Englishmen and half foreigners; a generous and candid mode of proceeding peculiar to the criminal courts of this country.

Dromelius after condemnation, and a short time before the day of execution, affured the ordinary of Newgate that the murder was committed by himself, and was preceded and followed by thefe circumftances: That Mr. Norris being very much in liquor, and defirous of going to his inn, Mr. Van-Berghen directed him to attend him thither; that foon after they left the house, Norris went into a broken building to eafe himself; where ufing opprobious language to Dromelius, and attempting to draw his fword, he wrefted it from his hand, and stabbed him with it in feveral places; that this being done, Norris groaned very much; and Dromelius hearing a watchman coming, and fearing a difcovery, drew a knife, cut his throat, and thereby put an end to his life. In answer to this it was faid, that the story was altogether improbable; for if Mr. Norris had been killed in the manner above mentioned, fome blood would have been found on the fpot, and there would have been holes in his cloaths from the ftabbing; neither of which was the cafe. Still, however, Dromelius perfifted in his declaration, with a view to fave the life of his mistress, with yhom he was thought to have had a criminal conection; and indeed he confeffed that he had been o familiar with this woman.

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Mr. and Mrs. Van-Berghen were attended at place of execution by fome divines of their 0 country, as well as English clergymen; andefired the prayers of them all. Mr. VanBehen, unable to fpeak intelligibly in English,

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conversed in Latin; a circumstance from which it may be inferred that he had been educated in a ftile fuperior to the rank of life which he had lately held. He faid that the murder was not committed in his house, and that he knew no more of it, than that Dromelius came to him, while he lay in bed, informed him that he had wounded the gentleman, and begged him to aid his escape; but that when he knew Mr. Norris was murdered, he offered money to fome perfons to purfue the murderer; but this circumftance, which might have been favourable to him, was not proved on his trial.

Mrs. Van-Berghen alfo folemnly declared that fhe knew nothing of the murder till after it was perpetrated, which was not in their houfe; that Dromelius coming into the chamber, and faying he had murdered the gentleman, he went for the hamper to hold the bloody cloaths, and affifted Dromelius in his efcape, a circumstance which would not be deemed criminal in her country. This was, however, an artful plea: for, in Holland, acceffaries before or after the fact are accounted as principals.

Dromelius, when at the place of execution, perfifted in his former tale; but defired the prayers of the furrounding multitude, whom he warned to beware of the indulgence of violent paffions, to which he then fell an untimely facrifice.

These criminals were executed near the Hartf horn brew-houfe, Eaft-Smithfield, being the nearef convenient spot to the place where the murde was committed, on the tenth of July, in the ye 1700. The men were hung in chains betwe Bow and Mile-end; but the woman was buried From the above narrative an important leon may be learnt, particularly by our country rears,

Mr.

Mr. Norris was a country gentleman; the house kept by Van-Berghen was, at the best, of very doubtful fame. Country gentlemen, when called to London on bufinefs, fhould be particularly cautious never to enter fuch a house. If this unhappy gentleman had gone only where bufnefs called him, he might have escaped the fatal catastrophe that befel him, and have long lived to blefs his family and friends, and be a credit to his country and felf.

In bringing to light the murder above mentioned, the intervention of Providence is obvious. Every poffible care was taken to conceal it, yet blood was found in the room where the murder was committed; and the thoughtleffness of Dromelius, respecting the waterman, contributed to lead to a ready difcovery of the fact. Nothing is hid from the all-feeing eye of God! Let the righteous juftice executed on the malefactors. above mentioned imprefs on the minds of all our readers the force of the fixth commandment."Thou shalt do no MURDER

Complete Narative of the Life, Trial, and Execution of JOHN SIMPSON, alias JOHN HOLLIDAY, who was hanged at Tyburn for Burglary,

JOHN

IN SIMSON was not fo much distinguished by any particular circumftance that attended the crime of which he was convicted, as by the peculiarities of his former life, which are well worthy the perufal of the reader.

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The chief part of this narrative is taken from his own declarations while under fentence of death, and the reft from authentic papers. During a great part of the war in the reign of king William he was a foldier in Flanders, where he ufed to take frequent opportunities of robbing the tents of the officers; and once when the army lay before Mons, and his majesty commanded in perfon, Simpson happened to be one of those who were felected to guard the royal tent. On an evening when the king, accompanied by the earl (afterwards duke) of Marlborough. and lord Cutts, went out to take a view of the fituation of the army, Simpfon, with a degree of impudence peculiar to himself, went into his majefty's tent, and ftole about a thousand pounds. It was fome days before this money was miffed, and when the robbery was discovered Simpson escaped all fufpicion. He faid he had committed more robberies than he could poffibly recollect, having been a highwayman as well as a house-breaker.

He committed numerous robberies in Flanders, as well as in England, and he affirmed that the gates of the city of Ghent had been twice fhut up within a fortnight to prevent his escape, and that when he was taken his arms, legs, back, and neck were feeured with irons; in which condition he was carried through the streets, that he might be feen by the crowd.

Simpson, and two of his companions, ufed frequently to stop and rob the Roman Catholics at five o'clock in the morning, as they were going to mafs; he repeatedly broke into the churches of Bruffels, Mechlin and Antwerp, and stole the filver plate from the altar.

This