Part 3

"Thursday, October the 15th, just before three in the afternoon, he went to work, taking off first his handcuffs; next with main strength he twisted a small iron link of the chain between his legs asunder; and the broken pieces proved extremely useful to him in his design; the fetlocks he drew up to the calves of his legs, taking off before that his stockings, and with his garters made them firm to his body, to prevent their shackling: he then proceeded to make a hole in the chimney of the Castle about three feet wide, and six feet high from the floor, and with the help of the broken links aforesaid, wrenched an iron bar out of the chimney, of about two foot and half in length, and an inch square; a most notable implement. He immediately entered the Red room, which is directly over the Castle, and went to work upon the nut of the lock, and with little difficulty got it off, and made the door fly before him; in this room he found a large nail, which proved of great use in his farther progress. The door of the entry between the Red room and the Chapel proved an hard task, it being a laborious piece of work; for here he was forced to break away the wall, and dislodge the bolt which was fastened on the other side: this occasioned much noise, and he was very fearful of being heard by the master-side debtors. Being got to the Chapel, he climbed over the iron spikes, with ease broke one of them off, and opened the door on the inside: the door going out of the Chapel to the leads, he stripped the nut from off the lock, and then got into the entry between the Chapel and the leads, and came to another strong door, which being fastened by a very strong lock, he had like to have stopped, and it being full dark, his spirits began to fail him, as greatly doubting of success; but cheering up, he wrought on with great diligence, and in less than half an hour, with the main help of the nail from the Red room, and the spike from the Chapel, wrenched the Box off, and so was master of the door. A little farther in his passage another stout door stood in his way; and this was a difficulty with a witness; being guarded with more bolts, bars, and locks, than any he had hitherto met with: the chimes at St. Sepulchre's were then going the eighth hour: he went first upon the box and the nut, but found it labour in vain; he then proceeded to attack the fillet of the door; this succeeded beyond expectation, for the box of the lock coming off with it from the main post, he found his work was near finished. He was got to a door opening in the lower leads, which being only bolted on the inside, he opened it with ease, and then clambered from the top of it to the higher leads, and went over the wall. He saw the streets were lighted, the shops being still open, and therefore began to consider what was necessary to be further done. He found he must go back for the blanket which had been his covering a-nights in the Castle, which he accordingly did, and endeavoured to fasten his stockings and that together, to lessen his descent, but wanted necessaries, and was therefore forced to make use of the blanket alone: he fixed the same with the Chapel spike into the wall of Newgate, and dropped from it on the Turner's leads, a house adjoining the prison; it was then about nine of the clock, and the shops not yet shut in. It fortunately happened, that the garret door on the leads was open. He stole softly down about two pair of stairs, and then heard company talking in a room, the door being open. His irons gave a small clink, which made a woman cry, 'Lord! what noise is that?' A man replied, 'Perhaps the dog or cat;' and so it went off. He returned up to the garret, and laid himself down, being terribly fatigued; and continued there for about two hours, and then crept down once more to the room where the company were, and heard a gentleman take his leave, who being lighted down stairs, the maid, when she returned, shut the chamber door: he then resolved at all hazards to follow, and slip down stairs; he was instantly in the entry, and out at the street-door, and once more contrary to his own expectation, and that of all mankind, a free man.

"He passed directly by St. Sepulchre's watch-house, bidding them good-morrow, it being after twelve, and down Snow-hill, up Holborn, leaving St. Andrew's watch on his left, and then again passed the watch-house at Holborn-bars, and made down Gray's-Inn-lane into the fields, and at two in the morning came to Tottenham-court, where getting into an old house in the fields, he laid himself down to rest, and slept well for three hours. His legs were swelled and bruised intolerably, which gave him great uneasiness; and having his fetters still on, he dreaded the approach of the day. He began to examine his pockets, and found himself master of between forty and fifty shillings. It raining all Friday, he kept snug in his retreat till the evening, when after dark he ventured into Tottenham, and got to a little blind chandler's shop, and there furnished himself with cheese, bread, small beer, and other necessaries, hiding his irons with a great coat. He asked the woman for an hammer, but there was none to be had; so he went very quietly back to his dormitory, and rested pretty well that night, and continued there all Saturday. At night he went again to the chandler's shop, and got provisions, and slept till about six the next day, which being Sunday, he began to batter the basils of the fetters in order to beat them into a large oval, and then to slip his heels through. In the afternoon the master of the shed, or house, came in, and seeing his irons, asked him, 'For God's sake, who are you?' He told him, 'an unfortunate young man, who had been sent to Bridewell about a bastard-child, and not being able to give security to the Parish, had made his escape.' The man replied, 'If that was the case it was a small fault indeed, for he had been guilty of the same things himself formerly,' and withal said, 'However, he did not like his looks, and cared not how soon he was gone.'

"After he was gone, observing a poor-looking man like a Joiner, he made up to him, and repeated the same story, assuring him that twenty shillings should be at his service, if he could furnish him with a Smith's hammer, and a puncheon. The man proved a shoe-maker by trade, but willing to obtain the reward, immediately borrowed the tools of a blacksmith his neighbour, and likewise gave him great assistance, so that before five that evening he had entirely got rid of his fetters, which he gave to the fellow, besides his twenty shillings.

"That night he went to a cellar at Charing-cross, and refreshed very comfortably, where near a dozen people were all discoursing about Sheppard, and nothing else was talked on whilst he staid amongst them. He had tied an handkerchief about his head, tore his woollen cap, coat, and stockings in many places, and looked exactly like what he designed to represent, a beggar-fellow; and now concluding that Blueskin would have certainly been decreed for death, he did fully resolve and purpose to have gone and cut down the gallows the night before his execution.

"On Tuesday he hired a garret for his lodging at a poor house in Newport-market, and sent for a sober young woman, who for a long time past had been the real mistress of his affections, who came to him, and rendered all the assistance she was capable of affording. He made her the messenger to his mother, who lodged in Clare-street. She likewise visited him in a day or two after, begging on her bended knees of him to make the best of his way out of the kingdom, which he faithfully promised; but could not find in his heart to perform.

"He was oftentimes in Spital-fields, Drury-lane, Lewkenor's-lane, Parker's-lane, St. Thomas's-street, &c. those having been the chief scenes of his rambles and pleasures.

"At last he came to a resolution of breaking the house of the two Mr. Rawlins's, brothers and pawnbrokers in Drury-lane, which he accordingly put in execution, and succeeded; they both hearing him rifling their goods as they lay in bed together in the next room. And though there were none others to assist him, he pretended there was, by loudly giving out directions for shooting the first person through the head that presumed to stir, which effectually quieted them, while he carried off his booty, with part whereof, on the fatal Saturday following, being the 31st of October, he made an extraordinary appearance; and from a carpenter and butcher was now transformed into a gentleman; he went into the City, and was very merry at a public-house not far from the place of his old confinement. At four that same afternoon, he passed under Newgate in a Hackney-coach, the windows drawn up, and in the evening he sent for his mother to the Sheers alehouse, in Maypole-alley, near Clare-market, and with her drank three quarterns of brandy; and after leaving her drank in one place or other about that neighbourhood all the evening, till the evil hour of twelve, having been seen and known by many of his acquaintance; all of them cautioning him, and wondering at his presumption to appear in that manner. At length his senses were quite overcome with the quantities and variety of liquors he had all the day been drinking, which paved the way for his fate; and when apprehended, he was altogether incapable of resisting, scarce knowing what they were doing with him, and had but two second-hand pistols scarce worth carrying about him.

"From his last re-apprehension to his death some persons were appointed to be with him constantly day and night; vast numbers of people came to see him, to the great profit both of himself and those about him; several persons of quality came, all of whom he begged to intercede with his Majesty for mercy, but his repeated _returning to his vomit_ left no room for it; so that, being brought down to the King's-bench bar, Westminster, by an _habeas corpus_, and it appearing by evidence that he was the same person, who, being under a former sentence of death, had twice made his escape, a rule of court was made for his execution, which was on Monday last. The morning he suffered he told a gentleman, that 'he had then a satisfaction at heart, as if he was going to enjoy an estate of 200_l._ a year.'"

A tumult of a different description in some particulars, but originating from an execution, happened in May 1725, when the infamous Jonathan Wild expiated his numerous offences at Tyburn. The mob in the former case were willing to have rescued Sheppard, _because he was a man utterly unfit to be at large_; but they would have torn Wild to pieces, because he was the means of ridding the publick of many villains, though one of the blackest die himself. Jonathan Wild was born at Wolverhampton in 1684, and commenced his active life as a buckle-maker, whence he migrated to London, where he became in a short period thief-taker general. In this office his body received a greater variety of wounds than the hardiest soldier ever exhibited; his scull actually suffered two fractures; and his throat was scarred by the erring knife of a wretch hanged by his means, the companion of Sheppard. That the reader may fully comprehend this man's crimes, I shall insert an abstract of his indictment.

"That he hath for many years past been a confederate with great numbers of highwaymen, pick-pockets, house-breakers, &c.

"That he hath formed a kind of corporation of thieves, of which he is the director; and that his pretended services in detecting and prosecuting offenders consisted only in bringing those to the gallows who concealed their booty, or refused to share it with him.

"That he hath divided the town and country into districts, and appointed distinct gangs for each, who regularly accounted with him for their robberies. He had also a particular set to steal at churches in time of Divine service; and also other moving detachments to attend at Court on birth-days, balls, &c. and upon both Houses of Parliament, Circuits, and Country Fairs.

"That the persons employed by him were for the most part felons convict, who have returned from transportation before their due time was expired; of whom he made choice for his agents, because they could not be legal evidence against him, and because he had it in his power to take from them what part of the stolen goods he pleased, and otherwise abuse or even hang them at his will and pleasure.

"That he hath from time to time supplied such convicted felons with money and clothes, and lodged them in his own house the better to conceal them, particularly some against whom there are now informations for diminishing and counterfeiting broad pieces and guineas.

"That he hath not only been a receiver of stolen goods, as well as of writings of all kinds, for near fifteen years last past, but frequently been a confederate, and robbed along with the above-mentioned convicted felons.

"That, in order to carry on these vile practices, and gain some credit with the ignorant multitude, he usually carried about him a short silver staff as a badge of authority from the government, which he used to produce when he himself was concerned in robbing.

"That he had under his care and direction several warehouses for receiving and concealing stolen goods, and also a ship for carrying off jewels, watches, and other valuable goods to Holland, where he has a superannuated thief for his factor.

"That he kept in pay several artists to make alterations, and transform watches, seals, snuff-boxes, rings, and other valuable things, that they might not be known; several of which he used to present to such as he thought might be of service to him.

"That he seldom helped the owners to lost notes and papers, unless he found them able to specify and describe them exactly, and then often insisted on more than half the value.

"That he frequently sold human blood, by procuring false evidence to swear persons into facts of which they were not guilty; sometimes to prevent them from being evidences against himself, at other times for the sake of the great reward given by the government."

This consummate criminal, after dealing so widely and to an enormous amount, fell a sacrifice to a paltry theft of a little lace stolen from a window on Holborn-hill, when Wild's usual foresight so far deserted him as to enable the person he employed while he waited on the Bridge to turn evidence against him. His execution attracted the greatest concourse of spectators ever known to have assembled on a similar occasion; and an incredible number of thieves of every description attended, to wreak their vengeance on their general enemy. They shouted incessantly with frantic yells of joy, and threw stones at the miserable man as he rode, till his head streamed with blood; but, when he fell from the cart, the air was literally rent by reiterated cries of triumph. Wild had endeavoured to commit suicide; but the dose of laudanum intended for the purpose, proving too great, his stomach rejected it in time to save his life. It, however, rendered him nearly insensible, and consequently prevented the anguish he must have experienced in his last moments from the conduct of his enemies and the brutality of the populace.

Several prosecutions were instituted in 1725, in order to prevent a shamefully indecent practice of the populace, which was the storming of hearses and tearing from them the various heraldic ornaments used at funerals.

A dissolute young man named Gibson, a Mercer, and one of the Society of friends, occasioned very serious riots in the summer of 1727 by persisting to preach in defiance of the elders of Gracechurch street meeting, and indeed of the whole posse of the Police, who were more than once compelled to convey him by force to St. George's fields, where he was permitted to hold forth unmolested. Gibson had a mob constantly surrounding him, which committed many extravagances.

He afterwards rented the London Assurance Coffee-house in Birchin-lane, before which he erected a sign representing a person extended on his back with the head bloody and a hat and wig near him. Several persons supposed to have committed the assault were shewn hiding under bushes. In another part of the design, the wounded person waded through a marsh supported by crutches, and a friend assisted him towards a house on a hill. The other side represented him lying on his face, and again washing blood and tears from his features; a rising moon in each painting lighted the scene, under which was inscribed "Gibson from Gracechurch-street."--The aim of Gibson in this allegory was to introduce himself to the publick in a pitiable situation, to shew the Quakers in a disgraceful light as assassins, and to compliment the friend by whom he was placed in his new house.

The populace had not indulged in their favourite excesses for several years; but, an opportunity occurring in September 1729, they seized it with avidity. The King had been to Hanover, and, returning in safety, a party from Whitechapel chose to express their loyalty by breaking many hundreds of windows on each side of the way between that place and Charing-cross, under a pretence that the inhabitants should have illuminated them. The damage done by these desperadoes is said to have amounted to more than 1000_l._; and it is remarkable that the King rode through the same street within an hour after the havock had been committed; no doubt, infinitely vexed that he was the innocent cause of so much injury to his peaceable subjects.

The public mind was greatly agitated in 1733 by the introduction of an Excise bill into the House of Commons, which experienced great opposition, and was deferred till June in that year. The populace, highly elated, made effigies of the Minister, burnt them in various places, and demonstrated their joy by breaking numbers of windows. This excess was repeated on the anniversary of the above event with increased violence, when, in addition to breaking the Lord Mayor's windows, they broke his officers' heads; but several of the ringleaders were apprehended, and sent to different prisons.

On the 30th of March, 1734, a disgraceful tumult occurred in Suffolk-street, Charing-cross, occasioned by several young men whose situation in life ought to have produced far different conduct. They met at a house in the above street under the denomination of the Calves-head club, prepared a fire before the door, and after several indecent orgies appeared at the first-floor windows with wine and a calf's head dressed in a napkin cap, which they threw into the flames with loud huzzas. As the populace assembled round the fire were entertained with plenty of beer, they shouted at many of the toasts drank by the _Club_; but, some being proposed that interfered with the Majesty of the People, they were considered as the signal for attack, which immediately commenced with so much impetuosity as to render it necessary for the founders of the feast to fly for their lives. The mob broke all the windows of the house, forcibly entered it, and demolished every article in their way, to the amount of several hundred pounds. The royal guards put an end to the tumult. I have a print, published immediately after the transaction, which faithfully represents the wickedness and folly of it.

"The Hyp Doctor" observed on this occasion: "It is an honour to the Dissenters, that we do not hear of one of their body who belonged to this ingenious and refined cabal. It must not be overlooked, that if the report be right, the Calves-heads were bought in St. James's-market; the _double entendre_ was intended to have _wit prepense_; but methinks the emblem was wrong-_headed_; for how can a _Calf_, which is a _tame gentle creature_, and _incapable_ of _sin_, represent a _supposed_ Tyrant, or a bad Monarch? Some of the parties concerned were, as the chronicles of Suffolk-street record it, sons of nobles of _England_, _Scotland_, and _Ireland_, besides _Commoners_; but the transaction was _carried on_, like Io in the _farce_, by a _Bull_ rather than a _Calf_ (by which it might appear to be more _Irish_ than _English_), if you examine the criticism of the _Shew_. It was a sequel to Punch at the masquerade, putting his Opera bills into the hands of some too great for a familiar mention; but neither the Haymarket Punch, nor the Suffolk-street Puppet-shew _took_: one was acted but once, the other was not acted thoroughly the first time: the _people_ were the _criticks_, the connoisseurs, and corrected the play. We are now assured it had no _plot_; the _head_ had no _brains_, like Æsop's masks: this may be true, but no credit to a tragi-comedy: it only proved they were no _Poets_, and but _indifferent actors_. Was there none who bore a Calf's-head _couped_, as the Heralds speak, in his coat of Arms? The device of the escutcheon might be more _significant_ than that of the _Club_. Such a proceeding might have been proper in a _slaughter-house_; but, perhaps, they were replenished with the wisdom of the Egyptians, who worshiped Osiris in _the form of a Calf_: was it an _Essex_ or a _Middlesex_ Calf?--_Baa_ be the motto of this speculation. The _Gens Vitellia_, the _Vitellian_ family at Rome, were denominated from the like. This adds light from the Roman history."

The next disturbance of the public peace proceeded from the dregs of the people, who were exasperated beyond measure at the laudable attempts of their superiors to suppress the excessive use of _Gin_; and their resentment became so very turbulent in September 1736, that they even presumed to exclaim in the streets, "No _Gin_ no _King_:" in consequence, double guards were posted at Kensington, St. James's, Somerset-house, and the Rolls. Besides these precautions, 500 of the Grenadier-guards, and the Westminster troop of Horse-militia, were distributed as patroles, and in Hyde and St. James's Parks, Covent-garden, &c.

Many satirical and pleasant attacks upon that pernicious liquor appeared in the diurnal publications; two of which are worth preserving:

"To the dear and regretted memory of the best and most potent of cheap liquors, _Geneva_; the solace of the hen-pecked husband, the kind companion of the neglected wife, the infuser of courage in the _tame_ and _standing_ army, the source of the thief's resolution, the support of pawnbrokers, tally-men, receivers of stolen goods, and a long _et cetera_ of other honest fraternities, alike useful and glorious to the Commonwealth. A _Victor_, fuller of fire than Bajazet, and who destroyed more men than Tamerlane in his numerous conquests. The bane of chastity, the foe of honesty, the friend of infidelity, the _very spirit of sedition_, through the inhuman malice of ---- and ----, by the edge of an Act of Parliament, cut off in her prime September 19, 1736, _anno regni Georgii secundi decimo_. Her constant votary Nicholas _No-shoes_, in testimony of a friendship subsisting after death, erects this monument.