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He employed the time he was drawing to Tyburn in reading _The Whole
Duty of Man_, till he came within sight of the gallows, and then he
laid it by, and with lifted up hands and eyes, addressed himself to
Heaven, till he came beneath the tree, where he remained about a
quarter of an hour in the sledge; before he ascended the cart that
stood ready for him, he desired the Sheriff to admit Dr. Tenison to
come to him; and having delivered a paper to the Sheriff, the Doctor
kneeled down with the prisoner, and prayed with him about a quarter
of an hour, during all which time the prisoner preserved a becoming
and heroick countenance, little daunted with the terror of that fate
he was in view of; but rising from his devotions, he pulled off his
cravat and hat, which he gave to his servant who attended him, and had
followed him by the sledge-side, when kneeling down himself, he prayed
for a short time with fervency and devotion, begging pardon of his God
for those manifold and crying sins he had been too often guilty of,
and concluded with a resignation of himself to the God of heaven and
earth, before whose judgment seat he was forthwith to appear, desiring
that the whole world would forgive him, with whom he hoped to die in
peace and charity. Having thus ended these devotions, he again stood
up, and putting off his periwig, he had a white cap delivered to him,
which he put on; and being soon ty’d up, the chief of his discourse was
addressed to a gentleman who stood by him; and after a short space,
holding up his hands, he again renewed his prayers; his visage little
changing all the the time, till the very moment the cart drew away;
the Executioner having pulled the cap over his eyes, he continued his
prayers all the time, and even whilst he hung, as long as life was in
him, and he had the command of his lips; after he had hung about half
an hour, and the Executioner had divested him of his apparel, he was
cut down according to his sentence, his privy members burnt, his head
cut off, and shew’d to the people as that of a traitor, his heart and
bowels taken out and committed to the flames, and his body quartered
into four parts, which, with his head, was convey’d back to Newgate,
to be dispos’d of according to his Majesty’s pleasure.
LIFE, TRIAL, & EXECUTION OF WILLIAM NEVISON, THE HIGHWAYMAN, AT YORK
GAOL.
William Nevison, the great robber of the north, was born at Pomfret in
Yorkshire, 1639, and his parents being in good circumstances, conferred
upon him a decent education. But he was badly disposed, and commenced
his depredations by stealing cash to the amount of £10 from his own
father, then, taking a saddle and bridle, hastened to the paddock and
stole his schoolmaster’s horse, and rode with all speed towards London.
About a mile or two from the capital he cut the throat of the poor
horse, for fear of detection. Arrived in London he changed his name and
clothes, and commenced his wild career which at length brought him to
an untimely end.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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