Richard his son had a promising genius, and received a liberal education at St. Paul’s school. But a naturally vicious disposition baffled all restraints. When only nine years old he showed his covetous disposition, by robbing his sister of thirty shillings, and absconding with it. In a few days, however, he was found, brought home, and sent to school, where his vicious propensities were only strengthened by indulgence. Impatient of the confinement of a school, he next robbed his father of a considerable sum of money, and absconded. His father, however, discovered his retreat, and found him a little way from town in the company of two loose women. Despairing of his settling at home, his father sent him on board a man-of-war, in which he sailed up the straits, and behaved gallantly in several actions. Upon his arrival in England, he left the ship, under the pretence that a younger officer had been preferred before him, upon the death of one of the lieutenants. In a short time he joined a band of thieves, assisted them in robbing the country-house of admiral Carter, and escaped detection. Having at length commenced robber, the first remarkable robbery in which he was engaged, was that of breaking into the house of a lady of Blackheath, and carrying off a large quantity of plate. He and his associates were successful in selling the plate to a refiner; but in a short time he was apprehended for the robbery, and committed to Newgate. While there, he sent for the refiner, and severely reproached him in the following manner: “It is,” said he, “a hard matter to find an honest man and a fair dealer: for, you cursed rogue, among the plate you bought there was a cup with a cover, which you told us was but silver gilt, buying it at the same price with the rest; but it plainly appeared, by the advertisement in the gazette, that it was a gold cup and cover; I see you are a rogue, and that there is no trusting any body.” Dudley was tried, convicted for this robbery, and sentenced to death: but his youth, and the interest of his friends, procured him a royal pardon. For two years he conducted himself to the satisfaction of his father, so that he purchased for him a commission in the army. In that situation he also acquitted himself honorably, and married a young lady of a respectable family, with whom he received an estate of a hundred and forty pounds a year. This, with his commission, enabled them to live in a genteel manner. Delighting, however, in company, and having become security for one of his companions for a debt, and that person being arrested for it, one of the bailiffs was killed in the scuffle, and Dudley was suspected of being the murderer. What strengthened this suspicion was, that Dudley was the avowed enemy of all that class of society. He deemed a bailiff in England, or what is known in Scotland by the name of messenger, as one who is determined to strip every person who comes under his power of all he possibly can.