The Chronicles of Crime or The New Newgate Calendar. v. 2/2: being a series of memoirs and anecdotes of notorious characters who have outraged the laws of Great Britain from the earliest period to 1841Pelham, Camden
History
The Chronicles of Crime or The New Newgate Calendar. v. 2/2: being a series of memoirs and anecdotes of notorious characters who have outraged the laws of Great Britain from the earliest period to 1841
Pelham, Camden
Crime -- Great Britain; Criminals -- Great Britain; Newgate (Prison : London, England)
"On the morning of the 3rd of July, 1827, I went direct from the Swan
public-house at a quarter past two, and got over the garden-wall. I was
then fresh. I saw Peter Soby at his door. I went to a straw wall near
the dove-house, and laid there till five in the morning. I had a sword
hid in the straw wall about five weeks, which I had stolen from the
Horse and Jockey public-house, Huntingdon. I drew the sword out, and
left the scabbard in the wall, and I put the sword down my trousers by
my thigh. On my going out, I saw Mr. Waterhouse in the yard; but he did
not see me. The garden-door of the house was not fastened, and I went to
it and opened it; and I went up stairs and hid myself in the wool
chamber from five until ten o'clock, intending to rob the house at
night. While lying there, I went to sleep, and I dare say I snored. Mr.
Waterhouse happening to come up stairs, heard me breathe; and coming
into the room, he exclaimed, 'Hollo! who are you? what do you do here?'
I then got up, drew the sword and laid hold of him. He wanted to go into
the room where his blunderbuss was, but I would not let him. I led him
down stairs, but nothing was said. He attempted to get away, but I would
not let him; and when we got to the ground floor, I said, 'Now, Mr.
Waterhouse, if you'll forgive me, I'll forgive you; and if not, this is
your death-warrant' (holding up the sword.) He said, 'No, I will suffer
any thing first.' I then let him go, and he went to run by to the
kitchen-door to call somebody; but just as he turned into the kitchen I
caught him a backhanded blow across the jaw, and he reeled back, caught
himself against the tub, and fell backwards into it. While in this
situation, I struck him several times; and he guarded the blows off
with his arm. He laid hold of the sword twice; upon which I drew it out
of his hands and cut his fingers. I also stabbed him in the throat,
which was the last blow; and he then said, 'I'm done,' and died
immediately. There was no blood on me except on my finger, and one spot
on my waistcoat, and that I wiped out directly. I didn't hear the dog
bark all the time; and he wouldn't bark at me, for he knew me. The
kitchen-door leading to the yard was wide open all the time, but no
person came near the house. Having committed the murder, which was all
finished by ten minutes past ten o'clock, I immediately ran out of the
house, and I turned to the right and threw the bloody sword among some
young trees. I ran away, and continued at work until seven at night; and
then I went home, had my supper, and went to bed."
A search was made immediately after the confession for the sword, and it
was discovered in the place pointed out. It was lying within a few paces
of the scene of the murder, and it is strange that it should have
remained so long undiscovered.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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