The History of Margaret Catchpole, a Suffolk GirlCobbold, Richard
General
The History of Margaret Catchpole, a Suffolk Girl
Cobbold, Richard
Catchpole, Margaret, 1762-1819 -- Fiction
Matthias Wright, Esq.
Abraham Reeve, Esq.
John Oliver, Esq.
John Pytches, Esq.
Thomas Cocksedge, Esq.
John Cooke, Esq.
George Jackson, Esq.
William Kemp Jardine, Esq.
After the names had been respectively answered, the Lord Chief Baron
addressed the grand jury, in a most powerful and impressive speech, in
which he pointed out to their attention the extraordinary case then
about to come on for trial. The grand jury retired. The prisoners were
led into the cages, under the body of the court, where the people sat.
They could hear all the proceedings, and could see, through an iron
grating, all the witnesses in attendance. After the petty jury had been
sworn, and had appointed John Bloomfield, auctioneer and farmer, their
foreman, they took their seats, and various true bills were handed into
court against the prisoners, whose trials then came on. After an hour or
two, a paper was handed from the grand jury box, to the clerk of
arraigns; it was announced as "a true bill against Margaret Catchpole,
for horse-stealing." She presently after heard herself summoned by name;
and with trembling hand and foot, ascended the steps of the dock, and
stood before the bar. The court was crowded to excess, and upon the
bench sat more ladies than gentlemen. The judge cast a severe glance at
the prisoner, evidently expecting to find a bold, athletic female, of a
coarse and masculine appearance. Margaret was dressed in a plain blue
cotton gown, and appeared deeply dejected. She seemed to be inwardly
engaged in prayer. Once she looked round the court, to see if she could
discover the person of her lover, or the instigator to the crime for
which she was arraigned. Her eye rested only upon her aged father and
her affectionate brother Edward, who stood beneath her, close to the
bar. The workings of nature were too powerful to be resisted, and tears
rolled down the old man's cheeks, as he gave his hand to his daughter.
She kissed it, and let fall upon it the hot drops of agony.
"Prisoner at the bar, you stand committed upon your own confession,
before two of his majesty's justices of the peace for the county of
Middlesex, of having, on the night of the 23rd of May last past, stolen
from the stable of your late master, John Cobbold, Esq., of St.
Margaret's Green, Ipswich, a strawberry roan-grey coach gelding, and of
having rode the same from Ipswich to London that night; and being in the
act of selling the horse next day following, when you were taken into
custody. For this offence you now stand before the court. How say you,
prisoner at the bar, are you guilty, or not guilty?"
Margaret looked at her judge, and in a firm though low voice said,
"Guilty, my lord."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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