ging to Sir George Cook's office in the Temple. His servant lived
in another place, and went home every night. It happened the night
before, or rather in that wherein he was murdered, that Mr. Darby had a
good deal of company with him, who supping late, they did not go away
until eleven o'clock, when Mr. Darby's servant also retired to his
lodgings. The next morning, being Tuesday, about nine o'clock, Mr. Darby
was found dead in the said office, his skull penetrated with a pistol
ball, his ear and hand cut, his rings, watch and other valuables taken
away, besides his escritoire broken open, and his money and linen taken
from thence.

The next day the coroner's inquest sat thereon, but being able to make
no discovery of the murder, they thought fit to adjourn _sine die_, as
soon as the coroner had made an order for the interment of his corpse
which was done accordingly in a vault in the church of St. Andrew's,
Holborn.

Some time passed before any light was got into this affair. At length,
Mr. Moody, who had been upon the coroner's inquest who had sat on the
body of Mr. Darby, received information that one Fisher, who had been
in very bad circumstances, and as an acquaintance had been relieved
under him by the deceased Mr. Darby, was all on a sudden, since the
committing of that murder, observed to have a great deal of money. He
had paid some debts which had been troublesome to him and was observed
to have some valuable things about him which had never been seen before.
These circumstances appearing altogether very suspicious, Mr. Moody
acquainted Mr. York with it, who had been very assiduous in taking all
measures possible for the discover of this horrid assassination. He
falling readily into Mr. Moody's opinion, they agreed together that the
likeliest method to find out the truth was to go to Mr. Willoughby, who
was Fisher's landlord, and known to be a very honest man. Accordingly
they went to him in a tavern in Southampton Street, where they
understood he was, and falling into discourse about Mr. Darby's murder,
they insinuated to him the suspicions they had of his lodger.

Returning to his house, Fisher being away, Mr. Willoughby went to his
room and broke open a box, and found in it the top and bottom of a
snuff-box, a vizard mask, and a pair of laced ruffles. The remains of
the snuff-box Mr. York knew to have belonged to the deceased, and had
reason to suspect the ruffles also to have been his, so that it was
im