morning, and told his
master that the house had been robbed, the plate taken away, and a
window in the back parlour left open, about which, as he could observe
no marks of violence, he was led to suspect it was opened by somebody in
the family; upon which Cornwall and a maid in the house were immediately
thought to have a hand in. However, as there was no sort of proof, Mr.
Fenwick forbore seizing them at that time, and contented himself with
advertizing his plate; which advertisement coming into the hands of a
pawnbroker, to whom a part of it had been pledged, he immediately gave
notice that it was pawned to him by Rivers. A warrant being upon this
obtained for the searching of River's lodging, a note was there found,
directed to Thomas Rivers, Glover, in Guy's Court, Vinegar Yard, Drury
Lane, in which were these words:

Dear Tom,

Let me see you at seven o'clock to-morrow morning, at the Postern
Spring, Tower Hill, be sure.

Joshua Cornwall.

Upon this Cornwall was immediately taken up and Girst readily offered
himself an evidence. In a few days after, sessions coming on, Joshua
Cornwall and Thomas Rivers were indicted for burglariously breaking the
house of Nicholas Fenwick, Esq., and taking thence divers pieces of
plate, to the value of eighty-five pounds nineteen shillings, holland
shirts to the value of twenty pounds, and other goods of the said Mr.
Fenwick, on the 8th day of September, 1730. This indictment being fully
proved, the jury found Thomas Rivers guilty thereof. But being dubious
whether Joshua Cornwall, as a servant within the house of Mr. Fenwick,
could be properly convicted of burglariously breaking into his said
master's house, they found their verdict as to him special; which the
judges having considered, they were unanimously of opinion that the
crime was in its nature a burglary. Whereupon, at the following
sessions at the Old Bailey, the criminal was brought to the bar, and
being acquainted with their lordships' opinion, received sentence of
death.

Under conviction, he behaved himself with great penitence, said he had
not been guilty of many of those atrocious crimes commonly practised by
such as come to that fatal end whither his folly had led him. At the
place of execution he, with great fervency, justified the character of a
young woman who had lived fellow-servant with him at Mr. Fenwick's. He
declared, as he was a dying man, that she was not in the least privy to
the