easier, so that after having led an
unsettled life for a considerable space, he became at length a common
soldier. 'Twill be easily imagined that this choice of his did not much
better his fortunes and possibly the company which his military life
obliged him to keep served only to increase his courage so far as to
enable him to take a purse on the highway; a practice he had pursued
with pretty good success a considerable time before he was taken. But
being a naming, close fellow, he robbed with so much precaution that he
was little suspected until taken up for the offence for which he died,
which was for assaulting Henry Bunn on the highway, and taking from him
a silver watch, two pieces of foreign gold, and two pounds eleven
shillings in money.

Richard Nichols was a man in the middle age of life, of a grave and
civil deportment, of good character, and who was a barber and
peruke-maker. He had lived by his profession without the least suspicion
of his being guilty of any such crime as that for which he died. He was
convicted, chiefly on the evidence of Neeves, for feloniously stealing
nine silver watches and a gold watch, the property of Andrew Moran and
others in the dwelling-house of the said Moran. As there was nothing
remarkable in this man's life, and as it did appear that he was not
flagrantly guilty of any other vice except drinking and wasting his own
money, so it would be needless to dwell longer upon his adventures prior
to his condemnation; therefore we shall go on to speak of the behaviour
of these criminals while they remained under sentence of death.

Christopher Rawlins seemed to retain much of his old boisterous temper,
and though he would bring himself to speak with more decency concerning
the great duty of repentance which now alone remained for them to
practise, yet in a little time he would fly out into strange and
blasphemous expressions, for which being reproved by William Russell,
whom we have before mentioned as being under sentence at the same time,
he answered, _What does it signify to prepare ourselves, since we have
passed through so wicked a life in this world and have now so short a
time to remain in it?_ He frequently expressed a despair of God's mercy
though after the death warrant came down he appeared somewhat more easy,
and in a better disposition to offer up his prayers to the Almighty. As
to the crimes for which he suffered, he readily and ingenuously
confessed them, owning the ju