children as in your power lies. I desire there might be some care
taken of that Estate at Minton for my son. Mr. Botfield hath the old
writings, and I beg you will get them and give them to my wife, and
pray show her this letter and my love to her, and my blessing to my
children, begging of her as I am a dying man to be good to them, and
not make any difference in them, but be as kind to one as the other,
and if she is able to put the boy to some trade. Mr. Waring and
Thomas Tomlings have each of them a book of mine, pray ask for them,
which is all I have to say, but my prayers to God for you all, which
is all from your

Dying Son,
Richard Polson.
In my Cell.
October the 6th.

P.S. My love to all my friends. Pray show this letter to my wife as
soon as you can, and desire of her to bring up my children in the
fear of the Lord, and to make my son a scholar if she is able. There
is five of us to die.

In this disposition of mind, and without adding anything to his former
confessions he suffered on the seventh of October, 1730, being then in
the thirty-third year of his age.

The Life of SAMUEL ARMSTRONG, a Housebreaker

I have heretofore remarked the great danger there is in having a bad
character, and keeping ill-company, from the probability of truth which
it gives to every accusation that either malice or interest may induce
men to bring against one.

This malefactor was the son of parents in tolerable circumstances, who
were careful of his education, and when he grew up bound him apprentice
to Captain Matthews, commander of a vessel which traded to Guinea and
the West Indies. He behaved at sea very well, and had not the least
objection made to his character when he came home. Happy had it been for
him if he had gone to sea again, without suffering himself to be tainted
with the vices of this great city.

Unfortunately for him, he fell in love with a young woman, and lived
with her for some time as his wife. His fondness for this creature drew
him to be guilty of those base actions which first brought him to
Newgate and the bar at the Old Bailey, and so far blasted his character
and unfortunately betrayed him to his death. In the company of this
female he quickly lavished what little money he had, and not knowing how
to get more, he fell into the persuasio