an, living in Burleigh Street in the Strand.
Honoured Father and Mother,

The uneasiness I give you is more terror to me than the thoughts of
death, but pray make yourselves as easy as you can, for I hope I am
going to a better place; for God is my refuge and my strength, and
my helper in time of tribulation, and pray take care of my brother
now whilst he is young, and make him serve God, and keep him out of
bad company. If I had served God as I ought to have done, and kept
out of bad company, I had not come to this unhappy misfortune, but I
hope it is for the good of my soul, it is good I hope what God has
at present ordained for me, for there is mercy in the foresight of
death, and in the time God has given me to prepare for it. A natural
death might have had less terror, for in that I might have wanted
many advantages which are now granted me. My trust is in God, and I
hope he won't reward me according to my deserts. All that I can
suffer here must have an end, for this life is short, so are all the
sufferings of it, but the next life is Eternal. Pray give my love to
my sister, and desire her not to neglect her duty to God. I hope
you are all well, as I am at present, I thank God. So no more at
present.

From your unhappy and undutiful son,
James O'Bryan.

The verses sent by James O'Bryan to his sister two days before his
execution:

My loving tender sister dear,
From you I soon must part I fear.
Think not on my wretched state,
Nor grieve for my unhappy fate,
But serve the Lord with all your heart,
And from you He'll never part.
When I am dead and in my tomb,
For my poor soul I hope there's room,
In Heaven with God above on high,
I hope to live eternally.

At the time of their execution James O'Bryan was about twenty, Hugh
Morris seventeen, and Robert Johnson not full twenty years of age, which
was on the 16th of November, 1730.

The History of the Life and surprising adventures of JOHN GOW, _alias_
SMITH, a most notorious Pirate and Murderer

The principal use to which a work of this nature can be applied is to
engage persons to refuse the first stirrings of their passions, and the
slighted emotions of vice in their breasts, since they see before their
eyes so many sad examples of the fatal consequences which follow upon
rash and wicked enterpr