Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 2.djvu/309

 9' h S. II. OCT. 15, '98.]

NOTES AND QUERIES.

301

LONDON. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1898.

CONTENTS. -No. 42.

NOTES : Tyburn Executions. 301 Ancient Zodiacs, 303 Sir James Strangewayg Hanging in Chains, 304 Alex- andre the Ventriloquist Acorus calamus Doubtful Gram- mar in the A.V., 305 Paul Jones Epitaphs Boswell versus Lockhart, 306.

QUERIES : Humpty-Duinpty " A fampt doo " Silhou- ettes Portraits by Hoppner "Eight Honourable" George as a Feminine Name Yate Relics of Fauntleroy, 307 Private Gates Bathoe Mill Prison The First Lord Mayor of London M. Hacquin Perrys of Claverley "Baulk," 308 Illustrations by Woodward Trevor Lloyd Blunden ' Oxford Argo 'Authors Wanted, 309.

REPLIES : " Random of a shot," 309 Portrait of Queen Charlotte African Names" Helpmate," 310 Stambuloff St. Ida, 311 Misquotation " Gillery " Brummell 'Lyra Innocentium,'312 Culamites Eating of Seals- Scott's Heroines " Ringing -out" Figure-head " Camelry "Sir H. Hotham Seeing-glass, 313 Cooke Family Boots and Sandals Samplers Greatest Recorded Heat Pickwickian Manners, 314 The Surname Drink- water, 315 " Hooligan " Accent " Settle "Rev. E. Ashburner, 316 "Through obedience," &c. De Lian- court Rev. Mr. Harriot Heraldic, 317' Buondelmonti's Bride ' Erkenwald Alfrey Mickefer, 318.

NOTES ON BOOKS : Ebsworth's ' Roxburghe Ballads,' Part XXVI. Vol. VIII. 'Book-Prices Current ' Thur- ston's ' Life of St. Hugh of Lincoln.'

Notices to Correspondents,

EXECUTIONS AT TYBURN. (See ante, p. 164.)

I HAVE long contemplated securing for my numerous scraps of information, gathered during a long course of years many from the scattered references diffused through the century (nearly) of volumes of ' N. & Q.' as to the last days of the history of Tyburn as a place of public execution, a more per- manent record than that consisting in isolated entries in numerous MS. common- place books and " stickphasted " newspaper cuttings.

The letter of MR. F. ADAMS seems to me to suggest an opportunity, if you will be good enough to afford me the necessary space, for achieving my long meditated design.

Few details will suffice to confirm MR. ADAMS'S assumption that no doubt many a poor wretch made the fatal pilgrimage west- ward in the interval between the execution of Ryland arid that of Austin, it being most true, as your esteemed correspondent says, that hanging by wholesale was the rule in those days; but the actual lethal processions were only three, including Austin's.

"Ryland and five others," on Friday, 29 August, 1783, were followed by a sextet on Monday, the 22nd of the following month.

The doomed men had been convicted under the following sensational, if not precisely romantic, circumstances.

In the spring of that year a batch of con- victs were sentenced to transportation, or had the royal clemency extended to them on condition of submitting to that form of expatriation, and towards the close of the summer were embarked in the Thames on board the Swift cutter for a voyage to the American colonies. That vessel arrived off Deal with her cargo of convicts at the end of August, and on the 29th of that month a mutiny broke out on board. For a time the involuntary passengers obtained control of the craft, and succeeded in running her on shore. Here many made their escape, but the ship's officers and guard, with the assistance of such of their charges as had remained loyal, secured some of the ring- leaders and apprehended a number of those convicts who had temporarily regained their liberty. Others who nad contrived to make their way to the metropolis or were found wandering at large in Kent were also taken. All these being identified, twenty-four of the mutineers were selected to be tried at the Old Bailey Sessions. They were so tried accord- ingly, and on Wednesday, 10 Sept., 1783, the unhappy couple of dozen being found guilty of " seizing on the Swift cutter with violence, running her ashore, and making their escape," and " being found in England after a sentence of transportation before the time had expired" that being then a capital felony they were all twentv-four by the deputy - Recorder, Thomas Harrison, Esq., duly sentenced to death. His Majesty, how- ever, on the Recorder's usual report being considered, was pleased to forego the exac- tion of the extreme penalty in the case of eighteen of the condemned, on the usual con- dition that they submitted themselves to undergo transportation, seventeen for life and one for seven years. The six most con- spicuous for violence in the revolt were, however, " left for death," as the phrase then went, and accordingly, on Monday, 22 Sep- tember, 1783, they were dragged in two carts up the " heavy hill," and duly " turned off "at Tyburn. Their names were Charles Thomas, William Matthews, Thomas Milling- ton, Christopher Trusty, David Hart, and Abraham Hyams.

The two last named were Jews, and were attended by ministers of their own persua- sion. It is unnecessary to enumerate the details of the offences for which the sufferers had been originally sentenced to transporta- tion. Suffice it to say that in only one