Page:The Ladies' Cabinet of Fashion, Music & Romance 1832.pdf/27

Rh mind, short of actual robbery, and it was not long before this entered into his calculations. The frequent meetings held with his associates, at which I was sometimes present, and the artful but seemingly innocent protestations of their honest leader, served to keep up his ambition, and to nourish his ardent and chimerical aspirations. We were at that time clerks in a shop, which was filled with the most precious commodities ; but the warehouse itself was ofwood, and of quite inferior appearance. We lodged on the second floor. My brother formed the design of removing the most valuable part of the goods, and setting fire to the house. The plan was not unfolded to me until after it had been completed, and everything had been prepared. My opposition was useless. The gang were made acquainted with it, and agreed to assist on a certain night. " A considerable quantity of the stock had been abstracted by degrees, for a number of weeks previous ; and on that evening (the one you well know) after the principals had left, we began to transport the boxes and packages, assisted by the others, to the house of the prime accomplice, where they were secure from search. The avails were to enable us to realize our glittering dreams of wealth. " In the back room, on the second floor, we had made a collection of the most combustible substances, and had so placed them, that they would in a moment after the application of the torch be ignited, and communicate the fire to the partitions, bed, etc. A stove-pipe which passed out of the back window had been disconnected with the stove, in order to allow the smoke to escape readily ; so that it might not, by issuing through the crevices of the windows, particularly in the front of the building, betray our attempt before the fire had got fairly under way. " We usually slept in the bed in the back part of this room, and had planned to go to the theatre, and returning about twelve o'clock, throw ourselves on to the bed in our clothes, and lie till one or two in the morning, when we were to arise and set fire to the apartment. If our plans succeeded, we were to make it appear that we had laid down rather in liquor, had set the candle by the side of the bed, and that it had caught the drapery. "Accordingly, to the theatre we went ; actually got somewhat tipsy, as we reflected on the hazardous nature of our enterprise, and coming back about midnight, proceeded directly D JAN. 1839.