about the 6th of September, juft nine months after the robbery, his lord hip received notice, that this note had been prefented for payment by a banker's clerk. This note, being fecured, was traced, through a great number of hands, to one Smith a merchant of Liverpool, who, being applied to, declared, that he had it of Mr. Beath, a linen factor of Newry, in the north of Ireland.

Upon application by letter to Mr. Beath, to know of whom he received it, he wrote for anfwer, that he received it at Chefter fair, in payment for fome linen, of a perfon who called himself John Walker of London, a low thin-faced pale man, fomewhat pitted with the fmall-pox, and llender, his eyes fore or inflamed, and a large tumour on his hand. Mr. Beath added, that he was a bad clerk, that he wore either a wig or his hair in a long queue; and in a poftfcript faid, that he was dreffed like a gentleman, but appeared fomewhat under that ftandard in converfation.

This laft diftinction, which fhews great good fenfe and nice difcernment, was the characteristic of a man, who had lived as valet-dechambre with perfons of rank; it does not however appear, that either the juftice or any other of the parties fufpected this Walker to be Bradley, or that they enquired of the woman, whether Bradley's perfon correfponded with Mr. Beath's defcription; if they had, they would have taken a nearer way to their end. On the contrary, Mr. Bevel fet out for Chefter to enquire where Walker had

lodged, and by what carriage the cloth he bought had been fent to town, and how it was directed.

After much enquiry he found, that the perfon, who called himfelf Walker, lodged at one Rippington's, a fhoemaker; and that he carried the linen away with him in a poft-chaife towards London; he learnt alfo, that the boy who drove the chaise the first ftage from Chester to Whitchurch, brought a letter back to Rippington, defiring him to look behind the glafs in the room where he had lain, for an old pocketbook, which he had left behind him, and to fend it directed to John Walker, to be left at the Bloffoms Inn in London, till called for; the book, however, could not be found, and Rippington foon after received another letter from London, as from a friend of Walker's, defiring him to fend the book, which was not yet come to hand, and to advise him of the conveyance by a letter directed to Mr. Davis, at St. Clement's coffee-house in the Strand, London.

This letter Rippington gave to Bevel, and Bevel, brought it to fir John Fielding. The mafter of the coffee-houfe was ordered to ftop the perfon who fhould come for a letter directed to Davis, which letter he had already received; but Bradley, who had affumed many names, on various occafions, had forgot what name he ordered Rippington's answer to be directed to, and enquiring for it at the coffee-house by another name, he escaped de

tection.

Here then the hunters were at fault; but upon comparing the let

ter

ter written to Rippington from London, and given by him to Bevel, and by Bevel to fir John Fielding, with the letters that had been put into fir John's hand by the woman, it appeared exactly to correfpond with that written by Bradley; his father was found to live in Clerkenwell, and, with feveral others of his relations, examined; their defcription of his perfon was found minutely to agree with the defcription given of the fuppofed Walker by Mr. Beath, and it alfo came out, that he had been at Chefter during the laft Midsummer fair, and had lodged at one Cooper's, a chandler, in New Turnftile, Holborn. Upon this, Cooper was fent for, who faid that Bradley had left his house about fix weeks before, that he did not know whither he was gone, and that he took nothing away with him. Upon this, Brad ley was publicly advertised, handbills were difperfed all over the kingdom, perfons planted at all the ale-houses he used to frequent, and every other method ufed to difcover and apprehend him.

These steps produced a man, who accidentally heard one Bradshaw, a coachman, who drives a jobb at Gerrard's-hall Inn, fay in an alehoufe, that he had got a large cheft of Bradley's in his hayloft; on this information, Bradshaw, and the cheft were fent for. The cheft was found to contain the linen that was bought at Chester, and the coachman faid he brought the cheft in a coach about fix weeks before from the houfe of one Cooper, in Turnftile.

Cooper was then fent for again, and being confronted with Bradfhaw, confeffed what he had before obftinately denied, that he

knew of the cheft going to Ger'rard's-hall Inn. He was then threatened to be committed for concealing this circumstance, as an acceffary after the fact, upon which he confeffed, that he knew Wefket and Bradley committed the robbery on lord Harrington, Bradley having told him the very night it was committed, that he was going to Wefket, who was to conceal him in the houfe for that purpofe, till the family were in bed. He added, that the booty had been buried in his cellar, where fome part of it still remained.

The cellar was then fearched; and the gold fnuff-boxes, and feveral other things, were found, which were fworn to be lord Harrington's property.

Soon after, Bradley was ap prehended in a failor's habit at Wapping, and brought before fir John Fielding; Cooper was there 'alfo, at the fame time; and Bradley obferving, that he attempted to become evidence for the crown against him and Wefket, and that at the fame time he denied and concealed many principal tranfactions relative to that and other robberies in which he had been concerned, he, at once, without any promife of favour, de. clared the whole truth; and it being the opinion of the magiftrate and all prefent, that Wefket and Cooper were the greater villains, Bradley was admitted as an evidence against them. Wefket was indicted for the robbery, Cooper for receiving the goods; and both being convicted upon proof of the facts that have been related in this narrative, Wefket was executed, and Cooper tranfported for 14 years.