 thought the rascal had been dispatched.'

This witness was John, who was tutored, as we have seen, to refuse the half guinea from Dogbolt, who was placed about Charles, at the express stipulation of Standfast—not only that his ruin might be more certain, but that the conduct of Mr. Figgins might be well watched, lest, as it happened in the case of Kiddy, he should not be staunch to the interest of the confederacy—who intercepted all the letters, who returned expressly to murder his lord, who did not seem to arrive, however, till two days after the murder was committed, who then, though callous to the core, appeared to weep over his master's corpse, but who had since lived in such a state of agonizing horror and remorse, that he now came to make an ample confession.
John, after displaying a natural and pathetic picture of his own penitence, told a most horrid tale.

By large bribes, and larger promises, he had been prevailed upon to murder his old master. For that purpose he stole into the house, on the fatal morning, and took away the pistols which were hanging in Lord Hazard's bed chamber. He afterwards surprised him in the garden; but he declared that, when he looked in his poor, wronged, old master's face, which was now grown pale and ghastly, owing, he had no doubt, to that distress which he himself had caused, by so often falsely accusing his son, all his resolution forsook him, and he had not the cruel courage to perpetrate the deed. Standfast, seeing this, rushed from a shrubbery, where he had concealed himself, lest they should miscarry; and, as Lord Hazard flew to him for protection, and while he was in the attitude of lifting his hands and eyes to heaven, that had mercifully sent such a friend to his assistance, the unmanly, hardened, hellish monster cowardly murdered him!
To this he added, that after the murder was accomplished, but not till then—for Standfast was not fully satisfied with his sanguinary exploit till he had convinced himself, by a cautious examination, that there was no symptom of returning life—the murderer with great coolness placed the pistol that was discharged close to the body, and put that which was yet loaded into the coat pocket, which is the

precise situation in which the reader will recollect they were found.
John also said that, fearing he should be hanged for the part he had taken in this shocking business, he did, for some time, whatever he was bid by Standfast, and
