“After robbing Mr. Sleep, I still kept travelling towards London, in hopes of meeting the farmers; at length, five of them appeared, whom I commanded ‘to stop,’ and took from them about 15l. in silver. I felt in their pockets for watches, but they had none. Next I met three men, whom I ordered ‘to stop;’ but they, not regarding my orders, refused, and rode full speed, and I alongside of them for at least five or six minutes, presenting my pistol, swearing I would shoot if they did not stop: but they still rode on; and I turned from them, giving them a hearty d—n, not caring to let off my pistol; for I had determined to shoot no man, unless he attempted to take me. But after this, on the same road, I robbed two more men; from one I took about fifteen shillings, from another about seven shillings. Turning from them I let off one of my pistols into the air, and went on for London.
“That night I made a sort of perambulation among the thief-takers, determining to do mischief to some of them, if possible, especially to those who, I heard, had been after me. The first I went to was one W. H. in Chancery-lane. Being on horseback, I knocked at the door, which his wife opened, demanding my business. I told her, ‘to speak with her husband.’ She replied, ‘he was gone to bed,’ at the same time desiring to know my name and business. ‘I am a gentleman of his acquaintance,’ said I; ‘he will know me when he sees me.’ My blunderbuss, which I then carried, being mounted with brass, and having a brass barrel, by the light of her candle she perceived it, and directly slapped to the door, called to her husband and told him (mentioning my name) that I was at the door. I could hear him ask for his piece, on which I cried out, ‘You rascal, come to the door, and I’ll piece you;’ and if he had come I should certainly have killed him, but he thought better of it, and I rode away.
“From my friend H. I went to another of the same sort of gentry in Holborn, one I. S. I got off my horse and went into his house threatening destruction; but the moment he saw me enter at one door, he went out at another, and after venting a few oaths, I remounted my horse, and went to the Greyhound inn, in Drury-lane, where I lay that night.
“Next morning I set out for Epping Forest, and dined at the Bird-in-Hand, at Stratford: after dinner, about two o’clock, I set out on the Romford road. I met in the forest a chaise, and from a man therein took about fourteen shillings. This robbery was done within sight of the Spread Eagle, at the door of which several people were drinking on horseback. From thence I rode through Ilford, then came on the forest again, and stayed till it was almost dark, and rode towards Laytonstone, within half a mile of which I robbed a captain of his gold watch, ten guineas, and some silver. After speaking with the captain, I came off the forest for London. Perceiving a hurly-burly, and a great mob at Snaresbrook turnpike, I rode up to see what was the matter, and on inquiry amongst the mob, found that they had stopped a gentleman whom they mistook for me. As it was dark and they could not distinguish me, I thought it most prudent to ride through the turnpike, and go directly for London, which I did, and putting up my horse at the Saracen’s Head, Aldgate, and calling a coach, I went to a tavern, where I lay all night.
“In the morning I began to reflect that, it being well known I was in England returned from transportation, and as well known too that I had committed a great many robberies, there were many thief-takers after me, and I was surrounded with danger; and I therefore determined to set out for Chester immediately, and from thence to Dublin, resolving, as I had now a handsome sum, as well as a parcel of diamond rings and watches, to live entirely on my stock, and rob no more, at least while that lasted. I dined that day at St. Alban’s, and as I generally drank both at and after my meals pretty freely, I soon grew warm, and after dinner, setting out for Dunstable, I found my resolution to rob no more would not hold, for within a quarter of a mile of Redbourne, I ordered three gentlemen to stand and deliver. Presenting my pistol at the first, he replied, that he would not be robbed, and rode on; the second hit me on the head with his whip, and at the same time the other rode by me. Having a good beast under me, I was quickly up with them, and putting on one of my terrible countenances, with bitter imprecations I avowed that I would instantly shoot the first man dead who refused to deliver; when the first of them quietly gave me about nine shillings; from the second I took an old-fashioned watch and seventeen shillings; and from the third, two guineas and about five shillings; and taking my leave immediately, attacked two more gentlemen, who likewise rode for it; but their horses being as good as mine, I ran them into Redbourne, and then gave it up. About an hour after, I stopped a single man on horseback, who telling me he had but eighteen-pence, I bade him keep that; but he seeming to have a very good horse and mine beginning to fail, I made him dismount and change with me. He had a portmanteau on his horse, which he was very industriously going to take off, but I told him he might as well let it remain where it was, which he did, though I had no opportunity to see what was in it; for being now become, perhaps, one of the most industrious of my profession, I could no more let a coach, chaise, or man go by without speaking with them in my way, than I could fly; and perceiving a coach coming along, which proved to be the Warrington stage, I directly made up to it, and got from the passengers therein about three pounds. The ladies seemed terribly frightened, and begged I would take my pistol away, which I did, and after taking their money I went on for Dunstable, and calling at several houses before I got there, I became pretty fatigued, not only with my business, but with liquor too. Being very much fuddled, I was so cunning as to think of putting up at the Bull inn, at Dunstable, the very house where the Warrington coach went to. After dismounting my horse, and calling for a quartern of brandy, I saw some of the passengers in the kitchen, belonging to the coach I had just then robbed, on which, I never stayed for my brandy, but went out of the house, mounted my horse, and rode as fast as I could make him go, till I came to Hockliffe, and as it rained very hard, I resolved to put up, and accordingly went into the Star inn. After I had been there about an hour, and had drank very freely, I became intoxicated, and fell asleep by the kitchen fire; but was soon awakened by three troopers and some others with pistols at my head, swearing they would shoot me if I offered to put my hand to my pockets. Being half asleep as well as drunk, they soon disarmed me, and took from me one gold watch, two silver ones, four diamond rings, forty-seven guineas in gold, and four pounds in silver: three of the best diamond rings I had secreted in my neckcloth. I desired them to give me my money again, and to let me go to bed; they gave me about nine pounds in gold and silver back, and then conducted me to a chamber, where I went to bed, after putting my money under my pillow, and fell asleep, guarded by the troopers, who took my money from under my head, which, when I awoke and missed, I charged them with, telling them it was using me exceedingly ill indeed, as they had gotten so much from me already, to take that from me too; whereupon, they returned it to me. Presently, I got up and sat by the fire-side, a good deal chagrined at my unfortunate fate. I resolved in my mind a thousand different methods of escape, but none appeared feasible even to myself. At length, a thought came into my head, of which I was resolved to make a trial. As I knew these troopers, from their behavior, to be hungry hounds, and having two seals, the one gold, and the other silver, about me; as I sat over the fire, I determined to throw them in, naturally supposing, from their eagerness after plunder, they would endeavor to get them out, and I might thus, by some means or other, become master of their fire-arms. It happened as I had imagined; eager for their prey they soused down to rake them from the ashes, when I, at the same time, snatched a pistol from one of their hands, and snapped it at his head: it missed fire, and I was immediately overpowered by the rest of the troopers, the landlord and others coming to their assistance; and I was the next day carried before the justice at Dunstable, where I insisted upon the troopers returning me my money and watches again, before I would answer any questions, and, accordingly, I undressed their pockets both of money and watches, asking them if they thought I had nothing else to do than to venture my life to dress the pockets of such fellows as they, who knew not how to wind up a watch; for in endeavoring to wind up one of the watches they had broken it.
“I was eventually committed to Bedford gaol for robbing the Warrington stage-coach, where I remained about four months, till I was removed by habeas corpus to Newgate, and in February last was tried at the Old Bailey for robbing Mr. Francis Sleep of his watch and six shillings, of which I was found guilty, and received sentence of death.”
The above is an abstract containing all the most interesting or prominent transactions in the life of Henry Simms, who appears to have labored in his vocation with a zeal worthy of a better calling, and with a wantonness deserving of the gallows to which, at length, he was compelled to ascend. Young Gentleman Harry was executed at Tyburn in June, 1747; and after hanging till he was dead, his body was cut down by a mob appointed for that purpose, and carried to a surgeon’s in Covent Garden.
JAMES MACLAINE.
James Maclaine, called in his own time by the distinguished title of “the gentleman highwayman,” seemed at his birth to be far removed from the common temptations which too frequently lead to an infamous death. Until the decease of his father, which took place when he was about eighteen years of age, a fair prospect of prosperity was presented to him; but, unhappily, being conscious of his birth, which entitled him, by a slight straining of courtesy, to the designation of a gentleman, he imbibed, together with an inordinate vanity, an aversion from business, and an immoderate desire to appear a gay young fellow.
Lauchlin Maclaine, the father of our adventurer, was a Presbyterian divine, and pastor of a congregation of that communion at Monaghan, in the North of Ireland. He designed James, his second son, for a merchant, and bestowed upon him a sound education, but died before he could put his intentions into effect of sending him to Rotterdam to be placed in the counting-house of a Scotch merchant of his acquaintance.