Her Inn being at Holborn Bridge, she lights into the Company of a good Motherly VVoman just come from Oxfordshire; the sorrow in so young a Face, and the swoln Eyes which were not yet dryed, the Fountain being indeed inexhaustible, the Curiosity of the Elder Traveller made bold to ask her the cause of so doleful a look, &c. The young one (who now had no Reserves) plainly told her whole sufferings, to which the Matron replyed, Alas young VVoman, what are your griefs to mine? I have been many years the VVife of the most Infamous Miscreant that the Earth ever bore; deserted and abandoned by the wickedest of Men, after long years of Honest and Loyal Fidelity to his Bed, and exposed to perish (which you, thanks to able Friends, need not fear) &c. with a great deal more bitter Invectives against him. Till at last upon further conferring of Notes, and describing of Characters and Persons they came to jump together, and found 'emselves both abused by the very same Monster, the eldest being indeed his old Banbury Wife. What Amazement this Accident produced may easily be conjectured, it will be enough to tell you that the Anguish of both their Souls, and the Bitterness of Gall on each side made 'em Swear an inviolable Friendship, determining to search (if possible) the whole World, to hunt down this Devil. Accordingly they take a Lodging a little higher in Holborn, where making no secret of both their hard cases, they open their whole Souls to their new Landlady to engage her assistance in the Quarrel. The Landlady Transported at both their Narrations fell upon her Knees, and blest God he had sent 'em to her House, for this Lucifer they had described, was certainly the very Man that next Week was to Marry her Daughter. This surprize put 'em all into new Confusion, and the Daughter being called to the Council, it was evident that this very Fellow had made Love to the Daughter of the House, the day of Marriage concluded, the Ring and Wedding Cloaths preparing, &c. This last Deliverance made the poor old Woman, and the Daughter no less, melt into Tears at this happy Discovery.
Well, 'tis agreed between 'em all, that they shall not stir till he comes thither, which will be in twenty four Hours at most; and all their united Vengeance, Constables, Warrants, and what not, shall be prepar'd for his Reception.
This Resolution was heartily fix'd amongst 'em; only the Banbury Wife would that Evening take a walk to a Cozens, a Citizen, where she had some important Affairs, but nothing should stay her abroad above an Hour; she had not walk'd half a Furlong but Destiny or some other ruling Power threw her full in the Mouth of her Husband; her Passion at sight of him rose so high, that at first it could not find vent for words, which he perceiving desired her to walk into a Tavern which was just before 'em, and there recover her Confusion. You may conceive she was very ready to accept the Invitation, her Stomach being so full, that 'twas the only thing she wanted to have her full swing at him. The Discourse of her part you may well guess at; but his Answer was so tender, and his Confession so open, that at last she grew patient enough to hear him out. He plainly told her all he had done, or at least the greatest part: that it was only the Effects of his Wants and Necessities, that now he had rais'd enough to re-establish him in the World, that the Hony Moon of Love had been almost over between them, and that if he had made any Lapse in Disloyalty to her Marriage Right, it was not Infidelity but Interest that had enforced him to all. And so showing her handfuls of Gold and Silver, he humbly intreated a Reconciliation betwixt 'em. Which good Words and Address at last so perfectedly obtained, that he perswaded her to send for all her Houshold Goods, and to live with him somewhere in the Liberties of Westminster, where disguising his Name, and amending his Faults, he doubted not through his practice to recover a plentiful Being, and maintain her like a Woman.
The poor Creature absolutely mollified, promises Fidelity to him, and never returning to her new Lodgings, takes him along with her, defeating the whole Vengeance that was hatching against him, and not stirring from him till all her Goods were come up from Banbury, and a new House furnisht with 'em. She had not lived there three days, till finding a Gossiping Errand for her to keep her from home a whole day, at her Return at Night to Bed, she finds neither Husband nor Goods, Bed to lye, or Stool to sit upon; the whole House being utterly dismantled, and nothing but nakedness and empty Walls to receive her.
This last Cruelty of her Barbarian made her almost run stark Mad, and returning to her Holborn Lodging to own her frailty in believing an Infidel, and the Just Judgment that had befaln her upon it, she found the poor Ludlow Mourner departed, and all her Relief left was to return to Banbury to live upon the Alms of the Parish.
This Libertine Life of our Renegade did not long continue till found at last by the Ludlow Wife he was thrown into Worcester Jail; from thence by Habeas Corpus (at the Charge of a Parson in Southwark whose Daughter he had likewise Married) removed to Newgate, & upon an Indictment of six Wives appearing against him, being then Tryed by the Name of Morrel alias Bowyer (a Name of a Worthy Person of Quality, for personating of whom he had stood in the Pillory) he pleaded Guilty to those six and twelve more, and thereby received only the punishment of a Squeeze in the Fist.
After this Escape of a Halter, what his following Adventures have been we are not informed: 'tis to be believed his Will was no ways wanting, though his power of managing such hardy Exploits might undoubtedly be a little retrencht: and therefore we have reason to conclude he fell into smaller Games, in which his Walks have lain something more obscure, and thereupon by reason of our unacquaintance with the Truth of that part of his Life, we shall over-leap some years, and bring him to his Conclusion.
Some few days before Christmas he came to one Mr. Cullens a Baker in the Strand to seek him a Lodging, his Habit but indifferent, and his Stock not above Two Shillings, pretending himself to be a Person of Worth and Honour, viz. Humphrey Wickham of Swaclift in the County of Oxon Esq; a Person whose Name and Reputation was well known to Mrs. Cullen, being Born not far from him, which contributed much to the swallowing of the Imposture. His pretence for leaving his Family in the Countrey, and living here Incognito was occasion'd (he said) to avoid the payment of 500l. which he stood engaged for, and for which the principal had left him in the lurch; and which he had made a rash Vow he would not pay.
Mr. Cullen's Family thus imposed upon supplied all his wants, and paid him the due Respects to the Quality he Personated, till falling sick, on the 28th of December he made a Will, as follows.
His WILL.