colour; and that, about a twelvemonth after, he dyed the grey hat black. Then she deposed further, that her master raised himself to a good condition upon a sudden; for before he was so poor, that his landlord would not trust him for a quarter's rent, but would make him pay every six weeks; and that he could not be trusted for malt, but was forced to pay for one barrel under another. That, shortly after, they bought a ruined malt-house, and new built it, and did usually lay out 401. in a day to buy barley. There was seen, upon a sudden, a great change in the daughters' condition, both as to their clothes and otherwise; and if she bought but a hood for one of the daughters, there was a piece of gold changed; and they were observed to have gold in great plenty."

Mary Mattocks deposed-" That the ostler carried a grey hat to the hatters: which being left there, after the ostler went away, she went thither and viewed it, and begged the head lining, which she proved to be of a rainbow colour; as also, that goodwife Shute and she, the said Mary Mattocks, while drying their clothes in the churchyard, Mary Kendall came there also to dry her basket of clothes; and she complained to goodwife Shute, saying, my mistress Sewell has beaten me cruelly today, and broke my head in three places, and almost killed me; but I have told her pretty well of her roguery. What roguery?' saith goodwife Shute. It is (said she) concerning the gentleman they murdered there.' Murdered there (saith Shute)!-dost thou know of any murder done there?' (and her kinswoman Mattocks going away, she held her by the apron, that she might stay to hear what she would say). 'No, goody Shute (said she), I don't know it, but there is a

great suspicion of it.' So she fell a telling them the story; that in the heat of the quarrel her master pulled her out of the room, and cried, Mary, will you leave your prating and be quiet? can't you be quiet, but you must talk at this rate? your mistress is a perverse woman, and I'll give you 2ol. and you shall be gone, and live no longer with her.' And (said she), goody Shute, I have the zol. and I do intend to be gone.' Said goody Shute, 'Mary, Mary, take heed what you do: I would give them the 20l. again, and go and acquaint some justices of the peace with it, for the 201. may hang thee twenty years hence.' So they parted. By the next morning, all was hushed up at home, and Mary Kendall came to goodwife Shute, and begged of her to say nothing of their yesterday's discourse, for what she had then said proceeded from passion, or else she had never said it. Said Shute, "If I do not hear it questioned, I shall say nothing of it; but if at any time it comes in question, I will both say it and make you say it too." But Mary Kendall, being examined to this matter at the trial, denied the receiving of the 201.

Mr. Turner gave in evidence what has been asserted before, concerning the finding of the murdered body; and, according to the judges' order, he brought the scull into court, where, by their directions, Moses Drayne, the prisoner, was bid to take it up; but he trembled so much, that he could hardly hold it in his hand.

Memorand." There was a boy that served in Sewell's house at the time of the murder, and Sewell falling angry with him, carried him up stairs, and tied him to a bed-post, where he whipped him with a cart-whip unmercifully, that he cried so vehemently, that the maid, Mary Kendall, came up

and

and got him at liberty; when she heard him say, that it was well for him she came, or else his master would have murdered him, as he did the gentleman, when he blooded him into the hogs' pail. And the boy said likewise, he had heard, that the gentleman was knocked on the side of the head with a pole-axe, and afterwards his throat was cut by his mistress, with the help of her daughter Betty. These circumstances were proved at the trial by several persons; and it seems the rumour had been spread in the town by means of this boy. In some short time after, this boy was sent to Barbadoes, and sold to a merchant that lived near Billingsgate, at whose house Mrs. Kidderminster was to enquire for him. This matter relating to the boy's dismission was discovered by the honest diligence of Mr. Talcott, the coroner, who directed Mrs. Kidderminster to trace this matter, and who had the notes relating to it."

There were two women, one of them a washerwoman of that town and the other a quaker, that lived next house to Mr. Sewell, who both gave evidence at the trial. The washerwoman was going by the house very early, between one and two in the morning, to wash in the town; and the quaker was sitting up for her husband, who was not then come home. They both of them made oath," that about those hours they heard a noise in Mr. Sewell's house, and a man's voice crying, What! will you rob me of my money, and murder me too? -If you take my money, spare my life.' Then they heard something that fell very heavy, and a noise as it were of chairs and stools thrown about the room, and all the lights put out, and after that no further noise heard.'

The next morning, these women enquired at the

house what might be the occasion of the noise the night before; for they thought they heard some body cry out-murder! But they were answered, they must needs be mistaken; for there was no noise there, nor was any body in the house but their own family.

William Denton, Mr. Kidderminster's servant in the Isle of Ely, was produced as evidence to prove the horse and the gentleman's clothes and hat, which he did.

There was a washerwoman, who washed the next wash after the gentleman wa smurdered, and who being examined by a justice of the peace, and asked whether she found in the wash any linen more bloody than ordinary, utterly denied that she did, with this imprecation: "that if there was any such, she wished she might rot alive!" And so it happened; for a little time after her bowels began to rot away, and she became detestably loathsome before she died.

Mr. Turner and his wife related to Mrs. Kidderminster, that, some time after the murder of her husband, there came a farmer to lodge at Sewell's inn, who received 201. in the town for barley, which Sewell had heard of. And in the night time, Sewell came to this farmer's chamber door, attempting to get in; but the farmer had very carefully set a table, chairs, and stools, to blockade the entrance. The noise he made awaked him; whereupon he swore, that the first man that broke in upon him should meet his death. Upon which he heard Sewell's voice, which he knew very well, speaking to somebody that was with him; so they went down stairs without attempting any further; and the farmer got up, put on his clothes, and the next morning, by break of day, took his horse and rode away, without taking his leave.

Upon

Upon the aforesaid evidence, the jury found Moses Drayne, the ostler, guilty; and after sentence he was remanded to prison, with five other condemned persons, as also Mary Kendall, whom the judges had remanded to prison during pleasure. Being all together, one of them, who was condemned for having two husbands, spake thus to Moses Drayne." You see, we are all here condemned to die; you will do well to confess the whole truth-had this Mary Kendall a hand in the murder of the gentleman or not? Speak the truth, for we are all to die soon." "He made answer"No, she had no hand in the murder, but what she had sworn was truth; but the gentleman was murdered there, and by his master and mistress and their eldest daughter Betty; but, for his part, he knew of it, 'tis true, and was there, but did not strike the blow nor help to kill him, but helped to bury him, and had 60l. of his money, and all his clothes, given him by his master and mistress." He was going on to make a sincere confession how all things were; but his wife coming in in the mean time, took hold of him, and bade him hold his tongue, and confess no more, for if he died for it, he should hang nobody else; and ever after he would say nothing, nor make any answer, neither to the minister nor any body else, nor said a word at the gallows.

Moses Drayne having confessed that Betty, the eldest daughter, had a share in the murder, and Mary Kendall having sworn at the trial that the two sisters were not in bed that night the murder was committed, moved Mr. Talcott, the coroner, to procure a warrant from a justice of the peace to apprehend the two sisters; which being done, and they brought before the justice, he bound them over