adventurer would have stopped the attempts of a fecond; but he having only an empty mufket, and the paffage being wide, three or four more jumped in at once, and at length, after a violent ftruggle, overpowered and bound the unhappy victim; who still refusing to walk, the door was opened, and he dragged headlong down ftairs, in a moft deplorable condition. When he was brought out, he asked if it was yet four o'clock (as indeed it then was) but being anfwered, that he fhould be hanged were it past eight, he immediately compofed himself to fuffer that fo much dreaded death. Still, however, did he refufe being acceffary to his own murder (as he was pleafed to term it) by walking as ufual to the place of execution: he was then forced upon a cart, where the hangman fat by him, holding the end of the rope, which was immediately put about his neck, and he was in this manner dragged to the Grassmarket, amidst thousands of amazed fpectators; where again refusing to afcend the scaffold, he was carried up by the guard, and after about fifteen minutes, being near half an hour paft four, and just almost dark, he was hanged by the neck till he was dead. This poor man had ferved in the army many years, with reputation: was beloved by his officers, being never before convicted of the least offence, and was faid to have been recommended to the first vacant colours in his corps. The extraordinary manner of his exit, the ftrenuous efforts to preserve his life, and the unhappy fuccefs that attended them, made him an object truly worthy of compaffion; and it is indeed doubted if fo unufual a cafe has occurred in the present age. He was a middle-aged man, very tall, and remarkably well looked. SKETCHES SKETCHES OF THE HISTORY OF JOHN BULL, JOHN FARMER AND MANUFACTURER. (From Keith's View of Great Britain.) JOHN Bull inherited from his ancestors feven fertile and valuable farms, and a large fheep-walk, which one of his forefathers did not come by very honestly: But this affair happened fo long ago, that no degree of bad character attached itself to John on that account. By a fortunate marriage he alfo acquired a very large farm to the northward; about half the fize of all his other farms, but not fo fertile. It was however very valuable to John, because there had always been difputes about their marches, between John's ancestors and thofe of his wife; and thefe difputes were generally decided by club law. Hence there were many bloody heads and broken limbs on both fides, and the contending parties neglected their farms when they were engaged in thefe quarrels. The marriage therefore was equally favourable to both parties. But previous to his marriage he was engaged in several adventures, and after it his life was full of buftle and enterprife. It would take feveral volumes to give a full hiftory of his life and opinions, but the following sketches will give fome idea of his real character. When John was young, he was too fond of hunting and of martial exercife to pay particular attention to his farm. Hence his crops of corn were very deficient, though his arable fields were extenfive, and their foil was excellent. At that time he paid no regard to manufactures, but fold his wool to a company of weavers, who made it into cloth, and enriched themfelves by felling their work at a very high price, owing to the fineness of John's wool. The money which he got from thele thefe weavers he expended on tournaments or tilting matches with fome neighbouring gentlemen; and though he always fought bravely, and foinetimes carried off the prize, yet he got many bruifes and dangerous wounds in thefe contefts of chivalry. Thus in the giddinefs of youth his arable lands were ill cultivated, and the price of his wool, the only thing he fold off his farm, was all fquandered away in thefe unprofitable excurfions: and all that John got, was the reputation of a brave fellow who was fomewhat light-headed. But amidst all his youthful follies, he fhewed unequivocal marks of great vigour of mind, and feveral rubs which he met with in life taught him reflection. Hence he grew wifer as he grew older; and by the time that he arrived at the age of manhood he began to improve his fields and attend to his flocks. Inftead of keeping a multitude of idle people about him, who had no fixed employment, he divided his people into two claffes. The firft clafs was employed about his farm but every man got a particular tafk affigned him. Some ploughed his fields, or wrought as labourers without doors: others made his ploughs, carts, waggons, and other implements of hufbandry. The fecond class was employed as weavers and other manufacturers. For John feeing the great riches, which the above-mentioned company of weavers had gained from the fuperior quality of his wool, refolved to fell no more of it to ftrangers, but to manufacture it himfelf; and he prevailed on his people to learn the arts of weaving and manufacturing it. To encourage them to exert themselves, he gave them confiderable privileges, and very good wages for their labour. In procefs of time he found great advantage from thofe regulations; though at first his people were a little aukward, and did not relish confinement. Inftead of being Jack of all trades, but mafter of none, every one of John's fervants became very expert at his particular employment. He had now the beft ploughs, carts, and waggons in all the country, and alfo the beft ploughmen and waggoners. His wea vers manufactured his wool into the fineft cloth; and John derived great advantages from their industry. He was naturally a man of observation, and an enterprising character; and he retained all the activity, after he had laid afide the folly of youth. His marriage, which happened at this time, was a prudent one, and attended with many advantages. The people of John's old farms were free of difputes about their marches; and those on his wife's eftate had had the fame advantage in their turn, and found their condition altered much for the better. Instead of making excurfions into John's fields, that bordered with their own, carrying off his cattle, boiling the poor beafts in their own fkins, and then making fhoes of what had served them for a kettle, they now learned to improve their fields, and manufacture their wool like John's other fervants on his old and better cultivated farms. John was now equally fuccessful as a farmer and manufacturer. As his whole property fince his marriage was bounded by rivers or lakes in all directions, he could now have no difputes about the marches or boundaries of his lands; but having excellent ftreams for catching salmon and other kinds of fish, and wishing to carry his corn or cloth to market, or to bring manure to his lands, where it was too expenfive, or even impracticable, to carry it in his waggons, John faw it was neceffary to encourage the building of a great number of boats, and to excite the fame fpirit among the watermen, who managed thefe boats, as he had done among his weavers and farmers. At the fame time being informed that fome of the neighbouring gentry envied his profperity, and were endeavouring to carry off his cattle and plunder his effects, he built feveral larger boats for the general fecurity of his people. He felected the most expert of his watermen to man these boats, and alfo feveral landmen to act as centinels at proper stations. He had indeed fome reafon for thefe precautions. For a wrong-headed gentleman in the South had once come, with a number of men and large boats, to take violent poffeffion poffeffion of John's property; and more lately a quarrelfome old fellow had attempted to force John to take back an overfeer of his farm, whom John very properly turned off for bad behaviour. By thefe prudent means John was not only able to defend himself, but to over-awe his troublesome neighbours. He kept no slaves on any part of his farm, but his people were all freemen. În his youth they were bondmen, and wrought very little, because their work was not their own; but John when he came to man's eftate gave them all their liberty. Hence they were very much attached to him, and always ready to fupport him. He had only one overfeer over all his farms; for John was too wife to have many overfeers. Alfo to encourage his people he gave his farm fervants a piece of land, his weavers a house and a loom, and his watermen a boat; and took a small share of their profits for his recompence. He likewise allowed them to make bye-laws, or regulations for cropping their grounds, felling their cloth, or fixing the freight of their boats, for their common intereft. The overfeer was allowed to examine those bye-laws, and to difapprove of them if he thought them bad, or wished to confult John himself concerning them. But if he once approved of thefe regulations, he was obliged to enforce them. His farmers exchanged his corn with his weavers, who gave them clothes and other neceffaries in return. His watermen, who were the best watermen that ever plied an oar, or fpliced a rope, carried what John's people could fpare to the neighbouring farms or villages, and fometimes to farms at a confiderable diftance, and brought home in return whatever was wanted at home. In confequence of all thefe exertions John's own villages became populous, and his lands were highly cultivated, and all his people happy. Inftead of lying on ftraw, in mean cottages, and even in John's great hall (which was the practice when he was a young man), they had all foft beds and comfortable houfes. Inftead of depending upon the chance of killing any of the deer, VOL. IV. Y which |