PRINTED BY S. & J. KEYS, DEVONPOST. 
 
LIFE AND ADVENTURES OP 
 
 ICK TURPIN 
 
 T3 ICHARD TURPIN was born in Essex, where his father kept 
 -■-^ the Bell Inn, and, after having been the usual time at school, 
 he was bound apprentice to a butcher, in Whitechapel ; but he did 
 not serve out his time, his master discharging him from his house, 
 for his brutality, and the impropriety of his conduct generally. 
 Turpin was not a little encouraged by his parents, who improperly 
 indulged him and supplied him M'ith money, whereby he was enabled 
 to cut a figure in the town, among the blades of the " road" and 
 *'turf,'* whose company he affected to keep. 
 
 Very early in life he was taken up for poaching on the grounds 
 of Sir Litton Weston. The principal evidence against him was 
 Black Dennis, the gamekeeper. He was tried, and the case not 
 having been proved very clearly against him, he was remanded for 
 further examination. 
 
-^ THE LIFE OF 
 
 The ponderous prison lock was turned upon him, and the vision 
 of his early days recurred to l)is memory, which presented a painful 
 distinctness and reality to his mind's eye. 
 
 He paced round his narrow cell ; the image of Dennis recurred 
 to him ; he seized him, and, in imatiination, tore him with the fero- 
 city of a caged tiger — he stamped him to the earth, and struggled 
 till the cold drops of perspiration started from every pore. 
 
 The possibility of an escape presented itself to his view, and in 
 less than an hour he succeeded in effecting it. Skirting the shady 
 side of the hedges, and occasionally making his way along a dry 
 ditch, at the expense of a fevr scratches from the brambles, he took 
 the direction of his foster-mother's house. He went to tlie back 
 part of it. Selecting a few small j)ebbles, he threw them cautiously 
 against the glass. After repeating this several times he ventured 
 upon trusting his voice in a low whisper. " Hist, dear mother, it 
 is I — your son Richard," said he. No reply, however, came from 
 the direction in which his voice was directed ; but at length his ear 
 caught the sound of the fastenings of the back-door being cautiously 
 removed. 
 
 " Come in, for God's sake ! " said a female voice — (it was that of 
 a girl, who acted in the capacity of a servant)—" all the people said 
 you were committed to prison " 
 
 They entered the house, Turpin knew too well the value of every 
 moment, and the danger of his situation, to risk his liberty by 
 remaining long ; he, therefore, after making up a small bundle of 
 immediate necessaries, and leaving a promise that his mother should 
 soon hear from him^ bade farewell to his home, and again took to the 
 fields. 
 
 Though well aware of his liability to apprehension, he could not 
 quit Hempstead without one farewell of the scene of his joys — 
 the garden of Esther Bevis. Thither he cautiously directed his 
 steps. The house of Dennis rose upon his view: he thought of 
 revenge. While thus lurking in the shadow of the trees he fancied 
 he heard the hum of men's voices : the sounds approached — and, as 
 he lay close to the trunk of a tree, two men neared the spot. 
 Turpin's blood boiled, as the voice of Dennis met his ear_, and he 
 caught the following part of the conversation. 
 
 " Why, what a precious hurry you're in. You're a bigger fool 
 than I took you to be; but I'd advise you not to ride rusty with 
 your friends. W^e're all in it; and if so be you can't do as I do, 
 I'll take care you don't get the best of me. But I'll show you as 
 how I'll act honourable. Why, the valley (value) of what them 
 cups and spoons 'ud fetch, now, is nothink ; put your price on 'em, 
 and I'll make up the reg'lars ; I'd scorn to have it said I done a pal. 
 Hows'ever, when we've got this younker out of the way — an' I think 
 I've spun his hemp for him — you shan'n't fiad mQ backward ; but it 
 
RICHARD TURPIN. 3 
 
 might be as well as if yer corned no nearer to the house nor this, for 
 there's that old affair still out agin yer. Here's all I have just now, 
 but meet me on Monday, at Sam's hovel^ in the marsh, and I'll 
 make it all right. Good bye." 
 
 So saying, Dennis put some silver into the hands of his scoundrel- 
 looking accomplice, who stealthily moved off among the trees. '' I 
 don't half like that vagabound," said he, soliloquising ; " but I must 
 sweeten him a trifle just now. I guess Master Dick is sorry by 
 this time as how he has made me his enemy." 
 
 Dennis began to examine the priming of his guu. At this 
 moment a rustle among the leaves struck on his ear, and while he 
 was looking for its cause, the very object of his thoughts rushed to- 
 wards him. The gun was half raised to his shoulder, when, with 
 one hand, Turpin struck down the weapon, and fixing the other with 
 a gripe, strong as his hatred, on the throat of Dennis, dashed him 
 violently against the bole of a tree His senses reeled, as Richard 
 compressed the villain's throat ; and clutching the barrel of the gun, 
 the trigger caught some part of his dress, exploded, and lodged the 
 charge in the body of Dennis. The man leaped from the ground 
 with a piercing shriek, and fell heavily at the feet of Turpin, while 
 
4 THE LIFE OF 
 
 the blood from his side changed the green turf into a dull red. He 
 cast the gun from him, and feeling that he \ras a murderer, fled 
 with speed, which he slackened not until he had placed some miles 
 between himself and his murdered victim. 
 
 He now resolved to make his way into London for a Mdiile, and 
 then betake himself to some foreign land. 
 
 Soon after this his friends tried to persuade him to marry, hoping 
 it would reclaim him ; but it was to no purpose, for he joined a 
 desperate gang of thieves, with whom he committed several darino- 
 robberies on the highway, and afterwards they turned housebreakers. 
 One of the most cruel of those transactions was the robbery of an 
 old woman at Loughton, who, refusing to tell where her money was 
 hidden, was put by Turpin upon the fire, where she was held till she 
 made a disclosure, when they took her off the grate, and robbed her 
 of all they could find. They next robbed a farmer at Rij)ple-side, 
 near Barking, and got about £'J00, which amounted to about £80 
 a man. They also attacked the house of Mr. Mason^ the keeper of 
 the Epping Forest, where, in revenge for his former zeal in detect- 
 ing their poaching, they destroyed every thing. But Turpin was 
 uot in this affair. After plundering Mv. Saunders's house, and 
 committing numerous other crimes, Turpin and his companions 
 resolved to appear, in future, on horseback. They accordingly hired 
 horses at the Old Leaping Bar, in High Holborn, and went to 
 Stenmore, where they robbed the house of Mr. Lawrence, using 
 great brutality, but got little plunder. These actions alarmed the 
 country, and a reward of £50 was oflTered to any of them M'ho would 
 impeach his accomplices. Shortly afterwards several of the gang 
 were taken and hanged ; and Turpin, being left to himself, hastened T 
 to Cambridge, as the safest place, where he turned highwayman. 
 Near Alton he met with a coniical adventure, which gained him 
 a v€ry merry companion — Tom King, the highwayman, who was 
 returning from this place to London. Turpin seeing him to be well 
 drest and mounted, and to have the appearance of a gentleman, rode 
 up to him, and presenting his j)istols, bade him stand and deliver, 
 when King, laughing, said, " What ! dog rob dog ? Come, come, 
 brother Turpin, if you don't know me I know you, and shall be glad 
 of your company." After a mutual communication of circumstances, 
 they agreed to keep company in future. They proceeded to make 
 themselves a cave in the earth, on the Waltham side of Epping, 
 near the sign of the King's Oak. Through several holes they could 
 discover the passengers in the road, and would issue forth and rob 
 them. L^pon one occasion Turpin and King stopped a person of 
 very decent appearance, near Hackney, and demanded his money; 
 but the gentleman, bursting into tears, said he was in great distress, 
 and possessed only eighteen-pence, upon which, instead of robbing 
 him, they made him a present of a half-a-crown. 
 
RICHARD TURPIN. 
 
 Turpin had for a long while gone on in tlie most daring way. 
 A reward having been offered for his apprehension, many were 
 induced to attempt his capture : among the rest was the ranger, 
 Thomson's man, who, in company with a higgler, whom he heard 
 ad :incing, sought to discover the spot of Turpin's retirement. 
 Having reached the thicket in which the cave was concealed, Thom- 
 son's man proceeded to reconnoitre. Turpin was at this time un- 
 armed, and standing alone. Not knowing the man, he took him for 
 one poaching for hares, and told him he would get no hares in that 
 thicket. "No," said the fellow, *' but I've got a Turpin!" and, 
 presenting his gun, commanded him to surrender. Turpin stood 
 talking with him, and, receding to the cave, laid hold of his carbine 
 and shot him dead, at which the higgler made off. Affairs wore a 
 very serious aspect for a short time ; Turpin was obliged to be very 
 cautious in his approaches to the metropolis. Turpin and King next 
 jouied one Potter, a desperate roadsman, and })erformed many rob- 
 beries ; Turpin being sometimes disguised in a miller's frock, and 
 at others drest like a waggoner. Thus disguised he rode a good horse 
 towards London, and, when near the Green Man, met one Mr. Major, 
 (owner of White Stockings, the race-horse) whom lie robbed, and 
 took from him his whip. Finding Mr. Major had a better hoise 
 than his own, he made him quickly dismount, and change saddles, 
 
6 
 
 THE LIFE OP 
 
 also, when lie rode on to London. On the l\ronday f,.lIowin<r M- 
 Baves, andlord of the Green Man, heard that such horse a" Mr" 
 Major had lost was left at the Red Lion Inn, in Whitechapel' 
 Going thither, he found it to be the same, and resolved to wait till 
 somebody came to fetch it. About eleven o'clock at nicht Kind's 
 brother came for tlie horse. He was immediately taken into custody 
 when he told the constable, who was chai-ed withhim, that a lusty 
 man, in a white duffel coat, had sent him for the horse, and that he 
 was then waitin- for it in Red-Lioiustreot. Mr. Bayes immediately 
 went out, found it was Kin,-, and attacked him. Kin- clanned l 
 pistol to Mr. Baye's breast, but it luckily flashed in the^pan 
 
 Turpin, who was waitin- at a short distance, now came up, uhen 
 King cned out " Damn ye, shoot him Dick, or we shall be taken." 
 and instantly furpm let fly one of his pistols, which wounded King 
 severely ,n two places, who said, - Why, Dick, you have killed mt^ 
 or nearly so. 1 urpin, alarmed, rode off as fast as he could ; and it 
 was then that the thoughts of executing his extraordinary ride to 
 lork tirst flashed across him ; his bosom throbbed high with rapture, 
 
 r^^i ;;'S ^^^''''^i' exclaimed aloud, as he raised himself in the 
 Saddle, " By G—, I will do it ! " . . . . ^ 
 
I niCHARD TURPIN. 7 
 
 I He t()ol< one last look at the great Babel that lay buried in a 
 Ivrorld of trees beneath hitn ; and as his quick eve ranged over the 
 I magnificent prospect, lit up by the gorgeous sunset, he could not 
 I ],elp thinking of Tom King's hist words. " Poor feMow ! " thought 
 I Dick, he said, truly, " he should never see another sunset." Aroused 
 I bv the approaching clatter of his pursuers, who were but little behind 
 l)iin, Dick struck into a lane which lies on the right of the road now 
 called Shoot-up-hill-Iane^ and set off at a good {)ace, in the direction 
 I of Hempstead. 
 
 His pursuers were now within a hundred yards, and shouted to 
 him to stand. Pointing to a gate which seemed % bar their farther 
 progress. Dick, uniu^sitatingly, charged it, clearing it in beautiful 
 style. Not so with Coate's party ; and the tinie they lost in un- 
 fastening the gate, which none of them liked to leap, enabled Dick 
 to put additional space between himself and them. 
 
 The whole neighbourhood was alarmed by the cries, and by the 
 tramp of horses. The men of Hornsev rushed into the rond to seize 
 the fugitive ; and suddenly three horsemen appear in the road ; they 
 hear the uproar and din. " A highwayman — a highwayman !" cry 
 the voices, "stop him — stop him !" but it was no such easy matter. 
 With a pistol in each hand, and his bridle in his teeth, did Turpin 
 boldly pass on. The horsemen gave way, and only to swell the list 
 of the pursuers. 
 
 "We have him now — we have him now !" cried Paterson exult- 
 ingly. " Shout for your lives — the turnpike-man will iiear us — 
 shout ao'ain, again : — the fellow has heard it — the gate is shut; we 
 have him — ha, ha ! " 
 
 The old Hornsey toll-bar was a high gate, with cheveux de frizs 
 in the upper rail. The gate was swung in its lock, and the turn[)ike- 
 nian ensconced within his doorway, ready to spring upon the run- 
 away ; but Dick kept steadily on. He looked to the right and to 
 the left; nothing better offered ; he spoke a few words of encourage- 
 ment to Bess, gently patted her neck, then struck spurs into her 
 sides, and cleared the spikes by an inch. Out rushed the amazed 
 turnpike-man, thus unmercifully bilked, and was nearly trampled 
 to death under the feet of Paterson's horse. 
 
 The pursuers lost considerable time by waiting for the turnpike^ 
 man to open the gate. 
 
 A few more miles hard riding tired the volunteers, and before the 
 chase reached Edmonton, most of them were "no where." — Unlike 
 the men of Tottenham, the people received him with acclamations, 
 thinking, no doubt, that, " like the citizen of famous London town," 
 he rode for a wager. Presently, however, borne on the wings of 
 the blast, came the cries of " Turpin, Dick Turpin ! " and the 
 hurrahs were changed to hootings; but such was the rate at which 
 our highwayman rode, that no serious opposition could be offered t9 
 
8 
 
 THE LIFE OF RICHARD TURPIN. 
 
 him. A man in a donlcey-cart, unable to get out of the way, drew 
 himself upiu the middle of the road ; but Turpin treated him as he 
 had done the dub at the knapping-jifrfjer, and cleared the driver 
 and his little wain with ease. He finally reached York, without 
 being overtaken by his pursuers. 
 
 For the last two years of his life Turpin seems to have confined 
 his residence mostly to the county of York, where, taking the name 
 of Palmer, he appears to have been so little known, that his company 
 was chiefly with the best yeomen of the county. At length suspi- 
 cion was somehow raised that he was the outlaw Turpin ; and two 
 persons coming from Lincolnshire, to claim a mare and a foal, and a 
 horse, which he had stolen in that county, he was committed to 
 York Castle. Pie had two trials, upon both of which he was con- 
 victed on the most conclusive evidence. 
 
 The unfortunate prisoner, who received no assistance to secure 
 him from the inclemency of the ]aw_, was hanged, as previously 
 sentenced, on the 7th of April, 1739. 
 
 DEVONrORT: PRINTED BY SAMUEL AND JOHN KEYS. 
 
 \\5'^^5^ 
 
m 
 
 ON BLACK BESS, TURPIN'S FAVORITE MARE. 
 
 LET the lover his mistre-ss's beauty rehearse, 
 And laud her attractions in languishing verse; 
 Be it mine in rude strains, but with truth to express, 
 The love that I bear to my bonny Blacit Bess. 
 From the west was her dame, I'rum the east was her sire, 
 From the one came her swiftness, the other her fire ; 
 No peer of the realm better blood c-in possess, 
 Than flows in the veins ol' my bonny Blaclv Bess. 
 
 Look ! look bow that eye-ball glows bright as a brand. 
 
 That neck proudly aiches, those nostrils exp.ind ! 
 
 Mark that wide-flowing mane, of which each silken tress 
 
 Might adorn prouder beauties — thougl) none like Black Bess. 
 
 Mark that skin sleek as ve-lvet, and dusky as night, 
 
 With its jet undisfiguied with one lock of white ; 
 
 The throat branched with veins, prompt to charge or caress, 
 
 Now, is she not beautiful ! — bonny Black Bess! * 
 
 Over highway and byeway, in rough and smooth weather. 
 Some thousands of miles have we journeyed together ! 
 Our couch the same straw, and our meal tlie same mess. 
 No couple more constant than I and Black Bess. 
 By moonlight, in darkness, by night, or by day. 
 Her headlong career there is nothing can stay ; 
 She cares not for distance, she knows not distress. 
 Can you show me a courser to match with Black Bess? 
 
 Once it happened in Cheshire, near Durham, I popped 
 On a horseman alone, whom I speedily stojjped ; 
 That I lightened his pockets you'll readily guess — 
 Quick work makes Dick Turpin when mounted on Bess. 
 Now it seems that man knew me : " Dick Turpin," said he, 
 " You shall swing for this job, as you live, d'ye see ;" 
 I laughed at bis threats and his vows of redress, 
 I was sure of an alibi then with Black Bess. 
 
 Brake, brook, meadow, ploughed field, Bess fleetly bestrode; 
 As the crow wings her flight, we directed our road ; 
 We arrived at Hough Green in five minutes or less, — 
 My neck it w-as saved by the speed oi Black Bess. 
 Stepping carelessly forward, I lounge on the green. 
 Take excellent care that by all 1 am seen : 
 Some remarks on time's flight to the 'squire I address, 
 But J say not a word on the flight of Black Be.ss. 
 
 I mention the hour — it was just about four — 
 
 Play a rubber at bowls, think the danger is o'er; 
 
 When athwart my next game, like a checkmate at chess, 
 
 Comes the horsemen in search of the rider of Bess. 
 
 What matter details? Off' with triumph 1 came, 
 
 He swears to the hour, and the 'squires swear to the same; 
 
 I robbed him at four; while at lour they profess 
 
 I was quietly bowling, all thanks to Black Bess. 
 
 Then one halloo, boys, one loud cheering, halloo, 
 
 To the swiftest of coursers, the gallant, the true! 
 
 For the sportsman unborn shall the memory bless 
 
 Of the horse of the highway, bonny Black Bess, 
 
 
 
 1^ 
 
 
 "1