her; that she merely spoke out of friendship
for me, as she was assured that if I
did not consent to what Bowditch required
he would murder me; that in whatever
part of the world he was, he would find me
out, and certainly destroy me, &c. I felt
very much terrified, and believed as true
everything she told me. Mrs. Mulraine
then said, ' Swear, upon your life and
soul, you will do what Mr. Bowditch
wishes you. Only think what a dreadful
thing it would be to be murdered, for that
would certainly be the case,' &c. She said,
' Will you swear upon your life and soul?'
I felt exceedingly frightened, and said,
'Yes!' They then went away. On the
same day, after dinner, I met Jane Marke
upon the stairs, and she said she had met
Mr. Bowditch; but without speaking to
her I went into my bedroom, where she
followed me, and she said, she always had
a great regard for me, and she felt very
much Mr. Bowditch's attachment for me,
and spoke in the same manner as Mrs. Mulraine
had done. She used to come to me
in the same way on every opportunity, and
always spoke on the same subject, entreating
me not to tell my aunt and uncle; for
that I was too young to know the danger
that I should be put into. Elizabeth Snell,
the housemaid, spoke the same as the
others. Once when she came into the bedroom,
she found me crying, and told me
not to distress myself. The crying arose
from the distress of my mind in consequence
of what I had been told by them. Elizabeth
Snell begged me not to vex myself as I
did. I asked her how I could help it, and
that it made me so miserable, that to
relieve my mind I must speak to my aunt
and uncle about it. She then said, 'So,
miss, I would devise you to do so;' or some
such expression. I said, 'What, and do
what Mr. Bowditch tells me, or be murdered?'
' Oh! miss,' said she, and she
shook her head and wrung her hands,
' what a dreadful thing it is! I would not
be you for all the Indies in gold. But I
will have nothing to do with it, one way
or the other.' It was in the same week of
the Saturday that I put my name to some
paper. Jane Marke took every opportunity
of speaking to me in that week. The
nursemaid, Mary Whitby, also spoke to
me in the same way. On Saturday, the
25th of September, I was returning from
market, between nine and ten in the morning,
when I met James Bowditch and Mrs.
Mulraine. Mrs. Mulraine said, ' You have
been to market?' I said, ' Yes.' She then
said, ' Come with us. I want to tell you
something.' I said I could not; for I
must return to my aunt. She said, ' Don't
be foolish; come, come at once.' I still
said, No, I could not, for I must go to my
aunt. James Bowditch then said, waving
his hand, ' Go! You know already what
I have stated, and it is no use to repeat it
again.' He looked fierce. Mrs. Mulraine
then said, ' Go! why don't you go? You
know what he has said.' He said then,
' Aye, and I'd do it too.' I felt greatly
alarmed, and followed them both directly,
up East-street, till they came to some
court, when I stopped, but Mrs. Mulraine
said, ' Come in; now don't be foolish
again.' I then went into the court with
them, into a house that appeared to be at
the bottom of the court, when I saw the
wife of William Bowditch, who soon after
came in. Mrs. Mulraine then fetched pen,
ink, and paper, and said, ' I want you to
write something;' and I said, No, I could
not: I must go home. Mrs. Mulraine then
said, ' It is no use to repent. You know
what Mr. Bowditch has said. Take up a
pen, and I will tell you what words to
write.' I then wrote, in substance, that I
would comply with everything James Bowditch
required, and what James Bowditch
would wish me to do, and that my age was
sixteen. She made me leave several spaces
in the paper. I put my name to the paper,
and then Mrs. Mulraine put her hand over
my shoulder and took it away. William
Bowditch remained in the room while I
was writing, and then went out and returned
with a person I had not seen before,
a man whom I now know to be Mr. Oxenham.
He had a large paper in his hand,
with writing on it, which looked like Greek
to me. He asked me to sign this paper,
and I took up a pen and put my hand
to the middle of the bottom of the paper;
but he pushed my hand, and said, ' No, not
there.' When I had signed it, Mrs. Mulraine
opened the door of the parlour. Mr.
Oxenham left the room first. I walked
up the court, with Mrs. Mulraine on one
side and James Bowditch on the other. I
then returned home. On Sunday I went
to church with my aunt, and saw Mrs.
Bowditch there. My aunt walked home,
and Mrs. Bowditch sat by her side. It
was the Scotch church, where my aunt is
not in the habit of going, and they sat in
the same pew. My aunt told her she was
going to send me to school in London.
Mrs. Bowditch appeared greatly surprised,
and hoped I would take leave of her before