forth himself, and called at the counting-house of
Messrs. Wright, old-established bankers in
Nottingham, where he requested cash for a bank
post bill, No. 11,062, dated 10th January, 1781,
payable to Matthew Humphrys, Esq., and duly
endorsed by Matthew Humphrys, but by no one
else. Mr. Wright, the senior partner, peered
over his gold spectacles at the gentleman in the
naval uniform, and wished to know if he were
Mr. Humphrys? As the naval gentleman replied
in the negative, Mr. Wright requested him to
endorse the bill, which the naval gentleman did,
writing " James Jackson" in a rather feeble and
illiterate scrawl, but receiving cash for his bill.
Immediately on his return to the hotel, the naval
gentleman ordered a post-chaise and left
Nottingham on an agreeable trip to Mansfield,
Chesterfield, Sheffield, Leeds, Wakefield,
Tadcastor, York, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham,
Newcastle, and Carlisle; at each and every one
of which places— such were his needs— the
naval gentleman had to go to the bankers,
and obtain cash for bills which he presented.
Leaving Carlisle he departed by the direct road
for London, and was not heard of for some
days.

But so soon as the government advertisement
arrived in Nottingham, the ingenious Mr.
Wright was suddenly struck with an idea, and
concluded (by a remarkable exercise of his
intellectual forces) that the naval gentleman and
the robber of the mail-cart were one and the same
person. So he caused handbills descriptive of
the naval gentleman's appearance to be printed
and circulated, and he sent out several persons
in pursuit of the purloiner of his hundred
pounds. Amongst other places, a number of
handbills were sent to Newark by stage-coach
on Thursday, the 1st of February, addressed to
Mr. Clarke, the postmaster, who also kept the
Saracen's Head Inn. Unfortunately, this parcel
was not opened until about noon on Friday, the
2nd of February; but the moment Mr. Clarke
read one of the notices, he recollected that a
gentleman in naval uniform had, about four
hours before, arrived from Tuxford at his house
in a chaise and four, had got change from him
for a bank-note of 25l., and had immediately
started in another chaise and four for Grantham.

Now, was a chance to catch the naval gentleman
before he reached London, and an instant
pursuit was commenced, but the devil stood his
friend so far, for he reached town about three
hours before his pursuers. His last change was
at Enfield-highway, whence a chaise and four
carried him to town, and set him down in
Bishopsgate-street between ten and eleven on
Friday night. The postboys saw him get into
a hackney-coach, taking his pistols and
portmanteau with him; but they could not tell the
number of the coach, nor where he directed the
coachman to drive.

Having thus traced the highwayman to London,
of course no one could then dream of
taking any further steps towards his apprehension
without consulting " the public office, Bow-
street," in the matter; and at the public office,
Bow-street, the affair was placed in the hands
of one Mr. John Clark, who enjoyed great
reputation as a clever " runner." Mr. John
Clark's first act was to issue a reward for the
appearance of the hackney-coachman— an act
which was so effectual that, on Monday morning,
there presented himself at Bow-street, an
individual named James Perry, who said that
he was the coachman in question, and deposed
that the person whom he had conveyed in his
coach the Friday night preceding was one
George Weston, whom he well knew, having
been a fellow-lodger of his at the sign of
the Coventry Arms, in Potter's-fields, Tooley-
street, about four months ago. He also said
that Weston ordered him to drive to the first
court on the left hand in Newgate-street, where
he set him down, Weston walking through the
court with his portmanteau and pistols under
his arm. Further information than this, James
Perry could not give. On Tuesday, the 6th of
February, a coat and waistcoat, similar to those
worn by the naval gentleman implicated in these
transactions, were found in " Pimlico river, near
Chelsea Waterworks," by one John Sharp; and,
finally, Mr. Clark, of the public office, Bow-
street, in despair at his want of success, advertised
George Weston by name. But, although a
large number of notes and bills were " put off"
or passed between that time and the month of
November, not the least trace could be had of
him. Mr. Clark, of the public office, Bow-
street, owned himself done at last, and so, in
the pleasant round of highway robberies, foot-
paderies, burglaries, and murders, the affair was
almost forgotten.

In the middle of the month of October, a
gentleman, dressed (of course) in the height of
the mode, entered the shop of Messrs. Elliott
and Davis, upholsterers, in New Bond-street,
accompanied by an intimate friend, whom he
addressed as Mr. Samuel Watson. The
gentleman's own name was William Johnson; he
had, as he informed the upholsterers, recently
taken a house and some land near Winchelsea,
and he wished them to undertake the furnishing
of his house. The upholsterers, like cautious
tradesmen, requested " a reference," which Mr.
Johnson at once gave them in Mr. Hanson, a
tradesman, residing also in New Bond-street.
Mr. Hanson, on being applied to, said that Mr.
Johnson had bought goods of him to the amount
of 70l., and had paid ready money. Messrs.
Elliott and Davis were perfectly satisfied, and
professed their readiness to execute Mr. Johnson's
orders. Mr. Johnson's orders to the
upholsterers were to "let him have everything
suitable for a man of 500l. a year, an amount
which he possessed in estates in Yorkshire,
independent of the allowance made to him by his
father, who had been an eminent attorney in
Birmingham, but had retired upon a fortune of
2000l. a year." Elliott and Davis took Mr.
Johnson at his word, and completed the order
in style; then, about the middle of January, the
junior partner started for Winchelsea, and took