CHRONICLE. 



15 



fought for his king and country." — 

 At this time the princeof Wales and 

 duke of York entered the room, to 

 be present at the examination. He 

 immediately turned totheduke,and 

 said — " I know your royal highness 

 — God bless you. — You are a good 

 fellow. I have served with your 

 highness, and (pointing to a deep 

 cut over his eye, and another long 

 scar on his cheek) said, I got these, 

 and more than these, in fighting by 

 your side. At Lincelles, 1 was left 

 three hours among the dead in a 

 ditch, and was taken prisoner by 

 the French. I had my arm broken 

 by a shot, and eight sabre wounds 

 in my head ; but I recovered, and 

 here I am." He then gave the 

 following account of himself, and 

 of his conduct : 



He said, that having been dis- 

 charged from the army, on account 

 of his wounds, he had returned to 

 London, and now lived by working 

 at his own trade. He made a good 

 deal of money ; he worked for Mr. 

 Solomon Hougham. Being weary of 

 life, he last week bought a pair of 

 pistols from William Wakelin, a 

 hair-dresser and broker, in St. John- 

 street. (Persons were immediately 

 sent to bring Wakelin and his 

 master to the theatre.) He told 

 him they were for his young master, 

 who would give him a blunderbuss 

 in exchange. That he had bor- 

 rowed a crown of his master that 

 morning, with which he had bought 

 some powder, and had gone to the 

 house of Mrs. Mason, in lled-I^ion- 

 street, to have some beer ; that he 

 went backwards to the yard, and 

 there he tried his pistols. He found 

 one of them good for nothing, and 

 left it behind him. In his own 

 trade he used lead, and he cast 

 himself two slugs, with which he 



loaded his pistol, and came to the 

 theatre. 



At this part of his narrative sir 

 William Addington, themagistrate, 

 ari'ived, and took the chair: he went 

 over the examination of the persons 

 who had secured him, and who had 

 seen the pistol levelled at his majesty. 

 He asked Hadfield what had in- 

 duced him to attempt the life of the 

 best of sovereigns ? He answered, 

 that he "had not attempted to 

 kill the king. He had fired his pis- 

 tol over the royal box. He was as 

 good a shot as any in England ; but 

 he was himself weary of life — he 

 wished for death, but not to die by 

 his own hands. He was desirous to 

 raise an alarm; and wished that the 

 spectators might fall upon him — he 

 hoped that his life was forfeited." 

 He was asked if he belonged to the 

 Corresponding Society. He said, 

 " no ; he belonged to no political 

 society ; he belonged to a club of 

 odd fellows, and he was a member 

 of a benefit society." And being 

 asked if he had any accomplices, he 

 solemnly declared that he had none, 

 and with great energy took God to 

 witness, and laid his hand on his 

 heart. 



From this time he appeared to 

 exhibit symptoms of derangement. 

 When asked who his father was ? 

 He said, he had been postillion to 

 some duke ; but he could not say 

 what duke. He talked in a mys- 

 terious way of dreams, and of a 

 great commission he had received in 

 his sleep ; that he knew he was to 

 be a martyr, and was to be perse- 

 cuted like his great master. He had 

 been persecuted in France ; but he 

 had not yet been sufficiently tried. 

 He knew what he was to endure. 

 He uttered many other incoherent 

 things in the same style. 



