44 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1812. 



when, under the pretence of taking 

 him (Valentine) to captain Best, 

 he led him to a place or quay call- 

 ed the Broad Slip, in Fowey, and 

 pushed him into the water, where 

 he first suffocated, and then robbed 

 him of 260/., which he afterwards 

 deposited in a heap of dung on his 

 own premises. No doubt whatever 

 could be entertained of the pri- 

 soner's guilt, from a long but strong 

 train of circumstantial evidence ; 

 and after a Irial of eleven hours con- 

 tinuance, on Thursday last, he was 

 found guilty of felony and murder, 

 and sentenced to be hung at Laun- 

 ceston. 



On Saturday morning last, 

 soon after eight o'clock, Julien 

 Dubois and Guillaume Beury were 

 taken from Winchester gaol to the 

 usual place of execution, and after 

 some time spent in prayer, were 

 launched into eternity. On the 

 morning of the execution, the 

 officers of the prison went to their 

 cells soon after five o'clock, and 

 found the prisoners » a lifeless 

 state, and the floor covered with 

 blood. The surgeon of the prison 

 was immediately sent for, the effu- 

 sion of blood stopped, and them- 

 selves sufficiently recovered to at- 

 tend the exhortations of the priest, 

 who represented to them the great 

 sin they had committed in attempt- 

 ing their own lives ; and they ex- 

 pressed their contrition for it. They 

 effected their purpose by means 

 of a short piece of glass, with 

 which they made an incision in 

 their arms, and enlarged the orifice 

 with an old rusty nail, sharpened ; 

 which they had ccncealed about 

 their wooden shoes. They had 

 expressed a wish to be shot instead 

 of hanged, as a death more agree- 

 able to a soldier; but being in- 



formed that could not be done, 

 they appeared resigned. Beury, 

 considering that he should effec- 

 tually destroy himself, had left a 

 written paper in his room, stating, 

 that w inen a valiant Frenchman 

 was sentenced to die by the com- 

 mon executioner, rather than dis- 

 grace himself, his family, and his 

 country, by such an ignominious 

 end, he preferred dying by his own 

 hands. A t the place of execution, 

 and on receiving sentence of death, 

 Beury exclaimed, Vive I ' Empereur ! 

 After their bodies had hung the 

 usual time, they were taken down, 

 and buried in the Catholic burial 

 ground. 



APRIL. 



Kingston, April 1 .—Adam Lee, 

 Thomas Lee, and Eleanor his wife, 

 were indicted for a highway rob- 

 bery, by stopping Elizabeth Col- 

 lier on the 21st of October last, 

 and forcibly taking from her her 

 clothes, pockets, money, &c. 



The prisoners were three gipsies, 

 and the case excited a considerable 

 degree of interest, on account of 

 the cruel manner in which the 

 prosecutrix had been treated. 



Elizabeth Collier, when called, 

 was in a very languid and debili- 

 tated state, from the ill-usage she 

 had received. She stated, that 

 she lived, in October last, at Hors- 

 ham, in this county, with a Mr. 

 Giles. On the morning of the 

 21st of October, she was sent to 

 Walton, by her mistress ; and on 

 her return home she saw the three 

 prisoners. Thewomangipsyasked 

 her if she would have her fortune 

 told — she replied, no, she knew 

 her fortune very well. Immedi- 

 ately 



