CHRONICLE. 



143 



oF John Allen, servant to Mr. 

 Uogers, wholesale shoemaker, Ell- 

 broad-street. It appeared in evi- 

 dence, that the deceased had been 

 upwards of li years in the employ 

 ot"his master, at Stafford, and in 

 this ciiy, in the confidential situa- 

 tion of foreman, and that Mr. R. 

 liad for some time suspected that 

 he Iiad been robbed. Mr. Rogers, 

 perceiving a journeyman whom he 

 suspected coming to receive a cer- 

 tain quantity of goods, waited till 

 he had been helped, when he de- 

 manded to see the quantity, which 

 proved to be much greater than he 

 was entitled to. This led to fur- 

 ther inquiry, the effect of which 

 was that the journeyman abscond- 

 ed, and the deceased, upon being 

 taxed with a connection with him, 

 likewise absented himself for a day 

 or two ; but he again came to his 

 employ, when Mr. Rogers called 

 him into his room, and acquainted 

 him with the charges preferred 

 against him, at which, in the first 

 instance, he pretended much sur- 

 prise ; but his master persisting in 

 his guilt, and on condition of his 

 impeaching the whole of his accom- 

 plices, intimating hopes of pardon, 

 lie said with a sigh, " I have 

 robbed you, sir." In reply, Mr. 

 Rogers said, " Then how can such 

 a criminal expect mercy from me ?" 

 and repeated, " how can you ex- 



f)ect it, knowing the confidence I 

 lave reposed in you ?" Allen, and 

 his wifie who had accompanied 

 him, fell upon their knees, and 

 implored pardon, exclaiming, " Oh ! 

 we have robbed the best of masters, 

 and God will never forgive us !" 

 To which Mr. Rogers replied, 

 •' that he was convinced he had not 

 told the whole truth,'' Allen beg- 

 ged for time, and was detained by 



Mr. Rogers at his own house, 

 from half past seven in the morn- 

 ing till about a quarter past four 

 in the afternoon, when, after taking . 

 a little refreshment, Mr. Rogers 

 returned to the room in which he 

 had left Allen, and on opening the 

 door he beheld the unhappy culprit 

 drawing a knife across his windpipe 

 with great violence. Allen, on 

 seeing him, endeavoured to stab 

 Mr. R, and also a friend of the 

 name of Haynes, who had come 

 in to his assistance. An alarm 

 being given, he was secured, but 

 expired almost immediately. Ver- 

 dict of the jury — Felo de se. On 

 Tuesday evening, at five o'clock, 

 the body was removed in a cart 

 from Mr. Rogers, house, and 

 buried in a cross-road, with the 

 customary ceremonies. The num- 

 ber of spectators was immense, and 

 the populace behaved with great 

 decorum, appearing to feel theaw- 

 fulness of the event. 



19. John M'Cririe, tenant in 

 Halferne, near Castle Douglas, 

 was lately found murdered in a 

 field adjoining to his house. His 

 skull was fractured as if by the 

 blows of a stone, and several paces 

 from the place where the body lay, 

 a quantity of blood was discovered. 

 The particulars of this horrid trans- 

 action are not known ; but the 

 perpetrator appears to have been a 

 man of the name of M'Lellan, 

 whose farm is contiguous to that 

 of Halferne. It is said that the 

 parties had been mutually irritated 

 by the trespassing of each other's 

 cattle on their respective posses- 

 sions : and it is known, that when 

 M'Cririe, who had been sum- 

 moned to attend for the trespass at 

 Castle Douglas, went out after 

 breakfast to see if his cattle were 



in 



