LON 
together! Horrible indeed to the furvivors has been the 
mode of its accomplifliment; (till may they be allowed to 
think that it was permitted, in mercy, to thofe whom 
they deplore, and perhaps as a fignal reward for fuch vir¬ 
tues as have been rarely feen united. 
On the 26th of July, the body of Edward Clifford, a 
poor Irifhman, was found murdered, in a pool of water, 
belonging to a brick-field, near Wellington-fquare, Gray’s- 
inn-lane. It appeared that the deceafed had lately come 
from Ireland, and, in company with his wife, went to the 
lodgings of a man named Lear}', where, after having 
drunk freely, Leary, the deceafed, and his wife, went out 
together. They called at a public-houfe in Field-lane, 
where they had more drink, and then proceeded up Hol- 
born-hill, defiring the wife to go home, and that they 
woujd be there immediately. The deceafed not return¬ 
ing home the whole night, his wife, on Monday morning, 
went to Leary’s lodgings to enquire after her hufband, 
when Leary’s wife would give no information of him. 
Leary was therefore accufed of the murder. 
Mary Clifford, who called lierlelf wife to the deceafed, 
ftated, that, to the belt of her knowledge, her hufband had, 
on the day preceding the murder, one 5I. note, feven il. 
notes, two guineas in gold, and 16s. in filver. Leary, the 
prifoner, fhe faid, knew of her hufband’s having this mo¬ 
ney ; and flie accounted for his knowledge in the follow¬ 
ing way : “ Leary afked me on the Sunday morning, in 
the prefence of my hufband, whether he or I had the mo¬ 
ney in keeping; and I told him, what there was of it, it 
was with my hufband ; my hufband was angry at my tel¬ 
ling he had money about him, and faid, Did I want to 
get him murdered ? Leary told me, on Sunday night, 
that my hufband intended to leave London the next morn¬ 
ing at two o’clock ; which made me watch him very dole 
all day. When I parted with my hufband for the laft 
time, Leary was with him ; my hufband was very drunk, 
but Leary was fober.” The deceafed’s hat and a flioe- 
maker’s hammer were then produced. The hat was fworn 
to by Mrs. Clifford ; alfo by the perfon of whom it was 
purchafed. Two of the police-officers of Hatton-garden 
fvvore, that they found the hammer now produced in the 
prifoner’s room, covered over with coals. The hammer, 
of which one end is round and the other flat, and about 
two inches wide, was compared with the cut in the hat, 
and the fiat end exactly correfponded.—Leary was com¬ 
mitted for farther examination ; and proceedings were ad¬ 
journed for a-week, in order to collect more information. 
In the mean time, great fympathy was excited in fa¬ 
vour of Mrs. Clifford as fhe called herfelf, who had five 
children with her, and was ready to lie in, and did lie in 
before the final examination took place. Subfcriptions 
were raifed for her; and fome ladies hired comfortable 
apartments for her and her children, where it was in¬ 
tended flie fhould lie in. This, however, was prevented 
by Leary's accufing her of the murder, though he con- 
feffed that he was prefent, and might have prevented it. 
She was therefore committed to Cold-bath-fields prifon ; 
and the perfons who had collected money for her, were 
requefted to retain it for the prefent. It foon after ap¬ 
peared, that flie was not Clifford’s wife ; but that her 
hufband was living, and his name was Burke; and that 
flie had agreed, upon a very fhort acquaintance, to come 
over to England with Clifford. She had faid, that her 
firft hufband had been dead fix years, and that flie was 
married to Clifford by a prielt in her own lioufe. It ap¬ 
peared alfo, that on the Monday morning, after the body 
was found, this woman gave a man of the name of Law¬ 
rence, who kept a chandler’s fliop in the fame fireet, fix 
pounds to keep for her; yet fhe had depofed that all their 
money was in her hufband’s keeping. None of the de¬ 
ceafed’s money was found upon Leary, nor ever traced to 
have been in his pofiefiion. 
Mrs. Burke was treated with great tendernefs in the 
prifon ; and fhe had a very fine child in her arms, of which 
fne had been delivered there, when the final examination 
Vol. XIII. No. 512. 
D O N. 305 
took place, which was on the 8th of September. At this 
time came forward one Thomas M c Carthy, who for¬ 
merly kept the Hare-and-Hounds alehoufe in St. Giles’s, a 
man with whom the prifoner was very intimate, and (wore, 
that, when talking to him in the lock-up lioufe of Hatton- 
garden police-office, he intimated a with that he could pro¬ 
cure perfons to prove an alibi, by fwearing that he was 
at his own home on the Sunday evening of the murder, 
at eleven o’clock, as that wmuld fave his life. Leary alone 
was, upon this, fully committed to be tried for the mur¬ 
der. His trial came on at the Old Bailey on the 17th of 
September. He protefted his innocence, and produced 
a good character; but the evidence of M c Carthy was fa¬ 
tal to him. The jury brought him in guilty; after which 
the recorder proceeded to pafs the fentence of the law, 
that he be executed on Monday, and his body anatomifed. 
The prifoner, who had difplayed the utmoft firmnefs dur¬ 
ing the whole of the trial, was now vifibly affefted ; the 
tears ftarted into his eyes, his colour fled, and his whole 
frame betrayed much agitation. He fliook his hand with 
an expreflion of bitternefs and reproof at M c Carthy, who 
ltood below the dock, as if to exprefs that his teltimony 
had been the chief caufe of his condemnation. Before, 
however, he was removed, he ftretched out his, hand to 
him in token of forgivenefs; but M c Carthy refufed it. 
The trial of this moil unfortunate man was however 
not yet over; it was fated to laft till the lafl: moment of 
his exiftence. About fix o’clock on the Sunday evening, 
colonel O’Kelly, an Irifli gentleman, who had taken a very 
afiive part in the inveftigation of this murder, arrived at 
the prifon, in hopes that Leary would make a confeflion. 
The Rev. Mr. Devereux, a catholic prielt, the under- 
fherifF, and Mr. Newman, accompanied colonel O’Kelly ; 
and the following converfation took place. 
Colonel. Now, Leary, fince all is over, as you have beets 
found guilty of this dreadful charge, and have only a few 
hours to live, perfifting in your innocence can avail yon 
nothing; tell therefore the truth, as you are fltortly to ap¬ 
pear before your Almighty Judge. You muft feel what 
a dreadful thing it mull be to die with a lie in your 
mouth. 
Leary. Colonel, I now know that my perfifting in my 
innocence will not clear me ; you never believed my Itory; 
but I call on my God, before whom I am Ihortly to ap¬ 
pear, that what I have already ftated is true ; I was pre¬ 
fent, but I did not commit the murder ; it was Mrs. Clif¬ 
ford murdered him, and Slattery was waiting for her near 
the pond at half-paft ten o’clock: the clock was Itriking 
ten when we were palling Gray’s-inn-gate, in Gray’s-inn- 
lane. 
Cot. If what you fay be true, why not take her into cuf- 
tody, or inform againft her? 
L. I did not like to get myfelf into trouble; and, be- 
fides, I took companion on her and herfive children. 
Col. Well, if what you fay be true, how can you re¬ 
concile it with your converfation with M‘Carthy in the 
ftrong room at Hatton-garden ? 
L. As I expeft for mercy, not one Angle fentence of 
what M‘Carthy charges me with palled my lips. 
Col. Well, Leary, I am forry to find you perfevere in 
a Itory that not one perfon will give credit to; and if I 
laid, when I left this, that you perfilted in your innocence, 
not one perfon would believe me. I ftiall leave you now, 
as the Rev. Mr. Devereux here waits to be alone with you; 
for God’s fake, confider your Hate; your time is fhort; 
your pardon from an offended God you cannot expeft, 
unlels publicly you acquit the innocent. Make your 
peace; I lhall fee you again in the morning, when your 
laft hour will be very near; you will before then receive 
the facrament. You will behold a vaft multitude afiem- 
bled to witnefs your awful exit, and impatient to hear of 
your candid confeffion. 
L. I ftiall be glad to fee you, colonel; but remember, 
I tell you I acknowledge my guilt; I was prefent, andmight 
have prevented it ; but I did not commit the murder. 
5 A 
Here 
