With her went the woman I mentioned before, who,
it seems, has made some sort of profession, but upon
this occasion allowed, herself a latitude of conduct
rather inconsistent with it, having filled her apron
with wearing-apparel, which she likewise intended
to take care of. She would have gone to the
county gaol, had William Raban, the baker’s son,
who prosecuted, insisted upon it; but he, good-naturedly,
though I think weakly, interposed in her favour, and
begged her off. The young gentleman who accompanied
these fair ones is the junior son of Molly Boswell.
He had stolen some iron-work, the property of Griggs
the butcher. Being convicted, he was ordered
to be whipped, which operation he underwent at the
cart’s tail, from the stone-house to the high
arch, and back again. He seemed to show great
fortitude, but it was all an imposition upon the public.
The beadle, who performed it, had filled his left
hand with yellow ochre, through which, after every
stroke, he drew the lash of his whip, leaving the
appearance of a wound upon the skin, but in reality
not hurting him at all. This being perceived
by Mr. Constable H., who followed the beadle, he applied
his cane, without any such management or precaution,
to the shoulders of the too merciful executioner.
The scene immediately became more interesting.
The beadle could by no means be prevailed upon to
strike hard, which provoked the constable to strike
harder, and this double flogging continued, till a
lass of Silver-End, pitying the pitiful beadle thus
suffering under the hands of the pitiless constable,
joined the procession, and placing herself immediately
behind the latter, seized him by his capillary club,
and pulling him backwards by the same, slapped his
face with a most Amazon fury. This concatenation
of events has taken up more of my paper than I intended
it should, but I could not forbear to inform you how
the beadle thrashed the thief, the constable the beadle,
and the lady the constable, and how the thief was
the only person concerned who suffered nothing.
Mr. Teedon has been here, and is gone again.
He came to thank me for some left-off clothes.
In answer to our inquiries after his health, he replied
that he had a slow fever, which made him take all
possible care not to inflame his blood. I admitted
his prudence, but in his particular instance, could
not very clearly discern the need of it. Pump
water will not heat him much, and, to speak a little
in his own style, more inebriating fluids are to him,
I fancy, not very attainable. Ho brought us
news, the truth of which, however, I do not vouch for,
that the town of Bedford was actually on fire yesterday,
and the flames not extinguished when the bearer of
the tidings left it.