An ACCOUNT OF THE EXECUTION, And Last Dying SPEECHES Of
Thomas Watson and
Thomas Gourdon, Who where Executed, (the one for Murthering his Wife, and the other for High-Treason) on
Kenington-Common in the County of
Surry, the 19th. of
March, 1687.
Together, with a True Coppy of a Paper, left by
Tho. Watson, in order to be Published, and and Recommended by him at the place of Execution, to the Spectators, as the real Sense of what he further designed or intended to say or leave, at his going out of this World,
&c. Being Written with his own Hand in the
Marshalsea Prison.
OF the four Persons who Received Sentence of Death, at the last Lenten-Assizes, held at St. Margarets-Hill in Southwark, for the County of Surry; two received a Gracious Reprieve, and the other two, viz. Thomas Watson, Condemned for Killing Mary Watson his Wife, by giving her a Mortal Wound with his Bionet; and Thomas Geurdon, for Clipping and Defacing the Currant Coin of this Kingdom, were this 19th. of March, 1687. Conveyed to Kennington Common, the place appointed for their Execution; the First in a Cart, and the Latter on a Sledge, where being arrived about Eleven of the Clock in the Morning, Gourdon was taken out of the Sledge and put into the Cart where Watson was; and being both of them Tyed up in the usual manner, Watson, after he had delivered the Books he had brought with him, together with his Hat, Cravat, and some other things of the like Nature to his Friends, who attended in a Coach, was asked if he intended to say any thing to the People, in Relation to the Circumstances he was under; who replyed, he designed to say something, as he hoped for the good of the Spectators, who came to be Witnesses of his unhappy End, and thereupon having declared that he had left the particulars of what he intended to say in Writing, with a Woman, a Friend of his, in order to be Printed, for the General Good and Satisfaction of the publick, he proceeded in this manner.
I Beseech you, good People who come to see my shameful and Ignominious End and Death, which I little expected one day to come too, that you would take warning, and not give way to Passion, which many times makes Men do what they least design; for when a Man is inraged, the Devil many times prevails against him with his Temptations. As for my part, I did no more design to Act the Crime for which I suffer, than to do hurt to my own Heart, but what I did, I did out of a sudden Rashness, and I hope in Christ Jesus, I shall find Pardon for it.
After this, he told the Minister and the under Sheriff, &c. that what else he thought convenient to make publick as afore-said, he had left in the hands of his Friend, with a desire it should be Printed and Published, and repeated the same with a loud Voice, to the People that came to be Spectators of his unhappy End; appearing very sensible of his Offence, which was observed by his many Expressions of the Detestation and Abhorrence he conceived thereat; and earnest desires that God would of his infinite Mercy, be pleased to forgive and pardon him for so offending.
Thomas Gourdon, being desired to declare himself as to what he stood Condemned, said, that many before him had been brought to the like Death he he was to undergo, for the like Crimes that he stood charged withall; but his Wishes and earnest Desires were, that he might be the last, and that he trusted in Jesus Christ that he should find a Pardon for his sins, and thereupon fell to praying; sometimes with an audible voice, and at other times to himself; then the Minister who attended this business, prayed with them a considerable time; after which being demanded if they had any thing more to say, in order to the easement or disburthening of their minds, they answering, they had nothing more to say to the people, whereupon the Executioner having orders to drive away the Cart, they were turned off.
After the Bodys had hung the space of half an hour, or somewhat more, they were taken down and delivered to their Friends, who attended with two Coffins, in order to dispose of them, according to their discression.
The true Coppy under Thomas Watson's own hand and Written by him in Prison, take as followeth.
AFter my condemnation, having a true Sense of my sad Estate, I bitterly lamented my sins, and loathed my self for them, especially as they were against a Good and Gracious God: According to Psal. 31.4. and 15.4.
I was deeply sensible of, and grieved for the Corruption of my heart, from whence my actual sins did proceed: According to Psal. 51.5.
I Mourned over my Back slidings, because God was thereby dishonoured.
I found it hard to believe, yet, I resolved I would call upon God, and relye upon the Merrits of Christ alone for Salvation, saying, if I perish, I will perish at the Fountain of Mercy.
I was much in a little time in Dutys; yet, I professed to my self, I saw the insufficiency of them to justifie or save me, as in Phil. 3.9.
I made choice of Christ before all, before Life it self: According to Phil. 3.8.
I longed for the Morning when I was to Die, because I desired to be with Christ: According to Phil. 1.23.
I greatly loved God, because much was forgiven me: According to Luk. 7.47. and said, though I should fail before him, yet I would trust in him.
I loved the Company of Gods people, and professed I would rather be with them in Prison with Bread and Water, than with the ungodly at liberty, with the greatest Dainties: According to the 1 Joh. 3.14.
I Besought God, that he would ever give me a heart, to think it better to be in Chains, and brought to Dye, than to go on in sin.
I was broken and melted for my sins, when those that came to visit me, were gone from me and not in their presence; yet, this was sometimes my trouble, least God should loose the Glory he had wrought in me.
I Weep'd for joy, at the time when I conceived that God loved me, forasmuch as I was not sinning against him as others were, and I my self had formerly done, for I found and tasted, more sweetness in the ways of God, and in praying and mourning for forgiveness of my sin, than ever I found in the committing of them.
I counted sin to be worse than Death or Hell.
I looked upon the loss of God, more than the torments of the latter, and feared it more, nay, I praised God, because in the Grave I should sin no more, and thus I comforted my self in misery; advising all to Watch and Pray, that they might not enter into Temptation and be guilty of the like sins which I had committed, but prayed that my fellow Convicts might recieve the like Consolation my Repentance had wrought in me.
After I had thus far improved my time, I fell to consider and meditate on sundry sacred Texts, by which means I found more Consolation; as thus.
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will aboundantly pardon; for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, saith the Lord. I, even I, am he, that blotteth out thy Transgressions for mine own Names sake, and will not remember thy sins. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: Though your sins be as Scarlet, they shall be as white as Snow: Though they be as Red as Crimson, they shall be as Wool; but this I say, Bretheren the time is short; this remains, that both they that have Wives, be as though they had none, and they that Weep, as though they Weep'd not, and they that Rejoyce, as though they Rejoyced not, and they that Buy, as though they possessed not, and they that use this World, as not abusing it; for the Fashion of this World passeth away, in the sweat of thy Face faith the Lord, shalt thou Eat Bread, till thou return unto the Ground, for out of it was thou taken, for Dust thou art, and unto Dust thou shalt return.
In God have I put my trust, I will not be affraid what man can do unto me: He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whosoever confesseth and forsaketh them shall have Mercy; hear O Israel, the Lord our God, is one Lord, the Lord is the true God, and an everlasting King; at his Wrath the Earth shall tremble, and the Nations shall not be able to abide his indignation: Go therefore, and teach all Nations, Baptising them, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; for there are three that bear Record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy Heart, and with all thy Soul, and with all thy Mind: This is the first and great Commandment, and the Second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self, for whosoever will save his Life shall loose it, and and whosoever will loose his Life for my sake, shall find it: For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole World, and loose his own Soul? or what shall a man give in Exchange for his Soul?
For if a man Dye, shall he Live again; all the days of my appointed time, will I wait till my change come, trusting in, and hoping to improve, that which our Blessed Saviour said to encourage St. Peter, viz. I have prayed for thee, that thy Faith fail not; and when thou art Comforted, strengthen thy Bretheren, and examine your selves whether you be in the Faith; prove your own selves, know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is is you, except ye be in Reprobation: Therefore, let us keep the Feast not with Old Leaven, neither with the Leaven of Mallice and Wickedness, but with the unleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth: I wrought unto you in an Epistle, not to accompany Fornicators; but let us who are of the day be sober putting on the Brest-Plate of Faith, and for an Helmet, the hope of Salvation, for God hath nor appointed us for Wrath, but to obtain Salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ; but the Lord is faithful, who shall establish you, and keep you from Evil, for I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good Fight. I have finished my Course. I have kep'd the Faith: Henceforth, there is laid up for me, a Crown of Righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but to all them that love his appearing; knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law, but by the Faith of Jesus Christ: Even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by [Page 3]the Faith of Jesus Christ, and not by the works of the Law; for by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified: I do not frustrate the Grace of God, for if Righteousness comes by the Law, then Christ is Dead in vain, but Christ our Passover, is Sacrificed for us: Therefore, let us keep the Feast not with Old Leaven, neither with the Leaven of Mallice and Wickedness, but with the unleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth: Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted, wherefore I abhor my self, and Repent in Dust and Ashes. Look down then from Heaven, and behold from the Habitation of thy Holiness, and of thy Glory, where is thy Zeal and thy strength, and the erning of thy Bowels and of thy Mercy towards me, are they restrained doubtless? No, for thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not; thou O Lord art our Father, our Redeemer, thy Name is from everlasting.
Having well weighed and considered these things I betook my self to prayer in the following manner.
THE PRAYER.
ALmighty and Most Merciful Father, Most Holy and Righteous Judge of the whole World, give me a miserable and sinful Wretch leave to prostrate my self before the Throne of thy Grace, and to implore that Mercy I have formerly abused and despised: I am not worthy to look up to Heaven, which is the Throne of thy Purity, but it becomes me in the greatest Humility and Dejection of Spirit, to bewail, and groan under the load of my many and great sins, so henious, that when I reflect on them, I am ready to sink into Hell and dispair of Mercy: But although I am a miserable sinner, yet thou art a merciful God, full of Compassion and long suffering; and of great Goodness. To thee do I come, beseeching thee for thy dear Son Christ Jesus sake, to pardon all my sins; whether of Omission or commission, secret or open, notorious or presumptious; that in Thought Word or Deed, I have committed against thy Divine Majesty.
Especially O Lord, pardon my prophaning thy Holy Sabbaths, when thou gavest me six days to follow my lawful Occasions in, and took but one to thy self, yet I have not spent it as I ought, in private praying unto thee, and praising of thee, in Reading and Meditating of thy Holy Word, and examining the state of my soul, nor publickly attending upon thee in thy house, to worship thee, and hear thy Holy Word Preached to me, to instruct me in the way to Heaven, and to restrain me from sin; but the precious time I have thrown away, upon my Folly and vanities.
O Lord, pardon my uncleanness; for that Body which should have been the Temple of the Holy Ghost, and been kept from all impurity and unchast Thoughts and Actions, I have defiled by unchast Desires and uncleanness.
O Lord pardon all those sins and irregular Actions, by which I entered into Debts, further than my necessity required, or I was able to pay. Let not my Creditors suffer by my sins, Lord reward all their Kindnesses into their Bosomes, and make them recompence where I cannot. Lord, I beseech thee pay my Debts in Blessings to them and theirs. Lord pardon all my Rashness and Passion; for when I should have been meek, gentle, humble and merciful, patiently bearing all the injuries done unto me, as my Blessed Saviour Jesus Christ did; alas! I have for one inconsiderable word, broak into open Rage and Passion, harbouring mischief in my heart; nay, at last they brought me to the inhumane and cruel Murther even of her that ought to have been as dear unto me as my own Life, although she was unkind to me, I ought to have loved her, instructing, reproving, and restraining her, with all meekness and gentleness, and long suffering, praying for her, and not to have been rash and passionate against her, moreover, wickedly to destroy her; and as much as in me lay, to raise out the very Image of God: Deliver me O Lord, from Blood Guiltiness, thou that art my Saviour, and my Tongue shall sing of thy Righteousness; wash me throughly from my wickedness, and cleanse me from my sins. Turn thy Face from my sins, and blot out all my misdoings; make me a new heart, and renew a right spirit within me; the Remembrance of my sins is grievous, the Burthen of them intollerable. O Lord I beseech thee, give me a due sense of my sins, the baseness and vileness of all my doings and misdeeds, that I may hate them worse than that Death I expect shortly to suffer: Give me a Godly sorrow that may work Repentance, never to be repented of. Give me unfeigned purposes of amendment of Life; though I may justly think, they are too late to find Acceptance with thee, therefore with fear, and a great sense of my own unworthiness with a sorrowful heart, and true sence of my sins.
I look up unto thee for Mercy, that had Mercy on the Penitent Thief at the last hour, thou that art Mercy it self; give me some small hopes of Mercy, good Lord cast me not quite out of thy sight, for Jesus Christ's sa [...]e, who gave himself for us, to redeem us from all Iniquities, I confess 'tis a beginning of Mercy, and an earnest I have to hope for, more that hast made me sensible of my sins, to a degree of hating them, and to resolve against them, that I have a love and desire to a Godly Life.
I confess, thou had'st just cause to leave me to my self, and permit me to commit so horrid a Fact; O Lord, I know thou canst bring good out of evil; and I beseech thee, to let this be a means of bringing me to Repentance, and then I shall have infinite cause to Bless thee, for suffering of Justice to take hold of me, and put a stop to my further sinning against thee; let me take shame to my self, by open confessing my Crime, and earnestly admonishing all, to be warned by my Example, to cease betimes to do evil, and learn to do well. O! that I might Glorifie thee in my Latter End, till I receive my deserved punishment; give me Grace to spend my time, bewailing my sins, in and humbling my self before thee for them, and hating them with a perfect hatred, and in calling other Offendors to Repentance: I beseech thee to inable me thus to spend my time: Grant me to tast of thy Mercy, and take from me the fear of Death. Give me Grace to work out my Salvation, with fear and [Page 4]trembling, to use all diligence, to make my Calling and Election sure; so that when my Soul is seperated from my Body, that thou Blessed Jesus wilt receive it into thy Protection, and have Mercy upon me, O Lord God, according to thy loving kindness, according to thy tender Mercys, blot out my Transgressions; wash me throughly from mine Iniquity, and cleanse me from my sins; for I acknowledge my Transgressions and my Sins are ever before me, against thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight, that thou might be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest; for behold, I was shapen in Iniquitie, and in sin my Mother concieved me, but thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with Hyssop, and I shall be clean, wash me, and I shall be whiter than Snow: Make me to hear of joy and gladness, that the Bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce, hide thy Face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right Spirit within me; cast me not away from thy presents, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me; restore unto me, the joy of thy Salvation, and uphold me with thy Spirit, then will I teach Transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from Blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my Salvation, and my Tongue shall sing aloud of thy Righteousness. O Lord, open thou my Lips, and my Mouth shall shew forth thy Praises, for thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it thee; thou delightest not in Burnt-Offerings, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God. Thou wilt not dispise, do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion; Build thou the walls of Jerusalem, let me make my Calling and Election sure, and when my soul departeth from my body, then, O Blessed Lord, receive it into the hands of thy Mercy. These, and whatsoever else, thou seest needful for me, I Beg in the Name and for the sake of Jesus Christ, concluding these my imperfect Prayers, in saying as he himself hath Taught us,
WE, the Persons who have subscribed the Papers mentioned to be left by Thomas VVatson, do testifie of our own Knowledge, that they were Written by the said Thomas VVatson, and signed with his own Hand, it being his desire they should be Printed and Published.
This may be Printed,
London, Printed by D. Mallet, for G. P. MDCLXXXVII.