Star.
London, England, 1824-01-12 00:00:00

PURVIZR PACTICUL4BS
.4.10
Inorder to prepare his defence, Thurtell first pro-
cured such books ai wets ..inely to aid. hial,in comparing
his address, particularly. the public ,speeches of Mr.
Charles Phi Rarristerrand laving arranged and
reduced his defences to a writtentorm,lse lost no time ip
learaing it by heart, and then_ practised its recitation.,
*His rehearsal's wete,perfo;med in the night, and before
he commenced. he placed. Randall, a fellow-prisoner,
who was a sort of companion or' guard with him for the
night, to. act as Judge; he next selected a part of the
room which was supposed to be the Jury, and then went
through the whole of his speech, to the no small asto-
nishment and surprise of Randall, who, being through-
(out the day in the same yard as .Hunt, frequently .tole
him that Mr. Thurtell would make such a fine speech
as was never before heard, and which -would be sure to.
get him off, adding, "Mr. Thurtell is only sorry I can't
read, because then I could hold the paper, and see whe-
'ther he spoke it correct to a word."
In the early part of the business, and while Hunt was
expected to be a witness, Thurtell expressed his disgust
at his pusillanimous conduct, but when Thurtell found.
that he was rejected, and that Probert had consented to
give evidence, his indignation was greatly aroused
Hainst the latter, and he appeared to commiserate
unt, saying, he readily forgave him, because he
owed him no obligations ;. but he could not forgive the
rascal Probert, whose family, as. well as himself; he
had supported.
At Christmak, Mr. Wilson had some friends spendin
the evening with him, and Hunt, to entertain them, vo-
luntarily sung. a plaintive song; Thurtell who was in a
'room beneath Hunt, joined in the applause bestowed
upon the singer, and in a friendly tone, called out,
" Joseph !" and on Hunt asking what he.wanted, Tiro r-
lel replied, " I will thank you,-Joe, to give me my old
favourite; you know what I mean." Hunt immediately
complied ; the song was Look Out ; or, Old Con-
well the Pilot, and at it, conclusion Thurtell expressed
his thanks, and clapped his hands for some time in
token of approval.
During the first day of the trial, Hunt, whenever be
could get an opportunity of speaking to Mr. Harmer,
his Solicitor, anxiously inquired how the case was going
on, and in the early part of the day, the notes which
he sent to his Counsel, suggesting questions, or observ-
ing on the evidence, were confused, and ill written, but
as the case proceeded his suggestions were much more,
intelligible, and better written.
• A, the conclusion of the first day's proceedings Thur-
tell and Hunt were brought back in the same carriage
to the prison, when Hunt thus addressed Thurtell :-
44 Why,l was told you were to make a fine long speech,
but you have scarcely said a word, and what little 'you
did say was spoken in such a manner that no one could.
scarcely hear or understand you, and I do not think. you
will be able to make any speech worth hearing." Where-
upon Thurtell said ; 4' Wait till to-morrow, my boy,
and hear me, before you give your opinion, and only:
see it I don't astonish you."
It was remarked by one that his address to the Court
and Jury was very powerful .and energetic, not only as
to its composition, but its delivery; and Thurtell frankly
avowed, that he had compiled-it from various sources,
and said, " What did you think of the conclusion, was
it not very fine?" and being answered in the affirmative,
he said, -41 that I took principally from Phillips's
speeches; it is in the defence he wrote for Turner, the
Bank clerk." Thurtell heard some one remark that the
worst man of the three had escaped punishment alto-
gether, and he directly said, with great emphasis, "
would rather suffer death twenty times over, than be
Probert and live!" and he particularly ridiculed the idea
of Prohert's evidence being true as to his having stated
that Weare had nearly got the better of him ; for, said
he, " Weare was a very little man, and to think it pos-
sible that such a person could get the better of me, is all
nonsense." &friend of Thurtell's observed.,-." At all!
events you cannot be accused of betraying pour com.:l
panions. " No," replied the prisoner,. with marked ex-.
pression, " before any one could have got tire secret
from me, he must have torn my heart frorri my breast."
His friend, thinking, perhaps, this observation rather too
strongly implied an admission of his guilt, and appa--
iently wishing him to alter its import in that respect,
said, " You mean if you had been concernea." .Thurtell
answered, " Yes, of course." He inveighed with much
bitterness against one of the' witnesses, to whose.testi-
ony alone, he said, he should attribute his conviction,
rn
4hejury found him guilty ; and he, with great inge-
tA;sity .pninted out the- improbability of his evidence
being true, ftom` the'relative situations which:the wit-
tress described himself and him (Morten) to be in when
he undertook to speak to the fact deposed te..
On the night of the first day's adjournment of the
tria4'he became struck with the force of some of the de-
tails that were urged in evidence against him at the
close of the prosecution. He appeared to have had
no idea'that his identity could have been so clearly
established in eVidence. The night was dark, and there
was no moon at the hour: but 'the passing' at the mo-
ment of the stage-coach with lights, as Clarke stood at
one side of the road, while Thurtell drove his gig at the
other, afforded, under all the circumstances, an almost
miraculous opportunity for recognition which he never
anticipated. The moment of his removal, after con-
demnation, to the jail, he, after a few general remarks
upon the evidence,' abandoned all intention of speaking,
a•word more upon the subject, an intention to which he
adhered. He was at all times cool and collected, but
his fortitude seemed the result of natural courage; his
Mind was never, until the very near approach of his
trial, sufficiently plastic to receive the impression, that
whatever view he might take of the course that became
him in meeting the particular crime laid to his charge,
'it was time, tinder any alternative, to reflect seriously
upon his paq life, and prepare for etein;ty.
When spoken to before trial resPectnig the murder, he
was always most anxious' to evade conversation on that
particular topic, and wished to turn the subject, which
he often did with considerable address, and then became
fluent upon any other event in his life which suggested
itself at the moment, and was lively or adventurous
enough to furnish interest to those with whom he hap-
pened to be in conversation. When spoken to respect-
ing any particular fact of which it was presumed he had
any iaiormation, he either communicated what he said
he knew in a prompt and fluent manner, or else laughed
at the notion that he knew anything upon the point.
When spoken to about gaming-houses, or the company
of pugilists, his answer was nniform—that he had not
known either for two. years, or many of the principal in-
dividuals engaged in them for nearly three years--that
accident, rather than any predilection for such associates,
had led him among them—that he was all!ays a loser,
and often, he believed, a dupe.