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A97283 The penitent murderer. Being an exact narrative of the life and death of Nathaniel Butler; who (through grace) became a convert, after he had most cruelly murdered John Knight. With the several conferences held with the said Butler in Newgate, by the Right Honorable the Lord Maior, and several eminent ministers, and others. As also his confession, speech, prayer, and the sermon preached after his execution; with several useful admonitions, and excellent discourses. / Collected by Randolph Yearwood, chaplain to the Right Honorable, the Lord Major of the city of London. Yearwood, Randolph, d. 1689. 1657 (1657) Wing Y23; Thomason E1660_2; ESTC R209007 51,603 133

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very lewd Young man being addicted to divers sins which he himself hath freely confessed For instance 1. He was a great Company-keeper and given to Gaming very much whereby he gain'd money and several Watches of Young men one whereof he restor'd to the Owner after his Conscience was awaked in prison 2. He enticed some Servants to purloin from their Masters and sell the Goods then would he and they go together and spend the money among themselves 3. He lived in Fornication frequenting the company and the houses of Harlots in so much that as he himself under his own hand informed me he judged this very sin of Whoredom did draw him on to that of shedding blood Concerning which fact I shall now speak as also concerning his carriage in Prison and at his Execution being an Eye and Ear-witness thereof THis Nathaniel Butler came from Alton in Hampshire where he was born and at the time of his Apprehension was an Apprentice with one Mr. Goodday a Drawer of Cloth in Carter-lane London during which time he became acquainted with one John Knight an Apprentice also in the same City These two were much together but especially when Mr. Worth John Knight's Master was gone to Bristol-Fair then did these two young men lie together several nights at Mr. Worth's house at the Rose in Milk-street where in the shop on Wednesday morning being the 6. of August 1657. Nathaniel Butler seeing some Bags of money he was thereupon tempted to take away the life of his Friend and Bed-fellow that he might securely convey away the Money which he had now seen in the Till of the shop After they had been abroad that day at night they lay again together the bloody design running still in the mind of Butler he intending about the dead of the night for so he expressed himself to me to destroy the Young man by cutting his throat Accordingly he took his knife in his hand but his heart would not suffer him to do it then he laid down the knife again yea he took up and laid down hi sknife several times so he told me before he acted his cruelty But in the morning very early he did indeed fall very violently and inhumanely on the Youth who lay harmlesly asleep upon the bed The first wound not being mortal awaked him whereupon he strugled and made a noise not considerable enough which was heard into another room of the same house Then Butler chopt his fist into the mouth of the Young man and so they two lay striving and tumbling very near half an houre before the fatal blow was given but at length he did most barbarously murder the Young man giving him a very ghastly deadly wound cross the throat And then he went down taking away out of the shop a sum of money in two bags being about One hundred and twenty pounds And so with his double guilt of Robbery and Murder leaving his bloody Shirt behind him and a Lock of his own Hair in the hand of the dead Young man which Hair was pull'd off in their striving together one to commit the other to prevent the fact after he had so done he went to his masters house in Corter-lane where he privately laid the Money in a new Trunk that he bought with part of the Money This Murderer abode for certain days that is from Thursday to Saturday at his Masters house unsuspected following his business at home as formerly Many thoughts and jealousies were working in men who should be the Murderer And in a few days one in Milk-street the street where the Murder was done knowing that Butler used sometimes to be with the Young man who was now murder'd went to Butler's Master's house in Carter-lane and spake with him by whose words and carriage he supposed he might be guilty and so caused him to be apprehended But yet for some small time the said Butler denied the Fact but at length confessed That he and he only did it After his apprehension he was brought before the Lord Major of London to whom he declared the Murder and the Circumstances of it crying out for a little time for his soul and much lamenting his sin That night he was committed to Newgate and there lay exceedingly startled about the state of his soul saying often What will become of my poor soul What shall I do to be saved beginning now to see the sinfulness of sin Whom I may compare to Manasseh in three respects 1. As to matter of fact for Manasses shed much innocent blood 2 King 21.16 so did he shed too much innocent blood 2. He something resembled Manasses in his imprisonment mentioned 2 Chr. 33.11 As Manasses was taken and bound with fetters so was he clapt in the Hole or Dungeon of Newgate with heavy irons about his legs 3. Manasses and he were one and the same in this sense that when they were in affliction they besought the Lord God and humbled themselves greatly before the God of their fathers For this great Offender could often say He could never be humbled enough Upon the 13 of August when he was arraigned at the Sessions in the Old-Baily he pleaded Guilty to the Indictment with very much shame confusion of face and sorrow of heart And on Friday the 15. of August he demeaned himself very humbly before the Bench heartily submitting to the Sentence of Death that then passed upon him saying He had destroyed the Image of the Eternal GOD alluding as I verily believe to those words in Gen. 9.6 For in the image of God c. After his Sentence he was conveyed back to prison penitently acknowledging that he had neglected the good Word of God and therefore was the longer kept off through ignorance of the Gospel from closing with Christ Jesus But after a few days discourse with several Ministers and others who opened the Scriptures to him he began to understand through the grace of God the Word of Grace And though he had many good Books brought to him by divers visiting Friends yet he chiefly looked into the holy Scriptures themselves and found very much advantage light and peace by these following passages out of the Old Testament viz. 2 Sam. 12.9 Where Nathan spake sharply to David for despising the Commandment of the Lord to do evil in the sight of the Lord in killing Vriah the Hittite with the sword Vers 13 David said to Nathan I have sinned against the Lord and Nathan said to David The Lord also hath put away thy sin From hence he understood the readiness of God to forgive confessing repenting sinners though they are guilty of innocent blood Job 33.27 28 He the Lord looketh upon men Oh that men would look after the Lord and if ANY say I have sinned and perverted that which was right and it profited me not he that is the Lord will deliver his soul from going into the pit and his life shall see the light Isa 45.18 19. I said not unto the
heart Psal 101.2 Have you no love to religion to propagate it and to provide for it's flourishing when you are dead and gone Doth not your neglect of family-duties make all the endeavours of our godly magistrates and of godly ministers to be ineffectual and frustraineous God hath put it into their hearts to do good but t is but little they can do in publick because you are so remiss in private And t is the desire of our souls to beat down sin but we groan under the sense of sad disappointment and this is one reason of it what we do at the Church is undone by you again in your Families No setting on the word no praying over the word c. Oh that these things might be as so many spurs in your sides to quicken you to family duties Set up prayer in your Families There 's a curse pronouned upon the Families that do not call upon God The Lord be merciful to the thousands of Families in the City where there is scarce a purger by the master of the family from yeer to yeer How can such hope for the blessing of God to be upon them who though he gives mercy freely yet he will be sought unto for it Ezek. 36.3 7. How can such look for Gods bounty who deny him his worship Doth not prayer procure all your Family-comforts and sanctifie all your family-comforts Morning and Evening call upon God and call in your servants let them not want the benefit of prayer 't wil be poor to feed their bodyes and to starve their souls If you eate together by all means pray together Catechize your children and servants instruct them in the fundamentals of religion would you keep them from error in the Head from loosness in the life make conscience of this duty How excellent how necessary how profitable is this ordinance and yet how sadly is it neglected we may in a great measure blame you for the many Hereticks and erroneous persons with whom we swarm in these dayes Read and open the Scriptures to them but do this with all humility and sobriety or else there will be danger These are the Magazine the Treasury of all knowledge able to make you and yours wife to Salvation Let the word of Christ dwell richly in you and in all that belong to you See that they frequent the publick Ordinances let them follow you to the house of God not out of state but in love to their soules and when they are there see they keep there that they do not run out again to Ale-houses and Taverns as too many do to our grief and your shame be it spoken when a publick Ordinance is ended call them to an account see what they remember wherein they profit how they relish the word this is to do good indeed to their soules Keep them to a strict observance of the Lords-day you will not let them trifle away your day then you 'l hold them to their work Oh! let them not trifle away the Lords day Why do your children and servants stand gazeing at your doors upon the Sabbath Call them in put them upon reading wholsom books and other exercises which are proper to the day be not partakers of their sin What ever liberty you grant them at other times hold them to a close sanctification of the Sabbath And spend this day with them in prayer repetition singing of Psalms This is to make your Families as so many little Churches of Jesus Christ How little conscience do the generality of you make of Sabbath bath-duty we might sadly bemoan this before the Lord. For your selves you can make that day which is a day for Physick for the soul to be the Day for Physick for the Body you cannot spare time all the weeke long you 'l take it upon the Lords day And for your children and servants let them walk in the Field play in the streets sleep in their beds or drink in Taverns 't is all one to you Will God beare this from you Certainly this will be bitterness in the end Do not indulge your servants in idleness that is the bane of youth the Devils in-let to all temptations An idle person is like tinder that will take every sparke that falls upon it let them be out of imployment 't is a thousand to one but presently they are in some sin And yet those that know how to use their Liberty let them have it sometimes for lawful recreations but this we leave to your prudence In the pursuit of your own pleasures and conveniences have a care of your Families Many of you go to your Country houses we condemne you not for it but what becomes of your servants As Eliab said to David with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness Whilst you are in your pleasant gardens gratifying your selves in your creature-enjoyments who takes care of them that are left behind to pray with them to instruct them to see they sanctifie the Sabbath the health of some Masters bodies is the ruine of their servants souls Set them in all things a good example if they see you can strain in defraunding others they 'l easily come to strain in the defrauding of you let them see you fear to sin and that will be an awe upon their spirits against sin Take your Apprentices out of religious Families in the Country Many of you are punished with vexatious servants you may thank your selves for it you take your Apprentices by the pound not by good education who will give most not who will deserve most and you smart for it afterwards But how do these Heads swell upon our hearts though we do but name them These are some of the things which we should present to the serious consideration of you who are Governours Families and the Lord make them useful to you In particular it is of great use to prevent much wickedness to look to the keys and doors of your houses and to have them in your own custody not in your servants that so an occasion of sinning may be cut off from those that seek such occasions as most fit for their pernicious designs Keep up Discipline or rather restore it again How is it fallen in these times how is it almost lost amongst us in the City The reins which your predecessors held with a very strict hand are very loose in yours many of your servants will do what they list and you let them alone we do very much lament the low ebb of Discipline and Government and judg that to be one Cause of the many disorders which are among us we heartily wish it may be restored in Church in State in Families if this be wanting all things run up to strange confusion A Word to the Youth and Apprentices of this City and we have done Oh that you would hear us now least you mourne at the last and say How have we hated instruction and our hearts despised reproof And have
not obeyed the voice of our Teachers nor inclined our car to them that instructed us This Great Offendor was one of your Rank had he taken the advice of Gods Word his sin had not been so great nor his punishment so terrible Of all we fear our counsel to you will be the most successless Youth is rash inconfide ate vain proud but sometime or other you will remember what we say Take heed of lesser sins Little sins will make way for greater sins if you sip of sin you ll be drunk of it at last How modest is sin at first but when 't is gratified it growes impudent This poor man lately executed first he began to game then to steal then to Whore and then to Murder Be careful of your company associate with them that fear God say unto them that are vain and wicked Depart from us for We will keep the Commandments of God Psal 119.115 Bad company is the way to corrupt and spoil you Can a man touch pitch and not be defiled Read the Scriptures much by them you must stand or fall to all eternity when we walk by you in your Shops we see many have their Play-Book in their hands but few have the Bible in their hands the Shop-Book is open but the Bible is shut Entertain high thoughts of Holiness and holy men The froth of your wits runs out too often in jeering godlinesse but take heed that 's not a thing to be so dealt withal Many of you count sin to be gallantry and Religion but a low and disgraceful thing God convince you of your folly Frequent Publick Ordinances especially upon the Lords day because you have not opportunity so to do upon the week days You 'l find more comfort in the Word and Prayer then in all your youthful delights Keep the Sabbath You have six dayes let God have one can he have lesse God out of special respects to servants hath instituted and sanctified this day How can you hope to keep an everlasting Sabbath in heaven if this Sabbath on earth be profaned by you Many go to Tiburn lamenting the profanation of the Lords day as that which ushered in all their wickedness Every day spend some time in private prayer 't is but rising a little the earlyer and going to bed a little the later you shall never be the worse for that time you spend in the Service of God Be subject and obedient to your Masters study how to please them bear with their passionate infirmities Do not purloyn but shew all good fidelity that the doctrine of God our Saviour may be adorned Tit. 2.9 10. Be diligent in your Callings if you be idle Satan will get an advantage The sitting bird is easily shot and the standing water gathers filth Love those that curb you and restrain you in wayes of sin they are your best friends 't is better to beheld in then to have a wicked liberty 't is better to have lust restrained then satisfied Be not angry with those who cannot see you damne your souls and let you alone Enter upon the wayes of God betimes the sooner the better Shall the devil have the best draught and shall God be put off with the Lees and Dregs Eccl. 12.1 Live alwayes as in Gods sight and know if you sin God will certainly sind you out one time or other Alas how many wayes hath God to bring the most hidden works of darkness to light sometimes by startling mens own consciences to an accusation of themselvs sometimes by awakening some of their complices to the discovery of the rest If you sin together you shall smart together Let this sad example never be forgotten by you for this Those that were Confederates in sin are made instruments and occasions of misery each to other Look not upon sin in the pleasure of it but in the danger of it The Wine sparkles in the cup but 't will be poyson in the belly Fear the strokes of God more then the stroaks of man What 's a fetter a dungeon a gallows to hell fire Mortifie a spirit of pride Never such pride amongst the youth of the City as now What vanity in apparel what superciliousness in carriage what contempt of Authority Oh be clothed with humility 1 Pet. 5.5 Give not way to imaginaay speculative heart sins Murder in the heart will soon be Murder in the hand uncleanness allowed in the thoughts wil come to bodily uncleanness at the last Keep Satan at a distaace if he get in he 'l be too hard for you To sum up all A dreadful spectacle of Gods Justice and of the fruit of sin bath been lately set before you we beseech you in the Bowels of Jesus Christ break off from all your sinful wayes by repentance One is smitten that many may fear He 's a warning to you take heed lest you be made a warning unto others If you would avoid his end walk not in his sins as secure as you are if you will allow your selves in that which is evil you do not know whither the divel wil carry you in a way of sin or to what God will bring you in a way of punshment Stand in aw therefore and sin not Ps 4.4 Flee youthful lusts 2. Tim. 2.22 Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he sal 1 Cor. 10.12 Every day pray that God will keep you from and strengthen you against temptation Say not 't is not possible I should ever be so vile as this Malefactor was Alas if God leave you you 'l be as bad as he Blessed is the man that feareth alwayes Prov. 28.14 In all things so carry your selves according to the rule of the Word that you may neither fall into the hands of men nor into the hands of God which is far the most dreadful 'T is a fearful thing to fal into the hands of the living God Heb. 10.31 That Governors and Governed may thus discharge their duties shall be the great design of our Ministrie by Gods assistance and our constant prayer at the Throne of Grace Septemb. 11. 1657. Edmund Calamy Arthur Jackson James Nalton Tho. Jacomb Robert Hutchison Thomas White Thomas Parson Thomas Doelittle Simeon Ashe Thomas Case Will. Taylor Roger Drake Geo. Griffith Matthew Poole Dan. Batcheler Finis