Home at night, and find that my wife had found out more of the boy's stealing 6s. out of W[illiam] Hewer's closet, and hid it in the house of office, at which my heart was troubled. To bed, and caused the boy's clothes to be brought up to my chamber. But after we were all a-bed, the wench (which lies in our chamber) called us to listen of a sudden, which put my wife into such a fright that she shook every joint of her, and a long time that I could not get her out of it. The noise was the boy, we did believe, got in a desperate mood out of his bed to do himself or William some mischief. But the wench went down and got a candle lighted, and finding the boy in bed, and locking the doors fast, with a candle burning all night, we slept well, but with a great deal of fear.

The horrid and unnatural crime of murder has, within a few years past, become more frequent than it was ever known to be; it has been committed by, and on those between whom there were the strictest ties of blood, and the nearest tie of kindred has not been any security against it. What a shudder must human nature receive, when it recollects there is no place where security may be depended on; for at the same time persons are barring their doors without, they are enclosing worse enemies within.