The criminal recorder Author:A. F. Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Sytne, a schoolmaster, at Innerkeithing, in the county of Fife. When Balfour returned from his travels, his first business was to enquire for Miss Robertson j an... more »d learning that she was married, he proceeded immediately to Innerkeithing, when he saw Mrs. Syme sitting at her window, nursing the first child ot her marriage. Recollecting his former threatenings, she now screamed with terror, and called to her busband to consult his safety. Mr. Syme, unconscious of offence, paid no regard to what she said: but, in the interim, Balfour entered the school-room, and finding the busband, shot him through the heart. The confusion consequent on this scene favoured his escape: but he was taken into custody, within a few days, at a public-house, in a village four miles from Edinburgh ; and, being brought to trials was sentenced to -die, but ordered to be beheaded by the maiden, Ła machine resembling the guillotine et France,) in respect to the nobility of his family. He was to have suffered en Monday the yth of May, 1708, and the scaffold was actually erected for the purpose ; but, on the preceding day, his sister went to visit him, and being very much like him in face and stature, they changed clothes, and he made his escape from the prison. His friends having provided horses for him, and a servant, at the West- gate of Edinburgh, they rode to a distant village, where he changed his clothes again, and afterwards left the kingdom. Lord Burieigh, the father, died in tlie reign of Queen Anne ; but had first ohtained 3 pardon for his son, who succeeded to the family title and honours, ami who lived forty-four year after his escape having died, in i75z,asincere penitent for the murder he had committed. HARRINGTON,GEORGE, (pick-pocket) whose rs-al name was Wakkoii, was bom about the Barringto...« less