Unfortunately, the harsh reality isn’t at all like the romantic ideal of the dashing midnight rider. To be frank, the life of the Highwayman was usually a short one, and ended with the brigand doing the hangman’s jig. Hard as I might try, I could not ignore this fact while writing The Highwayman Came Waltzing. Justice for the victims haunted me until I finally gave in to it and constructed for my readers a story of redemption and payment for crime.
To reassure those of you who put a premium on plausibility, there are several recorded instances in England where robbers, who were not involved in murder, found clemency. Sadly, there are far more instances where even a minor infraction ended in a ragged waltz at the end of a rope. I’m very sorry to report, justice in England was not even-handed. Sigh.
For more info go to: http://www.stand-and-deliver.org.uk/index.htm Stand and Deliver, is my favorite website about Highwaymen. It covers most of the famous fellows; good ‘ole Dick Turpin, and James MacLaine, the Gentleman Highwayman, who lived by day as a respectable gentleman in London’s St James’s Square, and a host of others. You will also find a copy of the Noyes poem.
FALLING INTO A LIFE OF CRIME
Follow this next link to find Ralph Wilson’s fascinating account of how he became a highwayman. His story illustrates the realities of the highwayman’s usually brief career. He also puts paid the old adage ‘there is honor among thieves.’ I particularly liked this quote, “we do not consider how naturally we go from one thing to another, till at last we get to the end of a rope.”
http://www.outlawsandhighwaymen.com/wilson2.htm