he had abandoned his design. Encouragement he had none from me. If the murder was committed at the instigation of the Earl of Suffolk's daughter, and the Earl of Suffolk gave the murderer the means of committing the crime, how am I responsible? Why is he at liberty? So far from conniving at the crime, I was the first person who gave the intelligence which led to Weston's conviction. Whatever I might suspect, I had no share in the transaction."

Elwes gave a darker aspect to the whole transaction; he was a man of superior rank and ability to the criminals who had hitherto been tried for their share in the murder of Overbury; he was not so easily to be daunted by the demeanour of the Chief Justice. He resolved to lay bare what he knew of the conduct of those of whom, whether their accomplice or not, he was certainly to be the victim. He accused the Lord Treasurer. "If I be in the plot,” said he, "the Lord Treasurer is. I have his letter to shew; in it he called me to his lodging. My wife has the letters from my Lord Treasurer."

Coke, this upright judge, told him, that "his accusation of the Lord Treasurer was most malicious, for in the examinations he had taken, and in all the exact speech he could work for finding out the truth, he saw not that honourable gentleman any way touched. No vivá voce evidence was brought against Elwes. Letters from the Earl of Northampton to Rochester were read against him; and the statement of Franklin. He told Lord Coke, "You have not observed your own rule in my case; you have paraphrased upon every examination; you have aggravated every evidence, and applied it to me, so that I stand clearly condemned before I be found guilty." He was

convicted and executed.

Franklin was next convicted on his own confession; and Coke wrote an elaborate letter, describing his conduct at the trial to the King.

But before this trial he had already committed an act of unparalleled injustice by sitting as judge in his own cause— on Lumsden, Hollis, and Wentworth, in the Star Chamber.

The two latter were charged (a) with having questioned Weston at his execution, and Sir John Hollis of having said at Weston's trial, that if he were on the jury he should not know what to do. Lumsden was accused of having addressed a letter to the King, reflecting on the conduct of Coke in publishing the evidence against the prisoner before his trial, which natural ebullition of an honest nature Lord Bacon termed "an empoisonment of the King's ear." Sir E. Coke remarked, that "he who infuses into his Majesty's ear the least suspicion of his judges, commits a kind of treason." He asked Hollis, "Quæ tanta fuit Tyburn tibi causa videndi?" He related how two lines of Ovid had cured him, Coke, of going to see executions: it is unlucky that he found none to cure him of seeing prisoners tortured. He applied to himself, with regard to his judicial conduct, the words of Abimelech, reis Domine quod feci in simplicitate cordis et munditie manuum;" and he ended by "exhorting gentlemen to take heed how they fell into discourses of these businesses at their chambers, for if a man speak irreverently of justice in these matters, the bird that hath wings will reveal it." Could an emissary of Philip the Second say more? Hollis was fined 10007, and imprisoned a year; Wentworth 1000 marks, and imprisoned a year; Lumsden was fined 2000 marks, imprisoned for a year, and moreover until he should before the King's Bench submit himself, confess his fault, and produce his authors. Mr. Amos makes the following remarks on this little episode in the life of the judge who, from pure love of justice, abhorred auricular communications:

"In

"Our judicial annals," remarks Mr. Amos, "happily do not present any other case in which the first principles of justice have been so flagrantly violated as in this instance, in which we find Sir E. Coke giving judgment in what was emphatically his own cause. It is not to be wondered at that he should have designated a complaint made of his own official conduct But the sentencing Mr. Lumsden to (x) Whitelocke, p. 295.

a 'kind of treason."

make a submission for this offence, before himself sitting at Westminster, might have been thought revolting to any mind capable of regarding any consideration but the impulses of its own passions."

The only occurrence in our judicial annals at all similar to the conduct of Sir E. Coke in this proceeding is that of Chief Justice Scroggs, in the reign of Charles the Second, who bound over Richard Radley to appear before the Court of King's Bench, for having said to one Robert Raylett, "If you think to have the money you have overthrown me in, you may go to my Lord Scroggs, for he has received money enough of Dr. Wakeman for his acquittal."

The next trial, that of Sir Thomas Monson, exhibited James in a light still more suspicious and degrading. Weldon -and it should be remembered that Weldon's accounts of all that is most suspicious have received, since the publication of the Losely Papers, authentic corroboration-gives us the following narrative:

“The next that came on the stage was Sir Thomas Monson; but the night before he was to come to his tryall, the King, being at the game of Maw, said, To-morrow comes Tom Monson to his tryall; Yea, said the King's Card-holder, where if he doe not play his master-prize your Majesty shall never trust me; this so run in the King's minde, as the next game he said he was sleepy, and would play out that set next night; the Gentleman departed to his lodging, but was no sooner gone, but the King sent for him; what communication they had I knew not, (yet it may be can more easily guesse than any other), but it is most certaine, next under God, that Gentleman saved his life, for the King sent a post presently to London, to let the Lord Chiefe Justice know he would see Monson's examination and confession, to see if it were worthy to touch his life for so small a matter; Monson was too wise to set anything but faire in his confession; what he would have stab'd with should have been (vivâ voce) at his arraign

ment. The King sent word he saw nothing worthy of death, or of bonds, in his accusation or examination. Cook was so mad he could not have his will of Monson, that he said, Take him away, we have other matters against him of an higher nature; with which words out issues about a dozen warders of the Tower, and tooke him from the barre; and Cook's malice was such against him, as though it rained extreamly, and Monson not well, he made him goe afoot from the Guild-Hall to the Tower." Now this account is confirmed by the narrative of Coke's grandson, which I place in the note (x), that the reader may compare it with Weldon's, and by the

(x) "Sir Edward lay then at the Temple, and measured out his time at regular hours, two whereof were to go to bed at nine o'clock, and in the morning to rise at three. At this time Sir Edward's son, and some others, were in Sir Edward's lodging, but not in bed, when the messenger, about one in the morning, knocked at the door, where the son met him, and knew him: says he, 'I come from the King, and must immediately speak with your father.' 'If you come from ten kings,' he answered, 'you shall not; for I know my father's disposition to be such, that if he be disturbed in his sleep, he will not be fit for any business; but if you will do as we do, you shall be welcome; and about two hours hence my father will rise, and you then may do as you please,' to which he assented.

"At three Sir Edward rung a little bell, to give notice to his servant to come to him; and then the messenger went to him and gave him the King's letter, and Sir Edward immediately made a warrant to apprehend Somerset, and sent to the King that he would wait upon him that day.

"The messenger went back post to Royston, and arrived there about ten in the morning. The King had a loathsome way of lolling his arms about his favourites' necks, and kissing them; and in this posture the messenger found the King with Somerset, saying, 'When shall I see thee again?' Somerset then desinging for London, when he was arrested by Sir Edward's warrant. Somerset exclaimed, 'that never such an affront was offered to a Peer of England in the presence of the King.' 'Nay, man,' said the King, 'if Coke sends for me, I must go;' and when he was gone, 'Now the Deel go with thee,' said the King, for I will never see thy face any more.'

"About three in the afternoon the Chief Justice came to Royston; and so soon as he had seen the King, the King told him that he was acquainted with the most wicked murder by Somerset and his wife that was ever perpetrated, upon Sir Thomas Overbury; and that they had made him a

following passage from a letter, in Coke's own handwriting, to King James, which, if it existed alone, would be sufficient to shew that his objection to "auricular taking of opinions" was mere hypocrisy. It is to this effect:

"Most Gracious Sovereign,

"That your Majesty may not impute any negligence to me in those things that concern my place, and especially when it concerns your Majesty, I have sent herewith Mr. Septon's examination, which was taken by me long before Mr. Secretary's letters, which I received at twelve.

"This letter written to Sir W. Monson, surmising your Majesty's censure touching the weakness of the evidence against Sir Thomas Monson, hath wrought an extreme obstinacy in Sir Thomas Monson," &c.

This corroborates Weldon's statement, and shews that the King had written to the Lord Chief Justice touching the case of Sir Thomas Monson. The following account of the trial has been preserved to us:

"When he came to the bar, he made a motion to the Lord Chief Justice; That whereas he had written unto his Lordship to ask the Lord Treasurer two questions, which my Lord would do; he desired then an answer, and that Sir Robert Cotton might be present.

"After the questions were read, he was indicted for conspiring with Weston to poison Sir Thomas Overbury; to which he pleaded, Not Guilty, and would be tried by God and his country.

"Then the Lord Chief Justice addressed his speech to Sir Thomas Monson, saying, Whereas you name my Lord Treasurer; every man's fame is dear unto him, and he hath ever been honourable, you shall hear what he hath answered pimp, to carry on their bawdry and murder; and therefore commanded the Chief Justice with all the scrutiny possible, to search into the bottom of the conspiracy, and to spare no man, how great soever; concluding, 'God's curse be upon you and yours, if you spare any of them! and God's curse be upon me and mine, if I pardon any one of them!"" And see Whitelocke, p. 295.