morality, and to make one's country revered throughout Europe as the guardian of civil and religious liberty, than to wear periwigs, lace, and embroidery, and to be infidel and blaspheming persecutors; to make the language, and sometimes the habits of the stews, familiar to the youth of both sexes from the cottage to the palace; to sneer at all that wore the air of disinterestedness in nian (b), or of purity in woman, and to be the contented tools and pensioners of the common enemy of European independence.

Far more cruel, but less audaciously profligate, was the conduct of Hyde to a printer, John Twyn, who was hung, drawn, and quartered, for printing a seditious libel. Twyn was thus addressed, on his petitioning for counsel, by the Chief Justice: "Then I will tell you, we are bound to be of counsel with you, in point of law; that is, the Court, my brethren and myself, are to see that you suffer nothing for your want of knowledge in matter of law; I say, we are to be of counsel with you. But for this horrid crime, [I will hope in charity you are not guilty of it, but if you are], it is the most abominable and barbarous treason that ever I heard of, or any man else the very title of the book [if there were no more] is as perfectly treason as possibly can be. The whole book through, all that is read in the indictment, not one sentence but is as absolute high treason as ever I yet heard of. A company of mad-brains, under pretence of the worship and service of God, to bring in all villainies and atheism [as is seen in this book]. What a horrid thing is this! But you shall have free liberty of defending yourself."

Evidence was brought to shew that the work was printed in Twyn's house; and L'Estrange, the most barbarous and most unprincipled writer of his time, added to his infamy by acknowledging that he had acted as a spy for government, and had endeavoured to entrap the prisoner by false hopes into a a confession. Hyde, from the Bench, suggested to Twyn, that if he would give up the author he might escape; but when Twyn (b) See Grammont, passim.

T

nobly refused to redeem his life at such a price, he directed the jury to convict him, telling them, "that the publishing such a book as this was as high a treason as could be committed, and the same as if the printer had raised an army" to dethrone the King. One of the propositions insisted upon for this purpose was, "that the supreme magistrate is made accountable to the people." The sheets had been seized wet and in the printer's house; nor was there any satisfactory proof that they had been read by Twyn before his servants, who were examined, had printed them. No injury had been done, as the work had never been distributed. And there can be little doubt that the real object of the government was to discover the author. But though nobles and commoners, judges and prelates, and the Sovereign, were vying with each other in baseness, a poor mechanic was untainted, and had a soul that would not purchase life with infamy. And though Hyde, when he was convicted, told him he would not intercede for his father in such a case, and though the ordinary of Newgate pressed him to disclose the author, he steadily refused, saying, "that it was not his principle to betray the author,” and that it was better for one to suffer than many. So he was put to death as a traitor, protesting to the last his innocence of all treasons and ignorance of the contents of the writing for which he suffered; and leaving behind him a name which deserves to be had in remembrance, as long as truth, honour, and constancy, are venerated among men.

Chief Justice Kelyng was a being so thoroughly contemptible, that the crimes he committed on the Bench, flagrant as they were, hardly raise him to the rank of a public enemy, (a public evil he undoubtedly was), or rescue his name from the obscurity, which in any free country but this would have been its portion. Yet in a discussion on evidence, the trial of Messenger, Beasley, and others, can hardly be passed over quite unnoticed. This it should be remembered, was the time when Charles and his party, including Lord Clarendon, were

eager to seize upon every rumour or pretext of insurrection, to excuse them from fulfilling their solemn engagements to the Presbyterians. A few city apprentices had collected together, according to custom, on Easter Monday, had made a considerable riot, and pulled down some brothels,-one man among them bearing a green apron on a pole, and another flourishing a sword. No lives were lost, no serious resistance was made; there was no proof of any scheme or deliberate preparation, or of the use of any weapon except the single sword; it was shewn that one of the prisoners struck at a constable, who admonished him to be quiet: and all the judges, except Hale, who dissented, agreed that these facts were proof of high treason and levying war against the King. This being a case where several lives were at stake, the Chief Justice began with the humane suggestion to the counsel for the prosecution, that they had made too many indictments, (there were four), because by this means the King's evidence would be broken; whereas had all the prisoners been included in one indictment, the evidence as to the main design would have been entire against all. Such being the tone of our judges, and such the manner in which they exemplified the favourite aphorism of the law, that the judge is counsel for the prisoner.

"The first witness stated, that on Easter Tuesday he saw Beasley at the head of four or five hundred persons, with a sword in his hand, which the witness took from him; he had also colours,—a green apron upon a pole. Some of the people cried, 'Down with the red-coats!' They said Beasley was their captain. The witness and his party fell on them, and then they ran away. Green was with the multitude, as well as Beasley; but the witness did not see them go along with the people.

"The second witness said, that when the constable charged the people to disperse themselves, they knocked him down: that Appletree was the first who struck the constable: that

the constable and assistants drove the people up a lane: that the people cried, 'Down with the brothels!' that Green shouted and threw up his hat.

"The third witness said only, that he saw Messenger come along with colours in his hand, and that he took him and carried him to prison: that he heard the cry, of 'Down with the brothels!' and he saw two of the prisoners among them. 'Aye,' said the Lord Chief Justice Kelyng, 'aye, that was the captain and the ensign' (b).

"The fourth witness gave this account:-I saw Beasley and Messenger in Moorfields pulling down houses on Monday, and on Tuesday, at the head of three hundred; and at that time we routed them. On Wednesday they came with four or five hundred, and cried, 'Down with the red-coats!'

"The last witness stated merely, that Beasley and Appletree were with about three hundred persons; that Beasley struck an ensign with his sword: that Appletree helped to pull down one house, and broke another.-This was the whole of the evidence on the part of the prosecution.

"The Lord Chief Justice Kelyng, then called on Beasley for his defence. Why did you gather this multitude together? What reason had you for it?"

Prisoner." I do not know the reason."

Lord Chief Justice." I speak to you, that you should give

a reason. After all the trouble that we have had in this nation, it is a sad thing that a great number of giddy-headed people must gather together under pretence of reformation, to disturb the peace of the nation again. If you can say no more for yourself, there will be but little trouble with you."

Serjt. Wild." What was the meaning of your gathering together?"

Prisoner.—“We went to pull down brothels."

Lord Chief Justice. -"How did you know which were brothels? If you had known them, you might have indicted (b) Phillipps's State Trials, vol. 1.

them, there is a law against them; but this is a strange kind. of reformation, if a rabble come and say, this man is a papist, and this keeps a brothel, and would pull it down. This is a mad reformation."

Prisoner." My Lord, that man has sworn I was out on Tuesday; it was Wednesday before I came forth, but staid at home with my wife, because I would not be among them."

Lord Chief Justice.-" Did you not carry a green apron on a pole for your colours?"

Prisoner." My Lord, as I passed along by the rout, they flung a bottle at me, and had like to have knocked me down, and tore my apron off, and charged me to carry it on a pole ; and I would fain have come away from them, and could not.”

Lord Chief Justice." Make this appear (c), that you would fain have got away, and that they did force you to do what you did, and I shall be glad of it."

Prisoner." There is none of them here now, that were there then."

Lord Chief Justice." Then all that you say is of little use, for it is no great thing to make a lie to save one's life" (d).

In the course of his address to the jury, the judge said, "These people do pretend their design was against brothels. Now, for men to pull down BROTHELS, with a captain and an ensign (the green apron), and weapons (the single sword),—if this be endured, WHO IS SAFE? It is high treason, because it does betray the peace of the nation," &c. The jury brought in, as the judge directed, a special verdict, stating these facts, against Messenger, Beasley, Appletree, and Green. Hale delivered his opinion that it was not treason. "The reason that made the doubt to him who doubted," said that great judge, speaking of himself, "was, first, because it seemed but an unruly company of apprentices, among whom that custom (c) Butler ridicules this expression in the dialogue with the lawyer, Hudibras, Canto 3,

"Who put me into horrid fear,

"Fear of my life,"-" make that appear."

(d) State Trials, vol. 1, P. 299.