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TRIAL OF LORD STAFFORD.

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2. TRIAL OF LORD STAFFORD.-(" DIARY," 1680.)

November 30th.-This signal day begun the trial (at which I was present) of my Lord Viscount Stafford, for conspiring the death of the King. The trial was in Westminster Hall, before the King, Lords, and Commons, just in the same manner as, forty years past, the great and wise Earl of Strafford (there being but one letter differing their names) received his trial for pretended ill-government in Ireland in the very same place, this Lord Stafford's father being then High Steward. The place of sitting was now exalted some considerable height from the paved floor of the hall with a stage of boards. The throne, woolpacks for the judges, long forms for the peers, chair for the Lord Steward, exactly ranged as in the House of Lords. The sides on both hands scaffolded to the very roof for the members of the House of Commons. At the upper end, and on the right side of the King's state, was a box for his Majesty, and, on the left, others for the great ladies; and overhead a gallery for ambassadors and public ministers. At the lower end or entrance was a bar and place for the prisoner, the Lieutenant of the Tower of London, the axe-bearer and guards, my Lord Stafford's two daughters, the Marchioness of Winchester being one. There was likewise a box for my Lord to retire into. At the right hand, in another box somewhat higher, stood the witnesses; at the left, the managers, in the name of the Commons of England,-viz., Sergeant Maynard (the great lawyer, the same who prosecuted the cause against the Earl of Strafford forty years before, being now near eighty years of age); Sir William Jones, late Attorney-General; Sir Francis Winnington, a famous pleader; and Mr Treby, now Recorder of London,-not appearing in their gowns as lawyers, but in their cloaks and swords, as representing the Commons of England. To these were joined Mr Hampden, Mr Sacheverell, Mr Poule, Colonel Titus, Sir Thomas Lee, all gentlemen of quality, and noted parliamentary men. The two first days, in which were read the commission and impeachment, were but a tedious entrance into matter of fact, at which I was but little present. But on Thursday I was commodiously seated amongst the Commons, when the witnesses were sworn and examined. The principal witnesses were Mr Oates (who called himself Dr), Mr Dugdale, and Turberville. Oates swore that he delivered a commission to Viscount Stafford from the Pope, to be Paymaster-General to an army intended to be raised: Dugdale, that being at Lord Aston's, the prisoner dealt with him plainly to murder his Majesty: and Turberville, that at Paris he also proposed the same to him.

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6th December. Sir William Jones summoned up the evidence to him succeeded all the rest of the managers, and then Mr Henry Poule made a vehement oration. After this my lord, as on all occasions, and often during the trial, spoke in his own defence, denying the charge altogether, and that he had never seen Oates or

Turberville at the time and manner affirmed: in truth, their testimony did little weigh with me; Dugdale's only seemed to press hardest, to which my lord spake a great while, but confusedly, without any method.

One thing my lord said as to Oates, which I confess did exceedingly affect me, that a person who, during his depositions, should so vauntingly brag that though he went over to the Church of Rome, yet he was never a Papist, nor of their religion, all the time that he seemed to apostatize from the Protestant, but only as a spy; though he confessed he took their sacrament, worshipped images, went through all their oaths and discipline of their proselytes, swearing secrecy and to be faithful, but with intent to come over again and betray them; that such an hypocrite, that had so deeply prevaricated as even to turn idolater (for so we of the Church of England termed it), attesting God so solemnly that he was entirely theirs, and devoted to their interest, and, consequently (as he pretended), trusted; I say, that the witness of such a profligate wretch should be admitted against the life of a peer,-this my lord looked upon as a monstrous thing, and such as must needs redound to the dishonour of our religion and nation. And, verily, I am of his lordship's opinion; such a man's testimony should not be taken against the life of a dog. But the merit of something material which he discovered against Coleman put him in such esteem with the Parliament, that now, I fancy, he stuck at nothing, and thought everybody was to take what he said for gospel. The consideration of this, and some other circumstances, began to stagger me, particularly how it was possible that one who went among the Papists on such a design, and pretended to be entrusted with so many letters and commissions from the Pope and the party, nay, and delivered them to so many great persons, should not reserve one of them to show, nor so much as one copy of any commission, which he who had such dexterity in opening letters might certainly have done, to the undeniable conviction of those whom he accused; but, as I said, he gained credit on Coleman; but, as to others whom he so madly flew upon, I am little inclined to believe his testimony, he being so slight a person, so passionate, so ill-bred, and of such impudent behaviour; nor is it likely that such piercing politicians as the Jesuits should trust him with so high and so dangerous

secrets.

7th. On Tuesday I was again at the trial, when judgment was demanded; and after my lord had spoken what he could in denying the fact, the managers answering the objections, the peers adjourned to their House, and within two hours returned again. There was in the meantime this question put to the judges, "Whether, there being but one witness to any single crime or act, it could amount to convict a man of treason?" They gave an unanimous opinion, that in case of treason they all were overt acts; for though no man should be condemned by one witness for any one act, yet for several acts to the same intent it was valid; which

SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE.

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was my lord's case. This being past, and the peers in their seats again, the Lord Chancellor Finch (this day the Lord High Steward) removing to the woolsack next his Majesty's state, after summoning the Lieutenant of the Tower to bring forth his prisoner, and proclamation made for silence, demanded of every peer (who were in all eighty-six) whether William, Lord Viscount Stafford, were guilty of the treason laid to his charge, or not guilty.

Then the peer spoken to standing up, and laying his right hand upon his breast, said Guilty, or Not Guilty, upon my honour, and then sat down, the Lord Steward noting their suffrages as they answered upon a paper when all had done, the number of Not Guilty being but 31, the Guilty 55, and then after proclamation for silence again, the Lord Steward directing his speech to the prisoner, against whom the axe was turned edgeways, and not before, in aggravation of his crime, he being ennobled by the king's father, and since received many favours from his present Majesty (after enlarging on his offence), deploring first his own unhappiness that he who had never condemned any man before should now be necessitated to begin with him; he then pronounced sentence of death, by hanging, drawing, and quartering, according to form, with great solemnity and dreadful gravity; and, after a short pause, told the prisoner that he believed the Lords would intercede for the omission of some circumstances of his sentence, beheading only excepted; and then breaking his white staff, the Court was dissolved. My Lord Stafford during all this latter part spake but little, and only gave their Lordships thanks after the sentence was pronounced; and indeed behaved himself modestly, and as became him.

It was observed that all his own relations of his name and family condemned him, except his nephew, the Earl of Arundel, son to the Duke of Norfolk. And it must be acknowledged that the whole trial was carried on with exceeding gravity: so stately and august an appearance I had never seen before; for, besides the innumerable spectators of gentlemen and foreign ministers who saw and heard all the proceedings, the prisoner had the consciences of all the Commons of England for his accusers, and all the Peers to be his judges and jury. He had likewise the assistance of what counsel he would, to direct him in his plea, who stood by him. And yet I can hardly think that a person of his age and experience should engage men whom he never saw before (and one of them that came to visit him as a stranger at Paris) point blank to murder the King: God only who searches hearts can discover the truth. Lord Stafford was not

a man beloved, especially of his own family.

XXIV. SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE.

SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE was born in London in 1628. His father held an important law office in the reigns of Charles I. and II., and young Temple of course enjoyed every advantage in his education.

He studied at Cambridge, the famous Cudworth being his tutor; and after finishing his college career, travelled for some years on the Continent, with the view of qualifying himself, by a knowledge of foreign affairs, for some political appointment. After the Restoration he was employed by Charles II. in some important diplomatic transactions, which he managed skilfully and successfully, especially the famous Triple Alliance, which formed for the time so effectual an obstacle to the ambition of France. The high reputation which he thus acquired induced Charles to consult him in the difficulties which beset the termination of his reign; and William of Orange, who had known Temple in Holland, also condescended to ask his advice in the administration of public affairs; and thus, without ever holding any important office, Temple exercised a very considerable influence on the politics of his time. He died in 1699. His works are mostly short, his "Observations on the Netherlands" being the longest. Among the others are his Essays on Gardening, Poetry, Heroic Virtue, and Ancient and Modern Learning. They display considerable shrewdness and sagacity, and great power of observation, but are not otherwise remarkable. His style has been often commended for its elegance and musical cadence, but this praise seems to have been much exaggerated, as there are several of his contemporaries who in these respects unquestionably excel him.

1. CHARACTER OF THE ENGLISH.-(" ESSAY ON POETRY.")

There is a sort of variety amongst us which arises from our climate, and the dispositions it naturally produces. We are not only more unlike one another than any nation I know, but we are more unlike ourselves too at several times, and owe to our very air some ill qualities as well as good. We may allow some distempers incident to our climate, since so much health, vigour, and length of life have been generally ascribed to it; for, among the Greek and Roman authors themselves, we shall find the Britons observed to live the longest, and the Egyptians the shortest of any nations that were known in those ages. Besides, I think none will dispute the native courage of our men and beauty of our women, which may be elsewhere as great in particulars, but nowhere so in general; they may be (what is said of diseases) as acute in other places, but with us they are epidemical. For my own part, who have conversed much with men of other nations, and such as have been both in great employments and esteem, I can say very impartially, that I have not observed among any so much true genius as among the English; nowhere more sharpness of wit, more pleasantness of humour, more range of fancy, more penetration of thought, or depth of reflection, among the better sort; nowhere more goodness of nature and of meaning, nor more plainness of sense and of life, than among the common sort of country people; nor more blunt courage and honesty than among our seamen.

But with all this, our country must be confessed to be, what a great foreign physician called it, the region of spleen; which may

PRAISES OF POETRY AND MUSIC.

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arise a good deal from the great uncertainty and many sudden changes of our weather in all seasons of the year. And how much these affect the heads and hearts, especially of the finest tempers, is hard to be believed by men whose thoughts are not turned to such speculations. This makes us unequal in our humours, inconstant. in our passions, uncertain in our ends, and even in our desires. Besides, our different opinions in religion, and the factions they have raised or animated for fifty years past, have had an ill effect upon our manners and customs, inducing more avarice, ambition, disguise, with the usual consequences of them, than were before in our constitution. From all this it may happen, that there is nowhere more true zeal in the many different forms of devotion, and yet nowhere more knavery under the shows and pretences. There are nowhere so many disputes upon religion, so many reasoners upon government, so many refiners in politics, so many curious inquisitives, so many pretenders to business and state employments, greater porers upon books, nor plodders after wealth; and yet nowhere more abandoned libertines, more refined luxurists, extravagant debauchees, conceited gallants, more dabblers in poetry, as well as politics, in philosophy, and in chemistry. I have had several servants far gone in divinity, others in poetry; have known in the families of some friends a keeper deep in the Rosicrucian1 principles, and a laundress firm in those of Epicurus. What effect soever such a composition or medley of humours among us may have upon our lives or our government, it must needs have a good one upon our stage, and has given admirable play to our comical wits; so that, in my opinion, there is no vein of that sort, either ancient or modern, which excels or equals the humour of our plays. And for the rest, I cannot but observe, to the honour of our country, that the good qualities amongst us seem to be natural, and the ill ones more accidental, and such as would be easily changed by the examples of princes, and by the precepts of laws; such, I mean, as should be designed to form manners, to restrain excesses, to encourage industry, to prevent men's expenses beyond their fortunes, to countenance virtue, and raise that true esteem due to plain sense and common honesty.

2. PRAISES OF POETRY AND MUSIC.—(“ ESSAY ON POETRY.”)

They must be confessed to be the softest and sweetest, the most general and most innocent amusements of common time and life. They still find room in the courts of princes and the cottages of shepherds. They serve to revive and animate the dead calm of poor or idle lives, and to allay or divert the violent passions and perturbations of the greatest and busiest of men. And both these effects are of equal use to human life; for the mind of man is like

1 A sect of philosophers so called from Rosenkreutz their founder. They acquired much celebrity in the beginning of the seventeenth century, but their doctrines were not revealed except to the initiated.

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