Selected quad for the lemma: war_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
war_n	death_n	king_n	treason_n	2,761	5	9.5559	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A70520	The last speech & behaviour of William, late Lord Russel, upon the scaffold in Lincolns-Inne-Fields, a little before his execution, on Saturday, July 21, 1683 being condemned for high-treason in conspiring the death of the King, and the subversion of the government &c. : together with the paper delivered by him to the sheriffs, and signed with his own hand : also the last speeches, behaviour, and prayers of Capt. Thomas Walcot, John Rouse Gent., & William Hone, joyner, a little before their execution at Tyburn, on Friday the 20th of July, 1683, being condemned for hihg-treason in conspiring &c.	Russell, William, Lord, 1639-1683.; Walcot, Thomas, d. 1683.; Rouse, John, d. 1683.; Hone, William, d. 1683.	1683 (1683)	Wing L504; ESTC R9946	28,404	20

because Sir Geo. Jefferies insinuated to the Jury as if I had made a Story about going thither but I never said that was the only Reason And I will now truly and plainly add the rest I was the day before this Meeting come to Town for two or three days as I had done once or twice before having a very near and dear Relation lying in a very languishing and desperate Condition And the Duke of Monmouth came to me and told me He was extreamly glad I was come to Town for my Lord Shaftsbury and some hot Men would undo us all if great Care be not taken and therefore for God's sake use your Endeavours with your Friends to prevent any thing of this kind He told me there would be Company at Mr. Shephard's that Night and desired me to be at home in the Evening and he would call me which he did And when I came into the Room I saw Mr. Rumsey by the Chimny though he swears he came in after and there were things said by some with much more Heat than Judgment which I did sufficiently disapprove and yet for these things I stand condemned But I thank God my part was sincere and well meant It is I know inferred from hence and was pressed to me that I was acquainted with these Heats and ill Designs and did not discover them But this is but Misprision of Treason at most So I dye innocent of the Crime I stand condemn'd for and I hope nobody will imagine that so mean a Thought could enter into me as to go about to save my self by accusing others The part that some have acted lately of that kind has not been such as to invite me to love Life at such a rate As for the Sentence of Death passed upon me I cannot but think it a very hard one For nothing was sworn against me whether true or false I will not now examine but some Discourses about making some Stirs And this is not levying War against the King which is Treason by the Statute of Edward the Third and not the consulting and discoursing about it which was all that was witnessed against me But by a strange Fetch the Design of seizing the Guards was construed a Design of killing the King and so I was in that cast And now I have truly and sincerely told what my part was in that which cannot bemore than a bare Misprision and yet I am condemned as guilty of a design of killing the King I pray God lay not this to the charge neither of the King's Counsel nor Judges nor Sheriffs nor Jury And for the Witnesses I pity them and wish them well I shall not reckon up the Particulars wherein they did me wrong I had rather their own Consciences should do that to which and the Mercies of God I leave them Only I still averr that what I said of my not hearing Col. Rumsey deliver his Message from my Lord Shaftsbury was true for I always detested Lying tho never so much to my advantage And I hope none will be so unjust and uncharitable as to think I would venture on it in these my last Words for which I am so soon to give an account to the Great God the Searcher of Hearts and Judg of all Things From the Time of chusing Sheriffs I concluded the Heat in that Matter would produce something of this kind and I am not much surprized to find it fall upon me And I wish what is done to me may put a stop and satiate some Peoples Revenge and that no more innocent Blood may be shed for I must and do still look upon mine as such since I know I was guilty of no Treason and therefore I would not betray my Innocence by Flight of which I do not I thank God yet repent tho much pressed to it how fatal soever it may have seem'd to have proved to me for I look upon my Death in this manner I thank God with other eyes than the World does I know I said but little at the Trial and I suppose it looks more like Innocence than Guilt I was also advis'd not to confess matter of Fact plainly since that must certainly have brought me within the Guilt of Misprision And being thus restrained from dealing frankly and openly I chose rather to say little than to depart from Ingenuity that by the grace of God I had carried along with me in the former parts of my Life and so could easier be silent and leave the whole matter to the Conscience of the Jury than to make the last and solemnest part of my life so different from the course of it as the using little Tricks and Evasions must have been Nor did I ever pretend to a great readiness in speaking I wish those Gentlemen of the Law who have it would make more Conscience in the use of it and not run Men down by Strains and Fetches impose on easie and willing Juries to the Ruine of innocent Men For to kill by Forms and Subtilties of Law is the worst sort of Murder But I wish the Rage of hot Men and the Partialities of Juries may be stopp'd with my Blood which I would offer up with so much the more Joy if I thought I should be the last were to suffer in such a way Since my Sentence I have had few Thoughts but Preparatory ones for Death Yet the Importunity of my Friends and particularly of the best and dearest Wife in the World prevailed with me to sign Petitions and make Addresses for my Life To which I was very averse For I thank God tho in all respects I have lived one of the happiest and contented'st men in the world for now near fourteen years yet I am so willing to leave all that it was not without Difficulty that I did any thing for the saving of my Life that was Begging But I was willing to let my Friends see what Power they had over me and that I was not obstinate nor sullen but would do any thing that an honest Man could do for their Satisfaction Which was the only Motive that sway'd or had any weight with me And now to summ up all as I never had any Design against the King's Life or the Life of any man whatsoever so I never was in any Contrivance of altering the Government What the Heats Wickednesses Passions and Vanities of other men have occasioned I ought not to be answerable for nor could I repress them tho I now suffer for them But the Will of the Lord be done into whose Hands I commend my Spirit and trust that thou O most merciful Father hast forgiven me all my Transgressions the Sins of my Youth and all the Errors of my past Life and that thou wilt not lay my secret Sins to my Charge but wilt graciously support me during that small part of my Life now before me and assist me in my last Moments and not leave me then to be disorder'd by Fear or any

I made it a scruple of Conscience to have a hand in killing the King or to embrue my hands in his blood but was so generous as to undertake the Charging his Guards whilst others did it and to the end another might do it Truly I will appeal to all that know me whether they believe me so much an Idiot that I should not understand it was the same thing to engage the Kings Guards whilst another Killed him as to Kill him with my own hands But however by their Swearing against me they have secured their own Lives and Estates and made my Blood the price of theirs I confess I was so unfortunate and unhappy as to be invited by Colonel Rumsey one of the Witnesses against me to some meetings where some things were discoursed of in order to the asserting our Liberties and Properties which we looked upon to be violated and invaded But it was he and Mr. West and some Gentlemen that are fled who were the great promoters of those Meetings I was near a quarter of a year ill of the Gout and during that time Mr. West often visited me and still his discourse would be concerning Lopping the Swo Sparks That was the word he used meaning the King and the Duke and proposed it might be done at a Play This was his frequent discourse for he said Then they would dye in their Calling it was his very Expression He bought Arms to do it with without any direction of mine I never saw the Arms nor I never saw the men that were to do it though they said they had fifty imployed to that end I told several of them That the Killing the King would carry such a blemish and slain with it as would descend to posterity that I had Eight Children that I was loath should be blemished with it and withal I was confident the Duke of Monmouth would revenge his Fathers Blood if it were but to vindicate himself from having any hand in it Mr. West presently told me that the Duke of Monmouth did not refuse to give an Engagement that he would not punish those that should kill the King And now I desire to forgive all the World from the very bottom of my heart and I pray God of his mercy from my heart to forgive them even Mr. Shepherd who delivered me up who promised to carry me into Holland but instead of that he brought me into the condition wherein I now am I do desire with all my heart to forgive the Witnesses and withall do earnestly beg that they may be observed that some remarks may be set upon them whether their End be Peace and that they die the common Death of all men Certainly though it be the Law of the Land I ought to die and the King may justly and reasonably put me to death for being in those Meetings where a War was debated yet I think these men are guilty of my Bloud that were as deep in as I and have betrayed me and taken in away Then in the next place I beg leave Mr. Sheriff to speak one short word of Advice to my Friends that hath been often given to me though I was not so fortunate and so happy as to take it and that is That they would neither hear any man speak nor speak themselves that which they would not have repeated for there is no such thing as Faith in man to man whatever there is in man to God either the Tears of a Wife or a Family of little helpless Children something or other will tempt and provoke men to betray one another When God hath a Work to do he will not want Instruments for he can make them nor will he want a way to do it for he can contrive it and bring it to pass And I do most heartily desire and my earnest Prayer to the Almighty is That this may be the last Bloud spilt upon this account I know Acts of Indulgence and Mercy in the King would make him much easier in his Government and would make his People sit much easier under it and that the Lord may encline his heart to Mercy ought to be the Prayer of every good man What hath happened and what hath been the present occasion of our Calamity I suppose every man knows what Provocations have been on the one hand Fears and Necessities Jealousies and Sufferings of the other I will not intermeddle with resolving to use my utmost endeavour to make that Peace and reconciliation with my God which is impossible for me to make with men and to make it my hearty Prayer to the Great God before whom I am in little time to appear That he would stench this Issue of Bloud and find out some other way to preserve these Kingdoms in Unity and Peace to the Honour and Glory of his Great Name and the eternal Comfort of his People One word Mr. Sheriff I desire leave to speak as to Ireland because the King prest it hard upon me and several people have been with me about Ireland how far Ireland was concerned in this matter I do aver here as in the presence of God before whom I am now going to appear That I do not know an English-man nor Protestant in Ireland engaged in it What I did know was onely of one Scotish Gentleman in the North and the King knows it but he says he does not believe it For they that were concerned I was never in any of their Councils I never saw any of those Lords but the Duke of Monmouth and that was I believe above six months ago I never saw nor spoke with one Lord onely my Lord Howard I heard my Lord Howard say That they did not value Ireland for it must follow England I have not more to say Mr. Sheriff but truly you will do an act of a great deal of Charity if you will prevail with the King for an Act of Indulgence and Liberty to his People I think so and so the Lord have mercy upon me Dr. Cartwright You blame them for that which is their Vertue and not their Crime That they have been Witnesses for the King Walcot I was not for contriving the Death of the King if you 'll believe me Dr. Cartwright You blame them for betraying of you in Contriving the War upon which the death of the King must have followed if your Treason had gone forward for else you could not have defended your self from that Justice to which he hath brought you and therefore you to lay that as a Crime upon your Witnesses is indeed very strange Walcot Sir I think it was but reasonable that I should suffer that is due from Justice and reasonable by the Law but these men they did not come in against me till they did it to save themselves Dr. Cartwright Better late than never a man had better save his Soul and Body too than die as now you do for Crimes that ought to make every good mans heart relent and therefore