LORD WILLIAM RUSSELL.
(Vol. viii., p. 100.)
In answer to W. L. M.'s inquiry, "where the virtuous and patriotic William Lord Russell was buried?" I beg to state that I possess a pamphlet entitled:
"The whole Tryal and Defence of William Lord Russel, who Dyed a Martyr to the Romish Fury in the Year 1683, with the Learned Arguments of the Council on both sides. Together with his Behaviour and Speech upon the Scaffold: His Character and Behaviour. London: printed by J. Bradford, at the Bible in Fetter Lane."
There is no date to it; but from the appearance of the paper, type, a rude woodcut of the execution, &c., I doubt not that it was printed soon after the event, or certainly immediately after the Revolution, to meet the popular wishes to have information on the subject. It consists of sixteen octavo pages, very closely printed. The opening paragraph says:
"Among the many that suffered in a Protestant cause [all the Italics used in this communication are those of the pamphlet], and indeed whose measure seem'd to be the hardest of all, was this honorable person William Lord Russel, who was generally lamented for his excellent Temper and good Qualities; being allowed to be one of the most sober and judicious Noblemen in the Kingdom, which even his Enemies could not deny; and the Merit and Esteem he bore was more cause of Offence against him than any Matter that was reap'd up at his Tryal; all which in effect was merely grounded upon Malice (I mean Popish Malice) that could not be forgot, from his Lordship's being one of those earnest sticklers for Protestant Liberty, and even the very foremost that prefer'd the Bill of Exclusion," &c.
Then follows the trial, headed "July 13, 1683, the Lord Russel came to his Tryal at the Old Bailey." The indictment is described; the names of the jury are given; judges and counsel named; the evidence, examinations, and cross-examinations (by Lord Russel) very interestingly narrated: the Report concluding, after a short address from Lord Russel, "Then the Court adjourned till four in the afternoon, and brought him in guilty."
These particulars are followed by "The last Speech and Carriage of the Lord Russel upon the Scaffold, &c." As to the executioner's work, all other accounts that I have seen state that after "two" strokes the head was severed from the body. The publication says:
"The Executioner, missing at his first Stroke, though with that he took away his Life, at two more severed the Head from the Body.... Mr. Sheriff [continues the account] ordered his Friends or Servants to take the Body, and dispose of it as they pleased, being given them by His Majesty's Favour and Bounty."
The narrative proceeds:
"His Body was conveyed to Cheneys in Buckinghamshire, where 'twas Buried among his Ancestors. There was a great Storm, and many loud Claps of Thunder the Day of his Martyrdom. An Elegy was made on him immediately after his Death, which seems, by what we have of it, to be writ with some Spirit, and a great deal of Truth and Good-will; only this Fragment on't could be retriev'd, which yet may not be unwelcome to the Reader:
''Tis done—he's Crown'd, and one bright Martyr more,
Black Rome, is charg'd on thy too bulky score.
All like himself, he mov'd so calm, so free,
A general whisper question'd—Which is he?
Decked like a Lover—tho' pale Death's his Bride,
He came, and saw, and overcame, and dy'd.
Earth weeps, and all the vainly pitying Crowd:
But Heaven his Death in Thunder groan'd aloud.'"
A "sketch of his character" closes the account. Perhaps W. S. M. may deem these particulars not wholly uninteresting, but tolerably conclusive, considering the time of publication, when the fact must have been notorious.
A Hermit at Hampstead.