"In the course of the journey, the Northumbrian accelerated or retarded its speed occasionally, to give the Duke of Wellington an opportunity of inspecting the most remarkable parts of the work.
"Before starting from Liverpool, the company were particularly requested not to leave the carriages, and the same caution was repeated in the printed directions describing the order of the procession. Notwithstanding this regulation, Mr. Huskisson, Mr. William Holmes, M.P., and other gentlemen, alighted when the Northumbrian stopped at Parkside. On the stoppage of the Northumbrian at Parkside Bridge, Mr. Huskisson, as well as many others, got out, and Mr. Holmes, for the purpose of bringing Mr. Huskisson and the Duke together, and of producing a renewed good feeling between them, led Mr. Huskisson round to that part of the car where the Duke was stationed, who, perceiving the advance of the right hon. gentleman, immediately held out his hand to him, which was shaken in a very cordial manner. It was almost at this moment that the Rocket was perceived to be on the advance, and a general move took place to get out of its way, several persons calling out, 'Get in! get in!'
"Some followed this advice, scrambling up as best they might in the absence of the steps. Others made their way round to the end of the car, and Mr. Huskisson appeared to be acting under the idea of crossing the Rocket's railway before the engine came up; from this, however, he was deterred by the steepness of the bank beyond.
"Mr. Holmes, who was standing in the same situation as the right hon. gentleman, took his resolution on the instant, and drew himself up as closely as he could against the side of the ducal car. The intervening space between the railways is exactly four feet, but as the ducal car overhung it about two feet, and the Rocket engine about six inches, there was only a clear space of eighteen inches left—sufficient, however, to enable a person to stand without injury or damage.
"Mr. Holmes, whilst thus affixing himself in this manner to the ducal car, had time to perceive the irresolution of the right hon. gentleman, and he called out to him, 'For God's sake, be firm, Mr. Huskisson.' Mr. Huskisson grasped hold of the door of the ducal carriage the moment before the Rocket passed; this door, when open, projected so far over the neighbouring railway, that it was struck by the Rocket; the consequence was, that it swung rapidly round, overbalanced Mr. Huskisson, and caused him to fall on the railway of the Rocket, when his right leg instantly came in contact with the wheel of the engine, and was crushed.
"The Earl of Wilton, Mr. Holmes, and Mr. Parkes, solicitor of Birmingham, raised Mr. Huskisson from the ground. The only words he uttered at the time were to this effect, 'I have met my death. God forgive me.' The first thing that was done was to twist a handkerchief (in the manner of a tourniquet) tightly round the wounded parts of the limb, for the purpose of stopping the effusion of blood; and, the Northumbrian being detached from the carriages, it was sent forward, with the greatest possible speed, to Eccles, with Mr. Huskisson, the Earl of Wilton, Mr. Stephenson, and two medical gentlemen. A consultation was next held by the party at Newton, as to the course best to be adopted under these melancholy circumstances.
"The Duke of Wellington was very desirous that the procession should be stopped and return to Liverpool. After some consultation, however, this proposal was relinquished, and it was finally agreed to proceed with the ceremony of opening the railway, to prevent, in some degree, the alarm and disappointment which must otherwise have been occasioned to the vast multitudes who thronged this end of the railway. The carriages of the Duke and the directors were consequently attached to those which accompanied the Phœnix engine, and in this manner the whole proceeded at a slow pace to Eccles, where a stoppage took place, while the Duke and his friends made inquiry respecting the condition of Mr. Huskisson. The Northumbrian, which had, by this time, arrived from Manchester with Mr. Ransome and other surgeons, was then re-attached to the Duke's carriage, etc., and the whole proceeded in the order originally agreed upon, to Manchester. The Northumbrian, with the Duke and directors, arrived in front of the warehouses about a quarter before three, but the other engines and carriages, did not arrive till some time afterwards.
"Mr. Huskisson and the party who accompanied him, arrived at the Vicarage of Eccles about half-past one o'clock. A couch was carried to the railway, upon which he was placed, and in a reclining position, he was removed into the drawing-room of the Vicarage. A bed was immediately prepared for his accommodation; but the pain which he endured was so severe, that he could not be carried to it, and he remained upon the couch until the moment of his death.
"On arriving at the Vicarage, the surgeon found Mr. Huskisson in a state of extreme suffering, but remarkably composed, and exhibiting extraordinary firmness of mind. The bones of the leg were broken into small pieces, and a considerable wound was visible on the skin and muscles. The thigh bone, above the middle part, was also broken into several fragments, and the muscles were laid bare high up the thigh, exposing the principal nerves and blood-vessels. The professional gentlemen decided that it was impossible to adventure upon the amputation of the limb. The sufferings of the patient, during the few hours he survived, were most acute. Every now and then groans of the deepest agony were extorted from him by the intensity of the pain which he was enduring; there were, however, no screams, no murmurings against the dispensations of Providence; but every symptom of the most manly courage, the most unshrinking fortitude, and the most Christian resignation.
"In the course of the evening, when Mr. Blackburne, the Vicar, in reading the Lord's Prayer to him, came to the clause, 'forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us,' Mr. Huskisson said, in a firm and distinct tone of voice, 'That I do, most heartily; and I declare to God that I have not the slightest feeling of ill-will to any human being.' The Sacrament was, subsequently, administered to him and Mrs. Huskisson. He did not make any allusion, or send any remembrance, to his political friends. He showed a natural anxiety for the preservation of his character as a Statesman. 'The country,' said he, 'has had the best of me. I trust that it will do justice to my public character. I regret not the few years which might have remained to me, except for those dear ones,' added he, grasping Mrs. Huskisson's hand, and looking with affectionate regret upon her dejected countenance, 'whom I leave behind me.' He dictated a codicil to his will, which was drawn up by Mr. Wainwright, his secretary, and witnessed by the Earl of Wilton, and Lords Granville and Colvill. On the day following his death, an inquest was held on his body, the verdict of which was, 'Accidental death.'"