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Show 29G ATROCIOUS JUDGES. [A. D. l CSO not this trial be respited till the af'ternoon?" and the only answer being the insolent exclamation, "Pray call the jury," he mildly added, "l\iy lord, the king's counsel think it not rea onable to put off the trial longer, and we cannot put it off without their con. ent in tbi.s case." The following dialogue then took place, which introduced the touching di ... play of female tendernes and heroism of the celebrated Rachel, Lady l~us ell, as i. ting her martyr ed husband during hi~ trial- a s ubject often illustrated both by the p en and the pencil. . Lord Russell.-" 1\fy lord, may I not have the use of pen, ink, and paper? " Pe1t£be1·ton.- "Yes, my lord." LoTd Russell.-" l\1y lord, may I not 1nake use of auy papers I have?" P emberton.-" Yes, by all 1nean ." Lord l~ussel!. -' 1\Iay I have somebody write to help my 1nemory ?" Attorney General.-" Y cs, a servant." Lord Russell.- " J\Iy wife is here, my lord, to do it." Pemberton.-'~ I f my lady please to give her::,elf the trouble." The chi ef justice a<.lmitted Dr. Burne t, Dr. Tillot on, an<l other witne;:;ses, to speak to the good character and loyal conversation of the prisoner, and gave weight to their tes timony, notwithstanding the observation of J effreys that "it wa ca "Y to express a regard for the king while conspiring to murder him." Lord Ru~sell had certainly been pre.-ent at a meeting of the conspirators, when there was a consultation about sejzing the king's guard ; but he in: isted that he caine in accidcutally, that he had taken no part in the conver ation, and tha t be was not acquainted with their plans. The a. pirant chief j u ~ tj ce saw clearly where was the pinch of the case, and the attorney general, who wa~ examining Colonel Rumsey, being A. D.1683.] G E OHG E .JEFFTtE YS. 2D7 contented with a.~ king - " "'\Va the pri."oner at the debate? ' and receiving the an wer " Y es," J effreys started up, took the witness into his own hanlls, and calling upon hi1n to draw the inference which 'vas for the j ury, pinned the baJ\:et by this leading and highly irregular question- " Did you find him averse to it or a greeing to i t ? " IIaving got the echoing answer which he uggested, "Ag·reeing to 1't," he looked round with exultation, and aid, " If my L ord Ru ... ell now plea (' ;:, to ask any questions, he may!" Jeffreys addrc.' ed the jury in reply after the solicitor general had fini ::)hed, and much outdid hi1n in pr essing the case against the prisoner, while he disclaimed wi th horror the endeavor to take away the life of the innocent. 'I'he jury retired, and the court ier present were in a ta Le of the greatest alann ; for again t Algernon Sydney, who wa. to be tried next, the case was still weaker ; and if the two whig chiefs, who wer e considered already cut off, ·hould recover their liberty, and shoulJ renew their agitation, a national cry might be got up for the ummoning of P arliament, and a new effort might be made to r c. cue the country from a Popish successor. These fear"' were vain. The jury returned a verdict of guilty, and L ord Ru .,~ en expiated on the scaffold the crime of t rying to pre erve the r eligion and liber ties of his country. Jeffreys had all the glory of the verdict of guilty, and. as the Lord Chief Justice P ember ton had rather flinched durmg this trial, and the attorney and olici tor gen eral were thought men who would cry cn,A YEN, and as the next ca e was not le s important and still n1ore t ickli:3h, a11 ol>j ections to the p roposed elevation of the favorite vanished, and he became chief |