OCR Text |
Show 38G ATROCIOUS JUDGES. [A. D. 1G89. was declared to be "the man to go through thick and thin;" but, unfortunately, he had made him elf quite l~idiculous in all men's eyes by the palpable blun<lers he had reckles ly fallen into during the lute trial; and he felt so keenly the dit-~grace he had Lrought on him elf and his religion, that he took to his bed and die<l a few weeks afterwardt'. Thu , when 'Villiam of Orange landed at Torbay, \Vright stillillled the office of chief ju lice of the ICing's Bench. lie continued to "'it daily in court till the flight of ICing James, when an interregnum etrued, during which all judicial busine s was u"pended, although tho public tranquillity was preserved, and the etLle1nent of the nation was con<lucted by a proyi ·ional government. After Jeffreys had tried to n1ake his escape, di ·gui eel as a ailor, an<l wa nearly torn to pieces by the 1nob, "'\Vright concealed ltimself in the hou_ e of a friend, and being less formidable and le s obnoxiou' (for he wu called the "jackall to the lion,") he renutined . orne time unmolested ; but upon information, probably ill-founded, that he was conspiring with Papi ·ts who wished to bring baek the king, a warrant was granted. against hitn by the Privy Council on the varrue charo-e of "endeavorino- to subvert the ' 0 0 b government." Under thjs he was apprehended, and carried to the Tower of London; but after he had been ex~unincu there by a c01nmittee of the Ilousc of Common , it wa~ thoughL that thi. custody wa' too ltonorable for him, an<l lw was oruered to be tran . Jcrrcd to N cwgate. II ere, from the perturbation of mind which he suffered, he wa seized with n fever, and he died n1i erably a few day after, being dea~ ned by the cheers which were uttered when the Prince aud l)rince s of Orange were declared ICing and Queen of England. A. D. 1680.) ROBET~T 'VRIGIIT. 387 His pecuniary embarrassments had continued even after he became a judge, and, till living extravarrantly, his means were insufficient to ·upp1y him with common comforts in his last hours, or with a decent burial. Ilis end hollis oui an awful lesson against early Jiccntiou ne .. s and political profligacy. lie was almost constantly fighting against privation and 1nisery, and during the short ti1ne that he eetned in the enjoyment of splendor he was de. pised by all good men, and he mu::st have been odious to himself: "'\Vhen be died, Lis body was thrown into a pit with common n1alefactors ; his suffering , when related, excited no com pas ion ; and his name was execrated a long as it was recollected. It is lucky for the 1nemory of Wright that he had contemporaries such as .} eti'r ys und Scrogg , who cou iderably exceeded him in their atrocities. IIad he run the same career in an age not more thau ordinarily \vicked, hi ' nan1e might have pas ed into a by-word, denoting all that is odiou' and detestable in a ju<lgc; w hcrea · his mi ·decd.s have long been little known, except to lawyers and antiquaric . It is a painful d.u Ly for me to Jra w them fi·om their dread abode ; but let 1ne hope that, by exposing them in their deformity, I may be of sorne ervice to the public. Ever since the reaction which followed the pa ing of th reform bilJ, there has been a ·tro11g tendency to mitigate the errors and to lament the fate of James II. 'This Las hown it~eH' 1no. t alarmingly a1nong the ri 'ing generation ; and there cems rca on to dread that we may soon be under 1 gi ·lators and. ministers who, believing in the divine right of king ·, will not only applau<l, but aci upon, the principle' of arbitrary government. Son1e goo<l may arise from howing in detail the practical results of such principles in the due administration |