In dealing with the evidence against him, the Archbishop maintained that personal resentment influenced the witnesses in the statements which they made; and in that opinion probably he was to a considerable extent correct. Certain of their allegations had, no doubt, a spiteful appearance; but then it is impossible to forget how this merciless man had provoked such conduct towards himself by his own inexcusable demeanour towards others; and that by a law of Providence, righteous in itself, though executed by instruments not free from blame, such delinquents as Laud, after having sown the wind, are sure, sooner or later, to reap the whirlwind. Prynne, of course, tried to make everything tell against his enemy; yet even he could not help allowing that the prisoner at the bar "made as full, as gallant, and pithy a defence, and spake as much for himself as was possible for the wit of man to invent." This special pleader proceeds however to say, the very moment after making this admission, that Laud spoke "with so much art, sophistry, vivacity, oratory, audacity, and confidence, without the least blush, or acknowledgment of guilt in anything, as argued him rather obstinate than innocent, impudent than penitent, and a far better orator and sophister than Protestant or Christian." Prynne attributed the Primate's boldness to the King's pardon which he carried in his pocket.

When the whole evidence had been presented, a question arose whether the facts which had been adduced legally proved him to be guilty of the crime of treason. The Peers were not satisfied that such was the case; and in the present day, there are few, if any, constitutional lawyers who would admit that the proofs alleged brought

1 Quoted in Neal, iii. 239.

the Archbishop within the scope of the Statute of Treasons. Owing to legal difficulties, the prosecution, in its original form, was dropped, and a Bill of Attainder was brought in. The Bill, after having been read a third time in the House of Commons, was sent up to the House of Lords. They admitted, as they had done before, that the accused was guilty of endeavouring to subvert the law, to destroy the rights of Parliament, and to overthrow the Protestant religion; but still, they asked, can all this prove him to be traitor to the King? The old points were debated over and over again. But what did that avail? Popular feeling against him had become intense; the London citizens were now more earnest than ever in petitioning for speedy justice against all delinquents; and some individuals went so far as to shut up their shops, declaring they would not open them until righteous vengeance fell upon the head of this arch-enemy of the people of God.2 Influenced by such clamour, if not convinced by the arguments of the Commons, the Lords present in the House on the 4th of January, 1645, passed the fatal Bill;3 and afterwards it was in vain that

1 Laud said in his defence: "The result must be of the same nature and species with the particulars from which it rises. But 'tis confessed no one of the particulars are treason, therefore, neither is the result that rises from them. And this holds in nature, in morality, and in law. Works, iv. 380.

In reply to Serjeant Wylde's argument, that the misdemeanours together, by accumulation made up treason, Laud's advocate wittily observed: "I crave your mercy, good Mr. Serjeant, I never understood before this time that two hundred

the condemned produced a pardon, under the great seal, in arrest of execution.

The fatal proceedings against Laud are easily accounted for. The causes are found in the growing power of the anti-Episcopal party; the ascendancy of the Presbyterians, who for a long time had felt the deepest horror at Laud's career; the influence of the Scotch, who had a special hatred to the Primate for his designs on their country; and the activity of Prynne, who certainly had sufficient cause for detesting the mutilator of his ears. But the sentence of death executed upon him cannot be justified. Lord Campbell pronounces it " illegal, barbarous, and unprovoked," "as little to be palliated as defended." Hallam speaks of the whole business as "most unjustifiable," and "one of the greatest reproaches of the Long Parliament." Even Godwin admits that the prelate "fell a victim to the Scots, to the Presbyterians, and to the resentment of an individual who had formerly been the subject of his barbarity. We may add that the same legal objections apply to the Bill of Attainder against him which are urged in the case of Strafford; and further, that in one respect the treatment of the prelate was worse than the treatment of the statesman; inasmuch as, whilst some persons may defend the putting of the Earl to death as a political necessity, no one can regard in the same light the execution of the Archbishop.

"1

Many men who have committed great errors have afterwards, in the midst of suffering, behaved in such a manner as somewhat to redeem their evil reputation. To

Heylyn (528) states, that only seven Lords concurred in the sentence; Clarendon (519), that there were not above twelve peers in the House at the time. In the Journals the names of nineteen appear at the

commencement of the minutes of the sitting.

'Lives of the Chancellors, iii. 204; Const. Hist., i. 577; Hist. of Commonwealth, i. 428.

a considerable extent it proved so in this instance. On its being proposed to him by the renowned Hugo Grotius that he should escape-a step which he believed his enemies were not averse to his taking-Laud replied:

They shall not be gratified by me in what they appear to long for; I am almost seventy years old, and shall I now go about to prolong a miserable life by the trouble. and shame of flying?" "I am resolved not to think of flight, but continuing where I am, patiently to expect and bear what a good and a wise Providence hath provided for me, of what kind soever it shall be. "1 He delivered on the scaffold a speech which was prefaced by the first verse of the twelfth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, 2 as if it had been a sermon; though, after the exordium, it forsook a homiletic form. He referred to himself as a martyr, declared that he forgave his enemies, and endeavoured to clear himself from the charge of favouring Popery and disliking Parliaments. Then, after praying, and pulling off his doublet, he said that no man could be more willing to send him out of the world than he himself was to go. Upon being asked by Sir John Clotworthy what special text of scripture he found most comfortable, he replied, Cupio dissolvi et esse cum Christo." "A good desire," answered the knight, who added, "there must be a foundation for that desire and assurance. Laud had no notion of Puritan "evidences," and simply rejoined, "No man can express it, it is to be found within."

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1 Life of Pocock, by Dr. Twells, 84. See also a curious tract respecting Laud in Harleian Miscel., iv. 450.

2 Rushworth, v. 781. "Let us run with patience that race that is

set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." D D

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"It is founded," the Presbyterian went on to say, upon a word though." Laud closed the conversation by adding, "That word is the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and that alone."1 The Archbishop's last prayer is the most beautiful thing connected with his history, and reminds us of Shakespeare's words

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"Nothing in life

Became him like the leaving it."

Lord, I am coming as fast as I can; I know I must pass through the Shadow of Death before I can come to see Thee, but it is but umbra mortis, a mere shadow of death, a little darkness upon Nature, but Thou, by Thy merits and passion, hast broke through the jaws of death; so, Lord, receive my soul, and have mercy upon me, and bless this kingdom with peace and plenty, and with brotherly love and charity, that there may not be this effusion of Christian blood amongst them, for Jesus Christ's sake, if it be Thy will.”2

So perished William Laud, a man who has been magnified by one party into a martyr, and degraded by another into a monster. He was neither, but a narrowminded individual, with little or no sensibility, fond of arbitrary power, a thorough bigot, and a ceremonialist to such an extent, that he acted as if salvation depended on adjusting the position of altars, presenting obeisances, regulating clerical attire, and "adding to it some of the frippery of the Romish ecclesiastical wardrobe, which had lain neglected ever since the Reforma

Rushworth, v. 785.

A newspaper notices that :Whereas he had been the archpatron of those who branded honest men with the name of roundheads

more than hath been usual, his own head when cut off, though sawdust had been laid about the block, "did tumble once or twice about like a ball."