any of my predecessors before me'; and it is not us you contemn, but His Majesty's authority.'

6

"Silence being commanded, Crawford, the other witness, was called in, who, being duly sworn, and no objection being made against him, he deponed negative, that he did not see Cesnock for a considerable time, either before or after Bothwell Bridge; that he does not remember that Cesnock spake any thing to him, either about the West-land army, or who commanded them.'

Whereupon there was another great cry made, and clapping of hands, which put the Justice-General and Advocate into a great rage, at what they reckoned an irreverent insulting of the Court. Then Cesnock's advocate craved the probation might be remitted to the knowledge of the assize, which could not be refused ; and, after a short speech made to them by Cesnock's lawyers, they inclosed themselves, and very soon returned their verdict, Not Guilty.'" Notwithstanding this verdict, the two Campbells were sent back to prison; and being afterwards condemned by the Scotch Parliament, James the Second annexed their lands to the Crown, and confined them as prisoners at the Isle of Bass.*

VOL. II.

* State Trials, vol. x. p. 974.

L

It is to the honour of Scotland, that no wit nesses came forward, voluntarily, to accuse their associates, as had been done in England, by Rumsey and Lord Howard. The cruel means of torture were, therefore, used to obtain the convictions of those who were peculiarly obnoxious to the Court: and, even with the assistance of such dreadful engines, the ministers of the Crown were obliged to promise a pardon to the greater number, in order to obtain the execution of one or two individuals.

Spence, upon whose person some letters, written in cyphers, were found, was offered his pardon, if he would read them. He refused to do so; but would not say upon oath that he could not. Upon this, he was tortured and put in the boots, and then, being delivered into the hands of General Dalziell, he was, by means of a hair shirt and pricking, kept without sleep, as it was said, for five nights. All this proving ineffectual he was tortured with thumbikins, a new discovery, reported to have been brought by Generals Dalziell and Drummond from Muscovy. These barbarous means at length forced from him a confession, in which he owned, amongst other particulars, that Mr. William Carstairs, a clergyman who was in custody, had one of the three keys which were necessary to explain the cypher. This led to the torture of Carstairs. He with

stood the pain once without shrinking, but the next day he confessed, upon conditions. The conditions, the same as those which had been obtained by Spence, were, that he should have a pardon for himself, and should not be brought as a witness against others. With all this, his confession did not satisfy his enemies. Before it was printed, it was garbled and mutilated, and, in the place where it should be inserted in the register of the Privy Council, there follow two blank pages. Witnesses against the plot were not yet obtained; but the information of which the government was in possession, enabled them so to work on the fears of Lord Tarras, and Murray of Philiphaugh *, that they were brought to appear against Baillie of Jerviswood.

Baillie was at this time so ill, that it was thought he could not live long. Though his wife offered to be put in irons, if she might remain in prison with him, he was denied that comfort; and even his daughter, at that time only twelve years of age, was not allowed to see him. He was required to purge himself, by oath, from the charge of having any concern in the Rye-House plot. When he refused to do this, though in general he protested his innocence, so heavy a fine was imposed upon him as

* Burnet says, by means of their wives.

to amount to a sentence of imprisonment for life. But the Court, not satisfied as long as Baillie lived, had no sooner prevailed on Lord Tarras and Murray to give evidence against him, than they brought him to trial for his life. The garbled confession of Carstairs, which they had promised not to make use of as evidence, was produced, and two clerks of council brought to swear to its accuracy. He was found guilty, and executed in great haste, lest death should prevent the work of vengeance.

*

I have related these particulars concerning those who suffered for the Rye-House plot, that the reader may the more easily be enabled to follow the remarks I am about to make on the real nature of that plot. If my opinion is well founded, there existed, indeed, both in the higher and the lower orders, a great number of discontented persons: this discontent produced consultations on the state of the nation, and the practicability of resistance amongst the leaders, and wild talk about taking off the King and Duke, amongst indigent and unprincipled men. But there never was a formed plan, either for assassinating the King, or raising the country, except in the heads of Rumsey and West, and Lord Howard and Lord Grey.

* Burnet.

I must remark, in the first place, that Lord Russell, and those connected with him, were never supposed to be implicated, even by their bitterest enemies, in the plot for murdering the King. It will be as well, therefore, to speak of that plot in the first place.

On a subject of this kind, there is no better evidence than that of men who are about to die for the crime; and their confessions are more to be attended to in this case than in that of the Popish plot, as the persons executed for this conspiracy were not bound by any tie of faith or sect to support one another, and were of different religions, manners, professions, and habits.

On the day preceding Lord Russell's execution, Walcot, Hone, and Rouse were executed. Walcot laid the contrivance of the plot upon Rumsey and West. But it is better to give his own words, that no mistake may be made:

"I confess I was so unfortunate and unhappy as to be invited by Colonel Rumsey (one of the witnesses against me) to some meetings, where some things were discoursed of, in order to the asserting our liberties and properties, which we looked upon to be violated and invaded. But it was he, and Mr. West, and some gentlemen that are fled, who were the great promoters of those meetings. I was near a quarter of a year ill of the gout, and, during that time, Mr. West

"