resolution; "for in _that_, friend," he said, as he replaced the axe in
the hand of the man, "will consist your mercy." He asked how many
strokes had been given to Lord Kilmarnock. Two clergymen coming up at
that moment, he said, "no, gentlemen, I believe you have already done me
all the service you can." He called loudly to the warder, and gave him
his perriwig; and instantly laid down his head upon the block, but being
told that he was on the wrong side, he vaulted round, and extending his
arms uttered this short prayer: "O Lord, reward my friends, forgive my
enemies:"--he uttered, it has been stated, another ejaculation for king
James; but that petition was suppressed in the printed accounts of his
death: then, pronouncing these words, "receive my soul," he gave the
signal by throwing up his arm, as if he were giving the signal for
battle. His intrepidity, and the suddenness of that last sign terrified
the executioner, whose arm became almost powerless; the affrighted man
struck the blow on the part directed, but though, it is hoped, it
destroyed all sensation, the head was not severed, but fell back on the
shoulders, exhibiting a ghastly sight. Two more strokes of the axe were
requisite to complete the work. Then, the head having been received in a
piece of scarlet cloth, the lifeless remains of the true, and noble
hearted soldier were deposited in a coffin, and delivered to his
friends.

A vast multitude viewed this spectacle, so execrable in its cruelty, so
great in the deportment of the sufferers. Even on the masts of ships, in
the calm river, were the spectators piled; all classes of society were
interested in this memorable scene; and, for a few short weeks, the
fashionable circles were diverted by the humours of Lady Townshend, and
the witticisms of George Selwyn. During the imprisonment of Kilmarnock,
it had been the fancy of the former to station herself under the window
of his chamber in one of the dismal towers in which he was detained; to
send messages to him, and to obtain his dog and snuff-box. But even this
show of affected feeling failed to make compassion fashionable in the
regions of St. James's. Calumny was busy at the grave of the beheaded
Jacobites; and the accounts of those who attended them in their last
hours were attacked by anonymous pamphleteers. It was said, among other
things, that Balmerino uttered no prayer at the last moment; and his
behaviour was contrasted with that of Kilmarnock. On