ld Mr. Pennington, that he came purposely to
punish me; and would be bitter against me; but hearing it related, viz.
my singular kindness and preservation of old Mr. Pennington's estate to
the value of six or seven thousand pounds, 'I will do him all the good I
can,' says he. 'I thought he had never done any good; let me see him,
and let him stand behind me where I sit:' I did so. At my first
appearance, many of the young members affronted me highly, and demanded
several scurrilous questions. Mr. Weston held a paper before his mouth;
bade me answer nobody but Mr. Prinn; I obeyed his command, and saved
myself much trouble thereby; and when Mr. Prinn put any difficult or
doubtful query unto me, Mr. Weston prompted me with a fit answer. At
last, after almost one hour's tugging, I desired to be fully heard what
I could say as to the person who cut Charles the First's head off.
Liberty being given me to speak, I related what follows, viz.

That the next Sunday but one after Charles the First was beheaded,
Robert Spavin, Secretary unto Lieutenant-General Cromwell at that time,
invited himself to dine with me, and brought Anthony Peirson, and
several others, along with him to dinner: that their principal discourse
all dinner-time was only, who it was that beheaded the King; one said it
was the common hangman; another, Hugh Peters; others also were
nominated, but none concluded. Robert Spavin, so soon as dinner was
done, took me by the hand, and carried me to the south window: saith he,
'These are all mistaken, they have not named the man that did the fact:
it was Lieutenant-Colonel JOICE; I was in the room when he fitted
himself for the work, stood behind him when he did it; when done, went
in again with him: there is no man knows this but my master, viz.
Cromwell, Commissary Ireton, and myself.' 'Doth not Mr. Rushworth know
it?' said I. 'No, he doth not know it,' saith Spavin. The same thing
Spavin since had often related unto me when we were alone. Mr. Prinn
did, with much civility, make a report hereof in the House; yet Norfolk
the Serjeant, after my discharge, kept me two days longer in arrest,
purposely to get money of me. He had six pounds, and his Messenger forty
shillings; and yet I was attached but upon Sunday, examined on Tuesday,
and then discharged, though the covetous Serjeant detained me until
Thursday. By means of a friend, I cried quittance with Norfolk, which
friend was to pay him his salary at that time, and a