to Feversham, who promised him his life if he
would submit to be stripped, have one end of a rope fastened round his
neck, and the other round that of a wild young colt, and would race the
colt as long as it could run. He agreed to the ordeal; the brutal
Generals and no less brutal soldiers collected round the young man to
prepare him for the race, close to the Bussex Rhine in Weston. Away
they started at a furious rate till the horse fell exhausted by the side
of his ill-fated companion, at Brinsfield Bridge, Chedzoy, a distance of
three-quarters of a mile. The young man, worn out with fatigue,
extricating himself from the halter, claimed his pardon; but the inhuman
General, regardless of his promise, ordered him to be hanged with the
rest. A young lady to whom he was betrothed, on hearing of his fate,
lost her reason, and for many years was to be seen dressed in white,
wandering about the grave in which he and his companions were interred.
The inhabitants of Zoyland still speak of the white lady. We will not
enter into the details of the numerous barbarities which were committed,
nor will we give a prolonged account of Monmouth's well-known fate. On
leaving the battle-field, he was joined by Buise, who, was a German,
Lord Grey, and a few other friends, among whom were Stephen Battiscombe
and his brother. At Chedzoy he stopped a moment to mount a fresh horse,
and then galloped on towards the English Channel. From the rising
ground on the north of the fatal field he saw the last volley fired by
his hapless followers, and before six o'clock he was twenty miles from
Sedgemoor. Here he and his companions pulled rein, many of them
advising him to seek refuge in Wales, but he fancied that he could more
easily get across to Holland should he reach the New Forest, where, till
he could find conveyance, he could hide in the cabins of the
wood-cutters and deer-stealers who inhabited that part of the country.
He, Lord Grey, and Buise consequently separated from the rest, who took
different courses. He and his companions galloped on till they reached
Cranbourne Chase, where their horses broke down. Having concealed the
bridles and saddles, and disguised themselves in the dresses of
countrymen, they proceeded on foot to the New Forest. The direction
they had taken had been discovered, and a large body of militia
surrounded them on every side. Lord Grey was first captured, and a
short time afterwards Buise, who acknowledg