an ignoble trade), are all to him
alike in respect of justice. Nay, I may say further, that his majesty
hath had in this matter a kind of prophetical spirit, for at what time
Carlisle and Gray, and you, my lord, yourself, were fled no man knew
whither, to the four winds, the king ever spoke in confident and
undertaking manner, that wheresoever the offenders were in Europe, he
would produce them to justice."

Mr. Justice Yelverton, though Bacon had altogether taken the wind out of
his sails, summed up in the same vein, to prove that James was a Solomon
and a prophet, and would show no favouritism to Scotchmen. He held out
no hope of a reprieve. "The base and barbarous murder," he said, with
ample legal verbiage, "was exceeding strange;--done upon the sudden!
done in an instant! done with a pistol! done with your own pistol! under
the colour of kindness. As Cain talked with his brother Abel, he rose up
and slew him. Your executioners of the murder left the poor miserable
man no time to defend himself, scarce any time to breathe out those last
words, 'Lord, have mercy upon me!' The ground of the malice that you
bore him grew not out of any offence that he ever willingly gave you,
but out of the pride and haughtiness of your own self; for that in the
false conceit of your own skill you would needs importune him to that
action, the sequel whereof did most unhappily breed your blemish--the
loss of your eye." The manner of his death would be, no doubt, as he
(the prisoner) would think, unbefitting to a man of his honour and blood
(a baron of 300 years' antiquity), but was fit enough for such an
offender. Lord Sanquhar was then sentenced to be hung till he was dead.
The populace, from whom he expected "scorn and disgrace," were full of
pity for a man to be cut off, like Shakespeare's Claudio, in his prime,
and showed great compassion.

On the 29th of June (St. Peter's Day) Lord Sanquhar was hung before
Westminster Hall. On the ladder he confessed the enormity of his sins,
but said that till his trial, blinded by the devil, he could not see he
had done anything unfitting a man of his rank and quality, who had been
trained up in the wars, and had lived the life of a soldier, standing
more on points of honour than religion. He then professed that he died a
Roman Catholic, and begged all Roman Catholics present to pray for him.
He had long, he said, for worldly reasons, neglected the public
profession of his faith, and he thought