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and had muskets in their houses, on account of a recent threat of a Spanish invasion*. Finding no encouragement in the City, and convinced of the failure of the scheme, the Earl attempted to return to his own house; but he found the streets barricaded in many places with empty carts and coaches; and at Ludgate he was stopped by a party of soldiers posted there, under the command of Sir John Levison. Here a sharp skirmish ensued, in which several persons were killed; the Earl was twice shot through the hat, and Sir Christopher Blunt, his stepfather, was severely wounded and taken prisoner. Essex himself escaped to Queenhithe, and from thence by water to Essex-house. Before the skirmish at Ludgate, he had despatched Sir Ferdinando Gorge with instructions to liberate the Lord Keeper; but he found on his arrival that, contrary to his directions, all the imprisoned lords had been released, and that Gorge had gone with them to the Court. He then endeavoured to fortify his house, and put himself into a posture of defence, still confidently relying on succours from his friends in the City. But the house being strongly invested on all sides, and the Earl and his friends being at length convinced that there was no prospect of relief from the City, or any possibility of maintaining a successful defence themselves, after some parley, agreed to surrender; the only conditions granted, being, that the Earl and the gentlemen with him should be civilly treated, that he should be justly and lawfully heard, and that Mr. Ashton, the minister, might attend him in prison for the comfort of his soul. The Earls of

*Camden says, that "though the citizens were, according to the temper of the common people, desirous enough of change, yet their wealth made them cautious and loyal. And to say the truth," he adds, " poverty is that which, above all things, prompts the English to rebellion."

Essex and Southampton were removed to the Tower the same night, and the other conspirators were committed to various prisons in London and Westminster.

The composure and courage of the Queen in the midst of this dangerous disturbance was remarkable; Sir Robert Cecil says, in a Despatch* to Sir George Carew, in Ireland, that "even when a false alarm was brought to her that the City was revolted with them, she was not more amazed than she would have been to have heard of a fray in Fleet-street." Another account states, that when a report of the insurrection was brought to her, as she sat at dinner, "she seemed nothing moved therewith, but only said that 'He that placed her in that seat would preserve her in it;' and so she continued at her dinner, not showing any sign of fear or distraction of mind, nor omitting anything that day that she had been accustomed to do at other times t."

Though the whole of the transactions of this day are fully displayed in the Examinations and Evidence on the Trial, we have thought it desirable to relate them in a connected form, in order that the reader may more clearly understand the proceedings.

*Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 468.
Ellis's Original Letters.

The Trial of Robert Earl of Essex, and Henry Earl of Southampton, in the Court of the Lord High Steward, at Westminster, for High Treason, the 19th of February, 1600-1, 43 Elizabeth.

A SPACIOUS court was made in Westminster Hall in the form of a square, the head of which was towards the Court of King's Bench; upon the sides of the square were made seats for the Peers; and the lower seat for the Judges. At the upper end of the square was a chair and a footstool under a canopy of state, where the Lord Treasurer Buckhurst sat as Lord High Steward. The Earls, Barons, and Judges sat according to their degrees,

The Judges who attended were these:-the Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench, (Sir John Popham); the Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas,

*This Trial is principally taken from a Manuscript in the StatePaper Office, which seems to have belonged to Sir Robert Cecil (afterwards Earl of Salisbury), of which the Report printed in Hargrave's State Trials is apparently a transcript, though much abbreviated, and very imperfect. There are also two Reports of the Trial amongst the Harleian Manuscripts, (No. 5202, and No. 2194,) which are obviously different from the others, and are drawn up by spectators of the Trial, from which some information has been derived. Several circumstances have also been supplied from Camden, who says that, "he was present at the proceedings, and related them with all fairness and impartiality." The examinations are taken from the originals in the State-Paper Office.

The following particulars of some of the Judges and Counsel here mentioned, may interest our readers:-Sir John Popham belonged to one of the wealthiest and most ancient families in England. He was born at Huntworth, in Somersetshire, and was educated at Baliol College, Oxford. He was made Lord Chief Justice of England in 1592, having successively held the offices of Solicitor-General and Attorney-General, and Speaker of the House of Commons. He was, for many years, an active member of the Privy Council under both Elizabeth and James I. He died on the 10th of June, 1607, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, and was buried at Wellington, in Somersetshire; near which place he had a residence, and a considerable estate. See Collinson's History of Somersetshire. In the latter part of his life he purchased the mansion and estate of Littlecote, in Wiltshire, which continued in his family until the present possessor,

(Sir Edmund Anderson); the Lord Chief Baron, (Sir William Periam); Mr. Justice Gawdy; Mr. Justice General Popham, who changed his name on coming to the estate, obtained it by will. Sir Edward Coke says that Popham was "a most reverend Judge, of a ready apprehension, profound judg ment, most excellent understanding in the true reason of the law, and of universal and admirable experience and knowledge of all business which concerned the commonwealth; accompanied with a rare memory, with perpetual industry and labour for the maintenance of the tranquillity and public good of the realm; and in all things behaving with great constancy, integrity, and patience." -Coke's Reports, vol. vi. p. 75. Camden says he was a "person of a bitter and censorious temper."

Sir Edmund Anderson was descended from a family of that name at Flixborough, in Lincolnshire. He was educated at Lincoln College, Oxford, and succeeded Sir James Dyer, as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, in 1582. He is said to have been a zealous promoter of the discipline of the Church of England, and to have written much; but none of his writings are known at the present time, excepting a volume of Law Reports of good authority. He died at London, in August, 1605.-See Collins's Baronetage, vol. iii. p. 191.

Sir Francis Gawdy, whom we shall meet with again on the trial of Raleigh, was a native of Norfolk, and had considerable estates in that county. He was made a Judge of the King's Bench in 1589, and on the death of Sir Edmund Anderson, in 1605, he was made Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. He survived this elevation a very short time, and died of apoplexy before he had presided in Court a whole term. The curious reader may find an amusing story respecting his burial, which is too long for insertion here, in Bloomfield's History of Norfolk, vol. iv. p. 146.

Sir Christopher Yelverton, the Queen's Serjeant, belonged to an ancient Norfolk family. He served in Parliament as Member for Brackley, in the early part of Elizabeth's reign, and afterwards in two Parliaments, successively, for the county of Northampton. In 1597, he was Speaker of the House of Commons; and, in a note to the fifth volume of Mr. Hume's History, may be found his curious acknowledgment of his disqualifications for that office. He was made a Judge of the King's Bench in 1602, and, on the accession of James I., his patent was renewed. He died in 1607, at Easton Mauduit, in Northamptonshire, a seat which he had purchased. He was the ancestor of the Earls of Sussex, and Lords Grey of Ruthin.-See Collins's Peerage, vol. iv. p. 448. His son, Sir Henry Yelverton, was Solicitor and Attorney-General to James I., and afterwards a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas

Fenner; Mr. Justice Walmesley; Mr. Justice Kingsmill; and Mr. Baron Clarke. The Queen's Counsel were—the Queen's Serjeant (Yelverton); Mr. AttorneyGeneral, (Sir Edward Coke); Mr. Solicitor-General, (Sir Thomas Fleming); Mr. Recorder of London, (John Croke); Mr. Francis Bacon; with these were also joined Mr. Heale and Mr. Harris, Serjeants at Law.

The Lord High Steward came into the Hall with seven Serjeants at Arms, bearing maces before him, which they laid down before him in the Court. The King at Arms stood on the one side of the High Steward by his chair of state, and one of her Majesty's Gentlemen Ushers with a long white rod in his hand on the other side. The Clerk of the Crown and his assistant sat before him to read the Commission, Indictments, and Examinations. At the lower end of the hall, towards the hall-door, sat the Queen's Counsel; and directly at their backs was a place of convenient size for the two prisoners. The Captain of the Guard (Sir Walter Raleigh) and forty of the Queen's Guard were there to attend the service. Then the Serjeant at Arms made three proclamations for silence; after which the Clerk of the Crown read the Lord High Steward's Commission.

Another proclamation was made, commanding all justices, to whom any writs had been directed for this service, to bring them in and certify the same.

Another proclamation was made by a Serjeant at Arms, That the Lieutenant of the Tower of London should return his precept and bring forth his prisoners, Robert Earl of Essex, and Henry Earl of Southampton.

Then the Constable of the Tower, Lord Thomas Howard, the Lieutenant of the Tower, Sir John Peyton, and the Gentleman Porter, who carried the axe before the prisoners, came in, the prisoners following them, and made their appearance at the bar, the Gentleman Porter with the axe standing before them, with the axe's edge from them; and so the Lieutenant delivered his precept into the Court. The two Earls meeting within the bar, kissed hands, and embraced each other.

Another proclamation was made, That the Serjeant at Arms do return his precept of the names of all the

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