Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745 Volume I Part 18

He was then asked if he pleaded guilty to the high treason in the said articles of impeachment. His Lords.h.i.+p replied, "I do." He was ordered to withdraw; but was called before the Bar the same day to receive judgment. Upon being asked by the Lord High Steward "Why judgment should not be pa.s.sed upon him according to law?" the Earl repeated a few circ.u.mstances mentioned in his answer to the articles. His voice was scarcely articulate as he proceeded to say, "But the terrors of your Lords.h.i.+p's just sentence, which at once deprive me of my life and estate, and complete the misfortunes of my wife and innocent children, are so heavy upon my mind, I am scarcely able to allege what may extenuate my offence, if any thing may do it." He then again besought of their Lords.h.i.+ps the mediation in his behalf.

After the Lords Widdrington, Kenmure, Nithisdale, and Carnwath had been severally addressed, and had replied to the Court, proclamation for silence was again made, and judgment was given. It was prefaced by a long and elaborate address; which, however elegant, however explanatory, however just, it may be considered, was strongly tinctured by the adulatory spirit of the day, and was calculated to wound and to harden the offending prisoners, rather than to unfold with dignity the reasons for condemnation. In conclusion, since nothing could, in the narrowing view of party, be too dictatorial for the unfortunate Jacobites, they were exhorted not to rely any longer on the usual directors of their consciences, but to be a.s.sisted by some of the pious and learned divines of the Church of England. This was addressed to men who were, with two exceptions, of the Church of Rome, and whose chief reliance must naturally be upon those of their own persuasion.

The terrible sentence of the law was then recorded. It was that usually given against the meanest offenders in like kind, the most ignominious and painful parts being remitted by the grace of the Crown to persons of quality. Judgment was, however, p.r.o.nounced, according to the usual form for high treason.[214]

The prisoners were then reconducted to the Tower; the Lord High Steward, standing up uncovered, broke the staff of office, and declared the present commission to be ended. The Peers returned to the House of Lords.

Little is known of the dreary and solemn hours which intervened between the judgment and the execution of the sentence. But one brief expression, in an old newspaper, relative to the young and unhappy Earl of Derwent.w.a.ter, speaks volumes: "The Earl of Derwent.w.a.ter is so desponding, that two warders are obliged to sit up with him during the night."[215] He was visited in his prison by Thomas Townshend, Viscount Sydney, then Under Secretary of State for George the First;[216] one of the most amiable men, as well as refined and elegant scholars of the day, and a n.o.bleman whose sensibility and delicacy of feeling, which prevented his taking a share in the more active parts of public business, must have caused an interview with the Earl of Derwent.w.a.ter to have been deeply touching. The Duke of Roxburgh also visited the condemned n.o.bleman; but no record is left of these communications. The Duke was at that time Keeper of the Privy Seal for Scotland, and Lord-Lieutenant of the counties of Roxburgh and Selkirk. He had recently distinguished himself at Sherriff Muir: he was at this time a young man of twenty-five years of age, and one whom all parties have commended.

"Learned, without pedantry, he was, perhaps," says Lockhart of Carnwath, "the best accomplished young man of Europe." To these acquirements were added a singular charm of manner.[217] One can hardly suppose the visits of two such men not to have had their source from some motive of kindness.

To the credit of the House of Lords, an address was voted to the King, pet.i.tioning that his Majesty would reprieve such of the rebel lords as deserved his mercy. The royal answer was couched in these terms: that "the King on this, and all occasions, would do what he thought consistent with the dignity of the Crown and the safety of his people."[218] It was unfortunate that, both at this time and in the Rebellion of 1745, there was no Queen Consort. A woman's heart would, one may trust, have pleaded for the young, gallant, and beloved Derwent.w.a.ter. The English Court was, at that time, insulted by the audacious intrigues of foreign mistresses.

These women had no interest in the King's real fame, nor in the national credit. Such was the case in the first Rebellion.[219] In 1745 Queen Caroline, the wife of George the Second, was dead.

Accompanied by two courageous ladies, the young Countess of Derwent.w.a.ter threw herself at the feet of the King, and implored mercy on her husband.[220] In the House of Commons, the First Lord of the Treasury declared, that he had been offered a bribe of sixty thousand pounds to save Lord Derwent.w.a.ter. Sir Richard Steele spoke loudly in favour of the condemned lords, but the declaration of Walpole suppressed all hopes of mercy. "He was moved with indignation," he said, "to see that there should be such unworthy members of this great body as to open their mouths, without blus.h.i.+ng, in favour of rebels and parricides." He adjourned the House until the first of March, it being understood that the peers would be executed in the mean time. It is some consolation to reflect that the Minister had, on this occasion, only a majority of seven.

At this juncture, when all hope seemed lost, Mary, Dowager Countess of Derwent.w.a.ter, proffered the following pet.i.tion in behalf of her sons.

One can hardly suppose how it could have been disregarded; but the Monarch had few sympathies with his people of England.

"The humble Pet.i.tion of Mary Countess of Derwent.w.a.ter, 1716, to the King's most excellent Majesty, sheweth,

"That the Earl of Derwent.w.a.ter and Charles Radcliffe (your pet.i.tioner's two and only sons) having been unfortunately engaged and surprised into a horrid and open Rebellion against your most sacred Majesty, have surrendered themselves at Preston, and submitted to your Majesty's great clemency and mercy.

"Their crimes are so enormous, that your pet.i.tioner can scarce hope for a pardon; yet the greatness of their offence doth not make your pet.i.tioner lay aside all hopes of mercy, when your pet.i.tioner and they, who are both very young, throw themselves, absolute and entirely, at your Majesty's feet for it; and as they have a just abhorrence and a sincere and true repentance for what is past, so they will give undoubted security and proof of their most dutiful behaviour to your Majesty's Government for the future.

"Wherefore your pet.i.tioner most humbly prays that your Majesty will, out of your royal clemency and boundless mercy and compa.s.sion, spare the lives of your pet.i.tioner's sons, and grant them your most gracious pardon.

"And your pet.i.tioner shall ever, as in duty bound, &c."[221]

The pet.i.tion was unavailing, and the unfortunate young n.o.bleman prepared to meet his doom.

On the twenty-fourth of February, at ten o'clock, the Earl of Derwent.w.a.ter, with Lord Kenmure, was carried in a hackney-coach from the Tower to the Transport Office in Tower Hill, where there was a room prepared for their reception, hung with black, and a pa.s.sage or gallery railed in, which led to the place of execution. The scaffold was surrounded with the Guards. Lord Derwent.w.a.ter suffered first. He was observed to turn very pale as he proceeded through the gallery and ascended the steps; but there was a modest composure observable in his demeanour. He held a book in his hand, from which he read prayers for some time; then, requesting leave of the Sheriffs to read a paper to the people, he went to the rails of the scaffold, and there delivered the following touching and beautiful address, which, how different soever may be the sentiments and opinions with which it is perused, can hardly fail to impress the reader as coming from a conscientious mind:--

"Being in a few minutes to appear before the Tribunal of G.o.d, where, though most unworthy, I hope for mercy, which I have not found from men now in power, I have endeavoured to make my peace with His Divine Majesty, by most humbly begging pardon for all the sins of my life; and I doubt not of a merciful forgiveness, through the merits of the pa.s.sion of my Saviour Jesus Christ; for which end I earnestly desire the prayers of all good Christians.

"After this, I am to ask pardon of those whom I might have scandalized by pleading guilty at my trial. Such as were permitted to come to me, told me that, having been undeniably in arms, pleading guilty was but the consequence of having submitted to mercy, and many arguments were used to prove there was nothing of moment in so doing,--among others, the universal practice of signing leases, whereof the preambles ran in the name of the persons in possession.

"But I am sensible that in this I have made bold with my loyalty, having never owned any other but King James the Third for my lawful King: him I had an inclination to serve from my infancy, and was moved thereto by a natural love I had to his person, knowing him to be capable of making his people happy; and though he had been born of a different religion to mine, I should have done for him all that lay in my power, as my ancestors have done for his predecessors, being thereto bound by the laws of G.o.d and man.

"Wherefore, if in this affair I have acted rashly, it ought not to affect the innocent; I intended to wrong n.o.body, but to serve my King and my country, and that without self-interest,--hoping, by the example I gave, to have induced others to their duty; and G.o.d, who sees the secrets of my heart, knows I speak the truth. Some means have been proposed to me for saving my life, which I looked upon as inconsistent with honour and innocence, and therefore I rejected them; for, with G.o.d's a.s.sistance, I shall prefer any death to the doing a base unworthy action. I only wish now, that the laying down my life might contribute to the service of my King and country, and the re-establishment of the ancient and fundamental const.i.tution of these kingdoms; without which, no lasting peace or true happiness can attend them. Then I should, indeed, part with my life even with pleasure; as it is, I can only pray, that these blessings may be bestowed upon my dear country; and since I can do no more, I beseech G.o.d to accept of my life as a small sacrifice to it.

"I die a Roman Catholic: I am in perfect charity with all the world (I thank G.o.d for it), even with those of the present Government, who are most instrumental in my death. I freely forgive all such as ungenerously reported false things of me; and hope to be forgiven the trespa.s.ses of my youth by the Father of Mercies, into whose hands I commend my soul.

J. DERWENt.w.a.tER."

P.S. "If that Prince who now governs had given me my life, I should have thought myself obliged never more to have taken up arms against him."

After delivering this address, the unfortunate n.o.bleman thus spoke to the executioner: "You will find something for you in my pocket [this was two half-guineas], and I have given that gentleman [pointing to a person who held his hat and wig] somewhat more for you. Let me lie down once, to see how the block fits me." This he did. Then, kneeling down again, and uttering a short prayer with the executioner, he arose, and undressed himself for execution, the headsman a.s.sisting him. After which, the Earl desired the executioner to take notice, that "when he heard the words 'sweet Jesus!' then he should do his office so soon as he pleased." After which, his Lords.h.i.+p laid himself down on the block, and said, "I forgive my enemies, and hope that G.o.d will forgive me;" and then, turning his head up towards the executioner, he exclaimed, "After the third time I cry '_sweet Jesus!_' strike then, and do what is most convenient to you."

A solemn and appalling scene then ensued. The voice of Lord Derwent.w.a.ter was heard to exclaim, and the watchful ear of the executioner caught these words: "_Sweet Jesus_, receive my spirit; _sweet Jesus_, be merciful unto me; _sweet Jesus_"--he seemed to be going on, when the sentence was broken and the voice for ever hushed, the executioner severing his Lords.h.i.+p's head from his body, which he did at one stroke.

Then the executioner took up the head, and at the several quarters of the scaffold elevated it with both his hands, crying with a loud voice, "Behold the head of a traitor! G.o.d save King George!" When he had done so, the friends of the Earl not being provided with hea.r.s.e or coffin, Sir John Fryer, the Sheriff, ordered the body to be wrapped in black baize, to be conveyed to a hackney coach, and delivered to his friends, one of whom had wrapped up his head in a handkerchief.[222]

On the day of the execution, Mary, Countess of Derwent.w.a.ter, accompanied by another female, dressed herself as a fishwoman, and in a cart drove under Temple Bar, having previously bribed some people to throw the head of her lord into her lap, as she pa.s.sed under the pinnacle on which it was placed.[223]

Various accounts have been given of the interment of the Earl of Derwent.w.a.ter. He is generally believed to have been buried in the church of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, near the altar. But a popular tradition has found credence, that he was buried at Dilstone. This has arisen from the Jacobite ditty, called "Derwent.w.a.ter's Good Night," or has probably given origin to that lay, in which the Earl is made to say:--

"Albeit that here in London town It is my fate to die, O carry me to Northumberland, In my father's grave to lie: There chaunt my solemn requiem, In Hexham's holy towers, And let six maids of fair Tynedale, Scatter my grave with flowers."[224]

This is said to have been his last request, but to have been refused, for fear of any popular tumult in the North. Either a pretended burial in the church of St. Giles took place, or the Earl's body was removed, "for it was certainly," says Mr. Hogg, "carried secretly to Dilstone, where it was deposited by the side of the Earl's father, in his chapel."

"A little porch before the farm-house of Whitesmocks," adds the same authority, "is pointed out as the exact spot where the Earl's remains rested, avoiding Durham." The coffin is said to have been opened during the present century, and the body of the Earl recognized, both by his appearance of youth, his features, and the suture round his neck. It is seldom satisfactory to state what has no other source than common report. In the North, the aurora borealis is still said to be called "Lord Derwent.w.a.ter's lights," because, on the night of his execution, it appeared remarkably vivid. It is, any rate, pleasant to reflect, that one who "gave bread to thousands" is remembered by this beautiful appearance in the county which he loved, and where his virtues are remembered and his errors forgotten.

His fate was hard. Let us not, contrary to nature, call up motives of state policy to vindicate the death of this brave and honourable man.

The Earl of Derwent.w.a.ter was one upon whom clemency might safely have been shown. Generous, liberal, sincere, a prince might have relied upon his a.s.surance that, had mercy been shown to him, it would never have been repaid by treachery. His youth and inexperience,--his wife, his children,--should not have been forgotten: nor should it have been forgotten, that the principles of loyalty for which his life was forfeited, have dictated some of the most important services which have been rendered to the state, and have secured the existence of an hereditary government.

Of what the Earl of Derwent.w.a.ter might have become, in character, in intellect, his early fate has prevented our judging. In person he was n.o.ble and elegant; his portraits do not give the impression of that beauty of feature which has been ascribed to him. In character he was irreproachable. He was, in one sense, one of those n.o.blemen of whom it were well for this country to have more: he lived among those from whom he drew his fortunes--their benefactor and their friend.

The widowed Countess of Derwent.w.a.ter died at Brussels in August, 1723.[225] The descendants of the Earl are now extinct, a son and daughter who survived him having both died. His Lords.h.i.+p's brother married a Scottish peeress, and is the ancestor of the present Earl of Newburgh, the rightful representative of the Earl of Derwent.w.a.ter.

"The domains of the Derwent.w.a.ter family in c.u.mberland are," says Lord Mahon, "among the very few forfeitures of the Jacobites which have never been restored by the clemency of the House of Hanover." In 1788, a clear rent of two thousand five hundred pounds was, however, granted out of these estates to the Newburgh family. "They were first," says the same authority, "settled on Greenwich Hospital, but have since been sold to Mr. Marshall, of Leeds."

The deeds of the Derwent.w.a.ter estates were preserved in the following manner: "On the night when Preston surrendered, Lord Derwent.w.a.ter found means," as Mr. Hogg relates, "to send messengers to Capheaton, to prevent the family there from appearing in arms. By his orders, the family papers were removed to Capheaton, and they were laid between two walls and a chimney. A slater employed about the house discovered several chests with the Derwent.w.a.ter arms engraved on the lids. Being a rigid Presbyterian, he informed old Sir Ambrose Middleton, of Belsay, who being Deputy-Lieutenant for the Duke of Somerset, searched Capheaton for arms, and under that pretence broke open the walls, and found the deeds, from the concealment of which Greenwich Hospital had been put to some difficulties."

Such was the fate of the last memorial of the unfortunate Earl of Derwent.w.a.ter. It is impossible to help regretting that a name once so honoured should have become extinct; and there appears to be an unaccountable injustice in that oblivion, whilst most of the Scottish forfeited t.i.tles have been restored.

FOOTNOTES:

[173] I write it Radcliffe, because the most careful historians and genealogists have given the preference to that mode of spelling the name.

[174] The fact has been rather surmised than proved.

[175] Hutchinson's View of Northumberland, vol. i. p. 171.

[176] Lysons' Magna Britannia, vol. ii. p. 85.

[177] Burke's Extinct Peerage, art. _Radcliffe_; also Wood's Peerage, 309. It has been erroneously stated, that Francis Radclyffe himself, who married Mary Tudor, was first enn.o.bled. It was his father, Sir Francis Radclyffe.

[178] Life of Charles Radcliffe. "By a gentleman of the family, to prevent the public being imposed upon by any erroneous or partial accounts to the prejudice of this unfortunate gentleman." London, 1746.

[179] Macpherson Papers, vol. ii.

[180] Patten's Hist. Rebellion, p. 47.

[181] In personal appearance the Earl is declared to have been distinguished for grace and comeliness. Neither the prints of this n.o.bleman, nor an original picture in the possession of the Earl of Newburgh, at Ha.s.sop in Derbys.h.i.+re, give the impression that the Earl was handsome. Yet he obtained the appellation of "handsome Derwent.w.a.ter."

[182] Kimber's Baronetage, vol. i. p. 517.

[183] Encyclopaedia Metropolitana.

[184] Id. Annals of George I.