and §, No 2., Jan, 12. °56.] 
NOTES AND QUERIES. 
25 
THE NINE WORTHIES. 
The following satire, which, in the Poems on 
Affairs of State, is erroneously stated to have 
been “ written when the king went to Flanders, 
and left nine lords justices,” is clearly shown by 
Macaulay (vol. iii. p. 597.), who states he has 
seen a contemporary MS. copy bearing the date 
1690, to have been written on the nine privy 
councillors whom William selected to advise 
Mary during his absence in Ireland. Four of 
these, Devonshire, Dorset, Monmouth, and Ed- 
ward Russell were Whigs; the other five, Caer- 
marthen, Pembroke, Nottingham, Marlborough, 
and Lowther were Tories. 
“A thin ill-natur’d ghost that haunts the King, 
Till him and us he does to ruin bring, 
Impeach’d and pardon’d, impudently rides 
The Council, and the Parliament bestrides: 
Where some bought members, like his serving men, 
To all his lies devoutly say Amen. 
This brazen’d liar, this known cursed K——, 
Is now the man that Church and State must save, 
“Room for the Pink of starch’d Civility, 
The emptiness of old nobility : 
This fop, without distinction, does apply 
His bows and smiles to all promiscuously ; 
With air affected careless waves his wand, 
And, tottering on, does neither go nor stand. 
So humbly proud, and so genteelly dull, 
Too weak for counsel, and too old for trull; 
That, to conclude with this bilk’d stately thing, 
He’s a mere costly piece of garnishing. : 
“A drowsy Wittell, drawn down to the last, 
Dead before’s time by having liv’d too fast, 
Lives now upon the wit that’s long since gone, 
Nothing but bulk remains, the soul is flown; 
The little good that’s sometimes of him said, 
Is because men will speak well of the dead: 
For when all’s done, this honest, worthy man 
Has no remorse for taking all he can. 
“A grave eye, and an overthinking face, 
Seem to distinguish him from all his race ; 
But Nature’s proud, and, scorning all restraint, 
By sudden stars shows there’s a mortal saint ; 
Which to a good observer makes it plain, 
The frenzy will e’er long return again: 
But after all, to do him right, ’tis sad 
The best of all the Nine should be stark mad. 
“ A good attorney spoiled when his ill fate 
And ours did make him Secretary of State; 
For if his part had been to give a charge 
At country session, where he might enlarge, 
WH’ as a rare method to display a thing 
With mighty sense, not worth the mentioning : 
But the fine guilded bead is much too weak 
To bear the weight he’s under, so must break. 
“Next, Painter, draw a jackanapes of state, 
A monkey turn‘d into a magistrate, 
A swacy wight born up with heat and noise, 
Fit only for a ring-leader of boys; 
To untile neighbours’ houses, and to play 
Such uncouth gambols on a holyday. 
Strange! that so young a government should dote 
So as to let a whirlwind rule the boat. 
“Ungrateful toadstool, despicable thing! 
Thus to desert thy master, and thy king; 
He was thy maker too, and from the dust 
Rais’d thee, tho’ ’twas to all mankind’s disgust. 
William, with all his courage, must be afraid 
To trust the villain who has James betrayed ; 
For sure no things can e’er redeem thy crime, 
But the same brutal trick a second time. 
> “ As rich in words as he is poor in sense, 
An empty piece of misplac’d eloquence. 
With a soft voice, and a moss trooper’s smile, 
The widgeon fain the Commons would beguile ; 
But he is known, and ’tis hard to express, 
How they deride his northern gentleness, 
While he lets loose the dull insipid stream 
Of his set speeches made up of whipt cream. 
“Tis here alone you'll find, wher’ere you seek, 
A profound statesman with a cherry cheek. 
He has a quick eye, and a sprightful glance, 
His face a map of jolly ignorance; 
The lilies, and the roses so dispos’d, 
Should not by care or thought be discompos’d. 
Pity that fat, round, pretty, blushing thing, 
Should e’er be thus condemn’d to counselling.” 
EXECUTION OF SIR WILLIAM PARKYNS AND 
SIR JOHN FRIEND. 
Mr. Macaulay’s vivid description of this tragical 
occurrence will receive farther elucidation from 
the perusal of the following broadside, printed at 
the time. Both these knights had been found 
guilty of having invited foreign enemies to invade 
the realm, and their execution was eagerly ex- 
pected by the populace of London. An innu- 
merable crowd accordingly assembled at Tyburn. 
Scaffolding had been put up, which formed an 
immense amphitheatre round the gallows. On 
this scaffolding the wealthier spectators stood, 
row above row; and expectation was at the 
height, when it was announced that the show 
was deferred for a few hours, but the crowd soon 
reassembled. ‘The subjoined account seems to 
have been drawn up by an eye-witness. we Xi, 
“ An Account of what passed at the Execution of Sir Will. 
Parkyns, and Sir Joh. Friend, at Tyburn, on Friday, 
April 3d. 1696, 
“The prisoners being drawn in a sledge from Newgate 
to the place of execution, were permitted to have the 
assistance of three ministers of their own chusing, viz. Mr. 
Collyer, Mr. Cook, and Mr. Snet. 
“Sir Will. Parkyns came first up into the cart, and had 
some private discourse with one of the ministers. 
