b AN OLD HAMrSHIUE 5IANOR HOUSE. 



Lisle, being surrounded at the forge by her sorrowing tenantry, liad 

 said " Weep not, good folks, I shall soon return to you," at which 

 the soldier grumbled out " Yes, you will, l)ut with your head left 

 behind." 



The infamous George Lord Jefferies had just arrived at 

 AVinchester to open his commission, for what was afterwards 

 called the Bloody Assizes ; and from the commencement of the trial 

 of Alice Lisle it was evident that nothing would satisfy the judge 

 but the conviction of the prisoner, whatever the evidence might be. 



Burnet says — " That he was resolved to make a sacrifice of her, 

 and obtained of the king, a promise, that he would not pardon her, 

 which the king owned to the Earl of Feversham, Avhen he, u^^on 

 the offer, of one thousand pounds if he could obtain the pardon, 

 Avent, and begged it." Instead of leaving the examination of the 

 witnesses to the counsel for the crown, Jefferies took an independ- 

 ent position, and examined the witnesses himself, and so browbeat 

 and worried them, that they contradicted themselves in any way 

 that the Chief Justice desired. Some idea of his cruelty and his 

 ferocious blasphemy, may be gathered from his treatment of the 

 witness Dunn. It must be remembered that Lord Jefferies was a 

 man of most notorious profligacy. 



The Lord Chief Justice to Dunn — " Why, thou vile wretch, 

 didst thou not tell me just now, that thou pluck'st up, the latch 1 

 Dost thou take the God of Heaven, not to be a God of Truth, 

 and that He is not a witness of all thou saith 1 Dost thou think, 

 because thou prevaricatcst, with the court here, thou canst do so 

 with God, above, who know'st thy thoughts, and it is infinite 

 mercy, that for those falsehoods of thine, he does not immediately 

 strike thee into hell 1 Jesus God, there is no sort of conversation, 

 nor human society, to be kept, with such people, as these are, who 

 have no other religion, but only its pretence, and no way to uphold 

 theriiselves, but by countenancing lying, villany, &c." Again : 

 " A Turk, is a saint, to such a fcllov.^, as this, nay, a pagan, Avould 

 be ashamed to be thought, to bfvye no more truth in him. Oh ! 

 Blessed Jesus, what an age do we live in, and what a generation 



