WEN 



his temper. As a farther evidence of his merits with the 

 «ourt, he took notice of his zeal in fupporting the impofi- 

 tion of fhip-money in the exercife of his ofEce as prelident 

 of the council of York ; and thus he prepared the way for 

 renewing his petition for an earldom, which, notwithftand- 

 ing his earneftnefs to obtain it, was again refufed. Thus 

 mortified, he refumed his government with ample powers, 

 and purfued meafures fimilar to thofe which had given fo 

 great offence. His indefatigable application to bufmefs, and 

 the irritation occafioned by the complaints and clamours of 

 thofe who had reafon to be diffatisfied with his conduft,fub- 

 jeded him to fome fevere paroxyfms of the gout. In 1637 

 he advifed the king not to engage in a war with Spain, and 

 he thus incurred the lafting enmity of the queen, who wifhed 

 for it, as favourable to the interell of France. In the 

 court conteft between England and Scotland, Wentworth 

 was both an advifer and aftor. After the failure of the 

 king's firft expedition againft Scotland, he fent for the lord- 

 deputy of Ireland, who arrived in November 1639. He 

 advifed the immediate renewal of hoftilities, and the fum- 

 moning of a parliament to provide fupplies ; and in order to 

 fecure his continued attachment and affiftance, he obtained 

 the earldom which he had once and again fought in vain. 

 In January 1640 he was created earl of Strafford, decorated 

 with the garter, and his ftyle of lord-deputy of Ireland was 

 changed into that of lord-lieutenant, which had been dor- 

 mant from the time of the earl of Effex. Upon his return 

 to Ireland he obtained four fubfidies, and levied 8000 men 

 for reinforcing the royal army. Afterwards the office of 

 commander-in-chief devolved upon him ; but though the 

 Scots prevailed, and the northern counties were furrendered 

 to the enemy, Strafford ftill recommended ftrong and arbi- 

 trary meafures. His credit at court, however, was . now 

 declining, and the king was obhged by his neceffities to call 

 a parliament, which proved eventually to be the " long par- 

 liament." Strafford, perceiving his own perilous lituation, 

 requefted leave to retire to his government ; but the king 

 refufed to comply, and encouraged him by a folemn pro- 

 mife that " not a hair of his head fhould be touched by the 

 parliament." The fequel fhewed that Strafford's appre- 

 henfions were well-founded; for on November the i8th, 

 1640, Pym, in the name of the commons of England, ap- 

 peared with the charge of high treafon at the bar of the 

 houfe of lords ; and Strafford was fequeftered from parha- 

 ment and imprifoned. The fallen miniller was now become 

 the objeftof accufation in the three kingdoms ; but the de- 

 fertion and hatred of Ireland moft deeply affefted him. The 

 articles of accufation again It him were at firft nine, but in 

 the courfe of three months they were multipUed into twenty- 

 eight. The principal objeft of his accufer was to fix upon 

 him the charge of " having attempted to fubvert the funda- 

 mental laws of the country." Againll this charge he de- 

 fended himfelf with wonderful felf-poffeffion and powers of 

 reafoning. It became neceffary, therefore, to change the 

 original impeachment into the arbitrary mode of proceed- 

 ing by a bill of attainder, in purfuing which procefs it was 

 only neceffary to pafs an enaftment of his having been 

 guilty of high treafon, and having incurred its punifhment. 

 The bill paffed the houfe with no more than fifty -nine diffen- 

 tient voices ; but among thefe were thofe of fome of the 

 firmeft; friends of the legal liberty of their country, who 

 thought the principles of juftice fhamefully violated ; and in 

 the houfe of lords the bill was carried more by intimidation 

 than conviftion. Hopes were flill entertained from the 

 king's promife, and his attachment to a faithful fervant. 

 But firmnefs was not one of the king's diftinguifhing virtues. 

 His interference to flop the progrefs of the bill in the houfe 



W E O 



> 



of lords had failed ; and he even recurred to the plea of con - 

 fcientious fcruples. But his counfellors urged the danger of 

 refilling the torrent of popular fury ; the prelates, Juxon 

 excepted, afted the part of cafuifts ; and Strafford himfelf 

 terminated the ftruggle by a letter, in which he perfuaded 

 the king for his own fafety to ratify the bill, thus concluding 

 it, " my confent ihall more acquit you to God than all the 

 world can do befides. To a wilhng man there is no in- 

 jury." Love of life, however, feems to have induced him 

 to have placed confidence in the king's promifes : for when 

 fecretary Carleton informed him of his majefty's final com- 

 pliance with his folicitations, he hfted up his eyes to heaven, 

 and with his hand on his heart, exclaimed, "'jPut not your 

 truft in princes, nor in the fons of men ; for in them there 

 is no falvation !" Strafford, between his condemnation and 

 execution, employed himfelf in adminiftering confolation 

 and advice to his diftreffed family, and making interell for 

 their proteftion. On the final day, as he was quitting the 

 tower, he looked up to the windows of Laud's apartment, 

 and obtaining a view of him, received his fervent blefling, 

 which he returned with " farewell my lord ! God proteft 

 your innocence !" At the fcaffold he made an addrefs to 

 the people, exprelling entire refignation to his fate, and 

 afferting the good intention of his aftions, however they 

 might have been mifreprefented ; and then, taking leave of 

 his accompanying friends, with a pathetic recoUeftion of his 

 widowed wife and orphan children, he calmly laid his head 

 on the block, and giving a fignal, received the fingle ftroke 

 that deprived him of life. He fell in the forty -ninth year of 

 his age, lamented by fome, admired perhaps by more, and 

 leaving a memorable, though not a fpotlefs name. The 

 parliament, not long after his death, mitigated the fentence 

 as far as it affefted his children ; and in the fucceeding 

 reign his attainder was reverfed, and his heir was reftored to 

 his eftate and honours." Lord Strafford was thrice mar- 

 ried, and left an only fon and feveral daughters. Biog. 

 Brit. Whitelock's Mem. The Hiftories of the Period. 



Wentworth, in Geography, a townfhip of England, 

 in the Weft Riding of Yorkfhire, with about 1000 in- 

 habitants ; near it is Wentworth-Houfe, a feat of earl Fitz- 

 william ; 5 miles N.W. of Rotheram. — Alfo, a townfhip 

 of New Hampfhire, in the county of Grafton, containing ■ 

 645 inhabitants ; 3 miles S.E. of Oxford. 



WENTZBURG, a town of the duchy of Warfaw ; 

 40 miles E. of Gnefna. 



WEOBLEY, an ancient borough and market-town 

 in the hundred of Stretford, and county of Hereford, 

 England, is fituated 1 1 miles N.W. by N. from the city 

 of Hereford, and 141 miles N.W. by W. from Lon- 

 don. Anciently it formed part of the barony of the 

 Lacies, from whom, by a female, it was conveyed in mar- 

 riage to the Verdons, who, by that alliance, were for fome 

 time hereditary conftables of Ireland. It afterwards paffed 

 through various families to the Devereux, earls of Effex, 

 and formed their principal lordfhip. On the fouth fide of 

 the town ftood an old caftle, which was taken from the 

 emprefs Maud by king Stephen. Leland mentions it as 

 " a goodly and fine liuilding, but fomewhat in decay." 

 Weobly fent members to all the feven parhaments of Ed- 

 ward I. ; the privilege was afterwards difcontinued till the 

 year 1640, when it was reftored by order of the houfe of 

 commons. The right of voting is poffeffed by the owners 

 of the ancient burgage houfes, refident at the time of elec- 

 tion, or by the inhabitants of fuch houfes who have been 

 refident forty days. The number of voters is about forty- 

 five : the returning officers are the conftables, in whom the 

 government of the town is vefted. The church is fpacious, 



and 



