By W. W. BavenJiiU, Esq. 



143 



of the M King's Own " court ; but there was no one else save Sir 

 Matthew Hale, and he was not acceptable. Sir John (as he himself 

 says, till then silent for twenty years) won some reputation for his 

 conduct of the regicide Hackett's trial — most dark matter — for 

 Keeling' doubted whether the indictment should be laid against 

 the peace of King Charles II., who was at the time travelling 

 abroad, or that of Charles L, whose head was off. It was settled by 

 taking off Hackett's head. A miracle of circumstances made Keeling 

 Chief Justice, and he exchanged his silence at the bar for scolding 

 from the bench. With interest and awe must the inhabitants of 

 Warminster have looked on him. What said he a little later, to 

 the foreman of the grand jury of Somerset (Sir Hugh Wyndham), 

 on that body declining to find a true bill contrary to their consciences, 

 " You shall find it. All of you are my servants, and I will make 

 the best in England stoop. " If he disagreed with petty juries he 

 would sometimes fine them. At length an address was presented 

 against him to both Houses of Parliament. He fought well at 

 the bar of the House of Commons and saved his place. In 1670 

 he was presented to the House of Lords, for his conduct to Lord 

 Holies, and had to publicly apologise. But it is fair to his memory 

 to add that Sir Thomas Raymond speaks of him as a learned, faithful, 

 and resolute judge. 



Of Sir John Archer nothing need be said. 



There is no record of the counsel who were present on that circuit ; 

 possibly Serjeant Maynard was here, then past sixty years, but full 

 of vigour, who survived to tell Lord JefTeries " that he (Serjeant 

 Maynard) was not so old but he had forgotten more law than Lord 

 Jefferies had ever known;" and King William III. "that but for his 

 coming he might have survived the law itself/'' He was appointed 

 Chief Commissioner of the Great Seal at the age of eighty-seven. 

 It is said he loved law so well, that he drew his will carefully to 

 promote litigation. 



The commission of the assize precept and calendar, cannot be 

 found. Permit me to draw attention to those of 1659, seven years 

 earlier. We can tell those who attended, the clerk of assize has 

 ticked them : — 



