50 Records of the Rising in the West, A.D. 1655. 



included in Croke's articles ; and must now return to the general 

 narrative. 



The trials closed with the week, but one of the prisoners, Robert 

 Duke, had such influence with Mr. Secretary Thurloe, through his 

 sister, Miss Anne Duke, who was at Exeter at this time, that on 

 the following day, (Sunday, April 22nd,) we find his case being 

 reconsidered, and the Attorney- General drawing from him the in- 

 teresting story of his life : — 1 



" Saith, he was a scholar in Oxford, and after four years time spent there, as 

 soon as the War began, he threw off his gown and bought him a sword, and 

 hath been for the late king throughout the whole war. Saith he was told by 

 one Pyle, the agent, on his first engagement in this late rebellion, that there 

 were three several agents, one for the Cavalier party, another for the Parliament 

 party, and the third for the Army, who were called by a periphrasis the Sealed 

 Knot ; and that they had resolved to take in all interests, and to settle the king ; 

 and that it was privately whispered, the protector's interest was not excluded, 

 and that the Protector himself had declared his desire, that for settling the 

 nation in peace, the king (meaning Charles Stuart) should be brought in. And 

 this is all of addition he can make to what he said before.* 



It will be seen by reference to General Disbrowe's list of prisoners 

 that Duke is described as of Stuckton in Fordingbridge parish, in the 

 county of Southampton, gent. 2 This is his own and Col.Penruddock's 

 statement of his residence ; part of Fordingbridge is so called. 

 Further on we shall see he is spoken of, in a petition, as Lieutenant- 

 Colonel Robert Duke, of Wiltshire, so that probably though resident 

 in Hants, he belonged to the well-known family of that name in 

 Wilts. But as he must be mentioned again, it is only necessary at 

 present to notice the fact that on the following morning he stood 

 as one of 26 prisoners at the bar and received sentence of death. 



The portraits of a few of the chief actors and Col. Penruddocfs 

 exceeding brief account, and the notes of Serjeant Glynne's sentence, 

 are all the materials that we have for picturing the impressive scene 

 of Monday, April 23rd, 1655, in Exeter Castle Hall. A large 

 assembly of people no doubt were gathered for the occasion, and re- 

 membered it to their dying days, but they have not passed it on to us. 



Afterwards the Attorney- General wrote to Thurloe as follows : — 



l 3 Th., 401. 



• I have found no record of his first examination, 



2 Vol. xiii., p. 139, Wilts Mag. 



