By W. W. Ravenhill, Esq. 



181 



Lord Lisle, Baron Nicholas, Serjeants Glynn and Steele, and Mr. 



Attorney- General passed on to Dorchester and spent Sunday, the 



15 th April, there. The Attorney writes to Thurloe 



" I will give you a little account of some passages this day at churoh. Mr. 

 Gower in his prayer after sermon, blessed God for suppressing those people, 

 and prayed the Lord to direct the Judges that Justice might be done. Mr. 

 Benee in his prayer in the afternoon said, that a treason was plotted, but 

 blessed the Lord, that nothing came to execution but the traitors.* 



Serjeant Glynn writes too from the same place 

 " It falles to my charge to manage the affayres at Exeter, where I believe there 

 will be worke Enough. I hope God will strengthen mee to performe my duty 

 there, accordinge to the talent that he hath bestowed upon me. I thinke that 

 county beinge dispached, there will not much remain of the principall businesse 

 to bee acted in Summersetshire ; and therefore I hope to obteyne leave to goe 

 streight from thence to London, which I purposse to doe, without 1 receive a 

 command to the contrary (which I hope I shall not) and leave Summersetshire 

 to the other commissioners. Mr. Recorder [Steele] gives the charge there."f 



Salisbury was fast relapsing into the stillness of every-day life, 

 when to the quarters of the soldiers, or to the White Hart Hotel there 

 came on that Sunday the ubiquitous Disbrowe, to give the epilogue 

 upon the tragic scenes we have just enumerated. 



He writes to Thurloe : — 

 "Sir 



I am come to Salsbury verie wearie I doe not perceave by any I 

 have yet talked with all, but that the country is verie satisfied in the tryeinge 

 of those people, and the manner of theire trial is looked uppon by the people to 

 bee accordinge to the government, and on the accompt of the present power. 

 . . . . Soe not haveinge any thinge else at present I rest 



Your friend and servant 

 April 15th, 1655. John Disbeowe." 



It will be well to dispose of the poor Salisbury prisoners at once • 

 lingering over such matters, is neither profitable nor agreeable. 

 Efforts were made to save the lives of all. The prisoners themselves 

 had presented petitions in court, which were read ; x they made a 

 great impression upon Mr. Attorney- General ! 



• 3 Th., 379. 



+ 3 Th., 370. Worthy of notice is the easy adaptation of such a tongue and pen as Glynn's (and 

 with him might be named many others,) to the language of Puritanism. 



tThe note of admiration is my own. I find so many of the Protector's officers "weary" in his 

 service. Perhaps the expression of it assisted promotion. 



1 Ibid, 378 and 379. Mercurius Politicus, April 12th to 19th, says Deanc, 

 Lucas, and Kensey, before sentence, preferred their petition to the court. 



