COLONEL BLOOD. 
353 
and brought to his trial for high treason, before a special commission, 
but was fully acquitted by the jury, to the great joy of the populace. 
Upon this occasion, a medal of his head was struck, with the following 
iinscription : — “ John Lilburne, saved by the power of God and the 
integrity of his jury, who are judges of law as well as of fact.’’ The 
names of the jurymen are on the reverse. A new offence which he 
gave to the parliament, caused that body to pass a sentence of heavy 
fine and punishment against him, upon which he retired to Holland. 
Here he remained till the dissolution of the long parliament, when he 
used all his interest to obtain a passport for his return to England ; 
but not succeeding, he ventured, in June 1653, to return without one. 
Being apprehended and committed to Newgate, he defended himself 
on the plea of illegality in his sentence of banishment; and this served 
him so well at his trial at the Old Bailey, that he was again acquitted 
by the jury. He was, however, ordered, to be re-transported; but 
giving security for his future quiet behaviour, he was suffered to re- 
main. He now settled at Eltham in Kent, and having apparently 
spent the contentious fir® of his disposition, but retained his enthu- 
siasm, he joined the Quakers, and preached at their meetings in Wool- 
wich and other adjacent places, till his death, in 1667, at the age of 
thirty-nine. He had a wife, who seems to have possessed the undaunted 
spirit of her husband, and was his faithful and affectionate helpmate 
in all his sufferings. 
John Lilburne was certainly, according to Anthony Wood’s expres- 
sion, “ a great trouble-world,” in all the varieties of government. This 
may partly be ascribed to his natural disposition, which was such, 
that it is said, “ If. there were no more living but him, John would be 
against Lilburne, and Lilburne against John.” Yet it' would be unjust 
not to grant him a pure and disinterested zeal for what he conceived 
to be justice and the public good ; which he pursued against all par- 
ties, with an invincible spirit, through a life of persecution. As a 
writer, he was extremely vulgar and virulent, but not without acuteness 
and a show of reason. He was a firm supporter of the laws of his 
country, which in return often supported him, and proved effectual 
barriers against arbitrary violence. 
Colonel Blood. 
Thomas Blood, commonly called Colonel Blood, was a disbanded 
officer of Oliver Cromwell, famous for his daring crimes and his good 
fortune. He was first distinguished by engaging in a conspiracy to 
surprise the castle of Dublin ; which was defeated by the vigilance of 
the duke of Ormond, and some of his accomplices were executed. 
Escaping to England, he meditated revenge against Ormond ; and 
actually seized him one night in his coach at' St. James’s street, 
where he might have finished his purpose, if he had not studied refine- 
ment in his vengeance. He bound him behind one of his associates, 
resolving to hang him at Tyburn, with a paper piiined to his breast ; 
but when they got into the fields, the duke threw himself, and the 
assassin to whom he was fastened, to the ground, and while they 
were struggling in the mire, he was rescued by his servants, but the 
authors of this attempt were not then discovered. 
2 Y 
