$44 
Thurfday, in Paffion Weck, the Cal-. 
vinift preacher was fuddenly taken all; 
and, at the requeft of the congregation, 
the Lutheran preacher did duty, for him 
on Good-Friday, and Eafter-day, and 
fome other days; after which, the Cal- 
vinifts fent for a minifter of their own. 
Both parties, Lutherans and Calvinifts, 
attended the funeral of a Calvinift citi- 
zen, and have thus afforded us fuificient 
ground to believe, that the difference of 
religious opinion, between. thefe two 
feéts, will be no longer thought of fo 
much importance as Chriftian love and 
mutual benevolence. 
W.F. 
EEE 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
Srory oF GENERAL KIRK | 
RECTIFIED. 
[The following letter was~found among the 
papers. of the late Dr. Smollet, and is now: in 
the poffeffion of a Phyfician, 2t Wilmington, 
in North America, who has obligingly favour- 
ed us with a Copy of it, We gladly infert it 
for the purpofe of reéttfying a. ftory, which 
has become a part of Englifh Hiflory, and 
wiping off a ftain from the memory of a 
man, who, bad as he was, does not deferve 
to be treated with calumny. | 
SIR, 
HE anecdote J told you I was de- 
frous to convey to Dr. Smolict, 
was what you will find here below, in 
erder 
tory, falfely told of General Kirk. 
This ftory chiefly gained ground by a 
poem of Pomfret’s, called Cruelty and 
Lift, and which is printed with his other 
works of that fort, and from thence has 
crept into. thofe of writers of hiftory, 
memoirs, &c.—The ftory is this: 
_ “4 young man being condemned by 
military law to die, for having been in 
the Monmouth rebellion, his fifter, in 
order to fave his life, went to Kirk, 
(the general) to intercede for him. She 
being a pretty woman, inflamed the 
general, who attempted to debauch her ; 
but the being virtuous, his attempts were 
vain, till he told her, that her brother’s 
fate depended upon her confent. To fave 
her brother’s life, fhe confented, and 
paffed the night with the general, upon 
his promife that her brother fhould be 
reftored to her the next morning—but 
the general deceived her, for though he 
reftcred him the next morning, he was 
firft put to death.’—Now the truth of 
the fact is this; 
to confute a vile and horrible © 
[ Au Be 
After the Monmouth rebellion was 
fubdued, an order came from court to 
Kirk, then general of the troops in the 
weft, to take out of the gaols twenty of 
the rebels, and have them executed by 
martial Jaw. It is true, this was ia 
defiance of the laws of the land, but 
thofe were not then much regarded, 
when they ftood in the way ot thofe 
who werein power. Accordingly, twenty 
of thefe rebels were taken out of the 
gaols, to be executed on a market-day, 
im (J think) the town of Taunton; in 
Somerfetthire ; but I am not quite pofi- 
tively fure that was the town, though f 
am, in my own mind, pretty ftrongly 
perfuaded it was. 
There being at that time a notion of 
a woman going in white to beg publicly 
the life of a condemned -perion, the 
morning of the execution, fome of the 
relations of one of them thinking of 
this, obtaincd of Mrs. Elizabeth Row 
(a lady of a great and mioft amiable cha- 
raéter, and for which fhe was defervedly 
famous all over the Weft) to go in white, 
and beg the life of this perfon from the 
general, whe, with feveral of his officers, 
was ftanding in a balcony to fee the exe- 
cution. She went to him, when the 
criminals were in the cart, and already 
tied up to-the gallows, and begged the 
life of the perfon above-mentioned. 
Kirk turned about to one Bufh, a lieu- 
tenant, who ftood by him, and who was 
remarkable for being the ftupideft fellow 
in the whole regiment, and faid, in his 
fhort bluff way, Go and bid the -execu- 
tioner cut him from the gallows; taking 
it for granted that Buth, who ftood clofe 
‘to-him, heard who Mrs. Elizabeth Rew 
had begged off. But he was miitaken, 
for that ftupid fellow, Bufa, not only had 
not attended to the name of the perfon 
Mrs. Elizabeth Row had interceded for, 
but even did’ not think to afk it, but 
went to the executioner, and faid, You 
muft cut him “down. The executioner 
replied, Cut him down! which di, for 
there are twenty? Now it happened, 
that the man who had been begged off, 
being attentive to his prayers, had not, 
attended to any thing which had paffed, 
fo tock no notice of what Buth faid; but 
another of the -criminals, who was 
minding fomething elfe befides his pray- 
ers, feeing a lady in white in the balcony, 
with the general, and hearing a talk of 
cutting down, fmelled out the thing, and 
told Buth, that he was the perfon the ~ 
lady had begged cff. Buth wifely took 
his word, and turning to the sa a 
- a: 
