cast up their halters into the hall roof, so that the King might perceive they were none of the discreetest sort." In the crowd were several of the leaders of the riot, who had hitherto contrived to evade justice, but who no sooner ascertained the favourable turn which affairs were taking, than they "suddenly stripped them into their shirts, with halters," and mingling with the other offenders received pardon with the rest.

On the 13th of May, 1521, Westminster Hall witnessed the trial scene of that once all-powerful subject, Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, Lord High Constable of England, and lineally descended from King Edward the Third. Great preparations were made for the trial, which was conducted in solemn state before the Duke of Norfolk, sitting as Lord High Steward, and twenty-two other peers. Having been found guilty of high treason, and sentence of death having been passed upon him, the Duke, in a calm and dignified manner, addressed the court;-" My Lord of Norfolk," he said, "you have said as a traitor should be said to; but I was never any. I nothing malign you for what you have now done to me, and may the Eternal God forgive you my death, as I do. I shall never sue to the King for life; howbeit, he is a gracious Prince, and more grace may come from him than I desire. I beseech you, my Lords, and all my fellows, to pray for me."

I have this day received a traitor's judgment,

And by that name must die; yet Heaven bear witness,

DECAPITATION OF SIR THOMAS MORE. 347

And, if I have a conscience, let it sink me,
Even as the axe falls, if I be not faithful!

The law I bear no malice for my death;

It has done, upon the premises, but justice;

But those that sought it, I could wish more Christians:

Be what they will, I heartily forgive them :

Yet let them look they glory not in mischief,
Nor build their evils on the graves of great men ;

For then my guiltless blood must cry against them.
For further life in this world I ne'er hope,

Nor will I sue, although the King have mercies

More than I dare make faults. You few that loved me,

And dare be bold to weep for Buckingham,

His noble friends, and fellows, whom to leave

Is only bitter to him, only dying,

Go with me, like good angels, to my end;

And as the long divorce of steel falls on me,

Make of your prayers one sweet sacrifice,

And lift my soul to Heaven.-Lead on in God's name.
Henry III. Act 2, Scene 1.

The Duke was re-conducted to the Tower, and three days afterwards was beheaded on Tower Hill, where he died with great composure, attended by the lamentations of the people.

In July, 1535, the trial of the wise and witty Sir Thomas More, for denying the King's supremacy, took place in Westminster Hall. Notwithstanding the eloquence of his defence, he was found guilty, and sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered; a sentence which the King afterwards commuted for decapitation, and which was carried into effect on Tower Hill on the sixth of the month. An affecting scene took place as this great man was being led from the bar in Westminster Hall. His son forced his way through the crowd, and, falling

on his knees, in a passion of grief besought the blessing of his condemned father.

Edward the Sixth was crowned in Westminster Abbey, on the 20th of February, 1547, and after the ceremony partook of his coronation feast in the old Hall The young King himself tells us in his journal, that on his entering the Hall "it was asked the people whether they would have him to be their King, and they answered, 'Yea, yea.' At the conclusion of the banquet we find him dubbing thirty-five "Knights of the Carpet."

On the 1st of December, 1552, the great Protector, Duke of Somerset, uncle to the King, was brought from the Tower to Westminster Hall, to undergo his memorable trial on charges of treason and felony. "The Lord Treasurer, the Marquis of Winchester," says Hayward, "sat as High Steward, under a cloth of state, on a bench mounted three degrees; the peers, to the number of twenty-seven, sitting on a bench one step lower." He was acquitted of the charge of treason, but being found guilty of the felony, the object of his enemies was fully answered, and he was condemned to death. On the 22nd of the following month, the Duke was led forth to Tower Hill, where he submitted himself to the stroke of the executioner with a dignified fortitude and resignation.

The next trial of any importance which we find taking place in Westminster Hall, was that of Charles, seventh Baron Stourton, who was arraigned here, on the 26th of February, 1557, for the foul

TRIAL OF THE DUKE OF NORFolk.

349

murder of two gentlemen, William and John Hartgill, father and son, who were his neighbours in Somersetshire. Having been found guilty, and sentenced to be hanged, he was placed on a horse's back, with his arms pinioned behind him and his legs tied under the horse's belly, and thus conveyed by slow stages to Salisbury, in the marketplace of which town the sentence was carried into effect. The only distinction made between him and an ordinary malefactor was his being hanged with a silken halter.

Queen Mary was crowned in Westminster Abbey, and in all probability kept her coronation feast in Westminster Hall, as did also her sister and successor, Queen Elizabeth, on the 15th of January, 1559. "She dined," says Holinshed, "in Westminster Hall which was richly hung, and everything ordered in such royal manner as to such a regal and most solemn feast appertained."

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, more than one state trial of deep interest took place in Westminster Hall. That of Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk, who died for his romantic attachment to Mary Queen of Scots, presented an imposing and magnificent scene. The trial took place on the 16th of January 1572, George Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury presiding as Lord High Steward of England. "A scaffold," says Camden, who was present at the trial, "was erected in the midst of the Hall, reaching from the gate to the upper end; where there was a tribunal built, with seats

on both sides; such a sight as had not been seen full eighteen years."

Being called upon to answer the charges, the Duke strenuously entreated to be allowed the aid of counsel. Being answered by the Lord Chief Justice, that counsel was never allowed to criminals charged with high treason, "Then," said the Duke, "to-day I must plead for my life, my estate, my children, and, which is above all, my honour. If I die innocent, God will be sure to avenge my cause." The Clerk of the Crown then asked him, -"Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, art thou guilty of the crimes with which thou art charged, or no?" The Duke answering, "Not Guilty;" then, said the Clerk, "how wilt thou be tried?" to which the Duke replied, "To God and to these Peers I commend my cause."

The Duke having been found guilty, the Lord Steward asked him if he had anything to object why sentence should not be passed upon him, to which he replied," God's will be done: He will judge between me and my false accusers." Silence being again proclaimed, and the edge of the axe having been turned towards the Duke, Barham, the Queen's Serjeant-at-Law, rose from his seat, and called upon the High Steward in the Queen's name to pass sentence. With tears in his eyes, the Lord Steward then proceeded to pronounce the dreadful sentence of the law. "Forasmuch," he said, "as thou, Thomas Duke of Norfolk, hath been charged with high treason, hath