Painted Chamber, January 30, 1648.

The commissioners met, and ordered, that Mr. Marshall, Mr. Nye, Mr. Carryll, Mr. Salway, and Mr. Dell, be desired to attend the King, to administer to him those spiritual helps as should be suitable to his present condition, and Lieutenant-Colonel Goffe is desired forthwith to repair unto them for that purpose.

Who did so, but after informed the Court, that the King being acquainted therewith, refused to confer with them, expressing that he would not be troubled with them.

Ordered, that the scaffold upon which the King is to be executed, be covered with black.

The warrant for executing the King being accordingly delivered to those parties to whom the same was directed, execution was done upon him according to the tenor of the warrant, about two of the clock in the afternoon of the said 30th of January.

After sentence, the King being hurried from their bar, as he passed down the stairs, the common soldiers (laying aside all reverence to sovereignty) scoffed at him, casting the smoke of their stinking tobacco in his face (no smell more offensive to him), and flinging their foul pipes at his feet; but one more insolent than the rest, defiled his venerable face with his spettle, for his Majesty was observed with much patience to wipe it off with his handkerchief, as he passed. Hearing them cry out, Justice, Justice; Poor souls (said he) for a piece of money they would do so for their commanders. That night, being Saturday, January 27, the King lodged at Whitehall; that evening a member of the army acquainted the committee with the desires of the King, that seeing they had passed sentence of death upon him, and the time of his execution might be nigh, that he might see his children, and receive the sacrament, and that Dr. Juxon, Bishop of London, might be admitted to pray with him in his private chamber: both which were granted.

The next day, being Sunday, January 28, the King was attended by his guard to St. James's, where the Bishop of London preached privately before him; his text was in Rom. ii. 16. In the day when God shall judge the secrets of man by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.

Monday, January 29.-His children were permitted to come to him, where passed this following discourse, as it was set down in writing by his daughter, the Lady Elizabeth, (which Lady Elizabeth, some

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months after, being confined to Carisbroke Castle, in the Isle of Wight, died there with grief for the sufferings of her dear father).

His children being come to met him, he first gave his blessing to the Lady Elizabeth, and bid her to remember to tell her brother James, whenever she should see him, that it was his father's last desire that he should no more look upon Charles as his eldest brother only, but be obedient unto him as his sovereign; and that they should love one another, and forgive their father's enemies. Then said the King to her, Sweetheart you'll forget this. No (said she) I shall never forget it whilst I live; and pouring forth abundance of tears, promised him to write down the particulars.

Then the King taking the duke of Gloucester upon his knee, said, Sweetheart, now they will cut off thy father's head (upon which words the child looking very stedfastly on him); mark, child, what I say, they will cut off my head, and perhaps make thee a King. But mark what I say, you must not be a King, so long as your brothers, Charles and James do live; for they will cut off your brothers' heads (when they can catch them), and cut off thy head too at last and therefore I charge you do not be made a King by them. At which the child sighing, said, I will be torn in pieces first: which falling so unexpectedly from one so young, it made the King rejoice exceedingly.

Tuesday, January 30.-(The fatal day) he was about ten of the clock brought from his palace at St. James's to Whitehall, marched on foot (guarded with a regiment of foot soldiers) through the Park, with their colours flying, and drums beating, his private guard of partizans about him, Dr. Juxon, Bishop of London, on one side, and Colonel Thomlinson on the other, both bare headed, bidding them go faster, saying, That he now went before them to strive for a heavenly crown with less solicitude, than he had often times bid his soldiers to fight for an earthly diadem. Being come to the end of the Park, he ascends the stairs leading to the long gallery in Whitehall, and so into the Cabinet Chamber, where he formerly used to lodge; there his Majesty, with the Bishop of London, continued for some time in devotion, and received the blessed sacrament from the hand of the said Bishop; at which time he read for the second lesson, the 27th chapter of Saint Matthew's Gospel, which contained the history of the death and passion of our blessed Saviour; the communion ended, his Majesty thanked the Bishop for selecting so seasonable and comfortable a portion of scripture. The Bishop modestly replied, No thanks were due

to him, for it was the chapter appointed by the Rubrick of the Church, for the second morning lesson for that day, being January 30. Here the King continued at his devotion, refusing to dine, only about twelve of the clock, he eat a bit of bread, and drank a glass of claret, from thence about one o'clock he was accompanied by Dr. Juxon and Colonel Thomlinson, and other officers formerly appointed to attend him, and the private guard of partizans, with musketeers on each side, through the Banquetting House, adjoining to which the scaffold was erected, between Whitehall gate, and the gate leading into the gallery from Saint James's. The scaffold was hung round with black, the floor covered with black baize, and the ax and block laid in the middle of the scaffold. There were divers companies of foot of Colonel Pride's regiment, and several troops of horse placed on the one side of the scaffold toward King-street, and one the other side toward Charingcross, and the multitudes of people that came to be spectators very great. The King being come upon the scaffold, it was expected he would say something to the people, which he did.

But because we have no other relation of what his Majesty then spoke, save what was taken in short hand on the scaffold by three several gentlemen, who were very exquisite in that art; nor had his Majesty any copy (being surprised and hastened by those who attended him to the scaffold), save only a few heads in a little scrap of paper, which after his death, the soldiers took from the Bishop of London, to whom he gave it: therefore the reader must be content with this copy, which was by them upon joint comparing of the copies published, some few words being altered to make the sense perfect.

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himself to the soldiers and officers (the instruments of the regicide),

spoke to them to this effect:

The King being come upon the Scaffold, looked very earnestly upon the Block, and asked Colonel Hacker if there were no higher? And then spoke thus (directing his Speech chiefly to Colonel Thomlinson):

King. I shall be very little heard of any body here, I shall therefore speak a word unto you here: indeed I could hold my peace very well, if I did not think that holding my peace would make some men think, that I did submit to the guilt as well as to the punishment; but I think it is my duty to God first, and to my country, for to clear myself both as an honest man, a good King, and a good Christian. "I shall begin first with my innocency; in troth, I think it not very needful for me to insist long upon this, for all the world knows that I never did begin a war with the two Houses of Parliament, and I call God to witness, to whom I must shortly make an account, that I never did intend to encroach upon their privileges, they began upon me; it is the militia they began upon: they confessed that the militia was mine, but they thought it fit to have it from me: and, to be short, if any body will look to the dates of commissions, of their commissions and mine, and likewise to the declarations, will see clearly that they began these unhappy troubles, not I. So that as to the guilt of these enormous crimes that are laid against me, I hope in God that God will clear me of it; I will not, I am in charity: God forbid that I should lay it upon the two Houses of Parliament, there is no necessity of either, I hope they are free of this guilt: for I do believe that ill instruments between them and me, has been the chief cause of all this bloodshed: so that by way of speaking, as I find myself clear of this, I hope (and pray God) that they may too; yet for all this, God forbid that I should be so ill a Christian as not to say that God's judgments are just upon me. Many times he does pay justice by an unjust sentence, that is ordinary. I will only say this, that unjust sentence-[Stafford that I suffered for to take effect, is punished now by an unjust sentence So far I have said, to shew you that I am an innocent

upon me.

man.

Now for to shew you that I am a good Christian: I hope there is -[pointing to Dr Juxon]-a good man that will bear me witness, that I have forgiven all the world, and even those in particular that have been the chief causers of my death; who they are, God knows, I do not desire to know, I pray God forgive them. But this is not all, my charity must go farther, I wish that they may repent, for indeed they have committed a great sin in that particular: 1 pray God, with St.

Stephen, that this be not led to their charge; nay, not only so, but that they may take the right way to the peace of the kingdom; for my cha rity commands me not only to forgive particular men, but my charity commands me to endeavour to the last gasp the peace of the kingdom. So, Sir, I do wish with all my soul (and I do hope there is some here [turning to some gentlemen that wrote]-will carry it further) that they may endeavour the peace of the kingdom.

Now, Sirs, I must shew you both how you are out of the way, and will put you in the way: First, you are out of the way. For certainly all the way, you ever have had yet, as I could find by any thing, is in the way of conquest; certainly this is an ill way. For conquest, Sirs, in my opinion is never just, except there be a good just cause, either for matter of wrong, or just title, and then if you go beyond it, the first quarrel that you have to it, is it that makes it unjust at the end that was just at first. But if it be only matter of conquest, then it is a great robbery, as a pirate said to Alexander, that he was the great robber, he was but a petty robber: and so, Sir, I do think the way that you are in, is much out of the way. Now, Sir, for to put you in your own way, believe it, you will never do right, nor God will never prosper you, until you give God his due, the King his due (that is my successors), and the people their due: I am as much for them as any of you. You must give God his due, by regulating rightly his church (according to his scriptures), which is now out of order: for to set you in a way particularly now I cannot, but only this, a national synod freely called, freely debating among themselves, must settle this; when that every opinion is freely and clearly heard.

For the King indeed I will not (Then turning to a gentleman that touched the ax, said, Hurt not the ax that may hurt-[Meaning if he did blunt the edge]-me.) For the King, the laws of the land will clearly instruct you for that: therefore, because it concerns my own particular, I only give you a touch of it.

For the people and truly I desire their liberty and freedom as much as any body whatsoever, but I must tell you, that their liberty and freedom consists in having of government, those laws by which their life and their goods may be most their own. It is not for having share in government, Sirs, that is nothing pertaining to them: a subject and a sovereign are clear different things, and therefore until they do that, I mean, that you do put the people in that liberty, as I say, cer1 tainly they will never enjoy themselves.

Sirs, it was for this that now I am come here; if I would have given way to an arbitrary way, for to have all laws changed according