Hunt, Henry, 1773-1835; Social reformers -- Great Britain -- Biography
As the circumstances attending his escape are in my opinion very
interesting, I shall give them as they have been handed down to me,
although they may be by some considered as tedious in the detail; yet as
they are circumstances very imperfectly recorded, only in the early
editions of Lord Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, and as they relate
to events somewhat similar to the present times, wherein a prominent part
was taken by one of my forefathers, I trust that they will not be esteemed
superfluous, as making a component part of my memoirs, in reference to the
political part taken by one of my family at this important epoch of the
English history. The collier took him up behind on his horse, dressed as
he was in female attire, and having struck across the country by some
private roads, he arrived at his habitation, a lone cottage situated on
the side of a large common, where he remained concealed, anxiously
awaiting the approach of night, and dreading[3] every moment the
appearance of the officers of justice in pursuit of their victim. In the
mean time the collier had procured two muskets and a blunderbuss, which he
had got loaded, determined to stand by the Colonel, who, if driven to
extremities, was resolved to sell his life as dearly as possible, but not
to be taken again alive. But, to return to the jail; when the officers of
death arrived to unbolt the door of the intended victim, what must have
been their surprise and indignation to have found in his bed a woman, a
brave and patriotic female, who gloried in having saved the life of a high
spirited and beloved brother! With what delight have we read of the
conduct of Madame Lavalette, who saved her husband from an untimely death
by similar means, who, by her virtuous devotion, rescued the victim marked
out for the treacherous revenge of a weak, wicked, and pusillanimous
prince; with what pleasure has every humane and patriotic bosom been
roused into admiration, at the noble, generous, and successful exertions
of Sir R. Wilson and his friends, to assist in snatching the life of that
devoted victim, from the bloody hand of the executioner! But many brave
men have voluntarily sacrificed themselves to save the life of a friend;
in the pages of history, we find that many an excellent wife has done the
same to save a beloved husband; but where shall we find a similar instance
of disinterested devotion in a sister?--To be the descendant of such a
woman--to bear the same name and belong to her family, is in itself
something that I am proud to boast of. With what delight have I (while yet
a boy) listened to this recital, while my father dwelt on it with rapture;
his eye glistening with a dignified pride as he recounted the tale of this
heroine of the family! How often have I been sent up stairs to unlock the
old oak chest, and to bring down the musty records of these eventful days,
that they might be unrolled either to refresh my father's memory, or to
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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