A solemn and appalling scene then ensued. The voice of Lord Derwentwater
was heard to exclaim, and the watchful ear of the executioner caught
these words: "_Sweet Jesus_, receive my spirit; _sweet Jesus_, be
merciful unto me; _sweet Jesus_"--he seemed to be going on, when the
sentence was broken and the voice for ever hushed, the executioner
severing his Lordship's head from his body, which he did at one stroke.
Then the executioner took up the head, and at the several quarters of
the scaffold elevated it with both his hands, crying with a loud voice,
"Behold the head of a traitor! God save King George!" When he had done
so, the friends of the Earl not being provided with hearse or coffin,
Sir John Fryer, the Sheriff, ordered the body to be wrapped in black
baize, to be conveyed to a hackney coach, and delivered to his friends,
one of whom had wrapped up his head in a handkerchief.[222]
On the day of the execution, Mary, Countess of Derwentwater, accompanied
by another female, dressed herself as a fishwoman, and in a cart drove
under Temple Bar, having previously bribed some people to throw the head
of her lord into her lap, as she passed under the pinnacle on which it
was placed.[223]
Various accounts have been given of the interment of the Earl of
Derwentwater. He is generally believed to have been buried in the church
of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, near the altar. But a popular tradition has
found credence, that he was buried at Dilstone. This has arisen from
the Jacobite ditty, called "Derwentwater's Good Night," or has probably
given origin to that lay, in which the Earl is made to say:--
"Albeit that here in London town
It is my fate to die,
O carry me to Northumberland,
In my father's grave to lie:
There chaunt my solemn requiem,
In Hexham's holy towers,
And let six maids of fair Tynedale,
Scatter my grave with flowers."[224]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account