The Pictorial Press Part 8

'The Captaines of all these s.h.i.+ps, hee commanded aboard, and asked them what they had done with his Rear-Admiral; they at first denied that they saw him, but he pressing it so hard upon them, at length confessed, that they had been in fight with him, and that the reason was, because they would not take in their flags, being so commanded by their Queen, and had instructions to that purpose, which he caused them to send for, and took copies of them, which appeared to be true in a high manner.

'And they further told our Commander Vice-Admiral Batten, that they would rather die in honour, than to go home and be hanged, for disobeying their commissions; a brave resolution, and I could wish it were imprinted in the hearts of all our commanders; they further told him, that if these flaggs were then abroad, they would die before they made one shot at him, though he shot never so many at them, yet would not take them in, and indeed were very respective to him. But they did much blame the Rear-Admiral, for that all the shot he made was at their Vice-Admiral and Rear-Admiral, and not at their Admiral, whom he ought first to have commanded, the others being subordinate to his commands; and although he was 4 or 5 hours by the Admirals side never shot gun at him, but sent his Boat 3 times aboard. Our Vice-Admiral demanded of them, where the Rear-Admiral left them, they told him off Beachey which to him did seem strange, that he should begin a quarrell and not follow them, till he came neer where the Vice-Admiral was, having sent a Frigot to him, to give him intelligence, and might undoubtedly expect his relief.

'All Munday was spent in taking of Examinations, and Copies of Commissions; the Swedish Commanders being detained aboard by our Vice-Admiral as prisoners, but used with great civilitie.

'At length a Councell of Warre was called by our Commander in chiefe with his Captaines, the result whereof was, that the Swedes Vice-Admiral, who had been the man which was most active was with his s.h.i.+p to be carried into the Downes, till the pleasure of the Parliament be further known which was done accordingly, and the next day we arrived in the Downes, being the 4. instant; the rest of the Swedes in regard of their shortness of Victuall, and having charge of the Convoy, were left to their own dispose, and this was performed without shooting so much as a Musket; but truly, if the Queene of Swethland leave not out that peremptory command in her instructions, not to strike to any of our Commanders, enjoyned to keep the Sovereignty of the Seas, and to expect homage from all, even to sinking, or burning, this must in time breed ill-bloud between the two Kingdomes, which might be wisht might be prevented, by a letter from our Parliament to the Queen of Swethland.

Thus have I given you a perfect Relation of the whole proceedings.

Sir, I have not else at present, but to let you know, I am your most humble servant and kinsman, 'R. B.

[Ill.u.s.tration: NAVAL BATTLE, 1647.]

'Dated at Sea off Dover the 4. of May 1647.'

Another piece of ill.u.s.trated news bearing upon naval affairs is ent.i.tled, '_News from the Royall Navie, Colchester, and Portsmouth, declaring the proceedings and intentions of the Prince of Wales, &c._'

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE PRINCE OF WALES'S SQUADRON, 1648.]

'We have received intelligence from the _Brill_ in Holland, that his Highness the Prince of Wales since his arrival there hath embarked himself in a great Vessell for England, the Earl of Newcastle, the Lord Gerhard, the Lord Culpepper, and divers others Lords and Gentlemen, being now floating upon the Neptune Seas towards the North of England, accompanying of his Royall person; we hear that they intend to land about Berwick, or else on the South side of the Holy-Island, and to march in the Van of the English Army. It is likewise said that divers Scottish Lords hath been with his Highnesse, and have treated with his Councell declaring the grounds and reasons of their engagement with England, and their resolution to redeem their dread Sovereign from imprisonment, to re-invest His Royall Person, and to make both him and His Posterity happy, and so Peace and Unity may flourish throughout all His Majesties Realms and Dominions. Severall urgent invitations were also presented to his Highness for his speedy and personal appearance in the North of England. The like to the Duke of York for his hastening with the Royal Navie towards the Downs, which unexpectedly is now come to pa.s.s; for we hear that the Prince with a great number of Royalists are sayled from the Brill in Holland towards the North of England, and that the Duke is come upon the Downs with a great and numerous Fleet, consisting of about 10 of the Kings great s.h.i.+ps, and 30 Flemings, but they have not meddled on either side as yet; six of the Dukes s.h.i.+ps, on Sat.u.r.day last strook sayle before the town and Castle of Deal, and by their churlish tokens they sent us made it appear what they were, for they shot very neer 100 great Pieces at us, which killed 8 or nine of our men.'

This account is ill.u.s.trated with the woodcut on the opposite page.

Some of the rough woodcuts to be found in many of the Civil War tracts would be unworthy of notice, did they not show the constant efforts that were made to ill.u.s.trate the news of the hour. Such is the ill.u.s.tration to a tract ent.i.tled, '_A true Relation of the late Great Mutiny which was in the City of Norwich April 24, 1648_.' This gives an account of the explosion of ninety-eight barrels of gunpowder, whereby 200 mutineers were slain, and the woodcut is intended to show the effects of the explosion.

_b.l.o.o.d.y Newes from the Scottish Army_ contains a woodcut representing two men on horseback charging each other. The description gives an account of the advance of the Scottish army on the English near Penrith, intending to surprise the latter; 'but by the vigilance of our scouts they were discovered.' After a 'furious conflict gallantly maintained on both sides, we gained ground, and beat them out of the field. This action happened upon Sunday morning last about 2 of the clock in the morning.'

[Ill.u.s.tration: EXPLOSION AT NORWICH, 1648.]

During the last struggles between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists, the latter, under Lord Goring, were driven into Colchester by Fairfax, and there besieged for more than two months. There are several pamphlets detailing incidents of this siege, one or two of which are ill.u.s.trated. One of them is in the form of a letter to the writer's brother, and it has a quaint woodcut of 'Colchester Leaguer.'

Another tract, dated July 27, 1648, is ent.i.tled '_A great Fight at Colchester upon Tuesday night last, being the 25 of this instant July, and the advancing of General Lucas and his forces to the very Guards of the Parliamenteers, with the particulars of the Fight, and the number that were killed and taken prisoners on both sides, and the springing of a Mine to blow up part of the Leaguer. Likewise a letter from Colchester concerning the marching of an Army to London. And Message from Prince Charles to Gen. Lucas. And a bloudy Fight at Deal Castle in Kent.

London. Printed for R. Woodus, and are to be sold at the Royall Exchange in Cornhill, 1648._ The letter describing this fight contains so much curious matter that it is worth transcribing entire:--

[Ill.u.s.tration: COLCHESTER LEAGUER, 1648.]

'Sir, we have received information from Yarmouth, Harwich, and other places, that there is great fear of the Prince of Wales landing in those parts with a very considerable Army, and that he is resolved to advance towards Colchester, to raise the siege, and to let those Birds at liberty, which he esteems to be the only instruments to advance his Father's Cause. We hear that the L. Gerrard is designed Lieutenant Generall of the new Eastern Army, and the Lord Culpepper Major Generall, and that his Highnesse will repose no trust in either of the Princes Rupert or Maurice, or any other Foreign Personage whatsoever. This morning a Corporall of a troop of horse deserted the Colchestrian service, and humbly submitted himself to the Lord Generall, who upon examination touching their numbers and victualling said that the last Muster Rolls made mention of above 6000 Horse and Foot, and for victualling, they had plenty of Rye and bread-corn, but for flesh-meat they had none at all left, being constrained to kill Horses to satisfie their hungry appet.i.tes, which causeth many of the young Soldiers to desert their hard commons.

'He further said, that at the last Muster upon Munday last the E. of Norwich and Sir Charles Lucas rode to the head of each Regiment, and read a paper to the Soldiery (which they said was a Message from the Prince of Wales) intimating that his Highnesse were resolved immediately to land his Forces about Yarmouth, and from thence to march downe to Colchester to raise the siege, and set them at liberty, and that if they could but hold out till Satterday, he doubted not of the day, and should take it as an acceptable service from them.

'But I conceive the truth of this to be as palpable falsehood as the late report of the Royalists in these parts, who would not stick to say, _that Colchester was relieved by the s.h.i.+p called the Swallow, and that they shot in above 500 Holland cheeses out of Mortar pieces &c._

'Some who are come out of the Town reports that the enemy within are springing a Mine, and doth intend to blow up the Lord Lucas his house (in our possession) which doth very much annoy them; their great Ordnance plaid very hard this morning, and did some execution, ours answered them again from the Great Mount, and plaid upon them for the s.p.a.ce of one hour.

'They are in very great streights for provision, and have eaten horse-flesh these six or seven dayes, but as resolute as formerly.

'A party came out to cut Barley which was repulsed without losse, two only wounded of the party; some horse grazing under the City walls were snapt by some of Col. Whalleyes Forces, some shot, 38 taken, no way serviceable at present, unlesse good keeping recover them.

'On Satterday last the Lord Generall gave Order that several Papers should be shot into the town out of Arrows, offering the private Souldiers quarter, and pa.s.ses to go home, if they will deliver up Goring, Capel, Lucas, Loughborough, Farre, &c.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GENERAL LUCAS AT THE SIEGE OF COLCHESTER, 1648.]

'This morning betwixt three and four of the clock, we received some tokens from the besieged, a party of them sallied out, and advanced up a narrow Lane neer to one of our Guards, thinking to surprise them unawares; but an Eagle ey'd Centinel discovering them, presented her bill, and fired; whereupon the rest of the Guardians received an allarm and immediately man'd the Line, the Colchestrians advanced and charged with great fury, this action was disputed by both parties with great courage and resolution, the enemy fell on without mercy, and fought it with much violence, but our Forces bodying, they retreat, our men pursues with great execution, killed about 20. and took as many prisoners, with the losse of 12. men; the like dispute hapned the last night; we expect every hour when we shall have Orders to fall on, the work will be difficult, and the storming dangerous, the town being disadvantageous for such a Military action.

'_Colchester Leaguer July 26. at 8. in the morning._'

This tract is ill.u.s.trated with a portrait of General Lucas on horseback, which is copied on the previous page.

Colchester surrendered to the Parliament on Aug. 27, 1648, when Fairfax determined to make an example of Sir Charles Lucas. This unexpected severity was attributed to Ireton, who had been set by Cromwell to watch Fairfax. There was a strong protest made against the intended execution, but it nevertheless took place. Lucas was shot, together with Sir George Lisle. The former suffered first, and he himself gave the order to the soldiers to fire, with as much coolness as if he had been a mere spectator. It is said that Lisle ran and kissed the dead body of his friend, and then presented himself to a like fate. Thinking that the firing party was too far off, he called to them to come nearer; one of the soldiers replied, 'I'll warrant you, Sir, we'll hit you.' 'Friends,'

said the gallant Royalist, smiling, 'I have been nearer you when you have missed me.'

Other tracts describe the proceedings of the Prince of Wales in his attempts to retrieve his father's fortunes. One of them has a portrait of the Prince, and contains a message sent by him to the Mayor of Yarmouth concerning the landing of his forces there for the relief of Colchester. Another is adorned with a very elaborate t.i.tle-page, and describes 'The Resolution of the Prince of Wales, concerning the landing of his Army in the Isle of Loving-Land, within the County of Suffolk, and his Propositions to all Englishmen concerning his Engagement for King, City, and Kingdom, against the Army, and to fight for their Liberties, Freedom, and Privileges. Likewise, the further proceedings of the Royal Navie, under his Highness the D. of York, and the Declaration of the Seamen in the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth, concerning the Kings Majesty and the Fleet Royall, 1648.'

The contest between the Royalists and the Parliament was now drawing to a close. The King was a prisoner in Carisbrooke Castle, and while he lay there he continued to occupy the pens of the pamphleteers and journalists. One writer addressed an exhortation to the n.o.bility, clergy, and civil magistrates, in favour of the imprisoned Monarch; and he adorned his work with the above representation of the King in prison, which afterwards appeared in other pamphlets.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CHARLES I. IN CARISBROOKE CASTLE, 1648.]

It is remarkable that such important events as the trial and execution of Charles I. should not have tempted the newspapers of the day to ill.u.s.trate subjects of so much interest. It may have been that such a terrible termination of the Civil War in some degree paralysed men's energies, and drove all thoughts of trading on such an event from their minds. I have met with two very rough woodcuts professing to represent the execution. One is contained in the Confession of Richard Brandon, the Hangman, and the other forms half of a woodcut frontispiece to a broadside describing the execution of the Regicides, which I shall refer to in its proper place. The Confession of Richard Brandon was published in 1649, the same year in which the King was executed, and purports to be a death-bed statement concerning that event. There were two Brandons, Gregory and Richard, father and son. The former beheaded Lord Strafford, and was believed by Charles II. to have been the executioner of his father. According to Sir Nathaniel Wraxall, George Selwyn, 'that insatiable amateur of executions,' told the story of King Charles's execution from information which he professed to have obtained from the d.u.c.h.ess of Portsmouth, who, he said, always a.s.serted, on the authority of Charles II., that the King, his father, was not beheaded by either Colonel Joyce or Colonel Pride, as was then commonly believed, but that the real name of the executioner was _Gregory_ Brandon; that this man had worn a black c.r.a.pe stretched over his face, and had no sooner taken off the King's head than he was put into a boat at Whitehall Stairs, together with the block, the black cloth that covered it, the axe, and every other article that had been stained with the Royal blood. Being conveyed to the Tower, all the implements used in the decapitation had been immediately reduced to ashes. A purse containing one hundred broad pieces of gold was then delivered to Brandon, and he was dismissed. He survived the transaction many years, but divulged it a short time before he died. 'This account,' Wraxall adds, 'as coming from the d.u.c.h.ess of Portsmouth, challenges great respect.'[2] Popular belief, however, at the time pointed to Richard Brandon, son of the above-named Gregory Brandon, whose confession, published immediately after his death, I here quote:--

'The Confession of Richard Brandon the Hangman (upon his Death bed).

'The Confession of the Hangman concerning his beheading his late Majesty the King of Great Brittaine (upon his Death bed) who was buried on Thursday night last, in White Chappell Church-yard, with the manner thereof.

'Upon Wednesday last (being the 20 of this instant June, 1649) Richard Brandon, the late Executioner and Hangman, who beheaded his late Majesty, King of Great Brittaine, departed this life. But during the time of his sicknesse his conscience was much troubled, and exceedingly perplexed in mind, yet little shew of repentance, for remission of his sins, and by past transgressions, which had so much power and influence upon him, that he seemed to live in them and they in him. And upon Sunday last, a young man of his acquaintance going in to visit him, fell into discourse, asked him how he did, and whether he was not troubled in conscience, for cutting off of the King's head?

'He replied by reason that (upon the time of his tryal, and at the denouncing of Sentence against him) he had taken a vow and protestation, _wis.h.i.+ng G.o.d to perish him body and soul, if ever he appeared on the scaffold to do the act or lift up his hand against him_.

'Further acknowledging, _That he was no sooner entered upon the scaffold, but immediately he fell a trembling, and hath ever since continued in the like agony_.

'He likewise confessed that he had 30 pounds for his pains, all paid him in half-crowns, within an hour after the blow was given, and that he had an orange stuck full of cloves, and a handkircher out of the King's pocket, so soon as he was carried off from the scaffold; for which orange he was proffered 20 s.h.i.+llings by a gentleman in Whitehall, but refused the same, and afterwards sold it for ten S. in Rosemary-lane.

'About 6 of the clock at night he returned home to his wife living in Rosemary Lane, and gave her the money, saying, _That it was the deerest money that ever he earned in his life, for it would cost him his life_.

Which prophetical words were soon made manifest; for it appeared that ever since he hath been in a most sad condition, and upon the Almightie's first scourging of him with the Rod of meeknesse, and the friendly admonition of divers friends, for the calling of him to repentance, yet he persisted on in his vicious Vices, and would not hearken thereunto, but lay raging and swearing, and still pointing at one thing or another, which he conceived to appear visible before him.

'About three dayes before he died he lay speechlesse, uttering many a sigh and heavy groan and so in a most desperate manner departed from his bed of sorrow. For the buriall whereof great store of wines were sent in by the sheriff of the City of London, and a great mult.i.tude of people stood wayting to see the Corps carried to the Church-yard, some crying out _Hang him Rogue, bury him in the Dung-hill_; others pressing upon him saying, _They would quarter him, for executing of the King_; insomuch, that the Church Wardens and Masters of the Parish were fain to come for the suppressing of them, and (with great difficulty) he was at last carried to White-Chappell Church-yard, having (as it is said) a bunch of Rosemary at each end of the coffin, on the top thereof, with a Rope tyed crosse from one end to the other.

'And a merry conceited Cook, living at the sign of the Crown, having a black Fan (worth the value of 30 s.h.i.+llings) took a resolution to rent the same in pieces, and to every feather tied a piece of packthread dy'd in black ink, and gave them to divers persons, who (in derision) for a while, wore them in their hats.

'Thus have I given thee an exact account and perfect relation of the life and death of Richard Brandon, to the end, that the World may be convinced of those calumnious speeches and erroneous suggestions which are dayly spit from the mouth of envy, against divers persons of great worth and eminency, by casting an _odium_ upon them for the executing of the King; it being now made manifest that the aforesaid Executioner was the only man that gave the fatal blows, and his man that wayted upon him was a Ragman, living in Rosemary Lane.'

Subjoined is a copy of the cut on the t.i.tle-page of this tract.

[Ill.u.s.tration: EXECUTION OF CHARLES I., 1649.]

The death of Richard Brandon is entered in the register of St. Mary's, Whitechapel, under date June 21, 1649. To the entry is appended a note, evidently of about the same date, to the effect that 'this R. Brandon is supposed to have cut off the head of Charles the First.' The 'calumnious speeches and erroneous suggestions' had indicated several persons as having struck the fatal blow on that dismal morning in January. Amongst them, besides those already named, were 'Squire Dun,' William Walker, Hugh Peters, Lord Stair, and William Hewlett. The last-named person was actually tried for the crime at the Restoration. The evidence against him went to show that 'his voice was heard upon the scaffold, and his Breeches were seen under his Frock, that he confest he was to have 100 and preferment in Ireland to doe it; that being asked whether he cut off the King's head or no, he said what he had done he would not be ashamed of; and if it were to doe again he would doe it; more to the same purpose was witnessed by several witnesses, and by one, who being sworn, said that the Common-Hangman profest he did not doe it.' This sort of evidence was not fit to hang a dog; and, though Hewlett was found guilty and sentenced to death, the sentence was never carried into effect--a proof that public opinion must have been too strong even for the hardihood of those who had foredoomed Hewlett to the gallows. The Government had evidently determined to fix the treason on this man with the sanguinary idea that some person ought to be made to expiate the deed, even though that person might be innocent. The prevalent belief, however, was that it was the common executioner who had been employed; and it is highly improbable that a mere amateur would have been permitted to officiate on such an important occasion.

Although I have met with no native contemporary production representing the execution, other than the rude woodcuts before mentioned, there is in the British Museum a collection of broadsides relating to the period of the Civil War, one of which has a large and well-executed copperplate engraving representing the execution of Charles I. It was published at Frankfort, and the descriptive text is in German. The view of Whitehall is correctly given, and the engraving looks like a genuine representation of the event.

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