greet the popular and handsome young Duke. He marched to Exeter, and thence to Taunton, where he was received with rejoicings by the lower classes. The gentry, nobles, and clergy were against him, for they hoped that when James died he would be succeeded by his daughter Mary, the Princess of Orange. Soon James’ troops under Lord Feversham, and Captain Churchill, were moving against the poorly-armed followers of Monmouth. On the night of July 5th, 1685, Monmouth endeavored to surprise the royal troops at Sedgemoor. When he reached their lines he found they were protected by a deep trench, full of water, and although he had some success at first, James’ soldiers soon rallied and easily routed his brave peasants and colliers. Two days after Monmouth was found concealed in a ditch, half-starved. He was brought to London, and, although he begged his uncle to spare him, his plea for mercy was not listened to, and he was executed.
3. The Bloody Assizes.—Perhaps nothing gives us a better idea of James’ revengeful disposition than the events which followed the Battle of Sedgemoor. Colonel Kirke was left in command of some troops in the neighbourhood of the battle, and he at once began to hang whole batches of prisoners, without troubling himself to find out their share in the rebellion. To add to their miseries, the people of the western counties had Judge Jeffreys sent among them. His mission was to convict as many as possible, and to sentence them to death. In the “Bloody Assizes” which followed, 320 people were hanged, and over 800 sold into slavery in the West Indies. This brutal judge browbeat witnesses and juries to secure sentences against the prisoners, and made the unfortunate, and often innocent victims, the butts of his coarse jokes and his savage insolence. Among those who suffered at his hands was Alice Lisle, an aged lady, whose only crime was hiding two fugitives from the battle-field, thinking they were persecuted puritan preachers fleeing from their enemies. Some were spared through their friends bribing the judge and the queens “maids of honor;” others were given to the courtiers to be sold into slavery.
4, James violates the Test Act.—Jeffreys was rewarded for his infamous conduct with the position of Lord Chancellor; and James thought it a favourable occasion to increase his standing
