The king
conversed with these- he had made it a point, from the beginning, to
instruct himself for the kingly office by questioning prisoners
whenever the opportunity offered- and the tale of their woes wrung his
heart. One of them was a poor half-witted woman who had stolen a
yard or two of cloth from a weaver- she was to be hanged for it.
Another was a man who had been accused of stealing a horse; he said
the proof had failed, and he had imagined that he was safe from the
halter; but no- he was hardly free before he was arraigned for killing
a deer in the king's park; this was proved against him, and now he was
on his way to the gallows. There was a tradesman's apprentice whose
case particularly distressed the king; this youth said he found a hawk
one evening that had escaped from its owner, and he took it home
with him, imagining himself entitled to it; but the court convicted
him of stealing it, and sentenced him to death.
The king was furious over these inhumanities, and wanted Hendon to
break jail and fly with him to Westminster, so that he could mount his
throne and hold out his scepter in mercy over these unfortunate people
and save their lives. 'Poor child,' sighed Hendon, 'these woeful tales
have brought his malady upon him again- alack, but for this evil
hap, he would have been well in a little time.'
Among these prisoners was an old lawyer- a man with a strong
face and a dauntless mien, Three years past, he had written a pamphlet
against the Lord Chancellor, accusing him of injustice, and had been
punished for it by the loss of his ears in the pillory and degradation
from the bar, and in addition had been fined L3,000 and sentenced to
imprisonment for life.
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