Glen Collection of printed music > Printed text > Jacobite minstrelsy

MINSTRELSY. 329
And thou, dear Kitty, peerless maid,
Do thou a pensive ear incline :
For thou canst weep at ev'ry woe,
And pity ev'ry plaint — but mine.
from caprice or enthusiasm, he proceeded to the north and joined
the Prince's army, -which had just entered England. He was made an
officer in Colonel Townly's Manchester regiment, and afterwards sur-
rendered with it at Carlisle. Eighteen of that corps were the first
victims selected for trial, and among these was young Dawson.
They were all found guilty, and nine were ordered for immediate
execution, as having been most actively and conspicuously guilty.
Kennington Common was the place appointed for the last scene of
their punishment, and, as the spectacle was to be attended with all
the horrid barbarities inflicted by the British law of Treason, a
vast mob from London and the surrounding country assembled to
witness it. The prisoners beheld the gallows, the block, and the
fire, into which their hearts were to be thrown, without any dis-
may, and seemed to brave their fate on the scaffold with the same
courage that had prompted them formerly to risque their lives in
the field of battle. They also justified their principles to the last ;
for, with the ropes about their necks, they delivered written declara-
tions to the sheriff" that they died in a just cause, that they did not
repent of what they had done, and that they doubted not but their
deaths would be afterwards avenged. After being suspended for
three minutes from the gallows, their bodies were stripped naked and
cut down, in order to undergo the operation of beheading and em-
bowelling. Colonel Townly was the first that was laid upon the
block, but the executioner observing the body to retain some signs
of life, he struck it violently on the breast, for the humane purpose
of rendering it quite insensible to the remaining part of the punish-
ment. This not having the desired effect, he cut the unfortunate
gentleman's throat. The shocking ceremony of taking out the
heart and throwing the bowels into the fire, was then gone through,
after which the head was separated from the body with a cleaver,
and both were put into a coffin. The rest of the bodies were thus
treated in succession ; and on throwing the last heart into the fire,
which was that of young Dawson, the_ executioner cried, " God
save King George !>> and the spectators responded with a shout. Al-
though the rabble had hooted the unhappy gentlemen on the passage
to and from their trials, it was remarked that at the execution their
fate excited considerable pity, mingled with admiration of their cou-
rage. Two circumstances contributed to increase the public sym-
pathy on this occasion, and caused it to be more generally expressed.
The first was, the appearance at the place of execution of a
youthful brother of one of the culprits of the name of Deacon, him-
self a culprit, and under sentence of death for the same crime ; but
who had been permitted to attend this last scene of his brother's life,
in a coach along with a guard. The other was the fact of a young
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