He had been extremely harassed with the violence of the country party; and he had observed, that the prisoner, besides his secret designs, had always been carried to the highest extremity of opposition in parliament.

Russel had even adopted a sentiment similar to what we meet with in a letter of the younger Brutus.

Had his father, he said, advised the king to reject the exclusion bill, he would be the first to move for a parliamentary impeachment against him.

When such determined resolution was observed, his popularity, his humanity, his justice, his very virtues, became so many crimes, and were used as arguments against sparing him.

Charles, therefore, would go no further than remitting the more ignominious part of the sentence which the law requires to be pronounced against traitors.