indemnity to all the regicides save such as Parliament should except, it evidently being understood that Charles's promise meant nothing, and that Parliament should do as it liked about it. Be that as it may, Parliament excepted the whole nineteen from the royal indemnity, and condemned them all to death, together with all the lawyers and executioners then alive who had participated in the trial and execution of the king. Ten of these were beheaded, Gen. Harrison being the first to suffer. The rest were finally pardoned.       "Whalley and Goffe were among those whose names were published in a summons to appear within two weeks or forfeit pardon. A royalist pardon at that time was equivalent to a death warrant, and most of those whose names were thus published were just then too busy to attend to the matter. Whalley and Goffe had taken a sea voyage.       "Little is known of the subsequent career of those who fled, except in the case of Whalley, Goffe, and Dixwell. The first two arrived at Boston, July 27, 1660, and immediately called on Governor Endicott, who treated them with the most distinguished consideration. They then went to Cambridge, where they intended to reside. When they left England, Charles had not yet been made king, and there seemed to be no necessity for secrecy on their part. Still, having heard the news while on shipboard, they concluded, after consulting with some friends, that it would be prudent to live quietly for a time and await developments. They mingled, however, in the best society, being always received as distinguished guests and treated with the utmost respect. Gen. Goffe appeared to be a very religious man, and entered into the worship of the colonists, often officiating as lay preacher and expounding the Scriptures. He was a good speaker, had been a man of much influence in Parliament and in the army, and had been seriously mentioned as a possible successor to Cromwell. Unknown Marker       "They were not invariably treated with respect, however, for there were in Boston some people of strong royalist proclivities, who looked upon these gentlemen as the murderers of their king, and insults and acts of rudeness from such were common. These acts were carried so far that in one instance a man was arrested and placed under bonds for his future behavior. President Stiles, of Yale College, in his book about the regicides, relates this story concerning their stay in Boston:—       "'While at Boston, there appeared a gallant person there, some say a fencing master, who, on a stage erected for the purpose, walked for several days, challenging and defying any to play with him at swords. At length one of the judges, disguised in a rustic dress, and holding in one hand a cheese wrapped in a napkin for a shield, with a broomstick, whose mop he had dipped in dirty puddle water as he passed along, mounted the stage. The fencing master railed at him for his insolence, and bade him begone. The judge stood his ground, upon which the gladiator made a pass at him with his sword to drive him off. A rencounter ensued; the judge received the sword into the cheese, and held it until he drew the broom over his mouth, and gave the gentleman a pair of whiskers. The latter made another pass, and plunging his sword a second time, it was caught and held in the cheese till the broom was drawn over his eyes. At a third lunge the sword was caught again, till the mop was rubbed gently all over his face. Upon this the gentleman let fall or laid aside his smallsword, and took up the broadsword, and came at him with that; upon which the judge said, "Stop, sir! Hitherto I have only played with you, and not attempted to hurt you; but if you come at me now with the broadsword, know that I will certainly take your life!" The firmness and determinateness with which he spoke struck the gentleman, who, desisting, exclaimed, -- page 189 -- | Previous Page | Next Page | | Town of Hadley Page | Hampshire County | | Western MA History & Genealogy | These pages are © Laurel O'Donnell, 2005, all rights reserved Copying these pages without written permission for the purpose of republishing in print or electronic format is strictly forbidden This page was last updated on 12 Sep 2005