other, the death of either is only manflaughter; but where one is the aggreffor, as in the cafe before them, and, in pursuance of his first attack, kills the other, the law fuppofes the action, however fudden, to be malicious. They then deliberated npon their verdict, and determined that Mr. Savage and Mr. Gregory were guilty of murder; and Mr. Merchant, who had no fword, only of manslaughter.

Thus ended this memorable trial, which lafted eight hours. Mr. Savage and Mr. Gregory were conducted back to prison, where they were more closely confined, and loaded with irons of fifty pounds weight: four days afterwards they were fent back to the court to receive fentence; on which occafion Mr. Savage made, as far as it could be retained in memory, the following fpeech:

"It is now, my Lord, too late to offer any thing "by way of defence or vindication; nor can we ex"pect from your Lordships, in this court, but the fentence which the law requirs you, as judges, to

pronounce against men of our calamitous condition. "But we are alfo perfuaded, that as mere men, and "out of this feat of rigorous juftice, you are fufcep"tive of the tender paffions, and too humane not to "commiferate the unhappy fituation of those, whom "the law fometimes perhaps-exacts-from you to

pronounce upon. No doubt you diftinguish be"tween offences which arife out of premeditation, "and a difpofition habituated to vice or immorality, "and tranfgreffions, which are the unhappy and un"forefeen effects of cafual abfence of reason, and "fudden impulfe of paffion: we therefore hope you "will contribute all you can to an extenfion of that ¿6 mercy,

mercy, which the gentlemen of the jury have been "pleafed to fhew Mr. Merchant, who (allowing facts

as fworn against us by the evidence) has led us into "this our calamity. I hope this will not be construed, "as if we meant to reflect upon that gentleman, or re"move any thing from us upon him, or that we re"pine the more at our fate, because he has no partici"pation of it: No, my Lord! For my part, I de"clare nothing could more foften my grief, than to be without any companion in fo great a misfor66 tune

Mr. Savage had now no hopes of life, but from the mercy of the crown, which was very earnestly folicited by his friends, and which, with whatever difficulty the story may obtain belief, was obftructed only by his mother.

To prejudice the Queen against him, she made use of an incident, which was omitted in the order of time, that it might be mentioned together with the purpose which it was made to ferve. Mr. Savage, when he had discovered his birth, had an inceffant desire to speak to his mother, who always avoided him in publick, and refused him admiffion into her house. One evening walking, as it was his custom, in the street that the inhabited, he saw the door of her house by accident open; he entered it, and, finding no person in the paffage to hinder him, went up ftairs to falute her. She discovered him before he could enter her chamber, alarmed the family with the moft diftressful outcries, and when she had by her fcreams gathered them about her, ordered them to drive out of the house that villain, who had forced himself in upon her, and endea

voured to murder her. Savage, who had attempted with the most fubmiffive tenderness to soften her rage, hearing her utter fo deteftable an accufation, thought it prudent to retire; and, I believe, never attempted afterwards to speak to her.

But, fhocked as he was with her falfehood and her cruelty, he imagined that the intended no other use of her lye, than to fet herself free from his embraces and folicitations, and was very far from fufpecting that the would treasure it in her memory, as an inftrument of future wickedness, or that she would endeavour for this fictitious affault to deprive him of his life.

But when the Queen was folicited for his pardon, and informed of the fevere treatment which he had fuffered from his judge, fhe answered, that, however unjuftifiable might be the manner of his trial, or whatever extenuation the action for which he was condemned might admit, fhe could not think that man a proper object of the King's mercy, who had been capable of entering his mother's houfe in the night, with an intent to murder her.

By whom this atrocious calumny had been tranfmitted to the Queen; whether the that invented had the front to relate it; whether the found any one weak enough to credit it, or corrupt enough to concur with her in her hateful defign, I know not: but methods had been taken to perfuade the Queen fo ftrongly of the truth of it, that the for a long time refused to hear any of thofe who petitioned for his life.

Thus had Savage perished by the evidence of a bawd, a ftrumpet, and his mother, had not justice and compaffion procured him an advocate of rank too great to be rejected unheard, and of virtue too eminent to be

heard

heard without being believed. His merit and his calamities happened to reach the ear of the Countess of Hertford, who engaged in his fupport with all the tenderness that is excited by pity, and all the zeal which is kindled by generofity; and, demanding an audience of the Queen, laid before her the whole feries of his mother's cruelty, expofed the improbability of an accufation by which he was charged with an intent to commit a murder that could produce no advantage, and foon convinced her how little his former conduct could deferve to be mentioned as a reason for extraor dinary severity.

The interpofition of this Lady was fo fuccessful, that he was foon after admitted to bail, and, on the 9th of March 1728, pleaded the King's pardon.

It is natural to enquire upon what motives his mo ther could profecute him in a manner fo outrageous and implacable; for what reafon fhe could employ all the arts of malice, and all the fnares of calumny, to take away the life of her own fon, of a fon who never injured her, who was never fupported by her expence, nor obftructed any prospect of pleasure or advantage ; why she should endeavour to destroy him by a lye—a lye which could not gain credit, but muft vanish of itself at the first moment of examination, and of which only this can be said to make it probable, that it may be obferved from her conduct, that the most execrable crimes are fometimes committed without apparent temptation.

This mother is still alive*, and may perhaps even yet, though her malice was fo often defeated, enjoy the pleasure of reflecting, that the life, which the often *This was true in the year 1744, when Johnson's life of Savage was first published, but is not fo now.

VOL. III.

T

endea

endeavoured to destroy, was at least shortened by her maternal offices; that though fhe could not transport her fon to the plantations, bury him in the shop of a ` mechanic, or haften the hand of the public executioner, she has yet had the fatisfaction of imbittering all his hours, and forcing him into exigences that hurried on his death.

It is by no means neceffary to aggravate the enormity of this woman's conduct, by placing it in oppofition to that of the Countefs of Hertford; no one can fail to obferve how much more amiable it is to relieve, than to opprefs, and to rescue innocence from deftruction, than to deftroy without an injury.

Mr. Savage, during his imprisonment, his trial, and the time in which he lay under fentence of death, behaved with great firmnefs and equality of mind, and confirmed by his fortitude the esteem of those who be fore admired him for his abilities. The peculiar circumftances of his life were made more generally known by a fhort account, which was then published, and of which feveral thoufands were in a few weeks difperfed over the nation: and the compaffion of mankind operated fo powerfully in his favour, that he was enabled, by frequent prefents, not only to fupport himfelf, but to affift Mr. Gregory in prifon; and, when he was pardoned and released, he found the number of his friends not leffened.

The nature of the act for which he had been tried was in itself doubtful; of the evidences which appeared against him, the character of the man was not unexceptionable, that of the women notoriously infa mous fhe, whose testimony chiefly influenced the jury to condemn him, afterwards retracted her affertions. He

Written by Mr. Beckingham and another gentleman. Orig. Edit. always