untry. At first the King returned an
answer to this petition, in which he tried to shirk it altogether; but,
the House of Commons then showing their determination to go on with the
impeachment of Buckingham, the King in alarm returned an answer, giving
his consent to all that was required of him. He not only afterwards
departed from his word and honour on these points, over and over again,
but, at this very time, he did the mean and dissembling act of publishing
his first answer and not his second--merely that the people might suppose
that the Parliament had not got the better of him.

That pestilent Buckingham, to gratify his own wounded vanity, had by this
time involved the country in war with France, as well as with Spain. For
such miserable causes and such miserable creatures are wars sometimes
made! But he was destined to do little more mischief in this world. One
morning, as he was going out of his house to his carriage, he turned to
speak to a certain Colonel FRYER who was with him; and he was violently
stabbed with a knife, which the murderer left sticking in his heart. This
happened in his hall. He had had angry words up-stairs, just before,
with some French gentlemen, who were immediately suspected by his
servants, and had a close escape from being set upon and killed. In the
midst of the noise, the real murderer, who had gone to the kitchen and
might easily have got away, drew his sword and cried out, 'I am the man!'
His name was JOHN FELTON, a Protestant and a retired officer in the army.
He said he had had no personal ill-will to the Duke, but had killed him
as a curse to the country. He had aimed his blow well, for Buckingham
had only had time to cry out, 'Villain!' and then he drew out the knife,
fell against a table, and died.

The council made a mighty business of examining John Felton about this
murder, though it was a plain case enough, one would think. He had come
seventy miles to do it, he told them, and he did it for the reason he had
declared; if they put him upon the rack, as that noble MARQUIS OF DORSET
whom he saw before him, had the goodness to threaten, he gave that
marquis warning, that he would accuse _him_ as his accomplice! The King
was unpleasantly anxious to have him racked, nevertheless; but as the
judges now found out that torture was contrary to the law of England--it
is a pity they did not make the discovery a little sooner--John Felton
was simply executed for the murder