LOVE. 12T humbly beg the mercy of the court, promising, by the help of God, to live a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty. And thus I commit myself andmy all to God and your judgments, in the words of Jeremiah to the rulers of Israel : As forme, behold I am in your hands, to do with me as seemeth good and meet toyou ; but knowyefor certain, that ifyeput me todeath,ye shallsurelybring innocent blood upon yourselves. But I hope better things of you, though I thus speak.". The court allowedMr. Love the benefit of counsellearned in the law, to argue the exceptions against the indictment; but after all that Mr. Hale, afterwards the famous Judge Hale, could sayin behalf of the prisoner, the court pronounced sentence of death upon him as a traitor. The sentence being pronounced, Mr. Love said, " My lord, Ihave received sentence of death in myself, that I should not trust in myself, but in God, which raiseth the dead. And, my lord, though you have condemned me, neither God, nor my own con- science, doth condemn me." He was then carried to the Tower.t Great intercessions were made to the parliament for the preservation of his life. His, wife presented one petition, or probably more, in the most moving language ; and he pre- sented no less than fourhimself. Several parishes in London presented their petitions to the house of commons, as did upwards of fifty ministers; but all that could be Obtained was the respite of his execution for a month.t. The last of his petitions, read in the house August 14th and 16th, was the following :g " To the supreme authority, the parliament of the corn- " monweahh of England.-The humble petition of Chris- " topher. Love, .a condemned prisoner in the Tower of " London sheweth, that your petitioner doth humbly adore " the wonderful goodness of God, and most thankfully " acknowledge the great mercy of the parliament, for so " seasonable and acceptable an act of grace, to such an " offending suppliant, that when there was but one step " between him and death, the number of his days being " accomplished, and he almost cut off from the land of the " living, then you mercifully interposed, and gave him his " life for a month longer, which was to him as a resurrection Love's Trial, p. 66-71. + Ibill. p. 121. t Granger's Biog. Hist. vol. iii. p. 43. Love's Case, p. 4, 5. Edit.1.651,-Love's Vindication of his Principle#, p. 6-14. Uctit. 1651.
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