394 LIVES OF THE PURITANS. alleged in the indictment, and pulled him out of the' pulpit. The next witness was a Yorkshireman, whose name does not appear, who said he was at Tipler's house, and heard one say, "That the Lord had a great work to do for his people, and that they were the people who must do it." The judge asked him, if he heard nothing concerning the king's cup of iniquity, and he answered, No. When he was asked whether the prisoner at the bar was the man, he said he could not say that he was. The last witness was one Bernard Osburn, who said he heard Mr. James say, " That King Charles was a blood-thirsty, tyrannical king, and that the nobles of England were blood-thirsty. That he had drunk pretty deep of the blood of the saints already, in that he had shed their blood twelve months ago at Charin.- 6-cross, and the blood of the covenanters in Scotland, and that God had brought him in to that end, to fill up the measure of his iniquity, and he had filled it up more in twelve months than in many years before. That they should have power in their hands, then theyshould fight the Lord's battles more' thoroughly. That the ruin of the king was very near." Upon this, Mr. James being allowed to call his witnesses, four were produced in court, who gave evidence, That this Bernard Osburn confessed to them, that upon a previous examination, he had sworn against Mr. James he knew not what : and one of them, a person whom Osburn was about to marry, further declared, that he told her, he did not only swear he knew not what, but that he was affrighted into what he swore." Osburn repeatedly refused to swear at all ; nor would he take the oath as witness against Mr. James, till he was threatened to' be sent to prison for refusal, and rewards were offered him for swearing against the prisoner.. Mr. James then produced four other witnesses, all of whom swore, " That the words charged against him were not spoken." After the examination of all the witnesses, Mr. James was allowed to speak for himself, but did little more than make a declaration of his own innocence. He denied the charge both in matter and form, and declared he had not any malicious thought against the king, but desired the salvation of his soul, as he did his own; that he had never dealt mali- Ciously against him ; but that what he had done, he had done in the fear of God. He denied the various particulars of the charge, that he ever spoke any such things, and therefore desired they would clear him of all such evil things. He then Narrative, p.10-18.
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