John L’Isle

son of Sir Will. L’isle of Wootton in the Isle of Wight in Hampshire, Knight, was born there, became a Communer of the upper Order of Magd. Hall in the year 1622, aged 16 or thereabouts, took a degree in Arts, went to one of the Temples, and at length became a Barrister and Counsellor of note. In the year 1640 he was chose a Burgess for Winchester to serve in that Parliament which began at Westm. 13 of Apr. and again for the same place in that unhappy Convention that met on the 3 of Nov. following. In which last Parl. he improved his interest to the purpose, bought State lands good cheap, was made Master of the Hospital of S. Cross near Winchester (which belongs to a Divine) upon the Ejectment of Dr. Will. Lewis; which Office he voluntarily surrendring up into the hands of the Parliament in the latter end of June 1649, it was confer’d upon John Cook the then Sollicitor General. In Dec. 1647 he was appointed one of the Commons to carry to his Maj. in the Isle of Wight the four Bills (dethroning Bills) and in Jan. 1648 was one of the Judges to condemn to death his said Majesty. Soon after he was constituted a Member of the Council of State, and one of the Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal, helped in Parliament to change the Government from Kingly to Parliamentary, and from that to Kingly again, and did swear Oliver Protector at his first installing chief Magistrate, contrary to the four ((a))((a)) See the Acts in the book called The Looking-glass, pag. 43.44. Acts of Parliament which he helped to make, with others that made it Treason so to do. In 1654, he by the name of John L’isle, one of the Commissioners of the Great Seal, and Recorder of Southampton, was chose Burgess for that place to serve in the Parliament which began 3 of Sept. the same year, was afterwards taken out of the House, to have a negative Voice in the other House, that is House of Lords, and made President of the High Court of Justice for a time; by whose violence acted there, fell many gallant and heroick Spirits; some of which I am now about to mention. He hath extant under his name,

Several Speeches, as (1) Speech spoken in a common Hall, London, 3 Jul. 1645. concerning observations on the Kings Cabinet of Letters. See more in Tho. Browne, under the year 1673. (2) Speech while he was Pres. of the High Court of Justice at the pronouncing of sentence of death on Sir Hen. Slingsby of Red-house in Yorksh. and Dr. Joh. Hewit, Jun. 2. an. 1658. (3) Speech when he gave sentence of death on Colonel Edw. Ashton, Edm. Stacy, Oliv. Allen, Will. Carrent, Joh. Betteley, Hen. Fryer and Joh. Sumner, July 2. 1658, &c. Which Speeches I have seen printed.

Monarchy asserted to be the best, most antient, and legal form of Government, in a conference had with Oliver L. Protector at Whitehall, in Apr. 1657.—Pr. at Lond. 1660. in oct. with other Conferences and Speeches to the same purpose made by others; among whom are Rog. Boyle Baron of Broghill in Ireland, Sir Charles Wolseley, Sir Rich. Onslow of Surrey, &c. all Oliver’s Lords. A little before the Return of K. Ch. 2. he, with other Regicides, fled beyond the seas, and L’isle setling at Losanna, he was treated by the Magistracy of that Town as Chancellour of England, being always vested with the robe of that dignity. At length certain Irish-men taking it as a grand Affront that the people of that place should harbour him (as they did Edm. Ludlow, Will. Goffe, Edward Whaley, &c. for a time) and shew him so much respect and honour as they did, one of them ventred upon him (as he was going to Church, accompanied with the chief Magistracy) and shot him with a Musquetoon dead in the place,1664. on the 21 of Aug. in sixteen hundred sixty and four. Which done, two more Irish men rode into the press, and trampling on the body of L’isle with their horses feet, fled into the Guards and escaped with little hurt. Afterwards he was buried with solemnity in the said Church there, as I have been credibly informed, leaving then behind him a Widow named Alice, who for entertaining one Joh. Hicks a Non-conformist Minister and a Follower of James Duke of Monmouth in the time of his Rebellion, was for High Treason therefore beheaded at Winchester on the 2 of Sept. 1685. In like manner did before fall one Isaac Dorislaus or Dorislaw a Dutch-man born, originally a Schoolmaster, and afterwards Doctor of the Civil Law at Leyden. Whence coming into England upon no good account, was entertained by Fulk Lord Brook, and by him appointed to read a History Lecture in Cambridge, which he was about to found some years before his death: But in his very first Lectures decrying Monarchy, was, upon the complaint of Dr. Jo. Cosin Master of Peter-house to the Vicechanc. (which afterwards came to his Majesties knowledge) silenced, and about that time marrying an English woman near to Maldon in Essex, lived there for some time. Afterwards he became Judge Advocate in the King’s Army in one of his Expeditions against the Scots, Advocate in the Army against the King under Robert Earl of Essex, afterwards under Sir Tho. Fairfax, and at length one of the Judges of the Court of Admiralty, and an Assistant in drawing up and managing the Charge against K. Ch. 1. in order to his Execution. I say that this Dorislaus did fall as L’isle afterwards did, for he being thought to be the only fit man to be sent by the Parliament, as an Envoy to his Country-men, to prosecute their designs, he arrived at the Hague in good Equipage, in the beginning of May 1649, his Majesty K. Ch. 2. being then there in his Exile. Which bold and impudent act being much regretted by certain generous Royalists attending his said Majesty, about 12 of them in disguise repaired to his Lodging, and finding him at supper, stab’d him in several places and cut his throat; whereupon one of them said Thus dyes one of the Kings Judges. This generous Action was performed on the 6 of May or thereabouts, but reported by the generality to be performed by one Col. Walt. Whitford Son of Dr. Walt. Whitford of Monckland in Scotland by cleaving his head asunder with a broad sword. Afterwards they quietly departed, and ’twas not known (but privately) for some time after, who did the fact. Within few days following, this desperate Attempt coming to the knowledge of the Parliament, they became so much enraged that they resolved to sacrifice the life of a certain Royalist of note, then in their custody: and certainly they had done it, had he not made a timely escape. Afterwards they caused the body of Dorislaus to be conveyed into England, and to be buried with solemnity in the Abbey Church at Westminster on the 14 of June following, where continuing till Sept. 1661, was then taken up, with the bodies of other Cromwellians, and buried in a hole in S. Margarets Churchyard adjoyning. He hath published, as ’tis said, several things, but all that I have seen of his, is De praelio Nuportano. Lond. 1640. in 4 sheets and half in qu.