The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1912-06-10

He walked into K G =
the house with the h Il ( Cr-1
announcement that N(0 W.
he intended to be JUDGE JEfFRETS
Judge. Young as he was, the
lad-George Jeffreys-was already
accustomed to have his way. lie
bullled or cajoled his parents in
to giving him a costly school ed
ucation and law course that they
could i'll afford. Thus started a ca
reer that was to cost England many
hundred innocent lives.
From the very first young Jetfreys
was n man Of mark. He was brilliant,
strildngly handsome and had an all
most supernatural power Of reading
other mems minds and purposes. He
took scant pains to study and never
had much real knowledge OF law But
his cleverness supplied what his
learning lacked.
He took up criminal practice and
handled cases no decent lawyer would
touch. He had a genius for making
Influential friends. Through these
friends and his own cunning he rose
fast In his profession. At last he at
tracted the notice OF the easy-going.
INSCRIPTIONS King Charles IT, Charles
despised Jeffreys as man, but was
not above using the young lawyer to
do his dirty work A strong faction
Of the people were the kings political
opponents. Jeffreys publicly declared
himself the peoples friend-and Sc
cretly worked for the king. From
both factions he received high re-
wards.
BY the time he was thirty he was
a baronet and Chief Justice Of Eng
land. Then he threw Off all pretense
Of decency. His drunkenness, his in
sane temper, his insolence made him
generally loathed. He could cry at
will Often In court he would brow
beat witnesses with volley Of filthy,
bitter, basphemous sarcasm, make
the jury tremble by maniac glare
Of his black eyes. foam at the mouth
with rage, then break into a spasm Of
loud laughter or into food Of tears.
When Charles II. died without d.
rect heir the dead monarch's younger
brother took the throne as James
II. Jeffreys had already curried favor
with James and now rose to higher
power than ever. James made him a
baron and showered favors on him.
1t was during this kings reign, in
1885. that Jeffreys enacted his vilest
crimes. The Duke of Monmouth had
laid claim to the English throne and
had fooled thousands Of simple-mind-
ed farmers and shop folk into joining
his rebellion. The uprising was crush
ed The duke was beheaded His
captured followers were brought be-
fore Jeffreys for trial. Then came a |
horror still known as the Bloody
Assizes"
Jenreys (first making his work
easier by falsely limiting that those
who pleaded guilty" would be spar
ed) condemned to death 800 men and |
boys. (Some historians say 7OO)
l utoC WSlC hduStu dltcT a lltIS ulUChs
cry OF trial, during which Jeffreys
raved. cursed, drank, wept,
howled with laughter and behaved In
general like madman. Even the
hardest-hearted servants Of the king
we're Mortified by such slaughter-the |
more so since many Of the condemned
were innocent people who had taken
no part In the rebellion. Jeffreys was
ordered to be more lenient. So he
sent BAL Of the remaining prisoners
to be sold into slavery in India and
The Barbados and had the rest
or thrown into jail.
Throughout the trial he spared any
one who could pay him a large enough
oribe. But few Of these country folk
md tradesmen could raise such sums
rs he demanded. For his work at the
Bloody Assizes" Jeffreys was made
ord Chancellor OF England. He
,oasted that as chief justice he had
ranged more men and women than
III his predecessors put together.
Three years later the English peo-
,le grew tired OF James III. and over
brew him. He fed into exile. JEFF
reys, knowing how he himself was
lated by the people, tried to get Sc
reilly out of England He shaved
IF his shaggy eyebrows, dressed as a
ailor and boarded an outgoing ship.
But on the eve OF sailing he went
shore and got drunk in a waterside
avern. A poor writer whom he had
nee unjustly punished recognized
i'm.
1T Is the bloody judge" shouted
be writer
The mob hurled themselves upon
he disguised Jeffreys and were tear
lg him to pivces when the authorities
escued him. He was taken to the
over Of London and imprisoned
here. until at the age Of forty he
rank himself TO death Though he
ad ten children his family soon died