or Order for stay of Proceedings shall be received or allowed in or upon any Indictment for any of the offences mentioned in this Act. And be it further Enacted and declared and it is hereby Enacted and Declared that it shall and may be Lawfull to and for any Magistrates Officers or other Subjects whatsoever of these Kingdoms and Dominions aforesaid and they are hereby enjoyned and required to apprehend and secure the said James Duke of York and every other person offending in any of the premisses and with him or them in case of resistance to fight and him or them by force to subdue For all which actions and for so doing they are and shall be by virtue of this Act saved harmless and indemnified Provided and it is hereby declared that nothing in this Act contained shall be construed deemed or adjudged to disenable any other Person from Inhâ—riting and Enjoying the Imperial Crown of the Realms and Dominions aforesaid other than the said James Duke of York But that in case the said James Duke of York should survive his now Majesty and the Heirs of his Majesties Body The said Imperial Crown shall descend to and be enjoyed by such person or persons successorily during the Life of the said James Duke of York as should have inherited and enjoyed the same in case the said James Duke of York were naturally Dead any thing contained in this Act to the contrary notwithstanding And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid that during the life of the said James Duke of York This Act shall be given in charge at every Assizes and General Sessions of the Peace within the Kingdoms Dominions and Territories aforesaid and also shall be openly read in every Cathedral Church and Parish Church and Chappels within the aforesaid Kingdoms Dominions and Territories by the several Respective Parsons Vicars Curates and Readers thereof who are hereby required immediately after Service in the Fore-noon to reade the same twice in every year that is to say on the 25th of December and upon Easter-day during the Life of the said James Duke of York The Faction were in a Fair way by This time to rid their Hands of the King's Roman Catholique Friends and they were not without their Expedients and Inventions to get shut of Reputed as well as of Profess'd Papists For there needed but an Impeachment an Address a Supposition or an Opinion to the doing of the Whole Work. The Popish Design they say was Assisted by the Treachery of Perfidious Protestants Now Those Perfidious Protestants made Excellent Reputed Papists Reputed and Suspected By Whom If by Themselves the Devil 's in People if They do not Win All they Play for when they have the Shuffling and the Packing of their own Cards and Keep-in or Put-out as they Themselves please Resolved That All Persons who Advis'd his Majesty in his Last Message to This House to Insist upon an Opinion against the Bill for Excluding the Duke of York have given Pernicious Advice to his Majesty and are Promoters of Popery and Enemies to the King and Kingdom Resolved That it is the Opinion of This House that George Earl of Hallifax Henry Marquis of Worcester and Henry Earl of Clarendon are Persons who Advised his Majesty ut Supra and that they have therein given Pernicious Councell to his Majesty are Promoters of Popery and Enemies to the King and Kingdom And therefore they Address'd for the Removing of them And when their Hands were In Laurence Hyde Esq and Lewis Earl of Feversham were to be Remov'd from All Offices and from his Majesties Presence for Ever and an Anathema Pass'd upon the Advisers of a Prorogation unless upon a Condition of Excluding the Duke I Have Chosen rather upon This whole Matter to Hazzard an Error on the Right Hand then on the Left and to venture being Over-large in my Authorities and Proofs rather than fall Short. So that here is Evidence more then Enough of the Snares that were laid for All men of Integrity and Honour and the Advantages that the Faction intended to make of the Zeal the Passions and the Credulity of the Common People If This Pernicious Advice in the Case of the Earl of Strafford and Arch-Bishop Laud had been given to Charles the first which the Votes Impute to These Honourable Persons in the Case of the Duke of York it had most undoubtedly Sav'd King Church and People if his Majesty had thought fit to follow it which were All lost for want of Proroguing Dissolving and Asserting the Privileges of the Crown in That Turbulent Iuncture Insolent Demands Expostulations and Propositions are the Certain Prologue to Insolent Actions But his Majesty Himself was too Good to Suspect and where ever he Trusted any of the Party he was Betray'd Briefly the Case of the Two Last Kings were but too much Alike Only the Latter when he had Parted with as much as 't was possible for him to Spare and Save the Rest he Held his Hand Whereas his Vnhappy Father gave On and On 'till he left himself at Mercy The Thing that made the Great Noise was the Bill of Exclusion but A King or No King was the Truth of the Matter in Issue They were of OPINION that these noble Persons did so or so and upon That Bare Opinion let fly at the King's Ministers Effectually by Whole-Sale without any respect to the Measures of Religion Order Reason or State. How many Cart-Loads of Fears and Iealousies have we had lest the King should Abuse his Power And how many Casuistical Whimseys of Self-Preservation in case he does But here was no Right no Colour to the Pretence of so much as bringing That Question upon the Carpet And the Councell that they Brand for so Pernicious was undoubtedly the most Seasonable and Saving Advice upon That Crisis that could be Given But to go forward If they may Exclude the Heir Apparent for Religion why not the King Himself too The Parity of Excluding the Duke Extending to the Deposing of the Sovereign and This Doctrine was the very Corner Stone of the Last Rebellion And Excluding for RELIGION is not All neither for it Involves a Claim of breaking-in upon the Crown whether there be any Religion in the Case or No For the Conspirators made themselves both Dividers and Chusers and Their Single OPINION was a Sentence in the Case the very Saying that it was This or That Religion or Whatsoever Religion they pleas'd was enough to Make it so This House is of OPINION went Fifty times further then Be it Enacted by the King 's most Excellent Majesty THis Vnaccountable Stretch of Arrogance and Vsurpation put all Sober Men to a Stand to Consider what would be the End in a Natural and a Logical Consequence upon This Proceeding If a Prince has not the Liberty of Chusing his Own Servants If he has not the Power of Protecting them If Subjects shall take upon them to Treat
61. Order'd to Manage the Fire at the Hermitage 71. To carry the White-Horse Consult from Company to Company fol. 18. And was not Our Discoverer Privy to Wakeman's Poyson Conyers'es Dagger Pickerings Screw'd-Gun and the Silver Bullets The History of the Black-Bills the Pilgrims Ruffians and the Levies of Men and Mony c. Was not Otes privy to a matter of Eighteen Commissions Military and Civil under the Hand of Ioannes Paulus De Oliva by Vertue of a Brief from the Pope as he Swore before the Lord Chief Justice Scroggs One of them to Iohn Lambert to be Adjutant-General to the Army and Nine or Ten of them Deliver'd with his Own Hand Was he not Privy in fine to the Price of the Whole Villany to a Single Six-Pence So that as to the matter of Privity the Privity of Habernfeld and his Principal is quite Out-done by the Privity of Tong and Otes who according to their Narrative and Pretensions were Vndoubtedly Privy to Fifty times more then ever any Two men upon the face of the Earth were Privy to before them The Discoverer says the Preface again was Troubled in Conscience and Therefore Disclosed the Conspiracy Renounc'd That Bloudy Church and Religion though Promised Greater Advancements for his Diligence in This Design Ib. And what was it but Horror of Conscience too if we may believe Oaths either Iudicial or Extrajudicial that made our Converted Discoverers whether Papists Bred-up or Proselyted to Disclose This Popish Treason and to Renounce That Bloudy Religion in Defiance of All Offers of Rewards and Advancement Was not Dugdale to have 500 l. Lord Staffords Tryal p. 43. And to be Sainted Ib. 44. Was not Bedloe to have 4000 l. in the Case of Godfrey Greens Tryal p. 30. And might not Otes and all his Fellows have come in for Their Snips to if their Consciences would have Touch'd But This Plot was Discover'd under an Oath of Secrecy says the Preface and the Discoverer Offer'd his Own Oath too in Confirmation of the Particulars Ib. What was Bedloes Sacrament of the Altar Twice a Week to Conceal the Plot Greens Tryal fol. 33. but an Oath of Secrecy Dugdale took at least Ten Sacraments of Secrecy Sr George Wakemans Tryal p. 10. Otes an Oath of Secresy at Weld-House-Chappel Irelands Tryal p. 28. And then there was Another Oath of Secrecy taken at Fox-Hall too And so for the Rest Our Discoverers did not only Offer but Deliver their Own Oaths in Confirmation of Every Article Habernfeld Discovers Persons Places and Times of Meeting too Ib. And does not Otes Discover the Lords in the Tower and such Others of the Nobility and Gentry as are in the Conspiracy See his Narrative from fol. 61. to the End. Their Priests Iesuits and Papists of All Sorts The Times and Places of their Meetings Even to the Year Week Day Nay and sometimes to the very Hour One while at the Savoy Another while at the White-Horse Russel-Street Weld-Street and the like Well! But Habernfeld's Principal Conspirators are known to be Fit Instruments for such a Design Ib. And are not Otes'es as Fit Instruments as Habernfelds The Principals are most of them Men of Quality Brains Interest and Estate and Consequently better Qualify'd then other People for the Execution of any Mischief they have a Mind to Beside that as 't is a Popish Plot they are not only to be All Roman Catholiques but All made Principals too without leaving so much as One Soul of them to Witness for Another Now as there 's no Means of Clearing them on the One hand saving by Palpable Blunders and Contradictions on the Part of the Accusers So if any of 'em will Swear to the Hanging-up of his Fellows on the Other Hand he is presently made Sacred under the Character of a Kings Evidence and Touch not his Majesties Witness carries more Authority along with it then Touch not the Lords Anointed The Preface says further that Sir W. Boswell and the Arch-Bishop if not the King Himself were fully Satisfy'd that the Plot was Reall Ib. Men may be Satisfy'd in the Reality of a Thing and yet Mistaken about it As we have found many Men in Both Plots that have Seem'd to be Satisfy'd and yet afterward abundantly Convinced that they were Abus'd So that the Belief of a Thing does not Necessarily Inferr the Truth of it but it must be the Work of Time and Scrutiny to Perfect the Discovery Neither do I find Effectually that there was so much Credit given to Habernfelds Plot as is here Suggested A Nemine Contradicente is No Article of my Faith Though it says that There Is and Hath been a Damnable and Hellish Plot Contriv'd and Carry'd on by Popish Recusants for Assassinating and Murdering the King for Subverting the Government and Rooting-out and Destroying the Protestant Religion Commons Iournal Oct. 31. 1678. Though I must Confess they had One Powerfull way of Convincing Men by the Argument of Swearing them out of their Reputations Lives Liberties and Fortunes if they would Not Believe it The Parallel holds thus far Exactly and we 'le see now how it Suites with the Minutes of Habernfelds Letter to the Arch-Bishop which I have made as short as I can for the Readers Ease and for my Own. The Minutes of Habernfelds Letter Beside Expectation This Good Man says Habernfeld speaking of the First Discoverer became Known unto me p. 1. By the same Providence it was that Otes Bedloe Prance and Twenty more of our Plot-Merchant-Adventurers came Acquainted Bedloe Swore to the Lords that he did not know Otes 'till it came out by Providence that he knew him as Ambrose but not as Otes And so Otes to requite his Kindness knew Williams though he did not know Bedloe 'T was such another Wonderfull Providence Bedloes knowing Prance over a Pot of Ale at Heaven after he had Enquired and been Told which was Prance in the Commons-Lobby Damme says Bedloe That 's one of the Rogues that Murder'd Sr Edmundbury Godfrey As to the Scottish Stirs he speaks of p. 1. Otes'es Missionaries Answer Habernfelds Scotch Lords of whom hereafter The Factions of the Iesuits thorough England and Scotland p. 2. and the Discoverers Descant we have in Dr. Beale's Readings to Tong upon them Otes'es Narrative â—its the Adjacent Writing there spoken of Ib. Habernfeld got Free Liberty to Treat Ib. And so did Tong. There must be No Delay says Habernfeld Ib. Make Otes'es Enformation a Record Immediately says Tong And so away goes the One to Sr William Boswell Ib. the Other to Sr Edmund-bury Godfrey And now forward As Some Principal Heads in Habernfeld's Relation were purposely Pretermitted p. 3. So Bedloe shorten'd his Evidence against Whitebread and Fenwick in the Iesuits Tryal and Swore Further after he had Sworn All Before And so did Otes and the rest Purposely Pretermit many things
did if it were not that I find his Enformations strengthen'd and Supported by other Concurring Evidences and by the very Tenour of the History of That Season and if it were not likewise that Notwithstanding the Blasted Infamy of his Charaâ—ter and that his Credit was then at Lowest they were Glad yet to make Fair Weather with him without putting him to the Stress of Proving his Enformations which at That time probably might have been made out by Other Hands It may be made a Question perchance in the Next place What Warrant I have for the Vouching of These Papers of Old Tong 's to be Authentique either as Originals or as True Copies To which I can only say that there was a Trunk of Dr Tongs Papers Seiz'd at Colleges which was brought to Me a Long Time after the Taking of them to be Open'd and Examin'd and so they were and Attâ—sted in the Presence of several Justices of the Peace and Other Gentlemen These were the Papers that Simson Tonge says were Taken at Colleges where the Dr Dy'd And it appears from the very Quality of These Papers that there were others of Greater Consequence Convey'd away which Confirms what Simpson Tong says further about the Administration and the Conveying away of the Other Writing The much Greater Part of the Papers in the Trunk were Whimsyes of Project Calculations about Anti-Christ and the Number of the Beast Snaps of Chimistry Political Speculations Rough Draughts of Cases Petitions and Addresses Several Copies of a Sort But among Others there were Abundance of Dirty Fragments of Paper with a Confusion of Minutes and Memorials upon them of Times Dates Places and Persons and Particularly several Passages according to those Circumstances that I find in the Narrative which Manifestly shews that they were ratâ—er Matters Concerted toward the Making of a Narrative and the Adjusting of Articles that might Hang together then any Report of Otes'es upon the Point of Narration and Fact. In One Word These Broken Snaps of Writing were undoubtedly Forgotten or Not Heeded rather then laid up in this Trunk and a man might easily gather from what was Left that there had been a Cull made out of them Before For there was enough remaining as I have said already to give Light to the Subject and Design of Those that were either Remov'd or Destroy'd But the Doctors Hand is as Distinguishable from any Other Character that I ever saw as ever One mans Face was from Anothers One of the Iesuits Letters says Tonge in his Petition is in my Fathers Hand And any man that has a mind to Compare That Iesuits Letter with the Other Papers of the Doctor 's that I have Cited in These Remarques will no longer be able to Doubt that they were Both Written by the Same Hand And This I suppose may pass for a very Reasonable Account both of my having These Papers in my Possession and of the Credit of them CHAP. IX The Design of Tong 's Plot was upon the Duke of York THe Main and Principal Design says Young Tong in one of his Letters was to Disinherit His Royal Highness Popery was the Colour The Duke of York was brought in Consequently as the Head of the Roman Catholiques The Queen not Spar'd and the Late King Himself more then Innuendo'd into the Conspiracy Plain-Dealing Otes gives his Late Majesty a Touch on 't in the Preface to his Narrative And if it be True as it comes from a very Good Hand and I believe it when Bedloe was Press'd to say Whom he saw about the Murder'd Body of Sr Edmundbury Godfrey he did Heroically Declare that he would not Name the Man Nay and though he was Adjur'd to do it by an Eminent Patron of the Cause that is now in the Grave His Answer was Short and Resolute that there was He and He and a Tall â—lâ—ck Man but he would go no Further So that the King and the whole Royal Family were brought into the Toyle as well as His Royal Highness For Excluding for Popery Involves Deposing and Monarchy it self was to Fall too with his Majesty Witness the Association that was render'd Inseparable from the Exclusion and Carry'd in the Project of it the very Lines and Method of a Common-Wealth Simpson Tong follows the Blow at His Royal Highness with some Particular Names which out of Decency and Respect I shall forbear making Mention of the Lord Shaftsbury c. by whom the Matter was Publiquely and in Truth Carry'd-on But it was no Great Wonder when a Company of Fools had put so many Shams together and given them the Countenance of a Discovery or a Narrative for a Pack of Crafty Blades to Vernish it over afterwards and to put Popular Glosses upon it As to Tongs Aversion to the Duke of York with a Regard both to his Title and Religion the Vein of it runs quite thorough All his Papers where-ever he can but bring in That Subject thougâ— by Head and Shoulders particularly in the Bus'ness of Mr Coleman and in the Cheat of the Five Windsor Letters where he lays the Blasting of That Discovery at the Door of his Then Royal Highness by Possessing his Majesty against the Belief of Bedingfields Letters and over-ruling the Credit of them whereas it is made Sufficiently Notorious already that when the Faction afterward were Audacious and Powerfull enough to â—ress and to Procure his Banishment to Attempt his Exclusion Impeachment nay the making a Traytor of him they had not yet either the Face or the Heart to venture so much as One Syllable of All These Letters into Evidence But One Instance shall serve for All. In Tong 's Iesuits Assassins being the Enformation of One Green a Weaver drawn up and made Parliament-Proof by Dr Tong he brings in a Discourse betwixt One Mr â—oyer and Green a Weaver concerning the Titles of the Duke of York and Duke of Monmouth If there be a Difference says Green between the Duke of York and the Duke of Monmouth and the Parliament do not Settle it I believe that All the Protestants in England will venture theiâ— Bloud before the Duke of Monmouth shall lose his Birthright and We lose the Liberty of Our Religion too Bâ—yâ—r And We will Venture All our Lives and Fortunes on the Behalf of the Duke of York and for the Interest of Our Religion Green. What can You do for You be Nothing to Vs. Boyer Do not you Think so for although we are but Thin here yet there be Many in Other Places and Powerfull Persons too I will raise a Company c. I am now gotten into the Acquaintance of them by whose Assistance I can get a Commission from the Duke of York as well as Another fol. 2. And now comes Tong with a Politique Nota Bene upon 't N. B. This agrees well with Mr Jenisons Relation of a Commission promised Him c. And here it may be Noted by what False Sly and Pernicious Suggestions and
Five Windsor Letters But That which Tong Propounded for an Evidence so Demonstrative of the Truth of All he had Deliver'd that it would put a Final End to Any Question upon That Point serv'd only to Conclude the Whole to be a Forgery These Letters now were Manifestly of Tong 's Contriving One of them of his Own Hand-Writing Nay the Authority and the Truth of them in respect both of the Authors and the Matters were to the Uttermost of Tong 's Poor Might and Skill in such a Manner Excus'd and Defended that they were Argu'd to be Such and Such Peoples Hands because they were Not Like their Hands and without pretending to shew any Other of their Counterfeit Letters to Compare them by And Tong has not quite done yet neither Tong gets himself sent for to the Council He Delivers his Papers in Fetches Otes He Sollicits King Lords Commons and Committees There was not One Step in the whole Frame of the Conspiracy which he does not Write Notes Narratives or Relations upon He 's In at All thorough the Three Kingdoms Who but Tong to furnish the History of all our â—ires Treasons Popish Commissiâ—nâ— Allyances â—aggots Peâ—sâ—cutâ—ons Who but He to undertake for the Lists of the Plotters the Particularities of their Crimes and to set-up in short for Historiographer to the Conspiracy and the Common Solicitor to the whole Faction Though he Declares as is said already in a Petition to the House of Commons that he had No Knowledge of any Person Charged or Suspâ—cted to be in the Confâ—deracy and hardly of any One Popish Gentâ—eman in England I have yet One Paper more of His bearing Date April 29. 1679. Tuesday He takes upon him with his usual Confidence to Advise his Majesty to Deliver up all Priests and Iesuits to the severity of the Laws in that Case Provided For says he They are not to be Consider'd as Meer Priests but as Professed and Known Enemies to our King and Kingdom Spyes Assassins and Incendiaries To This Discourse the King shew'd Great Dislike and Changed his Countenance with Displeasure and said that Bloud Became not the Dr nor his Coat Said he must Preach Other Doctrine to Him and That on the Account of Conscience and Appealed to the Drs Own Conscience whether He would be Contented to be so Persecuted Terming them Poor People and said Other as Effectual Means might be Used The Dr Answer'd that he spoke This only for his Majesties Enformation and that he might know that he was not Obliged neither in Honour Promise nor Conscience to Interpose for them as Priests if his Affairs Press'd him and Required him to do Otherwise If I had thought of it sooner This Treatise would as well have born the Title of a Brief History of Tong as of a Brief History of the Times Or it would have done as well perhaps as either of them to have Call'd it A Vindication of Titus Otes For His Murders were a kind of Chance-Medley Compar'd with the Others He Poor Devil Swore to Any thing that came Next without either Feeling or Fore-seeing the Conscience or the Consequences of Things A False Oath in His Mouth was no more then an Invenom'd Tooth in the Mouth of a Mad Dog. He Sâ—apt at Every thing that was in his Way and No Remedy for the Wound like a Piece of his Own Liver The very Bleeding of him at a Carts-Arse has Purg'd away the Malignity of the Poyson Otes'es Part was Divided betwixt a Malicious Humour that he brought into the World with him and an Habitual Course of Wickedness that made his Sins as Familiar to him as his Daily Bread but the Invention the Contrivance and the Conduct was Alltogether Tong 's Who Certainly had the Fore-thought the Deliberation and the Study of Wickedness to Answer for Over and Above And Otes made no more of a False Oath then of Writing just so many Words out of a Copy-Book And I have yet One Word more to say Comparatively even on Tong 's Behalf which is That he himself had his Directors also that were the More Criminal of the Two For Even in the Confusion of Hell it self there is a Subordination as well as in Heaven and there are Degrees of Anguish and Desparation in the One as there are of Glories in the Other Nay Lucifer if I may say so Values Himself upon the Dignity of being Vppermost and the Deeper the Horror the Greater is His Glory The End. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TIMES c. PART III. Treating of the DEATH OF Sir E.B. Godfrey By Sir Roger L'Estrange Kt. LONDON Printed for R. Sare at Grays-Inn-Gate in Holborn MDCLXXXVIII TO POSTERITY THERE will be a Time when Truth shall be Believ'd and the Witnesses of it Iustify'd and the World never the more upon the mending Hand neither perhaps For it is Matter of Course in the Reason and Flux of Humane Affairs for the Next Age to do That Right to the Former which the Former could Not do to it self 'T is a Rare Felicity of the Times says Tacitus when the Present State of Things will bear a True History But so it is however that One Generation finds Argument and Entertainment for Another And whether the Subject be Good or Bad or the Succeeding Age Better or Worse Things will be never the less Agreeable in the Story for being Execrable in the Practice For the Popular Test of Good or Evil is Profit or Loss and it is only Interest that supports the Reputation of Wickedness and Quenches the Veneration that is due to Virtue So that in saying There will be such a Time c. and in Appealing from the Envy of the Present to the Impartial Iustice of the Times to come I do not take upon me to speak with the Spirit of a Prophet as if I Fore-told Things Hard to be Fore-known Neither do I reckon that I put any Complement upon Posterity in Transmitting my Cause and my Papers into Their Hands My Bus'ness is only to Place Truth in a Proper Light and to take the best Care I can that After-times may be the Wiser for Our Follies the Honester for our Impostures and that the Infamy of the Present Age may not pass for History in the Next This Tract is Intended for a Third Part in Continuation of what I have already Publish'd in Two Other Parts under the Title of A Brief History of the Times c. In the First Part I have layd open the Scheme and Manage of the Late Conspiracy upon the Credit of the Conspirators Proper Acts and Records In the Second I have Endeavour'd to give the World a True Account of the Rise Progress and Conduct of the Pretended Popish Plot. And to shew not so much what it was Not as what it Was which will make the Story appear quite Another Thing then all this while it has been taken to be The Third Part that I am now entring upon is a kind of Historical Review upon
This Appeal from the Iniquity and Injustice of a Faction of the Last Edition Not as if the World were likely to Mend or the People that come After us to be One jot Wiser Iuster Honester or Better-Natur'd than Those that went Before them But All Passions Sleep in the Grave and as there 's no Place for Envy Calumny Partiality or Imposture on the One hand so there 's as little room for Corrupt Interest Mercenary Design or Servile Adulation on the Other The Dead do not Bite they say and the Living unless they be Hagg-Wolves will not Bite the Dead People are well enough pleas'd to see Abuses Stript and Whipt as George Withers has it provided that they be Lash'd upon Other-Folks Shoulders Now this can never fall out where the Parable or the Embleme is of One Season and the Moral of Another For in the One Case the Painter come to Me and in the Other I go to the Painter 'T is much as in a Nusance No body is to lay a Dunghill just under My Nose but if I 'le Carry My Nose to Another mans Dunghill I may thank my self Now 't is quite another business where the Man and the Satyr are both of a Time For the Guilty are Naturally Suspicious and He that 's Conscious will be apt to say to himself This Will or That Tom Points at Me. A Character in This Case Shoots Hail-Shot and Strikes a great many more than ever the Marks-man either Aim'd at or Dreamt of There is a great deal of Difference I know betwixt the Whipping of the Vice and of the Man and betwixt the Whipping of the Vice for the Mans sake and the Whipping of the Man for the sake of the Vice. But be it as it will 't is Nonsense to Imagine that a Man draws a Figure in the Air and Means No body or that he had not some One Man more in his Thought then Another toward the Instructing or the Finishing of the Piece Wickedness and Knavery can never be Drawn To the Life but From the Life And the most Genuine Images that we have of Virtue and Vice Wisdom and Folly are Gather'd and Wrought from the Practices and Habits of Humane Life This sort of Essay is no more then Nature taken in Short-hand and He that Treats of Good and Evil does but Common-Place Mankind onely the Difference is that the Same Writings that are Censur'd for the most Virulent Libels how True soever in One Age Pass many times for the most Excellent and Profitable of Morals in Another Plain-dealing Writers Meet with the Fate commonly of Publique-Spirited Projectors and Ruine Themselves for the Good of their Successors And therefore a Frank Clear-minded Man that stands Condemn'd to the Mortification of Rubbing-out his days in a False Daubing Narrow-hearted World cannot do better then to withdraw his Effects from among Parasites and Sharpers and to Deposite the Care of his Memory and Good Name in the hands of those that are yet Vnborn These are My very Circumstances My Iudges are Parties and as the Case stands both Witnesses and Iury in a kind of Combination against me Whither should I Fly now from the Tyranny of This Passion and Prejudice for Relief and Protection but to Those Times when the Biass of This Controversy shall be taken off The Intrigue and Interest of it Extinguish'd and All the Present Litigants on Both sides laid to Sleep Especially since the Cause it self and the Merits of it wiâ—l most Infallibly come â—hole to the Next Age For my Charge and Every Article of it being Founded upon Those very Papers that I do here Transmit to After-Times for my Defence the Fact lies Open to All men and Done or Not Done is the Question Wherein Every Soul that can Reade may Satisfy himself I have not the Vanity all this while to Contend with so much Formality of Pomp and Zeal for the Single Credit of the Observator or of his Trifling Papers But so it is that without Ostentation the Honour of the Government and of All the Kings Loyal Subjects The Light the Authority the Tradition and the Faithfull Memorials of Truth it self as to This Point are not a little Concern'd in the Issue of This Cause For with All Deference to the Works of many Abler Pens that have Asserted the Same Interest I may yet with Modesty Affirm that This is the Only Weekly Paper that has Stood at Mark now for almost Six Years together without so much as One Discontinuance And to what End but to Encounter Seditious and Republican Positions Scandalous Shams and Defamatory Imposturer so soon as ever they took Air And to set the People Right in the Truth and Reason of Matters And this has been done with so much Care and Effect that the most Shameless of my Enemies could never lay a Finger yet upon any One Falsity of Fact or Errour of Doctrine in the Whole Train of These Observators and all the Bussle about them has been only General Hear-say and Clamour Now upon the Credit of These Writings depends in a Great Measure the Credit of the History of These Times to the Extreme Hazzard of Misleading After-Ages when they shall find on the One hand so many Deposing Disinherâ—â—ing Excluding and Impeaching Nemine Contradicente's So many Forsworn Narratives So many Thousand of Treasonous and Slanderous Libels All Printed Published and Recommended under a Masque of Authority and on the Other hand little more then This Miserable Paper to Oppose them What will Future Times say of This Government and of This Nation when they shall Reade of a Prince in a Plot against his Sovereign and his Brother A Queen and a Wife in the Same Plot against her Husband Nay of a King in a Plot Against Himself and Subjects in a Conspiracy to Murder their Prince upon an Instinct and Principle of Religion What will Posterity Think I say when they shall find All These Diabolical Calumnies Confirm'd by so many Pestilent Votes Narratives News'es and Pamphlets with the Solemnity too of Parliamentary Testimonialls and Imprimaturs What will they Think I say when they shall find Dr. OTES Capt. BEDLOE Capt. DANGERFIELD Stephen DVGDALE Esq with a Hundred Worthies more of the Same Batch Canoniz'd for Saints forsooth and the SAVIOVRS of the Nation So many Mediations for Pardon and Preferment for e'm So many Pulpits and Tribunals Trouping along for Company with Their Hosanna's too What shall Charity it self be able to say to This Cloud of Authorities and Certificates to This Harmony of Lies and Defamations when they shall see so Black a Story pass Current without either Contradiction or Controll As if the Brains of a whole Nation had been Turn'd in their Heads like a Pancake Conscience fall'n asleep Truth Struck Dumb Humane R ason Degenerated into Brutality and not One man of a Thousand that had the Heart to stand up for Religion or Iustice. The Next Generation would have taken This History for Gospel if some body or
I have been Enformed of a Design against my Person by the Jesuits of which I shall forbear any Opinion lest I should say too Much or too Little but I will leave the Matter to the Law. The Commons fell presently to work upon the Plot-Papers the Further and Further Enformations of Titus Otes That Inexhaustible Fountain of Invention and Slander Sir Edmundbury-Godfreys Matters Priest-Hunting and Impeaching And Then came-on the Humour of Seizing Caudle-Cups for Altar-Plate Medals and Guineys for Popish-Trinkets the Burning of our Blessed Saviour in Effigie Playing the Merry-Andrews and Buffoons in Priests-Habits Making Sport with Holy Orders and Holy Things 'till in the Conclusion for fear of Popery they ran-a-Muck as they call it at Christianity it self and bore down Every thing that stood in their Way betwixt This and Hell. There was no Place left for Moderation Sobriety or Councel Truth Iustice Humanity Honour and Good Nature were All Popishly-Affected and never such a Competition betwixt Divine Providence on the One hand and the World the Flesh and the Devil on the Other for the Preserving or the Destroying of a Nation The History of the Interval betwixt Otes'es Damnable Discovery and if the Conceit be not too Trivial the Discovery of Damnable Otes has been the Entertainment of all Peoples Tongues and Thoughts and the Amazement of Christendome no less then the Horrour of All Good Men To see the Foundations of Three Kingdoms Shaken with the Breath of Four or Five Prostitute Mean and Stigmatiz'd Varlets An Imperial Monarchy well-nigh Sunk into a Common-Wealth upon the Credit of Notorious Impostors and Common Cheats An Apostolical Church in danger to be Over-turn'd in the Name of God and for the sake of Religion by the same Instruments Iayls and Dungeons fill'd with Men of Honour Faith and Integrity upon the Testimony of Pillory'd Pick-Pockets and of the Sink of Mankind The Heir Apparent to the Crown in a fair way too to be Disinherited at the Instance of Felons and Renegades Perjury and Subornation Triumphant and Nothing so Sacred either in Heaven or upon Earth as to be Secure from the Outrages of the Rabble The Faction in short had got a-Head and there was No Resisting the Torrent Now the Fact was Agreed upon at All Hands but as to the Rise the Occasion and the Danger of these Distempers People were Divided Some would have it to be a Popish Plot upon the Kings Person and Government and the Protestant Religion Others would have it to be a Republican Plot against All Three under Another Name but with the self Same Design That is to say of Killing the King Changing the Government Dissolving the Church and rather then fail their Ends to be Compass'd by Fires and Massacres as was Expresly Own'd by divers of the Common-Wealth-Conspirators that were brought to Iustice Some in 1666. and Others in 1683. Certain it is that the Cover of the Four Evangelists never had Fouler Lips laid to 't the Merits of the Cause apart then Those of the Kings Witnesses upon This Occasion And it fell out too huge Vnluckily for Their Purpose that the People that were to be Massacred should break out into so many Rebellions for fear of having their Throats Cut while the People that they swore were to Cut their Throats were either Coop'd-up in Prisons or Gibbeted up and down the Kingdom like so many Vermin in a Cony-Warren without making anyOne Attempt either upon the Person of his Majesty or upon the Peace of his Dominions Nay and to give them their Due without so much as Muttering against the Government under All This Rigour The Cause is now coming to an Issue and the Articles of the Charge Mutatis Mutandis the very Same on Both sides as Perjury Subornation Packing of Witnesses and Iuries Only for Pickering reade Rumbold for Papist reade True-Protestant And so in like manner where the Same Reason holds in Other Cases The Theme that I am now upon is so Copious It has so many Incidents that Necessarily fall into the Story the Matter is of so Great a Consequence to be Clear'd and there is so Great a Variety of Previous and Leading Circumstances in the Nature of Praecognita that require a Place in the Preamble to This Narrative that the Prologue to my Bus'ness has been a great deal longer then I intended But I shall now Hasten to an Impartial Account upon the Two Plots in Question AS to the Proof or Testimony of a Popish Plot we have the Credit of Witnesses Innumerable such as they are both English and Irish But the Foundation of the Whole Fabrick is Otes'es Consult at the White-Horse in the Strand And All the Rest has been but a Superfoetation upon that Original It has been Sworn to be a Plot Iudg'd to be a Plot I know not how many Priests Iesuits and Others have Dy'd for 't as a Plot But in fine Such a Plot it was as no body ever yet saw Any thing Of it or any thing Like it but with Otes'es Eyes which in the Bus'ness of Don Iohn Mr. Coleman and Several Other Instances have been found not be Infallible So that upon the Main Otes'es Plot is the Ground-Work of the Whole And if That Fails All Fails which may nevertheless Be and No Affront to the Believers of it For an Oath may be Good in Law and yet Carry a Man to the Devil upon the Point of Conscience Simpson Tonge proves the Popish-Plot to be only a Contrivance betwixt his Father and Titus Otes NOW as to the Project commonly call'd Otes'es Plot if a man may Speak Truth and Shame the Devil it was not the Doctors Alone but a kind of a Club betwixt Titus Otes and Ezrel Tonge as I have it under the Hand of Young Tonge Himself and upon Other very Good Authorities beside As for the Purpose Your Petitioner doth Protest in the Presence of Almighty God that it is very True that the Plot was Contrived by my Father and Titus Otes when he returned the Second Time beyond the Seas Subscribed Simpson Tonge The Petition to His Late Majesty and the Original I have in My Own Hand As likewise of these Instances that follow Vnder the Pretence of a Popish Plot which my Father first Imagin'd was a-foot and afterwards Otes at his Second Return Swore to be True Their Main and Principal Design was to Disinherit his Royal Highness The first Persons that Manag'd the Plot and were Privy to it were my Father Otes c. This was Address'd to my self Dated from the Kings-Bench Ian. 5. 1681. and Sign'd Simpson Tonge And once again yet When I came from the Vniversity in the Year 77. I found Otes with my Father in a very poor Condition who complained he knew not what to do to get Bread who went under the Name of Ambrose My Father took him home and gave him Cloaths Lodging and Dyet saying he would put him into a way And then he persuaded
and over as the Expedient sine qua non for the Saving of his Life his Crown the Protestant Religion and his People And it is Obvious to Presume that they had Resolv'd upon the Draught the Conditions and the Provision of it before ever they made any Application about it Beside the Manifest Agreement that was between them upon the special Matters in Issue But in One Instance for All. On the 24th of Nov. 1681. There Sate at the Sessions-House in the Old-Bayly a Commission of Oyer and Terminer upon a Bill of Indictment for High-Treason against Anthony Earl of Shaftsbury The Foreman of the Grand-Iury put certain Questions to a Principal Secretary of State and a Clark of the Councel that gave Evidence there about this Paper of Association which coming from a Member of the Last Westminster House of Commons could not but carry Great Weight i. e. Do not you know Sir or have not you heard of a Discourse or Debate in the Parliament concerning an Association Do not you remember in the House of Commons Sir it was Read upon Occasion of That Bill This Question made many People think that the Noble Peer and the Plot-Managers in That House of Commons were upon the Same Bottom and that the Former was only to Execute what the Other had Contriv'd which was no more in Truth then the Execution of his Own Purposes and Designs For his Lordships Head Heart and Purse were in at both Ends of the Bus'ness The Third Evasion was Immediately Blown off by Proofs under Mr. Wilson's Own Hand over and over a Servant of Great Trust in the Family to make Good that the very Paper of Associations which was Produc'd at the Old-Bayly was found in my Lords Closet according to the Depositions There can be no Doubt in the World from what is allready said but that the Knight-Voters and the Knight-Vndertakers as to the Bus'ness of the Association were Both of a Mind and that there was little Difference betwixt the One and the Other more then that the One Cut out the Work and the Other made-it-up So that if it was an Ill Thing in One it was so in Both and whether it was so or not is now to be Enquir'd into and first upon the General THere was a very Loyal Declaration from the Middle Temple Presented to his Late Majesty by Mr. Saunders afterwards Lord-Chief-Iustice of the King's-Bench upon This Subject I cannot bring an Instance of more Honour or Greater Authority toward the Confounding of This Association then That Paper nor an Address more Pertinent to My Purpose or Better Warranted both in Law and Reason OVR Sense of That Execrable Paper Purporting the Frame of a Trayterous Association produced at the Late Proceâ—dings against the Earl of Shaftsbury at the Old-Bayly We do therefore Declare it our Opinion that the same Contains most Gross and Apparent Treasons more Manifestly tending to the Ruine of your Majesties Dominions then the Old Hypocritical Solemn League and Covenant which they that were Seduced to take are no more bound to keep then he that should Swear to Murther his Father is Obliged to Commit the Parricide And it is most Evident to us that whoever promoted That Rebellious Association Designed by the said Paper or Countenanced the Same by Refusing upon the Full Evidence to find Bills of Indictment against the Authors and Promoters thereof and thereby as much as in them lay Preventing their being brought to a Fair Tryal have in a High Measure Perverted the Laws And could have no other Design thereby then to Vsurp to Themselves an Arbitrary and Tyrannical Dominion not only over your Subjects but over your Majesty also I Shall proceed now to the Dissecting of it and see if the Particulars be not as Foul upon the Retayle as the Whole has been here Represented in the Lump and in Gross The Ground of it is a Popish Plot The Preservation of the King Religion Laws and People are set forth to be the Intent of it So that by an Orderly Examining of One Thing after Another it will be Easily seen how far the Means here Propounded will Answer the End. Notes upon the Association WE the Knights c. in the Preface Signifies in the Uow and Promise the Major Part either of This Present Parliament while Sitting or of the Members of Both Houses Subscribing This Association when Prorogu'd or Dissolv'd And what is This Majority to Do now To Defend and Assist one Another In the Preservation of the True-Protestant Religion His Majesties Person and our State and our Laws Liberties and Properties And Against Whom are they to Defend and Assist Against Popish Priests and Iesuites with the Papists and their ADHERENTS and ABETTERS That same Adherents and Abetters goes a Great way and needs Another Explanation But what 's the Quarrel now A most Pernicious and Hellish Plot to Destroy All that the Associators have by Solemn and Sacred Promise Engaged Themselves to Preserve And now for the Adherents and Abetters There are Several Sorts of them There are the Plotters Themselves the Duke of York the Mercenary Forces alias the Guards The Officers that the Dukes Interest has brought in both by Sea and Land and All that HAVE ANY WAYS Adher'd to Him or Them And All such as SHALL Adhere unto Him. So that here is an Association against the King Himself for Adhering unto his Brother and Consequently against All the Kings Loyal Subjects for Adhering to Him that Adher'd to his Royal Highness which is only a Degree or Relation of Adherency once Remov'd But How now is This same Adherency to be Vnderstood What is it that is here Call'd an Adherency And how far does it Extend Any man that shall Séek by Force to Set up the Duke's Pretended Title or raise any War Tumult or Sedition for Him or by his Command Or that upon any Title whatsoever shall Oppose the Iust and Righteous Ends of This Association Or in fine that shall ANY WAYS Adhere which is an Vnlimited Latitude and reaches to Thought Word and Deed That Man is an Adherent Allways Provided God Save the King I hope No No. Without any Respect of Persons or Causes 'T is against the Duke of York or any other that hath any ways Adhered to the Papists in their wicked Designs So that This League is as Particularly Levell'd at the King for Refusing to pass a Bill of Exclusion as the Votes of Ian. 7. 1680. was at the Noble Lords there for Advising the King to Refuse it Well! Again And What Course is to be Taken at last with These Papists and Adherents Why the Associators will Endeavour Entirely to Disband All Mercenary Forces They will by all Lawfull Means and by Force of Arms if néed so require Oppose the said Duke of York and Endeavour to Subdue Expell and Destroy him if he comes into England and All such as shall Adhere unto him They will also with their Ioynt and Particular Forces
Papists in Despite of the Evangelical Precept that bids us Love one Another Subornation was Authoriz'd under the Title of Reward Murder was recommended under the Varnish of Publique Iustice. Atheism was a kind of a Qualification for a man of Interest in This Matter because they were to Talk of God and at the same Time make a Mock of the Belief of any such Power and it was Requisite that the Hardness of their Hearts should be Proof against the Sense of Divine Vengeance and Iustice. There was no Room left for Christian Charity when Every Papist was to Suffer for the Principles of his Party and when they could Make Those Principles to be whatever Themselves pleas'd In All their Holy Leagues Vows Covenants and Associations they have This to say for Themselves that the Hypocrite is of No Religion and Consequently that The lifting up of their Hands unto the Lord and their Solemn Promises In the Presence of God are of No more Force upon people that do not Acknowledge a God then the Oath of a Iew upon the Four Evangelists In the Matter of Reputation How have we Lost our selves at Home and Abroad by Believing Things upon Second Thoughts Incredible and Believing too upon the Testimony of Known Falsaties and Blasted Criminals By setting the Evidence of Common Hirelings and Scoundrells against the Character the Try'd Faith Integrity and Incontestable Loyalty of Men of Honour The King the Queen the Duke and so many other Illustrious Persons on the One side to be Confronted by Miscreants on the Other not to be Nam'd in the Same Page How have we Expos'd the Dignity of our very Profession to make it a Point of Conscience to work so Great a Villany An Instance of our Zeal to Pursue it into so many Barbarous Extremeties and which is more then All to cast a Protestant Cover over One of the Lewdest Impieties that ever was under the Sun and to make it an Impulse of our Religion which was only a Perjurious Conspiracy of State It has Lost us to the Present Age thoroughout the Christian World for the King receiv'd not so much as one Complement of Gratulation from any of the Forreign Ministers for his Deliverance which would have been Otherwise if any of them had Believ'd it It leaves us Expos'd likewise to After-Times Especially Considering that so great Care has been taken by Some for the Transmitting of the Imposture and so Little by Others for the Propagating and Confirming of the Truth And now again we are as much Lost in the Offices of Charity Truth and Iustice. This Plot has turn'd Religion into a Faction and the Animosity which it has begot in us toward Roman Catholiques has utterly Extinguish'd the Love and Veneration we Owe to Christianity it self As to the Next Point Truth and Falshood have Chang'd Places and according to the Mode of the Times the very Quality of it is Inverted too Truth is Ridiculing the Witnesses Invalidating the Plot Arraigning the Iustice of the Nation and Popery in a Disguise whereas Falshood or Perjury is a Thing to Bless God for a Miraculous Discovery a Subject to beg a Pension upon a Wonderful Service to the Protestant Religion and what was This Plot at last but a Blasphemous Slanderous Imagination made up of Lies and Contradictions as I shall set forth by and By. Now over and above all the Rest How was the Iustice of the Nation Abus'd and Impos'd-upon by the Trumperies of Confederacy and Practice even to the Confounding of Right and Wrong Good and Evil and Inverting the very Order and Equity of Reward and Punishment How many Innocent Men were Clapt-up and Kept upon Vnconscionable Expence 'till all they had left in the World was little enough to Clear the Charge of the Prison without Any Cause Assign'd without ever being brought to know their Accusers or their Accusation and forc'd to Content themselves upon their Humble Petition with the Hope of a Mercifull Vote in the Conclusion for their Discharge Paying their Fees without any Reparation while Suborners and False-Witnesses Pester'd the Lobbys Barefac'd with their Crimes as Open as if they had been Writ in their Foreheads So Sacred was Villany and so Hazardous was it for any man to do his Duty 'T is true that upon the First Springing of this Cause a man might for want of Iudgment Thought or Foresight Charitably and Innocently enough be Misled or Mistaken The Evidence was Positive and Bold the Fact Horrid so many Conspirators of Quality to Countenance the Tale and Formalities of the Law in favour of the Witnesses But yet afterward when the Masque came to be Taken off and the whole Web of the Villany to be Vnravel'd the Iustice of the Nation did Then Suffer I say in the Opinion of the World for not doing Immediate Right upon these Miscreants to a Distracted State and People to the Orphans and the Widows that these Forsworn Wretches had made and to the Innocent Bloud that cry'd for Vengeance It gave them some sort of Reputation to let 'em Triumph so long in their Wickedness Insomuch that a Friend of mine Burnt his Fingers in the Case of Otes even for bringing the Bear to the Stake at Last Why This will Destroy the whole Plot they Cry'd as if the leaving of a Nest-Egg would have been such a Comfort to the Nation I speak in This Place rather of Publique then of Private and Personal Iustice for the Indignities they put upon the Government were Infinitely above the Injuries of here and there a Member of it for they Swore the Monarchy it self to Death as well as the Papists They Embroil'd the Order and they Vnsettled the Foundations of it Under Colour of Securing the Kings Person they Cramp'd his Prerogative and took away peoples Inheritances for fear of their Religion How many Incapacities and Disabilities have we seen Created upon the Same Score Now I take the Reason of the Case betwixt a Private Cheat and a Publick to be much the Same If a man Wins my Money by False Dice and I can Prove it I 'le have my Money again and why should not this Equity hold as well now in the Case of a Factions getting any thing from a Government by the Help of False Witnesses There 's a Plot Affirm'd Warranted and Sworn We shall lose our Prince they Cry our Religion Laws Lives and Liberties unless we have such and such Powers put into our hands to Prevent or to Disappoint the Danger The Yielding on the One side is in Confidence and upon Condition of such a Desperate Plot on the Other Now if there be No Plot there 's No Bargain Nay and 't is a Worse Matter Yet if what was Demanded for a Security against One Devillish Plot shall Appear Evidently to be Intended and Apply'd toward the Promoting and the Strengthning of Another A Lapidary sells me at a Horrible Price That which He Warrants for a Ruby of the
subscribed and being shew'd the Letters was able upon the sight of some Few Lines of them Hiding the Name to say whose Letter Each was which the Name being Discover'd prov'd to fall out accordingly and This he did readily and without Hesitation And farther he said that though the Spelling of Mr. Bedingfields Name and of the Writers Names do not agree with the Right Spelling that it is an Vsual Art of the Jesuits purposely to Commit such Faults to Disguise themselves if the Letters should be found And further that though the Hands Themselves do not agree with what they do at other times write yet That is purposely done to Prevent Discovery and that he is well acquainted with These their assumed Hands and knows the way of writing not only of These but of about Eighty of the said Society But Against the Truth of the said Letters there were many Objections Some by the Prisoners Others from the Lâ—tters Themsâ—lves and the way of their Coming to Light The Particulars thereof as they are Many and some Resulting from the Inspection of the Letters Themselves so I doubt not but the same are fully remembred by your Majesty Toward the Stating of the Case in hand the Attorny-General among Other Papers of Enformation had the Five Iesuits Letters it seems to work upon And all the world knows that Sr. William Iones was as good at Hitting a Blot in an Evidence and laying his Finger upon the Pinch of the Question as any Man Living So that having These Pieces before him it may reasonably be Presum'd that upon Comparing Circumstances and Weighing one thing with Another he saw far enough into the Merits of the Cause and the Mystery of that Intrigue without any Need of an Observators Spectacles But however I shall rather Produce the Letters Themselves here to tell their own Tale and leave it Indifferently to any Sober Person to Consider what Opinion so Wise and so Wary a Man as Sr William Iones could entertain of These Papers The Five Windsor Letters Commonly called the Jesuits Letters Mr Bennyfield 1 Mr White is now about to come for and I suppose there will bee noe Necessity of telling you of our good Success hitherto because intimated to you already wee Expect Mr FenwickE with us euery day to giue us an account of your progress made in the BVISNES of 48 I pray bee carefull of its dispatch if possible I will say noe more but that I am yours Flamsted Aug 1st 78 IRLAND For mr Bennyfield with care Sr 2 I can now give you noe further Intelligence of our affaires but that I heare our affaires in IRLAND stand in a good condition and I am informed our friends are arriued safely to Scotland and have made a good begining there let mee begg of you to incourage FOGOTY and the rest of ours I praise god Almighty I am still in good heart yet not without some apprehension of crossing the Seas because of my weaknes mr Ashby is ready I heare to Come from the bath I pray make my Lord BRUNEL acquainted if you think it Convenient with our designes I will tell you more when I see you I therefore rest Your Loueing Friend T White Flamsted Aug 1st 78 for mr Bennyfield Windsore Mr Bennifield 3 Yours of the eightht instant arriued safely to our hands and wee are glad of your care and Industry and I am now to giue you to understand that our affairs in the kindgom of IRLAND stand well his grace of Dublin is not onely kinde to us but also industrious for the promotion of our good designes there and question not but to accomplish them Ormond wold fain bee friends with the Catholique party but wee must neither trust him nor let him much longer forty eight is prepared for and you are desired to bee kinde to four worthy persons of the Irish nation that are Vigilent good men and will doe seruice for vs in those parts they are religious and though not of our Society yet louers of vs and are resolved to Ioyn Issue with vs in the Concernes of dispatching forty eight I am Iust now for St O with some young Ladds and may Chance returne home with our master you have heard I suppose of the Contents by Mr Stratford I am in hast and therefore Conclude and rest yours to serue you Lot Aug 26 Jno Fenwicke recommend me to mr Coleman I hope J. K. will bee with you to take a little Fresh air For mr Bennyfield at Windsore recommended to the Postmaster there til hee shall Call for it Windsore Good mr Bennifield 4 I am sorry I haue not had the happynes of one line from you since you left london my good Friend his grace of Dublin is in very good health and did let mee haue the fauour of line or two from him and tells mee that Ormond is as much out with the Protestants as euer he was with the Catholiques to gratifie them he hath giuen them commissions but that will not doe the BVISNES now hee will never gain his credit more with vs I pray bee kinde to those four countrymen of mine who are good men I assure you and will do the BVISNES I am in hast and rest your lo Friend FOGOTY Dear Sr 5 the present affaire wee haue in hand giues the occasion of a line or two to let you understand that IRLAND is now in an excellent posture his grace of Dublin is very Industrious in the management of the BVISNES and our master has ordered F to advertise ours of it I haue given HARCOT and Jennison notice of it so I haue to Keines I am very carefull of encourageing W and P to put on strong resolutions if the BVISNES hit not at Windsor to bee ready to attend forty Eight and if GW doe but Hitt the BVISNES here Scotland will come into us viz the C party and then the work is done ours here are very deuout that after so long patience they may enjoy cath Religion in a way more Publique then now they doe and certeinly wee can never faile since wee have so many strings to our Bow forty Eight is secure and all our party uery faithfull my kinde respects to you and honest Mr Coleman as for Smith hee is dailie in his intelligence and care is taken for sending it to Flamsted I have no more but that I am yours Aug 29 Nich Blundel For Mr Bennifield att his lodgings in Windsor leave this with the Post master att Windsor to be deliuered to him Windsor These Letters were formerly Publish'd at Length with Notes upon them October 1684. Observator 150.151.152.153 Vol. 2. But the Fraud being so Palpable and the Forgery so Manifest and This Place so Proper for the Exposing of the Imposture I shall here go over with them once again First there is not so much as one Stop Point or Comma or any such Note of Distinction in all the Five Letters which from Five Men and no
is This Let him be Detected of a Thousand Falsities A man is Pop't in the Mouth with this Answer Where 's your Record Why You might have Indicted him If you can Produce a Record you say Something when yet to my Certain Knowledge Means have been made by Application and Petition for Leave to Prosecute him for Perjury according to the Ordinary Methods of Common Iustice and there was no Obtaining of it This in one Instance for All was the Case of Mr Cox a Linnen-Draper in Covent Garden who Frankly and Honestly made the Attempt and he was only Brow-Beaten Repuls d and Baffled for his Pains I would fain get over This Topique but the Nature the Reason and the Importance of the Subject in hand forces me to be yet a little more at Large It will now come into Course to see what Quarrel it is that SrWilliam Iones had to the Testimony of Mr. Lydcot First as he was Secretary to the Earle of Castlemain he was True to his Lord. 2 ly In the Honour and Freedom of a Companion to Him He was Iust to his Noble Friend 3 ly In taking Notes for my Lords Service who was himself Concern'd in Otes'es Accusation He did no more then what in Generosity Good Faith Common Humanity Tenderness and Prudence he was Bound to do He took Notes that he might be able upon any occasion in the Future to bear Witness to a Truth which Truth would have been as much Against my Lord if he were Guilty as For him if he were Innocent and the Service he Intended my Lord by These Notes was only the Attesting of a Truth on his Behalf in Confidence of his Integrity The Want of an Evidence in This Case would have been Just as Mortal as the want of a Record in the Other before Spoken of and mens Lives were Lost both ways in This Controversy for want of a Legal Proof of an Indubitable Truth So that here 's a short Result of the Stress of the Exception First Block-up the way to an Enformation of Perjury against a Forsworn Varlet and Then Hang-up an Honest Man for Want of one Make it a Misdemeanor and a Scandal High enough to Incapacitate any man for a Witness that shall Presume to take Notes in a Popish Cause and then Truss-up the Pretended Traytor though never so Innocent for want of an Evidence to Prove what was Said or Sworn upon such a Tryall Why This looks like Lying in Wait for Bloud when they find they Cannot reach a Man upon a Guilt of Fact to Ty-him-up by Surprize for either Ignorance or Neglect upon a Formality of Proof But in One Syllable now From a General Contemplation or Supposition of the Case to the Real Condition and Quality of that Case as it was found afterwards before a Court of Iustice in Truth and in Effect No man was More Press'd or Harder put to 't and no man put himself more Franckly upon his Iustification then my Lord Castlemaine I remember what Pains was taken upon his Lordships Tryal to make a Witness of Dangerfield A Wretch of a Character to bring an Infamy upon a Common Iayl. And I remember an Oath of Otes'es there in a Flat Contradiction to what he Swore in my Lord Staffords Tryal I have a Charge of High Treason says Otes against That Man one Mr. Hutchison an Evidence against him for Seducing me from my Religion My Lord I will Swear he Turn'd me to the Church of Rome and I desire it may be Recorded Lord Castlemain's Tryal fol. 51. Upon the whole Matter his Lordship was acquitted with Honour and to the Confusion of his Enemies and it is but a Bare Iustice Abstracted from All other Considerations to say that no Man Lâ—ving perhaps has given a more Vncontestable Proof of his Faith and Affections to the Crown then Himself And as to Mr Lydcot now Sr Iohn Lydcot and Worthily advanc'd to a more Honourable Station It is beyond Question that he Behav'd himself in This Office toward both the Government and my Lord Castlemaine with a Resolution and Integrity Answerable to the Character of a Man of Honour There have been so many Hares Started in my way and the Change of Subject has Carry'd me into so many Digressions that I had almost forgot one Passage which though formerly Cited Cannot be well Pass'd over in this Place There were Certain Quaeries offer'd to the House of Commons by the Sheriffs of London and Midl Dec. 23. 1680. about the Kings Prerogative in Dispensing with any part of the Sentence upon My Lord Stafford upon which occasion Sir W. I. Deliver'd his Opinion and Advice in These Words It is probable that the Royal Power hath always Dispensed with such Sentences formerly and if so This House Lyeth not under any Obligation to offer at any Opposition nor Concern themselves herein Especially at This Time when such a Dispute may End in Preventing the Execution of the said Lord Stafford And Therefore I humbly Conceive you may do well to give your Consent that the said writ be Executed according to its Tenure Collections p. 215. Here 's an Indubitable Prerogative subjected to a Question The Resolution given is that It is Probable c. Mr Attorneys Advice is Not to Offer at any Unseasonable Opposition for fear My Lord Stafford's Life might be Sav'd by 't Theâ—efore says he 〈◊〉 Give your Consent For the Avoiding of Confusion I have Interjected where there was Room Convenient for 't Some Remarques and Reflexions upon the Attorny Generalls State of the Evidence and upon the Progress of his Animadversions in the Further Prosecution of that Pretended Popish Cause as well in the Quality of a Kings Councel upon the Tryals of Green Berry and Hill as in That afterward of a Principal Manager of the Evidence against my Lord Stafford This did not yet Hinder the Saving to my self the Liberty of a Word or Two more upon the Whole Matter at Last There are Three General Points that fall Naturally under Consideration in This Place First Did the Kings Witnesses as the Law Terms them Agree in their Evidence or Not 2 ly If they did Not Agree Where and How does That appear Did they Swear One Thing at One Time and Another Thing at Another Was not their Evidence in Court the Same with that before the King and Councel The Kings Iustices of the Peace the Two Houses and the Committees 3 ly Was Sir W. I. Sufficiently Arm'd and Instructed with All Necessary Powers and Papers for the Perfect Vnderstanding of the Matter both in the Whole and in Every Part To These Three Questions I return These Three Answers First That there are Disagreements and Inconsistencies in the Evidence both Ioyntly and Severally that are Utterly Impossible to be Reconcil'd 2 ly I appeal for the Proof of This to the Council-Books The Lords Iournal and the Printed Tryals even under All their Partialities where their Depositions many times are no more
Watch and Keep him so Strictly at the College in St Omers 'till June 1678. Old Style that they thereon most Confidently Built their Lately Disproved Assertion That he never stirr'd thence Upon the Clause above lies the Main Stress of the Cheat and it needs to be very particularly Expounded Otes was hard put to 't to Prove himself in London at the Consult in April and May 1678. His Pretext for want of Witnesses was that he was Charg'd to lye Close and keep Private but he made a shift however to bring Four Persons at his Tryal to speak to That Point Two of them Contradicted a Third and a 4 th Swore to the Wrong Year See Otes'es Tryal fol. 91. A Perjury in fine was Prov'd against him upon the Oaths of Two and Twenty Witnesses fol. 87. And what does Tong now but Knowingly and Wickedly upon this Pinch Cover and Support a Perjury He Imputes his want of Evidence to his Lying so Close Inferring that if He could see No body No body could see Him And Suggests that he was Here in April or May 1678. Went over to St Omers soon after and then came back again in Iune or Iuly as was set forth in his Defence Thus far Tong on Otes'es Behalf though his Soul and Conscience Knew to the Contrary The Pinch of the Question is Briefly This. Was Otes in England April 24. as he Swears he Was and did Tong know Certainly whether he Was Here or No 'T is a strange Thing that Otes should go to Sir Richard Barkers where Tong Lodg'd Be seen there by some of his Servants and Moreover Ask of them for Tong as they Swear all This at the Tryal and Tong not so much as Hear any thing all this while of Otes'es being in England Nay Tong is Positive on the Other hand that he did Not Return till Iune or Iuly according to the Computation of the Style Till Mr Otes Return'd from St Omers in IVLY 1678. says the Narrative Preface above-mentioned And so in Another Paper Entitled Tongs Case and Request The Dr. says he did Actually Produce to Light a Narrative Testimony of the Hellish Plot of the General Massacre in JUNE 1678. Before Mr Otes Returned from St Omers And he sets forth likewise in a Petition to the House of Commons that he Presented them with a Discovery of the Popish Massacre in JUNE 1678 Before Mr Otes or Any other Discoverer appeared And he has the same thing over and over in Divers Papers with an Emphatical Note still that it was Before Otes came over in IVNE or IVLY 1678. Simpson Tong says in Effect the same Thing in his Petition to his Majesty i. e. Your Petitioner doth Protest in the Presence of Allmighty God That it is very True that the Plot was Contrived by my Father and Titus Otes when he Returned the Second Time from beyond the Seas c. And so in a Letter to Me of Ian. 5. 1681. The Contrivance was Thus That under the Pretence of a Popish Plot which my Father First Imagin'd was afoot and afterwards Otes at his Second Return from beyond the Seas Swore to be True c. And so in Another Letter also That Otes went Over Sea a Second Time and Returned about Iune 1678. From hence it is Manifest that the Plot was a Contrivance A Popish Plot the Pretext Otes Swore to 't at his Second Return which was IVNE 1678. It had been his THIRD Return if he had come over in April for he gave no Evidence upon Oath 'till September Following These are Proofs not to be Contested But now to Reason a little upon the Matter Otes went abroad upon Tongs Errand and had Tong still for his Confident his Councellor and his Friend Can it be Thought now that if Otes had come back in April Flush'd with Intelâ—igence Big with a Discovery and full Freighted with the Commodity he went over for That Tong I say should hear no News of him 'till the Latter End of Iune or Iuly and the world hear no News of the Plot neither 'till the Latter End of August Why Tong was the very Soul of Otes'es-Clay The Other only His Instrument His Factor but it was Tong that set him at Work and Tong that paid him his Wages Tong sends him abroad to Discover a Plot Nay and he tells him what kind of Plot he Is to Discover too Otes makes a Step over the Water lays his Nose to the Train Follows the Scent and comes back again with a Duck in his Mouth but without his Masters Blessing and Assistance the Silly Curr knows not what in the world to do with it In This Posture we must Imagine Otes to stand for a matter of Two Months Wagging his Tail and Waiting with a Conspiracy betwixt his Teeth 'till at length the Doctor comes and takes it of him and so Dresses it up into a Narrative Otes Furnishes Names Dates Places Tong finds Matter to them Ranges so many Particulars into so many Treasons Dissects the Whole into so many Articles Otes Kisses the Four Evangelists upon 'em And This is the very History of the Pretended Plot. Now These Trusts and Privacies duly Consider'd a man can very hardly believe that Otes should Go and Come and be Himself Present here at a Treasonous Consult in April and Tong know nothing of it It far'd in fine with These Two Sparks in the Bus'ness of the Plot as it falls out many times in a Freakish Amour There may Pass Hard Words perchance Ielousies Disputes Humours of going off and on betwixt the Two Lovers as the Maggot bites and yet Both Parties at last as true as Steel to the Common Cause This was the Very Very Case of Our Two Worthies The Plot had never been Thought-of Found-out Digested Lick'd into Shape Recommended and brought upon the Stage if it had not been for Tong. But though Tong all this while under Habernfâ—ld was the First Founder of it and the Main Agitator that gave it Life and Motion Otes had the Good Fortune yet to run away with the Title of the Saviour of the Nation and with the Profit as well as the Reputation of the Discovery In Little From the First Blowing of That Bubble in the Barbican to the Enthroning of Otes in Whitehall Hand and Glove were never Better together then These Two Brethren and Otes Quietly Enjoy'd all the Trophies of his Atchievements the Blessings of the Committees and the Hosannahs of the Mobile without either Envy or Opposition Thus far in short it was Hony-Moon betwixt them Nothing too Great for Otes in Tongs Opinion Nor any thing too Much for Tong in Otes'es But it was with Otes as with Many Men of Dignity that I have known in the World that when they are once Mounted Themselves Forget Those that Heav'd them into the Saddle To Pursue my Digression yet a little further What with the Dread of Otes'es Commission to Murder Tong And the Frightfull Assault and Battery of
Old Bully Whitebread upon the Body of Titus Otes for Betraying the Plot to the King According to the Honourable and Reverend Advice as Tong has it they took Sanctuary at the House of One Lambert a Bell-Founder over the Water where they staid not long before they had Quarters Allotted 'em at Whitehall that they might with more Safety and Convenience lay their Heads together and Conferr Notes Ezrel and Titus were thus far Simeon and Levi 'till there came a Bone of Dissention upon a Puntillo of Honour to be Unluckily cast in betwixt them The Dr it seems had let fall some Words as if He Himself had been the First Discoverer of the Plot And was within a Trifle of Printing a Book too with That very Claim in the Title-Page but upon the Refusal of an Imprimatur it Stopt there and went no further The Case came to a Squabble and was very fairly decided in the Councell-Lobby by Half a dozen of the Kings Witnesses where upon a Full Hearing of Both Parties it went for the Defendent This bred Ill Bloud and the Next News I heard was that Otes had shut Tong out of his Lodgings at Whitehall and as 't is in the Proverb When Thieves fall out Honest men come by their Goods Tong upon This sets up for the First Discoverer and most Unhappily Shoots a Bolt that instead of Proving him to be the First Discoverer Prov'd him to be â—o Discoverer and by leaving No Plot at all left No Ground for any Discovery at all Insomuch that Tong 's Single Testimony did the Plot more Mischief then the whole Band of St Omers Witnesses For to make himself a Prior Evidence he Overthrows Otes'es Pretence of being here at the Consult in April For This was says he in Iune or Iuly 1678. Before Otes or any Other Discoverer appear'd Now if Otes was not here before Iune the Narrative and All that 's Built upon 't falls into a Thousand Pieces For the Doctor has broken the Neck of Otes'es Evidence and Tript up the Heels of his Own Plot both at once and the Babel of That Sham is laid in the Dust by the very Hand that Rais'd it A Short Word or Two now to Tong 's Excuse on Otes'es Behalf for want of Witnesses My Lord says Otes when I came to London I was Order'd to keep very Close Irelands Tryal fol. 36. But then in the Iesuits Tryal he tells quite Another Story When I came away from St Omers says he I was to Attend the Motions of the Fathers at your Chamber speaking to Whitebread where the Fathers were Respectively Met. fol. 19. In pursuance of this Order he went from Place to Place from Lodging to Lodging to get it Sign'd He was at the White-Horse-Tavern and Particular Chambers I know not how Many and how Often He saw Pickering and Grove several times Walking together in the Park with their Screw'd-Pistols And he saw their Silver-Bullets in the Month of May. Irelands Tryal p. 23.24 He was up and down in Arundel-Buildings and several other Parts of the Town He Swore he Din'd at Islington c. So that he was Oblig'd by the Fathers it seems to be both Publique and Private His very Part in this Tragedy of a Farce was only That of a Common Messenger and a Thames-street Porter might have made the same Pretence of lying Close that Otes did first for Himself and Tong afterwards for him with as good a Grace But the Dr does him the Good Office to throw a Cloak over the Subornation and call'd it A Testimony found by Providence and so to Cover the Perjury though with a Falsity as Transparent as Chrystal Now there never was any thing Plainer then that Tong was all this while as well a Party and a Confederate to the Cheat in the Execution of it as he was the Principal in the Design He was Privy to 't and Approver of it and an Advocate for it and not only in This Particular but he went Snips with Otes in the Guilt of Every Walk and Turn of the Imposture and for my Own Part without the Grace of a Distinguishing Repentance I had e'en as live stand in Otes'es â—oat at the Day of Judgment as in Tongs The Dr follows his Point in his Narrative Preface before-mention'd with this Addition to his Excuse for Otes They Watch'd him so Strictly at St. Omers he says that he had no other hopes left him of Escaping their Hands then by Deceiving their Malice and Vndertaking to Poyson or otherwise destroy the Author of those Books The Jesuits Morals c. nor did their Important Malice suffer him to Return to his Native Country on Thâ—t Errand 'till they had Loaden his Soul Consciâ—â—ce with an Oath to Poyson or Otherwise Destroy him Sealed with their Abominable Sacrament of the Mass. This Foppery would not be Worth one Stroke of a Pen upon 't if iâ— were not that it has had the Honour to Fool and almost to Ruine Three Kingdoms The Dr methinks when his Zeal was In upon Otes's Abominable Sacrament as he calls it might have found Hell and Damnation on the Taking side as well as on the Giving And it would have been never theWorse neither if he had mingled a little Remorse of Conscience with the Colour of the Murder toward the bringing of him Back But it is no Wonder for the First Contriver Designer of the Abuse to go on to Countenance and Support it and briefly to do the Best Service he could toward the Reputation and Success of his Own Project This was the Doctors Case thorough All the Mazes and Windings of the Intrigue And I do not know any One Instance either so Wicked so Gross or so Notoriously False that he does not set-up to Vndertake for and to Defend The Matter Briefly stands Thus The Plot was a Sham Tong the Founder and Promoter of it It was Meant for a Cheat It was Carry'd-on by Confederacy Forgery and Subornation and Tong still a Voucher for every Considerable Article of the Villany There 's enough said already in the Third Chapter how Tong 's Heart was set upon a Popish Plot How Zelous he was to Propagate the Fear and the Belief of it and how Industrious if he could not Find a Plot to Make One. He could have no Thought of Gaining his Point without Matter to Work Vpon Instruments to Work With and some Proper Means of bringing Those Instruments over to serve his Purpose The Matter was the Traduction of Habernfelds Relation His Instrument was Otes and the Supplying of Otes'es Barking Necessities was a sure way for the Engaging of so Profligate a Wretch It was not for Nothing that he shew'd Otes his Royal Martyr with the Draught of Habernfelds Story in 't Or that he gave him his Lesson and sent him Beyond Sea upon 't Mr Otes went from Barbican says Dr Tong in a Paper of Feb. 2. 1676 7 in Pursuit of his Design to Discover
one anothers Minds had Created so Entire and Mutual a Confidence that from hence-forward their Hearts were as Open to one another as their Faces and the Confederate Guilt of Perjury and Murther with the Varnish of Religion put upon it was no longer a Secret betwixt them After Otes's Return in Iune or Iuly from St Omers he lay Lurching up and down the Town One while in Drury-Lane Another while with Tong at the Flying-Horse in Kings-Street Westminster Kick'd-off by the Iesuits and at his Wits End what to do with himself 'till in the Conclusion he betook himself to his Old Councellor again in the Barbican and there they fell to the Hammering of their First Project over again The Doctor in one of his Diary-Papers gives this Short Account of the Matter About the First of August 1678. Mr Otes brought and read unto Dr Tong at his Chamber in the Barbican his Discovery of the Plot Written in a Hand wherewith the Doctor was not then Acquainted but refused to leave it or to give a Copy of it to the Doctor Now says Young Tong My Father Advis'd Otes to write the Plot in Greek Letters because that None but Themselves might be Privy to what was done The Copy which was in Greek Letters was burnt by Otes When they came to Fox-Hall Mr Kirkby was taken in for an Assistant after he had been Sworn to Secrecy The Dr says likewise to This Matter in a Paper Dated Aug. 11. That Mr Otes put the Discovery of the Plot which he had written in 43 Articles under the Wainscoat at the further end of Sr Richard Barkers Gallery in his House in the Barbican near Dr Tongs Chamber-Door according to the Drs Directions where the Dr took them up and chusing for Privacy to Correspond rather by Papers with an Vnknown Person then Personally with Any man in the Plot gave Mr Otes Direction to Write or Cause his Enformations to be Written in the Greek Character rather then in his Own hand which he could not Vary nor Hide from being Known and gave him Other Directions both to Abscond his Person and Hand which notwithstanding he Observed not That Dr· Tong Copy'd the said Articles forthwith and sought to Communicate them to his Majâ—sty Compare This again with a Passage in The Impartial State of the Case of the Earl of Danby c. concerning Otes'es Narrative which Tong had Presented to his Majesty and the King had put afterward into the Hands of his Lordship It gives an Account of my Lords Discourse with the Dr upon This Subject in Question and Answer The Earl shew'd the Papers to the Dr and Asked if Those were They which he said they Were Qu. Whether they were Originals Ans. No. They were Copies of His the Drs Writing Qu. Who was the Author and where the Original Ans. He did not know the Author for that the Originals which he said were in his Custody had been Thrust under the Door of his Chamber but he did not know by Whom only he did fancy it must be One that had some time before held Discourse with him tending to such Matters Qu. If he knew where to find That Man Ans. No. But he had seen him lately Two or Three times in the Streets and it was likely not to be Long before he should Meet him again What is All This now but Sham upon Sham The Articles were not yet brought to bear and therefore the Plot did Better in Greek then in English 'till upon Further Thoughts it might be Lickt over Corrected and Amended This Conjecture is very Expressly seconded with a Passage of Young Tongs in Another Letter where he says that there were several Copies Written of Otes'es Narrative veâ—y Different the One from the Other It is again to be Noted how Slyly Tong tells the Earl of Danby that they were Thrust under the Door but by Whom he did not know nor where to find the Man When yet the Thing was Done by His Advice The Doer of it in Tong 's Company all this while and the Man as well known to Tong as ever One Man was to Another They went afterward to Fox-Hall says Young Tong by my Fathers Advice to the end they might be more Private where Those Papers that they Wrote at Sr Richard Barkers were put into Form and deliver'd-in to the Councel After They All Remov'd from Fox-Hall and Nail'd up the Chamber-Door having left Several Papers behind And my Father Vnderstanding by Mr Lambert that the Door was broken up by the Landlord and the Papers like to be Seiz'd on was much Troubled at it and sent away the Rent that was Due by his Man Richard This House where my Father and Otes Lodg'd was called by â—he Neighbours the Plot-House and there Otes'es Narrative was Written whereof several Copies were Written Different the One from the Other and the Four Jesuits Letters wherein Otes pretended was the Whole Discovery were Counterfeits The Four Letters here Mentioned were the Four Letters that the Attorny-General says in his State of the Evidence were All Enclosed in One Cover But there was likewise a Fifth Subscribed Nich. Blundel c. which Young Tong it seems had no Knowledge of There are in fine so many Circumstances of Proveable and Open Fact in This Cause that there 's no room Imaginable for so much as the Pretence of a Contradiction But still the Point at last of the Windsor Letters Clears the Proof of a Conspiracy if it were possible even above All the rest I have the Originals at This Present in my Hand and there is the Paw of Tong and Otes so manifestly in the very Writing of them as if they had not thought it worth the while to Disguise the Cheat. It was an Imposture that their very Souls Heads Hearts and Hands were All at Work upon And the Forgery Vndeniable only Tong Himself was the Master-Hocus It makes me think of a Story betwixt a Câ—uncellor and his Clyent about an Answer to a Bill in Chancery You must needs come and draw up your Answer says the Lawyer we shall be under a Contempt else Why draw it up then quoth the Clyent Well! says the Other but what do I know what you can Swear to Never Trouble your Head for That says the Clyent again in a Banter Look You to the Lawyers Part and draw me up a Sufficient Answer and leave it to Me to do the Part of a Gentleman and Swear to 't when you have done This Dialogue in Iest was the very Case of Tong and Otes in Earnest and what the One Dictated the Other Swore to CHAP. VII By what means This Imposture came to be Promoted and the Manner of doing it WE have now brought down This Phantome of a Plot from Forty to Seventy Two From Seventy Two to Seventy Eight From Habernfeld to Sr William Boswell and so to Arch-Bishop Laud to King Charles the First To Prynnes Romes
Folded it up which looks as if it had not been Folded before In Sir George Wakeman's Tryal he says that Sir Geo. VVakeman Fetched a Turn or Two about the Room seeming Angry and Discontented and asked Harcourt if he had any Thing for him Then Harcourt asked him how he did Proceed sayd he I don't know whether I shall or No c. fol. 31. with That Harcourt went to his Cabinet and took out Five or Six papers and brought a small Bill c. Ib. of 2000 l. Well sayd Sir George I will go and see if the Bill be accepted and you shall hear of me to Night And Bedloe met him Presently after and Sir George told him it was accepted and that he was to go in the Afternoon to Receive it Ib. Soon after This He is Call'd upon to go over with This Part of his Evidence again fol. 46. and There we have him searching among his Bags and finding a Little Note among them And the Relation Effectually to be quite Another Thing He is Now got into Clear Another story than the Two Former for there was no such Question as Have you any Thing for Me No such Peevishness or Hesitation as I don't know whether I shall or No In One Deposition Five or Six Papers taken out of the Cabinet Whereas in the other Depositions there 's mention made only of One. Nor is there any Talk of Acceptance or Payment There remains Yet Another scruple with a respect to the Timing of This action which is Never to be Reconcil'd He makes it before the Council to have been the Latter part of the last Summer i. e. 1678. That This Meeting was in Harcourt's Chamber It was I think says He about the beginning of August Sir George Wakeman's Tryal fol. 37. But being Press'd afterward by Sir George Wakeman in These words What Day was it that I had the Discourse with Harcourt and Received the Bill from him as You say Mr. Bedloe To satisfie you as well as I can I say it was the Beginning of August or Part of the Beginning I do not speak to a Day p. 40. So that according to Bedloe's Oath before the Council of Iune 24. 1679. Mr. Harcourt gives Sir George Wakeman a Hint which Bedloe Understood to be Meant of his being Employ'd to kill Sir Edmund-bury Godfrey and Bedloe looks the same way in his Evidence at Sir George Wakeman's Tryal Sir George asked of Harcourt says he Who I was Said he 'T is a Friend that hath been long Engaged in our Bus'ness and is to do the Next Great Work to Yours Fol. 37. Now upon the Upshot of the Matter Bedloe swears that Sir Edmundbury Godfrey was Murthered because of Tong 's and Otes's Enformations that he had Taken and Bedloe was Employed at the Beginning of August to Destroy Godfrey for having Taken those Enformations which he never Took nor ever so much as heard of till the Sixth of the Following September His Swearing Off and On in the Case of Whitebread and Fenwick was a Notable Cast of his Faculty too that is to say They being upon their Tryals with Ireland Grove and Pickering Bedloe declares that he does not Charge any Man but them Three and when he was told by the Court What he said was not any Evidence against Whitebread and demanded what he could say as to Fenwick his Answer was in These words No more then as I have to Mr VVhitebread Ireands Tryal fol. 42. But This Notwithstanding Whitebread and Fenwick were remanded back to the Goale by reason that Otes's Testimony was so Full It being Insisted on That the King having sent forth a Proclamation for further Discovery there was No Question made but that before the Time therein prefixed should come out there would come in more Evidence Ib. pag. 56. This was at the Sessions-House at the Old-Bayly December 17. 1678. where They were brought upon their Tryals again on the 13. and 14. of Iune 1679. at which Tryal Bedloe Charged Whitebread upon the Matter of the Four Ruffians that were sent to Windsor about September fol. 32. and Whitebread and Fenwick Both with being Privy and Consenting to the Practice fol. 33. Bedloe's Evidence pass'd for Currant notwithstanding his former Declaration and upon the Summing of it up Prance was also accounted upon as a Third Witness CHAP. VI. An Abstract of the Evidence that Bedloe gave concerning the Death of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey First before the Lords House the Lords Committees and the King and Council 2ly Vpon the Tryals of Green Berry and Hill in the Court of the Kings Bench With Notes upon the Whole THE Body of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey being found a View pass'd upon it and a Verdict deliver'd up It Behov'd the Witnesses whether they were True or False to keep close to the Circumstances of the Fact that was before them And therefore since a Malicious Murther it VVas to be There must be some Provocation Thought upon or Presum'd Hands found out to Execute it a Place Convenient for the Action some Way or other Propos'd for the Doing of it and then some Means or other for the getting of the Body out of the Way when the Deed was done This Train of Fore-cast brings us Decently to Primrose-Hill and whether he went Thither by Horse Chair Litter Coach or Waggon it Matters not a Single Marque Provided there be a Decorum in the Story and that the Thing be done A-Gods-Name as they say and without the Help of Spirits or Art Magick to Convey him Thither The Next Point to be consulted is the Position of the Body in the Ditch The Sword the Bruises the Circles about the Neck and Finally the Linnen Cloth that he was Strangled with which will all be taken into Consideration in Due Time and Place As to the Visible Matter of Fact it stands good and agree'd upon at All hands That is to say the Death the Finding of the Body the Place where he was found the Date When the Time and the Manner of Removing it the Summoning of a Iury the View the Debate and the Verdict But for what lay out of Sight it must be left either to Further Discovery or to Conjecture Though in a Made-story as This was from the Beginning That which was well Fancy'd was well Prov'd And no doubt but Bedloe and Prance would have made More on 't if they had but been aware time enough of the Blessings Heaven had in store for them and that the Fates had Design'd them one day for Supporters of a Glorious Church and State. They made a Shift however to draw Blood and at That Time and in That Cause the Speaking Head might have done as much The Mischief was that Bedloe's Bolt was Shot so long before Prance appear'd And that notwithstanding the General Lights given to Prance about Godfrey and Bedloe in the Newgate-Paper heretofore spoken of he was yet left Miserably in the Dark how to put Things and Things together toward the Formalizing
was his Majesties Pleasure and That as I remember in Council to Employ me to Berry the Queens Porter who was then a Close Pris'ner in Newgate upon Prance's Enformation Prance had made him one of them that at Eight or Nine of the Clock at Night went up with Sir E. G's Dead Body as he said into a Chamber in the Stable-Yard at Somerset-House I Charg'd Berry with This. He told me Upon his Salvation 't was False But saith he How could Prance Swear to This if it were True He gave such Reasons for what he said that I went to Prance with them immediately and Endeavour'd to Convince him that it was a False or Rash Oath that he had taken He would not Yield nor Abate but still Persisted in it and Affirm'd Upon his Salvation that All This Part of his Enformation was True. I could not certainly tell which of them had forsworn himself though I Suspected Prance much rather of the Two. But being now very sick of my Employment I went home to my House in Leicester-fields where Presently a Lady of Quality came in and having heard before that I was sent to Berry in Newgate she out of Curiosity Ask'd me what I had heard of Sir E. G. I told her that I had heard That which made my Hair stand an End Meaning of the Two Contradictory Oaths as I should have Explain'd my self if I had staid But at That Instant I was call'd away to Whitehall and the Good Lady went away with the Belief that I had heard such Things from Berry of That Murther which being blown about the Town it was expected I should have made great Discoveries while I on the other Hand Questioned all that had been made This enraged a Faction against me They said that Berry had Confess'd most Horrible Things to me as I Acknowledged before I went to the Court but that There I was Charm'd into Concealment And Again in Another of May the 2d Following Prance's Enformation was such as made me much affraid of him for I could not satisfie my self but that if Those things were True of the Plots against the King's Life that he pretended to Discover he must have Discover'd them sooner while he was Second to Bedloe though then I should not have been apt to Believe him for other Reasons But now I was extremely Distrustful and therefore came as little near him as I could Having Proceeded thus far with all Simplicity and Openness upon This Subject it will be now Matter of Respect to This Reverend Person as well as Common Iustice to the Truth of the Story to Touch upon some other Passages that Naturally fall under Consideration and may be found Lyable to a Sinister Construction if I should be wholly Silent in the Point I took the Liberty to Crave among other Things his Lordships Favourable Explanation of a Certain Expression pag. 24. in his Funeral Sermon upon Sir Edmundbury Godfrey The Words are These I was told it some Hours before the Discovery that he was found with his own Sword through his Body Others could tell that he had Two Wounds about him These Things were found to be True some Hours after To the Enquiry above His Lordships Answer of April 16. 1686. was This. It was Mr. Angus now or lately Curat of St. Dunstans in the West that told me he heard Sir E. B. G. was found Dead with his own Sword thrust through his Body This he told me before Dinner on the Thursday in which Sir E. B. Godfrey's Body was found in that manner as I heard it afterwards in every ones Mouth about Two or Three of the Clock in the Afternoon When I heard of This before Dinner I sent presently my Man Peter Fuller to enquire in Sir E. Godfrey's Family What they had heard of this News My Man brought me word that they had heard of no such Thing Thereupon Enquiring no further I went and Din'd with some Friends in the City and did not return home till the Evening Then at my Return I heard every one speak of the finding of his Body at Primrose-Hill Whereupon I sent again to his House that enquiry should be made after the Author 's of Mr. Angus's Story At that Time I was wholly a Stranger to the Brothers of Sir E. B. G. But they told me afterwards that they went to Mr. Angus and took him with them to enquire after the Authors and that they had heard the News from Others with this Enlargement that it was said that he was found Dead with Two Wounds Upon This I Discours'd with Mr. Angus who gave me an Enformation of the Matter by word of Mouth and afterward deliver'd upon Oath as follows Adam Angus Deposeth That this Enformant dined at the Wool-sack in Ivy-Lane with one Mr. Oswald a Minister upon the Thursday whereon the Body of Sir Edmund-B Godfrey was said to be found about Five in the Afternoon in a Ditch upon Primrose-Hill and that after Dinner This Enformant went in Company with the above said Mr. Oswald to the Shop of Mr. Chiswell a Book seller in St. Pauls-Church-yard This Enformant stood for some time Leaning over the Counter and reading some Printed Papers there Mr. Oswald being in the Shop at the same time at a Distance from him And when This Enformant had been about a Quarter of an hour in the Shop about One of the Clock as he believeth a Young-Man in a Grey-Colour'd Suit passing by Clapt This Enformant on the Shoulder and This Enformant looking towards him Do you hear the News says he This Enformant asking him What News He Answered Sir Edmundbury Godfrey is found This Enformant asked him Where The Other Answer'd In Leicester-Fields at the Dead Wall with his own Sword run through him This Enformant Discovering himself to be Surpriz'd at the News Mr. Oswald asked the Enformant what the matter was Who related it to him as above And This Enformant doth not remember any further Discourse upon it This Enformant hereupon went Immediately to Dr. Burnet having some Dependence upon him at That Time as an Ammanuensis to him in his History of the Reformation and Entrusted with the Care of the Press Vpon This Enformants telling Dr. Burnet what he had heard as above the said Dr. desir'd This Enformant to take a Coach and Ask Dr. Lloyd Enformant went accordingly and found that the Dr. knew Nothing of it The Dr. Immediately sending his Servant to enquire about it in Sir Edmundbury Godfreys Family who brought back word that they had heard Nothing of the News This Enformant staying there about a Quarter of an Hour for the Boys Return This Enformant Presumeth that the Dr. had not as yet Din'd because both the Dr. and his Lady earnestly desired This Enformant to stay and Dine And further This Enformant neither did nor doth know or so much as Guess at the Name of the Person that told him the News Nor doth he remember that ever he saw the said Person either before
dropt out of his Hand he had Kill'd Himself On Monday Morning this Enformant was led into the House of Lords where one of the Lords bad Richardson bring this Enformant into the Committee where this Enformant saw the same Lords as before and the Lord Shaftsbury spake after This Manner to this Enformant Come says he thou lookest like an honest Fellow tell us the Truth and thou shalt have the same Reward that was promised thee at Wallingford-House and then thou shalt go presently home to thy Wife and Children and we will secure thee from any Harm What dost thou say to us all Now speak Then This Enformant fell down upon his Knees and said I know nothing of it and before I wrong any Man I will Dye Immediately The Lord Shaftsbury replying Thou art such a Peremptory Rogue thou shalt go back to Newgate and lye and Rot there a while And then thou shalt be brought to be tryed at the Sessions and then there will come enow against thee and thou shalt be Hang'd Hadst thou not better Confess the Truth and have that Mony then be brought before the Barr of the Judges and be condemn'd to be Hang'd It will be a Dreadful Hearing for Thee Yes my Lord said this Enformant I know it will be a Dreadful Hearing But my Lord It will be a more Dreadful Hearing for me at the Lord's Bar if I should wrongfully accuse any Man it will be a more Dreadful Hearing when it shall be said Take him away Devil for he hath falsly Accus'd those he knew no hurt by Whereupon the Lord Shaftsbury said I see we can do no good with him take him away and let him lye there and Rot. This Enformant Pleading that he had a Wife and Children the Lord Shaftsbury Answered Let his Wife and Children starve This Enformant lay in the Condemn'd Hole with Heavy Irons Six Weeks and Three Days and afterwards Seven Weeks on the Common Side upon Bords without Irons This Enformant saith also that He Complaining at a Time uncertain of his Ill Usage one Richard and one that was commonly call'd John-Come-Last said that their Master had Power from my Lord Shaftsbury and the Committee to torment this Enformant if he would not Confess This Enformant saith likewise that a Tall Man in a Ministers Habit was with him in the Condemn'd Hole Pressing him to Confess and Pressing him This Enformant several times to Confess after that he had Imprecated himself that he knew Nothing of the matter And saith That this Enformant as he was reading the 20th Chapter of the Revelation aloud in the Hole He this Enformant heard of a sudden the ratling of Chains and Roaring like that of a Bear Believing it to be an Evil Spirit and that the Door had been Open In this Fright This Enformant let his Candle fall and in the Dark he was more affraid the Noise continuing near a Quarter of an Hour This Enformat had been now about a Fortnight in the Hole and afterward telling one Harris and some others of the Keepers how this Enformant was Terrify'd They made him Answer If you do not Confess the Devil will have you There are so many Instances of this Kind that the Proceedings at length would make rather the History of a Persecution then the Narrative of a Conspiracy But in one Word He had Two Great Holes worn in his right Leg One in his left He was Eight Weeks after his Discharge before he was able to Drive a Coach again He got Salve for These Wounds at Sir Thomas Witherley's and likewise of Mr. Knolles the Surgeon He is able to produce Forty Witnesses that saw These Wounds But it must not be omitted that his Misery gave the Earl of Clarendon a great Tenderness for him insomuch that he Viewed his Vlcers himself took Compassion of the Man and gave him Mony. There are Two Objections that I expect will be made to This Account of the Hard Usage both of Prance and Corrall The Former while he was under the Power of the Lying Spirit and went on without either Fear or Wit was brought a Witness at Mrs. Celier's Tryal where his Evidence in the Colloquy or Context was as follows Mr. Bar. Weston Mr. Prance Pray were you ever Tortur'd in Prison Mr. Prance No I never saw any such Thing there in my Life Mr. Bar. Weston How were you used Mr. Prance Very well I had every thing that was fitting Captain Richardson did take great Care of me c. And a little after Mr. Prance again Dr. Lloyd was with me many times for half an hour together and if any such thing had been he would have seen it Celiers Tryal p. 25. Now This was a Cast of Mr. Prances Civility and Good Nature but he was Mightily Overseen to Appeal to Dr. Lloyd in 't who found him Roaring under his Pains and Allmost Kill'd with the Misery of his Condition but all this while the Keeper had his Orders how to use him Corrall was Also to be made use of for the same Iobb but This shall Suffice Unless I shall be Absolutely Forc'd to say more on 't that the Marks he Carries to This Day are Ten Thousand Witnesses of the Hardship he Endur'd But in the End when Prance came to stand to 't that the Body was Carry'd a Horse-back Corrall upon very Good Security was Discharg'd for not Carrying him in his Coach. This was their Way of Compassing Witnesses where People were not Wicked Enough to go to the Devil of their own Accord And the same Method went thorough the Whole Tract of their Proceedings in All such Cases and with all Persons therein Concern'd The Choice was short Either Stand out and be Hang'd or Confess and be Damn'd But to take up where we left We brought Prance to his New Lodgings on the 11 th and there we find him with Mr. Boyce at his Bedside on the 12 th of Ianuary 1678. According to his own Relation and upon the Preparatory for the Tryal of the Persons whom he had Accus'd He had even at That Time some Grudgings of Another Relapse Exclayming sometimes by Fits that he had Sworn False and that he was Vtterly Ruin'd But being still Ply'd with the Memory of what he had Confess'd Allready and the Hammering of it into his Head that he would be Hang'd if he went off And that if either Green Berry or Hill should come to Confess Before him he was a Lost Man beyond Recovery His Heart would not serve him to go thorough with his Resolution He had several Messages from Bedloe about the Periwig and that if he did not Own the Periwig the Three Men would not Dye He was seldom without an Ammanuensis or a Dictator rather in the Chamber with him And the way was This He was asked what Papists he knew where they Liv'd and what he could say of them and so the Most was made of Those Minutes 'till they came to be Emprov'd into Narratives He is positive that
as This Not forgetting Titus Otes IT was under the Triumvirate of Otes Bedloe and Prance that the Tragedy of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey was brought upon the Stage and something ought to be said Methinks of the Persons as well as the Actions of These Three Heroes if a Man could but hit upon the Iust Medium betwixt too Much and too Little. Titus Otes was the Son of Samuel Otes A Gifted and a Dipping Weaver And he Dipâ— fair too He was Arraign'd at Chelmsford Assizes p. 146. for the Murther of One Anne Martin that Dy'd some Fourteen Days after the Dipping and layd her Death to his Charge Gangrena part 3. p. 105. There 's a story Pleasant enough and Every Body has it of a Woman that he had Under the Ord'nance of Dipping that still fell to Squalling and Screaming so soon as ever they had her above Water Down with her again cries Otes 'T is her Concupiscence Now the Matter in Truth was This The Roguy Boys had sunk a Huge Bundle of Brambles and Thorns in the Dipping-Place and the Poor Womans Body it seems did not like That way of Discipline As to Titus it was a Long Time before he had so much as the Badge of Christianity and there he stopt too without ever Advancing one step further into the Practice of it He never Liv'd any where after Fourteen but when ever he quitted the Place he left the Character of an Infamous Creature behind him As at Caius College in Cambridge Hastings Bobbing Valladolid St. Omers White-Hall the Kings Courts of Records and finally at Sea Under Sir Richard Ruth as well as at Land. He Began with Perjury and Sodomy so soon as ever he came to be qualify'd either by the Law for a Competent Evidence or by the state of Virility for the Other Execrable Villany His False Oaths and his Attempts of that sort of Brutality are so Many that they are scarce to be Number'd and so Notorious that there 's No Need of Holding a Candle to them for they are as Publique as the Solemnity of Attestations Tryals Verdicts and Iudicial Sentences can Make any thing In One Word His Narrative Consists of 81. Articles and I dare be Answerable for Four times as many Falsities in 'em To say Nothing of Driblets By-Blowes and Loose Grains Over and Above Bedloe indeed was the Merryer though perhaps not the Greater Rogue of the Two but the fittest Man Yet in Nature to stand Second to such a Principal His True Name after That of his Reputed Father was Beddoe a Word that according to the Septuagint Imports Little or Diminutive The Fidlers and the Coblers were at as much strife as Ever the Cities were for Homer whose Bedloe he should be for he had a smattering in Both Faculties The One he Learn'd from his Mothers First Husband that Ply'd at May-Poles Wakes and Fairs and then she had afterwards Another that Dealt in Clouting Capping and Vnderlaying but in short the Poor Woman they say took a Great Deal of Pains to Mend the Strain His First Commission was to run on Errands at Hap-Hazard for him that came Next and from Thence he stept into a Livery and serv'd the King and the Protestant Religion in the quality of a Foot-boy This was his Rise to the Knowledge of Men and Bus'ness He got the Names and Habitations of Men of Quality their Relations Correspondents and Interest and upon This Bottom it was with a Convenient stock of Impudence and a Dextrous Turn of Fancy and Address that he put himself into the World. There was No sort of Cheat that he was not In at and Good at But his Master-Piece was his Personating Men of Quality Getting Credit for Watches Coats Horses Borrowing Mony upon Recommendations Bilking of Vintners and Tradesmen Lying Pilfering and Romancing to the Degree of Imposing almost upon any man that had any spark in him of Humanity or Good Nature His Character and his History in fine Truly drawn would have Sixteen Guzmans in the Belly of it But there Needs no more then Common Fame upon the Tracing of his Motions to the Instructing of that Story He pass'd thorough All the Degrees of Knavery and Wickedness as Gradually and Insensibly as he did through the Moments and the Inches of his Age and Stature He Liv'd like a Wild Arabs upon the Prey and the Ramble and where ever he was in Flanders France Spain or England he never faild of leaving the Footsteps and the Reputation of a Prostitute Cheat behind him He was hardly ever at Home but in a Prison Nor in his Element as they say any Longer then he was in the King's High-way to 't That is to say he was still a doing somewhat or Other Contrary to Law Honesty and Good Manners This upon the Whole Matter was but a Congruous Preparatory to the Consummated state of a Flagitious Miscreant when he came Afterward to Ioyn Issue in a Perjurious and Murderous Cause with Otes Prance and Others as a King's-Evidence The Pompous sound of a King's Evidence And the Terrible Chymera of a Plot upon his Majesties Life and the Protestant Religion Dazled and Blinded the People as if the Sun had been thrown in their Eyes from a Looking-Glass Insomuch that in Two as Lewd Lives as ever were led Vnder the Canopy of Heaven in the Persons of Otes and Bedloe and the Character of These Two Wretches as Well known as the Whipping-Post they could not find in their Conscience Yet to make any Exception to the Probity of These Witnesses Nay and they were not only Believ'd but if not Temples Pulpits at least Dedicated to their Honour and by a Blasphemous Figure They were Recommended to the Mobile as the Saviours of the Nation though the Left-Hand Thief upon the Cross Might to All Humane Appearance have made as Good an Evidence VVell And there 's more in 't Yet too for Bedloe was much Better at a Sham off-Off-Hand then at a Conspiracy by Book Take them singly and they give Themselves the Lye Take them Respectively and they give One Another the Lye And Yet after all When they neither Believ'd Themselves nor One Another there were found so many Believers of them that Great Britain was within One Gust more of sinking under the Malice and Folly of the one side and of the other beyond All Possibility of Redemption without the relief of a Miracle That Bedloe and Otes were Forsworn in the Bus'ness of Godfrey no less then in That of the Plot and Prance for Company is no more to be Doubted then the most Certain Evidence we have of Any One Instance of Fact in These Times And This being most Undeniably Clear it is not so much My Part or in Truth My Bus'ness to shew where Bedloe was forsworn in any other Cases as to Defie any Man to Produce any one Oath he made in favour of the Credit of That Plot wherein he was Not Forsworn for to Name some and Not All would be a
Twelve or One And Great Vse was made of that Evidence to Induce a Verdict that he was Strangled for they Inferr'd that he was Not Kill'd in the Ditch because he was come back again Now that Inference would have held as good and consequently that Verdict in the Case of Mason who undoubtedly told the Jury the Story of his Coming back again before they Adjourn'd So that they got not one Grain of Intelligence to This Purpose at the Rose and Crown more then they had before at the White-House But to return to the Clerk again Moor took Notice of his Masters Great Discontent and Disorder in his Own VVords after the taking of Otes's Enformations He could not be Ignorant of the Freak of his Burning so many Papers upon Friday Night as he made express remarks upon his Distracted Starts Lookâ— Actions and Gestures That Last Saturday Morning He told Iudith Pamphlin one of the Family that he was affraid he was Murther'd His Wife Exclaiming O that ever it should be said that such a Man as Sir Edmundbury Godfrey Murther'd himself Pamphlin raving at the same rate and telling Captain Gibbon his Lady and his Daughters over and over that Moor knew a great deal and if Moor were examin'd he could say much He Declar'd it himself that he had been to Search for his Master and within a Few Rods too of the Place where the Body was found And he Deliver'd the same thing upon Oath before Two of his Majesties Iustices for the Isle of Ely It cannot be Imagin'd that the Brothers all this while were Strangers to these Circumstances Especially considering the Part they had in the Manage of the whole Transaction Upon the Monday after his going away they went to Mrs. Gibbons to enquire for him and upon her Relation of Sir Edmund's Wild Behaviour the Last time she saw him they both brake out into Violent Exclaymings Lord What will become of us Upon Sunday Morning Early Moor went to the House of Mr. Michael Godfrey and told him that his Master did not come home last Night God have Mercy upon as says the Brother Pray God we hear Good News of him And Enjoyn'd Moor not to tell any Creature of his Absence till he Himself or his Brothers should come to him in the Afternoon They came accordingly and Agreed to enquire every where after him but all under the Seal of Secrecy still And so he was to keep it close 'till Monday Morning and Then till Night and so 'till Tuesday Morning 'till the Brothers should have been with my Lord Chancellor and upon Tuesday Night they Divulg'd it at a Funeral These Repeated Injunctions of Secrecy would puzzle the Mayor of Quinborough and his Brethren to find a current Reason for They do as good as Cry Seek but do not Find And why Again Say nothing till we have been with my Lord Chancellor The Caution in Truth might be Prudential enough in case of his Laying Violent Hands upon himself but supposing him to be Murther'd by a Malicious Practice or by Assassins it would have been a Point of Publique Duty to Honour and Iustice and an Office of Humanity Natural Affection and Respect to the Defunct Immediately to have spread the Story of it as far as the Post and Common Fame could carry it But there 's Another Passage yet behind to the same Point that makes the Bus'ness still more and more Suspicious Mr. Wheeler Deposeth That on Wednesday October 16. 1678. being in Company with one Mr. Parsons Mr. Monk and others he asked Parsons What Discourse he had with Sir Edmundbury Godfrey in St. Martins Lane upon Saturday Last Parsons 'T is no matter Wheeler What a Justice Lost and You the Last Man in his Company and not declare what Discourse you had Parsons Let Mr. Monk tell To which Mr. Monk said What have I to do to tell your Discourse And thereupon this Enformant said to Mr. Parsons If you will not do it here you shall do it somewhere else And then Mr. Parsons said That Sir Edmund asked him three times whereabout Paddington Woods were And that he himself asked Sir Edmund if he were buying a Parcel of Land To which Sir Edmund replyed No. This Enformant asked the said Parsons What other Discourse Pass'd Who Answered him None For Sir Edmund was sparing in his Speech This Enformant putting it further to the said Parsons Why he was so Loth to tell the Discourse Parsons made Answer because Sir Edmund 's Clark Desired him to say Nothing on 't Upon the Whole matter The Brothers Ty'd up Moor to Secrecy and Moor Ty'd up Parsons and there appears No other Reason in Sight either for the one or for the other then a Desire to keep it Private which sounds just as much as an Vnwillingness to have it known what was become of him only the Brothers took care that he should not be Miss'd at Home and the Clark that he should not be found abroad for his Question to Parsons was the only Light they had so Early which way to Enquire after him and Moor took the Hint upon 't After All This said and Prov'd 't is not for Any Man to Doubt either that Moor Knew or was likely to know as much of This Private History as any Man Or of the Brothers knowing as much as Moor Could Tell them And This being taken for Granted a Man Methinks might Fancy such Interrogatories to be put to Moor as might Reasonably open the Way to a Discovery As for Example now Directing the Discourse To the Clerk. Here 's the Body of your Dead Master now upon the Table before us And the Question is How he came by his Death You have been Constantly near about him and in his Business Did You Observe Any Quarrel he had or Any Desperate Discontent upon him and for what Cause or Reason Have You Observ'd him to be more out of Humour of Late then he was formerly And Since what Time and upon what Occasion Your Master went away from his House upon Saturday Morning Last How was he the Day before Did You observe any Bussle of People more then Ordinary about him How did You find him the Morning that he went away Did You Gather Any thing from his Looks VVords or Actions to give you an Ill-Boding of him Mr. Parsons it seems Spake with him in St. Martins-Lane That Saturday Morning and Sir Edmund asked him the way to Paddington-woods And Mr. Parsons told You of it they say VVhâ—n did he tell you This And VVhat Did he tell you of it Did any body Else tell you of it before And VVhat did they tell You And what did You Do upon their Telling it Now we have reason to Believe that he went his Way to the Place that he Enquir'd for because Mr. Collins here one of the Iurors Saw him afterward talking with a Milk-woman thereabouts And here 's Another of the Inquest Mr. Mason that Saw him after This too going Back again And
it and we could not Carry the Body without taking out the Sword. Mr. Fawcet said also 'T is strange that being Hunting about These Grounds we should make No Discovery of the Body It will be Time now to look back upon what I have Written To Compare the Evidences Likelyhoods Appearances and Preâ—ences of the One side with Those of the Other To Examine the Good Faith and the Fair Dealing on Both Hands And in fine upon a Summary Review of the Whole to Wind up my Matters in as Few Words as I can In the Former Part of This Discourse the First Chapter is a Bare Narrative of Godfrey's coming to a Violent Death and Bedloes and Prances setting-up for the Discoverers of the Murther 2dly Why and How they made a Plot on 't 3dly And Swore to 't 4. How the Plot and the Murther were Incorporated 5. The Clashing of the Witnesses 6. Bedloes Inconsistency with Himself 7. The Taking-up and the Manage of Prance 8. Prance's secret History and Vsage for Thirteen Days wherein he Renounc'd to any Knowledge either of the Plot or the Murther according to his First Evidence 9. How he went off again 10. How People were Us'd to Encourage False and to Discourage Honest Witnesses 11. 12. Notes upon Bedloes and Prance's Evidence and upon their Character 13. Their Depositions Impossible to be True. 14. The story of Somerset-house and of the Ditch never to be Reconcil'd 15. No Plot No Murther The One being Founded upon the Other Now laying all This together That is to say The Sham of the making a Plot on 't The Flagitious Improbity of the Witnesses Their Contradictions to Themselves and to One Another Their Evidence in the several Parts of it neither Likely Credible nor so much as Possible The Notorious and the Infamous Practice of Countenancing Impostures and of smothering the Truth They might as well have Charg'd Prance with the Murther of Abel or Cain with the Pillows or the Crevats at Somerset-house and the One would have been just as Competent a Testimony as the Other That is to say as the Other would Now appear to be after the Revelation of That Part of the Mystery of Iniquity that lay in the Dark Before After the Proofs made out in the First Part that Bedloe's and Prance's History of the Somerset-house Murther was only a Ridiculous and a Malicious Fiction the Main scope of the second Part is little more then Deliberative in what Manner and Place and by what Means and Hand he came to his End VVherein I have first Sir William Iones's Opinion to justify me in the Law and Equity of my Reasonings and Conclusions 2dly I prove Sir Edmund's Dismal Melancholy That Saturday when he left his House 3dly VVhat Others thought of it 4thly VVhat He Himself Thought of it before he went away 5thly VVhat his Friends thought was become of him when he was Missing 6thly They would have him Murther'd by Papists before he was Dead 7. The Care taken to Conceal his Death instead of finding it out From 8. to 15. How the Inquest was Labour'd upon Points Clear from the Matter and All Necessary Enquiries so far as Possible set aside 15. 16.17.18.20 Not One Word in the Coroner's Enformations to the Proper Subject of the Enquiry 19. The Opening of the Body Order'd but Oppos'd and Rejected though a Certain Means of Discovering the Truth So that upon the whole Matter at last we have here Sir Edmund's Confession of his Own Melancholy and his Dread of it the Opinion of his Friends Relations and Servants The Ground and the Reason of his Fears laid Open Proofs of his Own Forebodings both in Words and in Actions Undenyably made out Charges of Privacy given to Hinder the Means of Discovering it Not One Creature Examin'd that was likely to give any Account of him nor One Question put and the Answer made use of that any Man could be the Wiser for The Bus'ness of the Bloud and of the Posture totally suppress'd which would Infallibly have Clear'd the Point of his Dying by the Sword And Nothing Oppos'd on the Other side to Ballance This Harmony of Evidences Reasonings and Presumptions but the Limberness and the Distortion of the Neck which every Nurse and Searcher could have told them was a Common Accident in Cases of a Natural Death FOR the Further service and Convenience of the Reader I shall here Subjoyn a Catalogue of the Principal Enformations Depositions and Attestations that are made use of in This Book by way either of Evidence Argument or Illustration toward an Eviction of the Truth For the sake of Clearness and Order I shall Range the Papers under Three Heads The first Classis Containing an Enumeration of All Those Depositions and Testimonials which I have here Produc'd in favour of the Opinion which I take upon me to Defend And these Original Papers I have Deposited in the Paper-Office for the Satisfaction of Any Man that has a Curiosity to Learn whether they be Authentique or not Whether they are Truly Render'd Pertinently Applied or Competent to the Purpose they were Intended for let the Reader Iudge I have Lodged in the Second Place the Enformations that were taken by the Coroner upon the View of Sir Edmunds Body And in the Third I have given A Promiscuous Account of the several Depositions of Bedloe and Prance with Other snatches of Evidences that were Produc'd to support their Testimony with References upon the Whole to the Page where they are to be found The First CATALOGVE A. ADams Richard Esq Lincolns Inn. Page 188.197 Angus Adam Clerk. 88 Audley Paul Painter Stayner St. Dunstans in the West 261 B. Batson William Barber-Surgeon London p. 269 Belcher Eliz. Searcher St. Giles's in the Fields 255 Birtby Edward Gent. St. Giles's in the Fields 178.197 Boys William 65.75 Bornford Richard Esq Lincolns Inn. 218 Bradbury Henry Baker 309 Brewer Hester 6 Bridal Walter Esq 310 Broadstreet Ann. 136 Brown John Constable Victualler St. Giles in the Fields 212 222 267 Brumwell Will. Baker St. Giles's in the Fields 97 Burdet Thomas Gent. 190 196 219 271 C. Chase James Apothecary Covent Garden p. 266 Church Will. Gent. Inner Temple 182 Collins Will. Brewer St. Giles's in the Fields 252 265 290 Collinson Will. Gent. St. James's 200 261.271 284 342 Cook Philip St. Giles's in the Fields 77 Cooper John Coroner Cooper Richard Milliner Exchange 172 Coral Francis Coachman 102 Coral Margaret Cowsey John of St. Giles's in the Fields 243 319 Cox Gabriel Linnen Draper Covent Garden 296 Cutler Thomas Victualer Savoy 137 D. Davies John Shoemaker of Paddington p. 247 Dethick George Esq 333 E. Edwards Samuel Victualer St. James's p. F. Fall William Esq St. Giles's in the Fields p. 194.206 Fisher Edw. Sadler London 270 Flayman Ann. Foxley Joshua Gent. St. Martins in the Fields Fryer Anthony Cordwayner St. Giles's in the Fields 246.275 G. Gibbon Tho. Captain p. 180 192 Gibbon Mary Sen. 101 179 180 181 190 191 199
Cross Mediations Votes Jan. 10. 1680. Ibid. Ibid. Votes Jan. 10. 1680. (a) Mar. 24. 1678. (b) Jan. 7. 1681. (c) Oxon. Mar. 26. 1681. Their own Votes and Papers are the best Evidences Address No. 29. 1680. Address Dec. 21. 1680. The Condition of the Association The Conditions of the Address Dec. 21. 1680. Coll. of Debates p. 202. Address No. 29. 1680. Proceedings at the Old-Bayly London upon the Bill of Indictment for High-Treason against Anthony E. of Shaftsbury p. 34. Middle-Temple Declaration See Ob. 106. Vol. 1. Of ADHERENTS and ABETTERS The Intent and Effect of the ASSOCIATION Worthy-MEN and Men-WORTHY Otes Narrative Fol. 58. The Character of the Late E. of Shaftsbury His Manage and Practices Chancellouâ— Shaftsbury's Speech Feb. 5. 1672. A great Stickler for the TEST EXCLUSION c. Growth of Popery p. 39. 40. Inconsistent with Himself Feb. 7. 1673. Address Nov. 3. 1673. More of his Character In Soul and Body In Life In Liberty In Estate In Peace of Mind In Religion In Reputation In Charity Truth And Justice The Case holds betwixt a Cheat at Play and a Cheat of State. Saying and Swearing Mr. Colemans Letters Coleman's Story Godfrey's the Two Stilts of the Plot. A Plot under a Plot. Confusion and Change of Government Design'd The Association Ibid. Nov. 29. 1680. No. 29. 1680. Ibid. The Account of the manner of Executing a Writ of Enquiry c. His Insolencies Encourag'd See Otes'es Narrative fol. 15 64. And Pickerings Tryal fo 22. Otes'es Tryal upon the Consult fol. 77. Otes'es Second Tryal fol. 44. Otes'es Tryal fol. 87. Tryal p. 52. A Villany and a Scandal beyond Example Otes'es Appeal Otes'es Tryal p. 76. The Lewdness of his Life and Conversation Tryal p. 86. Great Sufferers by the Plot. In Respect of the Time. And to the Occasion Objections Answer'd After Otes'es Copy A Horror for the Plot from the Begeginning Preface The PLOT The Miseries that it brought upon us The ASSOCIATION History of OTES SHAFTSBVRY 's Matters No MONY No POWER No Parliamentary Power No Militia No CREDIT No FRIENDS Sir W. Jones Order'd to make a State of the Evidence The Stress of All lies upon Otes'es Credit The Contents of the Five Windsor Letters Objections against the Five Letters The Windsor-Letters a Plain Forgery Not one Comma or Point in them All. They are All Spell'd False the same way All of a Cast for Style Matter Plain Treason to no manner of Purpose All the Marks of Fraud upon them The Design of the Windsor Pacquet spoil'd The Manner of the Disappointment Tonge Examin'd by the E. of Danby about Grove and Pickering The E. of D's Proceeding upon the Matter Tongs Sham of the Ruffians going to Windsor The King believ'd Nothing aâ— all of the Story The Sham of Bedingfields Pacquet The Pacquet Confirm'd to be a Cheat. The Letters Produc'd to the Councill Sr W. Jones Privy to All. And Convinc'd that Otes was an Impostor Notes upon Sir W. Jones'es Final Report Ignorance and Credulity gave the Plot Credit Otes'es Narrative was a Palpable Practice and Sir W. J. knew as much The Methods of a Faction The Irish grounded upon Otes'es English Plot. The Duke of York made the Head of Both Plots Sr W. J. proposes a Declaration to That Effect And a strong Bill of Association The Danger Transferr'd from the Popish Plot to the Religion No Safety without a Bill of Exclusion Notes upon the Westminster Debates The Credit of the Plot lessen'd dayly Only it Mended upon Sir William Jones'es Hand Of Green Berry and Hill. Sir W. J. upon Godfreys Murder Otes Bedloe and Prance Help out one another A Gross â—artiality Sr W. J's Enflaming Speech to the Jury The Whole Intrigue was known to SrW.J. Sr W. J. a Manager against the Lord Stafford He makes all Disbelievers of the Ploâ— to be either Fools or Coâ—spirators The Disbelievers Vindicated Mr. Coleman's Case Sir W. J. Founds the whole Plot upon Otes'es Bottom He blesses God forOtes'es being a Papist when he himself swears he was none He makes All Papistâ— to be Traytors Scandalous Exceptions to Mr Lydcots Evidence for Common Justice done to the E. of Castlemain The whole Stress lies upon Otes'es Probity Notes upon the Exceptions to M. Lydcot The Injustice of the Exceptions laid open in the Honourable Defence and Acquittal of the E. of Castlemain Sir W. J's care to Secure the Execution of my Lord Stafford The Witnesses Clash Sir W. J. had all their Contradictions before him Tong and Otes's Narrative look'd upon as a Cheat. The Five Letters that should have given them Credit Confirm'd the Forgery They were the very Contents of the Plot. They were so Rank a Cheat they durst never bring them in Evidence How the Pretended Popish Plot came to be Started Tong was the â—rojâ—ctor of it and put Otes upon it The Rise and Manner of Promoting it How the Maggot of it came into Tong 's Head. His Stickling to Advance it Tong 's Credit with the House of Commons His Confession that he knew nothing of the Matter Habernfelds discovery Published by Prynne 1643. Resemblance of the Two Plots Papers and Letters about Habernfelds Plot. Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot and Parallel Plot and Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel Plot. Parallel to the Large Discovery The First Opening of Habernfelds Plot. An Abstract of Sir W. Boswells First Letter The Parallel of Tongs Plot and Habernfelds goes on still The Arch-Bishop writes Immediately to the King. An Abstract of his Graces Letter The â—arallel goes on Otes known to his Majesty by a Certain Token The Token iâ— self Habernfelds Plot had Less Credit every day then Other Tongs Plot. Habernfeld's and Tongs Plot much the same Tong an Agent for Popery A Remarkable Practice How Tong and Otes came Acquainted Their Practices together Tongs Plea for Otes'es Perjury He Contradicts Otes upon the Main Point The Plot was a Shamm Otes only Tongs Property Tong sets-up for the â—irst Discoverer Otes'es Contradictions Tong a Confederate quite thorough Otes'es Starving condition in 1677 He Swears for Bread. Tong gives him his Lesson and sends him abroad All Ceremony apart Otes returns from St Omers Tongs Account of the Plot In the Greek Character Tong referr'd by his Majesty to the Earl of Danby The Whole Story a Sham. They go to Fox-Hall The Windsor Letters The Deduction of the Plot. Tong 's Diary of their going to Whitehall An Abstract of Mr Kirkbys Narrative Tong with his Narrative before the Councell L'Estrange falsly Accus'd by Young Tong and Otes L'Estranges First Letter to Young Tong. Tongs Answer A Second Leâ—ter of Tong 's How the Author came by Tong 's Papers Tong 's 〈◊〉 to the Duke 〈◊〉 York Tongs Malice to the Duke of York Otes was only Tong 's Tool The whole Manage of it was Tong 's A Brief Deduction of Tong 's Plot. Otes only Swore to Tongs words Tong 's Method of Pursuing the Plot. Tong 's Sawcy Expostulations with the Late King.
the Nights he lay abroad in were within the First Week of October And he finally Avers That if it had not been for the Dread of Death and Misery that was with so much Restless Importunity Press'd upon him And the Flattering Promises of the Great Advantage it would be to him to Persist in his Evidence of the Murther he verily Believes he should rather have Dy'd then have Hazarded his Damnation by Another Perjury And it was not All yet Neither that the Scum of the Rabble pass'd Muster for Competent Witnesses against Men of Honour in Matters of State That the most Abandon'd Miscreants even of that Scum were Allow'd to give Evidence as Men of Probity that Every Thing was Screw'd in favour of the Guilty and to the Destruction of the Innocent That the Pris'ners and their Witnesses were rather brought to the Stake then to a Tryal and Put by the Violences of the Rout into an Incapacity of Defending either Themselves or their Friends c. This was not All I say without making a False Witness of the very Press too Is it so upon your Salvation Says the Late King to Prance speaking of the Evidence against Green Berry and Hill Upon my Salvation says Prance It is All False Now This Passage was given in Evidence by Mr. Chiffinch at Green's Tryal and Left-out in the Print Did not Mr. Langhorn upon his Tryal Move the Court that some of the Jury might be sent to the Temple upon a View of his Study and Chamber and offer to put his Life upon That Issue if they should find it but so much as Possible for Bedloes Oath to be True in Swearing that out of the Chamber he saw Langhorn taking Duplicates of Letters in his Study Now there 's Nothing of This Neither in the Printed Tryal The Tryal of Nat. Thompson c. is Printed Double One by Simmons and the Other by Mason In Masons Tryal Fisher that help'd to Strip the Body gives This Evidence We could not Bend his Arms when we came to his Shirt So we Tore it Open fol. 6. Now This Stiffness of his Arms would hardly Agree with the Condition of a Dead Body to be put into a Chair So that in Simmon's Tryal fol. 22. they have very Discreetly told the Rest of the Story without That Circumstance But to come now to a Conclusion as to the Matter of Writing This History No Sooner What should any Man put Pen to Paper for in an Age when there was No place No Security for Truth No Refuge for Innocence and No Protection for Common Iustice The Noise of the People was Call'd the Voice of the People and Popular Tumults pass'd for the Wisdom of the Nation when Impostors were Consulted as Oracles and when All sorts of Men were Practic'd and wrought upon by All Sorts of Means to Blind their Vnderstandings or to Corrupt their Morals There was Mony for the Covetous Preferment for the Ambitious The Impunity of an Vnaccountable License for Malice or Revenge In Short Cases in Those Days were Carry'd by Huzzahs instead of Votes and Bear-Garden-Law was All many an Honest Man had to Trust to for the Liberty of the Subject CHAP. XI Notes upon Bedloes and Prances Evidence Compar'd One with Another WE are now Entring upon a Subject to Confound a Man as well where to Begin as where to End and there 's No Accommodating the Matter but by Covering the Depositions on Both Sides with One Great Plot. Here 's a Horrible Out-Cry of a Barbarous Murther A Popish Murther A Plot-Murther The Murther of a Magistrate The Murther of a Protestant Magistrate and in fine The Murther of a Magistrate in Revenge for his Endeavouring to Prevent the Murthering of a King the Burning of his Towns and the Massacring of his People Here 's the Scale of the Case and who but Bedloe and Prance the Devotes upon This Occasion for the Saving of their Prince and Country The Noise of This Murther and the Fame of the Discoverers has fill'd All Mouths and Places Ecclesiastical as well as Civil Churches and Pulpits have been Dedicated to their Honour And if Altars had not been Popish and if the same Whimsey had gone on Still we might have come in Time to a St. Titus a St. William a St. Miles Nay and a St. Eustace Comins too Orate pro nobis But for Temporal Preferments however there was Care taken that they should not want either Mediations or Effects We have Spoken Already of the Two Supporters of This Quarter-Part of the Plot and respectively of their Depositions apart but we are now going to see how they look upon One Another Together And whether 't was the Spirit of Revelation that Guided the Kings Witnesses or the Spirit of Delusion that wrought upon the Believers of them That is to say upon Those Believers of them that had the Whole Cause under Their Eye and Command and Duly Consider'd the Proportion of the several Parts and Coherence of the Intrigue It seems a Wonderful Thing that Bedloe and Prance that were Two of the Main Wheels of This Motion should hold No Communication at all One with Another Prance does not so much as Mention Bedloe nor Bedloe Prance either before the Lords or upon the Tryals Previously that is to the Murther save only Once and That by Implication too When the very Name of Prance was Thrown into Bedloes Mouth by a Leading Question Tryal fol. 33. And it was not the Two Witnesses only that were Strangers to One Another but the Principal Agitators Themselves were Few of them Acquainted The Instruments Several and they took Several Walks too at the same Time for the doing of the same Bus'ness and without holding any visible Correspondence As if Divers Men had Stumbled or rather Pitch'd by Impulse upon the same Thoughts without Knowing One Anothers Minds Bedloe Swears before the Lords that he Knows that Sir Edmundbury Godfrey was Murther'd in Somerset-House on the Saturday by Walsh Le Phaire Two Lay-men a Gentleman that Waits on my Lord Bellassis and an Under-waiter in the Queens Chappel He Swears that he Knows what afterwards he Delivers but upon Hear-say Now Prance tells us upon the Tryal that He Himself Green Berry Hill and Gerald were the Five Murtherers fol. 18. without so much as One Word of Bedloes Confederates Prance was Entic'd in he says by Gerald and Kelley fol. 14. But it was Le Phaire Pritchard Keines and several Other Priests that Treated with Bedloe about the Murther Tryal fol. 28. And then Vpon the Lords Journal Nov. 12. 1678. He Speaks as if it were only Le Phaire and Walsh that offer'd him 4000 l. to Help forward with it But it was Gerald and Vernatti that spake of a Great Reward to Prance Tryal fol. 22. Prance says that it was He Himself Green Hill Gerald and Kelley that put the Body into the Sedan and Help'd it away out of the House All set our Hands to 't he says Tryal fo 19
20. But Bedloe before the Lords say's that Le Phaire Walsh the Lord Bellassis Gentleman Atkins and one that belong'd to the Queens Chappel were the Persons that were to go with it The Whole Story in Fine is made up of Ill-Contriv'd and Incredible Disagreements and Point-Blank-Contradictions And they are at the same Variance One with the Other in the Walks they took and in the Conduct and Manage of the Whole Design Bedloe in his Depositions before the Lords Leads us a Dance to Le Phaire in Grays-Inn-VValks to Le Phaire again by Accident in Fleet-street going into Red-Lyon-Court and to An Appointment at the Palsgraves-Head-Tavern Thence to the Cloyster in Somerset-House-Court He tells us a Story then of Clarendon-House Lincolns-Inn-Fields the Greyhound-Tavern the Kings-Head-Inn in the Strand c. Now Prance on the Other Hand lays his Scene at Somerset-House VVater-Gate Talks of the VVicket The Bench by the Rayles and the Stables Dr. Godden 's Lodgings A Little Closet or Square Room The Grecian Church and So-ho And saving that Somerset-House was to be the Place of Action There 's No sort of Intelligence betwixt One Passage and Another Now when Prance comes to his Evidence upon the Tryals the Plow-Alehouse strikes a Great Stroke Red-Lyon-Fields And then for a Supplement comes Sir John Arundel's Lodgings Covent Garden Long Acre the Queens-Head at Bow c. and not one Word in Bedloe of any of These Jaunts So that they Squar'd now as Little about the Places as they did before about the Instruments Sir Edmund was to be Dogg'd however And we shall find as much Difference about the Time the Manner of it and the Particular Persons that were upon the Heel of him as about any thing else Bedloe before the Lords says nothing more of Dogging him then that Le Phaire Walsh and my Lord Bellassi 's Gentleman met him by the Kings-head in the Strand Crossing the Street about Five Afternoon and so by a very Pitiful Wile Trepann'd him into Somerset-House-Court and there did his Bus'ness He says indeed upon the Tryals that he was sent to Insinuate Himself into Sir Edmund 's Acquaintance pag. 29. but still not one Word of This before the Lords He says further that he had been Six or Seven Days together with him at his House upon Pretence of getting VVarrants for the Good Behaviour against Persons that there were None such Wherein he must Manifestly â—orswear Himself whether he did so or Not for Godfrey was not a Man to Grant any such VVarrants but upon Oath He says further That he was with Five Jesuits at the Greyhound Tavern on the Friday and sent his Boy to see if Sir Edmund were at Home Ib. But not a Syllable of This neither in his other Depositions And then to talk of his Boy too the Boy of a Fellow that was but newly Spew'd out of an Alms-Basket The whole Remainder of his Evidence is only the Old Story made worse But Prance for all this I Warrant ye had him Dogg'd into Red-Lyon-Fields fol. 15. And Afterward by Girald Green and Hill into St. Clements and so back again to Somerset-House But a VVord or Two now to the Desperate Provocation to This Bloudy Revenge Bedloe says before the Lords that he was to be put out of the way because of some Examinations that he had taken tending to the Discovery of the Popish Design Nov. 12. 1678. But Prance before the Lords swears it was out of Malice for being Cross-grain'd to the Queen and her Servants Bedloe makes no more on 't upon the Tryal then that there was a very Material Man to be taken out of the way One that had All the Enformations that Mr. Otes and Dr. Tong had given in and if the Papers were not taken from him the Bus'ness would be Obstructed and go near to be Discover'd p. 30. But Bedloe was still for giving him Quarter before the Lords and for doing it by Fair Means or by Foul according as he should Behave Himself But Not a Word of That Neither upon the Tryals Beside that in the Lords Journal he was stifled betwixt Two Pillows And in the Tryal they had Strangled him he says but he knew not how p. 32. And in one Word Bedloe and Prance did both agree at the Court of Kings Bench to Destroy him Out-right without offering any Terms or Conditions for the saving of his Life contrary to what Bedloe swore before the Lords The Two Witnesses were as much Divided too about the Place where he was Murther'd and the Manner of the Execution but they Both Agreed that he was Murther'd at Somerset-House Prance will have the Deed to be done upon the Descent by the Stables and that he was Wheedled down under the Pretence of Parting a Fray Tryal fol. 16. Bedloe gets him thither under Colour of Catching some of the Plotters Lords Iournal Prance makes Green to follow him with a Twisted Handkercher and to get him down by Surprize foâ— 16 17. Bedloe in the Journal makes it to be done Fairly with Presenting a Pistol and upon Articles of Mercy though No body could ever find out Bedloe's and Prance 's Place where the Body was Convey'd any more then Otes's Stair-Case that led to her Majesties Whispering Room And it is to be noted also that This was no Hear-say-Evidence upon the Final Resolution of the Case for Bedloe saw the Body by Le Phaire 's Dark Lanthorn and Prance saw it by Hill 's Dark Lanthorn at the same Time and Place and yet they had no Light there but one Dark Lanthorn Tryal fol. 31. Nay and Bedloe saw it by Prance 's Dark Lanthorn or he was Damnably Forsworn when Prance was brought from the Lobby to the Eating-House There were in fine Two Sir Edmund's Murther'd One in the House T'other in the Yard and Bedloe 's was Carry'd off on Munday at Night at Nine of the Clock Iournal Nov. 8. 1678. Prance 's not 'till Wednesday about Twelve of the Clock Tryal p. 19. This Passage starts a Hint worth the taking Notice of Bedloe has the Body Carry'd away on the Monday Night upon the Lords Journal But Prance upon the Tryal mistook his Notes and says it was only remov'd into Somerset-House Tryal pag. 18. And so they concerted the Bus'ness of the Dark Lanthorn too only they were not agreed upon the Bearer of it as is already set forth so that Le Phaire was Bedloe's Lanthorn-Bearer and Hill was Prance's Here 's een enough in Conscience said Already upon the Particularities of This Subject to make all Thinking Men of the Next Age Blush at the Corruptions and Credulity of This But Whoever considers the Circumstances of the Men that Gave This Evidence will no longer Trouble his Head with Wondering at the Evidence that was Deliver'd And I shall give the Reader a Tast upon This Topique in the Following Chapter CHAP. XII Some General Touches upon the Character of Bedloe and Prance and their Credit in Other Cases as well