Oddsfish!

sed between the finding of Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey's body, and the being

it guarded by two other thumping divines, lest he should be murdered by the Papists as he did it. There was a concourse of people that cannot be imagine

event any sudden rising of the Papists; and all Catholic householders were bidden to withdraw ten miles from London. (This I did not comply with; for I was no householder.) Besides all this, both men and women went armed continually-the men with the "Protestants' flails," and ladies with little pistols hidden in their muffs. Workmen, too, were set to search and dig everywhere for "Tewkesbury mustard-balls," as they were called-or fire-balls, with which it was thought that the Catholics would set London a-fire, as Oates had said they would-or vast treasures which the Jesuits were thought to have buried in the Savoy and other places. Folks took alarm at the leastest matters; once my Lord Treasurer himself rode into London crying that the French army was already landed, when all that he had seen were s

pped again through the City, for that he could not stand by reason of his first punishment. Another fellow too had come forward, named Bedloe, once a stable-boy to my Lord Bellasis, who had given himself up at Bristol, with "information," as he called it, as to Sir Edmund's murder, which he said had been done in Somerset House itself, by the priests and others, saying that the wax that was found upon the dead man's breeches came from the candles of the altar that the priests ha

Commons, he made a speech upon it in the House of Lords, speaking so well that others as well as he were moved to tears by it. He said that his religion should be a matter between his soul and God only; an

s that my Lord Lucas said in the House of Lords that if he could have his way, he "would not have even a Popish cat to mew and purr about the King." Coleman, I say, was the first of those who had before been accused; but a Mr. St

etters were found in a drawer he had forgotten, when he had burned all the rest; and proved very unfortunate for him.) He meant by this, I have no doubt, the bribing of many Parliament-men to win toleration, and to get His Royal Highness restored as Lord High Admiral. He said this was his meaning; and I see no reason to doubt it, for he was a pragmatical kind of man, full of great affairs; but Chief Justice Scroggs waved it all away; and it was made to appear exactly consona

*

a Benedictine lay-brother-was opened on the seventeenth day of

the court, so that I could see all that I wished, and the faces of all the prisoners, judges and witnesses, and yet by leaning back could avoid observation-for I had no wish, for others' sake, if not for my own, to be recognized by any of the witnesses. The

etty well in their light. He was in scarlet, and wore his great wig; and he talked behind his hand, with what seemed a great deal of merriment to Mr. Justice Bertue, who sat on one side of him, and the Recorder Jeffreys who sat upon the other. He had very heavy brows; his face was clean-shaven, and his mouth was like a trap when he

he bore himself as usual. But the two others I had seen again and again; yet, with respect to them both I remembered principally that occasion when Mr. Ireland had entertained his mother and sister in Mr. Fenwick's lodging on that one night he was in town, and gone off with them into the dark so merrily; and Mr. Grove had brought up the chocolate in white cups, and we had

ething of the Puritan manner in it-that I marvelled that any man could be deceived who did not wish to be; and all with his vile accent. He spoke much also, as Mr. Whitbread had told me that he would, of the consult of the Fathers-of all that is, who had the jus suffragii in England-that had been held at the White Horse Tavern in the Strand, in April; pretending that at this the murder of the King was again decided upon, and designed too, in all particulars; how Mr. Pickering and Mr. Grove had been deputed to do the killing in St. James' Park with screwed pistols, as His Majesty walked there, or if not there, at Newmarket or Windsor; and how commissions had been given to various persons (

pensation for oaths, sacraments, protestations and fals

ng," said Mr. Whitb

hments; and was treated by my Lords with as much respect, very nearly, as Oat

*

he man, when the piteous sight was seen of the entrance of Mrs. Ireland and her daughter, who came to testify that Mr. Ireland was not in London at all on those days in August when Oates had sworn that he had spoken with him there. They stood there, as gallant women as might be, turning their eyes now and again upon the priest who was all the world to them by ties both of nature and grace; but all their testimony went fo

d no witnesses, for he had had no time to get them,

u have witnesses that can prove you have witnesses, and those witnesses can prove that

he state, and especially upon that hard and bitter face of Chief Justice Scroggs who, if ever a man murdered innocent folk, was murdering to-day the three men before him, by the direction which he gave to the jury, and the manner he conducted the case. I could, by now, see the faces only one by one, as each leant into the light of the candles; and it appeared to me, again and again, that these were mocking demons and not men, and Oates the lord of them all and of hell itself from which they all came, and to which they must return. I closed my eyes sometimes, both to rest them, and that I might pray for bare justice to be done; but my pr

n as the jury came back after a very short recess. I could hear only the breathing of the folks on all hands. A woman sat beside me, who had been as early as myself that morning; but she had roared and cla

front of her. As for me I looked at the prisoners. They were all upright in their places, Mr. Ireland in the midst of the three; and were as still as if nothing were the matter. They were looking at the Lord Chief Justice, at whom I too turned my eyes, and saw he was grinning and talking behind his hand to the Recorder. It was a very travesty of justice that I was looking at, and no true trial at all. There were a thousand points of

in all the matter; and as I had no wish to hear what he would have to say (for I knew it all by heart already) and, still less to hear the terrible words of the sentence for High Treason passed upon these three good men in the dock, I rose up qui

sses do them!" When he said this, he was referring to a piece of Dr. Oates' lying evidence as to a part of the reward that they should get for killing the King. But I closed th

sign the warrants for their death; but he appeared to me to care not very much for popularity-since he outraged it often enough in worse ways than in maintaining the right. He had said to me, too, so expressly that no harm should come to the Fathers or to Mr. Grove and Mr. Pickering either; and he had said so, I was informed, even more forcibly to the Duke and those that were with him-saying that his right hand should rot off

the door of Mr. Chiffinch's lodgings, and told th

d himself tapped upon the door of the inner parlour; then he opened it, and let

ked me what I wished with him,

en," I said. "I mus

his lips in

ty, I suppo

d him

en," I said, "such a

table, considering, drum

," he said. "But a

at that: for I wa

question about that. I must

me again, as

, must. I will see His Majesty

or he tur

ty?" he said. "You we

s; for I was

at verdict rece

lauded," I

an instant. Th

*

I went up and down the room, and looked at the pictures in it. There was a little one by Lely, not finished, of my Lady Castlemaine, don

back again; but he shut the do

ut he goes to supper presently; and must not be detained

e gone; but impatience w

id you see any man following you from th

enough that having been so much with the Jesuits as I had, it was not impossible that I had been marked by some spy or other, or even by Oates himself, since he ha

. "What do you mea

ou, or loitering near, at

no one,

were barred

ard fetched a lieutenant b

ry precautions had been taken in keeping th

aw no one

ne,"

came up to the guard and asked who you were, and by what right you had entered. Th

s the f

uestioned him before I went to His Majesty. I know nothing of the man, except that he hath been co

ows my

ffinch

. He thinks you have some place at Court; b

for there was

ve been mixing a great deal with unpopular folks. You will be of no service to His Majest

and I perceived that he th

ad best be going to Hi

read man, with both virtues and vices uppermost, wearing his heart on his sleeve, as the saying is-indolent, witty, lacking al

*

or, with his papers about him, and an appearance of great industry. He did not do more than look up for an instant, and then dow

a letter, with a pair of candles burning before him in silver candlesticks. His face wo

d pushed it aside. Then he leaned his cheeks in his hands, and his e

said. "And I hear you

il

here half an h

t was Guilty, Mr. C

s,

the peopl

uded a grea

say. At the end onl

henever any of my Lords

hol

any who di

ir, that I

ustice. What

nd to the Protestant Religion. He beat down the Catholics at ev

nt a moment. Then

rs. How did they

men, Sir. They fought every point, so far

fear when the verdi

d upon your Majesty's

e of the table from him, waiting to say what I had to say. T

ment he turned on me

you at the gate. You say that you wish to serve me. Well, those who serve me must be very discreet and very shrewd. Plainly, you have not been so in this i

ty upon me. I licked my lips with my tongue in readiness t

st to you; but I am not sure if it be

acket that I had not noticed before; and sat weighing it in

" I b

to-day. I have no doubt that you were seen there, and followed; and you could have been of no service to your friends there, in any case. Mr. Chiffinch tells me he will provide a wherry for yo

ll my commissioning from Rome; and now that the first piece of work was on hand, it was doubtful whether I had not forfeited it by

esty will entrust that to me

ll else is that the packet should fall into no hand other than the one that should have it. For this reason, there is no name written upon it.

erstan

y existence. Neither can I tell you now to whom the packet must be given. You must bear it with you, sir, until you have a mess

erstan

ur face is forgotten, and until this storm

r. Jermyn at

an opportunity. Meanwhile you must have this always at hand, and be ready to set out w

erstan

s chair; and as he rose I heard the tru

st be gone. Take

the confidence which he shewed me; and I slipped the packet immediately within my waistcoat. It was square and flat and lay there easily in

"there is one

ning away; but he stopped a

" he

d to the Jesuits who w

and impatiently

for that," he

the other door, and I he

her or no the King had not had that very design, to put me off from which I wished to say. And at the present time I am certain of it-that His Majesty wished to hear from me at once of the proceedings at the trial, and then spoke immediately of that other matter of the pa