have him now; I make no doubt but he will be found in the end such another villain as Blackhead was proved to be on Friday last.

But, my Lords, said I, the business that brought me to wait on you now is to intreat you to take that same Blackhead into further examination, and to inquire a little more into his part in this wicked contrivance, whatever it is.

My Lords, since I went to Bromley, my servant, Mr. Moore, has had the good fortune to retrieve the very original letter that Blackhead brought me from his counterfeit master, doctor Hookes. Then I delivered the letter in at the table, and my Lord Nottingham read it aloud. And to shew with what a treacherous insinuation, and plausibility of style it was written, to draw from me an answer under my own hand, I here set down the very letter itself, word for word:

My Lord,

B EING destitute of a curate, one Mr. James Curtis came to me, who produced letters dimissory (bearing date, March 13th. 91) and likewise letters of orders under your hand and episcopal seal. Now, my lord, willing I am to employ any that your lord'ship shall recommend, and give him all the encouragement imaginable; but being since, by his own words, suspicious that his in'struments are forged, I have therefore on purpose sent my man to know the truth thereof, and, in order thereunto, I humbly beg your lordship to give an account in yours by this bearer, promising, for the church of England's credit, and likewise your lordship's honour, that, if he be an impostor, I will see him brought to condign punishment for such his forgery; but, if he be not, I beg your lordship's pardon for this trouble, occasioned by my candid af*fection for your lordship, and all clergymen, being not willing to ‹ have them imposed upon. '

Now, my lords, proceeded I, I thought it would be for your service to acquaint you, that I have received, from divers of my servants, a farther account of all Blackhead's demeanor, the first, second, and third time he was at my house at Bromley; for he was there a third time also, which I knew not of, before I went home on Friday.

Then I summed up what has been said before, my servants were ready to depose to that purpose: concluding thus, my lords, my servants are attending without; I pray that Blackhead may be brought before them face to face, and that they may be admitted to give it upon oath, what they have to say concerning him.

Upon this several of the lords said, send for Blackhead; and he was sent for.

But, before he came, they called in Mrs. Young, the wife, it seems, of the aforesaid Robert Young; but what a kind of wife, and which of the two wives he had at one and the same time, will appear in what follows.

Mary Young.

When she was come in, my Lord Nottingham said to her, Mary Young, whence received you this paper? taking up a paper that lay_upon the table. I had it from captain Lawe. What did he say when he gave it you? He bid me deliver it to my husband. What did he say it was?

Earl of Not.

Mrs. Young.

Earl of Not.

Mrs. Young.

He said it was a sociate, or some such word.

Earl of Not. What! Did he deliver you a paper of this treasonable nature, in the manner as it is, to be given to your husband, without sealing it up, or inclosing it in another paper.

Mrs. Young. Yes, my lord, he did.

Earl of Not. Did he tell you any of the names to it.

Mrs. Young. Yes: he said there were the late Archbishop of Canterbury's, the Bishop of Rochester's, and some other lords

names to it.

Earl of Not. What passed afterwards between you about it?

Mrs. Young. I gave it my husband, and, when captain Lawe came for it again, my husband said, No, these lords, whose names are subscribed, have not been so liberal in the relief of my wants as formerly; and therefore I will make another use of this paper; and so locked it up.

By this time Blackhead was brought in, and the woman ordered to withdraw, and to be kept by herself.

Earl of Not. Blackhead. The last time you confessed you brought the Bishop of Rochester a letter from Robert Young, under the false name of doctor Hookes.

Blackhead.
Earl of Not.
Blackhead.

Earl of Not.

Yes, I did.

I

Can you know that letter when you see it?
cannot tell, I doubt I cannot know it.

Here it is; (and it was given into his hand) is that the same letter you delivered the bishop?

Blackhead. I am not sure it is.

Earl of Not. Consider it well; look on the superscription, you cannot but remember that. You began to be somewhat ingenuous last Friday; if you relapse, it will fare the worse with you.

Blackhead. Yes, this may be the letter: this is the very same letter. Earl of Not. And you received an answer to this from the bishop, for Doctor Hookes, which you carried to Robert Young? Blackhead. Yes, I did, I own it.

Earl of Not. But, what made you, when you were at Bromley the second time, so earnestly desire of the bishop's butler, and his other servants, that you might see the rooms in the house, especially his study?

Blackhead. No, I do not remember that I desired to see the study; the house I might, out of curiosity.

Earl of Not. But here are some of the bishop's servants without,

who are ready to swear, that you pressed very often to get a sight of his study; saying, you had the freedom at your master Hookes, to shew any stranger his books, and you doubted not but the butler could do the same there.

Blackhead. I cannot deny that I did desire to see the bishop's study; the other rooms I am sure I did.

Earl of Not. What reason had you to be so importunate to see that, or any of the other rooms? Had you any paper about you, that you designed to drop, or leave in any part of the bishop's house.

Here Blackhead stopped, as very loth to out with it; till divers of the lords urged him to tell the truth. At last he went on, though with much hesitancy.

Blackhead. Yes, I must confess I had a paper in my pocket, which I designed to put somewhere in the house.

Earl of Not. What did you with it?

Blackhead. I did leave it in the parlour next the kitchen.

Earl of Not. In what part of the parlour?

Blackhead. In the flower-pot in the chimney.

Good Lord bless me, cried I, I seriously protest, I never heard that any paper was found there by my servants. To be sure they would have brought it me.

- Earl of Not. But, my lord, it will be worth your while to send presently to Bromley, to see whether there be any paper still, and what it is.

Bishop of Roch. My lord, I will send one away immediately. Only my servants are without, expecting to be sworn. Be pleased first to call them in, and dispatch them.

Earl of Not. Nay, my lord, there is no need of that testimony now. For this fellow has said already more than they know. He has confessed, not only that he desired to see your house, and particularly your study, but that he did it with an intention to leave a paper somewhere in it; and that he did leave one in your parlour, and in the flower pot of the chimney.

Bishop of Roch. Then, my lord, I will send away forthwith.

Earl of Not. Stay, my lord, let us first examine him a little farther. Blackhead, what paper was it you left in the bishop's chimney, in the flower-pot?

Blackhead. It was the association.

Earl of Not. Was it this paper here? Shewing the association that lay upon the table.

Blackhead. Yes, it was.

Earl of Not. How came you by it? and who advised you to lodge it there?

Blackhead. I had it from Mr. Young, and he advised me to leave it in the bishop's house, as I did.

Earl of Not. Did Young direct you to put it into the flower-pot in the parlour?

Blackhead. Yes, he did, and I put it there accordingly in the flower-pot.

Earl of Not. But were you not a third time in the bishop's

!

house? It was upon a Sunday, which it seems was Whit-Sunday. Blackhead. I was.

Earl of Not. You pretended to condole for the bishop's imprisonment it is manifest that could not be your business. What was it?

Blackhead. I was desired by Mr. Young, seeing the association was not found by those who apprehended the bishop, to go to Bromley, and try to recover if, that being the original. I did so, I came into the house before any of the servants were aware, I went into the parlour unseen, and took the paper out of the same place where I had put it, and delivered it again to Mr. Young.

Bishop of Roch. My lords, I am very much surprised at all this, I cannot but admire the wonderful goodness of God, in this my extraordinary deliverance. It appears, by what this fellow confesses, that this forged association was in my house, in a flower-pot, for many days together; and that it was there at the very time I was seized on by your lordship's order. For he says he put it there the second time he was at Bromley, which was a pretty while before I was in hold, and took it not out till the third time, which was upon Whit-sunday, the ninth day after I was under confinement; and, by a strange and marvellous providence, that parlour, where he says it lay so long in the chimney, was never searched or inquired after by the clerk of the council, or the messenger.

The other part of the house, on the left-hand of the hall, where my study is, and bed-chamber above stairs, and a parlour and drawing-room below, all these they searched very accurately; particularly, I well remember, the messenger thrust his hand into the flower-pots in every chimney; which seemed very odd to me then, but I now understand the meaning of it.

At this, my Lord Sydney, my Lord Nottingham, my Lord Devonshire, and some others of the council affirmed, that they perfectly remembered, both Blackhead and Young did especially direct them to give order to those, who should be sent to take me, to search all the flower-pots.

By this time it was thought seasonable by the lords to confront Blackhead with Young.

But, in the mean while, the counterfeit association, being handed about the table, was at length delivered to me; it was to this purpose, as much of it as, by a transient view, I could carry away in my memory:

THAT we, whose names were subscribed, should solemnly

promise, in the presence of God, to contribute our utmost 'assistance towards King James's recovery of his kingdoms: that, 'to this end, we would have ready to meet him, at his landing, 'thirty-thousand men well armed; that we would seize upon the person of the Princess of Orange, dead or alive; and take care, 'that some strong garrison should be forthwith delivered into his hands; and furnish him with a considerable sum of money, for the support of his army;' or to this sense.

March 20, -91.

And the forged subscriptions were, as I remember, after this

manner :

Marleborough.

Salisbury.

Basil Firebrace.

W. Cant.
Tho. Roffen.
Cornbury.

John Wilcoxe.

Now, upon the first sight of this paper, I presently said, I protest, my lords, I am very much amazed to see my hand so well counterfeited; all the difference is, they have done me the favour to write it finer, than I can: otherwise, I acknowledge it is so like, that I verily believe, I myself, had I seen it in another place, should have been apt to doubt, whether it were of my writing, or I am confident it might, upon the first blush, deceive the best friends I have.

no.

But, my lords, here is another innocent person's name, whose hand I know very well, and I dare venture to say, it is even better forged than mine; I mean, Archbishop Sancroft's.

Lord Godolphin. My lords, I am very well acquainted with Archbishop Sancroft's hand, and really it is here most exactly counterfeited.

Moreover, my Lord Godolphin, my Lord Sydney, and others said, that the Earl of Marleborough's hand had been so well feigned, in a letter pretended to be written to Young himself, that it was yery difficult for his most intimate friends to observe any distinction; and, in that letter, the Bishop of Rochester was said to have the paper in his keeping; which appears now to have been meant of the false association's being in my custody.

Nay, my Lord Sydney assured me, these very impostors had brought him a letter, supposed also to be written by me to Young; which, being but of ordinary matters, he thought not worth the keeping, but he well remembered, the subscription of my name was very like this in the association, as well indeed it might.

By this time, Young being come into the room, my Lord Nottingham spoke to him:

Young, look upon that letter (shewing him his own to me, under the name of Dr. Hookes) do you know that hand?

Young. No, I don't know it.

Earl of Not. Did not you send that letter to the bishop of Rochester, by Blackhead?

Young. No, I know no Hookes; I never writ to the Bishop of Rochester, but in my own name, with my own hand.

Earl of Not. What say you, Blackhead?

Blackhead. I did receive that very letter from Mr. Young's own hand, and delivered it to the Bishop of Rochester with mine.

Earl of Not. (Taking up the association, and shewing it to Young) did not you give this paper to Blackhead, and order him to put it into a chimney in the Bishop of Rochester's house, and into a flower-pot, if there were any?