fitly write Whereupon he said I pretended to him that there was a third Letter of greater Importance which he had lost but as to those two Letters his Lordship said they were given to the King Soon after this I came to him at Midnight and said I was going to Prison To which his Lordship could only say That if I were guilty of any Crime he knew not how to help me but if I were to suffer by mistake the King's Ministers would soon discover it and set me again at Liberty His Lordship upon my question owned That he being at Dinner at Lamb's I came there to him about a Meeting to be had at Mr. Gadburies with Sir Robert Peyton and perhaps it might be upon a Letter from the Lady Powis as I had affirmed His Lordship did acknowledge That he gave his Servants charge to admit me when ever I came And that he did also call me Captain Willoughby but the occasion was that I telling his Lordship that I hoped his Majesty would gratifie and provide me as good an Imployment as I had refused from the other side his Lordship did say Doubtless His Majesty will provide for you and that when ever any Forces were sent abroad I should not neer to fear but that I should have a Company That he did not wonder at all at my confident Words since they had been the best Cards I had to play for my Life but that his Lordship's actions have been such as will except him from any shadow of reflection that can happen by such a Creature as I. As to the business of Sir Robert Peyton he would conceal nothing that the Council desired to know And first he said he knew not that Sir Robert was Privy to any thing relating to me but that Mrs. Cellier telling him as he said before the good Offices she had done the King and Duke with some that were Inflamed against him she named Sir Robert Peyton for One who told her That if he could be forgiven what was past he would come in and help the Government but that his greatest fear was from the Duke who was thought to be a Person of Animosity that could not Forgive That when his Lordship assured Mrs. Cellier of the contrary she told him that Sir Robert would not be willing to meet at any Publick Place but at Gadburies he would where accordingly they met where Sir Robert Peyton declared He would come into the Kings Service to all Purposes that he seem'd to complain of some hard Measure and doubted much of the Duke's reconciliation but his Lordship going far towards Sir Robert's satisfaction he afterwards met the Duke at his Lordship's Lodgings and had all the Assurance he could desire which is all that he knew or could say concerning Sir Robert Peyton Here I did acknowledge That I told his Lordship of an Ill Woman in the Duke's Family that corresponded with the Lord Shaftsbury and I had lost one of the Letters His Lordship told the Board That he could not but be troubled to have his name mentioned by such a Person as I was but yet if any whoever should come to morrow to him again and tell him of any dangerous Practices against the King and the Government whether by the Lord Shaftsbury or any other Lord whatsoever he should hold himself bound in duty to Hearken to any such Person and to Indeavour to discover such danger by all the waies he could Mr. John Webb of Missenden in the County of Bucks being call'd in said He knew me but remembred not when I went down to his House but that I was sent by Mrs. Cellier and not by my Lady Powis That he knew nothing of any Letters sent down by me or of one Mr. Jean or any other Priests at his House that I only went down to fetch up a Child Then I Objected That he knew Jean so well that at his last coming from home he brought him a Letter from Jean being then at Mrs. Cellier's Webb denying this the very Letter found by Sir William Waller was produced and read upon which Mr. Webb said It was possible but he had forgot it And I saying That Mrs. Celliers was by when that Letter was delivered to him Cellier denied it But I replyed That Webb knew all as well as what he would now excuse The Copy of the aforesaid Letter from H. Jean to me SIR I Received yours on Monday last and think my self much obliged to you for that you remember your Captive Friend it is some divertisment to my retired life to hear somtimes how affairs stand both that I may the better know how to set my steps that are laid for Innocent Men and learn also how to value an Innocent Solitude more than the Tumults of a confused World I perceive by yours the old Sticklers are still busy and strive to blind the peoples eyes with a Popish Plot that there own may not be seen When was there ever Mischief or Treason hatcht against Monarchy but under the Cloak of Religion and Zeal against Popery Things are so plain that who are not wilfully blind must needs see the good old Cause taking life again God bless the King and direct his Council That we may live in Peace and Justice under him This is the Prayer of SIR Your very humble Servant H. Jean Pray present my humble service to Mounsieur Cellier and his Lady John Porter Butler to my Lord Powis being sworn saies That he is a Protestant that he hath seen me at Powis-House several times and that I lodged there but not by the Knowledge of the Lord or Lady he remembred that Lane was also there by the name of Johnson He did confess he gave me a Bottle of Sherry at the Tower but not by the Lord's Order and that I dined there another day and that he did lead me to the Lodgings of the Lord Arundel and the Lord Bellasis John Lane being called in said That he lay at Powis-house for a Month or six Weeks by my Order and Mrs. Cellier's from whom he had his diet that he went by the Name of Johnson fearing to be arrested by Mr. Oates for what he had testifyed against him and in that fear he went down to Grayes near Graves-End and had a pair of Shoes given him by me who also got him out of Prison which was a chargeable work he said he made an Affidavit before Sir James Butler And being askt by one of the Lords Whether he had not before the house of Lords made two contrary Affidavits he acknowledged That out of fear he had done so but that the first drawn by me as Mr. Nevil had directed was true and the other false Mr. Knox being called in said He knew me from the time we met at Powis house going there in search of Lane who was to give the Evidence for him That the Examinant knowing in whose house he had been was much troubled in as much as he is a
Secretary Coventry with the thing and said he would make me out a Warrant so I went to Mr. Secretary Coventry and acquainted him with it and told him 't was the Kings pleasure that I should wait on him for a Warrant but Mr. Secretary refused to grant one unless I would make Affidavit that there were such Papers and whaâ— the Contents of them were which I could not do for I knew not of any Papers in his Chamber then for I suppose they were to have been put there after the Warrant granted and if the Papers had been there at that time and I had been able to swear the Contents it would have been plain that they were of my putting there for else how was it possible for me to know the Contents of Letters in a Gentlemans Chamber whom I never exchanged two words with in all my life so that I concluded the safest way for me was to let it alone Then I returned home where I found Mrs. Cellier who sent me to the Lord Peterborough's to let him know what had happened and how I had been twice at Lord Shaftsbury's who had received me kindly and told me he would take some care of me I went accordingly to his Lordship and acquainted him who seemed to be well pleased that I had been with Lord Shaftsbury and his Lordship told me When any Forces were raised he would put in for a Regiment of Horse and would give me a Troop in the same but withal his Lordship bid me be sure to do his business the third time meaning the Lord Shaftsbury's Whereupon I went home and just as I came in Mrs. Cellier came from the Tower and told me Some Persons had been with the Duke to destroy my credit with him by giving him an Account of my Life but said she That storm is over for the good Lady Powis and Lord Peterborough have both waited upon the Duke and not only perswaded his R. H. not to believe it but prevailed with him not to speak of it to the King which Mrs. Cellier told me his R. H. had promised not to do By this time Lord Peterborough had been divers times with Sir R. P. at Gadbury's and once at least if not oftner at Mrs. Cellier's and Sir R. P. had seen and spoke with his Royal Highness the second time and Lord Peterborough told me the Duke had promised Sir R. P. to treat with the King about putting Sir R. P. and some others into the Commissions for the Peace again which they had been formerly put out of by His Majesties Order Then the Countess of Powis came to Mrs. Cellier's and desired to speak with me which I hearing of came down out of my Chamber expecting to be chid severely but the Lady was very mild and only enquired how His Majesty resented my going a second time to the Lord Shaftsbury's and of bringing the Letters from thence and if I had gotten a Warrant I told her The King I thought was well pleased with me but I could not by any means get a Warrant unless I would make Affidavit that I had seen the Papers in Mansfield's Lodging and knew the Contents of them which I said I could not do Then the Countess and Mrs. Cellier were both very angry with me for refusing to make oath that there were Papersthere and the Contents of them such as that the Secretary might think fit to issue a Warrant to search for them And began to argue the case with me according to the usual equivocating way of that Party First telling me that I might have saved my Oath for that I had formerly seen and been at the writing of some of them Secondly It could be no Perjury if Oath were not made in'Court of Record And lastly That I was by my Religion obliged to part with my life for the good of the Cause and much more to swear a thing that was not inconsistent with truth Then the Countess endeavoured to perswade me to go the third time to the Lord Shaftsbury which I refused telling her that I had such a discomposure in my mind for having been there twice already that I should not be easie in a little time then Mrs. Cellier being present the Countess struck me gently over the hand with her Fann and said Away cowhearted Fellow I my self will go No Madam said Mrs. Cellier that shall not be for I will go and let the World know that some of our Sex are brave and more daring than the men and promised to do the Work the first time or dye upon the Spot At the same time the Countess complain'd that all their Men of Courage were sent out of the World or secured in order to be so Then the Countess asked me If I knew where Mr. Mansfield's Lodging was I answered Yes and that I had been much troubled to find it out then said She You timorous Person here will you take these Papers and convey them privately into some part of his Cloaths or into his Coat Pockets or into any part of his Room or his Trunks I answered 'T was impossible for me to do that because I knew him not The Countess told me I must find some way to be acquainted with him and take him to a Tavern and drink smartly and then take an opportunity to lodge the Papers in some part of his Cloaths and immediately upon pretence of his having spoke Treason or some such thing call a Constable and have him apprehended and search'd and carry the Papers to the King and Council and so have him committed For this was to be the Introduction to their real Plot. If this had been done the whole Plot had gone on and I was to have moved the King and Council to have impowered me to make Search in many other Gentlemens Lodgings and Houses both in City and Country Then the Countess advised me to go and take a Lodging some where near his and endeavour to insinuate my self into his acquaintance and take my own way for the management of the business Then 't was that her Ladyship gave me fifteen Letters and a List of Names one of which Letters and the List being writ by her own hand She desired they might be transcribed which I offered to do But She told me that must not be for the King had some Remarks already under my hand and would know it again and so we might be discovered for these must be brought to the King and Council Then She gave me order to go to a Scrivener over against Somerset-house because I had no person that I durst make privy to such a Secret and bid me to leave them with him and pay the person for writing them then She went away and I went to the Scrivener and got the Papers transcribed and brought them back and finding Mrs. Cellier and Mr. Webb together by the fire I took the Letters out of my pocket and shewed 'em them telling them those were the papers I
the Maid she oblig'd me to return this Letter again and all others which I should at any time receive from her during the time of my Confinement there which I did and was much satisfied with the Contents of Mrs. Cellier's Letters The next day Mrs. Cellier came in disguise to the King's-Bench and told me I should be well provided for and gave me 20 s. and promis'd me every Week as much and that if that were not enough I should have more This as I understood by the Maid was about the time when by reason of Sir William Waller's making Search after Mrs. Cellier she was forc'd to quit her own House and retire to Powis-House in Lincolns-Inn-fields and I suppose her putting her self into that Disguise in which she came to me was upon the same occasion Then Mrs. Cellier promis'd before Mr. Bannester to provide Clothes and such other Necessaries as I should want against I came abroad and that I should not lye long there but however that I could do as much good there as if I were abroad and she walked with me in the Garden and discoursed to this purpose We are informed said she that one Stroud a Prisoner here has been a Conversant formerly of Bedlow's and that Bedlow now writes several Letters to him and sends him Money which Letters he brags much of when he is drunk and often has sworn to Mr. Munson and Mr. Kemesh That Bedlow was fearful of him and that to prevent the coming to light of something that Stroud could disclose against him he sent him so much Money per Week but Stroud swears If ever he gets abroad and that he may have any to support him he will quickly bring Matter enough to hang Bedlow nay and that he has it in his Pocket and will frequently pull out a Pacquet of Letters and sometimes pretend in passion the Lords in the Tower were much to blame to suffer such a Villain to give Testimony against them saying If they would be rul'd by him Bedlow should do them no hurt This she told me was very material and that Stroud knew much of Bedlow's Life and Conversation and that my business was to observe Stroud and get acquainted with him and that it would much conduce to the making my Fortune if I could by any means know the bottom of Stroud or if I could bring him over to be a Witness for the Lords or by any means persuade him to shew me any or all the Letters and Papers he had in his Pocket which concern'd Bedlow which I promis'd I would endeavour to accomplish and forthwith make the Attempt telling her withal that the thing was already half done for I had been familiarly acquainted with Stroud some years since and therefore had the greater hopes of Succeeding Then Mrs. Cellier recommended to me the Advice of one Mr. Munson and Kemish both Priests and Prisoners there very good religious Men as she said who would not only advise me how to proceed but give me an account more at large of the whole Design and also give me good Instructions in matters of Religion if I desired it which advice I promis'd to follow then she left me saying She would give Mr. Munson notice to speak to me and about two days after I being in the Garden Mr. Munson spoke to me privately and bid me follow him into his Chamber which I did where I found Mr. Kemish also They told me what a good Character they had received of me and that I had suffered much in Newgate for the sake of my Religion and many such like stories and that Mrs. Cellier had given them an account by Letter That I was acquainted with the said Stroud and upon that account the more fit to manage the business Then they told me Stroud had divers Letters about him that concern'd Bedlow and some which Stroud had received from him since the time of his Imprisonment and desired me to drink with Stroud but first asked me If my Head would bear Drink to which I answer'd Yes If not said Munson I will give you a Preparative that shall enable you but I did not stand in need of any such thing but treated with Stroud to very good purpose of which I will shortly give you a full Account for whatever he said at any time that was material I put into Writing Then I again went to Munson and Kemish and told them what progress I had made in the business with Stroud they seemed to be well pleased with it and highly commended my diligence and withal the better to incourage me said They had that day received a Letter from the Countess of Powis which concerned me but it was committed to the flames for they were cunning enough to keep no Papers by them of any Importance as being liable to Searches that were likely to be made there on the least suspicion but promised to shew me the next that should come which they accordingly did for there came one from the Countess about two days after and then Mr. Munson gave me a private Sign to go to his Chamber which I did and there he and Kemish read the Letter the Contents whereof were in part as followeth Sir You must persuade Mr. Willoughby to scour his Kettle and Receive which is to Confess and receive the Sacrament to be true to the Cause The residue of the Letter I cannot remember Soon after I went to Confession to Mr. Munson and went into Kemeshes Room where he was reading Mass and of him I received the Sacrament and from that time was admitted into their Church though I had for some years before professed the same Religion then I went into Munson's Chamber where I had some little Discourse not worth mentioning here after which he gave me free Toleration to drink with Stroud but I scrupled whether it were safe for me who had that day received the Sacrament to drink and perhaps be Drunk with Stroud or any other to which he repli'd that inasmuch as he had given me leave I should not sin in so doing especially since it was for the Good of the Cause And farther told me if Stroud were forward in discourse I should offer him a hundred or two hundred pounds then I ask't what the consequence of it would be if he should accept of the proposal and I not be able to make it good I said I was afraid it might spoil the whole Design nay said he let me alone for that if he can but be induced to comply with us I am sure the Lords in the Tower will perform the conditions and as convenicy offered for my next Attempt upon Stroud I took that course but to little or no effect In a day or two after this I having first given an account to Mrs Cellier of the bad success I had with Stroud and that I could gain nothing upon him worth the time and the money I spent with him one Mr. Henry Nevel alias Paine was removed
by Habeas Corpus from the Fleet-Prison to the Kings Bench which as Mrs. Cellier afterwards told me was on purpose to have him trie some experiment on Stroud who often was visited by the Countess of Powis and Mrs. Cellier but at last after they had well consulted the business of Stroud Nevel writes a Letter to me to put me upon a new Method of Pumping Stroud or getting the Papers from him the Contents of which Letter were as followeth Sir You must by some means get some six grains of Opium dissolv'd and put it privately into his Drink and in a small time you will find the operation thereof will lay him in such a Frensy that in every part you may search him with great safety to your self but be sure to advise with Mr. Munson and Mr. Kemesh about the action before you venture At the same time he sent me written by his own hand the Danby reflections desiring me to write out some Copies of them at my leisure which I did and sent some to him and others by the Countess of Powis's servant to Mistress Cellier and sometimes the Countess used to send her servant to me for them and once by the same servant she sentme five Guineys to encourage me Soon after the Countess Mrs. Cellier Mr. Nevel Mr. Fitton Mr. Munson and Mr. Kemesh consulted about business of which I was made privy to that part only that concerned Stroud and that very day Munson and Kemesh ordered me the next time Mrs. Celliers Maid should come to me to send to one Mr. Blaredale an Apothecary in Arundel-Street and one that had newly Married Mrs. Celliers Daughter who Munson said was a very honest man and a Catholick and much devoted to the Good of the Catholick Cause and desire him to send me six grains of Opium dissolv'd by himself in some Syrup of Gillyflowers which he did and sent me the same the next day by Mrs. Cellier's Maid but I suppose either Munson or Kemesh or both had sent to Blaredale before otherwise he would not have sent the Potion to me being an absolute stranger to him but when the Maid brought it in a small Phial I left her in my Chamber and went and shewed it to Mr. Munson who together with Mr. Kemesh did again direct me how to use it They bid me take him meaning Stroud into the Cellar and drink him stoutly with Burnt-Brandy and when I found him merry take my opportunity to put the Opium into his Cup which I did but it only made him somewhat drousie the next day and did not operate according to expectation then Munson and Kemesh sent to the Countess of Powis to let her know what I had done and as Mrs. Celliers Maid told me her Ladyship gave order to Blaredale to send me another Dose and Munson told me for the Colour of the thing I must send the Maid my self to Blaredale for it which I did and he sent by the same Messenger about as much more then by all their advice I made the second Attempt and invited Stroud to Dine with me that day and there being a Tankard of small bitter Beer fit for the purpose I put the Opium into it but when Stroud tasted it he suspected it was not fit to drink and threw it away saying or swearing He believed he should be poisoned before he should be set at liberty of this I sent Mrs. Cellier an Account by her Maid who expected another Story and as I understood since she was very angry with Blaredale the Apothecary for not ordering the Compound aright This Project not taking effect they bethought themselves of another Device which was That I should drink him on the square and observe well his Discourse and put it immediately into Writing so that if he should come to be made use of as a Witness for the King what he had then said might be given in evidence to invalidate his Testimony This way pleased me better than the other and I proceeded as I had opportunity insomuch that I had gotten from Stroud's mouth some things that were material but spoken carelesly by him who suspected not my Design nor heeded what he said These Writings I took Copies of and sent the Originals to Mrs. Cellier she carried them to the Tower to the Lords who liked them very well as she told me but all this was thought no very considerable step By the way I will give a summary Account of Stroud's Discourse which was as follows viz. May the 16th 1679. he told me That about fifteen years since he knew Bedloe who was then in a mean condition That when Mr. Oates and Mr. Bedloe came to view the Prisoners in the King's-Bench he spoke to Mr. Bedloe and told him of some former Passages and that from that time he sent him Money every week May the 17th Stroud told me his Wife in the Country had in a Cabinet divers Papers that concern'd Mr. Bedlow The same day Stroud told me his Allowance from Mr. Bedloe was the larger because he was to observe the Motions of several Priests which were Prisoners there and their Correspondence Now according to the usual improvement which the Papists make of anything tho' never so inconsiderable that does but in the least appear to be for their advantage I will shew you what Use they would have made of these Passages They would have engaged me to Swear to some Paragraphs which Mr. Munson framed out of those Papers and dictated to me which were as follows viz. That Stroud told me his Enlargement was at hand and if ever he had it some in the World should soon feel the Effects of his Fury I demanded who he meant by that he answered Bedloe Stroud also told me That one Mr. Johnson then a Servant of the Right Honourable the Earl of Shaftsbury had been with him divers times to persuade him to become a Witness for the King against the Lords in the Tower and in order to it offered him a considerable Sum of Money but that he demanded What he must Swear and who it was must Instruct him Mr. Johnson replied You shall not want for that and I am very glad to find you so ingenious But hold says Stroud I will not Perjure my self for the World c. These two last were additional Paragraphs to the former but such as were to be Deposed upon Oath But Stroud not being able to give any account of the then Popish Plot this Design fell which was no sooner laid aside but another was taken up which was thus laid by the five Popish Lords in the Tower viz. That Stroud and I should Write a Letter to Bedloe to this effect Here is a Person meaning my self whose Travels in Flanders France Spain Italy and divers other parts have given him the opportunity of Inspecting the Actions of the Popish Gang by whom you may be inform'd of somethings that may be of great Importance therefore you will do well to take Care
he may be Examin'd This I wrote with my own Hand by Munson's order but did not send the Letter who was as urgent as the Lords to have me do some Service to the Cause For indeed I was not very forward to be concern'd on that manner with Mr. Bedloe and ask'd Mr. Munson and Kemesh What Service I should do the Lords by it They told me The Service I should the Lords would be by Declaring some things that they would tell me before I should be Examin'd which would make for them For I was first to be Sworn a Witness for the King and then to Swear such other Matter as they should direct me but this did not take in regard they could not contrive any secure Story or such as I who was to be the Actor could approve of Then Mr. Nevel sent me a Letter and advised me to use all the Care and Diligence I could to Compound my Debts and get out of Prison and to let me know how easie it was for me so to do told me The Lord Powis Lord Petre Lord Arundel Lord Bellasis and Lord Stafford had allowed Mrs. Cellier Money for that purpose and did particularly desire when I was out That I should be forthwith brought to them in the Tower as I afterwards was Then the same day I received a Letter from Mrs. Cellier by the hand of one Gifford one of the St. Omers Witnesses which Letter was much to the same effect with that which I had before received from Nevel Then I went for all or most of my Creditors whose Actions amounted to near 700 Pound and in a short time I brought them to Compound with me for their Debts and paid them the Composition agreed on being furnished with Money by Mrs. Cellier then I immediately obtained my Liberty and went to Mrs. Cellier's House in Arundel-street as I was directed but not finding her there the Maid directed me to Powis-house and to make sure sent Gifford with me where with much ado I found Mrs. Cellier for she was still forced to abscond from Sir William Waller I having present occasion for Money as not having paid the Fees of the Prison I pray'd Mrs. Cellier to let me have 5 l. she went into a withdrawing Room and talked with a person whom I afterwards discovered by Mrs. Cellier to be the Lady Powis who gave her the Money I desired saying Here do you give it him 't will be better from your hand than mine Then I went and discharged the House and return'd according to Mrs. Cellier's Order to Powis-house again where being by one of the Servants brought into the Gallery I found Mrs. Cellier who left me and promis'd to come presently as she did and told me I must see the Countess of Powis then she left me again to divert my self with the sight of some Pictures and return'd bringing with her the Countess who very joyfully thanked me for my diligence in the King's-Bench and there promised on her Honour for that I had acted so faithfully there it should make my Fortune provided I would undertake the Management of other Business which I promised to do and after a long and strict Charge given me by her Ladyship First To be stedfast in the Principles of my Religion Secondly To go once a Week to Mr. Munson to Confession which I also promised to do we parted for that time this was about the 6th of June 1679. But in the Afternoon of the same day the Countess met me again in the Gallery where her Ladyship told me That for me to be entertained there that is to say in Powis-house would not be convenient in regard of the business I was to be employ'd about For said she some of Captain Richardson's People may watch you to my House and by that means you would give an Obstruction to our Business and become uncapable of Appearing therein for prevention whereof she proposed a Lodging in Drury-lane at the Sign of the Goat And says the Lady when I have any Business I will send some of my Servants in Disguise to you but your opposite Neighbour says the Lady is one Mrs. Prince a Roman Catholick and a good Woman and one that always has good People in her House meaning by that as I suppose Priests the Countess advised me to Visit her the said Mrs. Prince sometimes which I did but I understand since she never knew any more of me from that time to the time of my Discovery but that I was imployed in the business of the Lords in the Tower she having been told so by Mrs. Cellier and others but notwithstanding my Lodging was at the Goat yet I was often sent for to Powis-house to be employed in Business first as a Solicitor I was to endeavour to get out some of the Catholick Party from their Imprisonments upon Bail but the Countess told me this would only be present Business and during the Term but there were other Affairs cut out for me from that time I went about the Enlargement of five or six Priests in the Gate-house and got two or three out one of which was Mackarthey who is since committed for a new but worse Matter All this time I was every day from six or seven a Clock in the Morning till ten or eleven at Night absent from my Lodging which made the People not a little wonder at my constant absence By this time thâ— Countess had writ a Letter to the Lord Castlemain and I was ordered to carry it whereupon I went to the Lord Castlemain's Lodging at Charing-Cross and delivered him the Letter who after his Lordship had perused it received me very kindly and then and there promised to make my Fortune if I would use my Endeavours to support the Catholick Cause as I should be directed I promised I would Now 't is to be supposed his Lordship was no stranger to the Transactions in the King's-Bench Then I waited till his Lordship had writ a Letter in Answer to that which I brought which being done I returned with it to the Countess who called to her Mrs. Cellier and opened and read it in my Hearing the Contents as I remember were thus viz. Madam JVst now I received Yours and will meet you at the Tower to Morrow at Ten a Clock but this Person I like well and though he be no Scholar yet he may serve to Instruct the Youths according as he shall be directed and in so doing I shall be eased of much Suspicion c. By the Youths is meant the St. Omers Witnesses who were lodged at Mrs. Cellier's House and were Instructed once in two days by the said Lord Castlemain all the time of their being in Town nay some of them wanted their Lessons even at the time of the first Tryal of the five Jesuits at the Old-Bayly and were there again Instructed but 't is apparently known how weakly they behaved themselves At the time when I returned from the Lord Castlemain with the
Letter to the Countess she advised me to burn all Papers whatsoever after I had perused them which Rule I always even to the last observed otherwise I could have been able to have proved the whole Matter upon them by their own Hand-writings Shortly after I was suspitious of Mrs. Celliers Maid that she took more notice of Affairs than was necessary and told the Countess I did not like her so her Ladyship advised Mrs. Cellier to put her away and take a Boy in her room who would be more convenient for carrying Letters from place to place this was done and about a day or two after the Countess told me I must go into Buckinghamshire to one Mr. Webs at a place called Peterley with a Letter to one Mrs. Jeane and that I must also advise with her in some business of weight Mr. Web the Gentleman of the House where I was to go was himself present when the Countess put me upon going the Journey and advised me lest the cause of my going should be discovered to bring his son-in-Law with me when I came back for said he I have designed to send him to France long since and this will not only be a good Excuse for you but very convenient for his journey also Then the Lady Powis advised me to go forthwith and order one of the Grooms to hire a Horse for me not that her Ladyship wanted Horses but lest it should be known that she sent me and so I be discovered then Mr. Web who was present likewise when the Countess gave me the Pacquet for I was to carry a Pacquet with me advised me to put it in the Saddle-Skirts to secure it so that if I were taken the Horse being a Hackney I might come off by denying the thing his giving me such advice made me suspect he was privy to the business contained in the Letters but I followed his advice and that day took my Journey and when I arrived at Peterley which was that night late I delivered a Letter to Mrs. Web from her Husband the Contents whereof as I suppose were to have her make ready the Child against the next morning and to entertain me kindly and to bring me to that Mrs. Jeane which she did as soon as she had read the Letter for she desir'd me to follow her as I did through divers Rooms and up and down several pair of Stairs till at last she brought me into a Chamber and bid me sit down saying I will presently send the Lady to you then she left me and sent in a man into the Room which did not a little surprize me but after some usual Greetings he told me that for security of his person these dangerous times he was forced to retire there and use the name of Mrs. Jeane for the Superscribing and Subscribing of Letters in some ordinary kinds or cases but in short when he had read the Letters he proved to be a Priest for immediately after he would have me confess and receive the Sacrament to be true to the Cause I told him I had been drinking on the Road and was not in a condition then and pray'd it might be defer'd till the morrow but he told me that must not be I was well enough and must do it then for I must be gone early in the morning whereupon I did as he bid me and took my leave till the morrow then Mr. Web when I was ready to come away took me up to Mrs. Jeane again and left us together the second time Then he told me that he had sate up all night to answer those Letters and that he would now consider by what Method to proceed in the Plot against the Presbyterians and that the ground-work of the whole thing was amongst those Papers which I was to bring to London but he did not offer to shew it me neither did I express any desire to see it but he told me withal that it must be enlarged on and drawn into several parts by the five Lords in the Tower and Mr. Nevel and so after some little admonitions I came away with the Pacquet the Child and Mr. Cellier who is his Grandfather When I came to Powis-house I found the Countess and Mrs. Cellier together they both told me they were not in a little Fear for me lest some misfortune should have befallen not me but the Papers but since I was so well return'd they asked what answer I had brought and how I was entertained I told them and delivered the Papers to the Countess who opened and overlookt them all but took up one and read it to me which was to this Effect viz. Good store of Pamphlets must be Writ and spread about the Town against the Presbyterians persons must be employed to go to Coffee-houses and rail against the Presbyterian Party and if they meet with any that offer to contend matter of Treason or some such thing may easily be laid to their Charge to have them secured but there must be many persons so employed and it will be great prudence not to let them know one another nor to let any one know more than his own part and in the same Letter he blamed them for letting me know so much as I did but said he I have bound him fast enough and besides that I have a better opinion of him than I had of the other who was Mr. Gifford the Priest as Mrs. Jeane told me These are the people that must do the work and you let them lye in Prisons and starve which makes me wonder at your great negligence in so considerable Affairs c. These were all the Contents that I was then made privy to they were soon carried to the Lords in the Tower and afterwards sent to Nevel to peruse as he thought fit for he was the chief Pen-man and did all that sort of drudgery for a long time till I came in to relieve him First by Transcribing divers Papers after him Secondly by setting up for my self in Scribling of Pamphlets and such little things as I was capable of to further the Cause By this time the Tryals of the five Jesuits came on and I had not time as it was designed I should to instruct the Witnesses but the Lord Castlemain still continued in that employment himself and gave to some that had short Memories Breviates or Lessons others he advised with sometimes at his own Lodgings other times at Powis-house or at Mrs. Celliers this was as common amongst the Youth as going to School for sometimes when they had been scanning over their parts and mistook then would they presently cry oh I am out I must go to my Lord Castlemain to be advised or instructed again Then I was ordered by the Countess to attend on the Lord Castlemain at the Sessions held at the Old-Bayly the 13th and 14th of June which I did accordingly and the Lord Castlemain desired me to take Care of the Youths and keep them together
lest the Rabble out of inveterate hatred should offer them any injury this I did and secured them so that not above one received any hurt Then I was ordered to get into Court and take some Notes of the Tryals which I did till they were over the Lady Powis read them and sent me to the Tower to her Lord with them to whom I shewed the little imperfect Remarques I had taken he seemed to like them well and to encourage me to be industrious in other business commended me highly for this though I deserv'd it not and gave me far better encouragement than I ever had either from his Lady or any body else promising on his Honour to make my fortune if I would be ruled then his Lordship sent me to shew them or rather to shew my self to my Lord Bellasis and the other Three Lords but I being a stranger and not well knowing where to find their several Lodgings took with me one John Porter the Lord Powis's Butler who went with me to each of the other Lords Lodgings to whom I privately shewed the Remarques they all desired they might be Printed and gave money towards it one a Guiney another Fifty Shillings one half a Guiney another fifteen or sixteen shillings and when I returned to my Lord Powis I told him what the other Lords had done and he also contributed and told me the Lord Castlemain should do so too and at the same time his Lordship told me some person employed by them had taken the whole Tryals and they were at one Turners a Book-Seller but a Catholick to be Printed and ordered my Notes to be compared with his and one intire Relation to be composed out of both as was afterwards done then was the Lord Arundel come to Lord Powis's Lodging and the Lord Peters desired his Lordship to come into his Bed-Chamber where I was and as soon as Lord Arundel espied me he did me the Honour to lay his hand on my head and promised I should be well rewarded for all my diligence and at the same time Lord Powis asked me whether I had a faculty of Writing abusively and like a Satyrist and was Master of such a Style as would look well in Print for said his Lordship that Sot Nevel is so very delatory it is not to be endured therefore if you dare undertake the Writing of some sound Pamphlets it might be of very great Use to us to which I replied that I was not a competent judge of my own abilities but would do my best Then Lord Powis told me Mrs. Cellier should be allowed Ten shillings per week to Dyet me and his Lordship would allow me three pound per week for my expences in business and what ever hapned to be beyond that I should put into a Bill and bring or send it to his Lordship and I should forthwith have it paid the said Three pound ten shillings per week was constantly paid me whilst I serv'd them Then I was advised by both the Lords to lodge at Powis-house which advice came very seasonably for I knew very well that I had given my Landlord just occasion to harbour strange thoughts of me and conceive suspitions to my disadvantage About the eighteenth of June the Countess who knew that I was then lodged in Powis-house and by her Lords order sent me with a Letter to the Lady Tukes Lodgings in Scotland-yard which Lady seemed to take particular notice of me and was pleased to say she liked me very well and gave me two Guineys and demanded if I durst undertake a desperate Enterprise I answered yes then she went into her Closet and wrote a Letter for the Countess of Powis and gave it me to carry her and so I took my leave In my Return I went to wait on my Lord Castlemain who asked where I had been I answer'd at the Lady Tukes and so told his Lordship how she received me at which he seemed to be well-pleased and smiled and demanded if the Countess of Powis had not delivered to me her self or caused to be deliver'd some Papers relating to a business of Oates for which one Knox and Lane were in Prison in the Gate-House To which I answer'd no Then said he I will write to the Countess about it and order you Money and give you directions how to proceed in it There I waited till his Lordship writ a Letter which I carried to Lady Powis but first being sent for up I gave her Ladyship the Letter who before she opened it told me Mrs. Cellier would give me Money to get Knox and Lane out of Prison I then asked what they were in Custody for The Lady modestly answered 't was by Oates's means but if I could get them out he should not reign long in his Roguery From thenceforth I undertook it and had all the business and Papers delivered me by one Lawson an Attorny of Clement's-Inn who had been endeavouring two Terms to remove them by Habeas Corpus but could not I forthwith went to the Gate-House and found means to supply them both with Money though they were close confin'd and by a course that I took upon advice with the Priests there they had Pen Inke and Paper conveyed to them both but especially Lane who writ the first Letter which was to this effect I will die before I will comply with that Villain Oates and if any good people will work my Liberty I will do the Catholicks the greatest Service imaginable by Discovering what I know of Oates This is from the bottom of my heart and what I will die with So help me God This Letter was taken from Lanes hand under the door by one Tempest then a Prisoner in the Gate-House and by him given to one Mrs. Ayry who brought it to me at Powis-house and I shewed it the Countess who was more transported with joy than I can express and breaking out as it were into a Rapture Has God given us this unexpected help said she Well we will God-willing employ it to the best advantage charging me to use all expedition to get them both out and then I withdrew But as I understood the next day the good Countess was the greater part of that day on her knees to render thanks to Almighty God for this new occasion of strength that she supposed he had been pleased to bless their Cause with From that time I was very industrious in this business and had several Motions in the Kings Bench before I could get either of them to the Bar but at last I brought Lane out upon Bail to the great satisfaction of the whole Catholick Party but Knox I could not get out but have since been inform'd by himself that Nevel told some Friends of his that he did it and had Money from the Lords in the Tower for that purpose Now when I had got Lane out the Countess ordered me to bring him to Powis-house and lodge him there for the present and she
Nay said he you might have done it with all the Security in the World for no manner of Hurt could have befallen you Why said I Mr. Gadbury would not Death unavoidably have been the Consequence of it No said he not if you undertook it For before you were Released out of the Kings Bench Prison I had an exact account from Mrs. Cellier what Year Month Week Day and Hour you were born in and the Countess of Powis ordered me to Calculate your Nativity Now I do remember that when I was in the Kings Bench I received by the Hands of Mrs. Cellier's Maid a Letter in which her Mistriss desired me to give an exact account of the time of my Birth which I did in my next Letter to her But wondering what her meaning might be in desiring it I read the Letter to the Maid thinking that she might possibly be able to give me some light into it But she pretended she knew nothing of the matter so I sent her away And what I have told ye said he appear'd to be so clear and demonstrable that you were by all meaning I suppose the Lords in the Tower adjudged A Person design'd by Heaven for that bold and daring Enterprize But I was soon weary of his Discourse and as soon as conveniently I could I took my leave of him and returned home to Mrs. Celliers House where I then lodged and after some Discourse of the Lord Peterborough I told what Discourse had passed betwixt Gadbury and me and how he had entertained me with Frowns at which she fell into a great Laughter and said Mr. Gadbury was in his Heart a good Catholick This Gadbury was the Author of the Ballad of the Popish Plot which was pretended to be writ by a Woman and many other Seditious Pamphlets Now you must understand that after Gadbury had first Chastised me for not undertaking what the Lords in the Tower proposed to me I found him to smile in another occasion which made me believe that Gadbury knew of the Design to Kill the Lord Shaftsbury The next day being Sunday came Mr. Regaut the Virginia Merchant that the Lord Powis promised should Treat with me about Murthering the Earl of Shaftsbury and Dined at Mrs. Celliers that Day Before Dinner we had no Discourse upon the Business but afterwards he told me of the whole matter and what I had promised at the Tower to the Lord Powis and the Lord Arundel which I wondered at not thinking him to have been the Person For I had divers times seen him at Powis house with Mrs. Cellier but never thought or heard that he was privy to any of our Business but now there is reason to suspect his knowledge of the whole There he opened the manner of the thing to me demanding how I would order the Money to be paid when I had accomplish'd that bloody Design or if it should be brought in Guineys and left with Mrs. Cellier for me I answered No not so for divers reasons but desired when he heard of the Lord Shaftsbury's death and should receive a Note from me that the Money might be immediately paid for my use which he promised should be done and desired Mrs. Cellier to let me know where he liv'd when I should have occasion to send to him Then he told me I must advise with one Mr. Dormer Mr Sharpe Mr. Knowls Mr. Munson Mr. Remese and some others about the manner of doing the Business which I promised to do that was all the Discourse I had with him then so I having business in the City that night I took my leave leaving Mrs. Cellier and him together On Monday morning I went to Mr. Dormer at Madam Dormers in St. John's where I told him my Resolution about my Lord Shaftsbury and he embraced me very kindly but said he could wish that might be suspended for a time For said he there are some Priests that are falling that is to say troubled with remorse of Conscience and were upon the point of discovering the Designs they were engaged in their names were one Southerne and Mr. Clay the latter is now lodged at Mr. Blazedale's house the Apothecary in Arundol Street These persons being thought dangerous he demanded if I would venture to hire a small Vessel and endeavor to transport them to any part of France or Flanders I promised I would and he told me he would furnish me with Money for it at his own Charge Then I came away and the next time I saw him he had conceived some better way For said he Mr. Southerne I have sent to a secure place in Buckinghamshire and Mr. Clay is placed at Mr. Blazedale's who will be very careful of him Then we discoursed of putting in execution the Design against the Lord Shaftsbury He spoke a great deal upon the Subject but little to the purpose in my opinion at last finding that I gave but little heed to what he said he took his leave but on the Monday morning I went again to him to St. John's After which I went according to order to Mr. Knowles the Priest to Confession He lodged then at a Coffee-house in White-Fryers that has a Back-door into Water-lane Of him I received the Sacrament and had his advice about Murdering the Lord Shaftsbury which was so silly and weak that I shall not mention any part of it here Knowles sent me to the Lady Abergaveney telling me she was a witty Lady and held a great Correspondence with the Lord Shaftsbury and therefore was the more fit to give me advice So I left him and went to that Lady who then lodged at one Mrs. Griffins house in Holborn-Row in upper Lincolns-Inn Fields I was admitted into her Chamber and let her Ladiship know who I was and whence I came She told me she had heard much of me and gave me thanks for my diligence in the Cause but coming to treat about the main Business with her she told me 't was as easie to Kill the Lord Shaftsbury as a Bird on a Tree I asked her how then she proposed several ways but this amongst the rest viz. That I should pretend to have skill in Curing the Gout and be recommended by her to my Lord Shaftsbury and having access to him for that purpose should watch my opportunity She said she had advis'd with Mr. Knowles and Mr. Sharpe and they had agreed upon that way as the best and most secure that could be Then I went to Powis house where the Countess was to whom I repeated where I had been and what discourse I had with every of the aforesaid persons but particularly that Project of the Lady Abergaveneys Which her Ladiship thought but a very weak Contrivance but said that perhaps it might do So I parted without any orders to proceed as yet On Tuesday in the evening Mrs. Cellier went to Gadbury's a little before the time appointed to discourse with the Lord Peterborough and Gadbury about Sir Robert Peyton