Plausible enough to Puzzle a Debate but they are Circumstances rather of Curiosity and Caprice then of Weight The Limberness of the Neck and the Circles about it might pass well enough in the Description of a Body that had been Strangled in Sight but it does not follow by any Means because it was certainly the Rope that caused the Limberness and made that Mark that therefore every such Limberness and every such Mark must have been Caus'd by a Rope for a Stiff Collar as one may Place the Body and the Neck of a Man will as surely Strangle him in a Ditch as a Halter will do upon a Gibbet And the Sword that brings down the Body and the Parts of it to such a Position does the same Office one way that the Executioner does Another So that if I Grant but a Likely Possibility of an Antecedent Suffocation 't is the Vttermost that the Case will admit and so far at last from being a Warrantable Ground for a Conclusion that it will scarce amount to a Competent Foundation for a Bare Conjecture But we have spoken abundantly to These Particulars in the Two Last Chapters And so to the Imaginary Blows and Bruises and the Cleanness of his Shoes In one Word Sir Edmund dy'd a kind of a Complicated Death The Sword and the Collar in Appearance had Both their Parts in 't and either of them would have done the Work without the Other But the Main Stress of the Cause is yet to come 'T is objected that the Signs of being Strangled were Evident but that there appear'd nothing more then the Sword through the Body to Induce any Man to Believe that he Dy'd of the Wound The Sword was run through him after he was Dead they say there would have been Bloud else and so they have cast the Question upon This Issue Was there any Bloud or No The Iury we find were led by the Surgeons and the Surgeons by the Bloud or No Bloud Mr. Skillarne deliver'd himself like a Iust Man and a Master of his Profession All that was Possible I took him to be Strangled says he and gives his Reasons as in the last Paragraph of his Enformation in the Foregoing Chapter But then a little further to Qualifie the Matter Zachariah Skillarne Deposeth That He This Enformant being ask'd what Reasons Mov'd him to be of Opinion that Sir Edmund was Not Kill'd with the Sword He this Enformant maketh Answer Because there was no greater Flux of Bloud which is the ONLY Reason to the best of his Memory that Mov'd This Enformant to be of That Judgement Now if This was the ONLY Reason for his such Opinion as He Himself Declares it was there will be No Reason at all to believe it when This Reason shall be Remov'd And then Mr. Cambridge's Opinion falls in Consequence having sworn Himself of the same Judgment with Mr. Skillarne It would be Endless to set down All the Enformations at Length that have been deliver'd upon Oath upon This Occasion So that I shall only Sum up the most Material Parts of them in Abstract and refer any Man that doubts the Candor of the Report to the Originals Themselves which I have Deposited in the Paper-Office for the Perpetual Memory of the Truth of This Matter I shall begin with the Iurors and so to the Surgeons and then to Other Testimonies of Credit that speak Vnanimously to This Point Thomas Woollams Deposeth That he saw the Body laid at Length upon a Table at the White-House and as he remembreth a Stain upon his Flannel or Holland Shirt which he took to be Waterish Bloud That this Enformant went down to see the Place where the said Body was found And that he being shewed the Place where this Enformant was told the Sword was taken out of the Body He this Enformant heard some of the Company say that upon the Pulling out of the Sword there came out some Watry stuff mixt with Bloud And that this Enformant saw something of That Kind upon the Ground there to the best of his Remembrance Philip Wyanes Deposeth That being Summond c. He This Enformant went to the White-house and saw the Dead Body layd there upon a Table and saw the Flannel shirt stain'd with a kind of Watrish Bloud and that going down to the Place where they said the Sword was taken out This Enformant did there see a kind of Watrish Bloud upon the Ground William Collins Deposeth That the Body had an offensive Smell and that the Shirt was Bloudy and that some Bloud came from it as This Enformant was told when they took out the Sword. Robert Trotton being Summon'd c. Deposeth That he was shewd the Place where they said they took the Sword out of the Body and saw Bloud and at a Style or Posts in the Way which they said came from the Body Thomas Mason being Summon'd c. Deposeth That he saw the Body layd upon a Table in the White-house and Watrish Bloud upon his Linnen Joseph Girle being Summond c. Deposeth That while the Body of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey was lying upon a Table in the White-house This Enformant observ'd a Great Quantity of Bloud to Issue from the Body about a Gallon as he This Enformant believes Here are half a Dozen of the Jurors Themselves that Swear to the Bloud though it was Carry'd upon the Two Verdicts as if there had been No Bloud at All and that the Sword had been run through him after he was Dead We 'll proceed now to the Testimony of the Surgeons and of others well vers'd in Matters of that Quality Mr. Richard Lasinby Deposeth That the Shirt was Bloudy and Foetid and Bloud likewise on the Place where they said the Sword was taken out Mr. Skillarne Deposeth That he took a View of the Ditch where the Dead Body was found and could not see any Bloud But upon the Place where the Body was Remov'd and where they drew out the Sword This Enformant saw the Grass stain'd with a Watry Bloud and Smelling to it found it to be Offensive and Putrify'd And This Enformant Passing further in the Direct way toward the White-house He This Enformant observed at some Posts that were set up in the Way that one of the Posts was Stain'd with such a kind of Watrish Bloud as before And from thence This Enformant pass'd forward to the White-house where he saw the said Body lye upon a Table in a Black Mix'd Chamblet Coat Another Coat Doublet and Breeches Black no Band a Deep Stiff Collar and the Body lying at Length upon the Back His Eyes Open The Face Swell'd The Body upon the Breast appearing to be Bruis'd The Neck Distorted and so Limber that This Enformant Remov'd the Chin from One Shoulder to the Other There was a Circle about the Neck And upon This Enformants Opening it with an Incision Knife the Bloud appear'd to be Coagulated This Enformant saw No Bloud upon the Body Before but on
This. There 's a Body found in a Ditch with a Sword thorough it The Constable removes This Body in the Night to a Neighbour-House An Inquisition Passes upon it And No Light to a Discovery how the Person came to his End but what Arises from the Sight of it upon a Table and from the Imperfect Relation of those that took it out of the Ditch who could say Nothing to it neither but by Guess and Groping for it was so Dark that there was no discerning one Thing from Another The Iurors were now to consider how this Man came by his Death And having nothing else to Work upon as I was saying but the Constable's Report on the bus'ness of the Ditch and what further might be Collected from a View of the Body the Subject Matter of Enquiry was Altogether Surgeons-Work for there were Wounds Bruises Tumours Marks of Strangling and the Appearance of a Broken Neck in the Case Now taking for Granted that Sir Godfrey dy'd a Violent Death it was a Point wholly out of their Cognizance and fitter for a Consult of Doctors than a Pannel of Iurors to determine Two Surgeons were hereupon call'd to their Assistance by whose Opinions they were over-ruled to find him Strangled or by Way of Explanation that he dy'd rather a Dry Death then a Bloudy for That was the Stress of the Question If there was no Flux of Bloud 't is likely he was Strangled If there was Any 't is certain that he Dy'd of his Wounds So that the Verdict was carry'd in favour of a Possibility against a Point-blank Demonstration for Bloud there was in Abundance as is already Prov'd and Over Prov'd in the Last Chapter The Coroner and the Iurors knew there was Bloud Nay and there were Inferences drawn from the Evidences of That Bloud against the finding of him Strangled And Mr. Fryer Deposeth being one of the Inquest that as he believes there was Discourse and Argument among the Jurors to This Effect That there was Bloud came out of the Body which could not have been if the Sword had gone through the Body after it had been Dead This Point stuck the First Day and held 'em tack too the Next 'till Sunday Morning without any New Matter either of Proof or Presumption that look'd toward the Strangling of him though the Adjournment was said to be purely for Further Evidence But in the Conclusion the Limberness of the Neck and the Two Circles Carry'd it against the Sword through the Heart of him Now Those Two Circles were so far One from Another that they were fain to Reconcile the Distance by the Fancy of a Linnen Cloth or something that was Broad to Cover the Interval and to do the Office of a Halter They were in short Mightily at a Loss what to do with These Two Circles for if they would make them Marks of Suffocation they must either Both be so or Neither being Manifestly Effects of one and the same Cause That is to say the Pinching of a Deep Stiff Collar that made Those Streaks with the Two Edges of it as Mr. Lasinby Demonstrates the Thing by bringing the Two Ends of the Collar together and then shewing how exactly the One Answered the Other They found it a Chord however upon the Inquisition and so rendred it Effectually a Rope in Law and a Linnen Cloth in Equity But in the Conclusion there was at last a Verdict obtain'd without Mentioning any Bloud at all for so much as appears at least upon the Coroners Copy of the Enformations which I have received according to Order from the Hand of Mr. Cowper the Coroner for the True Copies of all that were by him taken in Writing upon This Matter And they shall be hereafter Exhibited in their Due Place and Season Having thus far Cleared our Way by a Particular as well as a General Account of Things toward the Forming of a True Iudgment upon the Equity of This Proceeding We are now Entring upon such a Chain of Thoughts as in the very Order of Reasoning will Naturally Lead us to a Full Vnderstanding of the Merits of the Cause The King has lost a Subject and the First Question is What Death did he Dye 2 ly What Means or Evidence toward the Instructing of a Iury upon such an Enquiry Of These Two Points we have said more then Enough perhaps Already 3 ly Whether or no were Those Proofs Sufficient and Emprov'd to the Vtmost according to the Coroners best Skill and Knowledg toward the finding out of the Truth 4 ly Whether or no were there Any Witnesses left Vnsummon'd that in Manifest Probability might have given more Light to the Truth of the Fact then Others that they made use of The Third Point in the Range of This Distribution is to be the First now in the Order of my Discourse There are Two Branches of it The Competency of the Means and the Best Improvement of Those Means towards the Common End. As to the former The Main Question is This Did he Dye of a Wound or was he Strangled And then Was there any Bloud or Not For Bloud or No Bloud was the Certain Indication either of the One or the Other If there was a Considerable Flux of Bloud there could not be a more Demonstrative Proof in the Case for Mr. Skillarne Himself Declares and Deposes upon Oath that There being no greater a Flux of Bloud was the ONLY Reason that Mov'd him to be of Opinion that Sir Edmund was not Kill'd with the Sword But if there was such a Flux of Bloud in sight though he did not take Notice of it in so great a Quantity and that it was not only Prov'd upon Oath but the Iurors Themselves were likewise Ocular Witnesses of it there could not be a more Convincing Evidence in the World then this Discharge of Bloud that the Sword was the Death of him To say Nothing of Twenty other Convincing Circumstances in favour of that Opinion But what signifies Sufficiency of Evidence without the Application of it Or the Flutter that many People make in pretending to Search after a Truth that they would be Loth to find VVhether or no there was any thing of this in the Subject of Their Enquiry will best appear from an Inspection into the Measures and the Methods of their Proceeding That is to say with a respect to the Choice of the Matter The Tendency and the Direction of the Questions and the Biass of the Debate Now there is a Right and a Wrong as well Antecedently to a Conclusion as in the Last Sentence and Result it self There may be Concealing Qualifying Suppressing Disguising Misrepresenting Paradoxing laying more or less Weight upon a thing then belongs to 't c. In all which Cases a False Medium purposely Interpos'd is a Greater Iniquity then a Mistaken Iudgment I was a Speaking of the Enformations taken before Mr. Cowper one of his Majesties Coroners for the County of Middlesex upon the Subject of Sir
Power True Copies of which Examinations from the Originals as also a True Copy of the Inquisition it his Majesties Pleasure should be forthwith delivered to Sir Roger L'Estrange Knight One of his Majesties Iustices of Peace for the County of Middlesex These are therefore to will and require you forthwith to deliver to the said Sir Roger L'Estrange True Copies of All the said Enformations not omitting any one of them and likewise a True Copy of the said Inquisition by him to be compared with the several Originals And hereof you are not to fail Given at our Court at Whitehall the 28th Day of March 1687. Sunderland P. To Mr. Iohn Cowper one of his Majesties Coroners for the County of Middlesex Upon This Order Mr. Cowper the Coroner deliver'd me the Copies of several Enformations As the Enformation of Ioseph Radcliffe and of Eleanor his Wife Two Enformations of Zachariah Skillarne Two of Iohn Brown the Constable and the Enformations of Nicholas Cambridge Iohn Wilson Tho. Morgan William Bromwell Iohn Walters Iohn Rawson Henry Moor Caleb Winde Richard Duke and Mary the Wife of Captain Tho. Gibbon The foregoing Enformations must be understood according to the Order to Mr. Cowper to be the True Copies of the said Enformations And to be All too Not omitting any one of them And Mr. Cowper Delivered me likewise a Copy of the Order it self by him thus Attested at the foot of the said Order 6th of April 1686. This is a true Copy of the Order above-written Delivered unto Sir Roger L'Estrange Knight by me the Original being in my Custody Jo. Cowper Here are Sixteen Enformations upon Tale and not One Word to the Question of the manner of his Death but upon the Conjecture of the Two Surgeons Mr. Skillarne and Mr. Cambridge Mrs. Gibbon that could have spoken very much says very little and it was not properly an Enformation to the Coroner neither for the Verdict was Over first Moor the Clark that was in Effect a Secretis to the whole Mystery was only Interrogated If his Master went out in a Lac'd Band I do not object to That Question but why That Question and No More to a man that both the Brothers and the Coroner knew to be Privy to the whole Transaction If he went out in a Lac'd Band he was Murther'd but if he had gone out in a Plain Band he had been Felo de se. For whether he Dy'd by the Sword or the Rope or the Linnen Cloth was the Question The Iury sat upon Friday and Adjourn'd 'till Saturday and it was after Midnight when they gave up their Verdict Now the Surgeons Deliver'd their Conjectural Evidence upon Friday but the Iurors being wholly Vnsatisfy'd upon That meeting were Prevail'd upon to Adjourn in order to the Getting of Further and of Better Proofs And what were those Further and those Better Proofs that came in next day but Mr. Radcliffe and Mrs. Radcliffe Caleb Wind and Richard Duke that saw Sir Edmund in the Strand at Twelve or One a Clock the Saturday of his going away after he had taken his Walk in the Fields toward Marybone But These are Points that are Handled in Better Order and more at large in Their Due places After this Care taken for the Finding out of the Truth and for the Methods of Arriving at it All Good men I hope will Acquit me that I have proceeded upon the Conscience of an Honest Man in the very Inclinations of doing it and that in the Zeal of pushing it forward I have no cause to be Ashamed of Owning my self an Officious Lover of Iustice. And I have been no less Tender of usurping upon the Province of my Superiors in keeping my self strictly to all the Measures of Duty and Reverence towards the Government I can fairly Appeal to the Reader now in one Word more that I have taken as much Care to lay open the matter of Fact on the One side as on the Other for where should any Man look for the True and Reasonable Grounds of a Verdict but in the Words and Import of the Evidence To which End I have here exposed the Enformations that were taken by the Coroner I have likewise Impartially Extracted the Uttermost Force of All that was said in Proof of the Murther upon the Tryals And upon the whole Matter I do here submit my self as to the Candor of this Following Discourse to All Indifferent Iudges Let me not be thought Insensible all this while that I Write now against the Stream and that an Integrity of This Standard Labours against Wind and Tyde A stubborn Inflexible Honesty is allmost sure of as many Enemies as there are Men able to do him Mischief that have Sacrific'd to Pluralities upon the Poll Popular Applause Interest and Occasion But my Fortune is made in the Comfort of a Good Conscience and in the Blessing of an Indifference that has cast All these Cares behind it I will have the Vanity too even without Asking God Forgiveness for it to Hope that These Papers may out-live the Envy that This Necessary way of Liberty has brought upon the Composer of them And that After-times shall Thank me in my Grave for the Plain History of many Useful Truths how Odious soever at Present which in all Likelyhood they should never have known without me But to shew now at last that the Officious Zeal of a Pragmatical Observator as the Wit in Mode has it has not Transported him beyond the Terms of Decency and Good Manners I have not so much as skew'd in this Whole Discourse upon Any Person where the Thrid of the Story did not Absolutely Require it I meddle with no Mans Opinion Forreign to this Single point Toleration or no Toleration has nothing at all to do in This Book I support my self from one End of it to the Other upon Evident and Visible Fact I have the Publique and the Solemn Declaration of a Famous Common Lawyer for the Equity and the Legality of my Conclusions as they are drawn from Warrantable Premisses As to the Coroners Iury with a respect to the Verdict I do here make use of several of their Enformations which were Frankly Deliver'd and they are as Faithfully Reported I do not find that there was any Great Stress laid upon the Evidence before Them that spake to the very Pinch of the Question Only upon the First day while Bloud or No Bloud was any part of the Debate they stood it out for they themselves knowing that there was a Great Deal of Bloud would not agree to find him Strangled so long as Bloud was insisted upon as an Argument that he Dy'd by the Sword. But upon the Saturday and after a whole Nights Contest what to make on 't The Bloud that is to say the Demonstrative Proof being quite laid aside the Surgeons continued of Opinion that he was Strangled and the Question being a Surgeons-Matter the Iury resign'd themselves and Agreed upon the Verdict JUst as I was
Faithful a Deduction of Matters that there 's hardly Any thing more Left for a Man to wish for toward the Satisfaction either of his Curiosity or his Iudgment upon This Subject The Imposture from One End to the Other is made up of Vnlikelyhoods Incoherences and Contradictions without so much as One Point in the whole Story that will bear a Colour Take each of the Witnesses a-part and he gives himself the Lye to his own Teeth Take them Together and they dash one another to pieces But 't is to be hoped that the Two Principals were well Seconded as to the Credit both of the Matter and of the Evidence and it will be but Fair Dealing to Examine the Ballance The First Witness that opens upon the Tryal for the King as they call it as to the Point here in Question is Otes And the Short of his Evidence is This That Two Days after the Swearing of his Depositions Sir Godfrey came to him and told him of Affronts he had Receiv'd from some Great Persons for being so Zealous and of others Threatning him for being too Remiss telling him a while after how he had been Menac'd by several Popish Lords and that he went in fear of his Life by the Popish Party that had been Dogging him several Days Tryal fol. 12. The use made of This Evidence was to shew that his Forwardness in the Discovery of the Popish Plot was the Thing that set them on to Murther him and that he Dreaded Mischief from them Himself upon That Account Ibid. Now instead of Sir Edmund's being too Forward in One Page he was it seems too Backward in Another for he told Mr. Robinson That he took Otes's Examination very unwillingly and would fain have had it done by others And then upon Mr. Robinson's wishing That the Depth of the Matter were found out I am afraid said he of That that it Is not But Discoursing further he said These Words Vpon my Conscience I believe I shall be the first Martyr Now Sir Godfrey's Apprehension was not from the Papists for fear of a Discovery but partly for incurring the Danger of a Misprision upon the Concealment of it and partly for Another Reason as will be more Expresly set forth hereafter Brown the Constable swears to the Posture they found the Body in The Sword the Bruises the Neck the Stick and the Gloves and to No Bloud in the Ditch And Five Lines Afterwards That there was No Bloud at all when the Sword was taken out He does not say Where but When fol. 36. and so saves himself by the Reservation of Meaning the Ditch still for he Swears elsewhere to a Great Quantity of Bloud that came Gubling out But People were oveâ—-aw'd and made the best Shift they could to keep themselves in a Whole Skin Beside that there lyes No Stress at all upon This Testimony The Attorney General call'd then for the Surgeons that View'd and Open'd the Body That is Mr. Skillarn and Mr. Cambridge who were both Sworn fol. 36. This Hint made the Court take it for Granted that the Body was Open'd as it ought to have been whereas it was not Open'd at All any further then with a Little Inscision to let out some Corrupt Matter Nay Skâ—â—arn Mov'd the Godfreys to have it Open'd and could not get any Answer from them Mr. Skillarn speaks to the Bruises The Distortion of the Neck The Two Wounds and that there was More done to his Neck then an ordinary Suffocation If the Wounds had Kill'd him his Muscles would have been Turgid he says He observ'd that Strangled People never Swell If he had Dy'd of the Wound there would have been Some Evacuation of Bloud at least which there was Not And then again That the Wound went through his very Heart and there would have appar'd Some Bloud if it had been done quickly after his Death So that the Main Point in Issue is This Whether there was any Evacuation of Bloud or No. Mr. Cambridge speaks also to the Bruises Two Punctures His Neck Dislocated and delivers his Opinion That the Wound was given him after his Death fol. 38. but without shewing any Reason for 't Now These Two Evidences are so far from Proving the Strangulation that if We Prove the Bloud They do Effectually give up the Cause The next Person call'd for is Sir Edmundbury Godfrey's Mayd Elizabeth Curtis She knows Green saw him and talk'd with him at her Masters about a Fortnight before his Death spoke to him in French which she could not understand it seems pag. 38. and yet swears 't was French Swears Positively to the Knowledge of the Man The Colour of his Periwig How Long he was with her Master c. And then immediatlyCharges Hill with coming to her Master That Saturday Morning and Talking in the Parlour with him she saw him afterward in Newgate and so she turns it off with a SleevelessStory of some Body that brought a Note to the House upon the Friday before and there the Question was very Civilly dropt Noâ— this is an Oath to go for Nothing as well as Otes's For in Taking upon her to know Green and Hill she 's Forsworn upon the Testimony of Two or Three Enformations already Produc'd I must not pass over a Deposition of this Elizabeth Curtis or Draper bearing Date the 8 th of Ianuary 1678 9. before the Lords Committees in the Council-Chamber where she swears That she Lived off and on for about Six Years with Sir Edmundbury Godfrey before his Death This Off and On must be taken for her Chare-Days when she came to help Scowr the Pewter or Clean the House for she never was a Servant in That Family in all her Days She Swears further that Green came to her Master's House a Fortnight before he was Murther'd bringing with him in his Company one in a Purple-Colour'd Livery who stood at the Door and that the said Green spake to her Master First in French and Afterwards in English. We have No News now of the Purple Livery in the Tryal And that which was First in French and Afterwards in English in the Council-Chamber was turn'd Cross at the Kings Bench. Green said Good Morrow Sir in English and Afterward spake to Sir E.B. Godfrey in French Tryal pag. 38. We are to make room now for the Master and Man at the Plow Ale-house Prance swears to a Discourse there with Green Hill and Girald about the Murther of Godfrey The House Proves that they had been There together and the very Meeting Presumes the Design Here 's the Collateral Evidence that was offer'd in Favour of Bedloe's and Prance's Testimony which I shall Leave fairly before the Reader to weigh one against the other CHAP. XIV The Extreme Difficulty of Reconciling the History of the Murther at Somerset-House to the Matters of Fact as they appear'd in the Ditch at Primrose-Hill and upon the Verdict The Reasons of That Difficulty and how it might have been in some Measure
the Book of Judges in the Case of a Murther too though of Another Nature Iudg. 19.30 The People said there was No such Deed Done Nor seen from the Day that the Children of Israel came out of Egypt And I may say There was Never such a Barbarous Murther Committed in England since the People of England were freed from the Yoke of the Pope's Tyranny And as 't is said There so say I Now Consider of it Take Advice and speak your Minds Ibid. A Man should have been very sure of his Point before he Lash'd out into so Bold a Figure for here is Scripture call'd into his Aid for the Illustrating of a Forgery Here 's One Notorious Murther in the False Witnesses That is Supported under the Colour of Arraigning Another And here 's the Actual the Treasonous and the Sacrilegious Murther of a Pious a Gracious and a Merciful King set in Ballance with the Fictitious Murther of a Malancholique Iustice and found Light upon the Comparison But be it as it will here 's Case against Case And so long as I have the Authority and Opinion of Sir William Iones on my Side as to the Legal Competency of Circumstantial and Presumptive Evidences I 'le make no Difficulty of casting my Reputation upon the Merits of the Cause Only a Word or Two by way of Preparatory that I may slide Naturally into my Bus'ness 'T is out of Doubt that Sir Edmundbury Godfrey Dy'd a Violent Death but whether by Another Hand or by his Own is the Single Question Now One of the Two it must be though Which of them is not as yet Determin'd If by the Former there must have been some Notorious Grudge Quarrel or Controversie whereupon to ground so Mortal a Malice and Revenge If by the Latter 't is no New Thing for a Man that lyes under either the Load of a Hideous Melancholy or the Power of a Temptation that he has not Strength to Resist though otherwise of never so Fair a Life and Conversation to sink under the Horror of his own Thoughts and to Lay Violent Hands upon Himself Now how far any thing of This might appear in the Circumstances of his Temper and Condition is a Point that a Thinking Man would not on either hand wholly pass over without loooking both ways upon This Occasion First as to any Matter of Grudge Quarrel Controversie or Rancorous Animosity Private and Personal I cannot Learn that there has been any Thing of This either Observ'd Apprehended or Suggested Nor in Truth which was a wonderful Thing that any of his Family were ever so much as Examin'd to That Point But in a Word for want of a Personal Pretence they have turn'd it to the Spleen of a Party and Grafted the Murther into the Conspiracy However for Colour sake There were Two Reasons Assign'd The One Special and the Other General as the Inducements to This Barbarous Fact. The Former was the taking of Tong 's and Otes's Depositions which as I have it elsewhere would not have Signify'd a Single Hair of a Man's Head if Ten Thousand Lives had depended upon the Matter there Depos'd The Other Reason was as Groundless as the Former was Frivolous The Murther says the Kings Council was Committed upon a Gentleman and upon a Magistrate and I wish he had not Therefore been Murther'd because he was a Protestant Magistrate Greens Tryal fol. 7. And he was very Industrious in finding out the Principal Actors in this Plot. Ibid. This was the Song in all the Narratives Pamphlets and Tryals That the Papists Murther'd him and Principally for the Hatred he bore That Party Now This is so Notorious a Mistake that he Liv'd in a strict Confidence and Friendship with Divers Roman Catholiques of No mean Quality and Character He was so far from Promoting the Plot that he took it for a Cheat from the Beginning Gave his Royal Highness an Account of Otes's Depositions and so likewise to some Other Men of Honour of the Roman Communion upon the First Taking of them Nay he was so Tender of any Oppression That way that upon the bringing of one Mr. Burnet a Priest before him to be Examin'd and Proceeded against according to Law Sir Edmund made his Application to Dr. Godden then belonging to the Queen about him told him how it was and though at That Time a Stranger to him desir'd him to use what Means he could either by her Majesty or by a Secretary of State to Prevent his going to Prison and in the mean while he Himself would put the Bus'ness off as long as he could So that hitherto there appears neither Interest nor Provocation Private or Publique toward the taking away This Gentleman's Life but for want of a more Plausible Pretext there has been Objected over and over the Frequency of his Exclamations that he should be the First Martyr That he should be the first Man to suffer in the Cause and other various Readings upon Words of his to That Purpose according to the Rellish of the People's Fancy or Palate that Heard them Now this was an Expression that Carry'd the Best Countenance of a Favourable Insinuation of any that they made use of But there 's Nothing said in all these Fore-bodings from what Quarter it was that the Danger Threaten'd him only he told Otes if Otes does not Bely him That he was in a great Fright and went in fear of his Life by the Popish Party Greens Tryal fol. 12. Wherein Otes's Sagacity supply'd a Dark Text to speak in his own fine way with an Elucidating Comment worth Twenty of the Alexandrian Version of the Septuagint that he presented the Iesuits with But why he should be affraid of his Known Friends and of Those that knew him to be Their Friend And why should he be Affraid of the Papists for fear of Spoiling Their Plot when he had Already so much as in Him lay Spoil'd Otes's Plot by Discovering the Roguery of it upon the first Instance Why I say the Papists should Murther Sir Edmundbury Godfrey contrary to all the Rules of Morality Humanity Gratitude Iustice and Common Prudence and do All This to No Manner of Purpose too is a Mystery wholly Vnaccountable We shall speak to his Exclamations by and by But First to his Melancholy and Then Leave the World to Iudge whether These Ejaculatory Starts and Apprehensions took their Rise from Splenetick Vapours or from any Reasonable Fears In the Handling of This Subject I shall Range what I have to say under These Following Heads and Assign to every Head a Chapter by it self for the avoiding of either Prolixity or Confusion First What Humour was Sir E. B. Godfrey observ'd to be in upon the Morning and Day when he last left his House 2 ly What Notice was taken of Sir E. B. Godfrey 's Melancholy before he left his House And what Opinion or Apprehension had People of it 3 ly What Opinion or Apprehension had Sir E. B. Godfrey
out of the Lane into a Little Alley a good Way from thence This Enformant telling his Company thereupon This is Sir Edmundbury Godfrey This looks strangely Pray God Bless him or to that Effect This Enformant being at that Time much Troubled to see him in such a Disorder and the Company at That Time making the same Reflexion upon it Mary Gibbons Iunior Deposeth That Judith Pamphlin who lived in the House with Sir Edmundbury Godfrey told this Enformant that Sir Edmund was the most Melancholique Alter'd Man of Late that could be and how upon the Day before he was Missing he brought down in a Great Discontent as many Papers as she thought would fill her Apron and threw them into the Fire Mrs. Gibbons the Mother saith also That Mrs. Pamphlin told her that Sir Edmund had been so very Discontented and out of his Ordinary Temper of Late that he Quarrel'd with his very Band Saying further That the said Sir Edmund was in so great a Disorder the Friday Night before he went away that he Tumbled over his Drawers and Trunks and burnt as many Papers as her Apron would hold To pass a short Reflexion now upon the Matters above His Disorder at the Vestry was Manifest The Wildness of his Discourse and Actions at Weldens seem'd to Point Directly at what Follow'd His Behaviour in Drury-Lane was as Freakish as any of the Rest and as much Wondred at by Those that were meer Strangers to him It must be Somewhat Extraordinary too the Account that Pamphlin gives of Burning his Papers And it was as Extravagant Perhaps as any thing else his odd manner of coming to my Lady Prats That Day and behaving himself at a rate to put the whole Company in Amazement This was the Action of Friday But now to look further back a little Mr. Thomas Wynell Deposeth That having many Occasions of Bus'ness with Sir Edmundbury Godfrey as well at the Enformants House at Cranbrook in Essex as at the House of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey in Harts-horn-Lane in the Strand He this Enformant took Notice many Times that Sir Edmund was very much Disorder'd and Troubled in his Mind and particularly some Two or Three Days before this last Appointment i. e. of Dining together that Saturday Insomuch that this Enformant did often Reason the Matter with the said Sir Edmund and use all the Means and Arguments he could to remove that Extreme Sadness and Melancholy that he Labour'd Vnder. The said Sir Edmund still persisting in That Disconsolate Temper of Mind and often expressing the Deep Sense he had of the Vnhappiness of his Condition and that he had not Long to Live. Captain Thomas Gibbon Deposeth that about Ten of the Clock in the Morning upon the Thursday before Sir E. B. Godfrey left his House the said Sir Edmund having sent for the Wife of this Enformant who could not at that Time leave her sick Mother He this Enformant went into Harts-horn-Lane to the said Sir Edmund whom he found by his Dress Looks and Actions to be in great Disorder And this Enformant finding his Company Uneasie to the said Sir Edmund soon took his Leave and returning home to his Wife he this Enformant told her his Thoughts of Sir Edmund Expressing Great Trouble for his Condition the said Sir Edmund being This Enformants Particular Friend Mary Gibbons the Daughter of the Captain above-nam'd Deposeth That some Few Days before Sir Edmund was Missing the Father of This Enformant told her that he had been to Visit Sir Edmundbury Godfrey and that he found him in so great Disorder that he was affraid he would make some Attempt upon Himself as his Father had done Mary the Wife of Captain Thomas Gibbons Deposeth as above and tells of a Remarkable Extravagance of Sir Godfrey at her House the Tuesday was Senight before he went away of which we shall speak more particularly in the Last Chapter of This Book CHAP. IV. What Opinion or Apprehension had Sir Edmundbury Godfrey Himself of his Melancholy before he went away And what was it that made him use That Expression so often I shall be the First Martyr Or I shall not Live Long. MAry Gibbon Senior Deposeth That she observed Sir Edmundbury Godfrey very Sad and Pensive some time before his Death and that the said Sir Edmund hath lamented his Condition to this Enformant saying Oh! Cozen I do inherit my Fathers Deep Melancholy I cannot get it off I have taken away a great many Ounces of Bloud but I cannot get the Victory These Words or Words to this effect the said Sir Edmund hath spoken very many times saying I am best Alone I cannot get off This Melancholy and the Like Expressions And says that not long before his Death he being Ill sent for her to make him some Jelly and that a Day or Two after she going to Visit him she found him drinking Whey with Brown Bread in it and then she said to him Sir I make Jelly for you one Day and you Drink Whey another Oh Cozen saith he throwing the Pot one way and the Spoon Another My Fathers Dark Melancholy hath Seized me It is Hereditary and I cannot get it out of me Mary Gibbons the Yonger Deposeth That this Enformant hath heard Sir Edmundbury Godfrey not long before his Death say that He Inherited his Fathers Melancholy and that he had been let Bloud but it did him no Good. William Church of the Inner Temple Gent. Deposeth That this Enformant was very well acquainted with Sir Edmundbury Godfrey for many Years before he Dy'd And that the said Sir Edmund coming often to Richmond had Lodgings there within Four or Five Doors of the House of this Enformant where this Enformant observ'd him to walk much Alone and to Shun the Company of the Gentry thereabouts And this Enformant taking Notice that the said Sir Edmund did usually exercise himself upon the Bowling-Green with Ordinary Company sometimes with Mr. Gofton's Footman at other Times with the Man that helps to Roll and Make the Ground And this Enformant meeting him did ask him the Reason Why he did not afford this Enformant and the Gentry of the Town his Conversation but kept Company with Footmen and Ordinary Fellows which were a Scandal to him To which the said Sir Edmund Reply'd That Company was very Irksom to him That he Bowl'd and Exercis'd with those mean People that he might run up and down and do what he would to divert Melancholy for he was so Overpower'd with Melancholy that his Life was very Uneasie and Burdensom to him The Substance of the Enformation above hath run much in the Mind of this Enformant and he hath upon several Occasions and for several Years past in Publique Places made the same Observations and spoke to the same effect of what he here Delivers These Expressions of the said Sir Edmund to the Best of this Enformants Memory were about a Year before he Dy'd I shall Force Nothing beyond the Genuine
been Twisted towards the Left Side which was One of the Occasions of his Death as This Enformant believes Jo. Cowper Coroner Zac. Skillarn The Enformation of Nicholas Cambridge of St. Giles in the Fields Chirurgeon taken upon Oath the same Day and Year before Me. This Enformant saith the same Jo. Cowper Coroner Nicholas Cambridge Here 's the Iudgment of the Surgeons upon Oath before the Coroner Octob. 18 19. 1678. and their Evidence was much thereabouts afterward at the Tryal of the Pretended Murtherers Feb. 10. 1678 9. But the Fairest way will be to Deliver the Colloquy at Large for so much a concerns This Subject I shall only take Notice of One Artificial Insinuation by the Way We Desire says Mr. Attorney to call the Surgeons that View'd and OPEN'D the Body Mr. Skillarn and Mr. Cambridge Tryal fol. 30. Now this was to possess the Audience with a Full Persuasion of the most Reasonable Thing in the World and that the Body had been Open'd Indeed Whereas there was No Opening of the Body but on the contrary the Thing was Mov'd and Desir'd but the Brothers would not Permit it and Mr. Hobbs as he told me very Frankly with his own Lips was Absolutely for it for says he upon the Opening of the Body you should have known as well what Death he Dy'd as if you had seen it But now to the Evidence Mr. Att. G. Did you observe his Breast how was it Mr. Skillarn His Breast was All beaten with some Obtuse Weapon either with the Feet or Hands or Something Mr. Att. G. Did you observe his Neck Mr. Skillarn Yes It was Distorted Mr. Att. G. How far Mr. Skillarn You might have taken the Chin and have set it upon either Shoulder Mr. Att. G. Did you Observe the Wound Mr. Skillarn Yes I did It went in at one place and Stopt at a Rib the Other Place it was quite through the Body Mr. Att. G. Do you think he was kill'd by That Wound Mr. Skillarn No for then there would have been some Evacuation of Bloud which there was Not And besides his Bosom was open and he had a Flannel Wastcoat and a Shirt on and neither Those nor any of his Clothes were Penetrated Mr. Att. Gen. But are you Sure his Neck had been Broken Mr. Skillarn Yes I am sure Mr. Att. G. Because some have been of Opinion that he Hang'd Himself and his Relations to Save his Estate run him through I would desire to ask the Chirurgeon what he Thinks of it M. Skillarn There was more done to his Neck then an Ordinary Suffocation the Wound went through his very Heart and there would have appear'd some Bloud if it had been done quickly after his Death Mr. Att. G. Did it appear by the View of the Body that he was Strangled or Hang'd Mr. Skillarn He was a Lean Man and his Muscles if he had died of the Wound would have been Turgid And Then again All Strangled People never Swell because there is a Sudden Deprivation of all the Spirits and a hindring of the Circulation of the Bloud Mr. Att. G. How long do you believe he might be dead before you saw him Mr. Skillarn I believe four or five days And they might have kept him a Week and he never Swell'd at All being a Lean Man. And when we Ript him up he began for to Putrify we made two Incisions to give it Vent and the Liquor that was in his Body did a Little Smell The very Lean Flesh was so near turn'd into Putrefaction that it Stuck to the Instrument when we Cut it Mr. Recorder My Lord here is another Chirurgeon Mr. Cambridge Pray Sir are you Sworn Mr. Cambridge Yes I am Mr. Recorder When did you see the Body of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey Mr. Cambridge Vpon Friday the very day the Gentleman did I found his Neck Dislocated and his Breast very much Beaten and Bruised And I found Two Punctures under his left Pap the one went against the Rib the other quite through the Body under the Left Pap. Mr. Att. G. Do you believe That Wound was the Occasion of his Death Mr. Cambridge No I believe it was given him after his Death L. C. J. And his Neck was Broke Mr. Cambridge His Neck was Dislocated Sir. The Matter here Under Consideration was the Distortion of his Neck His Bruises No Evacuation of Bloud The Appearance of his Muscles Insomuch that they both Agree that the Wound was given him after his Death And the Bruises are presum'd to have been Occasion'd by the Blows he received from the Murtherers upon Struggling to Defend himself The Reader is here to take Notice that Mr. Skillarne and Cambridge were the Two only Surgeons that were taken in for Assistants to the Coroner But however that there were others Call'd-in who saw him by the By to give Evidence afterward upon a Tryal at Guild-hall Iune 20. 1682. As Mr. Hobbs The Two Mr. Chaces Father and Son Mr. Lazenby Mr. Hobb'es Part was This. L. C. Justice Had you any doubt whether he was Murther'd Mr. Hobbs Indeed my Lord I thought he was Strangled That was my Opinion I can't tell Whether I was Mistaken I said to Dr. Goodal it would be very well if Mr. Godfrey would send for a Surgeon and a Physician from the Court and Others from the City to SATISFY ALL PERSONS Mr. Farwell What Colour was his Face Mr. Hobbs My Lord it was Bloated L. C. J. Did it look as if Violence had been Vs'd to him Mr. Hobbs Ay my Lord and the Bloudy Vessels of his Eyes were so full as if he had been Troubled with Sore Eyes Tryal of Nathaniel Thompson c. fol. 23 24. The Evidence that the Two Mr. Chaces gave upon the Matter here in Question was to This Effect Mr. Chace the Son upon Fryday Morning View'd the Ditch and saw No Bloud in 't He saw the Body in the House Two Wounds A Contusion on the Left Ear. He Believ'd he was Strangled and those Injuries done after he was Dead Mr. Chace the Father saw the Body at the White-House on Fryday a Contusion and Two Wounds And the Next day he saw a Swelling on his Left Ear as if a Knot had been Ty'd fol. 24. Mr. Lazenby took him to be Strangled and gave his Reasons There was Bloud Four Yards from the Ditch that Smelt as Strong as if he had been Dead a Fortnight He Believ'd he was Strangled His Stomach and Breast were much Discolour'd and Black and his Mouth Discolour'd He went up-stairs to Drink a Glass of Beer and was Call'd down again to see Two Great Creases about his Neck being told that young Mr. Chace had Vnbutton'd the Collar So being come down he put the Collar together and Perceived the Collar made a Mark like a Streight Ring upon a Finger the Neck being Swell'd above the Collar and Below by the Strangling with a Chord or Cloth Tryal fol. 25 26. I must observe here by the way now that my
Glass of Beer This Enformant Asked the said Sir Edmund What News Who made Answer That in a short time You will hear of the Death of Some-body or the Murther This Enformant doth not remember which of the Two Words Sir Edmund saying that he was Confident He Himself should be the First Whereupon Mr. Hemes aforesaid Desired him if he fear'd any such Thing that he would not go abroad without Company Sir Edmund Answering that his Conscience was Clear that he Car'd for No Company and that he Fear'd No Body And This Enformant being Interrogated concerning the Evening of so many accounts whether he had had any Discourse with the said Sir Edmund about Those Accounts before He This Enformant Answereth that there had been no such Discourse and that he never knew any thing of that Nature done in so sudden a manner before And further saith That about one of the Clock on the Next Day being Saturday the said Sir Edmund Passing by the Door of This Enformant He this Enformant asked him to come in and Dine with him but he said he was in hast and could not stay and so having this Enformant by the Hand he took away his Hand and went hastily away speaking very earnestly insomuch that this Enformant wondred at it he having been usually Freer and Easier with This Enformant This Enformant referreth himself upon the Matters contain'd in this Enformation to the best of his Knowledge and Memory J. Radcliffe Jurat die Anno Supradicto coram me Ro. L'Estrange The Reader will find little in This Enformation to the Tune of the Pleasant Good Even Humour and Temper in the Enformation before the Coroner There 's too much on 't to be Natural and the Synonymals one upon the Neck of Another savour more of the Skill of the Clark then of the Faith of the Reporter In which Case many times there goes but the Dash of a Pen to the Mending of a Short Evidence The Second Deposition of Mr. Radcliffe seems to me to have a great many Notable Passages in it Sir E.G. had a Mind to make even with the World. The Fit took him at That Instant and all must be done That Night Bradbury was to have his Forty Shillings The Parish Accounts to be Adjusted in All Hast He told the Company what Care he had taken for the Continuance of his Charity And now says he clapping his Hand upon his Breast I am at Quiet Call'd for his Coat and went over with it again My Conscience is Clear. His Motions and his Actions in the Room The Vehemency of his Words His Hudling of so many things over in such a Disorder His Starting from one thing to Another and all to be Dispatch'd upon That Point of Time And then the Winding up of theConversation with a Foreboding of his Death or Murther The Company might be well allow'd to Iudge and to Observe These Things Consider'd that there was somewhat very Extraordinary in his Mind Upon the Comparing of These Two Enformations it seems very remarkable that the Former delivers it as the Opinion of Mr. Radcliffe that Sir Godfrey was Last Night in a Pleasant Good Even Humour and Temper when the Latter in Fact sets him forth to have been the Clean Contrary So that the Whole Story of the Disorder is not only Omitted but Apparently Contradicted by the Other Insinuation The Question is How Godfrey came by his Death and what Radcliffe could say toward the Clearing of That Matter Now the Iury being Divided whether he Destroyed Himself or was Murther'd by Other People it was a thing very much to their Purpose to Enform themselves what Humour he was in either soon before or upon his going away The Question was put to Radcliffe about the seeing of him That Saturday and what he could say further to the Matter they had before them The Coroners Enformation says he verily Believes he saw him In the Other he Swears that he had him by the Hand and Invited him to Dinner Nay and Mr. Radcliffe calls to mind that heObjected at that very Time to the Expression Why says he 't is More then Believing for I Know it And some body made Answer If you Know it you Believe it It is observable again that there was a most Industrious Separation in the Examination before the Coroner of some Parts of the Story from the Rest and particularly that Those Passages were made use of that were not one jot to the Purpose and others left out that in All Appearance would have given the Iurors the Best Light they had toward the Governing of the following Verdict What was the Account or Discount among the Parish-Officers to the Question of Felo de se or Not That Account Barely I mean without Godfrey's Part in the Disorderly Circumstances that Attended it The Charge and Discharge of it self was utterly Impertinent but the Other could not be well Vnderstood but in Company with the Relation it had to the Bus'ness of the Reck'nings Bradbury's Forty Shillings The Setling of his Charity And All must be Finished That Night too which seems to Imply an Apprehension he had that he should never Live to Another Opportunity of doing it Now This was the Point that should have been Pressed Inculcated and Insisted upon and it would have done much better to have lay'd the Fact at Length before the Iury without any Gloss upon 't on the One Hand then to Deliver a Partial and an Vngrounded Opinion without so much as one Syllable of the Plain Truth of Fact on the Other The whole Matter under Deliberation resolves shortly in to This Was Sir Godfrey under any Trouble and Distress of Thought or Not This is the Truth of the Story says the One Side And let the Iurors Judge upon 't whether he Was or No. Now the Other side is for giving the Opinion without the Story And it was Prudently done for the Naked Narrative of the Fact and That Judgment of his Even Humour could never have stood together I was affraid least this Diversity of Countenance from the same Person might prove Injurious either to the Cause or to the Witness if I should let it go off Thus without something of an Explanatory Animadversion upon it Wherefore I communicated the Matter to Mr. Radcliffe Himself who told me that he would suddenly give me a Plain Account of the Whole Affair and I received from him in his own Hand-Writing the Declaratory Enformation here following upon That Subject The Enformation of Joseph Radcliffe of the Parish of St. Martins in the Fields Oylman taken upon Oath Jan. 10. 1687 8. THAT when he was Examin'd by John Cowper Coroner of Middlesex concerning Sir Edmundbury Godfrey on the 19th day of October 1678. He this Deponent did tell the said Coroner and his Jury All the Passages that he had observ'd in Sir Edmund Godfrey on the 11th and 12th Days of the same Month which was as near as this Deponent can declare the very
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