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A38819
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The depositions and examinations of Mr. Edmund Everard (who was four years close prisoner in the Tower of London) concerning the horrid popish plot against the life of His Sacred Majesty, the government, and the Protestant religion with the names of several persons in England, Ireland, France, and elsewhere concerned in the conspiracy.
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Everard, Edmund.
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1679
(1679)
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Wing E3527; ESTC R4864
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11,665
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20
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I Appoint Dorman Newman Citizen and Stationer of London to Print my Depositions concerning the Plot and none else April 30. 1679. Edmund Everard THE DEPOSITIONS AND EXAMINATIONS OF Mr. Edmund Everard Who was Four years close Prisoner in the TOWER of LONDON Concerning the Horrid Popish Plot AGAINST The LIFE of His SACRED MAJESTY the GOVERNMENT and the Protestant Religion With the Names of several persons in England Ireland France and elsewhere concerned in the Conspiracy Part whereof was five years since made known to persons herein specified and again tendered to the Honourable Committee of Lords sitting in Parliament at Westminster upon Oath and now tendered to the Honourable House of Commons LONDON Printed for Dorman Newman at the Kings Arms in the Poultrey M DC LXXIX This Information of the Plot was five years since given by me to persons herein specified but was suppressed and was again now of late tendered a-new to the Committee of the Lords sitting in Parliament at Westminster upon Oath the 21st of December 1678. And is now tender'd by me to the Commons WHILE I was employed as Agent at the French Court for the English Militia's Concerns one of the Officers brought me at Paris to the acquaintance of my Lady Anne Gourdon Sister to the now Marquess of Huntley in Scotland She after about a years frequentation communicated unto me certain important secrets concerning a Popish Plot against England She 's a Lady of vast correspondence with the Popish Clergy and Nobility almost through all Europe living ordinarily as a free person in Nunneries and was then in a Convent at Paris At a time I surprized her with two of the chief Scotch Seminarists of Paris in a deep and dark discourse of the English Affairs and as soon as my Lady made them understand that I was one of her privatest Friends and Catholickly affected it being fit she should imagine this they begun to speak plain enough to let me perceive that their discourse tended to some sudden design for the subversion of the English Government and Governour and the setting up of Popery here in England But on some day of the Month of November 1673 I enquired of my Lady what those mysterious discourses meaned she had with the Scotch Priest She after long importunities and protestations revealed unto me that which follows I. That there was now a grand Design on foot in England for the setling of the Catholick Faith there publickly II. That there was also a project against the Parliament that made such a stir as she spoke and was their obstacle either totally to dissolve it or to sow some divisions betwixt the King and It where his Majesty also should find potent Adversaries of the Romish Nobility who would cut out work for him III. That there was a very considerable party in England who laboured to make the Duke of York King but that the Scots indeed were more for the Duke of Monmouths being such if means could be made to bring him over to it wherein she conceived I might be an useful Instrument having been employed under him But said I What do they mean to do with the King himself She answered I. That the now King of England would be made away and dispatcht after his Father so that he would not be shortly in a case to annoy any body Then I askt her by what means they thought to bring such matters about and who were the leading-men in the contrivance and who the Under-agents to carry it on She said That all that was too much for me to know at the first time besides that it was then too late at night but that at my return within three days for avoiding of suspition I should be fully satisfied But I insisted That these were grand affairs whereof she spoke for which consequently she needed to have more than common grounds She replied that I ought not to doubt but that she had the best correspondency in England Scotland and France as having on the one part Madam de Gourdon her Aunt one of the chief Ladies with the Dutchess of Orleance which was taken to be of the fittest for Intelligence and Intrigues at the French Court and on the other side that she received Letters almost every week from the eminentest Church-men on this and that side of the sea as also from some of the greatest Nobility of England and Scotland namely from her Brother the Marquess of Huntley my Lord Oxenford of Scotland Mr. Maitland somewhat concerned as she said in the Secretaryship of Ministry of State of Scotland and from the Earl of Roches Chancellor there but she afterwards run out into some of his Love commerce with her so that I leave to others to infer from the premises to which either to Love or the Plot-part or all of this his Letter-Correspondency must be referred And to confirm further the credit I must yeild to her words she drew forth a Bag full of Letters a matter of a Bushel full and shewed some more in a Cabinet saying Are these all about trifles think you She further produced a picture in mignature of the said Chancellor and went about to read one of his Letters of a large and ill-shaped Character methought but withheld referring me till the fore-mentioned three days term I in fine asked how she could avoid suspition if so many Letters were directed to her in her own name She told me she had taken a good care for that because her Correspondents writ to her under several names by which they called her and part of her Letters were directed to Mr. Conne a Scotch-man living at Paris as Agent for the Pope others were addressed to Mr. Dallison her Scotch Physician there some to Father Joseph Prior of the English Benedictines at Paris who was her Confessor II. Now in the interval having before been recommended by Dr. Brien Dr. Molony Priests and others to Colonel Richard Talbot and to his Brother Peter the pretended Archbishop of Dublin for a person that carried on business after the formalities of the Court of France and the Colonel himself having made some tryal of me he on a time desired me to be assistant to his Brother the Bishop not long since come out of England The Bishop desired I should go and complement on his behalf the Marshal Bellefond Grand Steward to the King of France and know when he might be introduced by him to the Kings Audience about the business whereof he treated with the Marshal himself while he was in England as Ambassador in or about the year 1670. The Marshal being then at Court kept at Versaile the Bishop would have one Mr. Moore a Priest and Philosophy-Professor at Paris to accompany us thither on the next day having lain that night at Versaile and the Bishop striving to make us all merry on the good Catholick Causes success I took that opportunity to enquire whether he thought it not fit to communicate unto me the Heads and Grounds of
Northampton told me III. And since my enlargement at the very beginning of this Parliament I yet went to the Tower to desire Sir John to second me for the discovering of the said matters but he at my first speaking rejected my proposal referring me to the Secretaries And truly I would as heartily have applied my self to the Secretaries as to any but that I feared lest of some errors which might be found in my carrying on this business they would be more likely to charge me therewith as parties for the King and Laws than any other chief Parliament-members who would be more fit to intercede for me and more at leisure to sue out a pardon for me if need were IV. In fine Col. Justin Maccarty being then at Paris when these matters were vented out of Sir Robert of my accusing the Lady Huntley and the Talbots he I say with some of his Officers can testifie that such a Report came out then some years since if they would speak truth V. Nay and one Capt. Barret with several other Officers that were beyond seas told me about a fortnight ago that the report went amongst the Irish That the Talbots were committed upon my Information though I never spoke of them these four years till now but that by a fore-boding guilt they knew perfectly and heard I had grounds enough wherewith to accuse them so that the Irish Catholicks here did threaten me alledging me to be an abettor of Mr. Oate's Informations against them which he neither needs nor did I ever see him but in publike before I gave in this Information nor Bedlow Besides that it appears I made the discovery of the Plot and the aforesaid matters before they had I not had some of the Trojan Prophetesses ill fortune yet in time I hope I shall be able to recollect more of the particulars of the matters and persons herein mentioned EDMUND EVERARD Jurat coram me 4 April 1679. WILLIAM WALLER The Information of Mr. EDMOND EVERARD taken upon OATH before Sir WILLIAM WALLER one of His Majesties Justices of the Peace for the County of Middlesex and City and Liberties of Westminster this Fourth of APRIL 1679. THE true Contrivers of my Imprisonment were the Talbots and Lady Huntley who for discovering of their Plotings threatned me in express words That if ever I came over into England on that Design I would be secured in the Tower or Gate-House or if I remained in France they would get me laid fast enough They put these Threatnings into Execution for though both they and I were seemingly reconciled yet they made such a Search for me in Paris that I was faign to change Lodgings very often into remote and by-places and when I was on my Journey for England one or two of my own servants whom I dismist at Paris seeing me take Coach privately carried them word of it and for some pretence or other they sent one Mr. Perrig who was their acquaintance and Huntley's chief friend in post to apprehend me whereof Sir Edward Hungerford of this Honourable House can testifie from a Friend of his who heard the same from Perrig's mouth that is now dead And it 's to be remark'd that he could not pursue or apprehend a stranger in France but in a concern against the King of that Countrey who rather gives protection to strangers that are pursued on any other Account Before the Talbots fell out with me and when I first determined in my own mind to come over privately into England I inquired of one of the Talbot's servants who was my Countreyman where one might take cheap and friendly Lodgings in London till one were in fit Equipage I having never been in England before he directed me to one Kenedy's House at the Pall Mall or to another Countreyman's House of his in St. Martin's Lane at the Sign of the Patrick the first night and hour I came to that House I told them my Name and Imployment from the Duke of Monmouth and that it was fit I should go and wait on him immediately lest he should take it ill and desned my Landlord to send for some Link-boy that knew his Grace's House where I repaired forthwith but not finding his Grace at home I acquainted some of the servants of my Arrival to notifie to his Grace The next day I came he also was abroad earlier than ordinary on some Riding or Recreation Account I But unto Gentlemen of his Chamber Mr. Champins and St. Giles I told I would gladly come to kiss his Grace's hand and confer about Business in whatever company he were in so that Captain Watson and Mr. Vernon were not present who were my Enemies on private Accounts and would move his Grace doubtlesly against me not to grant me my Request which partly was some Arrears or an Imployment The next day I being ill was let blood and kept my Chamber a day or two I think the Sunday morning I went to visit Lieutenant Collonel Trelany who meeting accidently a day or two before I came to re-visit on this Sunday morning who at my first sight found more than ordinarily disturbed and courteously desired to know my Lodgings and whether I had seen the Duke I told him of the sorry Dwelling I had taken up for a little time and that I would gladly see his Grace without the side enemies and with him He desired me to accompany him to Whitehall Chappel where I might at the least be seen of his Grace Thither we went But the Collonel desiring me to stay about the Chappel Door thronged in with great haste without coming out to me afterwards In the mean time hearing of Organs and Children singing in Surplusses as I had seen and heard in the French Kings Chappel where I perceived some of the English Nobility come as freely as here I did not know what to think whether I had not been too forward in speaking of any Discoveries against that Religion which might be perhaps of late changed in England for that I had not heard or seen such things in the French Church at Charenton where I only took my Idea of Protestanism but this erronious state of things that I now know to be indifferent did however make me pause in my Discoveries but whilst in these thoughts Captain Watson stept out of the Chappel who looking on me a-squint went down the Privy Stairs in one end and the other Watson his Nephew speaking a word or two to me more coldly than ordinarily went out through the Guard Hall to the other Stairs and presently follows in the King's company the Duke of Monmouth who eying me only past by at all which passages of indifferency from former friends I was astonish'd But I was in Scarlet Breeches and Stockings so that I could be easily discerned and dogg'd to my Lodgings where I went presently from Chappel Within two days after two men brought a Paper to my said Lodging signed by the Secretary whereupon he said he must needs