Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	duke_n	king_n	york_n	13,001	5	9.6505	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A63112	Truth vindicated, or, A detection of the aspersions and scandals cast upon Sir Robert Clayton and Sir George Treby, Justices, and Slingsby Bethell and Henry Cornish, Esquires, sheriffs of the city of London, in a paper published in the name of Dr. Francis Hawkins, minister of the Tower, intituled, The confession of Edward Fitz-Harris, Esq., &c. the coppy of which paper is herewith printed for the readers clearer judgment in the case.	Treby, George, Sir, 1644?-1700.; Fitzharris, Edward, 1648?-1681. Confession.	1681 (1681)	Wing T2107; ESTC R11729	17,499	36

TRUTH VINDICATED OR A detection of the Aspersions and Scandals cast upon Sir ROBERT CLAYTON and Sir GEORGE TREBY Justices and SLINGSBY BETHELL and HENRT CORNISH Esquires Sheriffs of the City of LONDON in a Paper published in the Name of Dr. Francis Hawkins Minister of the Tower INTITULED THE CONFESSION OF EDWARD FITZ-HARRIS Esq c. The Coppy of which Paper is herewith Printed for the Readers clearer judgment in the Case LONDON Printed for Rich. Baldwin 1681. TRUTH Vindicated c. OUT of a just care that the Protestant Religion and Interest may not suffer nor our own Reputations be blasted by the most odious Scandals causelesly cast upon us in the execution of our several Offices we are constrained to make known unto the World the abominable falsehoods and fictions of that pretended Confession of Fitz-Harris published by Dr. Francis Hawkins Minister of the Tower We could not indeed suddenly resolve whether it were needful to open the Villany of that Paper in regard it carries in its own forehead so many evident marks of malice and falsehood to every observing man that knows what happened about Fitz-Harris But having heard that some have been deceived by that Paper and induced to believe that it was Written by Fitz-Harris bona fide from some compunction of Conscience or sense of obligation to reveal the truth at his death We hold it our duty to discover the Popish practice and contrivance in the forming and publishing that pretended Confession The poor deluded timerous Wretch consenting perhaps to the wickedness whilst he was perswaded it should save him from the Gallows though he was conscious to himself that the matters pretended to be confessed were a parcel of falsehoods invented to serve base designs the whole Paper having no face or appearance of a dying Criminal's open-hearted confession of his sins nor any expressions of remorse of Conscience for them No more notice is taken of any of those too well known debaucheries and wickedness of his Life than if he had lived like a Saint or Angel no acknowledgment or mention is made of those odious repeated perjuries to the Secretaries of State to Sir Robert Clayton c. and to the Judges of the Kings-Bench of which he must have known himself to be guilty if he had thought this pretended Confession to be true There 's nothing in it that looks plain clear and natural as seriously intended to discharge his Conscience and satisfie the world about the matters formerly sworn by him and published by Authority If any such purpose had been really in his heart like a true penitent sinner he must natually have descended to the particulers of what he had sworn and have declared to the world whether his Ghostly Father Gough did really tell him in the year 1672 as he had deposed of the Papists designs to bring the D. of York to be King to restore Popery and of killing the King to make way for it He could not but have confirmed or denied the truth of his Oath That his other Ghostly Father Parry the Portugues Embassador's Confessor told him in 1678 That a Council of Roman Catholicks had resolved that seeing the King failed in the expectations they had from him he should be destroyed and that the business was near and he should soon see it done If his Conscience had been to be unburdened in this Consession he could not have forborn to say clearly that he deposed truly or falsly That the Marquess Montecuculi in 1679 swore him first to secrecy and then offered him Ten thousand pounds to kill the King either in his own person or by any other And if this pretended Confession were conscientiously taken by Dr. Hawkins as from a penitent sinner whom he absolved from his sins as he says he could not be so negligent or ignorant in his Priestly Office or so false to the King and the Religion he professes as not to exhort the sinner when he seemed to retract what he had sworn before to confess the truth in matters of such concern to the life of the King and the being of the Protestant Religion and the publick justice of the Kingdom knowing that his Confession about those things had been published to the whole world But this Paper shews it self when duly examined to be a studied artisicial contrivance to cover the Popish Treasons without an impudent direct forswearing the particulars that have been evidently proved and a design by equivocations and sly insinuations mixt with downright falshoods and fictions to perswade the world that there are amongst the Protestants abominable practises of subernation of Perjuries against the Papists wicked Conspiracies against the King Queen and Duke of York and vile designs against the Lords of the Council We doubt not but time will discover how and by whom this pretended Consession was modelled and put together and how long it was upon the Anvil to fashion it and how the miserable man was prevailed upon to give a seeming consent to it against the dictates of his Conscience with hopes to save his life by serving such designs though he was seemingly to renounce those hopes to make himself the better to be believed For the present let it suffice that we anatomize this mock Confession and shew its shameful falshood out of its own matter and form It is to be observed how he begins his Confession not like a man that had before confessed upon his Oath many Popish Treasons and Designs against the Protestants their Religion and Lives and from whom being now attainted of Treason was to be expected a clear account of all the Popish Intrigues he knew But without Apology or Preamble he tells the world believe it who can That the Treason of the Libel whereof he was convicted came from a Protestant viz. the Lord Howard and that he was no further concerned in it than as he was imployed to give the King notice of such Libels which he was wont to do by Mrs. Wall the Lady Portsmouths Woman But the Conscience of this poor wretch could not but witness within him that he had often protested before God that the Lord Howard knew nothing of the Libel and that he had bitterly complained sometime to Sheriff Cornish and sometime to Sheriff Bethel in Newgate that he was pressed with the powerful Argument of saving his Life to accuse my Lord Howard and Lord of Shaftesbury of the Libel and that he was so importuned thereunto that he was sorced to down of his knees and beg that he might not be further pressed therein the Lord Howard being innocent of it and the Lord Shaftesbury being such a stranger to him as he had scarce ever spoke to him adding with great asseverations that if it were to save his Life he could not be guilty of so base a villany but would rather dye than accuse the innocent What large offers were also made to some of his friends to perswade him to accuse the Lord Howard may hereafter be

Parliament and that the Sheriffs consulted and confederated with them to suborn Fitz-harris to be a Witness of the Popish Plots and Practices which they had declared to the world or at least that some Lords and Commons were privy and parties to the Subornation of Fitz-harris by the Sheriffs to sware as they should instruct him and that those Lords and Commoners intended to use their Interest with his Majesty for his Pardon to make him though false their legal Witness But as in truth there was no Parliament sitting whilst Fitz-harris was in the Sheriffs custody nor in ten days after and the place of their sitting is well known was to be at Oxford and not at London so there were no instructions for him to confirm or swear to either from Lords or Commoners none of the heads mentioned nor any others brought to him by the Sheriffs or either of them no address for his Pardon imagined or thought of by either Lords or Commons nor mentioned by the Sheriffs or either of them no meeting for any such intent no discourse between the Sheriffs and any man or men under the Sun about such an Address every circumstance of this Hellish Tale coming out of the forge of the Father of Lyes Yet it may be this was thought a hopeful invention to take off from the credit of all the Evidence given in Courts of Justice concerning all the Popish Designs enumerated under those Heads and Instructions and indeed it seems to be a crafty way to throw dirt at all those solemn Declarations made in Parliament concerning the Abettors of those Popish and French Designs and the adherents to them by whose countenance all their Plots have been managed that have so endangered the King and Kingdom And though this false poysonous tongue seems to spit its venom directly at the Sheriffs yet it endeavours to do the greatest mischief to the King and the Parliament and to defame to the whole world all the late Proceedings of Parliaments against the Popish Plotters and their favourers The mock-confession goes on further to defame if his tongue be a slander Sir Robert Clayton and Sir George Treby Justices of the Peace for the City darkly insinuating that they would have induced him to say more than was true and plainly saying that what he deposed before them concerning Father Patrick was forced out of him and was not true and he so represents Sir George Treby's carriage in taking his whole Examination that he would have the whole thought to be of no validity But doubtless Mr. Fitz-harris did not nor could he possibly have believed himself if he consented to have it written that Sir Robert Clayton and Sir George Treby dealt unfairly with him or forced out of him either what he swore concerning Father Patrick or any thing else of his Confession He knew very well that they came to take his Confession not officiously but upon his own earnest reiterated intreaty at several times to each of the Sheriffs apart that some Justices of the Peace might be sent to him to whom he might make a full discovery of matters not before discovered in the Grand Popish Plot as he called it He knew also that they came not till Thursday in the afternoon the tenth of March and that he had been thrice examined by the Secretaries of State Lord Conway Sir L. Jenkins and the Attorney-General before Sir Robert Clayton and Sir George Treby ever saw him and he was conscious to himself that he had first sworn before the Secretaries all that he would now retract concerning Father Patrick as forced out of him by Sir Robert Clayton and Sir George Treby and the other matters also in substance that are contained in his Printed Examination by Sir Robert Clayton and Sir George Treby except that one passage in it about De Puy and the whole House of Commons at Oxford are Witnesses herein That when Sir George Treby read Fitz-harris's Examination to the House Mr. Secretary Jenkins declared That he had before confessed the same in substance to the Lord Conway the Attorney-General and himself except that about De Puy Yet for what reason we know not the contrivers of this Sham-retractation or declaration took no care to retract or excuse his swearing the same matters before the Secretaries of State Perhaps because those Examinations were never Printed and scarce any Foreigners nor many English men did know that Fitz-harris had thrice sworn to the same Confession in substance before the Secretaries of State which he did the fourth time before Sir Robert Clayton and Sir George Treby Besides it best answered the design of this Sham-confession to conceal the first Examinations as much as could be and to represent it to the world as if Sir Robert Clayton and Sir George Treby had forced out of him the Confession of all those Popish Treasons mentioned in his Printed Examination as it was reported to the Parliament There 's a Trial of skill also for the same purpose in this mock-confession to wrest some of Sir Robert Clayton's and Sir George Treby's words from their honest sense wherein they were spoken and to separate them from their other words properly joined with them as the Devil used the Scripture that they might seem to imply a wicked intent to draw Fitz-harris to say what was not true When it was late in the night and Fitz-harris complained he was tired having been about three hours upon Examination and was asked what he could say concerning Godfrey's Murder and he answered in general only something Could any thing be replied more harmlesly by Sir Robert Clayton than to wish him to recollect himself against the next day when it was intended to examine him further if he had not been removed out of their power Yet even these words of Sir Robert Clayton's are recited as if they imply'd some ill practise by him upon the Examinant or at least some sinister intent of his in that matter The Sham-confession further craftily insinuates tho' it doth not expresly say it that this wretched mans Depositions about the Counsels held at St. James's and Windsor concerning Godfrey's Murder were taken by Sir Robert Clayton and Sir George Treby which is utterly false then the Confession declares that he was put upon what he said against the Queen and the Earl of Danby about that Murder and that Sir George Treby would have had him say that the Duke the Lord Bellasis Arundel and Powis were at the Consult and that he had seen them go to it at St. James's Surely these Sham-Confessions are thus methodized and put together in hope to abuse or deceive the world into a Belief or Opinion that whatsoever this Fitz-Harris Deposed first and last about the Popish Plot and Godfrey's Murder was done by the Practices Force and Inducements of the City-Sheriffs and the Justices of the Peace Whereas it is most notoriously known that it was upon Fitz-Harris's own Motion to the Judges of the Kings-Bench that his

Depositions were taken before that Court about Godfrey's Murder and that then and not before he discovered the Councels held at St. James's and Windsor about Godfrey's Murder and the persons concerned and present therein and the words he heard from the Earl of Danby coming out from the Consult and the account he then had from De Puy of the Resolutions taken for that Murder And this was in the Term after that the Parliament at Oxford was Dissolved and above six Weeks after his most close Imprisonment in the Tower where the City-Sheriffs or Magistrates or any from them were never admitted to see him Indeed the counterfeit Confession to avoid a plain conviction of its falshood durst not say by whom Fitz-Harris was put upon saying what he did of the Queen and Earl of Danby about Godfrey's Murder But as the matters are connected 't is strongly implied to have been by the City-Magistrates none other being named or referred unto And to perswade the World that the vilest Wickedness may justly be believed of them viz. the City Officers the Impudence of Hell is assumed to bring in Sir George Treby desiring or willing him to accuse the Earl of Danby and the Popish Lords in the Tower thus speaking as if the worst of Devils had spoke in him Do but you SAY it we have those that will SWEAR it If such as know not Sir George Treby can believe him to be so vile a Wretch as he is render'd and could also think Sir Robert Clayton could have been guilty of the same Wickedness in consenting to it or silently conniving at it to which a thousand worlds could not have hired him Yet when they shall hear of Sir George Treby's profession of the Law his Reputation and Place surely 't is impossible for them to believe him to have been so exceeding silly as to discover to an Irish Papist whom he had never seen before such a strange Mystery and Secret of Darkness amongst the Protestants and City-Magistrates viz. That they had a pack of Knights of the Post godless perjurious Wretches in readiness to swear whatsoever they would have them If they had been so provided with false Witnesses against the Duke and the Popish Lords as this counterfeit Confession suggests and if there had been a wicked Design against them there was no need of Fitz-Harris his SAYING any thing about them no body can think that he was better able than Sir George Treby to instruct a false Witness against them especially when the Sham-confession represents him first instructing Fitz-Harris what he should say against the Duke and Lords that then the Sons of Belial might come from their lurking-places and SWEAR to his words Surely it had been the wiser the safer and the shorter way for Sir George Treby to have given his Swearers if there had been such their Lessons immediately without desiring Fitz-Harris as is vainly suggested first to say it over after him that then the Witnesses might Swear it Neither the false Suggestions nor the Perjuries could have gained any weight or credit from the Authority of Fitz-Harris by his saying what they were to swear In fine They must desire to be couzen'd that will but seem to believe so black so vain so unlikely and so foolish a Slander of Sir Robert Clayton and Sir George Treby only upon Dr. Hawkins's saying if he hath said true that he had the words of Fitz-Harris for it who hath convicted himself of forty Perjuries if the pretended Confession to Dr. Hawkins had been bona fide made by him But this pretended Confession having loaded with Infamy the Sheriffs and Justices of Peace imployed in Fitz-Harris's Examination takes wonderful care with all the Art and Skill the Contrivers had that the Earl of Danby might be wiped clean from Godsrey's Murder for which he was Indicted by the occasion of Fitz-Harris's Oath For that purpose the words of this Confession are so framed that the world may think that the Sheriffs or Justices of the City were the practisers with him in that Deposition the Paper saying They were the more desirous to accuse the Lord Danby of Godfreys Murder because the Crime of Murder is not inserted in his Pardon The word THEY will be understood to relate to Sir Robert Clayton and Sir George Treby who only were mentioned before or the Sheriffs tho' Fitz-Harris was never Examined about the Lord Danby by any of them nor had any of them ever heard the least of the matters Sworn by him against the Lord Danby about that Murder until they were publique at the Kings-Bench-Bar which was six Weeks after Fitz-Harris's removal from the Sheriffs custody to be close Prisoner in the Tower And if he knew before his Oath against the Lord Danby that Murder was not in his Pardon which we do not believe he was better informed than Sir Rob. Clayton or the Sheriffs and the most men of England But it seems strange that this mock-Confession did not for the help of this Popish Plot absolutely retract the whole Evidence given by Fitz-Harris at the Kings-Bench Court whereas those parts of it are now left as true that Deposed the Councels held at St. James's and Windsor and that the Lord Danby coming out of one of them breathed out the threatning words as Fitz-Harris remembers and that De Puy that was then in hearing o the Counsel presently told him that Godfrey's Murder was then resolv'd upon c. but a fine thin excuse is invented since his Oath that he believes De Puy spoke out of ill-will to the Lord Danby Yet nothing is said to shew how he now comes so to believe more than when he was sworn in the Court to speak the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth We hope we have said enough to convince every Impartial Reader of the Impiety Fraud and Mockery of the pretended Confession Yet we should not have taken this trouble if we could have suffer'd with patience that all the Popish Treasons and Wickednesses lately Discovered against our Religion the King and Kingdom should be represented to the world as the Devices and Practices of the Protestants their Officers and Magistrates against the Papists and that a seeming consciencious Confession of a Dying man should be cry'd up by the Papists at home and in forreign Countrys as a ground to have it so believed We have reason to fear that the Sufferings of the Protestants beyond the Seas are upon this occasion already encreased our English Papists there daily decrying the Popish Plot and catching at occasions to scandalize all Protestants in Authority that oppose them and to stir up Enmity and Rage thereby against the oppressed Protestants We must acknowledge that we were surprized with astonishment when we first saw this Mock-Confession of Fitz-Harris published and the more that it should be done by a Dr. of the English Church either Fr. Hawkins or Hawkesworth which Name he will owne we cannot yet learn but that a Dr. of our Church

had for secret Service and advised me to go to the Lord Clarendon or Hyde but before I could do this I was taken As for that part of the Libel which I left with Everard as a Pledge to assure him I would not betray him I received it of the Lord Howard And the Money I received from the King was for bringing a Libel called The King Unvail'd and the Lady Portsmouths Articles I call God to witness I never had a Farthing charity from the King I do further confess and declaere That the Lord Howard told me of a Design to seize upon the King's Person and to carry him into the City and there detain him till he had condescended to their Desires Heyns and my self were privy to this Design and had several Meetings with the Lord Howard and as an Encouragement the Lord Howard assured us of breaking the Settlement of Ireland taking off the Additional Revenue of the Bishops Forty nine-men and Grantees whose Estates were to be shar'd amongst the Party I do confess and declare That while I was in Newgate the Sheriff's Bethel and Cornish came to me with a Token from the Lord Howard which I knew to be true and brought Heads with them from Everard wherein he accused me of being a Court Emissary or Yorkist put on by the King to put the Libel into Protestants houses to trepan them But I declare upon my death I had no such intent nor do I know any such thing The Sheriffs likewise told me I was to be tried within three or four days that the people would prosecute me and the Parliament would impeach me and that nothing would save my life but discovering the Popish Plot. And then the Sheriffs aforesaid gave me great Encouragement from my Lord Howard that if I would declare that I believed so much of the Plot as amounted to the introducing the R. C. or if I could find out any that could criminate the Queen R. H. or make so much as a plausible story to confirm the Plot that the Parliament would restore me to my Fathers Estate with the Prosits thereof since His Majesties Restauration I sinding my self in the condition I was in Newgate Fettered Moneyless and Friendless my Wife ready to Lye in without any subsistence my Children in a miserable condition and must needs be in a worse by my death and I could see no other Refuge for life but complying with them so not with ambitious intent but to save my life I did comply The Sheriffs brought Instructions which they said came from the Lords and Commons who met that day in order to Address to the King in my behalf if I should confirm the Instructions and they made use of the Lord Shastsbury's name and others what Advantage I might have thereby At the first I made a formal story concerning the Plot which was not prejudicial to any body but most relating to general Heads known publickly upon which Mr. Cornish told me These were things cryed about the Streets two years ago I replied I could say no more Mr. Sheriff said He was sorry for me with all his heart but thought I could say more if I would and pressed me hard to speak to several Heads unto which unless I spoke he said there was no hopes of life The Heads I was to speak to is what the Examination taken by Sir Robert Clayton and Sir George Treby contains and a great deal more that I did not say then relating to the Queen R. H. Earl of Danby declaring French Pensioners Lords Hallifax Hyde Clarendon Feversham Seymer and others the burning the Fleet Forts and Governments in Popish hands Meal-Tub-Plot Prentices Plot the contrivance of the Libel on the Lady Portsmouth being a French Designe to destroy Protestants These and many other Heads were brought me by the Sheriffs I do farther confess declare That Sir Rob. Clayton and Sir George Treby coming to me to examine me Sir Rob. Clayton asked me what I could say concerning Godfrey's Murder I answered Something He replied It may be I was in a confusion recollect your self And what I said concerning Father Patrick was forced out of me and what I said concerning him is not true Sir George Treby was with me three hours or thereabouts and pressed to say concerning Godfrey's death and said Vnless I could speak to that Murder I could say nothing Whereupon I said something I had from others He asked me if I could say no more I replied Is not this enough to save my Life Am I not Rogue enough The Recorder hereupon swore Gods wounds what were you ever but a Rogue Then the Recorder entred upon the Heads of the Examination which being done he told me All this would not save my Life unless I would speak to the Libel which was a Court-trick and it was not for nothing that I had been so often seen at the Lady Portsmouth's The Lord Shaftsbury said You know more of these matters than any man Sir George would have me speak to the Consult that the Duke was at it the Lords Bellasis Arundel and Powis were at it You have seen them go to it at St. James's without doubt they were there Do you but say it we have those that will swear it I do further declare and confess That what I said against the Queen the Duke I was put upon in the matter of Sir Edmunbury Godfrey's Murder And do further declare That what I swore against the Earl of Danby the threatning words that were uttered I did to the best of my remembrance hear but whom they concern'd I could not well know by what my Lord himself said And what de Puis told me concerning my Lord of Danby I do believe was spoken out of ill will and what I said against him was to stave off my Tryal till a Parliament and they were the more desirous to accuse the Lord Danby of Godfrey's Murder because the Crime of Murder is not inserted in his Pardon I am sorry for what I said against the Queen his Royal Highness and the Earl of Danby I desire God to forgive me the wrong I did them and do heartily beg their Pardon I do further declare and protest That this Confession and Declaration of mine I own sincerely as a dying man and not to save my life and I call God and all his Angels to witness the Truth of it and I renounce Mercy at the Hands of God Almighty if this be not true And I do further declare and protest as a dying man unto James Walmesly Edward Pattel and Mary Walmesly That I have made this Confession and Declaration unto Doctor Hawkins freely and of my own voluntary accord without any manner of promise made or hopes given me by him from the King of saving my life by this Confession I having given him to understand before-hand they were matters of consequence and such as chiefly concern'd the good of the King and Kingdom I give the Doctor my hearty Thanks for all his Prayers Counsel and Charitable Offices he hath done me and I pray God to bless him for ever for it I forgive all the World and desire all the World to forgive me and the Lord have mercy on my Soul EDWARD FITZ-HARYS This Protestation was made by Mr. Fitz-Harys July 1. between the hours of 7 and 8 in the morning in the presence and hearing of us whose Names are hereunder written James Walmesly Edward Pattel Mary Walmesly I Do hereby declare That Mr. Fitz-Harys before he began to write any part of this Narrative was more than once assured by me that there was no hope of his life that I know of whatever he should say nor of his Salvation if he should say any thing that he knew to be false of which he being throughly sensible and perfectly convinced proceeded to write the Narrative aforesaid And I continuing to admonish him upon every point that was material not to say any thing but what was exactly true he took occasion at several periods of his Narrative to kneel down and solemnly to protest the truth of every word therein contained And this I do again declare upon the Faith of a Christian and the word of a Minister of the Gospel Francis Hawkins FINIS