them of his Locking himself up and of his Discourse and how much he was out of Humour Vpon the Hearing whereof Mr. Michael fell to stamping and Crying-out O Lord We are Ruin'd What shall we do The Brother Benjamin lifting up his eyes Wringing his Hands and breaking out into Exclamations What will become of us This Enformant asked them then what the Matter was they said Nothing But they said he was not at Church and so they thought he might have been with Her telling This Enformant also that she should hear More Henry Moor Deposeth That his Master not coming home That Saturday Night he went Early the Next day being Sunday Morning to the House of Mr. Michael Godfrey to acquaint him with his Masters Absence whereupon the said Mr. Godfrey brake out into This Expression God have Mercy upon us I pray God we hear good News of him Let any Man Consider now upon what Apprehension it was that the Brothers should be so Transported upon the Story of This Extravagance of the said Sir Edmund It will not be said I hope that This Wild Behaviour of his was a Symptom of any Danger he lay in from the Papists Mary Gibbon Iunior Deposeth That some Day betwixt Sir Edmund's Leaving his House and the finding of the Body she This Enformant saw the Two Brothers of Sir Edmund come into her Fathers House but she did not hear their Discourse only This Enformants Mother told her afterwards that upon some Discourse with them of the Strange Behaviour of their Brother a Matter of Ten Days before they brake out into Exclamations Crying out they were Ruin'd What should they do VVhat would become of them Mary Gibbon Senior further Deposeth That on Tuesday Morning the Enformant came to the House of Sir Edmund where she found Mrs. Pamphlin Crying and saying We shall never see Sir Edmund More And asking her what was become of him she said she durst not trust her And further saith That about a Fortnight after the Burial of Sir Edmund's Body Mrs. Pamphlin came to This Enformant saying It is a very sad thing that I should not be examin'd about the Death of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey This Enformant telling her the said Pamphlin If you do know how he came by his Death and do not discover it you will be Damn'd to All Eternity The said Pamphlin replying to this Effect If his Clerk and I were Examin'd upon Oath we could say a Great Deal which I will not do Voluntarily but if I be put to my Oath I will speak what I know The Clerk knows more then you can Imagin This Enformant wrote down some Notes of what Mrs. Pamphlin said which were Deliver'd as this Enformant believeth either to the Lords Committees or to the Earl of Shaftsbury This Enformant well Remembreth that Mr. Pamphlin took Notice to her of Sir Edmund's being much out of Order some Weeks before his Death Captain Thomas Gibbon Deposeth That upon the Munday after Sir Edmundbury Godfrey went away he went to Collonel Weldens and asked him what he thought of Sir Edmund Whose Answer was I Dare not tell you my Thoughts for I have observ'd him to be much out of his Ordinary Temper ever since his Examination of Otes This Enformant telling his Wife what he had heard at his Return This Enformant went the Day Following to Sir Edmund's to know what News where Mrs. Pamphlin said that She could not tell him but bad him go into the Kitchin where the Clerk was and he would tell him more Mary Gibbon Iunior Deposeth That after Sir Edmunds Dead Body was found and that in the Time betwixt the Burial of the said Sir Edmund and the coming in of Bedloe and Prance and before any News of a Discovery how he came by his Death the said Pamphlin came to the House of This Enformants Father and was saying How strange a Thing it was that she should not be examin'd For I was warn'd said she as well as Moor and Curtis and they were examin'd and I was not Pamphlin telling her this Enformant that they were not willing she should appear Meaning as this Enformant understood her the Relations of Sir Edmund but the said Pamphlin told this Enformant that upon a Second Warning they agreed that she should Appear but bad her speak sparingly and telling her that she might safely swear That the Papists had Murther'd him This Enformant was at that Time waiting upon her Grandmother in her Death-Sickness who after the Departure of the said Pamphlin spake to the Enformant to this effect Mrs. Pamphlin has made such a Discourse here that I think you are bound in Conscience to enform a Magistrate of it for I am Confident Sir Edmund kill'd Himself This Enformant Inclining also to have some Justice of the Peace acquainted with it And this Enformant well remembreth that the said Pamphlin asked her If Sir Edmund has Murther'd himself d' ye think he is damn'd which she this Enformant much wondered at there being no occasion given for such a Question So that this Enformant asked the said Pamphlin thereupon Why d' ye say these Things to me You frighten me If you know any thing your self you ought to discover it to the Next Magistrate To which the said Pamphlin made Answer Let Old Moor be examin'd witâ— me and I 'le say what I know for I have no reason to run my self voluntarily into an Inconveniency for you know I have a Dependency upon the Brothers which this Enformant understood to be a Pension and I am loth to Anger them But if I be compell'd I 'le speak what I know This Enformant telling her again That if she knew any thing she might be examin'd in such a manner as it might appear a Force upon her For there was a Severity or a Persecution that lay heavy upon a Suffering People and she did not know what Inconveniences might follow upon it Iudith Pamphlin Deposeth That soon after Sir Eddmundbury Godfrey's withdrawing from his House this Enformant heard the Wife of Sir Edmund's Clark say Oh! That ever it should be said that such a Man as Sir Edmund should Murther Himself This being spoken some Days before the Dead Body was found William Fall Gent. Deposeth That at the Time when Sir Edmundbury Godfrey was Missing from his House and to the best of this Enformants Memory before the Dead Body of the said Sir Edmund was found the Two Brothers of the said Sir Edmund Merchants in London came several times to the Lord Chancellor Nottingham's House in Queenstreet to speak with his Lordship And saith further That the Enformant enquiring of his said Brothers what was become of Sir Edmund He this Enformant apprehended by their Discourse that they were in some Apprehension that he had made himself away To say Nothing of Mr. Grundy Mr. Huysman Mr. Birtby and Mr. Snells Reflexions as appears expresly in their Enformations so soon as ever they heard the Body was found upon the Melancholique Walk
the Back of it there was a Stain'd Watrish Bloud And This Enformant Observed that upon Raising the Body there Drain'd a Bloudy Serum from it upon the Table and so down upon the Floor Mr. James Chase Deposeth That he saw some Bloud upon the Place where they said the Sword was taken out and the Constable being upon the Place told This Enformant that it was of the Bloud that Follow'd the Sword from the Wound when he drew it out of the Body Mr. James Huyseman Deposeth That the Woman of the White-house told him that the Bloud Drein'd from the Body as it lay upon the Table into the Cellar and that Clots of Bloud were found about the Body Mr. Brown the Constable Deposeth That upon Drawing the Sword out of the Body in the Dark he heard somewhat come Gubbling out of the Wound and fall Spattering upon the Ground John Rawson Deposeth That upon the Night when the Body was found he went down with a Candle and Lanthorn to the Place where the said Body was found And going first to the Ditch they could not Discern any Bloud at All but that upon the Place where the Sword was drawn out they found Bloud and Watry Stuff up and down upon the Grass and so Vpon the Posts in the Passage and upon the Cheek of the Door going into the House and so likewise upon the Floor where the Body was First laid and afterwards upon the Table where it was Remov'd Margaret Rawson Deposeth That the Body being layd upon the Table she This Enformant saw Bloud and Watry Matter that had Dropt from the Table and pass'd through the Cellar and dropt on some Bottles that were there John Paris Deposeth That he saw the Body lye Vpon the Floor at the White-house and that there ran Bloud and Watry Matter from the said Body upon the Floor Mr. John Hassard Deposeth That This Enformant heard that Sir Edmundbury Godfrey was Missing from his House some Days before the Dead Body was found And that upon the Morning next after the Day the said Body was said to be found He This Enformant being at a Coffee-House heard the News And at the request of Mr. John Farewell He this Enformant went along with him to see the Body And This Enformant coming to the Place where the said Body was found and viewing the Place Thought it a Hard Matter to bring a Body thither with a Horse And that This being Early in the Morning some Snow that had fall'n the Night before was yet seen upon the Ground And that upon the Place where it was said that the Sword was pull'd out of the Body there was Snow upon the Grass But upon some other Places near it the Bloud that was said to come out of the Body was seen there upon the Ground in a Considerable Quantity And as This Enformant Believes the Snow Melted upon it And likewise that Passing by some Posts in the Way to the White-house where the Body then lay This Enformant saw near the said Posts a Quantity of Watry Bloud which This Enformant Iudged to have Issued from the Body in the Carrying it over And This Enformant coming up to the White-House where the Body lay upon a Table He This Enformant Immediately upon the Sight of the Body said This is Sir Edmundbury Godfrey His Coat was a Dark Brown Chamblet His Shoes very Clean Top and Bottom His Eyes Shut And something about the Eye-Lashes that seem'd to This Enformant to be Fly-Blows His Bossom was Open His Shirt Stained with Bloud And a Kind of Watry Bloud that dropt from him upon the Floor all This to the Best of his Knowledge and Memory William Batson Deposeth That going from the White-house toward the Place where This Enformant was told the Body Lay He This Enformant with the Company Saw near a Gap in the Passage some Bloud lying on the Ground This Enformant being told that the Body was brought from the Place where it was found That way And This Enformant going further saw as he Believeth a Greater Quantity of Bloud where the Grass was Stain'd with it being the Place as This Enformant believeth whereunto the said Body was Remov'd out of the Ditch And This Enformant Believeth that upon taking the Sword out of the Body the Bloud might there Issue out James Goweth Deposeth That hearing several Years since that Sir Edmundbury Godfrey whom This Enformant well knew had been Missing some time from his House And that his Body was found some where out of Town But the Day the Month or the Year This Enformant doth not perfectly remember He This Enformant went in Company with one Mr. William Batson and a Servant of Mr. VVilliam Pilkingtons to see the Body which they found Early in the Morning at the VVhite-house beyond Primrose-Hill where it lay in the Clothes upon the Table And that This Enformant having a Curiosity to see the Body of the said Sir Edmund Unbutton'd a Loose Coat he had on and Another Coat Under it and so to the Shirt Open'd his Shirt and saw Bloud upon it with Two VVounds by his Left Pap But no Sword at That Time in the Body And that This Enformant having seen and Observed the said Body agreed with a Fellow to shew the Place where he was found and Payd him for his Pains the said Guide leading This Enformant and the Company the same way as he said by which they brought the Body This Enformant remembreth that there was a Style or Posts by the way At or near which Place there was a Great Quantity of Bloud as This Enformant and the Company took it to be as if it had been Pour'd out of a Bason This Enformant and the Company going from thence toward the Place where he was found and within a Matter of Thirty or Forty Foot of the Place where the Guide said the Body was found there was a Great Quantity of Bloud lying in the same Manner as the Other and rather more in Quantity then the Former And This Enformant saith that being come to the Ditch Mr. Batson was of Opinion that there was some Bloud in the Ditch as he hath said to this Enformant several Times since But This Enformant dares not be Positive that he saw any though he saw something which he Doubted whether it might be Bloud or No. Edward Fisher Deposeth that the Day after the Body of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey was found This Enformant was Going about Nine or Ten in the Morning to My Lord Wottons for Orders about Work and heard by the Way that the Body of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey was found and Carry'd to the White-House in St. John's Wood This Enformant went forward to My Lord Wotton's and returning about Two or Three in the Afternoon took the White-House in his way And coming thither This Enformant found the Coroner and Jury there to view the Body who went up Stairs while This Enformant went into a Low Room where the Body lay That as This
have had Such a Superabundance of more Pregnant and Convincing Arguments and Evidences that I should not so much as have Mention'd This Particular but that there 's somewhat of Curiosity in it as well as of Use. We have now pass'd through the Several Points in order as they were laid down in the Course of our Distribution concerning the Sufficiency of the Proofs Produc'd The Sincerity of making the Best of them in Matters whereof the Examiners had Certain Knowledge the Competency of the Witnesses that were Summon'd and the Best Emprovement also of what they Did say and of what in Likelyhood and Reason they might be able to say More I shall pass now to a Consideration of some Witnesses that were not Summon'd and might have been more Serviceable in Common Probability to the Satisfaction of the Iury upon the Enquiry they had Then before them then any of the rest CHAP. XX. Mrs. Gibbon's Enformation Compared with the Coroners Report and the Matter submitted to All Indifferent Men whether the Design throughout was to Discover the Truth or to Stifle it With an Appendix for a Conclusion HEre 's a Subject a Magistrate a Master a Friend a Relation and an Acquaintance Lost in the Person of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey and All these Circumstances are to be Consulted toward the finding out what is become of him Now in Order to such a Discovery a Man Naturally Bethinks himself somewhat to This Purpose What Confidences had he What Haunts What Persons were Most Privy to his Affairs his Ways and Humors What Servants Who saw him when he went away from his House Who saw him Afterward In whose Company was he Last c. There 's Nothing more Familiar or Reasonable then such Enquiries as These provided they be made in the Proper Place and Apply'd to the Right Persons So that the Brothers were well advis'd upon the First Missing of him to go to Coll. Weldens his Common Baiting-Place to hearken after him His Servant Pamphlin goes the Next day to Mrs. Gibbons upon the same Errand and so did the Brothers on the Munday as one of Sir Edmunds Ancient and Particular Friends It is to be taken for Granted that they did not Forget to Examine Sir Edmunds Domestiques What They Knew What they Thought What they Observ'd and it is as Little to be Doubted that the Servants gave them All the Lights they could upon such Questions The reason of the Thing Carry'd them still forward upon the same Train of Likely-hoods to Enquire of Parsons Mason Collins and the Milk-woman to Learn what he said What he Did How he Look'd Which way he Went c. and who knows but Such a Trayle might have brought them to the Ditch where he was found But to the Admiration of All People we do not find that any One of All These Persons Harry Moor only Excepted with his Lac'd Band was Formally and Publickly Examin'd about This Matter Nor so much as one Question put with any sort of Tendency or the Least Appearance of Good-will toward an Effectual Discovery as we have already Set forth in an Orderly Series of Observations upon This Topique And there Needs No Better Proof of This Assertion then the Testimony of the Enformations Themselves I find 't is true an Enformation of Mrs. Gibbons among the Coroners Papers but the Verdict was over before it was Taken It was by Command not by Choice and how it was Manag'd will appear upon a Collation of other Circumstances with the Enformation It was it seems by the Special Order of my Lord Chancellor Nottingham that Mr. Cowper the Coroner took This Enformation of Mrs. Gibbon and his Direction as he told her was to Examine her upon Oath what Sir Edmundbury Godfrey Said to her about a Fortnight before his Death As we shall see by and by This gives to Understand that the Matter in Question was a Thing of very great Importance for his Lordship would never have thought the Cause worth a Review if he had not been told something very Extraordinary concerning That Encounter Now to Expound the Story there was a very remarkable Passage upon a Visit that Sir Edmundbury Godfrey made to Mrs. Gibbons on Tuesday the First of October 1678. And That 's the Busness the Coroner was now to take an Account of But This Enformation has had the Fortune I perceive of the rest of it's Fellows to come into the World Lame and Imperfect to the Degree of Defeating the very Intent of the Examination But briefly Whatever it was the Coroner Undoubtedly Attended my Lord Chancellor with a Copy of the Enformation and an Answerable Report upon the Whole Matter as here under-follows Midd. ss The Enformation of Mary Wife of Thomas Gibbon Esq taken upon Oath before me SHE saith That about a fortnight last past in an Afternoon Sir Edmundbury Godfrey came to her House in Old Southampton Buildings and upon Discourse with her Ask'd her if she did not hear that he was to be Hang'd for not discovering the Plot against his Majesty for that He the said Sir Edmundbury Godfrey had taken the Examination of one Otes and one Tong touching the same the 6th day of September and had not Discover'd it to any Person living whereupon this Enformant asked the said Sir Edmundbury Godfrey why he had not acquainted the Duke of York or the Lord Chancellor or the Lord Treasurer with the same and Then This Enformant told the said Sir Edmundbury Godfrey that she Suppos'd that what he then said was but in Jest touching his being Hang'd Whereupon he reply'd that he had not told Sir William Jones thereof although he had been at the said Sir William Jones his House Several times since and then told this Enformant that the King and Councel knew of the Plot before his Majesty went to Windsor which was about a Month before he took the said Examination Whereupon this Enformant ask'd him if he thought there was Really any Plot intended against his Majesty To which he reply'd that surely there Was but that Otes had Sworn Somewhat more then was True and therefore the Papists would find so much favour as to have All things that Otes had Sworn to be thought Lyes and Then This Deponents Brother Coll Rooke came into the Room and then the said Sir Edmundbury Godfrey took his Leave of This Enformant saying that he was to Go to the Lord Chief Iustice about Bus'ness and said that he would Call on This Enformant some other Time and Tell her More and Since That Time she hath not seen Sir Edmundbury Godfrey and farther saith not Jo. Cowper Coroner Mary Gibbon There will be no great need of a Key to uncypher This Mystery if the Reader shall but duly Consider the Matter before him upon Comparing other Enformations of Mrs. Gibbons with This before the Coroner There 's One that Speaks Almost peculiarly to This Subject and Another that 's more General and at Large but I shall take so much