Selected quad for the lemma: master_n
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A66478
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An historical review of the late horrid phanatical plot in the rise, progress, and discovery of the same.
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F. N. W.
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1684
(1684)
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Wing W28; ESTC R6864
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41,811
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36
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Committed to the said place for the Treasons aforesaid whether under a Sense of his own Guilt or the Utter Despair of his Royal Master and Benefactor 's Mercy whom he had so highly wronged prevented the Sentence of the Law and laid Murdrous Hands on his Life by Cutting his own Throat several others were taken and Committed amongst whom the Lord William Russell Algernoone Sidney Esq Thomas Walcot John Rouse and William Hone whose Cases we now come more particularly to Treat of which is the Second part of that Method I proposed and wherein I shall Glean only what was materially Witnessed against them and is proper for the further parts of this History whereby the way and from what has been before said I would entreat the Reader to take Notice that there were Two several Designs on foot the one The Murther of the King and the Utter Destruction of the Government in which the Three latter were concerned the other Singly against the Government in which was the Two first But these Two like Sister-Springs rose both from one of the same Corrupt Fountain and tho the Channels in which they wandred were for sometime different yet at last they were both designed to Meet and Embrace each other in the wide Ocean of Anarchy and Confusion At the Tryal of Captain Walcot the 12th of July 1683. for the said Treasons Evidence was given by Collonel Rumsey to the following Purport That about the latter end of October or the beginning of November he was with the late Earl of Shaftsbury who acquainted him the D. of M. the Lord Russell Lord Grey and Sir Thomas Armstrong were at Mr. Shepheards the Merchants House to whom he desired him to go and know what they had done about the Raising Arms at Taunton who Answered him when he came there to them That Mr. Trenchard had failed them about Men and they could proceed no further at that time which Answer being conveyed to my Lord he said There was no dependance on those Gentlemen and that he would leave England after which a Meeting was had by several of the Conspirators Goodenough Wade and others Captain Walcot being then in Holland where it was proposed No good was to be done by a general Rising but the surest way was taking off the King and the Duke to which End they sent a Letter to Mr. Ferguson without whose Aid they could not carry the same on to Holland who thereupon coming over Captain Walcot came with him on Ashwednesday in February after which several Meetings were had about the same matter wherein it was Concluded at His Majesties coming from Newmarket a Party should Kill the Postilion others the Coach-Horses whilst Rumbald Charged the Coach wherein His Majesty and Royal Highness were to be and Walcot the Guards to which End they were to meet at Hokesdon aforesaid and in Case their Blunderbusses mist they were by their Swords to finish the same But this was put off on the Kings unexpected return thence on occasion of the Fire their Men being unprepared tho the same was laboured in by Mr. Ferguson and Captain Walcot undertook to go down and ask But this Design being then for that time prevented they Agreed to Raise Money to provide Arms Captain Walcot being present Mr. West undertook the Arms Mr. Ferguson the Money Goodenough and Rumbald to provide Men for the like intent against His Majesties Person as He came from Windsor to Hampton-Court or at the Play-House as opportunity should serve and a general Rising was intended to which end the City was to be divided into several parts and accounts were taken of the numbers of Men in the several Devisions by Goodenough and others This was the sum of Colonel Rumseys Evidence The next that appeared was Mr. Keeling whose Evidence was That some time before the King went to Newmarket he was at the Sun Tavern with Richard Rumbald and Richard Goodenough c. That Goodenough called him aside and asked him what Men he would procure to go down to Newmarket to Kill the King and the Duke he answered him he thought none But the Question being renewed several other times he had in the mean while some Discourse with one Burton and Thompson Burton told him one Barber would be concerned and Tompson also the Fryday after being the Day which the Fire happen'd in at Newmarket Rumbald came to his House to see those Men he could Procure and the next day he met him and asked whether they were willing to go down to the Rye meaning his House there being as he said no better convenience for the Design then that in England it being a House intire to it self and very remote from Neighbours besides the Advantage of a Court or Wall using this as an Argument to prevail with those Persons That it would be keeping one of the Commandements in Killing the King and the Duke for if it be not done there will be otherwise a great deal of Blood shed In the Afternoon they met at the Dolphin Tavern in Bartholomew Lane Rumbald West Goodenough and Hone where West asked Rumbald whether he heard the King would come home that Night which he Answered that he did but hoped it would not be till Saturday that being the day appointed to go to Rye to meet the King and Duke But if they should says West hovv many Swan-Quils Goose-Quils Crow-Quils vvith Sand and Ink must you have Six says Rumbald of the first Tvventy the Second and Twenty or Thirty of the last by these Canting Terms did they disguise the Names of Blunderbusses Muskets Pistols Powder and Bullets but vvhat concerned the Prisoner only vvas That he see him at the Salutation-Tavern vvhere there vvas a Discourse by Mr. West concerning the Name of Keeling saying it signified in Dutch Culing and that he vvas their English Culing adding that he hoped to see him at the Head of as good an Army in Wapping as Culing vvas then at Colen This vvas the chief part of Mr. Keelings Evidence only something was added touching Goodenoughs Instructions to try the Temper of some of his Neighbours in those Divisions about him by Questions at a distance such as those In Case of an Insurrection or French Invasion how are you prepared Or whether you would be willing to Join therein Telling him withal In Case the Assassination went forward they would lay the same on the Papists as a Branch of the Popish Plot and that a Declaration was prepared to ease the Cautious People of their Burthens and especially Chimney-Money I proceed next to the Evidence of Zachary Bourne who Testified That he came to be acquainted with Captain Walcot by the means of Mr. Ferguson who was his Lodger and whom the Captain used to Visit that he afterwards met him at the Dragon-Tavern upon Snow-Hill with several others where the Result of the Business was A speedy Design to Raise Men and dividing the City in Twenty Divisions Seizing the King and Duke of
you afforded us Yet these Villains hardned in Impiety were not hereby discouraged from pursueing the same Bloody Design but Resolved to Travel forward therein till they reach'd the outmost step to effect the same and proposed with themselves that it might be done either in His Majesties passing from Windsor to Hampton-Court or in His then intended Journey to Winchester or when He should go by Water in His Barge or under Bedford-Garden-Wall in Covent-Garden when He should pass that way or at the Bull-Feast which was then shortly after intended in Red-Lyon-Fields they being informed His Majesty and Royal Highness would be there And that they might be the better prepared when the occasion should offer it self by having a certain Number of Arms lying always ready for that purpose Arms were bespoke for Forty Men in all hast viz. Thirty Carbines with Belts and Swivels Thirty Cases of Pistols and Ten Blunderbusses which were accordingly made and paid for And for their more easie drawing their Party together against the time of Execution they contrived to divide the Cities of London and Westminster and the Suburbs into Twenty parts from each of which they expected Five Hundred Men to be ready on the first Onset and some Agitators were to give an Account of Men to be furnished in each Division and give out Orders to them as there should be occasion And to the end the Forces they should Raise might be the sooner Modeled into the Form of an Army there were a Hundred old Officers who had been Engaged in the late Rebellion thereby the better fitted for this ready in Town to take the Command of them in the pursuit of which Desperate Cruel and Ineterate Projects they continued till they knew that Discovery had been made thereof to His Majesty During all which time the other more principal Conspirators were not unemployed but carried or managed their other Design for a general Insurrection in both Kingdoms and the late Earl of Shaftsbury who had at first pressed them to a sudden Insurrection which he would have had to have been before or at least on the 17th of November being the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth when People generally gave themselves the Liberty of Solemnizing the same in Extraordinary Crouds and on that Account would be less suspected and the sooner Raised sent to the rest of the Conspirators at a Meeting appointed by them to know their Resolution and finding them either timorous or unprepared to Venture upon the same Conveyed himself with some others of his Crew secretly into Holland to avoid the Danger he might be in by a Discovery the greatest piece of Policy perhaps that ever that said Earl tho a Famed Machiavel ever in his Life was to be Esteemed for but his thus withdrawing himself from their Councels did not discourage them from pursueing their Pernicious Infernal Designs tho it made them a little more Cautious whereupon a New Councel was appointed of Six Persons that were to have the Chief Management of Affairs in order to the aforesaid Insurrection by a Correspondency with their Party in Scotland and the several parts of this Kingdom and because an Intercourse of Letters was thought dangerous it was held necessary that some Person should be Intrusted with a Message into Scotland to Invite the Heads of the Disaffected Party there to come hither under pretence of Purchasing Lands in Carolina but in truth to Concert with them the best Means for carrying on the Design Jointly in both Kingdoms and a Treaty was thereupon had with Archbold Cambell late Earl of Argile who then stood Attainted of High Treason and had made his Escape from Justice who Demanded 30000l at first but afterwards Agreed to Accept of 10000l for Buying of Arms in Holland and making other Provisions previous to the said Rebellion in Scotland in which said Councel of Six several Debates were managed As whether the Rising in this Kingdom should be first in the City of London where by reason of the vast Number of the Disaffected that might readily Unite they might easily Master the Guards or rather in some Remote Parts whereby His Majesty would be under a necessity of sending His said Guards to Suppress them and thereby the Rising in the said City would become more Secure and Effectual but at last it came to this Resolution as most convenient That it should be in all parts at the same time least the City might be Defended by the Militia thereof without help of the Guards which might be sent for Suppressing any Insurrection in the Countrey to which they all Consented and disposed themselves for Compassing the said Design which was very near taking Effect just as the same by the Mercy of the Almighty on the 12th of June 1683. came to a Discovery by the Confession of Mr. Keeling who greatly troubled at his Concernt herein being one of those who should have been Employed in the Assassination mentioned thought he did very ill in not discovering the same in so much that he had no Peace Satisfaction or Content nor could he mind his Business or take that Rest that at other times he was wont Ruminating with himself that if it were a Sin in David to Cut off the Hem of Saul's Garment much more would the same have been in him to have Murdered so Good and Gracious a King Which the said Conspirators coming to hear of they began each of them to shift for their Safety and met about the same at the Lodgings of Captain Walcot since Executed very early on the Monday Morning following where some of them having Hired a Boat to whom they had given Five Pounds in Earnest intended for Holland whilst others lingred about the Town and particularly Rumbald who having got this Keeling to a Tavorn began to Charge him as a Discoverer which he was forced by several Imprecations to deny or he had never been suffered to have gone thence Alive This Grand Design coming thus to the Knowledg of His Majesty and Council Warrants were forthwith Issued out against several of the Conspirators as particularly J. D. of M. the Lord Melvin Sir Jokn Cockrane Sir Thomas Armstrong Robert Ferguson who was the common Agitator and Intrusted by all Parties in the several Conspiracies Richard and Francis Good enough Richard Rumbald William Rumbald Richard Nâ—lthrope Nathaniel Wade William Thompson James Burton Joseph Elby Samuel Gibbs Francis Charleton Joseph Tiley Mr. Casteers and Mr. Loâ—â— both Non-Con-Preachers Edward Norton John Row John Ayloff and John Atherton but these too soon warned by the quick Monitions of a Guilty Conscience had made their Escapes from the Hand of Justice which in due time is more then probable will be too swift for such Wretched Criminals besides these Ford Lord Gray being Apprehended and Examined before His Majesty in Council was Committed to the Tower but in his way thither got from the Custody of the Serjeant at Arms and made his Escape and Arthur Earl of Essex being likewise