d travelled over many parts of
Europe under borrowed names, and frequently passed himself for a man of
quality; and had endeavored, by a variety of lies and contrivances, to
prey upon the ignorant and unwary. When he appeared before the council,
he gave intelligence of Godfrey's murder only, which, he said, had been
perpetrated in Somerset House, where the queen lived, by Papists, some
of them servants in her family. He was questioned about the plot; but
utterly denied all knowledge of it, and also asserted, that he had no
acquaintance with Oates. Next day, when examined before the committee
of lords, he bethought himself better, and was ready to give an ample
account of the plot, which he found so anxiously inquired into. This
narrative he made to tally, as well as he could, with that of Oates,
which had been published: but that he might make himself acceptable
by new matter, he added some other circumstances, and these still more
tremendous and extraordinary. He said, that ten thousand men were to be
landed from Flanders in Burlington Bay, and immediately to seize Hull:
that Jersey and Guernsey were to be surprised by forces from Brest; and
that a French fleet was all last summer hovering in the Channel for
that purpose: that the lords Powis and Peters were to form an army
in Radnorshire, to be joined by another army, consisting of twenty or
thirty thousand religious men and pilgrims, who were to land at Milford
Haven from St. Iago in Spain: that there were forty thousand men ready
in London; besides those who would, on the alarm, be posted at every
alehouse door, in order to kill the soldiers as they came out of their
quarters: that Lord Stafford, Coleman, and Father Ireland had money
sufficient to defray the expenses of all these armaments: that he
himself was to receive four thousand pounds, as one that could murder a
man; as also a commission from Lord Bellasis, and a benediction from the
pope that the king was to be assassinated; all the Protestants massacred
who would not seriously be converted; the government offered to ONE, if
he would consent to hold it of the church; but if he should refuse that
condition, as was suspected, the supreme authority would be given
to certain lords under the nomination of the pope. In a subsequent
examination before the commons, Bedloe added, (for these men always
brought out their intelligence successively and by piecemeal,) that Lord
Carrington was also in the conspiracy for rais