ng they knew upon the subject, since he was resolved to make
their evidence the rule of his conduct towards her. They all appeared
rather reserved at first, and seemed not to dare to give their opinions
upon an affair of so serious and delicate a nature; but the Duke of York
having renewed his entreaties, each began to relate the particulars of
what he knew, and perhaps of more than he knew, of poor Miss Hyde; nor
did they omit any circumstance necessary to strengthen the evidence. For
instance the Earl of Arran, who spoke first, deposed, that in the gallery
at Honslaerdyk, where the Countess of Ossory, his sister-in-law, and
Jermyn, were playing at nine-pins, Miss Hyde, pretending to be sick,
retired to a chamber at the end of the gallery; that he, the deponent,
had followed her, and having cut her lace, to give a greater probability
to the pretence of the vapours, he had acquitted himself to the best of
his abilities, both to assist and to console her.

Talbot said, that she had made an appointment with him in the
chancellor's cabinet, while he was in council; and, that, not paying so
much attention to what was upon the table as to what they were engaged
in, they had spilled a bottle full of ink upon a despatch of four pages,
and that the King's monkey, which was blamed for this accident, had been
a long time in disgrace.

Jermyn mentioned many places where he had received long and favourable
audiences: however, all these articles of accusation amounted only to
some delicate familiarities, or at most, to what is generally denominated
the innocent part of an intrigue; but Killegrew, who wished to surpass
these trivial depositions, boldly declared that he had had the honour of
being upon the most intimate terms with her he was of a sprightly and
witty humour, and had the art of telling a story in the most entertaining
manner, by the graceful and natural turn he could give it: he affirmed
that he had found the critical minute in a certain closet built over the
water, for a purpose very different from that of giving ease to the pains
of love: that three or four swans had been witnesses to his happiness,
and might perhaps have been witnesses to the happiness of many others, as
the lady frequently repaired to that place, and was particularly
delighted with it.

The Duke of York found this last accusation greatly out of bounds, being
convinced he himself had sufficient proofs of the contrary: he therefore
returned thanks t