ot answere
therunto bycause it was a matter y^t was done in the Queens time and
since I had my pardon.

"Yo^r Lordships wold not accept of y^t answere, _but sayd y^t I should
be made to speake therunto. And I might thanke my self If I had beene
worse used than I had beene since my Coming to the howse_[19] I told
yo^r Lords^p (_to avoyde ill usage_)[19] y^t I thought Mr. Walley[20]
was p'cured to write his letter for the furthering of this Jeorney. Now
my LL. having bethoughte myselfe of this businesse (being to weake to
use my owne hand in writing this) w^{ch} I do deliver here upon my
salvacon to be trew as near as I can call to mynde, desiring y^t my
form'r Confession may be called in & y^t this may stand for truthe. It
was more than I knew y^t Mr. Walley[20] was used herein, & to give your
Lords'p p'ofe besids my oathe, I had not seene him in sixteene yere
before, nor never had messuadge[21] nor letter from him & to this
purpose I desired Mr. Leiftenant to lett me see my Confession who told
me I should not unlesse I wold inlarge it w^{ch} he did p'ceive I had
no meaning to doe.

(Signed) Francis Tresame.

"24 m'ch 1605 [-6].
This noate was of my owne
hand writing
By me Willia' Vavasore."

Tresham's statement being misunderstood to mean that he had not seen
Garnet for sixteen years,[22] while the Government knew from Tresham
himself[23] that he had recently been in Garnet's company, was
considered such awful perjury to commit when dying as to be incredible.
Coke wrote to Salisbury: "It is true that no man may judge in this case,
for _inter pontem et fontem_ he might find grace; but it is the most
fearful example that I ever knew of to be made so evident as now this
is." Salisbury at the trial said: "Mr. Tresham in his lifetime accused
you, Garnet, before the lords, yet now upon his salvation, he under his
hand did excuse you, being at the very point of death, saying he had not
seen you _in sixteen years_, which matter, I assure you, before you were
taken shook me very much. But, thanks be to God, since the coming of the
King, I have known so much of your doctrine and practices, that
hereafter they shall not much trouble me." The writing of Tresham's
dying statement was, therefore, particularly, inquired into, and
Vavasour had to make a written statement respecting his knowledge of it;
evidently for comparison of the handwriti