CHAP. X.

WE are now come to the Last Chapter of This Little Piece of History. We have seen the State of the Original Cause; and That State, Reported: We have taken a Specimen of some Proceedings upon it: Enquir'd into the Rise, and Creation of it; and find it at Length to be only One Counterfeit Drawn from Another; and Design'd for a Cheat, from the Beginning. We have shew'd likewise how it came to be Entertain'd, and to Thrive in the World. We have given an Ho∣nest Account of the several Evidences and the Papers also, that are here made use of toward the Proof of This Matter. It appears further, that Tong's Pretended Plot struck at the very Root of This Im∣perial Monarchy. Thus far we have gone Already; and it remains now, only in One Section more, to set forth, that the Founder of This Imposture was the Chief Manager too; and that all this Hurly-Burly has been, in a Great Measure, the Work of One Weak Man; A Simple, Visionary Bigot, and a very Dreamer of Dreams, according to the Letter. But when People are so Blinded with Passion on the One side, as not to Discern the most Palpable Folly, and Wickedness, on the Other, what will not an Obstinate Enthusiasm be able to bring about, when 'tis not only Supported by a Prevalent Faction, Page  122 in favour of it, but Prejudice, and Ignorance, to Work upon, over and above?

It is a Long Time now, that Titus Otes has Had,* Held, and En∣joy'd, All the Advantages of an Vndisputed Title to the •irst Disco∣very of the Plot. He has Eat, Drunk, Slept, Sworn, Blasphem'd, Ranted, and (with Pardon of the Mo∣dest Reader) Bugger'd upon the Credit of it; and in Despite of Hell, and Infamy, All this Notwith∣standing, he has still Upheld the Dignity of his Claim, and the Knee has been Bow'd to him, from Aldgate to Westminster, as to [the Saviour of the Nation:] Nay, he Continues Blessing God, to this very Day, and Hour, under the Discipline of the Common Hang-Man; and all his Annual Pro∣cessions, Toties Quoties, from the Iayle to the Gal∣lows, are but Reckon'd upon as the Bearing of his Testimony for Righteousness sake. But now to Saddle the Right Horse, and to give the Devil Himself his Due; as to all these Titles, Triumphs, Pomps, Plea∣sures and Solemnities, I look upon Dr. Tong, that has pass'd for no more then a Property all this while, to have had Incomparably the Fairer Equity of the Two: For it was Tong made the Musique all this while, and Otes only Drew the Bellows: But we are not here to Dispute the He∣raldry of That Affair. I am only for doing Iu∣stice to the Memory of Men Famous in their Gene∣nerations, and of Men that Contended too for a Pre∣ference in This Matter; for there is an Ambition even among the Damned Themselves, who shall be the First Devil in Hell. The [FIRST DISCO∣VERER] Sounds as Big in their Iuggling, Wit∣nessing Way, as [the First Man that Enters a Brea•h] does, in a Military way of Honour: and Page  123 the One takes it as Ill, not to stand Foremost in the Scandal, as the Other to find himself Post-Pon'd in the Record and Glory of the Action. So that, without Derogating from the One, or Ascri∣bing more to the Other, then in Strictness of Truth, and Iustice belongs to him; My Bus'ness is only to Rectify the Memorials of This History, and to set Tong Right, with the Next Age, upon the Subject Matter of This Competition, which is a Good Office that no body ever yet Ventur'd upon but my self; And if a man might Apply the Case of Sa•l and Da∣vid, to That of Our Two Worthies, it should be that [OTES has Slain his Thousands, and TONG, his Ten Thousands:] And so I'le on to my Matter as fast as ever I can.

To see what Part Dr Tong had in the Government of This Sham;* or rather, that he was (like the Soul) in the Whole, and in Every Part of it; we must be∣gin as far Upward of Seventy Two, as He look'd be∣yond it, to the Story of Habernfeld: At which time he was Calculating, how he might make the Narra∣tive of 1640. do the same Trick over again, in Time to Come. [It will be an Easy Matter (says he) to stir up the People to Fear Popery:] and therefore, upon the Advice of his Reverend Friend Dr Beale, he put himself upon the Writing of Pamphlets [Yearly, and Quarterly, if Possible,] (as he says) to Alarum the People;] as the Iesuits Morals, the Royal-Martyr, &c. To the Latter of which, he Ascribes the Providence, in a manner, of the Whole Discovery. He fell in League afterward, with De la Marche, a French Mi∣nister; Edward Price, a Sadler; Green, a Weaver, &c. and wrote Petitions, Cases, Addresses, Enformations, and Narratives, for them. Otes, all this while, was Page  124 Familiar, and sent abroad (according to the Plea∣sant Character of Sr Harry Wottons Publique Mini∣ster, to Lye (with Reverence be it spoken) for the Service of his Master.) And in the mean time, who but the Dr to Furnish him with Meat, Mony, and Cloaths, for the Discharge of his Commission! If there was Any thing upon the Common Subject of the Plot, to be Presented to the Publique; who but Tong to Settle the Standard of it; and to see that All Articles, and Accusations, should be Statutable Weight and Measure: Nay he was so well known in his way, that Folks came as Naturally to Him for Colla∣teral Evidences to help out a Blundering Witness at a Dead Lift, as a Cook-Wench Carries her Broken Brass to the man that Cries, Have ye any Work for a Tinker to Mend?

But to Come to my Text now, & to Stick to't; and to save as much Time, Trouble, & Paper as is Possible within the Compass of my Bus'ness. The Point to be Clear'd in This Chapter, is, (according to the Argument in the Head on't) that [Tong Manag'd the Whole Affair of the Plot from One End to the Other] This is the very Truth of the Thing, and that it was His Engine, Labour, Zeal, Industry, and Prowess, that has given Life, Countenance, and Mo∣tion, to This Illustrious Adventure; though by the Iniquity of the Age, and by the Assistance (as the Dr has it) of Noble, and Reverend Friends, Otes has made a shift to run away with the Reputation of the Vndertaking. There will need Little more to make This Evident beyond All Doubt, or Contradicti∣on, then to Gather into One short Summary, the Scatter'd Minutes of what we have already Touch•d upon in These Papers; and so to Carry the Train from First to Last thorough the Whole Cause, and in Order.

Page  125He Began with Habernfelds Plot; he fancy'd Another of the Same under the Colour of That Plot's go∣ing on Still.* He took a Copy of it in his Royal Martyr, for a President: He shew'd it to Otes to Consider of. In One Word, He Wish'd for a Plot; He did all he could to make People Believe there was a Plot; He Design'd a Plot; He Fram'd and put to∣gether the Heads of a Plot; And in fine, He Contribu∣ted with Purse, and Councel, Heart, Hand, and Good Will, toward the Execution of it. It was by His means that Otes was Maintain'd; By his Advice, that Otes was sent over; By his Direction, that Otes got Iesuits Names, and Acquaintances, to Build so much as a Pretence upon. He did not only Pass-over Otes'es Execrable Hypocrysies, Blaspemous Perjuries, and Mock Sacraments; but he was Privy to, Advis'd, Approv'd, and Encourag'd them; He bids Otes go o∣ver, and gives him His Directions, not so much what to Look for, as what to Find; Upon Otes'es Return, he sends him back again upon the Same Commission. Otes wanted Bread; Tong stops his Mouth, and takes upon him to put him in a way: Do but Discover a Plot, says Tong, and Y'are a Made Man for ever. Make the People Ielous of Popery, and your Work is done. Otes Undertakes the Task, and with∣out any more Words, a Bargain's a Bargain.

During This Manage of Otes, Tong was not Idle Otherwise neither: Witness his [Searching out E∣vidence, Solliciting, Promoting, and Expediting,] to his very Great Expence, as he sets forth in his [Case and Request.] The Paying of above Forty Clarks to Write for him; His Undertakings, and Disburse∣ments to divers of the Irish, as well as the English Witnesses, as apears upon several Bills, and Dis∣charges under his Own hand; His Restless Page  126 Scribbling, to Provoke Fears and Ielousies; The In∣defatigable Pains he took to Assist False Witnesses, and to help forward Scandalous Enformations; To say nothing of the Crotchet of Fourteen Shillings a Week to any of his Parishioners that would Turn Papists.

Now upon the whole Matter, Otes neither Saw with his Own Eyes;* nor Heard with his Own Ears; He stirr'd neither Hand nor Foot, and his Tongue hardly Wagg'd in his Mouth but by Tong's Direction. His Way was still Chalk'd out before him; and All that he had to do, was to Swear to Tongs Words and Matter. Where Otes made a Stumble, as about his lying so Close in Town at the Time of the Consult, that he could get No Witnesses; Who but Tong to Cover the Perjury; and, upon All other Occasions, to Palliate his Fooleries. Who was it but Tong that Made the Plot? That Wrote the Story of it? That Hunted out Knights of the Post to Second it? That Espous'd all sorts of Impostures for the Colouring of That Cheat; and it Cost him more Trouble at Last, to Defend, and to Excuse the False Oaths, then to Procure them. Who was it but Tong, that took Otes to him in the Barbican for their Common Purpose? as he calls it; That bad him Write the Plot in Greek, and lay it behind the Wainscot. It was Tongs Invention too, the Promising of Otes Fifty Pound to Murder him for his Iesuits Moralls; and the Sowcing of him in a Damned Oath for the Performance of Covenants. The Battery that was made upon Otes'es Person, by the Provincial on Sept. 6. 1678. And Another by Stratford in Cock-Pit-Alley, that was set on by the Iesuits the Day following; This was All the Mo∣ther-Wit of the Dr still; and so was the Advice of their Snugging together, at Fox-Hall upon't, for Page  127 their Common Security, and to keep themselves in a whole Skin. What were the First Three and Forty Articles, but the Work yet of the Same Head, and Hand? Who but Tong to tell Mr Kirkby of it; and by his Means to get Access to the King? who but Tong again, to Deliver Those Articles to the King; and afterward, by his Majesties Order, to Attend the Earl of Danby about That most Impor∣tant Affair? Who was it that told his Lordship the Story over and over again of Grove, Pickering, and Wakeman; the Windsor-Ruffians; and how they might be Catch'd in their Rogueries, upon the very Spot, with their Guns and their Daggers? Who was it that Excus'd the Ruffians afterward, for not going to Windsor, because One of 'em was Indispos'd, and Another's Horse had Slipt his Shoulder? Who was it that shew'd Pickering at the Altar at Somerset-House for fear of Mistaking the Man? Who was it that brought still more and more En∣formations, One upon the Neck of Another; That made so many Jaunts, Out of Town, and Back a∣gain, with News, and for Orders, only to Fetch and Carry? Who was it again that put Otes upon Swearing his Enformations before Sir Edmund-Bury Godfrey? Who was it that Carry'd him thither, and Supported him there, with an Oath, that the Contents of Those Papers bad been shew'd to the King allready? Who was it that Counsell'd Otes to have several Copies of them Transcrib'd, and that Help'd both in the Writing, and in the Recommending of them Himself? Who but Dr Tong, that Guided, and Influenc'd This whole Affair? And Otes all this while, not so much as Seen or Heard of, 'till the Second of September at Fox-Hall: Only the Pleni∣potentiary Dr, with Full Powers, and Authorities, was his own Principal, and Commissioner, Both under Page  128 One. Nay, and he was his Own, as well as Otes'es Confessor too; for he Absolv'd himself of the Sin of False Speaking, as he had done Otes before, upon the Account of False Swearing, as in his Shuffling with the Earl of Danby, is made appear already.

It must be further said now, for the Drs. Credit;* that he shew'd as much Steadyness, in his Perseverance, as Boldness, and Resolution, thus far in the Attempt: For he Gain'd his Point at Last, in Despite of All the Bug-Bears of Honour, and Con∣science, and in Defiance of All the Oppositions of Law, Reason, and Common Sense. His First Narra∣tive Shrunk in the Wetting, and was found, One •art of it to Clash with Another, and not to Agree with It self: Insomuch, that Tong Press'd many times upon the Earl of Danby; and Mr Kirkby more then Once, Presented Himself in the Kings Eye, without any Notice taken of them, or Gaining any Hopes of a Further Access: So that they gave it off for That Time, and Remitted the Matter to some More Fa∣vourable Season. When Tong saw that the Narrative did not Take; he Re-enforces his Attempt with Fresh Articles: He follows them with News of the Ruffi∣ans going to Windsor, and with the Proposal, that One of the Earls Domestiques should go along with them. The Disappointment above-mention'd made the Bus'ness look Worse; and his Majesty threw off the Thought on't, as a most Palpable Ficti∣on: So that the Dr was now put, for Another In∣vention, to the Vttermost Stretch of his Witts, and Courage: And then comes-in the Sham of the Five Windsor Letters: But That which Tong Propounded for an Evidence so Demonstrative of the Truth of All he had Deliver'd, that it would put a Final End to Any Question upon That Point, serv'd only to Con∣clude Page  129 the Whole to be a Forgery; These Letters now were Manifestly of Tong's Contriving, One of them of his Own Hand-Writing; Nay the Authority, and the Truth of them, in respect both of the Authors and the Matters, were, to the Uttermost of Tong's Poor Might and Skill, in such a Manner Excus'd, and Defended; that they were Argu'd to be Such and Such Peoples Hands, because they were Not Like their Hands, and without pretending to shew any Other of their Counterfeit Letters to Compare them by. And Tong has not quite done yet neither.

Tong gets himself sent for to the Council; He Delivers his Papers in; Fetches Otes; He Sollicits King, Lords, Commons, and Committees; There was not One Step in the whole Frame of the Conspiracy, which he does not Write Notes, Narratives, or Rela∣tions upon. He's In at All, thorough the Three King∣doms. Who but Tong to furnish the History of all our •ires; Treasons; Popish Commissi•n•, Allyances; •aggots, Pe•s•cut•ons? Who but He, to undertake for the Lists of the Plotters, the Particularities of their Crimes, and to set-up, in short, for Historiographer to the Conspiracy, and the Common Solicitor to the whole Faction? Though he Declares, (as is said already) in a Petition to the House of Commons, that [he had No Knowledge of any Person, Charged or Susp•cted to be in the Conf•deracy; and hardly of any One Po∣pish Gent•eman in England.]

I have yet One Paper more of His, bearing Date April. 29. 1679. Tuesday.

He takes upon him,* with his usual Confidence, to Advise his Majesty to Deliver up all Priests and Iesuits to the severity of the Laws in that Case Provided: For (says he) [They are not to be Consider'd as Meer Priests; but as Pro∣fessed Page  130 and Known Enemies to our King and Kingdom, Spyes, Assassins, and Incendiaries.]

To This Discourse, the King shew'd Great Dislike, and Changed his Countenance with Displeasure, and said, that Bloud Became not the Dr, nor his Coat; Said, he must Preach Other Doctrine to Him, and That, on the Account of Conscience; and Appealed to the Drs Own Conscience, whether He would be Contented to be so Persecuted (Terming them Poor Peo∣ple;) and said, Other as Effectual Means might be Used.

The Dr Answer'd, that he spoke This only for his Ma∣jesties Enformation, and that he might know that he was not Obliged, neither in Honour, Promise, nor Con∣science to Interpose for them as Priests; if his Af∣fairs Press'd him, and Required him to do Other∣wise.

If I had thought of it sooner, This Treatise would as well have born the Title of a Brief History of Tong, as of a Brief History of the Times; Or it would have done as well perhaps, as either of them, to have Call'd it A Vindication of Titus Otes: For His Murders were a kind of Chance-Medley, Com∣par'd with the Others. He, Poor Devil, Swore to A∣ny thing that came Next, without either Feeling, or Fore-seeing the Conscience, or the Consequences of Things. A False Oath in His Mouth was no more then an Invenom'd Tooth in the Mouth of a Mad Dog. He S•apt at Every thing that was in his Way; and No Remedy for the Wound, like a Piece of his Own Liver. The very Bleeding of him at a Carts-Arse has Purg'd away the Malignity of the Poyson. Otes'es Part was Divided, betwixt a Malicious Hu∣mour that he brought into the World with him, and an Habitual Course of Wickedness, that made his Sins as Familiar to him as his Daily Bread: but the Page  131 Invention, the Contrivance, and the Conduct, was Alltogether Tong's; Who, Certainly, had the Fore∣thought, the Deliberation, and the Study of Wicked∣ness to Answer for Over and Above. And Otes made no more of a False Oath, then of Writing just so many Words out of a Copy-Book: And I have yet One Word more to say Comparatively, even on Tong's Behalf; which is, That he himself had his Directors also, that were the More Criminal of the Two: For Even in the Confusion of Hell it self, there is a Subordination, as well as in Heaven; and there are Degrees of Anguish, and Desparation in the One, as there are of Glories in the Other; Nay, Lucifer, (if I may say so) Values Himself upon the Dignity of being Vppermost; and the Deeper the Horror, the Greater is His Glory.