42 Early Walk and Conversation of Fitz-Harris. England. "And he said that Madam came over to Dover with the same design," thus referring to the visit in 1670 of Henrietta, the ill-fated Duchess of Orleans, sister of Charles the Second. Coming to England about the end of October, 1672, Edward Fitz-Harris obtained a lieutenancy in Captain Sydenham's company in the Duke of Albemarle's regiment; which, in the summer following, mustered at Blackheath. Under the Act disabling Roman Catholics from bearing office, he and others were forced to quit their command. There was nothing but the paltriest hearsay evidence as to Plots, such as what Father Gough had told him, and what Father Parrey told him in 1673, and again in 1678. Parrey was his Confessor, and belonged to the following of Don Francesco de Melo, the Portuguese Ambassador. It was to the effect that the Catholics were disappointed in the King, for not fulfilling their expectations, and therefore it was resolved to destroy him, "and, if all other means failed, the Queen would procure the doing of it." In April, 1679, he declared that the Marques Montecuculi, Envoy to the Duke of Modena (Matia Beatrix D'Este being of the house of Modena), offered him a bribe of ten thousand pounds to kill King Charles, but he refused, and was told that "the Duchess of Mazarine understands poisoning as well as her sister [i.e. Mary Mancini, married to Lorenzo Colonna]; and a little vial, when the King comes there, will do it." After killing the King, foreign armies were to come over, money being levied in Italy, Protestants were to be destroyed, no more Parliaments to assemble; and the Duke of York was declared to be privy to the whole design. : To come later in April, 1680, Fitz-Harris met Kelly the priest at Calais, whom he had known for twelve years, and talk was made about Sir Edmundbury Godfrey's murder. Also with Monsieur De Puy, the Duke of York's valet and barber, who told him that "the murder was 'consulted' at Windsor." The informer had a private spite against the Duke, because he held in Ireland an estate, part of which had formerly belonged to Sir Edward Fitz-Harris, and the son demanded restitution. But the Commons did not choose to notice this self-exposure of animus. There was also hearsay gossip of what Father Patrick had told him of a French investiture of Ireland. "He also desired him to send him all the Libels that came out in London; and said that Libelling the King and the Government was a thing necessary to be done, in order to distaste the King, and make him afraid and jealous of his people." He had known Edmund Everard at Paris, in 1665, and had since continued acquaintance with him, increasing it to intimacy; the opinion of Father Patrick encouraging him to arrange with Everard to join him in the Libel which brought him into trouble. Thus much of the Examination was brought before the Commons. The Lords refuse the Commons' Impeachment. 43 Fitz-Harris had been previously removed to the Tower, by Government, to hinder him from being further tampered with by Treby and Clayton. The House resolved that the said Edward Fitz-Harris should be impeached of High Treason. Insolently to humiliate the Secretary Jenkins, they ordered him the next day to impeach Fitz-Harris. But the Lords refused to proceed on the Commons' Impeachment, and directed that Fitz-Harris should be left to the common-law (which an impeachment would have over-ridden, so might the Commons have worked him as their tool to give whatever false declaration they chose). This was angrily declared to be "a denial of Justice, and a violation of the Constitution of Parliament, and an obstruction to the further discovery of the Popish Plot, and of great danger to his Majesty's person, and the Protestant Religion." Farther, they resolved, "that for any inferior Court to proceed against Edward Fitz-Harris, or any other person lying under an Impeachment in parliament, for the same crimes for which he or they stand impeached, is an high breach of the Privilege of Parliament." Next day, when re-commencing on the Exclusion Bill, the Parliament was summarily dissolved (as already shown on p. 29). This examination by Treby and Clayton, with the heat of the Commons and the pliability of the criminal, caused his doom to be inevitably death. Briefly to recapitulate: before March 1st he had intrigued with the Scotchman Everard (already one of the hired witnesses, in collusion with the ultra-Protestants), to assist him in concocting Treason in Grain, a libellous pamphlet against the King and the Government; he said, "the more treason in it the better." Edmund Everard had betrayed him to his masters, and had hidden Smith and Sir William Waller where they might hear Fitz-Harris commit himself in giving seditious directions. On arresting him the paper was seized, in great part interlineated with his own handwriting. Finding himself in custody and endangered, "for high treason in compassing the deposing and death of the King," he tried to gain protection from his captors by declaring that he had been only acting a part, deceptively, at the bidding of the Court and the Romanists, to make the King enraged against the Whigs or Presbyterians. Some thought that the papers when printed were to have been hidden in the pockets or houses of the disaffected Commons, and thus cause trouble to them when found in their possession. Evidently Fitz-Harris showed himself willing to become a tool of Waller, Clayton and the rest, by any amount of prevarications. He failed, as he deserved, a true bill being found against him at the close of April, 1681; brought up for trial on 4th of May, making scruples about jurisdiction, he was, despite much trickery in furnishing jurymen who were unqualified, tried on the 9th of June, found guilty, and on the 15th condemned to death. He attempted anew to obtain pardon, by offering to discover those 44 Burnet assists Fitz-Harris to retire. Protestants who had set him on to accuse the Queen, the Duke of York, and the Earl of Danby. He was treacherous all round, so that not one word of his might be trusted. He was not even true to any religious faith, but could affirm himself neither Catholic nor Protestant. He had received the ministrations of Gilbert Burnet while awaiting execution! He suffered on the 1st of July, along with Oliver Plunkett, titular Archbishop of Armagh, about whose innocence opinions were divided; but of the double-dyed guilt of Fitz-Harris there was absolute certainty. This may well have seemed to be a dreary disquisition, but the Fitz-Harris case was of singular importance, if only as precipitating the Dissolution of the Oxford Parliament. A Loyal Song called The Riddle of the Roundhead (="Now at last the Riddle is expounded,") has these verses : Rowley now, with Wisdom and grave Reason, To prevent the swift approaching Treason, In season Put a period to their strife; In Oxford all the stratagem's confounded; The Roguish Joyner too: And may no better fate attend the Roundhead That wou'd the Church and Monarchy subdue. Oxford loyal youths, who scorn to sham us For "Loyal" Traytors known; Soon found a flaw i' th' bottom of the Joyner, Of Church and Commonwealth an Underminer, Who fell a Martyr in the Good Old Cause. In the Luttrell Collection (vol. i. fol. 47) is preserved a broadside entitled "An Elegie upon Edward Fitz-Harris, Executed at Tyburn for High-Treason upon Friday, July 1, 1681," Printed for Thomas Snowdon, London, Anno, 1681. It begins thus : Unhappy Man! the Nation's scorn and hate Who liv'd unlov'd, must needs unpitied dye; Upon that soyl where nought but thorns will grow, The following Loyal Poem requires little special annotation: except an allusion to Erostratos at Diana's temple, and another, possibly, to a novel, but not The Perplexed Prince: which was meant to increase popularity for Monmouth. We give (on p. 47) an account of this little book, which is too silly and trashy to justify the importance assigned to it by those who first read it in 1682. [Loyal Poems, and Single Sh.' Broadsides, P.M. 1872, a. 1. fol. 43.] Fitzharris, his Farewell to the World: or, A Traptor's Just Reward. Arewell, great Villain, and unpittied Lie! a Ten thousand Traytors like Fitz-Harris die. Unhuman Monster, to the World ingrate, An Enemy to the King, the Church and State; Had'st thou been starv'd, 't had been too kind a Fate. His Crimes were horrid, infamous and base, Deserves a total extinct of his Race; 3 6 Banish his Name unto some dismal place. What's worse than injuring Sacred Majestie, England may then be glad, with Triumph sing, Those Wolves that plot Protestant Lambs to gull, Hot-headed Youths have been seduc'd of late Those public Libellers, with zeal and heat, 12 15 18 21 [2nd p. begins. 24 Tell th' Ambitious they're Fools, and strive in vain 27 To be true and honest is the safest gain. I hope to see Justice at Tyburn done; If so, some hundreds may have cause to run: Bid proud Petitioners good Advice approve, Make an Address, and in one body move I'de sooner lose a limb, from th' Monument fly, Endure the worst of Torments till I dye, 30 3333 Than willingly deserve my King's displeased Eye. ["displeasing." 36 London, on thee all flourishing joys descend, Heavens bless the Government, and Governors to the end; 39 1 Sie, 1685; but the 1681 broadside has "May all men suffer, when Rob'd of Loyalty;" "Good Lord" in line 18, and "Giddy-headed Youths" in the next. *This cannot refer to the political romance in favour of Monmouth's claims, entitled The Perplexed Prince, because it was of later date: See next page for note. But the broadside reads "Novelty:" which may perhaps be the right word. Heavens bless his Majesty, with plenty, joy, and peace! Non est Lex justior ulla Quam Necis Artificis, Arte perire sua. Richard Gibbs, Norwitch. 54 [In White-letter. No woodcut or date; from N. Thompson, early in July, 1681.] This Richard Gibbs was a physician practising at Norwich, an M.D., and not unlikely to have used the words "novels" with its modern meaning of stories, instead of the word "Novelty" found on the broadside, insomuch that he himself both wrote and caused to be published a genuine novel, entitled The Disorders of Love, in 1692. He seems to have considered himself fully justified for the literary frivolity, by his office imposing on him the taking cognizance of all such "disorders" which interfered with the mens sana in corpore sano. The small volume is a homœopathic dose of romance, not so active in its inflammatory action as those compounded by Mrs. Manley or the cantharidian drugs of clever Aphara Behn. It will not hurt anybody, or prove worse than the disease it professes to cure. It mildly induces "An Exposition of Sleep." 1 In the fortieth line is a reference to Erostratos, who set fire to the Temple of Diana at Ephesus: "The man who burnt Diana's Temple down." Whenever pamphleteer or speech-maker made a telling point with allusion to some event of ancient history, or mythologic fancy, it immediately became a stock-intrade for the other vendors of similar ware. Thus in the poem entitled "ScandalProof; or, an Heroic Poem on the Renowned Champions of the Good Old Cause, Impudent Dick Janeway, and the rest of the Factious Tribe," beginning, "Come on, ye Scribling Rebels of the Age!" Erostratos again appears :— But Thou amongst the rest art such a Fool, To print and own the lies that they invent; With what officious Care thou plagu'st thy brains, |