William Bedloe's Family ties, and Panegyrists. 593

Tragedy; as it was acted by his Majesty's Servants. (Publishers added a catch penny sub-title,) Being the Popish Plot in a Play. By Captain William Bedloe. London, printed for Thomas Parkhurst, D[orman] Newman, Tho. Cockerill, and Tho. Simmons, 1679. The hero is named Teimurazez, Prince of Georgia, excommunicated by the Pope. Bedloe's admirers contrived to panegyrize and exalt him as a "True Blue Protestant," notwithstanding the known infamy of his career. His mother had early said that she knew he would come to a bad end; expecting him to develope into a Hewlette. She was not far wrong in her predictions, for he actually became a favourite of the Parliament; who voted him a reward of £500. In the Luttrell Collection (I. 9) is preserved An Elegy upon the Unfortunate Death of Captain William Bedloe, who departed this Life on fryday the twentieth of August, 1680. It is eulogistic.

Scarce can one say he lives and doth enjoy
The blessing of this world without alloy,
But some unhappy chance disturbs our peace,
And all our pleasures in a moment cease.
The truth of which, great Captain Bedloe's fate
Confirms, more than a thousand instances of late.
Having at last been blest with a kind Wife,
The only solid comfort of Man's life,
And hoping now to live at peace and rest,
And be for ever by his Countrey blest,
Was strangely seiz'd with a dire malady;
And by a strange, unheard-of prophesy,
He fanci'd all along that he should dye
By that disease: yet then he persever'd
In what he had said, and not one Tittle err'd,
As he was then even in a dying state,
From what he ever did o' th' Plot relate:
And before witnesses, at 's parting breath,
The Truth of 's Depositions seal'd with death.
Now at his Loss let this sad Nation mourn,
And drop with Grief some Tears upon his Urn!
Let us his sudden Death justly bemoan;

Had he liv'd longer, he had more made known.
Dear Dr. Oates, I must digression make, etc.

50

But enough of this fulsome and lying panegyric, not improbably written by the brother James Bedloe. We have digressed to notice it, and now return to the excessively "dear Doctor Oates," who survived to get an instalment of retributive whipping. The "Eutopian Game" of next page resembled the ancient Saturnalia.

VOL. V.

2 Q

The Plotting Cards Revived.

THE SECOND PART.

TO THE SAME TUNE OF, I'll tell thee, Dick, etc. [See p. 417.]

His is like some Eutopian Game,1

And Kings are Subjects made:
Felons their Judges do indict;2
And he "a Traytor" is down-right,
Who falsely is betray'd.

A Dunce, who never took Degrees,
But such as lead to villainies,

A Doctor is most sound!

And who, to furnish his own want,
Can seize Gold Cross, or Silver Saint,
A Justice is renown'd!

Who Horse to Battel never led,

But has with many horses fled

Out of his neighbour's field,

A'Captain' was! and with his word
Kills more than with his duller sword
He ever made to yield.

A Villain, who can cheat his Lord,
Gets Chains of Gold, instead of Cord,
And is from Prison freed;

For he, who says he murder'd, has
A Pardon, both for that does pass,
And all that e'er he did.

Who for foul crimes and forgeries

Has won the yoak of Pillories,

And has been whipt about,

If he but add new Perjury,

He wipes off past Iniquity,

their Dame;

And speaks Truth without doubt.

[Sir Geo. Wakeman, etc.

[=Titus Oates.

[Sir Wm. Waller,

[Capt. Wm. Bedloe.

[i.e. Lord Bellasis.

[Stephen Dugdale. [orig. "For Him.”

[Miles Prance,

[Thom. Dangerfield.

1 We need not give both parts of the long Loyal Song entitled "The Plotting Cards Revived; or, The New Game of Forty-One," which begins, “Come, cut again; the Game's not done!" but only the second portion, bringing before us the gang of perjurers, Bedloe, Oates, Dugdale, Dangerfield, and their Whig encouragers, Sir William Waller, etc. Opening verses are on next page.

2 An allusion to William Bedloe and Titus Oates having indicted Sir William Scroggs and threatened Sir George Jeffereys, when these informers were no longer supported by the Bench, on the abortive trial of Sir George Wakeman. (See "Innocence Unveiled," "Good Deeds Ill Requited," in Vol. IV. p. 171, etc.)

"A Pack of Knaves together get."

He that had rather choose to die

Than to redeem his life with lie,

Is th' only "perjur'd Rogue!

And they who damn themselves to live,
Sure signs of their probation give,

595

[Visc. Wm. Stafford.

For they're the Saints in vogue! [Turberville, Smith, etc.

Then play away, good Country-man!

What Hand's the best is now most plain;

And boldly thou may'st stake:

A Pack of Knaves together get,
And never doubt to win the set,

For they the Voll will make.'

Finis.

42

Now spelt vole, from the French: "A Deal of Cards which draws all the tricks." It is appropriate ending to a ballad of which the first part is full of equivoques drawn from card-playing phraseology. This is the commencement:— Ome, cut again! the Game's not done,

Come

Though strangely yet the Cards have run,
As if they pack'd had been;

66

Most likely [th] are to lose, and say
They know not what's next best to play:
Such shuffling ne'er was seen!'

Look well, my Masters, to your hits,
And have about you all your wits,
For high the Game does run;
Three Kingdoms now at stake do lie,
And Rooks all Hocus-tricks do try,
That ye may be undone.

On Clubs and Spades some wholly bett,
For they the most are like to get,

While Hearts in vain contest;
And Diamonds too (unto their cost
That have them) sure are to be lost:
The Blackest Cards are best!

The Paying off Did Scores.

"Let Tories guard the King! Let Whigs in halters swing!
Let Pilk. and Shute be sham'd; let b[lund]ring Oates be prep;
Let cheating Player be nick'd; the turn-coat Scribe be kick'd;
Let Rebel City Dons ne'er beget their own Sons;
Let ev'ry Whiggish Peer, that rapes a Lady fair,
And leaves his only Dear the sheets to gnaw and tear,
Be punish'd out of hand, and forc'd to pawn his Land,
T'atone the grand Affair.”

SOON

[Lord Grey.

-The King's Health, set to Farinel's Ground, 1684.

OON after the accession of James it became apparent that many persons were doomed to be called to account for past offences against the Duke of York. Addresses of condolence and of congratulation came in shoals from towns and cities, to declare their loyalty and win favour. The universities and chartered companies, with the clergy, were not behindhand in the race. Knighthood and other boons rewarded many, while cold looks or absolute denial of audience punished such persons as Lord Montague and Lord Lovelace, who came forward to kiss the King's hand. It was impolitic to show remembrance of old injuries, but yet natural. Before the end of February the Marquis de Grana had warned Monmouth to depart from the Spanish Netherlands. A proclamation of indemnity for Scotland was issued early in March, and seventy-six prisoners in Newgate were freely pardoned. But while some got out, others went in; thus Thomas Dangerfield was apprehended soon after, and committed to that prison, where his old associate Titus Oates already lay. For having printed Dangerfield's Narrative, which defamed Lord Peterborough, Samuel Heyrick at Northampton lost £5000 damages. On the 30th of April, "his majestie was pleas'd in his bed-chamber to confer the honour of knighthood on Roger Lestrange, Esq., with a particular satisfaction he had in his loyalty. That evening Sir Roger had a child christened; the Bishop of Ely [Francis Turner, translated from bishopric of Rochester], and Sir Thomas Doleman were godfathers." We have not found Sir Roger's name as licenser of ballads after the middle of August, 1685, when Richard Pocock officiated instead. Early in May, about the 6th, "Alderman Ireton [of Finsbury, Henry, we believe, son of regicide Ireton] and one Walter Thimbleton [Merchant, of Bednal Green, Irish Walk], were committed for high treason, in holding correspondence with traytors beyond sea." There must have been seditious letters intercepted or betrayals made (not improbably by Robert Ferguson), for at the same time a Proclamation was issued, putting Scotland "in a posture of defence against the enemies of the King and government." The Scottish Parliament had already met, loyally granting excise dues, and enactments against traitors.

A Loyal Scotch Song.

TO THE TUNE OF, Bonny Kate of Edinborough. [See p. 612.]

[Viz. D'Urfey's song, "Just when the young and blooming Spring."]

Ust as the mist of Errour fled,

JUst

That men through Town and Fields may see

The Jayl-Birds whistling through the grates,

And Birds of Prey cleave to the Tree.

Poor Titus sate, bewailing his fate, and dismal state,

For Treason, Treason, Treason, and Sham-Plotting too; "Alas! cry'd he, "I hang'd shall be,

For Ignoramus cannot do!"

Titus went lately o're to Spain,

many wonders there he saw,

Black-Bills and Pilgrims float o'er th' Main,

and tall fair Don John of Austria.

[Tyburn.

8

Titus with his wiles the Jesuits beguiles, Jack Presbyter smiles;

And something, something, something else he meant to do;

But all his hope will end in a Rope,

For Treason and Sham Plotting too.

The Sanhedrim was Titus's friend,

and aided him 'gainst Kirk and Crown.
Exclusion Bills and Votes they send,

to pull King, Duke, and Bishops down.
Now our Theme is all of him, who now does seem
Roguish, Roguish, Roguish, by each Oath and Vow:
Now Titus lies bereft of Joys,

For Ignoramus cannot do!

16

[i.e. Parliament.

[White-letter. Date, apparently near the end of 1684.]

24

76

This seems to belong to the close of 1684, during the time when Titus Oates lay in prison, the fine unpaid that was inflicted for having defamed the Duke of York; and before his more severe punishment was ordered on May 16th, 1685, as mentioned in the introduction to "Perjury Punished" (p. 598). The references above to his palpable and detected lies about the Spanish Pilgrims who were to come over and assassinate Protestants; the concealed heaps of weapons, Black-Bills, etc., so well hidden that nobody has ever yet discovered them; and the self-convicting blunder of his stating Don John to be 'tall and fair,' although he was short, fat, and dark, are among the commonplaces of Titusian allusions. The Sanhedrim is Dryden's nickname for the Whig-ridden Parliament.