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And so I took my leave of their lordships.

This is the substance of what I can remember, as far as my part goes in this surprising adventure. As to the account I promised

of my wicked accusers, my reader shall have it as fast as my weak eyes will give me leave to write it.

Aug. 1, 1692.
Bromley.

THO. ROFFEN.

THE

SECOND PART OF THE RELATION

OF

THE LATE WICKED CONTRIVANCE

Against the Lives of several Persons, by Forging an Association under their Hands.

BEING

A farther Account of the said Forgery, and of the two Authors of it, STEPHEN BLACKHEAD AND ROBERT YOUNG, Alias Youngs, alias Brown, alias Hopkins, alias Hutt, alias Green' alias Jones, alias Smith, alias, &c.

WRITTEN BY THE BISHOP OF ROCHESTER.

Quo teneam Vultus mutantem Protea Nodo?

Imprimatur November 25, 1692, Edmund Bohun.

TO THE READER.

It is well known to divers persons of worth and honour, that this

second part was finished, and has lain by me some considerable time: excepting the addition of some very few original papers lately come to my hands, which serve only to explain and confirm some passages I had written before.

The cause of my not printing it sooner, was an expectation of Robert Young's speedy trial. But that being now deferred till the next term, upon occasion of Mr. Aaron Smith's sickness, I have been prevailed with no longer to delay the publication of it.

If any shall still surmise, that I might have done better to let him alone yet a little while, till the justice of the nation had passed upon him: I answer, That well-nigh all, that I say of him, relates to such of his crimes, which the justice of this, or a neighbouring nation, has already passed upon.

And though I can prove, this villainous contrivance of his plot has been at least of a year and a half standing; and do know

many steps of it more than are hitherto commonly known; and have seen many letters to this effect, all written by Robert Young's hand, some in his own name, some forged for me, and divers other persons far more considerable; yet my reader will find, I pass all, or the greatest part of that by, and leave still enough to be produced against him at his trial.

I do indeed briefly touch upon his late endeavours to suborn one Holland, to support his perjuries by perjuring himself. But his discourse with Holland to that purpose, and the instructions he sent him to swear by, having been both averred already upon oath, in an open court of justice, before a great assembly at Hicks's-Hall, I know no pretence, why I should be bound to conceal what was then, in so solemn a manner, made publick.

The truth is, the chief reason that urges me, at this time, to make known to the world the certain discoveries I have made of Robert Young's detestable villainies of all kinds, is, that I am assured, this infamous man does still persist in his causeless and wild malice against me, and other innocent persons; and attempts, at this time of day, to justify his forged association, by the false testimonies of others like himself.

Wherefore, since he will not give me over, it is high time I should begin with him and whilst he goes on in such a barbarous manner, to strike at my life, surely none can blame me if I debase myself so much as to write his.

But if any one shall still suggest, that I have troubled myself too much, and spent too many words on so inconsiderable a rascal: I have this yet to say, that since he could think himself so considerable, as to hope to be an evidence against mine, and several other's lives; I should be wanting to myself, to them, and indeed to the publick, should I not prove him to be a dangerous rascal, now it has come so unexpectedly into my power to do it.

It seems also the more seasonable for me at this very time to shew him to the world; since Blackhead has made a second escape out of the messenger's hands; and since there goes about a letter (forged, one would think, by Young himself, among his infinite other forgeries) wherein it is declared in Blackhead's name, but in Young's English, that Blackhead has done no wrong to no man upon earth but Young.

Whether this can possibly be true, I leave to any man upon earth, that has read my first part. to judge. And whoever shall peruse this my second part, I doubt not but he will be convinced, that whatever Blackhead has done, I have done Young no wrong.

IN the former part, I promised to give some account and charac

ter of those wicked wretches, that brought me into the troubles there described.

I come now to make good my promise. Only I fear, let me do what I can, the account of them, which I at first designed, should be very short, will be much longer, and rise to a far greater bulk than I intended; especially, in what I have to say of Robert Young.

But for that, I hope, my reader will reckon it to be his fault, and only my penance: since his life has been so highly criminal, and this is so clearly attested, that I must be somewhat large, or else I cannot do him all the right he deserves, and fully satisfy the world, concerning him.

I must confess, I could never have been brought to foul my fingers with so base a subject, had I not been provoked, and almost challenged to it, by this same Young's intolerable insolence, even after he found himself detected of manifest forgery.

For, the last time I was discharged by the lords at Whitehall, on June the 13th, whereof I have already given a full relation; whilst I was passing through the outer room, in my way home, there being a crowd of people; I stopped, and said, I pray gentlemen, Is Mr. Young here? I would fain have another sight of the man, who has put himself upon me as my old acquaintance, and intimate friend: though I never saw him in my life, till this very day.

Divers of the company presently shewing me, where he was, sitting by himself; I said to him, Robert Young, your conscience cannot but condemn you, for having thus mortally injured me, and other innocent persons. I cannot call to mind, that ever I gave you the least provocation; I am sorry now for your own sake, that you are still so obstinate in defending your forgeries, after they have been so undeniably detected. For you know, there is one of your own confederates within, who has plainly confessed them.

At this he briskly, and most audaciously replied to me, without the least concernment, that I could observe, Confessed! No; you shall find to your sorrow, all is not confessed yet: A parliament will come, and then you shall hear more from me. I left him, praying God to give him grace to repent; and only adding, that else he was more in danger of his own damnation, than I of his accusation in parliament.

Now therefore, because of this impudent defiance, I have taken some pains to inquire into the man, and his former course of life.

And notwithstanding the time of my inquiry has been so short (for he was never personally known to me, till I saw him at Whitehall, on the 13th of June last) nay, though the scene of his impious actions has been so large, that I have been forced to collect my intelligence, from far and near; yet I have been so fortunate in my discoveries of him, and his meet-help, that now I look upon the loathsome heap of scandalous materials, I have got together against him, I am almost ashamed to make it publick.

But, perhaps, it may be no unacceptable, I am sure it will be no unseasonable service to my country, to present it with a faithful picture of one of the most graceless wretches, that ever yet entered upon the stage of evidencing; which I think is as bad as can be said of him, in so few words.

As to a discovery of the whole plot and contrivance against myself and others, I have been able to penetrate no farther yet, than to find that it was hatched and ripened in Newgate, wherever it was first laid, or designed.

Of the managers or abettors of it, there are but very few, hitherto, come to my knowledge; though, no doubt, there are more still behind the curtain. And many other honest men, in all likelihood, had been accused after the same manner, had this first attempt taken effect.

For how can it be imagined, they would only have introduced the good Archbishop Sancroft, and the poor Bishop of Rochester, and joining us with three or four persons of honour, and a citizen or two, have then supposed us to be so mad as to engage under our hands, to seize on the Queen's person; to surprise the Tower; to raise a mighty army; and to bring the city of London into subjection.

:

No; without all question, if this false association had once passed for authentick, many other papers of the same nature would soon have been produced out of the same forge to the involving of many other innocent persons, both of clergy and laity, in the like counterfeit guilt.

But, till time shall bring to light more of this detestable work of darkness, the whole ignominy of it must be shared at present among the pretended witnesses, whom I have already heard named.

Of these there was one Captain Lawe, mentioned both by Young and his wife. And they boasted much of his concurring testimony, when he should appear. Yet of him I have nothing more to say, than that I find, there really was such a man as Lawe, a prisoner too in Newgate; and freed from thence the fifth day of August, 1691: a captain, Young said, he was: and he might as easily make him one as he made himself a priest; which (I thank God for the church's sake) he was no otherwise than in fiction.

How this captain got his liberty, I have yet no reason, that I know of, to examine strictly; seeing he has hitherto had either the modesty or the cunning to withdraw himself, and not to venture being an evidence in so bad a cause.

For the present, therefore, I leave Captain Lawe, as I found him, with no other mark of disgrace, but what his friend Young has fixed upon him, by naming him as a man likely to deserve the title of the third discoverer of his plot.

Of Blackhead too, besides what relates to myself, which the reader has had before, I have but one story more to insert here ; though that indeed is home, and to the purpose. For this very Stephen Blackhead was prisoner also in Newgate, and condemned on January 15, 1689, to stand in the pillory, and to lose his ears, together with one Lewis and one Patrick, being all three convicted of one and the same forgery.

Lewis and Patrick, it seems, were so ill befriended, as to have the rigour of the law pass upon them. By what favour, Blackhead came to be reprieved and pardoned, it is not now my business overcuriously to inquire: else I could perhaps tell a story, how the knave, being himself a broken taylor, and employed in the solliciting of others' debts; and having, as is usual, some bills and letters of attorney intrusted with him for that purpose, had the good luck,

and the honesty, by delivering up, and cancelling one of them to save his ears, and purchase his pardon.

But, perhaps, I do not well to anticipate any part of Blackhead's other knaveries, not doubting, but he will, in time, supply abundant matter, to deserve a like history of himself. It is more than probable, that some other good and peaceably-minded man, having been as vilely trepanned by him, as I have been, though perhaps, by some other way than a flower-pot, will have the same reason to search into all his tricks, and to set them out with as much variety, in as ample a manner, as I shall now endeavour to do Robert Young's.

It is this Robert Young, that, I conceive, has most merited to be my proper subject. By what appears yet, Blackhead was only the tool, and the instrument; Young was the chief, if not the first contriver of this treacherous design. Blackhead was touched with some remorse, so far as to reveal some part of the truth: Young persisted to the last, without any relenting. And, when one would have thought he should have been quite overwhelmed with what his colleague confessed, he had the face, in so honourable a presence, with a prodigious and inimitable turn of impudence, to impute Blackhead's confession to my having suborned him.

As to Robert Young therefore, I will first give a true draught, in little, of his whole life; that my reader, keeping the principal passages of that in his memory, may know where to require satisfaction in any particular, from my original papers.

But now, in the very beginning of Robert Young's story, I might be at some loss, what is really his name; for, in several places, he has gone under divers names; and behaved himself so, as quickly to wear them all out, and to make it necessary for him to change them often.

Thus, on sundry occasions, he has passed under the names of Brown, Smith, Hutt, Jones, Green, &c. In Dublin, he sometimes called himself Marsh: In Raphoe, Hopkins, to render himself more acceptable, in his ill projects; taking the true names of the worthy archbishop and bishop of those sees, at that time.

Yet, after all, I find the name of Young is most likely to pay all his scores; for, notwithstanding his many divings, under other disguises, it has so happened, that he has still risen up again at last, in his own true name of Robert Young.

There may be also as great a controversy raised, what countryman he is. In some of the original papers in my keeping, he passes for an Irishman'; in some, for a Scotchman; in his own letters (which I have the least reason of all to believe, and, being myself an Englishman, I am most unwilling to believe) he gives himself out for an Englishman, born at Chester. Wherefore, till I am more familiarly acquainted with him, than he himself says I am, I must be forced to leave his country uncertain: though I am confident, there will be no great contention or emulation between the three kingdoms, to which of them he owes his birth.

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