others from following them; and there to persuade and urge the young lord, without any more delay, to accomplish the marriage with Buckingham's niece, which instantly was performed; so that Buckingham trusteth and presumeth, that, albeit the young lord should understand how his father was poisoned by his means, yet, being married to his niece, he would not stir to revenge it, but comport with it.

To all that is observed before, it is worthy to be added, that the bruit went through London, long before the Lord Duke of Richmond's death, or his brother's, or my Lord of Southampton's, or of the marquis, that all the noblemen, that were not of the duke's faction, should be poisoned, and so removed out of his way.

Also a paper was found in King-street, about the time of the Duke of Richmond's death, wherein the names of all those noblemen, who have died since, were expressed; and your petitioner's name also set next to my Lord Marquis of Hamilton's name, with these words: To embalm him. This paper was brought by my Lord Oldbarro's daughter, cousin-german to the lord marquis: Likewise a mountebank, about that time, was greatly countenanced by the Duke of Buckingham, and by his means procured letters patents, and recommendations from the King, to practise his skill in physick through all England; who coming to London, to sell poison, to kill man or beast within a year, or half a year, or two years, or a month or two, or what time prefixed any man desired, in such sort that they could not be helped nor discovered. Moreover, the Christmas before my lord marquis's death, one of the prince's footmen said, that some of the great ones at court had gotten poison in their belly, but he could not tell who it was.

Here your honours considering the premisses of my Lord Duke of Buckingham's ambitious and most vindicative nature; his frequent quarrels with my lord Marquis, after so many reconciliations; his threatening of the physicians, not to speak of the poison; his triumphing after my lord marquis's death; his detaining of his son almost prisoner, until the marriage was compleat with his niece; the preceding bruit of poisoning Buckingham's adversaries; the paper of their names found, with sufficient intimation of their death, by the conclusion of the word, embalming; the poison-monger, mountebank, graced by Buckingham, may suffice for ground to take him and torture him, if he were a private men: And herein your petitioner most earnestly demandeth justice against that traytor, seeing by act of parliament it is made treason to conspire the death of privyCounsellor. Out of this declaration, interrogateries may be drawn for examination of witnesses; wherein more is discovered to begin withal, than was laid open at the beginning of the discovery of the poisoning of Sir Thomas Overbury.

Concerning the Poisoning of King James of happy Memory, King of Great Britain.

a

THE Duke of Buckingham, being in Spain, advertised by letter, how that the King began to censure him in his absence freely, and that many spoke boldly to the King against him, and how the King had intelligence from Spain of his unworthy carriage in Spain; and how the marquis of Hamilton (upon the sudden news of the prince's departure) had nobly reprehended the King, for sending the prince with such a young man, without experience, and in such private and sudden manner, without acquainting the nobility or council therewith; wrote a verry bitter letter to the Marquis of Hamilton, conceived new ambitious courses of his own, and used all the devices he could to disgust the prince's mind off the match with Spain so far intended by the King; made haste home, where, when he came, he so carried himself, that, whatever the King commanded in his bed-chamber, he controlled in the next; yea, received packets to the King from foreign princes, and dispatched answers without acquainting the king therewith, in a long time after. Whereat perceiving the King highly offended, and that the King's mind was beginning to alter towards him, suffering him to be quarrelled and affronted in his Majesty's presence; and observing that the King reserved my Lord of Bristol to be a rod for him, urging daily his dispatch for France, and expecting the Earl of Gondmor, who, as it seemed, was greatly esteemed and wonderfully credited by the King, and would second my Lord of Bristol's accusations against him. He knew also that the King had vowed that, in despite of all the devils in hell, he would bring the Spanish match about again, and that the Marquis of Inicosa had given the King bad impressions of him, by whose articles of accusation, the King himself had examined some of the nobility and privy-council, and found in the examination, that Buckingham had said, after his coming from Spain, that the King was now an old man, it was now time for him to be at rest, and to be confined to some park, to pass the rest of his time in hunting, and the prince to be crowned.

The more the King urged him to be gone to France, the more shifts he made to stay; for he did evidently see, that the King was fully resolved to rid himself of the oppressions wherein he held him.

The king being sick of a certain ague, and that in the spring was of itself never found deadly; the Duke took his opportunity, when all the King's doctors of physick were at dinner, upon the Monday before the King died, without their knowledge or consent, and offered to him a white powder to take, the which he a long time refused; but, overcome with his flattering importunity, at length took it in wine, and immediately became worse and worse, falling into many swoonings and pains, and violent fluxes of the belly, so tormented, that his Majesty cried out aloud of this white powder, 'Would to God I had never taken it, it will cost me my life.'

In like manner also the countess of Buckingham, my Lord of Buckingham's mother, upon the Friday after, the physicians being also absent and at dinner, and not made acquainted with her doings, applied a plaister to the King's heart and breast; whereupon he grew faint, and short-breathed, and in a great agony. Some of the physicians after dinner, returning to see the King, by the offensive smell of the plaister, perceived something to be about him, hurtful to him, and searched what it should be, and found it out, and exclaimed that the King was poisoned. Then Buckingham, entering, commanded the physicians out of the room, caused one of them to be committed prisoner to his own chamber, and another to be removed from court; quarrelled with others of the King's servants in his sick Majesty's own presence so far, that he offered to draw his sword against them in his Majesty's sight. And Buckingham's mother, kneeling down before his Majesty, cried out with a brazen face, Justice, Justice, Sir, I demand justice of your Majesty. His Majesty asked her, for what? For that which their lives are no ways sufficient to satisfy, for saying that my son and I have poisoned your Majesty.' 'Poisoned me?' said he; with that turning himself, swooned, and she was removed.

The Sunday after his Majesty died, and Buckingham desired the physicians, who attended his Majesty, to sign with their own hands a writ of testimony, that the powder, which he gave him, was a good and safe medicine, which they refused.

Buckingham's creatures did spread abroad a rumour in London, that Buckingham was so sorry for his Majesty's death, that he would have died, that he would have killed himself, if they had not hindered him ; which your petitioner purposely enquired after of them that were near him at that time, who said, that, neither in the time of his Majesty's sickness, nor after his death, he was more moved, than if there had never happened either sickness or death to his Majesty.

One day when his Majesty was in great extremity, he rode post to London, to pursue his sister-in-law, to have her stand in sack-cloath in St. Paul's for adultery. And, another time in his Majesty's agony, he was busy in contriving and concluding a marriage for one of his cousins.

Immediately after his Majesty's death, the physician,, who was commanded to his chamber, was set at liberty, with a caveat to hold his peace; the others threatened, if they kept not good tongues in their heads.

But, in the mean time, the King's body and head swelled above measure, his hair, with the skin of his head stuck to the pillow, and his nails became loose upon his fingers and toes.

Your petitioner needeth to say no more to understanding men, only one thing he beseecheth, that taking the traytor, who ought to be taken without any fear of his greatness, the other matters may be examined, and the accessaries with the guilty punished.

THE

SPIRITUAL COURTS EPITOMISED,

IN A

DIALOGUE BETWIXT TWO PROCTORS,

BUSY BODY AND SCR A PE-AL L,

"

AND

Their Discourse of the Want of their former Employment.

London, printed in 1641. Quarto, containing six pages, with a wooden cut in the title-page, representing the Bishops-court in great confusion.

WE

Busy-body.

E are utterly undone, this parliament hath not only rendered us contemptible to the world, but hath deprived us of our practice; the King's advocate hath not got a fee for an ex officio business this half year; myself have drawn no articles against one that repeated sermons with his family this twelve-month; my Lord of Canterbury might have spared the making of a table of fees, he needed not to have turned out the register for extortion, unless the issue had been better.

Scrape-all. It is true, Mr. Busy-body, but we do not suffer an eclipse in the high commission only, but in all other courts, Bow-Church, that on a court-day used to be fuller than at a sermon on a Sunday, and the audience court in S. Paul's, where a man conld not hear with his own ears; the prerogative, consistory, and archdeacon's, with the dean and chapter's courts, that were wont to be crouded, like money into an usurer's bag, are very quiet and peaceable now; we cannot talk false Latin now, but it will be understood; we cannot get ten pounds in part for the probate of a will, as corpulent Mr. Copper-nose, our brother, the English proctor, could; we cannot put Ponsonby's name to articles, for incontinency, with the privity of the judge, as heretofore we could, and then compound for the penance ourselves, as we have done with the judge before his sentence.

Busy-body. No more can we send our messengers into the country, that pry into people's actions there, as Alderman Abell's spirits would into a butt of unlicensed wine. You know, when many articles were drawn in the name of me necessarii promotoris officii, against any that we knew was rich, upon no ground at all, but hope that he would refuse to take his oath, either to accuse or forswear himself, if he did refuse, then we would be paid our fees; Mr. Advocate, for perusing and subscribing the articles, a piece, that is, two fees, when it was all but one labour; myself for drawing them, running up and down, sending

my man, and twenty pains more, that, heaven knows, I never took, my fees treble, and the office would be careful enough for their fees; for expedition, for extraordinary attendance, bonds, and twenty things more, they would not want much of twenty times their fees; and then, he remaining obstinate, my lord's grace would deal with him, as he did with others, into prison with him, no redemption. O money causes were pure good ones; a parson would spend more money, by delay, than the benefice is worth. We could not endure alimony, many of

them were in forma pauperis.

Scrape-all. A pox on them, I had rather the judge would have given sentence against my client, than bestowed a pauper on me; I am sure the creature, if he followed not his own business better than I, he would have a cold bargain of it; for my part, I fitted him, but sometimes he would present a George or the like to my man, and, if he looked after it, so; if not, vale pauper. I got very well by a wench that has been undone in a dark entry : Sir John would commute her penance into ten pounds, towards the repair of Paul's, and then we would share it. A shop-door could not be open on a holy-day, but the next Sunday the church was saluted with a corum nobis; and, if he did not appear, whether he heard of it or no, dominus eum in scriptis excommunicavit.. Let him appear, when he would, he must render down his contumacy fees, or he remains and is accounted pro excommunicato; and when he is restored Christi fidelium, he must pay the officers fees; faith, such businesses were pretty toys.

Busy-body. And I have gained well by a poor will, when the estate has not amounted to above forty pounds. I would persuade the executor for confirmation to prove it per testes, but first it must be proved in communi forma, and by that time some twenty marks or such a sum would redound to me out of the forty; I never cared much for an administration.

Scrape-all. But I did, for I would get more by it, the inventory (which my man should ingross, as if one word were afraid of another) the account, and the quietus est, and the gratuity (which I never failed of), than you could by an ordinary will. All Bloomsbury, Coventgarden, Long-acre, and Beech-lane, were as fearful of me, as of a constable, or Justice Long; many a time have I stepped in with them for my fees, and have had all content possible. I should have thought it an ill day in the vacation, if I had not got a piece.

Busy-body. Oh, brother! You would not believe how I delighted in a commission, which I would go into the country withal, and expedite; and, if they would not give me ten pounds for it (which if a country proctor had done, he would not have required above a piece) I would not make many delays for the matter, but have got it taxed by any surrogate (whom I could persuade) to twelve or fourteen pounds; a motion flies down, and an excommunication after it, and so I lived in as much state as Augustus Cæsar. Over your country, commissions would afford good profit.

Scrape-all. Faith, brother, and I have cheated many of my brethren in the country, who used to send me up businesses ready roasted; I would pretend cayeats were entered, and detain the business in my