THE FORGED 'SPEECHES AND
PRAYERS' OF THE REGICIDES.
(See 11 S. vii. 301, 341, 383, 442, 502; viii. 22, 81, 122, 164, 202, 242.)
XIV.—Some other Forgeries: Humphrey Stone, Dr. Thomas Manton, and 'Depositions about the Fire of London.'
Mercurius Publicus for 16-23 Jan., 1661/2, draws attention to some forged "speeches" of some thieves; and the same periodical for 23-30 Jan., 1661/2, prints a refutation of another forgery aimed at the Quakers, who had been emphatically dissociating themselves from the fanatics. Partly as a result, the latter did their best to masquerade as Quakers, and very many references can be found in the State Papers to "fighting Quakers" at this time. The following passage in Mercurius Publicus for 23-30 Jan., 1661/2, is, therefore, of some importance in Quaker history:—
"There being a book lately printed, entitled, 'The Speech and confession of Humphrey Stone, a quaker, &c.,' wherein the said Humphrey Stone is reported to have uttered blasphemous expressions and murthered one William Frith, upon enquiry made, we received the following certificate,
"'Whereas some persons of credit and good repute within this kingdom have (by their letters from London, which they shewed unto me) received information of a report mentioned in a certain book published in London, wherein it is set forth that one Humphrey Stone, a quaker, being brought before the Mayor of Dublin at the sessions there held about the 22 of October last, was then tryed concerning his principles, for blasphemy and for denying Civil Law, &c., and at his examination used many reviling words, and being reproved for the same by one William Frith, belonging to the Lord Mayor, drew out a long knife or dagger and stabbed the said William Frith, so that he presently died. For which the said Humphrey Stone was sentenced to death and his head was cut off and set upon a pole, and that his mouth afterwards opened and shut, as was seen by many people. Whereupon the Mayor caused the head to be taken down and perboiled, and so set up again.
"'And being requested to certifie whether the said report be true in whole or in part or not at all, I do here certifie that I have made diligent search in the records of the Tholsell of Dublin and do not find any such person as Humphrey Stone tryed before this Mayor, nor any such fact as stabbing before the Mayor, neither yet any such man as William Frith, belonging to the Mayor, stabbed. So that the report, in whole, is untrue and utterly false.
"'Pe. Tennants. Register.
"'Tholsell. Dublin. 1661.'"
The forgers actually went so far as to fabricate farewell sermons and prayers of the ejected ministers of 1661; and the celebrated Presbyterian divine Dr. Thomas Manton was compelled to advertise in the Newes for 24 Sept., 1663, to the following effect:—
"I do utterly disclaim the Farewell sermon and Prayer printed in my name among other farewell sermons pretended to be preached by some London ministers, as being done without my privity and consent; and, indeed, having preached no farewell sermon at all at the time specified. And that which the ignorant publisher calls so is so strangely disguised and misrepresented by his foolish mistakes. So much I would sooner have signifyed to the world if occasion had been offered. Tho. Manton. Covent Garden. Sept. 23. 1663."
This disclaimer affects the trustworthiness of the whole of the four volumes of sermons of ejected ministers (printed abroad and secretly published), and it is to be feared that a good many of these have been quoted by writers who did not know of this disclaimer. Several other ministers, particularly Dr. Bates, disclaimed in other ways.
Finally, another impudent forgery was the 'Depositions about the Fire,' also printed in 'State Trials.' This had several titles ('London's Flames,' 'London's Flames Revived,' &c.), and was succeeded in 1670 by a second pamphlet of depositions about the fires of that year, which professed to have been taken by Alderman Sir Richard Ford. This last pamphlet was entitled:—
"Trap ad Crucem; or, The Papists watchword, being an impartial account of some late informations taken before several of his Majesties Justices of the Peace in and about the City of London; also a relation of the several fires that have of late hapned in and about the said City."
Elizabeth Calvert, once more, was the chief publisher of both these frauds (whose history can be traced in the Calendars of State Papers for 1667 and 1670), and these, with 'Mirabilis Annus,' were undoubtedly the foundation in great part of the further fraud of Titus Oates's "plot"—a plot carried on by the successors of the same "committees of six" (Roger L'Estrange's 'Confederates') who gave orders for the fabrication of all the frauds I have described. A fuller account and further details can be found in the tract printed in the seventh volume of the 'Somers Tracts,' and entitled 'A Protestant Monument, erected to the immortal glory of the Whigs and Dutch.'
Another untrue narrative is that of John James, also in 'State Trials.' J. B. Williams.
(To be continued.)
