368 Mysterious Death of a Lord-Lieutenant of Wilts ; 
Wiltshire and Somerset, and other places at a distance from London, 
on or before the day of its occurrence, giving birth to the suspicion . 
that it was a premeditated act. Of this there was no direct proof; 
but a letter to that effect from the turbulent town of Marlborough 
was quite enough to set Mr. Braddon in motion, and was the cir- 
cumstance which introduces us to his adventures in this county in 
search of further evidence. He had first taken down the testimony 
of divers persons, principally children, who had heard cries pro- 
ceeding from the Earl’s chamber in the Tower, and had seen a 
bloody razor thrown from the window, a feat which it was na- 
turally supposed the sufferer himself could not have performed 
after using the instrument. Braddon’s next step was to visit Tun- 
bridge, after which he repaired into Wiltshire in order to make the 
acquaintance of Mr. Nehemiah Burgess, a pin-maker of Marl- 
borough, who was reported to be in possession of valuable informa- 
tion. But, preparatory to starting, he called, late in the evening, 
on his friend, Mr. Hugh Speke, to get an introduction to another 
Protestant partisan, Sir Robert Atkyns, of Stow-on-the- Wold, in 
Gloucestershire; and the unfortunate letter then written by Mr. 
Speke (under the influence, so he afterwards pleaded, of liquor) 
involved him also in Braddon’s misfortunes, Mr. Hugh Speke, it 
may here be remarked, was a member of the wealthy Somersetshire 
family who soon after engaged in Monmouth’s rebellion. His 
letter on the present occasion was as follows :— 
‘* For the ever-honoured Sir Robert Atkyns, Knight of the Bath, at his house 
at Netherswell, near Stow-on-the- Wold, in Glostershire. 
‘‘HonourEeD Srr,—The bearer hereof is one Mr. Braddon, a very honest 
gentleman, whose father has at least £800 per annum in Cornwall. It seems it 
is his fate to be the only person that follows and prosecutes the murder of the 
Earl of Essex, and he has made a very considerable discovery already of it, not- 
withstanding the hard stream he rows against, as things stand and are carried 
at present. But indeed I think it could never have fallen on so fit a man, for 
he has been a very hard student, is a person of a very good reputation, life, and 
conversation; and has a great deal of prudence, and as much courage as any 
one living whatsoever. He went away on a sudden hence post towards Marl- 
borough to make some further discovery, and what he has discovered he will 
give you a full account, and of all the transactions hitherto about it. I lent 
him my man to go with him, for fear he should come to any mischief, for most 
here fear he will either be stabbed or knocked on the head if he do not take 
