ANTIQUITIES. 



85^ 



towards the coach, to speak to sir 

 Tho. Pelhain, hoping to iiave found 

 so much humanitj' in him, till he 

 might have excliaiiged a Mord or 

 two : But instead of sal'ctie and 

 sanctuarie, v.hich I had expected 

 from him, I found (after I had vi- 

 sited the coach) that he Mas in the 

 other coach behinde, and had sent 

 out hi' foilorne hope before, to 

 skirmish and give the alarum ; and 

 whilst I was looking into the coach, 

 one Millington attempted to run me 

 thro-igh at my back; and had ef- 

 fected it, if by the providence of 

 God, a clasp in the waistband of my 

 doublet had not stayed the further 

 entering of his sworde; this danger 

 was cause sulhcicnt tomake me turn 

 aboute towards the man, at whom 1 

 made, but he, though seconded by 

 three of his fellowcs, upon the dis- 

 charge of my pistoU ran M'i^h them 

 all away to a coach some distance 

 behind, guarded with 18 or 20 men, 

 as I guessed, crying out, " Let the 

 gentlemen come ; let the gentlemen 

 come!" But the coach, with most 

 of the guards, turned about and 

 went away, whilst myself and ser- 

 iJant went into (he fields to have 

 gone our ways. But it seemed they 

 were not so minded to parte with 

 me, for two of sir Tho. Pelham's 

 men lay for an ambuscade under a 

 hedge, the one with a fowling- 

 piece, the other with a machlock ; 

 I was a markc aymed at by both ; 

 the one missed, but the other shot 

 me in the knee joint, and presently 

 ran away, till seeing me fall, they 

 thought they might without danger 

 rc-assume their courage : And then 

 many of them together fell upon me, 

 knocked me downe dead upon (he 

 ground, and so lyeiiig gave me eight 

 wounds, and struck twice to finish 

 me J but one of their fellowes (hat- 



ing such butcherly acts) did m6st 

 honestly defend me from that dan- 

 ger, and notwithstanding I was so 

 hacked and hewed, not able to stirr 

 or stand, they bound my hands be- 

 hinde me, and carried me to sir Tho. 

 Pelham's house, where I lay 15 

 days. But not any of my friends 

 were admitted to speake to me, or to 

 comfort me : And being very weake 

 yet, and dangerously ill of my 

 wounds, not iitt to be removed, I 

 was in two days conveyed to New- 

 gate, where 1 am still kept close, 

 not being allowed in all my weak- 

 ness the comfort of such of my 

 friends to take care or charge of my 

 mangled as weake body, as are by 

 nature most bound to preserve the 

 same ; which I thinke hath seldome 

 been denyed to men convicted of 

 more heinous crimes than any yet 

 laid to my charge. 



And now as I begun, I will end 

 with a protestation, that myne in- 

 tention in my desire to speake with 

 sir Tho. Pclhani, were faire and 

 candid, not spotted with any bloody 

 resolution. And I intrcate all who 

 may chance to sec this my declara- 

 tion, to be charitable in their cen- 

 sures, and to believe, that I am not 

 in my spirit so basely directed, as 

 that amid feare of death, or what 

 the worst of miscrie can befall me, 

 can draw from me any relation then 

 what is really true. And if any 

 person examined against me have or 

 shall depose otherwise of my act or 

 intente, then what 1 have related, I 

 shall wish they may a little consider 

 what have befallen two of those who 

 have been agents in the uncharitable 

 usage of me. And God forgive 



them. 



* * * * 



After such tymc as I had rcceir- 

 ed my cruell wounds, and was fallen 



downe, 



