General History of Bath. 69 



Then Chapman determined to become mayor. He had no 

 sufficient backing to secure his election in the ordinary way, 

 but being a man of resource he borrowed a troop of horse, 

 ran off bodily with four aldermen and five councillors, and 

 kept them in durance at Devizes until after the election of 

 mayor. But his enormities did not stop here : — " On the 

 Lord's day, he and other of his confederates, meeting in 

 an alehouse during the time of evening service and sermon, 

 from which they absented themselves,'' counted up the 

 possible votes, and found he could not reckon on having 

 a majority. On the very morning of the election, therefore, 

 he seized a brace more councillors and laid them by the 

 heels at Keynsham. Chapman was for the day successful, 

 but the kidnapped councillors on their return held another 

 election, turned Chapman out of the council, and ordered 

 the bailiffs to arrest him. This they feared to do, and there 

 was for the time a dead-lock. Then the outraged dignity 

 of the citizens was pacified by inflicting a fine on the bailiffs. 

 But as soon as the law's supremacy had thus been vindi- 

 cated the fines were remitted. 



All this came before the Privy Council, who upheld the 

 Corporation but suggested that, to prove their loyalty, they 

 had better "make a free and voluntary present for the 

 supply of his Majesty's pressing occasions." The Corpora- 

 tion happened to have ;£'ioo Church money in hand, and 

 this Prynne presented in their names to Charles, who 

 " received it very graciously.'' 



One of the most remarkable parts of the story is that 

 Chapman regained the confidence of the citizens, was 

 several times mayor, and wrote a very curious work on the 

 thermal waters, which he entitled " Therms Redivivae." 



On the death of Charles, James II. was proclaimed at 



