General History of Bath. 7 1 



rant commanding him to erect a gallows in the most public 

 part of the town and "provide halters to hang the traitors, 

 with a sufficient number of faggots to burn the bowels of 

 four traitors, and a furnace or cauldron to boil their heads 

 and quarters, and salt to boil therewith, half a bushel to each 

 traitor, and tar to tar them with, and a sufficient number of 

 spears and poles to fix and place their heads and quarters." 



The Mayor was present with the Tithing-men and a guard 

 of forty soldiers to see these horrid rites. * 



In April, 1687, the " Declaration of Toleration and Liberty 

 of Conscience" was published by James, and the citizens 

 returned their humble thanks, taking credit at the same time 

 for defending the city against Monmouth and his abettors, 

 " our loyal resolutions being then so resolutely fixed that we 

 had resolved to die at the gates, rather than suffer him to get 

 within them." The next year the Queen Consort came to 

 Bath, and the birth of the child afterwards known as the Pre- 

 tender, was attributed in part to the virtues of the Cross Bath. 

 The Earl of Melfort inscribed on a pillar in the bath a ful- 

 some inscription commencing : — 



" In perpetuam Reginse Mariae memoriam quam Coelo in Bathoni- 

 enses thermas : irradiante Spiritus Domini qui fertur super 

 aquas trium regnorum hasredis genetricem effecit." 



On the birth of the child, in June, the citizens again 

 addressed the King in glowing words of loyalty and devo- 

 tion. On the 5th of the following November, William of 

 Orange landed, and the bells of Bath rang a merry peal at 

 the discomfiture of the Prince whom the citizens had so 

 servilely lauded. There was a great rejoicing. A hundred 

 young men carried naked swords, and two hundred virgins 

 in an Amazonian costume, which must have been more 

 noticeable than decent, "bore crowns and sceptres, darts and 



