OATES and BEDLOE. TIT re ITUS Oates, who was ftrained by no principle human or divine, and like Judas would have done any thing for thirty fillings, was one of the most accomplished villians that we read of in hiftory. He was fucceffively an Anabaptift, a Conformift, and a Papift; and then became a Conformift again. He had been a chaplain on board the fleet, whence he was difmiffed for an unnatural crime; and was known to be guilty of perjury before he fet up the trade of witneffing. He was fuccessful in it, beyond his moft fanguine expectation: he was lodged at Whitehall, and had a penfion affigned him of 1200l. a year. He was a man of fome cunning, more effrontery, and the moft confummate falfehood. His impudence fupported itself under the ftrongeft conviction, and he fuffered for his crimes, with all the conftancy of a martyr. The era of Oates's plot was alfo the grand æra of Whig and Tory; and he has the peculiar infamy of being the first of incendiares, as he was the firft of witneffes. This notorious evidence was, foon after the acceffion of James, convicted of perjury, upon the evidence of above fixty reputable witneffes, of whom nine were Proteftants. He was fentenced to pay a fine of two thoufand marks, to be ftripped of his canonical habit, to be whipped twice in three days by the common hangman, and to ftand in the pillory at WestminsterHall gate, and at the Royal-Exchange. He was moreover to be pillored five times every year, and to be imprifoned during life. The He was, hangman performed his office with uncommon rigour. The beft thing James ever did, was punifhing Oates for his perjury; and the greateft thing Oates ever did, was fupporting himself under the most afflictive part of his punishment with the refolution and conftancy of a martyr. A penfion of 400l. a year was conferred upon this mif creant by king William. for a clergyman, remarkably illiterate; but there have been pub. lifhed under his name, "A Nar"rative of the Popish Plot;" "The Merchandize of the Whore "of Rome;" and "Eikon Ba "filike, or a Picture of the late "King James." It is well known. that he was the fon of an Anabaptift; and he probably died in the communion in which he had been educated. William Bedloe, who affumed the title of captain, was an infamous adventurer of low birth, who had travelled over a great part of Europe under different names and dif guifes, and had paffed upon feveral ignorant perfons for a man of rank and fortune. Encouraged by the fuccefs of Oates, he turned evidence, gave an account of Godfrey's murder, and added many circumftances to the narrative of the former. Thefe villains had the boldnefs to accuse the queen of entering into a confpiracy against the king's life. A reward of cool. was voted to Bedloe by the Commons. He is faid to have afferted the reality of the plot on his deathbed: but it abounds with abfurdity, contradiction, and perjury; and ftill remains one of the greatest problems in the British annals. Ob. 20 Aug. 1680.-Giles Jacob informs us, that he was author of a play, derer in the robes of a lord-chiefjuftice +. He returned triumphantly to London, and was received with open arms by the king ‡, who foon after placed him at the head of the higheit tribunal in the kingdom (. He was taken in difguife at Wapping, 12 Dec. 1688. It was with difficulty that the mob were ftrained from tearing him to pieces. He died foon after in the Tower. His feat, well known by the na ne of Bulstrode, was purchafed by William, earl of Portland, in the reign of Anne. re He was made lord chief-juftice of the king's-bench, 7 Feb. 1684-5, and lord-chancellor, 28 Sept. 1685. The next year he was appointed one of the ecclefiaftical commiffion. "Than fharp L'Eftrange a more admir'd prater, Genuine, STATE POEMS. + I have feen an old woman, who kept a little alehoufe in the west, kindle into rage, and melt into pity, upon relating the cruelties of Jefferies, and the catastrophe of Monmouth. I concluded that he caught both thefe paffions from her mother, who, fhe told me, an eye-witness of the fhocking barbarities of thofe lamentable times." It is remarkable that the late counters of Pomfret met with very rude infults from the populace on the western road, only because he was grand-daughter of the inhuman Jefferies. "was King James called the western circuit Jefferies's campaign. once His behaviour, both in private and public, was very inconfiftent with the character of a lord-chancellor. Sir John Rerciby informs us, that he dined with him, when the lord-mayor of London and feveral other gentlemen were his guests; and that having drank deeply at dinner, he gave a loose to that inclination to frolic which was natural to him. He called for Mountfort his domeftic, who was an excellent mimic; and he, in a fham canfe, took off, as the modern phrafe is, all the great lawyers of the age, in the most ridiculous manner. The fame author adds, that he had liked to have died of a fit of the ftone, which he brought upon himfelf by a furious debauch of wine at Mr. Alderman Duncomb's; where he, the lord-treafurer, and others, drank themfelves to fuch a pitch of frenzy," that among friends it was whifpered they "had ftripped into their fhirts; and that, had not an accident prevented them, they had got up on a fign-poft to drink the king's health; which was the fubject of much derifion, to fay no worse." Rerefby's "Memoirs," 4to. p. 130, 131. Sir John Rerefby informs us, that he cut off his eye-brows to prevent his being Known, Genuine Anecdotes of the late Prince of Wales, Lord Oxford, Dean Parnelle, Mr. Pope, Mr. Fenton, Mr. Congreve, Mr. Rowe, Sir Richard Steele, Sir John Vanbrugh, Dr. Young, and Mr. Hooke. THE late queen Caroline declared her intention of honouring Mr. Pope with a vifit at Twickenham. His mother was then alive; and left the vifit fhould give her pain, on account of the danger his religious principles might incur by an intimacy with the court, his piety made him, with great duty and humility, beg that he might decline this honour. Some years after, his mother being then dead, the prince of Wales condefcended to do him the honour of a vifit: when Mr. Pope met him at the water-fide, he expreffed his fenfe of the honour done him in very proper terms, joined with the moft dutiful expreffions of attachment. On which the prince faid, " It is "very well; but how fhall we re"concile your love to a prince, with "your profeffed indifpofition to "kings; fince princes will be "kings in time?” "Sir," replied Pope," I confider royalty under that noble and authorifed type of the lion while he is young, and before his nails are "grown, he may be approached, "and careffed with fafety and plea"fure." : Lord Oxford, as a minifter, was negligent, if we may believe what lord Bolingbroke ufed to fay to his · friends. He added likewife, that Oxford was, in converfation, puzzled and embarraffed; and, upon the whole, unequal to his fration. It was his wont, every day almoft, to fend idle verfes from court to the Scriblerus club, which confifted of Swift, Arbuthnot, Parnelle, Pope, and fometimes Gay. He was likewife ufed to frequent the club every night almoft, and would talk idly, even on the crifis of the most important concerns. Envy itself, however, muft allow, that this nobleman difplayed a moft manly fortitude during the course of his adverfity. When Parnelle had been intro duced by Swift to lord treasurer Oxford, and had been established in his favour by the affiftance of Pope, he foon began to entertain ambitious views. The walk he chofe to fhine in was popular preaching: he had talents for it, and began to be distinguished in the mobplaces of Southwark and London, when the queen's fudden death deftroyed all his profpects, and at a juncture when famed preaching was the readieft road to preferment. This fatal ftroke broke his fpirits; he took to drinking, became a fot, and foon finished his courfe. His friend Fenton, had the like ill hap. Mr. Pope had a great intimacy with Craggs the younger, when the latter was minifter of state. Craggs had received a bad and neglected education. He had great parts: and partly out of fhame for want of literature, and partly out of a fenfe of its ufe, he, not long before his immature death, defired Mr. Pope to recommend to him a modeft, ingenious, and learned young man, whom he might take into his houfe, to aid and inftruct him in claffical learning. Mr. Pope recommended Fenton; who was fo taken in, and anfwered all the minifter expected from him: fo that Fenton had gained much of his favour, and of courfe thought thought his fortune made, when the fmall pox feized the minister, and put an end to all Fenton's hopes. Mr. Pope efteemed Congreve for the manners of a gentleman and a man of honour, and the fageft of the poetic tribe. He thought nothing wanting in his comedies, but the fimplicity and truth of nature. a coxcomb and a puppy: the other replied, you have not the leaft acquaintance with, or perfonal knowledge of him :-Vanbrugh is the reverfe of all this, and the most easy careless writer and companion in the world. This, as he affured an intimate friend, was true. He added, that Vanbrugh wrote and built juft Rowe, in Mr. Pope's opinion, as his fancy led him, or as thofe he maintained a decent character, but built for and wrote for directed him. had no heart. Mr. Addifon was If what he did pleafed them, he juftly offended with him for fome gained his end; if it difpleafed behaviour which arofe from that them, they might thank themselves. want, and estranged himfelf from He pretended to no high fcientific him; which Rowe felt very fevere- knowledge in the art of building; ly. Mr. Pope, their common friend, and he wrote without much attenknowing this, took an opportunity, tion to critical art. Speaking with at fome juncture of Mr. Addifon's Mr. Pope of the Fables in the coadvancement, to tell him how poor medy of Æfop, the latter faid to Rowe was grieved at his difplea- him, "Prior is called the English fure, and what fatisfaction he ex- "Fontaine, for his Tales; nothing preffed at Mr. Addifon's good for. " is more unlike. But your Fables tune; which he expreffed fo natu- "have the very spirit of this celerally, that he (Mr. Pope) could not "brated French poet."- "It but think him fincere. Mr. Ad-"may be fo," replied Vanbrugh; difon replied, "I do not fufpect" but, I proteft to you, I never "that he feigned; but the levity "read Fontaine's Fables.' "of his heart is fuch, that he is "ftruck with any new adventure; "and it would affect him juft in "the fame manner, if he heard I ¢ was going to be hanged." Mr. Pope faid, he could not deny but Mr. Addifon understood Rowe well. Mr. Pope used to fay of Steele, that though he led a very carelefs and vicious life, yet he, neverthelefs, had a real love and reverence for virtue. Mr. Pope thought Dr. Young had much of a fublime genius, though without common fenfe; fo that his genius, having no guide, was perpetually liable to degenerate into bombaft. This made him pafs for a foolish youth, the fport of peers and poets. But his having a very good heart, enabled him to fupport the clerical character when he affumed it, firft with decency, and afterward with honour. The want of reafonable ideas in Swift had taken a diflike (with this ingenious writer, fo pregnant out knowing him) to Vanbrugh, with imagination, occafioned the and fatirized him feverely in two fame abfence and distraction in or three poems, which difpleafed company, which has frequently Mr. Pope; and he remonftrated been obferved, to befal philofophic with his friend on this occafion. men, through the abundance of Swift faid, he thought Vanbrugh theirs. But his abfence being on that that account attended with much abfurdity, it was not only excused, largely, but would do nothing till Mr. Pope came to her, whofe but enjoyed. He gave, through-company fhe then fought all op. out his life, many wonderful examples of this turn, or rather debility of mind; of which one will fuffice. When he had determined to go into orders, he addreffed himfelf, like an honeft man, for the best directions in the ftudy of theology. But to whom did he portunities to procure, and was uneafy to be without it. He was at that time with fome friends, whom he was unwilling to part with, a hundred miles diftant. But at Mr. Hooke's earneft folicitation, when Mr. Pope found his prefence fo effentially con apply? It may, perhaps, be thought,cerned his friend's intereft and to Sherlock or Atterbury; to Burnet or Hare. No! to Mr. Pope; who, in a youthful frolic, recommended Thomas Aquinas to him. With this treasure he retired, in or der to be free from interruption, to an obfcure place in the fuburbs. His director hearing no more of him in fix months, and apprehending he might have carried the jest too far, fought after him, and found him out juft in time to prevent an irretrievable derange ment. Mr. Hooke feems to have poffeffed no fmall fhare of Mr. Pope's esteem and friendship. His folicitude to do him fervice, is ftrongly exemplified in the following anecdote. The firft dutchefs of Marlborough was defirous of having an account of her public conduct given to the world. This Mr. Hooke, • a Roman Catholic, in the myftic < way, and compiler of the Roman Hiftory, was, by Mr. Pope and ‹ others, recommended to her Grace, as a proper perfon to draw up this Account, under her infpection, and by the affiftance of the papers the communicated to him, he performed this work fo much to her Grace's fatisfaction, that fhe talked of rewarding him future fupport, he broke through all his engagements, and in the depth of winter and ill ways, flew to his affiftance. On his coming, the dutchefs fecured to Mr. Hooke 5000l. and by that means attach'd him to her fervice. But foon after she took occafion, as was usual with her, to quarrel with him. |