BEing
in
Company
with
an
English
Gentlewoman
in
Flanders
,
who
is
a
Roman-Catholick
,
about
the
later
end
of
August
,
1679
,
and
the
name
of
Mr.
Gaven
,
one
of
the
Five
Jesuits
who
suffered
that
Summer
,
coming
into
discourse
,
she
began
to
express
with
some
horrour
the
scandal
she
had
received
from
a
wicked
piece
of
Doctrine
he
maintain'd
in
her
hearing
,
which
was
,
That
the
Queen
might
Lawfully
Kill
the
King
for
violating
her
Bed
:
And
,
that
when
she
set
her self
to
oppose
it
as
most
unchristian
Doctrine
,
and
tending
to
Destroy
Soul
and
Body
both
,
and
alledg'd
,
that
therefore
it
was
better
to
suffer
it
patiently
for
God's
sake
,
he
with
much
vehemency
and
earnestness
stood
to
it
,
That
she
might
not
onely
lawfully
do
it
,
but
was
bound
to
it
;
and
that
,
if
she
did
not
,
she
was
guilty
of
his
greater
Damnation
in
letting
him
continue
so
long
in
sin
.
This
is
the
substance
of
what
she
Related
,
and
,
as
near
as
I
can
remember
,
the
Words
.
This
Gentlewomans
surname
is
Skypwith
,
her
Christen
name
(
as
I
remember
)
Mary
.
It
pleas'd
His
most
sacred
Majesty
,
to
whom
(
as
my
Duty
bound
me
)
I
had
writ
it
before
,
when
I
appear'd
before
His
most
Honourable
Privy-Council
,
the
last
Day
of
October
following
,
to
ask
me
what
were
my
present
Thoughts
of
the
truth
of
that
Relation
at
the
time
that
I
heard
it
,
all
Circumstances
weighed
;
to
which
being
then
upon
my
Oath
,
as
truth
and
Conscience
oblieg'd
me
,
I
answered
,
That
I
did
incline
very
much
to
believe
it
:
For
which
Rashness
and
Uncharitableness
of
mine
(
as
some
interpret
it
)
in
entertaining
that
sentiment
so
easily
upon
the
Testimony
of
one
single
person
,
great
noise
has
been
made
against
me
,
as
if
Passion
had
Byast
me
to
that
persuasion
.
Wherefore
to
clear
my
ingenuity
and
sincerity
in
this
point
to
His
Majesty
and
His
Council
(
of
whose
good
Opinions
onely
I
am
Sollicitous
)
I
humbly
offer
here
the
reasons
which
mov'd
me
to
think
thus
:
they
are
these
.
I
had
particular
reason
to
judge
that
this
person
was
at
this
time
that
I
knew
her
,
and
she
related
this
,
very
scrupulously
Conscientious
and
a
good
Woman
;
and
I
conceiv'd
that
her
present
disposition
was
most
(
and
indeed
onely
)
to
be
considered
in
that
present
Relation
;
nor
had
I
ever
heard
any
harm
of
her
former
Life
.
She
seem'd
particularly
Conscientious
in
making
this
Relation
,
lifting
up
her
Hands
and
Eyes
to
Heaven
with
these
words
:
God
knows
my
Heart
,
I
would
not
say
it
to
gain
the
whole
World
if
it
were
not
true
.
I
had
never
heard
nor
could
then
discern
that
she
had
the
least
pique
against
Mr.
Gaven's
Order
.
She
spoke
it
voluntarily
,
none
inciting
or
moving
her
to
it
.
The
manner
,
in
which
she
deliver'd
it
,
seemed
very
candid
and
unaffected
;
and
it
came
out
naturally
and
occasionally
,
nor
did
it
at
all
look
like
a
premeditated
or
sought
thing
.
She
spoke
it
out
of
her
sence
of
the
Scandal
she
received
by
it
,
which
seem'd
a
Mo●ive
well
becoming
a
good
Christian
;
and
so
,
an
argument
of
her
sincerity
.
She
told
the
same
story
the
second
time
to
another
person
,
my self
present
;
at
least
the
substance
of
it
.
She
never
recommended
it
as
a
secret
either
to
him
or
me
,
whereas
one
who
forges
would
be
apt
to
desire
the
concealment
of
the
false
story
they
relate
;
lest
by
discovering
it
,
it
may
come
to
be
confuted
and
themselves
shamed
:
which
she
had
the
more
reason
to
fear
,
because
the
thing
related
was
of
so
high
a
consequence
.
She
named
time
,
place
and
persons
present
;
which
expos'd
her
to
an
easie
confute
if
it
were
not
true
.
The
Tenour
also
of
the
Discourse
seemed
to
render
it
credible
,
her
Objection
being
such
as
was
likely
to
come
from
a
good
well-meaning
person
of
her
pitch
;
and
his
Reply
abetting
it
very
like
a
Man
wilfully
bent
to
maintain
an
absurd
position
(
as
is
the
manner
of
Passion
and
Heat
)
with
advancing
another
more
absurd
.
Now
,
as
these
considerations
inclin'd
me
strongly
to
think
her
sincere
,
so
it
seem'd
to
me
she
could
not
be
mistaken
in
the
sense
of
his
Discourse
,
or
misunderstand
him
;
the
Doctrine
being
about
a
matter
of
Fact
of
the
highest
concern
in
the
world
:
and
the
Words
which
are
apt
to
express
it
not
being
Artificial
or
Speculative
,
but
natural
and
common
Language
.
Besides
,
her
Contest
with
him
about
it
must
needs
have
Clear'd
his
meaning
.
These
are
the
Reasons
why
I
apprehended
that
Relation
to
be
true
:
which
yet
I
produce
not
here
to
Charge
Mr.
Gaven
,
but
to
Discharge
my
own
Credit
and
Conscience
,
and
to
give
your
Majesty
and
your
Council
the
best
light
I
am
able
to
judge
of
that
business
.
In
Testimony
of
what
's
above
,
I
subscribe
my
Name
,
Feb.
11.
1679
/
80.
Iohn
Sergeant
,
THE
INFORMATION
OF
David
Morris
.
I
Underwritten
do
hereby
upon
Oath
attest
,
That
being
last
August
at
Brussels
,
and
going
to
see
an
old
acquaintance
,
I
found
Mr.
Serjeant
there
(
little
thinking
to
see
him
so
near
the
Internuncio
)
he
told
me
,
there
was
a
Gentlewoman
who
said
that
Mr.
Gavan
maintained
it
was
lawful
for
the
Queen
to
kill
the
King
,
for
violating
her
Bed
:
which
I
hardly
believing
,
he
brought
me
up
stairs
where
she
was
,
where
I
heard
it
with
my
own
ears
.
After
some
discourse
concerning
the
wickedness
of
such
doctrines
,
I
asked
her
,
Where
this
happened
?
She
answered
(
as
I
remember
)
in
Covent-Garden
,
at
the
Brother-in-laws
of
Mr.
Gavan
,
and
named
the
persons
that
were
present
,
whom
I
knew
not
;
nor
did
I
think
further
o●
it
,
more
than
to
admire
the
indiscretion
of
his
descending
to
such
particulars
,
and
her
acting
his
heat
to
maintain
his
Paradox
,
when
she
opposed
him
:
The
rest
,
I
knew
to
be
agreeable
to
their
Principles
;
having
bought
Escobar
some
years
since
on
purpose
to
see
whether
the
Provincial
Letters
misrepresented
them
or
not
:
where
I
found
it
lawful
to
kill
a
man
that
calumniated
a
Religious
Order
:
and
I
am
sure
that
what
makes
lawful
for
a
Jesuite
to
kill
a
man
that
wrongs
his
Order
,
makes
also
lawful
for
a
Wife
to
kill
her
Husband
if
he
wrongs
her
Bed
.
My
going
to
Brussels
was
to
see
what
became
of
the
Benevolence
sent
by
the
Pope
to
those
Countreys
for
refug'd
English
Catholicks
;
and
found
,
who
vow
immediate
obedience
to
the
Pope
to
be
the
distributers
,
and
who
swore
no
Allegiance
but
to
their
King
,
to
be
debarred
such
publick
favours
:
for
the
English
Jesuite
Procurator
there
,
told
a
worthy
Clergy
Priest
,
there
was
nothing
for
him
,
meaning
such
as
he
:
of
which
I
know
no
Reason
,
unless
it
be
that
the
Clergy
would
never
admit
of
any
extraordinary
authority
from
Rome
,
unanimously
agreed
never
to
receive
any
Bulls
or
other
Orders
from
Rome
without
the
Kings
Licence
,
and
permission
of
the
State
,
and
ever
opposed
the
Deposing
Power
:
Duties
which
anciently
belonged
to
the
Imperial
Crown
of
this
Realm
,
and
ought
still
to
be
observed
by
us
.
Which
sufferings
of
theirs
for
so
good
a
cause
,
is
humbly
submitted
to
your
Majesties
most
gracious
consideration
.
Feb.
11.
1679
/
80.
David
Morris
.
THis
Paper
was
presented
to
his
Majesty
in
Council
the
18th
of
February
,
1679.
by
Mr.
John
Serjeant
and
Mr.
David
Morris
;
and
being
then
read
,
they
declared
upon
their
Oaths
that
the
Contents
thereof
was
true
.
Whereupon
it
was
Ordered
by
his
Majesty
,
that
this
Paper
should
be
kept
safe
in
the
Council
Chest
.
John
Nicholas
.
FINIS
.