any fuch thing in his name, and forming at her for pretending to do it; and owning, plainly, that he intended her only for his miftrefs, or whore. Smith's apology was, that the girl could not be perfwaded to come without that; nor would fhe, at this interview, bear the thoughts of being a ftrumpet to any king in the world. So the earl fent them back, in his coach, to Taunton, without fuccefs. What fecret letter or meffage the earl fent afterward to the girl, or whether the girl repented of her former denial herself, and fent a letter to his lordship to refign herself up to his will, does not fully appear; tho' the earl feemed to fuppofe the latter cafe to be truth, in his difcourfe with me afterwards: however, on Saturday, September 19, the ear fent a fervant again, on horfe-back, privately to Taunton; who, under a frivolous pretence of wanting fome whip-cord, came to this Martin, the fadler, and, as fuppos'd, gave the girl fome private letter, or made fome private agreement for her to go with him. For, on Sunday, the girl pretended to be fick, and while the family was at church, went off with the earl's fervant to Bath; which, when the mother and brother came to know, they took horfe on Monday, and followed her; but not being able to feize her on the downs of Bath, where he was, in the earl's coach, at the race, they came both to Bath, and made enquiry after her; but, at firft, without fuccefs. The brother went foon to the earl, who, after a faint denial of knowing any thing of his fifter, at laft, confefs'd all; and said, tho' he did not keep her by force, yet she was too well guarded for him to feize upon her; and, that unless all the town of Taunton came to rescue her, fhe was fecure from his attempts; giving him, withal, a caution, by way of threatening, that he had beft take care how he ventured to meddle with her, for fear of mif

chief to himself. The brother went to the townclerk of Bath for a warrant, to fearch for his fifter, as one who was gone away from her parents, and whom he perceiv'd, at laft, to be kept in an houfe adjoining to the play-house: but the townclerk, after a frivolous delay, directly refused the warrant. Upon this he went to the mayor of Bath, for the like warrant, without any mention of the earl, who bid him go to the town-clerk for a form, and he would fign it; but as he was at the town-clerk's, in order to gain that form, the mayor himself came by, of whom he again defired the warrant; but, when the mayor had difcours'd with the town-clerk, he alfo directly refufed it. Upon which the mother and brother, hearing where the girl was, went to the house, and defired to speak with her; but he was under the guard of the miftrefs of the house, and would not be spoken with, faying, if the fhould fee her mother, fhe fhould drop down dead. Upon all which difappointments, they both came to Bristol, to their landlord, Dr. French, where I lodged, and where I heard, and with great indignation heard from them, the foregoing account. The next evening I spoke of this matter, which was already become very publick and notorious at Taunton, Bath, and Bristol, to the lord Barrington, and counfellor Row, who were both in our courfe of experiments, and defired their advice what was fit to be done to recover the girl to her parents; to bring fuch notorious lewdnefs in the earl to punishment; and to correct fuch an open denial of juftice in the officers at the Bath; or, at leaft, to prevent the like for the time to come. Two ways were propofed; either to defire a warrant from the lord chief juftice of the king's bench, to recover the girl to her parents; or to indict the earl in Westminster-Hall, for decoying

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coying her from them, or both. But before any refolution could be taken, the earl himfelf came to Bristol, September 27, being Lord's-Day, and fupp'd in Queen's-Square, within a few doors of my lodging, at alderman Elton's, who was one of the members of parliament for Taunton, and who, at the defire of the girl's relations, had already spoken to the earl to reftore her to them; but all to no purpose. The earl hearing that I was fo near, fent for me; I waited upon him accordingly; and found him in company with colonel Roffe, Capt. Ballandine, and Mr. Fielding. After fome time, I faid to my lord Effex, That I had fomewhat to say to his lordship in private; and I defired therefore that we might withdraw into another room; upon which the company offered to withdraw but his lordfhip not ftirring himself, nor feeming defirous of the company's withdrawing, I repeated my former motion, and told his lordfhip again, that I had fomewhat to say to him in private, and defired we might withdraw. But he reply'd, He had rather I should say what I had to fay before the company. I then took the freedom of reprefenting, with the utmoft plainnefs, to his lordship, the heinous wickednefs he had been guilty of, in decoying and detaining a girl from her parents, in order to debauch her; that he had lately loft his lady at Paris, and was returned home, in a very ill ftate of health; that providence had just given him fome relief, and hopes of recovery, and that this was a very ill requital for fuch a bleffing; that fuch an open and publick attempt, to corrupt this girl's chastity, was not very unlike the violence offered to Lucretia, by Tarquin; which the Romans would not bear even in their king; but expell'd Tarquin for his lewdnefs, and thenceforward altered the form of their government;

that

that marriage was honourable in all, and the bed undefiled; but that whoremongers and adulterer's God would judge; that his lordship was at liberty to marry a fecond time, if he found it proper, and was therefore under no temptation to fuch loofe practices; that he ought to fend the girl to her parents, and to make what amends he could to them, for stealing away and ruining their daughter; that there was advice taking to lay this matter before the lord chief juftice, or bring it into Westminster-Hall; that alfo it ought to be laid before the prince and princess of Wales, in order to their difcarding a perfon of fuch a wicked and lewd character from their fervice; and that as I myself could, I believed, have access to their royal highneffes, it was probable I fhould think fit to lay it before them with that defign; of which I gave his lordship notice before-hand. To which his lordship reply'd, without any paffion at all, that he was utterly against fecond marriages, and therefore must have a mistress; that he did not keep the girl by force, but that if fhe would go home fhe might; his affection for her (however) probably, would not laft above three months; and that fhe was not now in the cafe of Lucretia; that however, her brother had beft have a care of attempting to feize her, left he came to fome mischief himself; that for the lord chief juftice, and Westminster-Hall, he did not much care, fince he could appeal from thence to the house of lords, which, he believed, would not hurt him; and that for the prince and princefs, they were perfons of too good fenfe, to be concern'd at what he had done: with the like impudent expreffions, in way of juftification, and refolution to go on in his wickedness. This behaviour gave me fo great an indignation, that I could bear the converfation no longer; and fo I took my leave very abruptly, in these or the like

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like true, but fevere words, "My lord, you "are the most abandon'd person that I ever con"vers'd with in my whole life." That if he perfifted in fuch his lewdnefs, I fhould be a witnefs against him at the great day, when both his lordship and myself fhould ftand before Chrift's judgment-feat. After all which, I am inform'd his lordship has fent this his ftrumpet in a coach, well guarded, to London; where I fuppofe he keeps her at this day. This, may it please your royal highneffes, is a faithful account of one of the most avow'd and publick instances of wicked lewdness that I have ever met with, in all my knowledge of mankind. And I verily believe that if you would please to dismiss the earl from your fervice, on this account, you would thereby do a thing greatly acceptable to God, and to all good men, as well as to the real benefit and advantage to the earl, who will otherwise foon bring himself to the grave, by his prefent lewdness. It would alfo greatly tend to your own honour and reputation, and intereft, in-this kingdom: and if you take due care of the better character of him, who fhall fucceed, you would thereby give an eminent fpecimen of the difcouragement of vice and immorality, and incouragement to virtue and goodness in thofe about your royal highneffes perfons, which the king himself has been pleas'd to promife, as to those about his own royal perfon. All which is moft humbly, and out of the most fincere good will to your royal highness, and to the earl himself, fubmitted to your royal highneffes ferious confideration, by

Your most obliged humble Servant,

WILL. WHISTON.