As for yourself, dear father, you may travel in peace to this land; although no official protection can be offered you for obvious reasons, we will endeavor to ensure your safekeeping, and make sure your identity does not become known.
The king of England, the supreme governor of the Protestant Church of England, is, and has been since 1663, a professed Catholic, acknowledged in secret and taking the rites of the Catholic church. His chief minister, Mr. Bennet, was also a Catholic, and had as his secret policy the destruction of that national church he was sworn to protect. Far from a failed assassination attempt, Cola came to England to receive the king into the Church of Rome and, I believe, did so when he went to Whitehall that evening with his holy oil and his crucifix and his relic.
And all along, Wallis had his obsessions, and Henry Ben-net listened, and encouraged him, so that not only did the story never emerge into the light of day, it would be more obscured than ever. I am sure (but have no proof) that it was Bennet who ordered the destruction of Wallis’s servant Matthew to ensure the secret was guarded, for I do not believe that Cola could have done such a thing—he was not a man of violence, while the cutting of throats had all the hallmarks of the man John Cooth whom Wallis himself employed on occasion.
If I published this letter, or even delivered it in secret to someone like Dr. Wallis, the monarchy of this country would come to an end within a week, consumed by civil war, so great is the present public detestation of all things Roman. Wallis’s wrath at the humiliation he suffered would be so great he would whip up a campaign of such vitriol that the Protestants of England would soon be on the march, baying for the blood of another king. If I went to the king himself I could become a wealthy man, living in comfort for the rest of my days, for the value of this paper—or its continued obscurity—is beyond price.
I will not do so, for how paltry all this is to a man who has seen such marvels, and felt such grace, as I have seen and felt. I do believe and know that I have seen and heard and touched the incarnate God. Quietly, out of sight of mankind, divine forgiveness descends again, and we are so blind we do not even realize what inexhaustible patience and love is ours. Thus it happened, and has happened in every generation and will happen again in every generation to come, that a beggar, a cripple, a child, a madman, a criminal or a woman is born Lord of us all in entire obscurity, and is spurned and ignored and killed by us to expiate our sins. And I am commanded to tell no one, and I will keep that one commandment.
This is the truth, the one and only truth, manifest, complete and perfect. Beside it, what importance have the dogma of priests, the strength of kings, the rigor of scholars or the ingenuity of our men of science?
Mr. Tanner sorted all the papers, some of which Mr. Wood laid by in order to be burnt when he himself should give the sign. When he himself found himself ready to leave this world, he gave the sign, and Mr. Tanner burnt those papers which were put by for that intent.
Dramatis Personae
John Aubrey, 1626–97—Antiquary and gossip, a man of great knowledge and few publications. Best known now for his “Brief Lives,” a set of character sketches of contemporaries. He was interested in all branches of learning, lived in constant financial difficulties and was a member of the Royal Society from 1663 onwards.
Henry Bennet, 1628–85—Created Baron Arlington, 1663, then Earl of Arlington 1672. “A man whose practices have not left his character free from reproach. The deficiency of his integrity was forgotten in the decency of his dishonesty… he lived a protestant in his outward profession, but died a catholic.” Ambassador to Spain, then appointed Secretary of State (effectively foreign minister) in October 1662; impeached for promotion of Catholicism in 1674 and dismissed from office.
Sarah Blundy—Fictitious; the account of her trial and execution is based on that of Anne Greene, hanged in Oxford in 1655.
Robert Boyle, 1627–91—The “Father of Chemistry,” fourteenth child of the fabulously wealthy Earl of Cork, discoverer of “Boyle’s Law,” describing the relationship between the elasticity and pressure of gases. In the Sceptical Chemist used the Word element in its modern sense tor the first time; speculated about the existence of atoms. Thought himself to be as much a theologian as a scientist, and was keenly interested in alchemy as well as modern chemistry.
George Digby, Earl of Bristol, 1622–77—Longtime supporter of Charles II who was denied office on the Restoration because of his Catholicism. Formerly a close friend of Clarendon, he spent the 1660s plotting against him, and in particular launched a badly planned and abortive attainder on corruption charges in 1663 after failure to secure a Spanish alliance. No one supported the move and Bristol had to flee into exile. Returned to conspire in the downfall of Clarendon in 1667.
Charles II, 1630–85—Succeeded by the openly Catholic James II who was forced off the throne by the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Lived in exile in France, Spain and the Low Countries until the Restoration of 1660. Charles’s negotiations of 1663 to be received into the Catholic church were first published in the Monthly Review, 13 December 1903.
Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, 1609–74—Lord Chancellor and effective Prime minister after the Restoration of Charles II. Clarendon was the king’s most loyal supporter, having been with him throughout his exile. His position weakened when his daughter Anne married the king’s brother without permission, but he survived in power until 1667, when he was forced into exile and supplanted by Henry ßennet, Lord Arlington.
George Collop, d. 1682—Of Dorset, receiver-general for the Duke of Bedford from 1661 until his death, and overseer of the later phases of the drainage schemes which converted huge parts of Lincolnshire into farmland.
Sir William Compton, 1625–63—Royalist soldier and conspirator, knighted 1643. Described by Oliver Cromwell as “a sober young man and godly cavalier.” Imprisoned for plotting against the Commonwealth in 1655 and 1658, died London 1663 and buried at Compton Wynyates, Warwickshire.
John Crosse—Oxford apothecary, now mainly known to history as Robert Boyle’s landlord while in the city.
Valentine Greatorex (a.k.a. Greatrakes)—Irish faith healer, who came to England and used a technique of stroking to heal victims of scrofula and other ailments. Believed his ability to cure was a special gift from God. His success impressed Boyle and others, and he achieved some success among the English aristocracy. “A strange fellow, full of talk of devils and witches.” Subsequently resumed career in Ireland as Justice of the Peace and landowner.
Robert Grove, 1610–63—Fellow and “amateur astrologer” of New College, Oxford. “Mar 30, being Munday, Mr Robert Grove, senior fellow of New Coll., died. [He] was buried in the west cloister of that Coll.”—Anthony Wood, Life and Times, vol. I, p. 471.
Thomas Ken, 1637–1711—Bishop of Bath and Wells, lecturer in logic and mathematics New College, Oxford, 1661–63, then presented to living of Easton Parva by Lord May-nard, and built up a reputation for piety and charity. A noted preacher, he was made a bishop in 1684. Opposed James II’s Catholic policies, then also opposed his deposition, for which he was deprived of his see by William III after the revolution of 1688.