REMARKS on the LIFE and DEATH of the famed Mr. BLOOD; giving an Account of the Plot in Ireland, to furprize Dublin Caftle; feveral Tranfactions in his Head-Quarters in the City; Rescue of Captain MASON at Doncafter; Attempt on the Perfon of his Grace the Duke of ORMOND; Seizing on the Crown and Scepter in the Tower; coming into Favour with his Prince; Concern about his Grace the Duke of BUCKINGHAM; Sickness, Death, and twice Interment. Published for Published for publick Information, 1680.

I'

SIR,

Have endeavoured as far as in me lies, to fatisfy your Curiofity, in reference to that Account, which you were pleased to require of me, concerning the most memorable Actions of Colonel Blood's Life; a Perfon who has given the World no fmall Occafion of Difcourfe: Wherein, if I have not had the Happinefs punctually to answer your Expectations, you muft impute it to my Juftice, that would take nothing upon Report and Rumours, but only what was dictated to me from the Mouths of one or two of his most intimate Friends.

His Birth was fuch as gave him thofe Advantages that ufually diftinguish a Man from the Vulgar. For though Wit, and Parts, Courage, and Strength are not hereditary to the Gentility, yet is it a great Felicity to be born of fuch Parents, as are above those Wants that deprive them of bestowing the Benefits of Education upon their Children; and fo far from the Reproaches of Poverty, that they are never spoken of by the World, but with a decent and becoming Character. Such were Mr. Blood's Parentage, ferious, honeft, and of no inferior Credit, and Poffeffions in the Country where they lived. Which made them take that Care, that their Offspring fhould not degenerate from the Virtues and Repute of his Ancestors, by forming and fhaping his Conditions according to the Rules of a ftrict and fober Education, which had that Influence upon him, as to preserve him from thofe Extravagancies that ufually attend upon metalled and active Spirits. Infomuch that the great People of Ireland, who at that Time fat at the Helm of Affairs, thought fit to put him into the Commiffion of the Peace before he was two and twenty Years of Age. A Sign they had a good Opinion of his early Conduct of himself, who made him the Judge and Punisher of the Vices and Miscarriages of others. Nor did he fail their Expectations; for all the while he was in that Station, he won both Efteem and Favour of them who at that Time were the chief Rulers of the Irish Nation, efpecially from Henry Cromwel, by whom he was looked upon, as a Perfon fit for Employment and Promotion. For indeed the main ufe which he made of his Authority was to affert

Ff2

C

affert and uphold, as much as lay in his Power, the Proteftant and English Intereft in that Kingdom; in order whereunto he managed his Zeal with that Prudence, which was then looked upon as a kind of Wonder confidering his Years. He married in England a young Lancashire Gentlewoman, the Daughter of one Mr. Holcraft, by whom he had feveral Children.

During his Abode in England, then the Stage of a bloody and rebellious War, he gave his Prince all the Affiftance his perfonal Valour was capable to afford him; wherein he performed feveral Pieces of good Service,

Much about that Time Colonel Rainsborough was flain at Doncaster by a Party of Royalifts that had made a Sally out of Pontefract, then befieged by Sir Edward Rhodes and the County Forces. This was done as the faid Colonel was in his Inn, with all his Myrmidons about him, upon the Pretence of delivering him a Letter from Cromwel. Their Intention was only to have taken him Prifoner, and have carried him through his own Leaguer, which he refufing, they piftolled him in his Chamber and fo departed. This being a bold and defperate Adventure, Mr. Blood was by moft People adjudged the Contriver and Affociate in the Enterprize; but he having fo frequently difowned the Fact himself, it would be a Crime to impute the Honours of other Men, to a Valour that has no need of thofe fhifts.

Upon the King's Restoration, Mr. Blood returns again for Ireland; But being difgufted by fome hard Ufage, which he thought done him by the Court of Claims, who made no hafte to restore him his Land that had been taken from him; whereby he saw himself stripped of all, his Wife and Children fent a begging, and himfelf outlawed; He went to the Irish, Scots, and discontented English, who being just ready to brake loofe, and wanting a Head, were not a little glad of his Appearance; fo that they not only very highly careffed him, but having a more than ordinary Confidence in his Conduct and Prudence, they made him their General, and furrendered their Obedience to him in all Things. So that now become a petty Prince, he began to put his Complaints into Form and Method, publickly to throw his Declarations abroad, and to make his Demands of Redress; Which not being anfwered according to their Expectations, they' pushed forward, believing there was no better way, than to render themselves formidable, and by that means to draw their Enemy to a good Compofition. In Profecution of which Defign they ran themselves into a Plot for the Surprize of Dublin Caftle; For which his Brother-in-Law, Mr. Leckey, who was deep in the Confederacy, being at length taken, was fentenced, and accordingly executed.

In this Tragedy happened fomething of a comical Disturbance. There was at that Time to fee the Execution, which is common, a Confluence of above two thousand People. At what time a Rumour was fpread among the People, that Mr. Blood was coming with a Party to the refcue of his Brother. The People no fooner heard this, but, as there is oft times a vain and idle Terror that poffeffes the Mind of the filly Multitude, confternated with fome strange Fury that threatened them, they all ran and difperfed themselves from the Gibbet. Nay the Executioner himself left his Station, and took his Flight, believing that he fhould be firft aimed at, leaving the Perfon that was to fuffer, in the dreadful Posture of a Person preparing for his untimely Death, the Rope about his Neck,

ยาล

and

and nobody to do the Office; fo that had any thing of Refiftance been made, the unfortunate Gentleman's Delivery had been easy.

This Defign was to have been put in Execution the one and twentieth of May, the Duke of Ormond being first to have been feized. To which Purpofe diverfe Perfons with Petitions in their Hands were to have waited in the Caftle, while about fourfcore Foot, in the Difguife of Handicraftmen waited without, whofe Business it was to trifle about in Expectation of an Opportunity to furprize the Guards. The Plot being difcovered, Five Hundred Pounds a Head were profered for the Apprehenfion of the Ringleaders. sri I vå

Mr. Blood being thereupon forced to fly for thefe Things, made his Escape into Holland, where upon his Continuance in those Parts for fome Time, he became at length well known to that great and famous Admiral De Ruyter, who, though the greatest Enemy the English had, in refpect of his Conduct and Succefs, which many Times pur a Stop to the Current of their Victories, yet had that generous Kinduefs and Love for a Nation fo long in a bloody Competition with his Country, that he could not chufe but frequently declare it to feveral, but more particularly to Mr. Blood, whom he was pleased to admit often into his Society, and honoured with an Entertainment answerable to that Refpect and Affection, which he bore the Nation of England,

To whom that great Admiral was fo kind, as to give him an Account of his own miraculous Deliverance, which a Friend of mine had from Mr. Blood's own Mouth. Which was thus.

That renowned Perfon De Ruyter, being born of mean Parentage, the greatest Part of his Father's Subftance being two Horfes, with which he fupplied, the Wants of his Family by the ufual Labour of that Country, which was about two Miles Distance from Bergenopzoom: It happened that both his Father's Horfes were taken from him by certain Troops of the Dutch Army, and carried to their Camp in Flanders. This Lofs being fo confiderable to De Ruyter's Father, who thereby faw himself and his Family totally ruined, he made hafte after them to the Camp, but finding his Addreffes fruitlefs by the Delays and Neglect of the Officers, he refolved upon a more fpeedy way of Reparation, which was privately to regain his own from thofe that had robbed him,by a more justifiable Stealth. And having difcovered where his Horfes were, he watched his Opport tunity, fecretly conveyed them away, and carried them to a Place fomewhat re! mote from his own House, 7 and

The Soldiers miffing their Booty, and concluding the Owner had them againy returned in the Night with an Intention to have taken them away a fecond Time. But being disappointed, in revenge they fet on Fire the poor thatched Cottage about the Ears of the fleeping Inhabitants..

In the Horror of this Surprize, while the awakened Father, Mother, and Servant, endeavoured to fave themfelves by breaking through the Flames, with that Care of Self-Prefervation, which is common to all Creatures, and which at the fame Time puts all the Faculties of the Memory and Understanding into a ftrange Confufion, the poor helple's Infant, afterwards the Glory and Preferver of his Country, lay void of Succour in his fwadling Bands faft afleep in an opRoom. But the Mother, now free herself, remembring the Danger of her only) Darling, with a mafculine Contempt, of the threatning Peril of the Enterprize,

and

and affifted by that high Protection, which faved the Children in the fiery Furnace, fhe threw herself through the compaffionlefs Flames into the House again, refolved to live or die with the only Hopes and Comfort of her Life.

And fo having broken through the Smoak and Flames into the upper Room, fhe first threw the Child out at Window into a Sheet, held by the Father and the Servant to receive his tender Bones, and afterwards jumped out herself.

Thus faving from the Flames the Perfon, that was defigned, Salamander-like, to spend the chiefeft Part of his Days in Fire and Smoak. A remarkable Story concerning that great Perfon, for which we are beholding only to Mr. Blood's Converse with him, as being quite omitted, or elfe unknown to the Author that published his Life in Holland.

Returning out of Holland into England, he fell in with the Fifty-MonarchyMen, refolving to venture all in the Bottom of their Intereft. He found them to be a bold and daring Sort of People like himfelf, and their Principles fo fuiting with his Difcontents, that he judged them very proper for his Mannagement. For it was his Maxim, never to put his Confidence in any that were not engaged either by Principle or Intereft to his Defigns.

Thefe People it is well known had laid a Defign, not confined to one Quarter, but almost general all over England; it was faid to be firft contrived in the Bishoprick of Durham, from whence the Contagion fpread itself into Yorkshire, Suffolk, and feveral other Counties in the Weft of England; between all which Places feveral Correfpondencies were held, and Agents employed under the binding Obligations of Oaths of Secrecy. Their Pretences were the Oppofal of Excife, Subfidies, &c. to re-eftablish a Gofpel Magiftracy and Miniftry, to reftore the Long Parliament, and laftly to curb the Gentry, Clergy, and Lawyers.

Sometime before this at London fat a fecret Committee, of which Mr. Blood was chief, to carry on fome great Design, which he then had in his Head (for I cannot learn that he was ever concerned in the Plot more than for his Friend, as you shall hear anon.) This Committee, for their Security, had always a private Court of Guard abroad, feldom lefs than thirty out a Day. At this Committee all Orders were given out, all manner of Intelligence was brought, examined, and all things fifted and debated in reference to their grand Defign.

But as there feldom happens any Confederacy wherein there are not some false Brethren, two of their Gang, whether out of Remorfe, or for Hopes of Reward, had begun to make fome Discovery of this Project at Court. But it happened that Mr. Blood, who was always vigilant and active in his Affairs had got the Wind of these two Deserters, and was therefore refolved to prevent them if he could.

To which Purpose, he appoints to meet the two Perfons, whom he had more than reafon to fufpect, at a certain Tavern in the City, who were no fooner come according to their Summons, but he took them both Prisoners, and from thence carried them to a certain Place of Darkness, which they had found out and hired for their Conveniency.

In this Place Mr. Blood very formally calls a Court-Martial of his own, and tries the two Men for their Lives; who being before fuch Judges, were foon found guilty, and fentenced to be shot to Death, within two Days in the fame Place.

2