Certes his mouth is wried and black
Full little pence be in his sack,
This devil hath him by the back
It is no boot to lie.
--SWINBURNE.
Daniel Pye on that selfsame memorable day was literally floating in a
blissful atmosphere of delight.
My lord of Stowmaries had not only been arrested but he had confessed
to his guilt; a matter which at first had greatly surprised Master Pye,
who had been at great pains to concoct an elaborate lie, only to find
through some mysterious accident of Fortune, he must have hit upon the
truth.
Of course he did not realise as yet that the man who had been arrested
and who had confessed was not the former suitor for Mistress Peyton's
hand. He had only heard some pleasant rumours anent the reward which he
would get as soon as conviction was obtained against the accused. Many
spoke of fifty pounds, others that his reward would be as great as that
given to Master Oates: a substantial pension and comfortable lodgings
in one of the king's houses.
But the thought of Mistress Peyton's miserable condition of vain
regrets and bitter disappointment the while her lover lingered in the
Tower, pleased Master Pye as much as that of his own good fortune, nor
could he resist the desire to brag of his prowess to those very menials
who had witnessed his downfall. There would be no great pleasure in
the discomfiture of Mistress Peyton, unless she knew whose was the hand
that had dealt the death blow to all her cherished schemes.
Of a truth the lady was staggered when she heard of Daniel Pye's
boasts. He had been sitting in the kitchen for the past hour surrounded
by a crowd of gaping listeners, and enjoying one of the many fruits
of notoriety. The cook had placed a large venison pasty before him,
together with a tankard of ale, and lacqueys and wenches were hearing
open-mouthed the account of how Master Pye had brought my lord of
Stowmaries to disgrace, and that the life of more than one great
nobleman lay in the palm of that same Pye's very grimy hand.
Mistress Peyton, when she heard of the man's boasts and of his
popularity among her servants, had him incontinently kicked out of the
house again, but not before he had told her with insolent spite that
she was now paying for the injustice she had perpetrated on a faithful
servant close on half a year ago.
To Daniel Pye the awakening from these pleasing dreams came all too
soon. That same evening at the tavern in Whitefriars, he gathered the
truth from out the conflicting rumours which he heard. It was the new
Earl of Stowmaries who had taken upon himself the charge of conspiracy
preferred by Master Pye, and 'twas he who had confessed his guilt. What
could this mean, and what would be the consequences which would accrue
to the informant, to his future reward and future safety through this
unexpected turn of affairs?
Master Oates, consulted on the point, was for sticking to the lie on
every point. The actual personality of the man could not matter in the
least, and since this Earl of Stowmaries actually pleaded guilty to the
charge, why then, all was for the best and it was not for Daniel Pye
to worry about it all.
Master Tongue--more wary--feared a trap, but his objections were
overruled, and on the whole the infamous fraternity decided that
confrère Pye must uphold his perjuries to the end, since he would
obtain the reward whoever was condemned on his information.
"You need have no fear, good Master," concluded Oates reassuringly;
"you'll be believed in any event. Master Bedloe and myself never had
any difficulty hitherto, even though at the Stayley trial we got in
vast confusion, seeing that we made several slips which could easily
have been proved against us, had the judge and jury been so minded.
Nay! nay! Do you stick to your story. Since one Lord Stowmaries desires
to hang instead of the other, why, let him, so say I."
This cynical speech was, alas, an only too true exposé of the
situation. Daniel Pye was almost reassured, and fell to applying
himself to making his story more circumstantial. On consultation with
his friends it was decided that the recent murder of Sir Edmund Berry
Godfrey would be dragged into the indictment. That mysterious crime was
indeed a trump card in the hands of the informants. It seemed a pity
not to play it when the stakes were as high as they were just now.
Pye therefore prepared himself to state on oath that the murder was
freely projected by my lord Stowmaries with the minister of the King of
France, in the course of the treasonable interview in Paris.
But even then did the course of this true liar not run altogether
smooth, for anon it became generally known that Master Legros, tailor
of Paris, and his daughter who was none other than the wife of the
dispossessed Lord of Stowmaries, had been compelled to give evidence
for the Crown in corroboration of Master Pye's story.
Whereupon the latter fell into a state of agitation worse than before.
He stared dry-lipped and wide-eyed at the man who had come in with this
news. This was the first intimation which he had that one of his lies
at least would find him out. When he had vowed that Master Legros had
overheard the treasonable conversation between the Earl of Stowmaries
and the minister of the King of France, he had no thought that the
tailor would actually be compelled to give testimony, whether he would
or no.
Pye turned well-nigh sick at the thought. Dotard though he was, he had
no hopes that Master Legros would endorse his lies. Once more he turned
to his friends for counsel, and briefly explained to them the terrible
plight in which he now found himself.
"Mayhap I'd better disappear," he suggested timorously, "before I am
caught for perjury. It means the loss of my right hand and years of
imprisonment; mayhap in this case the rope."
"Bah, man, be not such a coward," admonished Oates boldly. He had gone
through all the anxieties himself and knew how to make light of them.
"'Twas a pity you did drag an alien's name into the case, of course,
but--"
"'Twas the magistrate suggested it to me," broke in Pye, who was on the
verge of tears; "he said that it would be better if another witness
were forthcoming, who also had heard the conversation at the hostelry
in Paris. It would strengthen my evidence, so he said."
"But why this French papist?" queried Bedloe with an oath.
"Because the tailor was in deadly enmity with my lord of
Stowmaries--with the other one, I mean--and I thought he would help me
and gladly too."
"And think you he'll turn against you?"
"I fear me that he will," quoth Pye, who truly was in a pitiable
condition.
"Then, man, you must change your tactics," now said Oates decisively.
"Nay! I repeat, do not be afraid. 'Tis you they will believe, and not
the papist tailor or his daughter. What can they say? That they did not
hear the treasonable conversation between the accused and the minister
of the King of France. Well, what of that? 'Tis but a negation, and no
evidence. The Attorney-General will soon upset such feeble testimony.
But do you swear that on thinking the matter over you now remember that
the tailor and his daughter had already left the hostelry of the 'Rat
Mort' when that treasonable consult took place and that you were in
my company and not in theirs. Then with one fell swoop do you destroy
the whole value of the Legros' evidence, and place yourself once more
in an unassailable position, for I too can swear then that I was with
you at the time, and heard the whole conversation--so be that you are
prepared to share the reward which you will get with me," concluded the
scoundrel with earnest emphasis.
Daniel Pye had no option. Of a truth he was not quite such a hardened
sinner as these professional liars who had thriven and prospered under
their organized perjuries for close on half a year.
The whole of the information against Lord Stowmaries was therefore gone
through all over again, nor was there any fear that this change of
front would in any way prejudice the noble jury against the informant.
In Coleman's case and in that of Stailey, and alas, in that of many
others, the infamous witnesses contradicted themselves and one another
to an extent which makes the modern historian gasp, when he has to put
it on record that men in England were condemned to death wholesale, on
evidence that was as flimsy as it was false.
Master Pye, once more at peace, therefore, with his prospects and with
himself, learned his new lesson with diligence. But Master Oates was
firm on one point, and that was on his share in the coming reward.
Pye demurred for a long time. Emboldened by the encouragement of his
friends, he now thought that he could carry the whole business through
alone.
Ultimately it was decided that Master Oates was to receive £5 of the
reward, provided he swore that on a certain day in April he too was
present at the tavern of the "Rat Mort" in Paris when my lord of
Stowmaries discussed with the minister of the King of France the terms
of the shameful treaty whereby King Charles was to be murdered, the
Duke of York be placed on the throne of England and the latter country
sold to the French and to the Pope of Rome.