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of having been poisoned by Buckingham.
was buried with great magnificence at West-
minster-

"out. And one of Buckingham's great provocations "was thought to be his fear, that the king being now "weary of his too much greatnefs, and power, would "fet up Bristol, his deadly enemy against him to pull "him down. And this medicine was one of thofe 13

articles that after were laid to his charge in parlia(a) Wilfon, "ment.” (a)—Dr. Welwood in his note on this paffage p. 287. obferves, that Dr. Eglifham, one of the king's phy"fitians, was obliged to flee beyond feas, for fome ex"preffions he had muttered about the manner of his "majefty's death, and lived at Bruffels many years "after. It was there he published a book to prove king. James was poifoned; giving a particular account of all the circumftances of his ficknefs, and laying his "death upon the duke of Buckingham and his mother. 66 -Among other remarkable paffages, there is one "about the plaifter applied to the king's ftomach.

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"He fays it was given out to have been mithridate, and that one Dr. Remington had fent it to the duke, 66 as a medicine with which he had cured a great many agues in Effex. Now Eglifham denies it was mi"thridate, and fays, neither he, nor any other phyfi

66

tians could tell what it was. He adds, that Sir Mat"thew Lifter and he being, the week after the king's "death, at the earl of Warwick's house in Effex, they "fent for Dr. Remington, who lived hard by, and ask"ing him what kind of plaifter it was he had fent to "Buckingham, for the cure of an ague, and whether "he knew it was the king the duke defigned it for? "Remington answered, that one Baker, a fervant of the "duke's, came to him in his master's name, and de"fired him if he had any certain specific remedy against "an ague, to fend it him and accordingly he fent "him mithridate fpread upon leather, but knew not "till then that it was defigned for the king. But, continues Eglifham, Sir Matthew Lifter, and I fhew

2

ing

minfter-Abbey (a) on the feventh of May (a) Gibfon's following; his fon and fucceffor Charles fol- Vol. I. p.

Cambden,

lowing 386.

"ing him a piece of the plaifter we had kept, after it "was taken off, he feemed greatly furprized, and of"fered to take his corporal oath, that it was none of "what he had given Baker, nor did he know what "kind of mixture it was. -But the truth is, this "book of Eglifham's is wrote with such an air of ran"cour and prejudice, that the manner of his narrative "takes off much from the credit of what he writes." (b)—The parliament, in the year 1626, charged (b) Compleat Buckingham with having caufed certain plaifters, and a hiftory, Vol. II. p. 790.

certain

* It is to be wifhed Welwood had given us the title of this book of Eglifham. In the fecond volume of the Harleian Mifcellany there is a tract intitled the Forerunner of revenge. Being two petitions: the one to the king's most excellent majefty; the other to the most honourable houfes of parliament. Wherein are expressed divers actions of the late earl of Buckingham, especially concerning the death of king James, and the marquis of Hamilton, fuppofed by poifon. By George Eglifham, doctor of phyfic, and one of the phyfitians to king James, of happy memory, for his majesty's person above ten years, 4to. Lond. 1642, though it appears to have been written in Buckingham's life-time, and I doubt not, was then printed. There is an air of rancour and prejudice in this fmall piece; but not a word of what Dr. Welwood relates.

"The king, fays he, being fick of an ague, the duke took this oppor "tunity, when all the king's doctors of phyfic were at dinner, and of "fered to him a white powder to take, the which he a long time refufed; "but overcome with his flattering importunity, at length took it in wine, "and immediately became worfe and worfe, falling into many fwoonings "and pains, and violent fluxes of the belly, fo tormented, that his majefty cried out aloud of this white powder, would to God I had never "taken it."-He then tells us of "the countefs of Buckingham's ap"plying the plaifter to the king's heart and oreaft; whereupon he grew "faint, and short breathed and in agony. That the phyfitians exclaimed "that the king was poifoned; that Buckingham commanded them out of "the room, and caufed one of them to be committed prifoner to his own "chamber, and another to be removed from court; and that after his majefty's death, his body and head fwelled above measure, his hair "with the fkin of his head stuck to the pillow, and his nails became loose 66 upon his fingers and toes." See Harleian Mifcellany, Vol. II. p. 71, 4to. Lond. 1744. If this was the book in which Dr. Welwood remembered to have read what I have quoted in the note, his memory difcharged its office but very ill. However, I rather fufpect, there is a larger account of Eglifham's in print, than that Welwood should have invented.

lowing, attending his interment; Dr. Williams, lord keeper, and bishop of Lin

colne,

certain drink to be provided for the use of his majesty king James, without the privity or direction of the phyficians, and compounded of feveral ingredients to them unknown, notwithstanding the fame plaifters, or fome plaifter like thereunto, having been formerly adminiftred unto him, did produce fuch ill effects as that fome of the phyficians did difallow thereof, and utterly refuse to meddle any further with his majefty, until these plaifters were removed, as being prejudicial to his health, yet the fame plaifters and drink was provided by the duke, and the plaifters applied to the king's breast and wrift, and the drink given to him at seasons prohibited by the phyficians. After which, they fet forth, divers ill fymptoms appeared upon his majefty, and his majefty attributed the cause of his trouble to the plaifter (c) See and drink which the duke had given him. (c) The Rushworth, duke in his answer infifts on his innocency, declaring that the drink and plaifter were procured by the king's own defire, on his recommendation; that by his own command they were applied ; that he (Buckingham) gave the drink in the presence of some of the phyficians, who tasted it, and did not fhew their diflike of it; and that when he told the king it was rumoured that the phyfic he had gave him, had done him hurt, his majesty with much discontent anfwered, they are worse than the (Ruh, devils that fay it. (d) The commons having received a worth, Vol. I. p. 389. copy of the duke's anfwer from the lords, fay," they "fhall presently reply in fuch fort, according to the

Vol. I. p.

35I.

(e) Id. p. 403.

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laws of parliament, that unlefs his power and practice "undermine our proceedings, we do not doubt but we upon the fame have judgment against him." (e) But his power and practice fo far undermined their proceedings, that a diffolution foon followed, by which they were prevented from producing their proofs of what they had afferted. This made a deep impreffion on men's minds, and caufed them to apprehend that James had

not

colne, preached his funeral fermon, which foon

not had fair play for his life. The hindering a parliamentary inquiry into the death of a king, by putting an end to the parliament itself, had an odd appearance, and caused many to think that there was more at the bottom than it was convenient should fee the light.-I will add a paffage from Burnett, to what has been now produced, which, if true, will pretty well clear up this matter. "King James, fays he, in the end of his "reign was become weary of the duke of Buckingham, "who treated him with fuch an air of infolent contempt, "that he seemed at laft refolved to throw him off, but "could not think of taking the load of government on "himself, and fo refolved to bring the earl of Somerset "again into favour, as that lord reported it to fome from "whom I had it. He met with him in the night, in "the gardens at Theobalds: Two bed chamber men "were only in the secret; the king embraced him ten"derly and with many tears. The earl of Somerset be"lieved the fecret was not well kept; for foon after the "king was taken ill with some fits of an ague and died.

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20.

My father was then in London, and did very much "fufpect an ill practice in the matter: 'But perhaps Dr. "Craig, my mother's uncle, who was one of the king's ❝phyfitians, poffeffed him with these apprehenfions; "for he was difgraced for faying he believed the king "was poisoned." (f) Thefe are the foundations on (f) Burnet, which the fufpicion of James's being poifoned by Buck- Vol. I. p. ingham relies. Whether any thing more than fufpicion arifes from them, must be left to the reader to determine. Lord Clarendon, who could not be ignorant of a good part of what has been now related, fpeaking of James's death, fays, it was occafioned by an ague, (after a fhort indifpofition by the gout) which meet"ing many humours in a fat unwieldy body of 58 years old, in four or five fits carried him out of the "world. After whofe death, adds he, many scanda"lous and libellous difcourfes were raised without the "least colour, or ground: as appeared upon the ftricteft R

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66

" and

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n, Vol. 1. p. 24.

foon after was printed with the title of Great Britain's Salomon, [4 F] full of the moft

" and moft malicious examination that could be made, "long after, in a time of licence, when no body was "afraid of offending majesty, and when profecuting the "higheft reproaches and contumelies against the royal (e) Claren- family, was held very meritorious." (g) This is talking with a great air of authority indeed! was there no colour or ground for fufpicion of foul play, when Buckingham himself owned that he had recommended the plaister and drink to the king, and had them adminiftered to him, without confulting the phyficians? was there no ground for fuch a suspicion, when some of his majesty's own phyficians believed it, and the king himself attributed the cause of his trouble to the plaister and drink which the duke had given him? had the house of commons no colour or ground to impeach the duke of Buck.ingham for his behaviour in this affair? or were they the authors of the fcandalous and libellous difcourfes that were raised about it? A writer who gives himself fuch a ftrange liberty of cenfuring, ought to be pretty fure he is in the right, or otherwife he ftands but a very poor chance of being believed. Will. Sanderfon, very roundly fays, "that what Buckingham gave James to drink

was a poffet drink of milk and ale, hartfhorn, and "marygold flowers, ingredients harmless and ordinary. "And though, fays he, the doctors were offended that "any one durft affume this boldness (of applying the "plaifter) without their confent; by after examination, all men then were affured of the compofition, "and a piece thereof eaten down by such as made it ; of K. James, and the plaifter many months afterwards in being for "further tryal of any fufpition of poyfon." (b) The almoft the reader muft give what credit to this he thinks it deferves, account be- for my own part, I doubt it is apocryphal,

(3) Sander-
fon's reign

P. 592, he
had given

very fame

fore, in his

Aulicus Co- [4 F] Dr. Williams preached and printed his funeral quinariæ, fermon, with the title of Great Britain's Salomon.]

194.

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