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of swearing away lives, he would do well not to show himself sooften at coffeehouses in the company of Titus. “The Doctor,”said one of the gang, “is an excellent person, and has donegreat tilings in his time: but many people are prejudiced againsthim; and, if you are really going to discover a plot, the lessyou are seen with him the better.” Fuller accordingly ceased tofrequent Oates’s house, but still continued to receive his greatmaster’s instructions in private.

To do Fuller justice, he seems not to have taken up the tradeof a false witness till he could no longer support himself by beg-ging or swindling. He lived for a time on the charity of theQueen. lie then levied contributions by pretending to be oneof the noble family of Sidney. He wheedled Tillotson out ofsome money, and requited the good Archbishop’s kindness bypassing himself off as His Grace’s favourite nephew. But in theautumn of 1691 all these shifts were exhausted. After lying inseveral springing houses, Fuller was at length lodged in theKing’s Bench prison, and he now thought it time to announcethat he had discovered a plot.*

He addressed himself first to Tillotson and Fortland: butboth Tillotson and Portland soon perceived that he was lying.What he said was, however, reported to the King, who, asmight have been expected, treated the information and the in-formant with cold contempt. All that remained was to trywhether a flame could be raised in the Parliament.

Soon after the Houses met, Fuller petitioned the Commonsto hear what he had to say, and promised to make wonderfuldisclosures. He was brought from his prison to the bar of theHouse; and he there repeated a long romance. James, he said,had delegated the regal authority to six commissioners, of whomHalifax was first. More than fifty lords and gentlemen had

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* The history of this part' of Fuller’snarrative.

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life I have taken from his own

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