An Answer to the Charge of Walter Bushnel, Letter
A WORD from the CLERK—TO THE VICAR of BOX.
Mr. Buſhnel,
CAſting mine eye upon your Narrative, I finde you ſquirting out many ſcurrilous paſſages againſt my ſelf, which I can bear well enough, but I am troubled to ſee how you load others, and that you, who profeſs your ſelf a Miniſter of Chriſt, ſhould ſo far adulterate your fancy with the ſpirit of darkneſs, and at length bring forth into the world ſuch a monſter, whoſe uglineſs (I doubt not) will bee offenſive to any that ſhall behold it with a Chriſtian eye. And although the Charge you bring againſt mee for entring Depoſitions by halfs, confounding the Order in which they were taken, and for leaving out material clauſes, which might have been to your behalf, deſerves no other anſwer than a Mentiris Buſhnelle, yet for mine own Vindication, the world ſhall know that I had a peculiar reſpect and tenderneſs for you when you were upon the Stage, deſiring you might come off with honour and ſafety, and that my management of your buſineſs (ſo far as concerned mee) did argue as much, I dare appeal to your own conſcience, as well as to your own Counſellour Edward Carter Eſq; I muſt alſo minde you with a ſhrewd, and (I beleeve) wilful miſtake of yours, or rather a ſubtil equivocation about the name of Bliſſet, by which you indeavour to caſt a blot upon the untainted Reputation of my Father, as if hee had received twenty pounds for being an Inſtrument to help Mr. Sterne into Box: Sir, this mony was given by him unto*At this time I was married, liv'd of my ſelf, without any dependence upon my Father, being by profeſſion an Attorny. Mr. Bliſſet, the Clerk, and not Mr. Bliſſet the Commiſſioner, and this not to mee, as Clerk to the Commiſſioners, but as I undertook to bee his Solicitor to Sir Hugh Speak the Patron of Box, under whoſe diſpleaſure*You may inform your ſelf of the truth hereof from Sir H. S. Mr. Sterne was fallen, for addreſſing himſelf to Oliver Cromwell for the gift of the ſame, and for entring on the Vicaridge upon that Title without the conſent of Sir H. S. M. Sterne knowing the intereſt I had in that honourable perſon*This was done in the preſence of William Pinchin and Obadiah Cheltenham. applied himſelf to mee to become his Advocate, and voluntarily offered mee, by way of reward, twenty pound: I did therefore after much pains and labour work him into the favour of Sir. H. S. and got his Preſentation for him. To conclude, I do proteſt, that both the proffer, and receipt of this ſumm of mony from Mr. Sterne, was altogether unknown to Mr. Bliſſet (my Father) until by accident hee had ſome hint of it at the leaſt ſix months after; and as I wiſh you may now repent the aſperſing him by your clamorous report of falſhood; So I adviſe you to an Index expurgatorius, if there bee another Edition of your unſavoury Narrative.
William Bliſſet Jun.
FINIS.
End of the text · Humphrey Chambers, An Answer to the Charge of Walter Bushnel (1660)