England under Charles II. from the Restoration to the Treaty of Nimeguen, 1660-1678: English History from Contemporary Writers
Taylor, W. F.
1889
1675.-The forerunner of the Popish Plot. The affair of Luzance.
Ibid., pp. 29-31. Nov., . | |
The business of Luzance took up some time in the House. This Luzance was a French Jesuit, but becoming a convert to the Church of England, inveighed against the fallacies of the Church of Rome in a sermon he preached in the French Church in the Savoy. This alarmed the Papists, and particularly one Burnet a Jesuit, and confessor to the duchess of York, who finding him alone in his | |
137 | chamber, and posting three men at the door threatened to murder him if he did not make satisfaction for the injury, eat his words, and speedily return to France. The man in this desperate dilemma promised faithfully whatever was required of him, till he got his liberty, when presently going to Doctor Breval, a converted Jesuit as well as himself, he told him the whole story; Breval the next day acquainted me with it, and I communicated it to the House. The Commons took fire at this and straight appointed a Committee to examine into the matter and ordered me to produce Luzance the next day. He appeared accordingly and averred the thing for a truth..... Upon the report made from the committee to the House, my lord Cavendish called me up to give an account of some other things I had had from Luzance. One was that two French Protestants being merchants of great substance and credit had been threatened by certain Papists, that if they were not less severe upon the Romanists they should ere long see the Protestant blood flow in London streets. A committee was appointed to enquire into the truth of this matter; and Luzance being summoned, gave evidence to the very same effect, and gave it under his own hand. The parties he had his information from being sent for, appeared also, and declared such threats to have been used towards them by some French Papists; but to what cause it was owing is uncertain; they gave in only such names as were of persons either absent or of no estimation; so that little came of this business. But these and other |
138 | informations, concerning the height and insolence of the Papists, did so exasperate the House that many motions were made to humble them. Some were for a speedy confinement of them to the country, others for banishment, and some again for disarming them, and the like. |