386 A JACOBITE EXILE

of moment. They hired a carriage and took the highway-
man with them to St. James’s, and were conducted to the
council chamber, where they found Lord Godolphin, the
Marquis of Normanby, Mr. Harley, and the Duke of
Marlborough, together with two judges, before whom the
depositions in the case of Sir Marmaduke Carstairs and his
friends had been laid.

Lord Normanby, as privy-seal, took the chair, and briefly
said that: Having heard there had been a grievous miscar-
riage of justice, he had summoned them to hear important
evidence which was produced by Captain Carstairs and
Jervoise, officers in the ‘service of the king of Sweden.
“What have you to say, Captain Carstairs?”

“T have, sir, only to testify that this man who stands
beside me is Robert Nicholson, who was in my father’s
employment for two years, and was, I believe, the principal
witness against him. Captain Jervoise can also testify to
his identity. I now produce the confession, voluntarily
made by this man, and signed in the presence of witnesses.”

He handed in the confession, which was read aloud by a
clerk standing at the lower end of the table. A murmur of
indignation arose from the council as he concluded.

“You have acted the part of a base villain,” Lord Nor-
manby said to Nicholson. “Hanging would be too good
for such a caitiff. What induced you to make this confes-
sion?”

“T have long repented my conduct,” the man said. “I
was forced into acting as I did by John Dormay, who might
have had me hung for highway robbery. I would long ago
have told the truth had I known where to find the gentlemen
I have injured; and meeting them by chance the other day
I resolved upon making a clean breast of it, and to take
what punishment your lordships may think proper, hoping,
however, for your clemency on account of the fact that I
was driven to act in the way I did.”