The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-01-13
Treason Under Henry VIII.

The Exeter Gazette gives us O curious story,
unearthed from the mass Of MSS in the
Guildhall which Mr.. Stuart Moore has lately
been engaged in calendaring. The old his
tories of Exeter by Isaacke and Jenkins men,
ton the catastrophe which forms the climax
of the story, but without tracing the ''secret
history" which led up to it, and which affords
a noticeable illustration of social life in pro-
vincial capital during the reign of Henry VIII.
On the 10th of August, 1889, one John Bon
nefant, an Exeter attorney, was hanged and
quartered on Southernhay for high treason.
From the Grabbed old record now deci-
phered, it seems that Bonnefant and two
familiar friends, John Northbrook and Adam
Wilcocks, q proctor, had been supping to-
gether one evening at house partly belong
ing to Northbrook, but in which Bonnefant
had certain vested rights prejudicial to North
brooks interests. Apparently none of the
three were admirers of King Henry's rule, for
after some talk about the times they ''fell into
discoursing of prophecies, of which one was
that the noIde a0a7pe should come accursed of
Gods mouth, and vengeance should befall
him." The other was Welsh prophecy about
great things happening on the conjunction of
a dun COW and bull. All this the gossips
came to the conclusion had reference to the
king and his destined destruction, and having
sosettled the matter in their own minds, merely
as a matter of innocent speculation, they
burned the paper which had the prophecies
written on it, and broke up their symposium.
But into Northbrooks mind came evil
thoughts. Says he to Wilcocks, 'It is high
treason against the kings person which we
have talked all this night at my house, and
therefore we must look to ourselves that we
be not in danger for the same; for you
know, said he, ''that Mr.. Bonnefant is a
lawyer and crafty man, and knoweth what
belongeth to the law, and if he should secret
ly go to Mr. Mayor, and disclose what we
have talked, and accuse us, it will cost our
lives. Wherefore, let us prevent him, and
play sure and go to Mr.. Mayor and first
accute him, and SO shall we save ourselves"
This was accordingly the line these amiable
friends pursued and Northbrook added some
super-refined villainy by pretending to warn
Bonnefant of danger impending over him,
and enticing him into house where he had
arranged that the officers of the law should
find him. Information was sent to Govern
ment; a commission of inquiry into the
alleged treason was instituted, and addressed
to the Mayor and Sir Richard Pollard; and
Bonnefant was beheaded, as aforesaid the
principal charge specified against him being
''that he should say the king was a naOlde
acd1pe, and that he (the king) should subvert
the state of the realm, etc. The infamous
delators were not happy in their end
"Adam Wilcocks fell accursed and was
distracted of his wits; his tongue rolled in
| his head, and he died most miserably.
| Northbrook had Bonnefapt's house which
he sought for, and lived in great infamy all
the days of his life, and his issues had bad
success.
The story is told very graphically and at
some length by John Hooker, the old Guild