The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-01-03
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Queen. The third man was one Elliot
of lesser note.
Preston carried letters of the most
dangerous kind to the eXiled King from
men high in the government and
church of England Several of Will
liam's ministers and nonjuring bish-
ops had set their hands to the trea-
SON. The letters were innocent enough
to read but mean much. They were
variously addressed and yelled in Ian
guage. One of them. in Which the great
lords invited King James to come over
represented the signers to the mer-
chants engaged in a commercial ven
ture. They addressed James as Mr.
Jackson, and urged him to send cargo
at once while the market was favor
able. They thought that If the goods
could be landed a certain date named
big profit could be gained. This
language was perfectly Ineligible to
those familiar with the political situ-
alton in England.
Celebrated Too Soon
Preston and his fellow conspirators
boarded the smack at the hour set and
dropped down the Thames. There was
a frigate off Woolwich, and the James
and Elizabeth slipped past it with all
lights out. This danger passed. the ad-
venturers breathed easier. Preston
slapped the master on the back and
told him his fortune was made. Then
he ordered up a great hamper he had
packed with meat and wine and made
the honest fisherman sit down to the
| table. The winl<s which Preston and
| his companions exchanged as they
drank to the King, slyly passing their
| glasses over the water decanter to sig
Nifty that the health was to "the King
over the water" may be ina gined
Also, it may be imagined how tho
| honest fisherman grubbed stolidly
| away at the meat pie, pretnding not
| to see these things. while keeping his
ear cooked for a hail.
1t came off Tillbury. A Kings ship
had laid in waiting there, and now
poked its nose out of the darkness
right across the smacks' course
| Naught to do but ease and welcome
one Captain Bi1lop aboard What could
| be hoped from a man with name like
| Billop? Evidently not the kind of man
who would listen to tale about a can
signment of French brandy that a
Kings officer hadn't dipped his thumb
| in. Nor the kind who would look at
the great belt of gold that Preston
| threw on the table before him. Nor
the kind who would blench when Elliot
drew his long pistols and swore he
| would not be taken alive.
| The conspirators were seized and
| searched, the letters were discovered
and that night were read by King Will
| liam in the presence of the ministers
who had written them. Ashton was
tried and executed, and 1t may be sup
posed that the honest master of the
| James and Elizabeth was one of the
gratified crowd that surrounded the
scaffold. Elliott was permitted to &c
| free by some underground agency
| which seems to show the government
| thought he could be more useful to
them alive than dead.
| Preston was put through the course
usual in cases of treason where the
plot involved others unknown to the
government. He was sentenced to
death and then offered his life If he
would divulge the names of his ac-
complies. Preston held out until the
day for his execution and then gave
up his secret. He named men in the
highest places, one of them our own
William Penn, by the way.