Lord Chief-Justice—And why didst thou tell us so many lyes then? Jesu God! that we should live to see any such creatures among mankind, nay, and among us too, to the shame and reproach be it spoken of our nation and religion: is this that that is called the Protestant religion, a thing so much boasted of, and pretended to? we have heard a great deal of clamour against Popery and dispensations; what dispensations, pray, does the Protestant religion give for such practices as these? I pity thee with all my soul, and pray for thee, but it cannot but make all mankind to tremble, and be filled with horror, that such a wretched creature should live upon the earth: Prithee be free, and tell us what discourse there was.
Dunne—My lord, they did talk of fighting but I cannot remember what it was.
Lord Chief-Justice—Did you lie with them?
Dunne—No, my lord, I did not.
Lord Chief-Justice—Well I see thou wilt answer nothing ingenuously, therefore I will trouble myself no more with thee: go on with your evidence, gentlemen.
Mr. Jennings—My lord, we have done, we have no more witnesses.
Mrs. Lisle is then called upon for her defence, and proceeds to say that had she been tried in London Lady Abergavenny and other persons of quality could have testified with what detestation she had spoken of the rebellion, and that she had been in London till Monmouth was beheaded. She had denied Nelthorp's being in the house because of her fear of the soldiers,
who were very rude and violent and could not be restrained by their officers from robbery and plundering my house. And I beseech your lordship to make that construction of it; and I humbly beg of your lordship not to harbour an ill opinion of me, because of those false reports that go about of me relating to my carriage towards the old king, that I was any ways consenting to the death of King Charles i., for, my lord, that is as false as God is true; my lord, I was not out of my chambers all the day in which that king was beheaded, and I believe I shed more tears for him than any woman then living did; and this the late Countess of Monmouth, and my lady Marlborough, and my lord chancellor Hyde, if they were alive, and twenty persons of the most eminent quality could hear witness for me.
She did not know Nelthorp, and only took Hicks because he was a nonconformist minister, and there being warrants out against all such, she was willing to shelter him from them.
She then called Creed, who said that he heard Nelthorp say that Lady Lisle did not know of his coming, and did not know his name, and that he did not tell his name till he was taken.