Popish Plot saying that "the King gets the curse of many good and faithful wives such as myself for his bad example". Danby, who seems initially to have believed in the Plot, advised the king to order an investigation. Charles II denied the request, maintaining that the entire affair was absurd. He told Danby to keep the events secret so as not to put the idea of regicide into people's minds. However, word of the manuscript spread to the Duke of York, who publicly called for an investigation into the matter. Even Charles admitted that given the sheer number of allegations, he
A Ballad upon the Popish Plot circumstances that brought him to instigate the plot: financial difficulty, lack of public approval, and ultimately a bribe (“Some Whisperers fix’d him / Upon this design” [3.5-6]). The other participants include a vicious, imprisoned “Knave” (4.1) complicit with another plotter who will “[Relieve] his Invention, and [quicken] his Pace” (4.9); an imprisoned thief and murderer; a perjurer who twice lied about the occurrences of the plot, bribed with money the second time; a professional in the Court who encouraged rumors of the plot with a fellow guilty court-member; and a dull-witted, ill-dressed merchant who supports the plot by writing about