884282 The Happy Instruments of Englands Preservation, published by Benjamin Combe after Francis Barlow, April 1681 (engraving) by Barlow, Francis (1626-1702) (after); Private Collection; (add.info.: Satirical broadside on the Popish Plot, with an engraving, on two levels. At the top the apotheosis of the witnesses to the Plot, Titus Oates, Miles Prance, Stephen Dugdale and William Bedloe, sitting on clouds and crowned with laurel wreaths by two cherubim; on either side are angels, one carrying a flaming sword and holding a model of the church, the other with a banner and the crown of England that has been protected by the witnesses. Above is another semi-circle of clouds inhabited by angels heads from which issues a ray of light penetrating to the lower level where it points to the Pope sitting at a table, labelled "The Infernall Conclave", with cardinals and Jesuits, a devil speaking into his ear; on the left Madame Cellier stands beside the overturned Meal-Tub and on the right Sir George Wakeman holds "A bill for 瞿15000 to poison the King", behind him the scene of the execution of Viscount Stafford at the Tower of London; on the left three Turks observe conclave. The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the executions of at least 22 men and precipitated the Exclusion Bill Crisis. Eventually Oates\' intricate web of accusations fell apart, leading to his arrest and conviction for perjury. ); English, out of copyright.