"The widow seeing that the young maid followed, seized her with violence, swore that she should not go with the minister; at the same time three of her bullies surrounded the minister, and after he had told them that he was amazed they should commit such violence on the King's highway on a _Sunday_, when the business was only the instruction of one of his subjects, being in fear of the _Roman dagger_, he went to a Justice of Peace called Sir John Reresby, to inform him of the whole matter. (In this little tragi-comedy, Sir John Reresby, made Justice of the Peace for Middlesex and Westminster in Nov. 1684, plays the part of the upright judge; a time-saver he appears to have been, but then he was a strong anti-papist; at that moment he had just been superintending proceedings against Thynne's murderers and probably cared very little for the noisy Frenchmen.)
"The minister was no sooner gone than that Mr. _Jehu_ being desirous to get near the young maid and speak to the widow _Reinbeau_, this woman without hearing him, fell upon him, tore his peruke and shoulder-knot off, and she and her myrmidons began to cry out: _a French Papist_ (a scurvy trick!).
"This piece of malice had like to have cost the Protestant his life, for at the same time some of the _mobile_ who were crowded about him seized him by the throat; but the populace being undeceived, and having understood the _Popish_ trick, let go the Protestant, which the Papists perceiving, they ran into a house hard by, swearing they would cause the _French_ Protestant to be stabbed (just after the scare caused by the Popish Plot, there was not a loyal Protestant, either English or French, who did not believe every Papist had a knife up his sleeve and was scheming a new Bartholomew's Day).
"After they were got into that house, they immediately contrived how to secure their prey: for that purpose they sent for a chair and had her conveyed away (after the manner of the Catholics in France, as every one in England knew at the time).
"During that interval Mr. _Du Marest_ the minister having discoursed Sir _John Reresby_ upon this business, this worthy Justice of the Peace sent for a constable (_deus ex machina!_), and gave him a warrant. The constable performed his commission, brought the widow and her niece, but the other Papists prevented his seizing them by making their escape in the crowd.