The Cantor Dimension

by Delarose, Sharon

  One hundred pounds had been offered as a reward for Burton. When the reward failed to procure Burton for his due punishment, the newly crowned King James II who had been the Duke of York, declared that harboring a rebel was also treason and as such, unpardonable. Burton realized that the gig was up and turned himself in, giving testimony against Fernley and Gaunt who had helped him in exchange for a pardon. For their roles in helping Burton, Fernley was sent to the gallows while the aged Elizabeth Gaunt was burned at the stake. The onlookers burst into tears when they witnessed Elizabeth using her feet to redistribute the straw to make the fire burn quicker and end her own fiery suffering.

  Whereas Burton had escaped the king's wrath by turning his comrades in, others involved in the plot were not as lucky. When the Rye House Plot was first discovered during the reign of King Charles, several of the plotters had saved their own skins by turning their comrades in. In addition, the king had seized the opportunity to use the assassination attempt to rid himself of other, non-involved enemies. The executions took place at the Tower of London.

  Among the conspirators was the Earl of Essex, who was being held at the Tower of London in private quarters in a house set apart from the main prison and which was used for the more distinguished prisoners. Before he could go to trial, however, the Earl of Essex was found dead in his room with his throat cut from ear to ear.

  According to Lord Ailesbury, the death of Arthur Capell, who was the Earl of Essex, was suicide. Ailesbury wrote, "The Earl asked very coldly for a razor to cut his nails, and being accustomed so to do gave no manner of suspicion. He went into a small closet18 where his servant afterward found him dead and wallowing in blood."

  As Ailesbury was a Tory, he would have reason to cover for the murder of an imprisoned Whig. The king exclaimed upon hearing of Capell's death, "Alas! Lord Essex might have trusted my clemency, for I owed his family a life." Considering the brutality of some of the punishments meted out to his fellow conspirators, one would have difficulty believing in clemency. Making such a statement would, however, support Ailesbury's claim of suicide and surround the king in an aura of innocence.

  In spite of Ailesbury's statement, many believed that Capell had been murdered in prison. Arthur Capell was being kept in the Gentleman Gaoler's19 quarters in the Tower of London under the watch of Captain Hawley when he was found dead on Friday the 13th.

  During an inquiry into his death, two boys on their way to school reported that they had seen a bloody razor thrown from the window. They took a close look at the razor and described the steel as being red and wet with blood. Before they could study the razor further, Captain Hawley's servant-maid ran out crying, "Murder! Murder!" She then picked up the razor and ran back in again. The official story was given out that Capell had cut his own throat and that the bloody razor had been found where he dropped it on the closet floor, creating a discrepancy of facts.

  His throat had been cut from ear to ear in a manner as to almost behead him. Both jugular veins were slashed, his windpipe and gullet were cut clean through and the blade had struck into the spinal column, hardly an act that could be done to one's self.

  Two yeoman warders had been assigned to watch over Capell: Nathaniel Munday20 and Thomas Russell. One was to stand at his chamber door or inside his room, the other was to guard the foot of the stairs to prevent intruders from speaking with Capell without permission from Captain Cheek. A third man stayed with Capell during his imprisonment, a serving-man named Paul Bomeny.

  The night before Capell's death, his brother-in-law visited him and later reported that he had been "firm in spirit" and had no mood or motive for an act of self-destruction. King Charles and the Duke of York had visited London Tower on the day of Capell's death spending a good deal of time with Captain Cheek shortly before the deadly deed occurred.

  During a coroner's jury, Bomeny, Russell and two surgeons gave their evidence. Munday, whose job it was to watch the door, was not called to give evidence, and neither Cheek nor Hawley appeared that day. The official verdict was suicide. Lawrence Braddon, a fanatic in the cause of justice who did not believe the suicide verdict, spent years gathering evidence in the case. He found and interviewed the two schoolboys and several other witnesses who had not appeared at the official coroner's inquest.

  Among the witnesses that Braddon spoke to was a soldier by the name of John Lloyd. He reported that two men had gone into the house where Capell was being held just before the murder. Lloyd had been on duty in front of Capell's room with orders not to allow anyone in unless they were with Hawley or Russell. At half past eight, two strangers came to Hawley's door and were admitted by the yeoman warder. Shortly after, Lloyd heard a scuffle in the room above and then heard the cry, "My lord is dead!"

  Edmond Halley the soap-boiler was also thought to be a yeoman warder at the Tower of London in some of the later accounts, and this is where Edmond Halley crosses paths with the murder of the Earl of Essex. Yeoman warders, also known as Beefeaters for receiving generous rations of beef, mutton, veal, venison and geese, were exempt from certain public duties and taxes. In addition they were paid wages but in 1675, the king was in arrears for payment and had cut off the generous food rations.

  A series of petitions followed and in 1680, a law was drafted exempting the warders from all public and parish duties, from serving on juries or in the militia, and from working on highways. Serving as a yeoman warder offered privileges which made the positions highly desirable and according to some reports, Halley was only required to fulfill his duties when the king was personally present at the Tower of London.

  As the king was present on that fateful Friday the 13th when the Earl of Essex was murdered, Halley would have been on-duty at the Tower. Several who had been on duty that day did not believe the verdict of suicide and began to raise questions after which they were mysteriously murdered. Captain Hawley told others that he was in fear of his life and was planning to travel to some faraway place where he would be safe. Shortly after, his body was found beaten and strangled.

  In 1689, five years after the murder of Edmond Halley, a 75-page anonymously written pamphlet appeared which was published in English, French and Dutch and widely distributed. The pamphlet gave vivid details of the day of the murder, including pointing a finger at Captain Hawley who had let the murderers enter, along with others who had surrounded the Earl that day. In other words, supporters of the dead Capell considered Hawley an accomplice to the murder.

  The pamphlet listed Hawley as "Captain Haulle" and "Captain Hawley" in various places. Other accounts listed him as "Major Hawley" and stated that in February 1689, the House of Lords opened another inquiry into the death of Capell and as a result, several were arrested including Major Hawley who was later released on bail. As the 1689 proceedings included letters and testimony which had originally been given in 1683, it is possible they were referring to Hawley being arrested and released in 1683 and not 1689.

  An 1816 publication detailing the state trials from 1682-1684 cleared up the confusion as to the relationship between Hawley and Halley and their subsequent deaths. Major Hawley figures prominently in the testimony of a number of people, his role in the events portrayed differently depending on the witness. In some accounts, he let the murderers into the room and in other accounts, someone else let them in.

  Major Hawley's serving-maid, Mary Johnson, gave testimony in 1689 that she had assisted a man named Webster in stripping Capell's body after his murder and in washing the body as well as the room he'd been found in, for payment of 10 shillings, by the order of Major Hawley. She described Capell's neck as having been cut into three pieces. As Mary was deceased, her husband gave the testimony on her behalf based on what she had reported to him at the time. Others corroborated the testimony adding that Major Hawley had told her that she must clean the body and that she would come to no trouble for it.

  Another witness stated that Mr. Hawley was greatly aggrieved by the murder, declaring to a friend that the death of Cap
ell was a piece of villainy. He later spoke to Braddon who had spent much time researching the case, asking Braddon why he'd gotten involved when he didn't know anything. On hearing of this conversation the city coroner asked Mr. Hawley, "If you know that Mr. Braddon knows nothing in relation thereunto, what must you know of that matter?"21

  Hawley made no reply but his knowledge cost him dearly because the following March of 1684, Mr. Hawley went missing according to the testator, which was coincidentally the same month that Edmond Halley went missing.

  Another of the warders spouted that Hawley had been running his mouth and for this he was forced to flee. The warder added that after he'd been missing for a few days, Hawley's wife posted a reward in several Gazettes of 100 pounds to anyone who could find her husband dead or alive. Coincidentally, Joane Halley posted a reward of 100 pounds in the News-Book for her missing husband, dead or alive.

  The warder's testimony stated that six weeks later, Hawley's body was found dead and stripped in a river near Rochester. His murderers had beaten and bruised him and altered his face so far from its natural form that by his face none could know him. The murderers had left his stockings upon his legs and thereby his wife was able to identify him, for he wore three stockings on one leg and two stockings plus a seer cloth on the other. By this warder's testimony we could conclude that Hawley and Halley were one in the same person, and that Halley had been murdered for his knowledge about the murder of the Earl of Essex.

  According to another testator, others were murdered or beaten for blabbing what they knew about Capell's death. One soldier was tied to a wooden horse and whipped 53 times, being told that he should have been hanged for saying that he thought Capell had been murdered rather than uphold the suicide story.

  William Edwards, one of the children who had witnessed the bloody razor being thrown from the window, later testified that Major Hawley had threatened him with whippings for the next seven years if he did not properly deny witnessing the razor being flung from the window.

  One would suppose that the truth would be found in the witness who stated that Hawley of the Capell incident was one in the same as the man found naked in the river with multiple socks on, but there was another Hawley working as a yeoman warder that year. According to Volume 8 of the state trials, a T. Hawley was a yeoman warder in 1681. In another publication, a Thomas Hawley was listed as a Major at the Tower of London from 1690-1697.

  Major Thomas Hawley is mentioned in the calendar of treasury papers as filing a petition to the king. In his petition he states that he was a Major at the Tower of London where he served during the reign of King Charles II and King James II. He claimed that he was stationed at the Tower during the horrid conspiracy against the king and that others had whispered malicious rumors about him, causing him to be arrested and held in custody for 11 weeks.

  Thomas Hawley begged for an audience with the king, and to be paid the money which was due him and which had cost him to 'part with his places' when we wasn't paid. In addition, he wanted to be granted the next vacancy of yeoman warder and to be given a pension of 60 pounds per year. The petition was summarily denied. As King James did not take the throne until 1685, Thomas Hawley could not have been the man who was found dead in the river in 1684.

  Was Edmond Halley the soap-boiler murdered for his position as a yeoman warder on the day of Capell's murder? Did he know something for which he was silenced? Was Edmond Halley even a yeoman warder when searches of the warders rolls fail to bring up his name?

  The names Halley and Hawley were interchangeable in those days along with a variety of other spellings. Might they have been kinsmen? If so, is it possible that Hawley confided in Halley who then told others, causing his own demise? People who spoke out about Capell's murder were immediately disposed of, the king wanting Capell's death to be labeled suicide.

  Or could Halley's identity have been mistaken for Major Thomas Hawley who played such a big role in the murder of Capell? Was Halley killed for a case of mistaken identity? Reports of his murder had been connected to the Rye House Plot so many believed that Halley had been a yeoman warder.

  Captain Hawley was in fear of his life and was soon after reported dead, beaten and strangled, yet he later filed a petition with the king. Was the dead man identified by the testator as Hawley actually the body of Edmond Halley? Surely there were not two dead men found in the river in April 1684 wearing multiple socks whose wives posted rewards of 100 pounds dead or alive.

  King Charles died the following year and the Duke of York ascended the throne as King James II. The Duke of Monmouth led a rebellion against him with forces from Holland. The rebellion failed and the Duke of Monmouth was captured and subsequently executed at the Tower of London according to the official reports.

  So much of the history surrounding King Charles II, King James II, the Duke of Monmouth, and the Rye House Plot was shrouded in mystery. Even the death of Monmouth was not simply accepted at face value.

  The Duke of Monmouth was believed by some to be the man in the iron mask, a prisoner whose face was kept hidden for 34 years. Rather than executing his own nephew, the new king may have executed someone else in his place and sent Monmouth secretly to France to be imprisoned by a fellow Catholic for the rest of his natural life.

  An even more bizarre legend surrounded Monmouth after his execution. A painting was discovered in a farmhouse near Sevenoaks which had been purchased by Sir Seymour Haden. The inscription on the back of the painting said, " From Miss Wray and to her father, Sir William Ultethorne Wray, the son of Sir Cecil Wray of Lincolnshire, in whose possession it was originally. Monmouth."

  The painting was believed to be the head of Monmouth after his execution22 according to a story posted in the New York Times on November 13, 1910. It was said that the execution of Monmouth was the most ghastly of its kind on record, five blows being necessary to sever the head from the body.

  In the painting, Monmouth's head is resting on a white velvet cushion as if sleeping and his neck is completely hidden. Whether his head was sewn back onto his body prior to the portrait is unknown. He is covered right up to his chin.

  Deathbed paintings were common practice in the 1600s as a way to provide a visual memory for the bereaved, later being replaced by deathbed photographs which were popular even into the early twentieth century. Being the son of a king, Monmouth would surely have been awarded such an honor in spite of his quarrel with his uncle.

  With its ghastly history, the Tower of London is considered to be one of the world's most haunted places. The yeoman warders to this day occasionally experience time slips where they can "see" things that once took place in the Tower as if they were really there.

  The deaths of Monmouth, Hawley and Halley will forever be shrouded in mystery. While we cannot be certain as to whether Halley was a warder and thus involved in the coverup, or whether he was killed simply as a case of mistaken identity, the facts that link the two men's history are indisputable.

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  Max

  Three compasses were designed by Edmond Halley with Xenotime crystals, peridot bearings and coordinate dials. They were given to his good friend Isaac Newton, his father Edmond Halley the soap-boiler, and his wife Mary Halley.

  Newton's compass is presumed to be destroyed; the location of the compass owned by the murdered father of Edmond Halley is unknown; while Mary Halley's compass passed down through the generations and into the hands of Maxwell Cantor.

  Max's compass had an inscription: To my beloved Paramour. While most believed that the inscription was intended to say "paramour" to honor someone's mistress, Max knew better. He knew that his compass had been designed by Edmond Halley himself to guide his own travels on the good ship Paramour.

  Max had discovered the power of the compass quite by accident. Shortly after he purchased the Pallasite ring he was dusting around his compass collection and found himself in California with no idea how he'd gotten there. All he knew was
that he felt dizzy for a moment and closed his eyes, and when he opened his eyes a moment later he was in California. It had cost him a pretty penny to fly back to Memphis.

  He didn't make the connection until it happened again and he realized that both times he was holding the compass. It took Max quite awhile to connect the ring as his efforts were focused on studying the compass. He came to the realization that the decorative dials determined the location and he intentionally traveled to India to test the theory.

  When he discovered that he was not only in a different country but had also gone back in time, he got stranded. Trying various combinations in an attempt to figure out how to get back home, he ended up in Germany, Russia and a variety of other places, all at different times in history, before he figured out the key.

  Once he knew how to use the compass and ring together, his test runs included spying on Brody which was the only way he could verify that he was indeed traveling and not simply dreaming or hallucinating. Through spying on and later questioning his friend, he was able to determine that he had indeed unlocked one of the greatest discoveries of all time. He fully intended to share the discovery with Brody but before he did so, he wanted to accomplish one task.

  Max had set out to go back in time and save his family from the car accident that had killed his parents and his brother Grant a few years earlier. They had been on their way to Arkabutla Lake in Mississippi for the Fourth of July when a drunk driver swerved into their lane and hit them head on.

  Max was supposed to have gone with them but he had picked up a nasty flu virus and had stayed home. His brother Parry had survived the accident though he'd suffered grave injuries. The accident had happened on Highway 51 in Mississippi. In his attempt to locate and stop the accident, Max had miscalculated and was now hovering in a time bubble over Highway 51 just west of Utica, Illinois.