The day after the arrest Layer escaped.
He was instantly pursued and taken in a
lane leading to St. George's-fields. He
told the man who stopped him it was
only an ordinary arrest for debt, and offered
forty guineas for his freedom. That failing,
he then promised any sum the man
liked, saying the messenger had no
warrant, and he could not be kept without a
warrant. When the messenger came up
and seized him, Layer said that anybody
in such danger as he was would have
tried to escape, and that Lord Cartaret
would not blame him. .

Layer's treasonable papers had been left
by him with a Mrs. Mason, who lodged
at a Mrs. Cooke's, in Stonecutters'-yard,
Little Queen-street, Lincoln's- inn- fields.
He had told Mrs. Mason, a woman of
dubious character, that the large parcel
was worth five hundred pounds, and the
lesser he said contained love-letters, which
he was afraid his wife might see. Letters
were left at Mrs. Cooke's for Layer, under
the name of Fountaine. Among these
papers was found the following plan of
the intended insurrection:

At half-past eight on a certain night, to
be fixed by two of the leading men, eight
sergeants, each with twenty-five men, were
to meet at a certain city churchyard, and
at once march to the Tower gate, where an
officer, already gained over, would instantly
order the garrison to let them in as a
reinforcement sent to the guard. As soon as
they were in they were to seize the arms,
and secure every one the officer gave them
orders to secure, but were not to shed
blood. A small guard was to be left at
the Tower, and the main body was to
march on the Exchange, where the great
doors were to be ready open, and the
general himself to be waiting to welcome
them. At the same hour, also, several of
the ministers were to be arrested in their
houses, and brought into the City to the
general. Directly the proclamation was
issued, the City gates were to be shut, and
cannon brought down to defend them; and
guards were to be posted at every inlet of
the City. The next step was to march back
to a centre rendezvous under the cannon of
the Tower; first sending soldiers to watch
over the Bank, after drawing money enough
to pay the men at the Tower.

All friends in the camp, on receipt of a
certain token, were to draw out their men
and march to the guns, telling the captain
of the artillery that General Cadogan
had sent word to double the guard, as there
was a rumour that the mob was up in the
City. The party at the guns were to stand
on their defence, but to make no declaration
till news came of the Tower being
surrendered; the chief officer was then,
under pretence of securing the king's person
from the insults of the mob, to head
a detachment, seize the king, and send him
to the general at the Tower. The Jacobite
cavalry officers, on the first alarm of the
revolt, were to march either to Newgate
or Ludgate, on the pretence of suppressing
the mob. To show they were friends, they
were to give the password "this morning,"
on which the gates would be thrown
open, and they would then ride straight
to Tower-hill to join the general.

The same day four captains were to be
told off for the following commands. The
first at nine at night was to go to Southwark
and make a bonfire in the fields. The people
thus collected (and the Mint was full of
desperate rascals), were to have money and
arms distributed among them. Captain
number one would then ferry over his men
in lighters to Palace-yard, and join captain
number two.

This worthy was to be in the Garden,
Whitehall, exactly at nine, with a few
resolute armed Jacobite gentlemen, to seize
the great guns there, then to spread the
declarations, and wait for number one from
Southwark, or else march and join number
three in St. James's Park.

Captain number three, with a few
gentlemen, was to be at nine o'clock in St.
James's Park, with the key of the private
door out of Arlington-street. The first
rendezvous was to be the little grove under
the wall near the gate leading to Hyde
Park. There loaded firearms were to be
sent to the party. They were then to
march down to the Parade by the Horse
Guards, to seize the cannon and ammunition
there, to issue declarations, and to
wait for captains one, two, and four.

Captain number four was at nine to be
in Tothill-fields, and there arm the
Westminster mob; then to march to St. James's
Park. The next morning, or sooner, if
possible, a detachment was to march to
Lincoln's-inn-fields and place cannon on
the Terrace, to prevent the enemy coming
in between St. James's Park and the City.
A captain was also to be appointed to head
the Thames watermen. He was to arrange
with the duke's bargeman for a rendezvous
at nine o'clock, at Greenwich, where they
would seize the magazine, carry off some of
the powder, and blow up the rest. They