he
Franciscans were severely punished. At Lyons, the bishop and some
other clerics could get no response from the rapping spirit which
was so familiar with the king's chaplain, Adrien de Montalembert
(1526-7). Thus 'the ghost in some measure remains undetected,' says
Goldsmith, and, indeed, Walpole visited Cock Lane, but could not get
in, apparently _after_ the detection. But, writing on February 2,
he may speak of an earlier date.

Meanwhile matters were very uncomfortable for Mr. K. Accused by a
ghost, he had no legal remedy. Goldsmith, like most writers,
assumes that Parsons undertook the imposture, in revenge for having
been sued for money lent by Mr. K. He adds that Mr. K. was engaged
in a Chancery suit by his relations, and seems to suspect their
agency. Meanwhile, Elizabeth was being 'tested' in various ways.
Finally the unlucky child was swung up in a kind of hammock, 'her
hands and feet extended wide,' and, for two nights, no noises were
heard. Next day she was told that, if there were no noises, she and
her father would be committed to Newgate. She accordingly concealed
a little board, on which a kettle usually stood, a piece of wood six
inches by four. She managed this with so little art that the maids
saw her place the wood in her dress, and informed the investigators
of the circumstances. Scratches were now produced, but the child
herself said that they were not like the former sounds, and 'the
concurrent opinion of the whole assembly was that the child had been
frightened by threats into this attempt. . . . The master of the
house and his friend both declared that the noises the girl had made
this morning _had not the least likeness to the former noises_.' In
the same way the Wesleys at Epworth, in 1716, found that they could
not imitate the perplexing sounds produced in the parsonage. The
end of the affair was that Parsons, Mary Frazer, a clergyman, a
tradesman, and others were tried at the Guildhall and convicted of a
conspiracy, on July 10, 1762. Parsons was pilloried, and 'a
handsome collection' was made for him by the spectators. His later
fortunes, or misfortunes, and those of the miserable little
Elizabeth, are unknown. One thing is certain, the noises did not
begin in an attempt at imposture on Parsons's part; he was on good
terms with his lodgers, when Fanny was first disturbed. Again, the
child could not counterfeit the sounds successfully when she was
driven by threats to mak