Brewer's: Bandbox Plot

(The) Rapin (History of England, iv. 297) tells us that a bandbox was sent to the lord-treasurer, in Queen Anne's reign, with three pistols charged and cocked, the triggers being tied to a pack-thread fastened to the lid. When the lid was lifted, the pistols would go off, and shoot the person who opened the lid. He adds that [dean] Swift happened to be by at the time, and seeing the pack-thread, cut it, thereby saving the life of the lord-treasurer.

Two ink-horn tops your Whigs did fill With gunpowder and lead; Which with two serpents made of quill, You in a bandbox laid; A tinder-box there was beside, Which had a trigger to it, To which the very string was ty'd That was designed to do it.

Plot upon Plot (about 1713).

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language