On the third time the spectre produced the knife, but at
_this_ information the duke only laughed. Six weeks later he was
stabbed. Douch makes the whole affair pass immediately before the
assassination. "And Mr. Parker died soon after," as the ghost had
foretold to him.
Finally, Clarendon makes the appearances set in six months before
Felton slew the duke. The percipient, unnamed, was in bed. The
narrative now develops new features; the token given on the ghost's
third coming obviously concerns Buckingham's mother, the Countess, the
"one person more" who knew the secret communicated. The ghost
produces no knife from under his gown; no warning of Buckingham's
death by violence is mentioned. A note in the MS. avers that
Clarendon himself had papers bearing on the subject, and that he got
his information from Sir Ralph Freeman (who introduced the unnamed
percipient to the duke), and from some of Buckingham's servants, "who
were informed of much of it before the murder of the duke". Clarendon
adds that, in general, "no man looked on relations of that sort with
less reverence and consideration" than he did.
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