IT was truly said, in Numero, Pondere, & mensurae Creavit Deus omnia; His Majesty, Gods Vice­gerent intending a new Creation to this poor Kingdome, (for who knows not the Chaos we have been involved in) hath assembled these Honourable persons that now attend your Grace, in Numero, representing the Commons of this Kingdome, in Pondere qua­lifyed with judgement and experience to treat and advise about the weighty Affaires thereof; In Mensura, according to their mite, offering to his Majesty measure prest down, and run­ning over: This Assembly have commanded me, (O that I could wave this word command, my own inclination leading me to the ready performance of this duty,) but I must not, I have received their command, a strict one, they have left me no discretionary Latitude, they have intrusted me with a rich jewell to present your Grace, and onely recommended the moduling the case unto me: and this under a limitation too; For rhey know that Logick sits at the forge and hammer, Rhetorick at the file and polishing, and this in favour of the Laws they have forbid me, knowing I ought not to practice in that mistery wherein I have not served out my time; and though this be una, it is not unica ratio, for truth, and such a truth as must be stampt by the authority of that House, they judge according to the rules of Herauldry, it must be embla­son'd in a plain co [...]t: Next Sir, the House in this address fol­lows [Page 2]not the tract of common principles; For, that beauty of the universe we behold, arises out of jarring Elements, D [...]c [...]rs concordia [...]aetibus apta est; the most ravishing Harmony is com­pos'd of discords; But when this House raises structure, the noise of a hammer must not be heard in the building; when they set a lesson it must be perfected out of unisons: Nemine contradicente is the Key of our descants, and by a Nemine contra­dicente I am commanded this day to publish to your Grace, a, ‘Dicite Jo Paean, & Jo bis dicite Paean.’

Welcome, welcome, welcome Great DUKE is the Anthem appointed by the House of Commons for this great Festival; This is multum in parvo, and according to that rule veritatis syllabas oportet esse breves: This is above the task of a single tongue, Non mihi si centum lingu is centum oraque. No, so many faces as attend your Grace, are the volumes in which this re­cord of welcome is inrolled; Flesh must be the Parchment, and bloud the Rubrick to register this day, without Errata's, or any Index expurgaterius:

Our Prayers were, you might come, Our enquiries were, when will he come [...] Our joyes must be compleat to welcome you now you are come.

The Laconisme of Caesar's letter I have heard admired, who wrote veni, vidi, vici; But Sir, You may write much shorter, and much truer, vici onely, for so forcible an operation hath Your virrues, that many worthy persons this day, of whom you could not write either veni or viai, have entertained an Honourable contest who should first resigne the devotion of their services to your Commands; so that I may say, [Page 3]

I remember I thrice repeated your Graces Welcome; there is more of Logick than Rhetorick in it, for there are three E­states concerned in it; The Lords Spiritual have welcomed you into the bosome of the Church: The Lords Temporall have welcomed you into the bed of Honour, The Commons do welcome you into the recesses of their Hearts, perfum'd with Loyalty to his Majesty, and with submissive affection to your Person; What hinders then, But it be Enacted, But here I want expression when I consider the divided passions of our Soveraign in giving the Royall assent.

May it please your Majesty, you must either deny your self or deny us, and you have rather denyed your self, then you would deny us: you are contented though under some impa­tience to want his Grace, rather then we should want him un­der [...]spair: Th [...]n since we have the Royall assent, let your Gr [...]ces welcome be Enacted, not by a temporary act, but to continue to us and our posterity.

But what a croud of ingredients compound the present con­sistencie of our joys, and even these have their just advantages; The Sun breaking forth from an imprisoning cloud returns with a coveted light, and we are taught many times to inhance the value of former enjoyments by their absence; this weak­ness of our judgement being recompenc't with an improve­ment of our affection: Thus Sir, when we considered you ex­il'd from whatsoever might have yielded you a sublunary sa­tisfaction; [Page 4]when we consider you divorc't from your Lady, whom Grace and Nature had fitted to transmit your Name and Honours to future ages, in an issue like to you both; when we consider you ravisht from those large haereditary territories conveyed through the channells of ancient, pure, and Noble bloud; and not onely thus divorc't from Rachel, but expos'd to Leagh, to a bleer-eyd condition, and for what crimes? your virtues were your crimes: This is the imprisoning cloud; But now to behold you breaking forth with Rayes, Rayes reflected from the solar aspect of his Majesty, Rayes that a­waken and call up the sleeping virtue in the roots of the several interests in this Kingdom, Rayes that guild the Church, Rayes that we doubt not but will segregare heterogenea, burn up schi­smes, Heresies, & congregare homagenea, wedde doctrine and discipline; Rayes that warm the civil Government, Rayes not contracted to the Cedars of Lebanon, but proportionably influencing the lowest shrubs, what return for such generall benefits, then the generall acknowledgement of all the Com­mons in this Kingdome.

But Sir, in the Van of particulars, your care of that Religi­on profest in your Mother Church opens our arms, and En­circles you in Embraces as fast, and durable, as those with which you Embraced it: That Religion of which you use to say;

And had we no other instances of his Majesties tenderness to this Kingdome, nor other evidences of his, Religious S [...]ul this even this single act were enough to confirm our affections [Page 5]and Loyalty, and to regulate our imitation: We may well judge his Majestie expects us to write in a Canonicall hand, by send­ing us over such an Orthodox Coppy;

Black mouth Detraction thou that feedest upon the consci­ences of Kings, and gnawest the breasts of great Ministers of State, hide thy mouth in the dust; this day thy Tragaedy bears date: Behold him placed over us by our Soveraign, up­on whom Temptations in the wilderness, in forrain parts, af­ter many days fasting in a necessitated condition, left no o­ther Impression, then their fome and malice: And Ireland hearken not unto unwarrantable fears (if any such be) behold him that in his single Person dar'd the French Cardinals pow­er, and rage in rescuing that Illustrious Prince of fresh and glorious memory, the Duke of GLOCESTER from the snares layd for his tender years: What mayest thou not now expect from him, armed with power, fenc't with Laws, and both designed by the most religious of Kings, ‘Nil desperandum tali duce & auspice tali:’

Thus Sir you arrive to us Commission'd from God, for they that honour him, he will honour them:

Religion hath an unseperable companion, Loyalty: These are like Ruth and Naomi, wheresoever thou goest, I will go, and God having joyned them in your Grace I dare not separate them; This was Ariadnes Clue that led you through all the Labyrinths and vicissitudes of your life: this hath returned you to us with the same countenance and complexion, Sic oculos sic ora ferebat, as when vou left us, I wonder at those that wonder at it, for how should the face alter, when the Hear, and noble parts retain their primitive healthful temper: How can [Page 6]consumptive impressions seise that body that keeps within it self a feast, a [...]east (with reverence I say it,) drest by Gods one hand, for your good conscience was a continual feast: God pre­served you and reserved you for this day, therfore your eye must not grow dimme or your natural heat decay:

Impregnable Castles and walls of Brass are but Emblems of this single virtue:

The Poets fained that Iupiter, the better to compass his Rapes transformed himselfe into several shapes; ‘Fit Taurus, Cygnus, Satyrus, aurumque ob amorem:’

Let the Fable goe, but the Moral holds, that the usurped powers at home, and confoederated powers abroad run all those Metamorphoses for the Triumph of a single Rape upon your Allegiance, and all in vain, If we listen unto the S [...]ren aire of their Promises and Invitations, they are Swans, if we consider the merit and weight of them, they are showres of Gold, they learnt the plausible Dialect from their Father, all this will I give you, if you will fall down and worship: If we reflect on their menaces, and (which is more) their practices they appear in shapes more fierce, and antick, then Bulls, and Satyrs: But your Grace made good by practise what deserves the praises of a speculative fancy, be pleased to attend it, it is the Epistle appointed by the House for this present day,

Your Grace knew you were a star, of the first magnitude in the guards of CARLES his wain, and those must not be Erratick, but fixt: Thus you are Commission'd from the King unto us, and then what shall be said, nay, what must be done to the man, whom the King intends to honour:

Now be pleased to give us leave to lay aside these general Topicks of Religion and Loyalty, and to recreate our selves with the remembrance of those benifits we enjoyed under your Graces government:

It was not still musik, or bonefires lighted for Triumph, that ushered your Grace into your government; No, it was the warlike noise, of Trumpets, sounding of Drumms, neigh­ings of barbed Steeds, and the screeches of the half-slain that Proclaimed your entrance upon a stage of blood: And when you were thus but a Graduate in your Government, you were put upon termes of disadvantage and necessity to dispute with the Doctors of the Chair, for your enimies wanted neither dolus, or virtus: And if we who in a direct line partake of the prudence of your Councels and the success of your sword should be si­lent, even England that is but collaterally interested, might, nay, would upbraid our ingratitude, since the Lords and Com­mons, assembled in Parliament, there pregnant with the sense of your merits were humble suitors to his late Majesty of ever glorious memory as an earnest of his further favours to confer on you the honour and dignity of a Marquess, and that the rise of that honour might survive to be at the instance of the Par­liament in England, they presented your Grace with a jewel to be worne upon your breast, the better to direct the e­steem of men to the inward-jewel-by the richness of the case.

Thus we enjoyed in the heat of war, the shades of peace un­till fatal divisions among our selves, (and a divided Kingdom cannot stand) rent your grace from us, and then when the shepheard was smote, how miserably were the sheep scatter'd?

But when your Grace saw this Royal vessel sinking, you leapt not into the Long boat to make provision for your one safety: no, you made honourable and secure articles for those that imbarqu't upon your accompt.

Many stand here this day that owe a lasting sacrifice to your piety, who through age, wants, family dependancies, or the like onely accompanying your Grace with their prayers under the L [...]e of those articles in the continued violence of those stormes, Embayed themselves and their fortunes.

And yet when the flagging sayls carried you unwillingly from this Coast, when you lost the sight, yet you retain'd the sense of this Land: Length of time, or distance of place, could not abate the intensiveness of your spirits for this Kingdoms good.

It is said that upon the dissection of Q. Mary in order to her embalming, Callis was found written on her heart: I shall not dispute the truth, but sure this is, Ireland at your Graces departure was ultimum moriens, and upon your return Primum venèns.

I shall pass by that familiar reception your Grace afforded to the Commissioners of the General Convention of Ireland, (for the name of it I can onely say, aliquisque male fuit usus in illo) [Page 9]Neitheir shall I mention your frequent and stedable advices, your constant readiness upon all occasions to bring them into his Majesties presence: I forbear your Graces passionate and repeated Questions, How little Benjamin did? how all things were in Ireland? whether the old man was liveing? how our fundamental Laws were administred: And in the conclusion of all, how careful you were to teturn us with our moneys in our sacks mouths, with his Majesties gracious Declarations, and Instructions, so that the addresses from this Kingdom went out like the Bow of Ionathan that never returned empty.

Witness the address from this House by their Commissio­ners to his Sacred Majesty, in reference amongst other things, to that great Bill of Settlement, (for that adopted title it re­taines) Sir, I am not this day speaking of his Majesty, we still praemise, Rex nobis haec otia fecit: of him we say, Omnium domus illius vigilia defendit, omnium otium illius labor, omnium delitias illius industria, omnium vacationem illius occupatio; His Majesty is the Spirit that moves the wheels, and Weare now upon one of the Master-wheels, and happy is the Kingdome when the wheels moves as the Spirit moves; His Majesty is the waters of healing, and we applaud a tutelar Angel that stir'd the wa­ters, and helpt in this paralytical Kingdome in the croud of Patients: And here give me leave to remember the five fold mess of your time that you afforded Benjamin: Did the morn­ing require your Graces attending in Parliament? IRELAND must be first served: Did afternoon Committees pray in and to your advice? IREIAND must be first served; were there particular causes designed for hearing at the Council Boord? you have succesfully imployed your mediation that IRELAND might be first ferved: when clauses and Proviso's were offered [Page 10]to be inserted in that great Bill, your first care was to see if they were Declaration touch, and held them up before it, as the E [...]gle to try the legitimation of her brood, dares their eyes with the Sun beams; and in the throng of such addresses, I have observed your Grace in civility to hear all persons, but in justice to see none; And if upon pretensions of Profit, any intrenchments upon the Declaration had been offered, your Grace knowing the nature of your Great Masters standard, wherein a carack of honour, outweigh'd pounds of profit, you endeavoured to transmit the Bill as a seamless coat.

And now Sir, I need not have recourse to any Rhetoricall Figure, to make that great Bill to speak; your Grace may take notice, that as, many dayes you waited upon it, so it hath to this day waited upon your Grace; It remembers how often when it was in the Cradle and swaddling bands, you visited it; It remembers when it was in the state of its minority, and un­der a Committee of the Council Boord, how faithful and ten­der a Guardian you was to it: It remembers how powerfully instrumental you was to give it a body, and now waits untill your Grace by the Royall assent breath a Soul into it.

It is now time to take in my sayles, and make ready an an­chor, especially since me thinks I see a cloud rising upon your brow; I know your Graces temper, that you place your re­ward as well as your recreation in doing good, and not in hear­ing of it being done; But be pleased to remember, it is the Commons of this Kingdome speak, and then, Vox populi, nay more, Vox populi Dei, is Vox Dei; As they are the great enquest to present criminals so they are the great records to preserve vir­tue and merits: Could your Grace have been contented to have [Page 11]acted less, my Commission would have been to have [...] less; But it is fit we give your Grace an Essay of that obedience that so unanimously we devote to your Commands; and therefore, I shall onely adde, That as this House most submissively ac­knowledgeth the repeated obligations from his Majesty; so they look upon this as the fermentation of them all, that he hath put those Laws and Estates he hath so graciously bestow­ed on us, under your Graces Government and Protection: And that while it shall seem expedient to his Majesty, to continue us in a Parliamentary way, His Majesty shall find the effects of his great wisdom and goodness in giving your Grace unto us, a Governour after our own hearts; That so, as we have been happy in your Grace, your Grace may be happy in us, and the union of both these, Center in the ever prayed for happiness of his Majesty, and his other Kingdomes.