To the Right Honourable, PHILIP Earl of Pembrock, and Montgomery, Knight of the Bath; Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter; Gentle­man of His Majesties Bed­chamber, And one of His most Honorable privy Counsell, &c.

THis Letter requires no Apology, much lesse any pardon, but may expect rather a good reception and thanks, when your Lord­ship hath seriously perused the contents, and ruminated well upon the mat­ter it treats of by weighing it in your second and third thoughts which usually carry with them a greater advantage of wisdom: It concerns not your body, or temporall estate, but things reflecting upon the noblest part of you, your soul, which being a beam of Immortality, and a Type of the Almighty, is incomparably more precious, and rende­reth all other earthly things to be but bables and transitory trifles. Now, the strongest tye, the solemnest engagement and stipula­tion that can be betwixt the soul and her Creator, is an Oath. I do not understand common tumultuary rash oaths, proceeding from an ill habit, or heat of passion upon [Page 124] sudden contingencies, for such oaths bind one to nought else but to repentance: No, I mean serious and legall oaths, taken with a calm prepared spirit, either for the asser­ting of truth, and conviction of falshood, or for fidelitie in the execution of some Office or binding to civill obedience and Loyaltie, which is one of the essentiall parts of a Christian; Such publick oaths legally made with the Royall assent of the Soveraigne from whom they receive both legalitie and life (else they are invalid and unwarrantable) as they are religious acts in their own nature, so is the taking and observance of them part of Gods honor, and there can be no­thing more derogatory to the high Majesty and holinesse of his name, nothing more dan­gerous, destructive and damnable to hu­mane souls then the infringment and eluding of them, or omission in the performance of them. Which makes the Turks, of whom Christians in this particular may learn a ten­der peece of humanity, to be so cautious, that they seldom or never administer an oath to Greek, Jew, or any other Nation, and the reason is, that if the Party sworn doth take that Oath upon hopes of some advantage, or for evading of danger and [Page 125] punishment, and afterwards rescinds it, they think themselves to be involved in the Per­jury, and so accessary to his damnation: Our Civill Law hath a Canon consonant to this, which is, Mortale peccatum est ei praestare juramentum, quem scio verisimiliter violatu­rum; 'Tis a mortall sin to administer an Oath to him who I probably know will break it; To this may allude another wholesome saying, A false Oath is damnable, a true Oath dangerous, none at all the safest. How much then have they to answer for, who of late yeares have fram'd such formidable coercive generall Oaths to serve them for engins of State to lay battery to the Consciences and Soules of poor men, and those without the assent of their Soveraign, and opposit point blank to former Oaths they themselves had taken: these kind of Oaths the City of London hath swallowed lately in grosse, and the Country in detaile, which makes me confidently be­leeve that if ever that saying of the holy Prophet, The Land mournes for Oaths, was ap­pliable to any part of the habitable earth, it may be now applied to this reprobate Iland.

But now I come to the maine of my pur­pose, and to those Oaths your Lordship hath taken before this distracted time, which the [Page 126] world knowes, and your conscience can testifie, were divers; They were all of them solemn, and some of them Sa­cramentall Oaths (and indeed, every So­lemn Oath among the Antients was held a Sa­crament:) They all implyed, and imposed an indispensible fidelity, Truth and loyalty from you to your Soveraign Prince, your Liege Lord and Master the King: I will make some instances: Your Lordship took an Oath when Knight of the Bath to love your Soveraign above all earthly Creatures, and for His Right and dignity to live and die &c.

By the Oath of Supremacy you swear to beare faith and true allegeance to the Kings Highnesse, and to your power to defend all [...]u­risdictions, Priviledges, Preheminences and Authorities belonging to his Highnesse &c.

Your Lordship took an Oath when Pri­vie Counsellor, to be a true and faithfull Ser­vant unto Him, and if you knew or understood of any manner of thing to be attempted, done, or spoken against His Majesties Person, Ho­nour, Crown, or Dignity, you swore to let, and withstand the same to the uttermost of your power, and either cause it to be revealed to himself, or to others of His Privy Counsell; The Oaths [Page 127] you took when Bedchamber man, and L. Chamberlain bind you as strictly to His Person.

Your Lordship may also call to memorie when you were installed Knight of the Gar­ter, (whereof you are now the oldest living except K▪ of Denmark) you solemnly swore to defend the Honour and Quarrels, the Rights and Lordship of your▪ Soveraigne: Now the Record tells us that the chiefest ground of instituting the said order by that heroick Prince Edward the Third was, that he might have choice gallant men, who by Oath and Honour should adhere unto him in all dangers, and difficulties, and that by way of reciprocation Hee should protect and defend them, Which made Alfonso Duke of Calabria so much importune Henry the Eight to install him one of the Knights of the Garter, that he might engage King Harry to protect him against Charles the Eighth, who threatned then the conquest of Naples.

How your Lordship hath acquitted your self of the performance of these Oaths, your conscience (that bosome record) can make the best affidavit; Some of them oblige you [...]o live and dye with King Charles, but what [Page 128] Oaths or any thing like an Oath binds you to live and die with the House of Commons, as your Lordship often gives out you will, I am yet to learne: Unlesse that House which hath not power as much as to administer an Oath (much lesse to make one) can absolve you from your former Oaths, or haply by their omnipotence dispence with you for the observance of them. Touching the Politicall capacitie of the King, I feare that will be a weak plea for your Lordship before the Tri­bunall of heaven, and they who▪ whisper such Chimeras into your ears, abuse you in grosse; but put case there were such a thing as politicall capacitie distinct from the personal, which to a true rationall man is one of the grossest Buls that can be, yet these fore­mentioned Oaths relate most of them meer­ly unto the Kings Person, the individuall Person of King Charles, as you are His Domestick Counsellor, and cubicular Ser­vant.

My Lord, I take leave to tell your Lord­ship (and the Spectator sees sometimes more then the Gamester) that the world ex­treamely marvels at you more then others, and it makes those who wish you best to be transformed to wonder, that your Lordship [Page 129] shold be the first of your Race who deser­ted the Crown, which one of your Progeni­tors said, he would still follow though it were thrown upon an hedg: Had your Princely Brother ( William Earl of Pembrock) bin living he wold have bin sooner torn by wild horses than have banded against it, or abandoned the King his Master, and fallen to such grosse Idolatry as to worship the Beast with many heads. The world also stands astonished that you shold confederate to bring into the bowels of the Land, and make Elogiums in some of your Speeches of that hungry people which have bin from all times so crosse and fatall to the English Nation, and particularly to your own ho­nour: Many thousands do wonder that your Lordship shold be brought to persecute with so much animosity and hatred that reverend Order in Gods Church (Episcopacy) which is contemporary with Christianity it self, and wherunto you had once designed, and devoted one of your dearest Sons so so­lemnly.

My Lord, if this Monster of Reformati­on (which is like an infernall Spirit clad in white, and hath a cloven head as well as feet) prevailes, you shall find the same de­stiny [Page 130] will attend poor England, as did Bohe­mia which was one of the flourishingst King­doms upon that part of the earth, which happen'd thus: The Common people ther repind at the Hierarchy and riches of the Church, therupon a Parliament was pack'd where Bishops were abolished, what follow­ed? The Nobles and Gentry went down next, and afterwards the Crown it self, and so it became a popular confus'd Anarchicall State, and a Stage of bloud a long time, so that at last, when this Magot had done working in the brains of the foolish peeple, they were glad to have recourse to Monar­chy again after a world of calamities; though it degenerated from a successive Kingdom to an Elective. Methinks, my Lord, under fa­vour that those notorious visible judgements which have fallen upon these Refiners of reform'd Religion shold unbeguile your Lordship, and open your eyes: For the hand of heaven never appeared so clearly in any humane actions: Your Lordship may well remember what became of the Ho­thams, and Sir Alexander Cary, who were the two fatall wretches that began the War first, one in the North, the other in the South, Plymouth and Hull. Your Lordship [Page 131] may be also pleased to remember what be­came of Brooks the Lord, and Hampden, the first whereof was dispatched by a deaf and dumb man out of an ancient Church (at Litchfield) which he was battering, and that suddenly also, for he fell down stone dead in the twinkling of an eye; Now, one of the greatest cavils he had against our Litur­gy was a clause of a Prayer ther against sud­den death; Besides, the fag end of his Grace in that journey was, that if the design was not pleasing to God, he might perish in the action: For the other ( Hampden) he be­sprinkled with his bloud, and received his death upon the same clod of earth in Buck­ingham-shire where he had first assembled the poor Country people like so many Geese to drive them gaggling in a mutiny to London with the Protestation in their Caps, which hath bin since torn in flitters, and is now grown obsolet and quite out of use. Touching Pym and Stroud, those two worthy Champions of the Utopian cause, the first being opened, his stomack and guts were found to be full of pellets of bloud, the other had little or no brain in his skull be­ing dead, and lesse when he was living: Touching those who carryed the first scan­dalous [Page 132] Remonstrance (that work of night and the verdict of a starv'd jury) to welcome the King from Scotland, they have bin since (your Lordship knows well) the chief of the Eleven Members impeached by the House. And now they are a kind of Runnagates be­yond the Seas, scorn'd by all mankind, and baffled every where, yea, even by the Boors of Holland, and not daring to peep in any populous Town but by owle-light.

Moreover, I believe your Lordship hath good cause to remember that the same kind of riotous Rascals, which rabbled the K. out of Town, did drive away the Speaker in like manner with many of their Memberships (a­mongst whom your Lordship was fairly on his way,) to seek shelter of their Janiza­ries the Redcoats: Your Lordship must needs find what deadly fewds fal daily 'twix [...] the Presbyterian and the Independent, the two fiery brands that have put this poor Isle so long in combustion. But 'tis worthy your Lordships speciall notice how your dear Bre­thren the Scots (whom your Lordship so highly magnified in some of your publick Speeches) who were at first brought in for Hirelings against the King for them, offer themselves now to come in against them for [Page 133] the King: Your Lordship cannot be igno­rant of the sundry clashes that have bin 'twixt the City and their Memberships, and 'twixt their Memberships and their men of War or Military Officers, who have often wav'd and disobeyed their commands: How this tatterdimallian Army hath reduc'd this cow'd City, the cheated Country, and their once all-commanding Masters, to a perfect passe of slavery, to a tru Asinin condition; They crow over all the ancient Nobility and Gentry of the Kindom, though ther be not found amongst them all but two Knights; and 'tis well known ther be hun­dreds of privat Gentlemen in the Kingdom, the poorest of whom, is able to buy this whole Host with the Generall himself and all the Commanders: But 'tis not the first time, that the Kings and Nobility of Eng­land have bin baffled by petty companions: I have read of Iack Straw, Wat Tyler, and Ket the Tanner, with divers others that did so, but being suppressed it tended to the advantage of the King at last; and what a world of examples are ther in our story, that those Noblemen who banded against the Crown, the revenge of heaven ever found them out early or late at last.

These, with a black cloud of reciprocall [Page 134] judgments more, which have come home to these Reformers very doors, shew that the hand of divine justice is in't, and the holy Prophet tells us, When Gods judgments are upon earth, then the inhabitants shall learn ju­stice.

Touching your Lordship in particular, you have not, under favour, escap'd without some already, and I wish more may not fol­low; your Lordship may remember you lost one Son at Bridgenorth, your dear Daughter at Oxford, your Son-in-Law at Newbury, your Daughter-in-Law at the Charter-house of an infamous disease, how sick your Eldest son hath bin; how part of your house was burnt in the Country, with others which I will not now mention.

I will conclude this point with an obser­vation of the most monstrous number of Witches that have swarm'd since these Wars against the King, more (I dare say) then have bin in this Island since the Devil tempted Eve; for in two Counties only, viz. Suffolk and Essex, ther have bin near up­on three hundred arraign'd, and eightscore executed (as I have it from the Clerks of the Peace of those Counties;) what a bar­barous devilish office one had, under colour [Page 135] of examination, to torment poor silly wo­men with watchings, pinchings and other artifices to find them for Witches: How o­thers call'd spirits by a new invention of villany were conniv'd at for seizing upon young children, and [...] them on ship­board, where having their [...] they were so transform'd that their [...] could not know them, and so were carryed over for new schismaticall Plantations to New-England and other Seminaries of Rebellion. My Lord, ther is no villany that can enter into the imagination of man hath bin left here uncommitted; no crime from the highest Treason to the meanest Trespasse, but these Reformers are guilty of. What horrid acts of prophanes have bin perpetra­ted up and down! the Monuments of the dead have bin rifled! Horses have bin wate­red at the Church Font, and fed upon the holy Table! Widows, Orphans, and Hospi­tals have bin commonly robb'd, and Gods House hath bin plunder'd more then any! with what infandous blasphemies have Pul­pits rung! one crying out, that this Parliament was as necessary for our Reformation, as the comming of Christ was for our Redemp [...]ion: Another belching out, that if God Almighty [Page 136] did not prosper this Cause, 'twere fitting he shold change places with the Devil: Another, that the worst thing our Savoour did, was the making of the Dominical prayer, and saving the Thief upon the Crosse. O immortal God, is it pos­sible that England shold produce such Mon­sters, or rather such infernal fiends shap'd with humane bodies! yet your Lordship sides with these men, though they be ene­mies to the Cross, to the Church, and to the very name of Iesus Christ; I'le instance on­ly in two who were esteem'd the Oracles of this holy Reformation, Petrs, and Saltmarsh; The first is known by thousands to be an infamous, jugling and scandalous villaine, a­mong other feats, he got the Mother and Daughter with Child, as it was offered to be publickly proved; I could speak much of the other, but being dead, let it suffice that he dyed mad and desperate, yet these were accounted the two Apostles of the times.

My Lord, 'tis high time for you to recol­lect your self, to enter into the private clo­set of your thoughts, and summon them all to counsel upon your pillow; consider well the slavish condition your dear Country is in, weigh well the sad case your liege Lord and Master is in, how he is bereav'd of his Queen, [Page 137] His Children, His Servants, His Liberty, His Chaplains, and of every thing in which there is any comfort; observe well, how neverthelesse, God Almighty works in Him by inspiring Him with equality and calmnesse of mind, with patience, prudence and constancy, How Hee makes His very Crosses to stoop unto Him, when His Sub­jects will not: Consider the monstrousnesse of the Propositions that are tendred him, wherein no lesse then Crown, Scepter, and Sword, which are things in-alienable from Majesty, are in effect demanded, nay, they would have him transmit, and resign his very intellectuals unto them, not only so, but they would have him make a sacrifice of his soul, by forcing him to violate that solemne sa­cramentall Oath hee took at his Coronation when hee was no Minor, but come to a full maturity of reason and judgement: make it your own case, My Lord, and that's the best way to judge of His: Think upon the multiplicity of solemne astringing Oathes your Lordship hath taken, most whereof di­rectly and solely enjoyne faith and loyalty to his Person; oh my Lord! wrong not your soule so much, in comparison of whom your body is but a rag of rottennesse.

[Page 138]Consider that acts of loyalty to the Crown are the fairest columns to bear up a Noblemans name to future ages, and regi­ster it in the temple of immortality. Re­concile your self therefore speedily unto your liege Lord and Master, think upon the infinit private obligations you have had both to Sire and Son: The Father kiss'd you of­ten, kisse you now the Sun lest he be too angry; And Kings, you will find, my Lord, are like the Sun in the heavens, which may be clouded for a time, yet he is still in his sphear, and will break out againe and shine as gloriously as ever; Let me tell your Lordship that the people begin to grow extream weary of their Physitians, they find the remedy to be far worse then their former disease; nay they stick not to call some of them meer Quack­salvers rather then Physitians; Some goe further, & say they are no more a Parliament then a Pye-powder Court at Bartholmew-Fair, ther being all the essentiall parts of a true Parliament wanting in this, as fairnesse of elections, freedome of speech, fulnesse of Members, nor have they any head at all; be­sides, they have broken all the fundamental rules, and Priviledges of Parliament, and dishonoured that high Court more then a­ny [Page 139] thing else: They have ravish'd Magna Char­ta which they are sworn to maintain, taken away our birth-right therby, and transgressed all the laws of heaven and earth: Lastly, they have most perjuri­ously betrayed the trust the King reposed in them, and no lesse the trust their Country re­posed in them, so that if reason and law were now in date, by the breach of their Privi­ledges, and by betraying the said double trust that is put in them, they have dissolved themselves ipso facto I cannot tell how ma­ny thousand times, notwithstanding that monstrous grant of the Kings, that fatall act of continuance: And truly, my Lord, I am not to this day satisfied of the legality (though I am satisfied of the forciblenesse of that Act) whether it was in his Majesties power to passe it or no; for the law ever presupposeth these clauses in all concessions of Grace, in all Patents, Charters, and Grants whatsoever the King passeth, Salvo jure regio, salvo jure coronae.

To conclude, as I presume to give your Lordship these humble cautions and advice in particular, so I offer it to all other of your rank, office, order and Relations, who have souls to save, and who by solemn indispen­sable [Page 140] Oaths have ingaged themseves to be tru and loyall to the Person of King Charls. Touching his political capacity, it is a fancy which hath bin exploded in all other Parlia­ments except in that mad infamous Parlia­ment wher it was first hatched; That which bears upon Record the name of Insanum Par­liamentum to all posterity, but many Acts have passed since that, it shold be high and horrible Treason to separat or distinguish the Person of the King from His Power; I believe, as I said before, this distinction will not serve their turn at the dreadful Bar of divine ju­stice in the other world: indeed that Rule of the Pagans makes for them, Si Iusjuran­dum violandum est, Tyrannis causâ violandum est, If an Oath be any way violable, 'tis to get a Kingdom: We find by woful experience that according to this maxime they have made themselves all Kings by violation of so ma­ny Oaths; They have monopoliz'd the whole power and wealth of the Kingdom in their own hands; they cut, shuffle, deal, and turn up what trump they please, being Judges and parties in every thing.

My Lord, he who presents these humble advertisments to your Lordship, is one who is inclin'd to the Parliament of Engl. in as high a [Page 141] degree of affection as possibly a free-born Subject can be; One besides, who wisheth your Lordships good, with the preservation of your safety and honour more really then he whom you intrust with your secretest affaires, or the White Iew of the Upper House, who hath infused such pernicious principles into you; moreover, one who hath some drops of bloud running in his veins, which may claim kindred with your Lordship: and lastly, he is one who would kiss your feet, in lieu of your hands, if your Lordship wold be so sensible of the most desperat case of your poor Coun­try, as to employ the interests, the opinion and power you have to restore the King your Master by English waies, rather then a hungry forrein people, who are like to bring nothing but destruction in the van, confusion in the rear, and rapine in the middle, shold have the honour of so glorious a work.

So humbly hoping your Lordship will not take with the left hand, what I offer with the right, I rest,

Touching the POLEMICAL SVVORD, And command in chief of The MILITIA, &c.

GOVERNMENT is an Or­dinance of God for Mans good; the kinds of Government are ordinances of men for Gods Glory: Now, among all Wo [...]ldly affairs there is not any thing so difficult, and fuller of incertitudes as the Art of Ruling man, For those nimble spirits (as it is spoken elswhere) who from Apprentices have been made Freemen of the Trade, and at last thought themselves Masters, having spent their Youth, their Manhood, and a long time of old age therein, yet when they came to leave the World they professed themselves still to be but Novices in the [Page 236] Trade. There is a known way to break, guide, and keep in awe all other Animals, though never so savage and strong; but there is no such certaine way to govern multitudes of men, in regard of such tur­bulences of spirit and diversity of opinions that proceed from the Rational Faculty, which other cretures that are contented on­ly with sense, are not subject unto; and this the Philosopher holds to be one of the inconveniences that attend humane rea­son, and why it is given man as a part of his punishment.

Now, why the Government over men is [...]o difficult, there may be two main reasons alledg'd, The first is the various events, and World of inexpected contingencies that attend humane negotiations, specially mat­ters of State, which, as all other sublunary things, are subject to alterations, miscarria­ges, and change, this makes the mindes of men▪ and consequently the moulds of policy so often to alter, scarce one amongst twenty is the same man as he was twenty yeares ago in point of judgement, which turns and changeth according to the successe and circumstances of things, The wisedome of one day is the foolishnesse of another, [Page 237] Posterior Dies est prioris Magister, the Day fol­lowing becomes the former dayes Teacher.

The Second Reason is, the discrepant, and wavering fancies of mens braines, spe­cially of the common peeple, who (if not re­strained) are subject to so many crotchets and chymeras, with extravagant wanton de­sires, and gaping after innovations. Insu­lary peeple are observed to be more trans­ported with this instability then those of the Continent, and the Inhabitants of this Ile more then others, being a well-fed spriteful peeple; In so much, that it is grown a Pro­verb abroad, that The Englishman doth not know when he is well: Now the true Polititi­an doth use to fit his Government to the fancy of the peeple, the ruler must do as the rider, some peeple are to be rid with strong bitts and curbs, and martingalls, as the Na­pollitan, and French our next neighbour, which is the cause that a kind of slavery is entail'd upon him, for the French Peasant is born with chains; Other Nations may be rid with a gentle small bridle, as the Venetian and the Hollander, who hath not such boil­ing spirits as others; A bridle doth serve also the Spaniard, who is the gretest ex­ample of stability, and exact obedience [Page 238] to authority, of any peeple; for though Spain be the hottest Countrey in Christen­dom, yet it is not so subject to Feavers as others are, I mean to fits of intestin commo­tions: And this was never so much tryed as of late yeers; for though the present King hath such known frail [...]ies, though he hath bin so infortunat, as to have many Coun­treys quite revolted, and rent away from him; though the ragingst Plague that ever was in Spain under any King, happen'd of late yeers, which sweep'd away such a world of peeple; though his Taxes be higher then ever were any, though he hath call'd in and engrossed all the common coyn of the Countrey, and delivered but the one halfe back again, reserving the other half for Himself; though there's no legall Instru­ment, no Bond, Bill, or Specialty can be writ but upon his seal'd paper, with sundry other exactions, yet his subjects are still as obedient, and awful unto him, they are as conformable and quiet, as if he were the most vertuous, and victorious Prince that ever was; and this they do principally for their own advantage, for if ther were ano­ther Governour set up, it would inevita­bly hurle the whole Countrey into combu­stion [Page 239] and tumults; besides, they are taught, that as in choice of Wives, so the Rule holds in Governments, Seldome comes a better.

Touching the Originals of Government and ruling power, questionless the first a­mong Mankind was that Naturall power of the Father over his Children, and that Despotical domestique surintendence of a Master of a house over his Family; But the World multiplying to such a Masse of pee­ple, they found that a confused equality, and a loose unbridled way of living like [...]rute animals to be so inconvenient, that they chose one person to protect and govern; not so much out of love to the [...]erson, as for their own conveniency and advantage, that they might live more re­gularly, and be secur'd from rapine, and op­ [...]ression; As also that justice might be ad­ministted; and every one enjoy his own without fear, and danger: such Govern­ [...]urs had a power invested accordingly in [...]hem, also as to appoint subservient, able Mi­ [...]isters under them to help to bear the [...]urden.

Concerning the kinds of Government, [...]ll Polititians agree that Monarchall is the [Page 240] best and noblest sort of sway, having the neerest analogy with that of Heaven, viz. A supreme power in one single person; God Almighty is the God of Unity, as well as of Entity, and all things that have an Entity do naturally propend to Unity; Unity is as necessary for a well- being, as Entity is for a Being, for nothing conduceth more to order, tranquillity, and quietude, nor is any strength so operative as the united; The fist is stronger then the hand, though it be nothing but the hand, viz. The fingers united by contraction; The Republick of Venice which is accounted the most Eagle-ey'd and lastingst State in the World, fo [...] she hath continued a pure Virgin, and shin'd within her watry Orb nere upon thirteen Ages, is the fittest to give the World ad­vice herein, for if ever any have brought policy to be a Science which consists of cer­titudes, this State is Shee, who is grown a [...] dexterous in ruling men as in rowing of [...] Gally. But whereas the vulgar opinion is that the common peeple there have a shar [...] in the Government, 'tis nothing so, for he Great Counsel which is the maine hing whereon the Republick turns, is compose [...] onely of Gentlemen who are capable b [...] [Page 241] their birth to sit there, having passed twen­ty five years of age; To which purpose they must bring a publick Testimonial that they are descended of a Patrician or noble Family. But to return to the main matter, this sage Republick who may prescribe rules of Policy to all Mankind, having tryed at first to Govern by Consuls and Tribunes for som years, she found it at last a great in­convenience, or deformity rather, to have two heads upon one body; Therefore She did set up one Soveraign Prince; and in the Records of Venice the resons are yet extant which induc'd her thereunto, whereof one of the remarkablest was this; We have obser­ved that in this vast University of the World all Bodies according to their several Natures have multiplicity of Motions, yet they receive vertue and vigour but from one, which is the Sun; All causes derive their Originals from one supreme cause; we see that in one Creture there are many differing Members, and Facul­ties which have various functions, yet they are all guided by one soul, &c.

The Island of Great Britain hath bin al­waies a Royal Isle from her first creation, and Infancy; She may be said to have worn a Crown in her Cradle; and though She had [Page 242] so many revolutions, and changes of Masters, yet She continued still Royal; nor is there any species of Government that suits bet­ter, either with the quality of the Countrey, and Genius of the Inhabitants, or relates more directly to all the ancient Lawes, Con­stitutions, and Customs of the Land, then Monarchal; which any one that is conver­sant in the Old Records can justifie; Britan­nia ab initio mundi semper Regia, & regimen illius simile illi caelorum.

Concerning the many sorts of Trust [...] which were put in the Supreme Governor of this Land (for ther must be an implicite and unavoidable necessary Trust reposed in eve­ry Soveraign Magistrate) the power of the Sword was the chiefest; and it was agreeable to Holy Scripture he shold have it, where we know 'tis said, The King beareth not the Sword in vain; The Lawes of England did ever al­low it to be the inalienable prerogative of the Soveraign Prince, nor was it ever known (humbly under favour) that any other pow­er whatsoever managing conjunctly or sing­ly, did ever pretend to the power of the publick Sword, or have the Militia invested in them, but this ever remained intire and untransferrible in the person of the Ruler in [Page 243] chief, whose chiefest instrument to govern by is the Sword, without which Crownes, Scepters, Globes and Maces are but bables. It is that Instrument which causeth tru obe­dience, makes him a Dread Soveraign, and to be feared at home and abroad; Now 'tis a Maxime in policy, that ther can be no tru obedience without Fear; The Crown and Scepter draw only a loose kind of voluntary love, and opinion from the people, but 'tis the sword that draws Reverence and awe, which two are the chiefest ingredients of Al­legeance, it being a principle, that the best Government is made of Fear and Love, viz. when by Fear Love is drawn as threed through the eye of a Needle; The surest Obedience, and Loyalty is caused thus, for Fear being the wakefullest of our passions works more powerfully in us and predomi­nates over all the rest; primus in orbe Deus fecit Timor. To raise up a Soveraign Ma­gistrate without giving him the power of the sword, is to set one up to rule a metall'd Horse without a Bridle; A chief Ruler without a Sword, may be said to be like that Logg of Wood which Iupiter threw down among the Froggs to be their King, as it is in the Fable. Moreover, One of the chief­est [Page 244] glories of a Nation is to have their Su­preme Governor to be esteem'd, and re­douted abroad as well as at Home. And what Forren Nation will do either of these to the King of England if he be Armless, and without a Sword? who will give any respect o [...] precedence to his Ambassadors, and Ministers of State? The Sword also is the prime Instrument of publick protection, therefore that King who hath not the power of the Sword, must have another Title gi­ven Him, the Protector of his peeple.

Now, in a Successive hereditary King­dom, as England is known, and acknowledg­ed to be by all Parties now in opposition, There are three things which are inalienable from the Person of the King: They are,

• 1. The Crowne.
• 2. The Scepter.
• 3. The Sword.

The one, He is to carry on His Head, the other in His Hand, and the third at His Side; and they may be termed all three the en­signes or peculiar instruments of a King: by the first, He Reignes, by the second He makes Lawes, by the third He Defends [Page 245] them: and the two first are but bables without the last, as was formerly spo­ken.

1. Touching the Crown or royal Diadem of England, ther is none, whether Presbyte­rian, Independent, Protestant, or others now in action, but confess that it descends by a right hereditary Line, (though through di­vers Races, and som of them Conquerours) upon the Head of Charles the first now Reg­nant: 'tis His own by inherent birth-right and nature, by Gods Law, and the Law of the Land, and these Parliament-men at their first sitting did agnize subjection unto Him accordingly, and recognize Him for their Soveraign Liege Lord: Nay, the Ro­man Catholick denies not this, for though there were Bulls sent to dispense with the English Subjects for their allegiance to Queen Elizabeth, yet the Pope did this a­gainst Her as he took Her for a Heretick, not an Usurpresse, though he knew well enough that She had bin declared Illegitimate by the Act of an English Parliament.

This Imperial Crown of England is ador­ned and deckd with many fair Flowers, which are called, royal Prerogatives; and they are of such a transcendent nature, that [Page 246] they are unforfeitable, individual, and un­transferrable to any other: The King can only summon and dissolve Parliaments: The King can only Pardon (for when He is Crowned, He is sworn to rule in Mercy as well as in Justice:) The King can only Coyn Money, and enhance or decry the value of it: The power of electing Officers of State, of Justices of Peace and Assize is in the King; He can only grant soveraign Com­missions: The King can only wage War, and make Out-landish Leagues: The King may make all the Courts of Justice ambu­latory with His Person, as they were used of old▪ 'tis tru, the Court of Common Pleas must be sedentary in som certain place for such a time; but that expired, 'tis remove­able at His pleasure: The King can only employ Ambassadours and Treat with for­raign States, &c. These, with other royal Prerogatives which I shall touch hereafter, are those rare and wholsom flowers where­with the Crown of England is embellished, nor can they stick any where else but in the Crown, and all confess the Crown is as much the King's, as any private man's Cap is his own.

2. The second regall Instrument is the [Page 247] Scepter, which may be called an inseparable companion, or a necessary appendix to the Crown; this invests the King with the sole Authority of making Lawes, for before His confirmation all results and determinations of Parliament are but Bills or [...] they are but abortive things, and meer Embryos; nay, they have no life at all in them till the King puts breath and vigour into them: and the ancient custome was for the King to touch them with His Scepter, then they are Lawes, and have a vertue in them to impose an obligation of universall obedience upon all sorts of people, It being an undeniable maxime, That nothing can be generally binding without the King's royall assent, nor doth the Law of England take no­tice of any thing without it: This being done they are ever after styl'd the Kings Lawes, and the Judges are said to deliver the King's judgments, which agrees with the holy text, The King by judgment shall stablish the Land: nay, the Law presumes the King to be al­waies the sole Judge Paramount, and Lord chief Justice of England, for he whom He pleaseth to depute for His chiefest Justice, is but styl'd Lord chief Iustice of the Rings [...]ench, not Lord chief Justice of England, [Page 248] which title is peculiar to the King Himself, and observable it is, that whereas He grants Commissions and Patents to the Lord Chancellour (who is no other then Keeper of His Conscience) and to all other Judges, He names the Chief Justice of his own Bench by a short Writ only containing two or three lines: which run thus, Regina Iohanni Pop­ham militi salutem, Sciatis quod constitutmus vos justiciarium nostrum Capitalem ad placita coram nobis terminandum durante beneplacito nostro; Teste &c. Now, though the King be liable to the Laws, and is contented to be within their verge, because they are chief­ly His own productions, yet He is still their Protector, Moderator, and Soveraigne, which attributes are incommunicable to any other conjunctly or separately.

Thus the King with His Scepter, and by the mature advice of His two Houses of Parl. which are His highest Councel and Court, hath the sole power of making Laws; other Courts of judicature doe but expound them and distribute them by His appoint­ment, they have but Iuris dati dictionem or declarationem, and herein, I meane for the Ex­position of the Lawes the twelve Iudges are to be believed before the whole Kingdom be­sides. [Page 249] They are as the Areopagites in A­thens, the chief Presidents in France and Spaine in an extraordinary Iunta, as the Cape-Syndiques in the Rota's of Rome, and the Re­publique of Venice, whose judgments in point of interpreting Lawes are incontroulable, and preferred before the opinion of the whole Senate whence they received their be­ing; and who hath still power to repeal them, though not to expound them. In France they have a Law maxime, Arrest donné en Rebbe rouge est irrevocable, which is, a Scarlet Sentence is irrevocable, meaning when all the Judges are met in their Robes, and the Client against whom the Cause goes, may chafe and chomp upon the bit, and say what he will for the space of twenty foure howers against his Judges, but if ever after he traduces them, he is punishable: It is no otherwise here where every ignorant peevish Client, every puny Barister, specially if he become a Member of the House will be ready to ar­raign and vie knowledge with all the reve­rend Judges in the Land, whose judgement in points of Law shold be onely tripodicall and sterling: so that he may be truly call'd a just King, and to rule according to Law, who rules according to the opinion of his [Page 250] Judges; therefore, under favour, I do not see how his Majesty for his part could be call'd injust when he leavied the Ship­money, considering he had the Judges for it.

I now take the Sword in hand, which is the third Instrument of a King, (and which this short discours chiefly points at) it is as well as the two first incommunicable and inalie­nable from his Person; nothing concernes his honor more both at home and abroad; the Crown and the Scepter are but unweildy and impotent naked indefensible things without it. There's none so simple as to think there's meant hereby an ordinary sin­gle sword, such as ev'ry one carrieth by his side, or som imaginary thing or chymera of a sword; No, 'tis the polemicall publique sword of the whole Kingdom, 'tis an ag­gregative compound sword, and 'tis moul­ded of bell-metall; for 'tis made up of all the ammunition and armes small and great, of all the military strengths both by Land and Sea, of all the Forts, Castles and tenable places within and round about the whole Ile: The Kings of Engl. have had this sword by vertue of their royall signory from all times, the Laws have girded it to their sides, they [Page 251] have employed it for repeling all foren force, for revenging all forren wrongs or affronts, for quelling all intestine tumults, and for protecting the weal of the whole body po­liticke at home: The peeple were never ca­pable of this sword, the fundamentall con­stitutions of this Kingdom deny it them; 'tis all one to put the sword in a mad mans hand, as in the peeples; or for them to have a disposing power in whose hands it shall be. Such was the case once of the French sword, in that notorious insurrection call'd to this day La Iaqueris de Beauvoisin, when the Pesants and Mechanicks had a design to wrest it out of the Kings hand, and to de­presse all the Peers and Gentry of the King­dom; and the businesse had gone so far that the peasans might have prevail'd, had not the Prelats stuck close to the Nobility; But afterwards poor hare▪brain'd things they de­sire the King upon bended knees to take it againe; Such popular puffs have blowen often in Poland, Naples and other places, where while they sought and fought for li­berty by retrenching the regall power, they fool'd themselfs into a slavery unawares, and found the rule right, that excesse of free­dom turns to thraldom, and ushers in all con­fusions. [Page 252] If one shold go back to the no­nage of the world, when Governers and Ru­lers began first, one will find the peeple de­sir'd to live under Kings for their own ad­vantage, that they might be restrain'd from wild exorbitant liberty, and kept in unity; Now unity is as requisit for the wel-being of all naturall things, as entity is for their be­ing, and 'tis a receiv'd maxime in policy, that nothing preserves Unity more exactly then Royal Government: besides, 'tis known to be the noblest sort of sway; In so much that by the Law of Nations, if Subjects of equal degrees, and under differing Princes shold meet, the Subjects of a King shold take pre­cedency of those under any Republique.

But to take up the Sword again. I say that the Sword of public Power and Authority is fit only to hang at the Kings side, and so in­deed shold the Great Seal hang only at his girdle, because 'tis the Key of the King­dom: which makes me think of what I read of Charlemain, how he had the imperial Seal emboss'd alwaies upon the pommell of his Sword, and his reason was, that he was rea­dy to maintain whatsoever he signed, and sealed.

The Civilians, who are not in all points so [Page 253] great friends to Monarchy as the Common Law of England is, say, there are six Iura Regalia, six Regal Rights, viz. 1. Potestas Iudicatoria, 2. Potestas vitae & necis, 3. Ar­mamenta, 4. Bona adespota, 5. Census, 6. Monetarum valor: to wit, Power of Iudica­ture, Power of Life and Death, all kind of ar­ming, masterless goods, S [...]issements, and the value of money.

Among these Regalia's, we find that Ar­ming, which in effect is nought else but the Kings Sword, is among the chiefest; and 'tis as proper and peculiar to his person, as either Crown or Scepter. By these two he drawes a loose voluntary love and opinion only from his Subjects, but by the Sword he draws reverence and awe, which are the chiefest ingredients of allegiance, it being a maxime, That the best mixture of Govern­ment is made of fear and love. With this Sword he conferrs honor, he dubbs Knights, he creates Magistrates, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, the Lord Mayor of London with all other Corporations have their Swords from him, and when he entereth any place cor­porate, we know the first thing that is pre­sented him is the Sword: With this Sword he shields and preserves all his people that [Page 254] every one may sit quietly under his own Vine, sleep securely in his own House, and enjoy sweetly the fruits of his labours.

Nor doth the point of this Sword reach only to every corner of his own dominions, but it extends beyond the seas to gard his Subjects from oppression, and denial of justice, as well as to vindicate the publick wrongs, make good the interests of his Crown, and to assist his confederates; This is the Sword that Edward the third tied the Flower deluces unto (which stick still unto it,) when having sent to France to demand that Crown by maternal right, the Counsell ther sent him word that the Crown of France was not tied to a distaff, to which scoffing answer he replied, that then he wold tie it to his sword, and he was as good as his word. Nor is this publick sword concredited or intrusted by the peeple in a fiduciary conditionall way to the King, but it is properly and peculiarly belonging unto him, as an inseparable con­comitant, perpetual Usher and attendant to his Crown. The King, we know, useth to maintain all garrisons upon his own charge, not the peeples; he fortifies upon his own charge, not the peeples: And though I will not averr, that the King may impresse any [Page 255] of his Subjects, unlesse it be upon an actuall vasion by Sea, or a sudden irruption into his Kingdom by Land, as the Scots have often done, yet at any time the King may raise Volunteers, and those who have received his money, the Law makes it felony, if they forsake his service.

Thus we see there's nothing that condu­ceth more to the glory, and indeed the very essence of a King then the Sword, which is the Armes and Military strength of his Kingdom; wherfore under favour, ther can­not be a greater point of dishonour to a King then to be disarmed, then to have his Sword taken from him, or dispos'd of and intrust­ed to any but those whom he shall appoint; for as à minori ad majus the Argument often holds, if a private Gentleman chance to be disarm'd upon a quarrell, 'tis held the utmost of disgraces, much greater and more public is the dishonor that falls upon a King, if af­ter som traverses of difference 'twixt him and his Subjects, they shold offer to disarm him, or demand his Sword of him: when the Eagle parted with his talons, and the Lion with his teeth and ongles, the Apolog tells us how contemptible afterwards the one grew to be among Birds, the other a­mong [Page 256] Birds, the other among Beasts. For a King to part with the Sword politic is to render himself such a ridiculous King, as that logg of wood was which Iupiter let down a­mong the froggs for their King at the im­portunity of their croaking; 'tis to make him a King of clouts, or as the Spaniard hath it, Rey de Havas, a Bean King, such as we use to choose in sport at Twelf­night.

But my hopes are, that the two present Houses of Parliament (for now they may be call'd so, because they begin to parley with their King,) will be more tender of the ho­nour of their Soveraign Liege Lord, which, together with all his Rights and Dignities, by severall solemn Oaths, aud by their own binding instruments of Protestation and Co­venant, (not yet revok'd) they are sworne to maintaine, and that they will demand no­thing of him which may favour of Aspertè or force, but what may hold water hereafter: But now, touching the Militia or Sword of the Kingdom, I think, under favour, the King cannot transfer it to any other; for that were to desert the protection of his peo­ple, which is point blank against his Coro­nation Oath and his Office: What forren [Page 257] Prince or State will send either Ambassador, Resident or Agent to him, when they under­stand his Sword is taken from him? What reformed forein Church will acknowledg Him Defendor of the Faith, when they hear of this? Nay, they who wish England no good will, will go near to paint him out, as not long since another King was, with a fair velvet Scabbard, a specious golden hilt and chape, but the blade within was of wood. I hope that they who sway now, will make better use of their successes: Many of them know 'tis as difficult a thing to use a victory well, as to get one; ther is as much prudence requir'd in the one, as prowesse in the other; they will be wiser sure then turn it to the dishonor of their King: it being a certain rule, that the glory of a Nation all the world over depends upon the glory of their King, and if he be any way obscur'd, the whole Kingdom is under an eclipse.

I have observed, that among other cha­racters of gallantry, which forein Writers ap­propriat to the English Nation, one is, that they use to be most zealous to preserve the Honor of their King; I trust that they who are now up will return to the steps of their Progenitors, both in this particular and divers [Page 258] other; that their successes may serve to sweeten and moderat things, and suppress the popular Sword which still rages; And it had bin heartily wished that a suspension of Arms had preceded this Treaty, which useth to be the ordinary fore-runner, and a neces­sary antecedent to all Treaties; for while acts of hostility continue, som ill-favour'd newes may intervene which may imbitter and [...] ▪ nor can it be expected that the proceedings will go on with that candor and confidence, while the old rancor is still in action▪ 'tis impossible a sore shold heal till the inflamation be taken away; To cast water into a wound instead of oyle is not the way to cure it: or to cast oyle upon a fire in­stead of water is not the way to quench it; poor England hath had a consuming fire within her bowels many years, she is also mortally wounded in all her members, that she is still in a high Fever, which hath made her rave and speak idle a long time; and 'tis like to turn to a Hectic, if not timely preven­ted. I pray God she may have no occasion to make use of the same complaint as Alex­ander the Great made when he was expiring his last, Perii turba Medicorum: too many Phy­sitians have undon me.

[Page 259]To conclude in a word, ther is but one on­ly way, under favor, to put a period to all these fearful confusions; it is, to put the great Master-wheel in order, and in its due place again, and then all the inferior wheels will move regularly; let the King be re­stor'd, and ev'ry one will come to his own, all interests will be satisfied, all things quick­ly rectified; till this be done, 'tis as absurd to attempt the setling of peace, as if one shold go about to set a Watch by the gnomen of an horizontall Diall when the Sun is in a cloud.

AN ACCOUNT OF THE Deplorable, and Desperat condition THAT ENGLAND stands in, Sent from LONDON, Anno 1647. To the LORD FRANCISCO BARBERINI, Cardinal of the most holy Apostolick See, and Protector of the English Nation, at his Palaces in Rome.

MY last to your Eminence was but short, in regard I had been but a short time in this Countrey, I have now made a longer so­journ here, and taken a lei­surely information of all mat­ters; therefore I shall give your Eminence [Page 266] an account proportionably: For by conver­sation with the most indifferent, and intelli­genc'd men, and by communication with the Ambassadors here resident, I have taken some paines to pump out the truth of things, and penetrat the Interest of all parties.

And truly, I find, that That angry star, which hath lowr'd so long upon Europe in generall, hath been as predominant, and cast as direfull aspects upon this poor Iland, as it hath done upon any other part: Truly, my Lord, in all probability this peeple have pass'd the Meridian of their happinesse, and begin to decline extreamly, as well in Repute abroad, as also in the common notions of Religion, and indeed in the ordinary faculty of Reason: I think verily the Ill Spirit never reign'd so much in any corner of the earth by those inhumane aud horrid things that I have observ'd among them. Nor is it a pet­ty Spirit, but one of the greatest Cacod [...] ­mons that thus drives them on, and makes them so active in the pursuance of their own perdition.

To deduce matters from their Originall, Your Eminency may please to understand, that this King at his accesse to the Crown had [Page 267] deep debts to pay, both of His Fathers, and his own, he was left ingaged in a fresh warre with Spain; and had another present­ly after which France, and both at one time, but he came off well enough of those: Af­terwards never any Countrey flourished in that envied happinesse, and wanton kind of prosperity; This City of London was grown to be the greatest Mart, and mistress of trade, of any in the world; Insomuch, as I have been certainly inform'd, the King might have spent meerly upon His customes 4000 crowns a day: Moreover, she had a vast bank of money being made the scale of con­veying the King of Spains treasure to Flan­ders: Insomuch that in a few yeers she had above ten millions of his moneys brought hither, which she might have remitted in specie or in marchandize, and for which this King had five in the hundred for coynage: Yet could he not get beforehand with the world, having a sister with so many Ne­phews and neeces, having a Queen with di­verse children of His own, (at least 16 of the Blood-Royall) to maintaine, with divers profuse Courtiers besides, which made Him more parsimonious then ordinary. The Warres then growing more active 'twixt [Page 268] Spaine and France, as also 'twixt Holland and Spaine both by Land and Sea, and divers great Fleets of Men of War as well French (who were growne powerfull that way) as Dunkerkers, Spaniards Hollanders, and Ham­burgers, appearing daily in His narrow Seas, and sayling close by His Chambers, the world wondred this King had no greater strength at Sea, in case that any of the fore­said Nations should doe him an affront, as some of them had already done, by denying to dash their Colours to his Ships: Insomuch that in Holland and other places he was pasquill'd at, and pourtrayed lying in his cra­dle lullaby'd and rock'd asleep by the Spani­ard: Hereupon being by advertisements from his Agents abroad, and frequent ad­vice of His Privie Councell at home, made sensible of the danger, and a kind of dishon­our he was faln into, and having intelligence that the French Cardinall began to question his title to the Dominion of the narrow Seas, considering He employed no visible power to preserve it, He began to consult of meanes to set forth a royall Fleet: but in regard the Purse of the Crowne was lightly ballasted, and that he had no mind to summon the three Estates, because of some indignities [Page 269] he had received in former Parliaments by the Puritan party (a race of people averse to all Kingly Government, unlesse they may pare it as they please) his then Atturney Ge­nerall ( Noy) a great cryed-up-Lawyer, put it in his Head to impose an old Tax called Ship-mony upon the Subject, which the said Lawyer did warrant upon his life to be Le­gall, for he could produce divers Records how many of his Progenitors had done the like: The King not satisfied with his single o­pinion, refer'd it to his learn'd Council, & they unanimously averred it to be agreeable to the Law of the Land; yet this would not fully sa­tisfie the King, but He would have the Opini­on of His twelve Judges, and they also affir­med by their single vouches the said Tax to be warrantable; Hereupon it was imposed and leavied, but some refusing to pay it, there was a suite commenc'd, during which all the Judges were to re-deliver their opinions joyntly, and the businesse being maturely debated and canvased in open Court divers months, and all arguments produc'd pro & con, nine of the said twelve Judges conclu­ded it legal. Thereupon the King continued the imposition of the said Tax, and never was mony imployed so much for the Hon­our and advantage of a Countrey, for he sent [Page 270] out every Summer a royall fleet to scowre and secure the Seas; he caused a Galeon to be built, the greatest and gallantest that e­ver spread saile: Nor did he purse up, and dispose of one peny of this money to any o­ther use, but added much of his own Reve­nues yeerly thereunto: So the world abroad cried up the King of England to be awake againe; Trade did wonderfully encrease, both Domestic and forrein in all the three Kingdomes; Ireland was reduced to an abso­lute Settlement, the Arrears of the Crown payed, and a considerable Revenue came thence cleerly to the Exchequer of England every year, the salaries of all Officers, with the pay of the standing Army [...]here, and all other Charges being defrayed by Ireland her self, which was never done before. Yet for all this height of pappinesse, and the glorious fruites of the said Ship-money, (which was but a kind of petty insensible Tax, & a thing of nothing to what hath hapened since) there were some foolish peeple in this Land which murmured at it, and cryed nothing else but a Parliament, a Parliament; and they have had a Parliament since with a vengeance.

But before this occasion, it was obser­ved, that the seeds of disobedience, and a [Page 271] spirit of insurrection was a long time engen­dring in the hearts of som of this peace­pampred People, which is conceived to proceed from their conversation and com­merce with three sorts of men, viz. the Scot, the Hollander and the French Huguenot. Now an advantage happened that much condu­ced to necessitate the convoking of a Parlia­ment, which was an ill-favoured traverse that fell out in Scotland; For the King inten­ding an Uniformity of Divine worship in all His three Kingdoms, sent thither the Litur­gy of this Church, but it found cold and course entertainment ther, for the whole Nation, men, women and children rise up a gainst them: Here upon the King absolute­ly revoked it by Proclamation, wherein He declared 'twas never His purpose to press the practise therof upon the Consciences of any; therfore commanded that all things shold be in statu quo prius, but this wold not serve the turn, the Scot took advantge here­by to destroy Hierarchy, and pull down the Bishops to get their demeans: To which purpose they came with an Army in open Field against their own Native King, who not disgesting this indignity, Mustred ano­ther English Army; which being upon the [Page 272] confines of both Kingdoms, a kind of Pa­cification was plaistred over for the pre­sent.

The King returning to London, and con­sulting His second thoughts, resented that insolency of the Scots more then formerly: Hereupon He summons a Parliament, and desires aid to Vindicat that Affront of the Scot. The Scot had strong Intelligence with the Puritan Faction in the English Parliament, who seemed to abet his quarrel, rather then to be sensible of any national dishonour re­ceived from him; which caused that short­lived Parliament to dissolve in discontent, and the King was forced to find other means to raise and support an Army by privat Loanes of His nobler sort of Subjects and Servants: The Scot having punctual Ad­vertisements of every thing that passed; yea, in the Kings Cabinet Councel was not idle all this while, but rallies what was left of the former Army (which by the Articles of Pacification (a little before) should have bin absolutely dismissed) and boldly invades England, which he durst never have done, if he had not well known that this Puritan party which was now grown very powerful here, and indeed had invited him to this ex­pedition, [Page 273] wold stand to him. This forein Army being by the pernicious close machi­nations of som mongrel Englishmen afore­mentioned, entred into the Bowels of the Country, the King was forced to call this present Parliament, with whom he comply­ed in every thing, so far as to sacrifice un­to them both Iudge, Bishop, Councellor and Courtier; yea, He yielded to the tumbling down of many tribunals of Justice, which were an advantage to his Prerogative; He assented that the Prelates, who were the most Ancient and Prime Members of the upper House, and had priority of all others, since the first constitution of Parliament in the enrollment of all Acts, He assented I say that these, who were the greatest prop of His Crown shold be quite outed from among the Peers; He granted them also a Trienniall Parliament, and after that, this Perpetuall; which words, to the appre­hension of any rational man, carry with them a grosse absurdity in the very sense of the thing: And touching this last Grant, I had it from a good hand, that the Queen was a friend to this Parliament, and your Emi­nence knows how they have requited Her since, but the main open Councellor to this fatall Act was a Scot.

[Page 274]Now the reason which they alledged for this everlasting Parliament was one of the baldest that ever I heard of, it was, that they might have time enough to pay the Scots Army, wheras in one morning they might have dispatched that, by passing so many Subsidies for that use, and upon the credit of those, they might have raised what money they wold.

The Parliament finding the King so ply­able, and His pulse to beat so gently, like ill-natur'd men they fall from inches to ells in seeking their advantages: They grew so peremptory as to demand all the Military strength of the Kingdom, the Tower of London, with the whole Royal Navy, which they found in an excellent equipage, gra­mercy ship-money; so that the benefit of ship-money, which they so clamoured at, turned most to their advantage of any thing afterwards.

The Scot being Fidler-like returned to his Country with meat, drink, and money, the King went a while after to keep a Parlia­ment ther, wherein he filled every blank, they did but ask and have, for He granted them what possibly they could propound, both for their Kirk and State, many re­ceived [Page 275] Honour, and they divided Bishops Lands amongst them: for all which unpa­rallel'd Concessions of Princely grace, they caused an Act already in force to be publish­ed, viz. that it shold be damnable Treason in the highest degree that could be, for any of the Scots Nation conjunctly or singly to levy armes, or any Military Forces, upon a­ny pretext whatsoever, without His Maje­sties royal Commission; and this they cau­sed to be don by way of gratitude, but how they perform'd it afterwards the world knowes too well.

The King returning to London, in lieu of a welcom to his two Houses of Parliament (to whom also before his departure he had pas­sed more Acts of Grace then all his Proge­nitors, take them all in a lump) they had patch'd up a kind of Remonstrance, which was voted in dead of the night, wherein they expos'd to the world the least moat in for­mer government, and aggravated to the ve­ry height every grievance, notwithstanding that the King had redressed all before; and this Remonstrance, which breath'd nothing but a base kind of malice, they presented as a nosegay to their Soveraign Prince, to con­gratulat his safe return from a forein Coun­trey; [Page 276] which Remonstrance they caus'd to be printed and publish'd before he could give any answer thereunto. The King finding such a virulent spirit still raign in the House, and knowing who were chiefly possess'd with it ( viz. Those whom he had impeach'd be­fore, but saw he could get no justice against them) in such an extremity, he did an act like a generous Prince, for taking the Pals­grave with him, he took the first Coach he met withall at his Court-gate, and went to his House of Commons in person, to de­mand five Members, which he wold prove to be Traitors in the highest degree [...] to be the Authors of all these distempers, protest­ing upon the word of a King, that they shold have as fair & legal a tryal as ever men had; in the interim he only desir'd that their persons might be secur'd. The walls of both Houses, and the very stones in Lon­don street did seem to ring of this high ca­riage of the Kings, and the sound went thence to the Country, whence the silly Plebeians came presently in whole herds to this City, who strutting up and down the streets, had nothing in their mouths, but that the Priviledg of Parlement, the priviledg of Parlement was broken, though it be the [Page 277] known clear Law of the Land, that the Parlement cannot supersede or shelter any Treason.

The King finding how violently the pulse of the grosly seduced people did beat, and ther having bin formerly divers riotous crues of base Mechaniques and Mariners, who had affronted both his own Court, and the two Houses besides, which the Commons, to their eternal reproach, conniv'd at, notwith­standing that divers motions were made by the Lords to suppresse them, the King also having privat intelligence that ther was a mischievous plot to surprize his person, re­mov'd his Court to the Countrey.

The King departing, or rather being dri­ven away thus from his two Houses, by this mutinous City, he might well at his going away have ubraided her in the same words as H. the 3. did upbraid Paris, who being by such another tumultuous rabble driven out of her in the time of the Ligue, as he was lo­sing sight of her, he turn'd his face back, and said, Farewel ingratefull City, I will never see thee again till I make my way into thee through thy Walls: Yet though the King absented himself in person thus from the two Houses, he sent them frequent messages, that they [Page 278] wold draw into Acts what he had already assented unto, and if any thing was left yet undon by him, he wold do it; therfore he will'd them to leave off those groundless feares and jealousies wherwith they had a­mus'd both City and Country; and he was ready to return at all times to his Palace in Westminster, provided that his person might be secur'd from the former barbarisms and outrages: But in lieu of a dutiful compli­ance with their Prince, the thoughts of the two Houses ran upon nothing but war: The King then retiring into the North, and thinking with a few of his servants only to go visit a Town of his ( Hull) he was denyed entrance by a fatal unlucky wretch ( Hotham) who afterwards was shamefully executed with his Eldest Son, by command of his new Masters of the Parlement: The King being thus shut out of his own Town (which open'd the first dore to a bloudy war) put forth a Declaration, wherin he warn'd all his people that they shold look to their proprieties, for if He was thus barr'd of his own, how could any privat Subject be sure to be Master of any thing he had, and herein he was as much Prophet as Prince; For the Parlement-men afterwards made themselfs Land-Lords of [Page 279] the whole Kingdom, it hath bin usual for them to thrust any out of his freehold, to take his bed from under him, and his shirt from off his very back. The King being kept thus out of one of his Townes, might suspect that he might be driven out of ano­ther, therfore 'twas time for him to look to the preservation of his Person, and the Country came in voluntarily unto him by thousands to that purpose, but he made choice of a few only to be his gard, as the Parlementeers had done a good while be­fore for themselfs: But now they went o­therwise to work, for they fell a levying, listing and arming men by whole Regiments and Brigades till they had a very considera­ble Army afoot, before the King had one Musqueteer or Trooper on his side; yet these men are so notoriously impudent, as to make the King the first Aggressor of the war, and to lay upon Him all the bloud that was split to this day, wherein the Devil himself cannot be more shamelesse. The Parliamenteers having an army of foot and horse thus in perfect Equipage, 'twas high time for the King to look to himself, there­fore he was forced to display his royal Stan­dard, and draw his sword quite out: Thus a [Page 280] cruel and most cruentous civil war began which lasted near upon four years without intermission, wherein there happen'd more batta les, sieges and skirmishes, then passed in the Nether-lands in fourscore years, and herein the Englishmen may be said to get som credit abroad in the world, that they have the same bloud running in their veines (though not the same braines in their sculls) which their Ancestors had, who were ob­served to be the activest people in the field, impatient of delay, and most desirous of battaile then any Nation.

But it was one of the greatest miracles that ever happen'd in this Land, how the King was able to subsist so long against the Parlamenteers, considering the multiplicity of infinite advantages they had of him by water and land: for they had the Scot, the Sea and the City on their side; touching the first, he rushed in as an Auxiliary with above 20000. Horse and Foot compleatly fur­nish▪d both with small and great ammuniti­on and Arms, well cloth'd and money'd: For the second, they had all the Kings ships well appointed, which are held to be the greatest security of the Island both for de­fence and offence, for every one of them [Page 281] is accounted one of the moving Castles of the Kingdom: besides, they had all the other standing stone-Castles, Forts, and tenable places to boot: Concerning the last, ( viz. the City) therein they had all the wealth, bravery, and prime ammunition of England, this being the only Magazin of men and mo­ney: Now if the K. had had but one of these on his side, he had in all probability crush'd them to nothing: yet did he bear up strange­ly against them a long time, and might have done longer, had he kept the campane, and not spent the spirits of his men before Townes; had he not made a disadvantagi­ous election of som Commanders in chief, and lastly, had he not had close Traitors within dores, as well as open Rebels without; for his very Cabinet Councel, and Bed-Chamber were not free of such vermin, and herein the Parlementeers spent unknown sums and were very prodigal of the King­doms money.

The King, after many traverses of war, being reduced to a great strait by crosse suc­cesses and Counsels, rather then to fall in­to the hands of the Parlementeers, withdrew himself in a Serving-mans disguise to the Scots army, as his last randevous, and this [Page 282] plot was manag'd by the French Agent then residing here; A man wold think that that Nation wold have deem'd it an eternal ho­nour unto them to have their own King and Countrey-man throw himself thus into their armes, and to repose such a singular trust in them upon such an Extremity: but they corresponded not so well with him as he expected, for though at first when the Parlamenteers sollicited their dear Brethren for a delivery of the Kings person unto them, their note was then, if any forein petty Prince had so put himself upon them, they could not with honour deliver him, much less their own native King; yet they made a sacrifice of him at last for 800000. Crownes; wherupon Bellieure the French Ambassador being convoyed by a Troop of horse from the King towards London, to such a stand, in lieu of larges to the souldiers, he drew out an half Crown piece, and ask'd them how many pence that was, they an­swered 30. He replyed, for so much did Iu­das betray his Master, and so he depart­ed.

And now, that in the cours of this Histo­rical Narration, I have touch'd upon France, your Eminence may please to understand, [Page 283] that nothing almost could tend more to the advantage of that K. then these commotions in England, considering that he was embark'd in an actuall war with the House of Austria and that this Iland did do Spain some good offices; among other, by transport of his treasure to Dunkerk in English bottomes, whereunto this King gave way, and some­times in his own Galeons, which sav'd the Spaniard neer upon 20. in the hundred, then if he had sent it by way of Genoa; so that som think, though France made semblance to resent the sad condition of her Neigh­bour, and thereupon sent the Prince of Har­cour, and the foresaid Monsieur Bellieure to compose matters, yet she never really in­tended it, as being against her present inte­rest and engagements: yet the world thinks it much that she shold publiquely receive an Agent from these Parlamenteeres, and that the French Nobility who were us'd to be the gallantest men in the world to vindicate the quarrels of distressed Ladies, are not more sensible of the outrages that have bin of­fer'd a daughter of France, specially of Henry the greats.

But to resume the threed of my Narrati­on, the King (and with him, one may say, [Page 284] England also) being thus bought and sold, the Parlamenteers insteed of bringing him to Westminster, which had put a Period to all distempers, toss'd him up and downe to pri­vate houses, and kept the former Army still afoot: And truly I think there was never Prince so abus'd, or poor peeple so baffled, and no peeple but a purblind besotted pee­ple wold have suffred themselves to be so baffled: for notwithstanding that no Enemy appeer'd in any corner of the Kingdome, yet above 20000. Tagaroones have bin kept together ever since to grind the faces of the poor, and exhaust the very vitall spirits of town and Countrey, and keep them all in a perfect slavery: Had the Parlament-men, when the Scots were gone, brought their King in a generous and frank way (as had well becom'd Englishmen) to sit among them, and trusted to him (which of necessity they must do at last) as they had gain▪d more honor far in the world abroad, so they had gain'd more upon his affections then I be­leeve they will ever do hereafter.

But to proceed, the King having bin a good while prisoner to the Parlement, the Army snatch'd him away from them, and som of the chiefest Commanders having [Page 285] pawn'd their soules unto him to restore him speedily, in lieu thereof they tumbled him up and down to sundry places, till they jug­gled him at last to that small Ile where now he is surrounded with a gard of strange faces; and if happly he beginns to take delight in any of those faces, he is quickly taken out of his sight. These harsh usages hath made him become all gray and oregrown with hair so that he lookes rather like som Silvan Sa­tyr then a Soverain Prince: And truly my Lord the meanest slave in St. Marks gallies or the abjects Captif in Algier bannier is not so miserable as he in divers kinds, for they have the comfort of their wifes, children and frends, they can convey and receive Letters, send Messengers upon their errands, and have privat discours with any; all which is denied to the King of great Britain, nay the young Princes his children are not permit­ted as much as to ask him blessing in a letter. In so much that if he were not a great King of his passions, and had a heart cast in on ex­traordinary Mould, these pressures and those base aspersions that have bin publiquely cast upon him by the Parlement it self, had bin enough to have sent him out of the world e're this, and indeed 'tis the main thing they [Page 286] drive at, to torture his braine, and tear his very heart strings if they could: so that whereas this foolish ignorant peeple speak such horrid things of our Inquisition, truly my Lord 'tis a most gentle way of pro­ceeding being compar'd to this Kings perse­cutions.

As the King himselfe is thus in quality of a captif, so are all his Subjects becom per­fect slaves, they have fool'd themselfs into a worse slavery then Iew or Greek under the Ottomans, for they know the bottom of their servitude by paying so many Sultanesses for every head; but here, people are put to endless, unknown, tyrannical Taxes, besides plundering and Accize, which two words, and the practise of them (with storming of Towns) they have learnt of their pure Bre­thren of Holland: and for plundrings, these Parliamenteer-Saints think they may robb any that adheres not to them as lawfully as the Iewes did the Egyptians: 'Tis an unsom­mable masse of money these Reformers have squandred in few years, whereof they have often promis'd and solemnly voted a publick account to satisfie the Kingdom: but as in a hundred things more, so in this precious particular they have dispens'd with [Page 287] their Votes: they have consumed more treasure with pretence to purge one King­dom, then might have served to have pur­chas'd two; more (as I am credibly told) then all the Kings of England spent of the public stock since the Saxon Conquest: Thus have they not only begger'd the whole Island, but they have hurld it into the most fearfull▪st Chaos of confusion that ever poor Countrey was in; they have torn in pieces the reines of all Government, trampled up­on all Lawes of heaven and earth, and vio­lated the very Dictamens of nature, by ma­king Mothers to betray their Sons, and the Sons their Fathers, but specially that Great Charter, which is the Pandect of all the Laws and Liberties of the free-born Subject, which at their admission to the House they are solemnly sworn to maintain, is torn in flitters: besides those severall Oaths they forg'd themselfs, as the Protesta­tion and Covenant, where they voluntarily swear to maintain the Kings Honour and Rights, together with the established Laws of the Land, &c. Now I am told, that all Acts of Parlement here are Lawes, and they carry that Majesty with them, that no power can suspend or repeal them, but the same [Page 288] power that made them, which is the King sitting in full Parlement; these mongrell Polititians have bin so notoriously impudent as to make an inferiour Ordinance of theirs to do it, which is point-blanck against the very fundamentals of this Government, and their own Oaths, which makes me think that there was never such a perjur'd pack of wretches upon earth, never such Monsters of mankind.

Yet this simple infatuated peeple have a Saint-like opinion of these Monsters, this foolish Citie gards them daily with Horse and Foot, whereby she may be sayd to kisse the very stones that are thrown at her, and the hand whence they came, which a dogg would not do: But she falls to recollect her self now that shee begins to be pinch'd in Trade, and that her Mint is starv'd, yet the leading'st men in her Common-Councell care not much for it, in regard most of them have left traffiquing abroad, finding it a more easie and gainefull way of trading at home, by purchasing Crown or Church lands, plun­der'd goods, and debts upon the Publick Faith, with Soldiers debenters; thus the Saints of this Iland turne godlinesse into gaine.

Truly my Lord, I give the English for a [Page 287] lost Nation, if they continue long thus, ne­ver was ther a more palpable oblaesion of the brain, and a more visible decay of Rea­son in any race of men: It is a sore judg­ment from heaven, that a people shold not be more sensible how they are become slaves to Rebells, and those, most of them the scumm of the Nation, which is the basest of miseries: how they suffer them to tyrannize by a meer arbitrary extrajudicial power o're their very souls and bodies▪ o're their very lifs and livelihoods; how their former free­dom is turn'd to fetters, Molehills into Mountains of grievances, Ship-money into Accize, Justice into Tyranny: For nothing hath bin and is daily so common amongst them as imprisonment without charge, and a charge without an accuser, condemnation without apparance, and forfeitures without conviction.

To speak a little more of the King, if all the infernal fiends had ligu'd against him, they could not have design'd or disgorged more malice: They wold have laid to his charge his Fathers death, as arrand a lie as ever was forg'd in hell: they wold make him fore-know the insurrection in Ireland, wheras the Spanish Ambassador here, and his [Page 290] Confessor who is a very reverend Irish-man, told me, that he knew no more of it then the grand Mogor did: they charge him with all the bloud of this civil war, wheras they and their instruments were the first kindlers of it, and that first prohibited trade and shut him out of his own Town: They have inter­cepted and printed his privat Letters to his Queen, and Hers to him, (Oh barbarous basenesse!) but therin they did him a plea­sure, though the intent was malitious, their aim in all things being to envenom the hearts of his people towards him; and this was to render him a glorious and well-belov'd Prince, as likewise for making him rich, (all which they had vow'd to do upon passing the Act of Continuance,) But now they have made him poorer then the meanest of all his vas­sals, they have made him to have no pro­priety in house, goods, or Lands, or as one may say, in his wife and children: 'Twas u­sual for the father to hunt in his Park while the son hunted for his life in the field, for the wife [...] lie in his bedds, while the hus­band layed wait to murther him abroad; they have seiz'd upon and sold his privat Hang­ings an [...] Plate, yea his very Cabinets, Jew­els, Pictures, Statues, and Books.

[Page 291]Nor are they the honorablest sort of pee­ple, and men nobly extracted (as in Scotland) that do all this, (for then it were not so much to be wondred at) but they are the meanest sort of Subjects, many of them illiterat Me­chaniques, wherof the lower House is full; specially the subordinat Committees, who domineer more o're Nobles and Gentry, then the Parliament Members themselfs their Masters use to do.

Touching those few Peers that sit now voting in the upper House, they may be said to be but meer Cyphers, they are grown so degenerat as to suffer the Commons to give them the Law, to ride upon their backs, and do most things without them: Ther be many thousand Petitions that have bin recommended by these Lords to the lower House, which are scornfully thrown into corners and never read; their Messen­gers have us'd to dance attendance divers hours and days before they were vouchsafed to be let in or heard, to the eternal dishonour of those Peers, and yet poor spirited things they resent it not: The Commons now com­mand all, and though, as I am inform'd, they are summon'd thither by the Kings Original Writ but to consent to what the King and his [Page 290] Great Counsel of Peers (which is the tru Court of Parlement) shall resolve upon; The Commons I say are now from Consenters become the chiefest Counsellors, yea Con­troulers of all; nay som of this lower House fly so high as to term themselfs Conquerors, and though in all conferences with the Lords they stand bare before them, yet by a new way of mix'd Committees they carry them­selfs as Collegues: These are the men that now have the vogue, and they have made their Priviledges so big swoln, that they seem to have quite swallowed up both the Kings Prerogatives, and those of the Lords: These are the Grandees, and Sages of the times, though most of them have but crack'd braines and crazy fortunes God wot; Nay som of them are such arrand Knaves and coxcombs, that 'tis questionable whether they more want common honesty, or com­mon sense; nor know no more what be­longs to tru policy then the left leg of a joynt-stool: They are grown so high a tip­toes, that they seem to scorn an Act of Am­nestia, or any grace from their King, wheras som of them deserve to be hang'd as oft as they have haires upon their heads; nor have they any more care of the common good of [Page 291] England then they have of Lapland, so they may secure their own persons, and continue their Power now, Authority is sweet, though it be in Hell.

Thus, my Lord, is England now govern'd, so that 'tis an easie thing to take a prospect of her ruine if she goes on this pace: The Scot is now the swaying man, who is the third time struck into her bowels with a nu­merous Army: They say he hath vow'd never to return till he hath put the Crown on the Kings head, the Scept [...]r in his hand, and the sword by his side; if he do so, it will be the best thing that ever he did, though som think that he will never be able to do England as much good as he hath done her hurt; He hath extremely out-witted the English of late years: And they who were the causers of his first and last coming in, I hold to be the most pernicious Enemies that ever this Nation had; for tis probable that Germany (viz. Ponterland and Breme) will be sooner free of the Swed, then Eng­land of the Scot, who will stick close unto him like a bur, that he cannot shake him off; He is becom already Master of the English­mans soul, by imposing a Religion upon him, and he may hereafter be master of his body.

[Page 294]Your Eminence knows there is a periodi­call fate hangs over all Kingdoms after such a revolution of time, and rotation of fortunes wheele; the cours of the world hath bin for one Nation, like so many nailes, to thrust out another; But for this Nation, I observe by conference with divers of the saddest and best weighdst men among them, that the same presages foretell their ruine as did the Israelites of old, which was a murmuring a­gainst their Governors; It is a long time that both Iudges, Bishops and privy Coun­sellors have bin mutter'd at, whereof the first shold be the oracles of the Law, the other of the Gospell, the last of State-affaires, and that our judgments shold acquiesce upon theirs; Here as I am inform'd; 'twas common for evry ignorant client to arraign his Iudg; for evry puny Curat to censure the Bishop; for evry shallow-brain home-bred fellow to descant upon the results of the Councell Table: and this spirit of contradiction and contumacy hath bin a long time fomenting in the minds of this peeple, infus'd into them principally, by the Puritanicall Faction. Touching the second of the three aforesaid (I mean Bishops) they are grown so odious (principally for their large demeanes) among [Page 295] this peeple, as the Templers were of old, and one may say it is a just judgment fallen upon them, for they were most busy in demolish­ing Convents and Monasteries, as these are in destroying Cathedralls and Ministers; But a­bove all, it hath bin observ'd that this peeple hath bin a long time rotten-hearted towards the splendor of the Court, the glory of their King, and the old establish'd Government of the land: 'Tis true there were a few small leakes sprung in the great vessel of the St [...]te, (and what vessel was ever so [...]ite but was subject to leakes?) but these wise-akers in stopping of one have made a hundred: Yet if this Kings raign were parallell'd to that of Queen Elizabeth's, who was the greatest Minion of a peeple that ever was, one will find that she stretch'd the Prerogative much further; In her time as I have read in the Latin Legend of her life, som had their hands cut off for only writing against her matching with the Duke of Aniou, others were hang'd at Tyburn for traducing her government; she pardon'd thrice as many Roman Priests as this King did, she pass'd divers Monopolies, she kept an Agent at Rome, she sent her Sergeant at Armes to pluck out a Member then sitting in the [Page 294] House of Commons by the eares, and clapt him in prison; she call'd them sawcy fellowes to meddle with her Prerogative, or with the government of her houshold, she mannag'd all forren affaires, specially the warrs with Ireland soly by her privy Counsell; yet there was no murmuring at her raign, and the rea­son I conceave to be, that there was neither Scot or Puritan had then any stroke in Eng­land.

Yet, for all their disobedience and grum­blings against their Liege Lord the King, this peeple are exactly obedient to their new Masters of the House of Commons, though they sit there but as their Servants and en­title themselfs so; and also though in lieu of the small scratches which England might happily have receiv'd before (all which the King had cur'd) these new masters have made such deep gashes in her, and given her such deadly wounds that I believe are in­curable.

My Lord, I find by my researches, that there are two great Idolls in this Kingdom, the greatest that ever were, they are the Par­liament and the Pulpit; tis held High treson to speak against the one, and the whole body of Religion is nailed unto the other, for there [Page 295] is no devotion here at all but preaching, which God wot is little better then prating. The abuse of these two hath bin the source of all the distempers which now raign: touching the latter, it hath serv'd as a subver­vient Engin to prop up the power and po­pularity of the first; these malicious Pulpit­men breath out nothing thence but either sedition, schisme or blasphemy: poor shal­low brain'd Sciolists, they wold question many things in the old Testament, and find Apocrypha in the New: And such is the violence wherewith the minds of men and women are transported towards these Preach­men, and no other part of devotion besides, that in all probability they will in time take a surfet of them: so that give this giddy pee­ple line enough ther will be no need of Catholique Arms to reduce them to the A­postolick Church, they will in time pave the way to it themselves, and be glad to return to Rome to find out a Religion again.

There was here before, as I am informed, a kind of a face of a Church, there were some solemnities, venerations and decencies us'd that a man might discover som piety in this peeple; there was a publick Lyturgie that in pithy Pathetical prayers reach'd all [Page 298] occasions; the Sacraments were administred with som reverence, their Churches were kept neat and comly; but this nasty race of miscreants have nothing at all of sweetnesse, of piety and devotion in them; 'tis all turn'd to a fatuous kind of zeal after more learning, as if Christianity had no sobriety, consistence or end of knowledg at all: These silly things, to imitat the Apostles time, wold have the same form of discipline to govern whole Nations, as it did a chamberfull of men in the infancy of the Church, they wold make the same coat serve our Savious at 30. yeers, which fitted him at three: 'Tis incredible how many ugly sorts of heresies they daily hatch, but they are most of them old ones newly furbish'd; they all relate to Aerius, a perfect hater of Bishops, because he could not be one himself. The two Se­ctaries which sway most, are the Pres­byterians and Independents, the Presbyterian is a spawn of a Puritan, and the Independent a spawn of the Presbyterian: there's but one hop 'twixt the first and a Iew, and but half a hop 'twixt the other and an Infidell; they are both opposit to Monarchy and Hierarchy; and the latter wold have no Government at all, but a parity and promiscuous confusion, a race of creatures fit only to inhabit Hell: [Page 299] and one of the fruits of this blessed Parle­ment, and of these two Sectaries is, that they have made more Jewes and Athiests then I think there is in all Europe besides; but truly, my Lord, I think the judgments of Heaven were never so visible in any part of the Earth, as they are now here, for there is Rebell against Rebell, House a­gainst House, Cittie against Army, Parle­ment against Scot, but these two Sectaries, I mean the Presbyterian and Independent who were the fire-brands that put this poor I­land first in a flame, are now in most deadly feud one against the other, though they both concur in this to destroy government: And if the King had time enough to look only upon them, they would quickly hang, draw, and destroy one another.

But indeed all Christian Princes shold ob­serve the motions and successes of these two unlucky Incendiaries, for if they shold ligue together again, (as they have often plaid fast and loose one with another) and prevail here, this Iland wold not terminat their designs, they wold puzzle all the world besides. Their Preachmen ordinarily cry out in the Pulpit, ther is a great work to be done up­on earth, for the reforming all mankind, and They are appointed by Heaven to be the [Page 298] chief Instruments of bringing it about▪ They have already bin so busie abroad, that (with vast sommes of money) they brought the Swed upon the Dane, and the very Sava­ges upon the English Cavaliers in Virginia; and could they confederat with Turk, or Tartar, or Hell it self against them, they wold do it: they are monstrously puff'd up with pride, that they stick not to call them­selfs Conquerors, and one of the chief ring­leaders of them, an ignorant home bred kind of Brewer, was not ashamed to vant it publiquely in the Commons House, that if he had but 20000. men, he wold undertake to march to Constantinople, and pull the Ot­toman Emperour out of the Seralio.

Touching the other grand Idoll the Par­lement, 'tis true that the primitive constitu­tion of Parlement in this Iland was a wholesom piece of policy, because it kept a good correspondence, and clos'd all ruptures 'twixt the King and his peeple, but this thing they call Parlement now, may rather be term'd a cantle of one, or indeed a Con­venticle of Schismatiques, rather than a great Counsell; 'tis like a kind of headless Mon­ster, or som estropiated carkas; for ther is neither King nor Prelat, nor scarce the se­venth [Page 299] part of Peers and Commons, no not the twelfth part fairly elected; nevertheless they draw the peeple, specially this City, like so many stupid animalls, to adore them.

Yet though this institution of Parlement be a wholsom thing in it self, there is in my judgment a great incongruity in one particu­lar; and I believe it hath bin the cause of most distempers; it is, That the Burgesses are more in number than the Knights of the Shires; for the Knights of the Shires are commonly Gentlemen well born, and bred, and vers'd in the Laws of the Land, as well as forren Governments, (divers of them) but the Burgesses of Towns are commonly Tradesmen, and being bred in Corporations they are most of them inclining to Purita­nism, and consequently to popular Govern­ment; These Burgesses exceeding the Knights in number, carry all before them by plurality of Voices, and so puzzle all: And now that▪ I have mentioned Corporations, I must tell your Lordship, that the greatest soloecism in the policy of this Kingdom, is the number of them; especially this monstrous City, which is compos'd of nothing els but of Corporati­ons; and the greatest errors that this King, [Page 302] specially his Father, committed, was to suf­fer this Town to spread her wings so wide▪ for she bears no proportion with the bignes of the Iland, but may fit a Kingdom thrice as spacious; she engrosseth and dreins all the wealth and strength of the Kingdom; so that I cannot compare England more pro­perly than to one of our Cremona geese, where the custom is to fatten only the heart, but in doing so the whole body growes lank.

To draw to a conclusion, This Nation is in a most sad and desperat condition, that they deserve to be pittied, and preserved from sinking, and having cast the present state of things and all interests into an equal balance, I find, my Lord, ther be three ways to do it, one good, and two bad.

1. The first of the bad ones is the Sword▪ which is one of the scourges of heaven, e­specially the Civill sword.

2. The second bad one is the Treaty, which they now offer the King in that small Island wher he hath bin kept Captif so long, ( [...] which quality the world will account him still while he is detain'd there) and by tha [...] Treaty to bind him as fast as they can, an [...] not trust him at all.

[Page 303]3. The good way is, in a free confiding brave way (Englishmen-like) to send for their King to London, where City and Country shold Petition him to summon a new and free full Parlement, which he may do as justly as ever he did thing in his life, these men having infring'd as well all the essentiall Priviledges of Parlement, as eve­ry puntillio of it, for they have often risen up in a confusion without adjournment, they had two Speakers at once, they have most perjuriously and beyond all imagination be­trayed the trust both King and Country re­pos'd in them, subverted the very sunda­mentals of all Law, and plung'd the whole Kingdom in this bottomless gulf of cala­mities: another Parlement may haply do som good to this languishing Island, and cure her convulsions, but for these men that ar­rogat to themselfs the name of Parlement (by a local puntillio only because they never stir'd from the place where they have bin kept together by meer force) I find them by their actions to be so pervers, so irratio­nal and refractory, so far given over to a re­probat sense, so fraught with rancor, with an irreconcileable malice and thirst of bloud, that England may well despaire to be heal'd [Page 302] by such Phlebotomists, or Quack-salvers; be sides they are so full of scruples, apprehensi­ons, and jealousies proceeding from blac [...] guilty souls, and gawl'd consciences, that they will do nothing but chop Logic with their King, and spin out time to continue their power, and evade punishment, which they think is unavoidable if ther shold be a free-Parlement.

Touching the King he comports himself with an admired temper'd equanimity, he invades and o're-masters them more and more in all his answers by strength of reson, though he have no soul breathing to con­sult withall, but his own Genius: he gains wonderfully upon the hearts and opinion of his peeple, and as the Sun useth to appear bigger in winter, and at his declension in regard of the interposition of certain mete­ors 'twixt the eye of the beholder and the object, so this King being thus o're-cloud­ed and declined, shines far more glorious in the eyes of his people; and certainly these high morall vertues of constancy, courage and wisdom come from above; and no won­der, for Kings as they are elevated above all other peeple and stand upon higher ground, they sooner receive the inspirations of hea­ven; [Page 303] nor doth he only by strength of reason out [...] them, but he wooes them by gen­tlenesse and mansuetude; as the Gentleman of Paris who having an Ape in his house that had taken his only child out of the cradle, and dragged him up to the ridge of the house, the parent with ruthful he art charm­ed the Ape by fair words and other bland [...] ­ments to bring him softly down, which he did; England may be said to be now just upon such a precipice, ready to have her braines dash'd out, and I hope these men will not be worse natur'd then that brute animal, but will save her.

Thus have I given your Eminence a rough account of the state of this poor and pittiful­ly deluded peeple, which I will perfect when I shall come to your presence, which I hope will be before this Autumnal Equinox; I thought to have sojourn'd here longer, but that I am grown weary of the clime, for I fear there's the other two scourges of hea­ven that menace this Island, I mean the fa­min and pestilence, especially this City, for their prophanness, rebellion, and sacriledge▪ It hath bin a talk a great while whether An­ti-Christ be come to the world or no, I am sure Anti-Iesus, which is worse, is among [Page 304] this people, for they hold all veneration, though voluntary proceeding from the in­ward motions of a sweet devoted soul, and causing an outward genuflection, to be su­perstitious, insomuch that one of the Syno­dical Saints here printed and published a Book entitling it against Iesu Worship.

So in the profoundest posture of reve­rence I kisse your vest, as being,

The progress of the Soul by an usuall DREAM.

IT was in the dead of a long Win­ter night, when no eyes were o­pen but Watchmens and Centi­nels, that I was fallen soundly a­sleep, the Cinq-out-Ports were shut up closer then usually, for my senses were so trebly lock'd, that the Moon, had she descended from her watry Orb, might have done much more to me then she did to Endymion when he lay snoaring upon the brow of Latmus Hill; nay, (be it spoken without prophanenesse) if a rib had bin taken out of me that night, to have made a new mo [...] of a woman, I shold hardly have felt it.

Yet, though the Cousin German of death had so strongly seiz'd thus upon the exterior parts of this poor Tabernacle of flesh, my in­ward parts were never more actif, and fuller [Page 308] of employments then they were that night.

Methought my soul made a sally abroad into the world, and fetch'd a vast compas; she seem'd to soar up and slice the air to cross seas, to clammer up huge Hills, and ne­ver rested till she had arriv'd at the Antipo­des: Now som of the most judicious Geo­metricians and Chorographers hold that the whole Mass of the Earth being round like the rest of her fellow Elements, ther be pla­ces, and poizing parts of the Continent, ther be Peninsulas, Promontories and Ilands upon the other face of the Earth that correspond and concenter with all those Regions and Iles that are upon this superficies which we read, Countries that symbolize with them in qua­lities, in temperature of air and clime, as well as in nature of soil; The Inhabitants al­so of those places which are so perpendicu­larly opposit, do sympathize one with ano­ther in disposition, complexions and humors, though the Astronomers wold have their East to be our West, and so all things vice versa in point of position, which division of the [Page 309] Heaven is onely mans institution.

But to give an account of the strange pro­gresse my soul made that night; the first Country she lighted on was a very low flat Country, and it was such an odde amphibi­ous Country, being so indented up and down with Rivers and arms of the sea, that I made a question whether I shold call it Water or Land; yet though the Sea be invited and u­sher'd in into som places, he is churlistly pen'd out in som other, so that though he foam and swell, and appear as high Walls hard-by, yet they keep him out, maugre all his roaring and swelling.

As I wandred up and down in this Watry Region, I might behold from a streight long Dike wheron I stood, a strange kind of For­rest, for the trees mov'd up and down; they look'd afar off as if they had bin blasted by thunder; for they had no leafs at all; but making a nearer approach unto them, I found they were a nomberlesse company of Ship-Masts, and before them appear'd a great Town ( Amsterdam) incorporated up and down with Water; As I mus'd with my self upon the sight of all this, I concluded, that the Inhabitants of that Country were notable industrious people, who could give Law so [Page 310] to the angry Ocean, and occupie those places where the great Leviathan shold tumble and take his pastime in; As my thought ran thus, I met with a man, whom I conjectur'd to be 'twixt a Marchant and a Mariner, his saluta­tion was so homely; the air also was so fog­gy, that methought it stuck like cobwebs in his Mustachos; and he was so dull in point of motion, as if the bloud in his veines had bin half frozen: I began to mingle words with him, and to expostulat somthing about that Country and people; and then I found a great deal of down-right civilities in him: He told me that they were the only men who did miracles of late years; Those innumerable piles of stones you see before you in such comly neat frabriques, is a place (said he) that from a Fish- Market in effect is come to be one of the greatest Marts in this part of the world, which hath made her swel thrice bigger the [...] she was 50. years ago; and as you behold this floating Forrest of Masts before her mole, so if you could see the foundations of her houses, you shold see another great Forrest, being rear'd from un­der-ground upon fair piles of timber, which if they chance to sink in this Marshy soil, we have an art to scrue them up again. We [Page 311] have for 70. years and above without any in­termission, except a short-liv'd truce that once was made, wrastled with one of the greatest Potentates upon Earth, and born up stoutly against him, gramercy our two next neighbour Kings, and their Reason of State, with the advantage of our situation. We have fought our selfs into a free-State, and now quite out of that ancient allegeance we ow'd him; and though we pay twenty times more in taxes of all sorts then we did to him, yet we are contented: We have turn'd war into a Trade, and that which useth to beggar others, hath benefited us: Besides, we have bin and are still the rendevous of most dis­contented Subjects, when by the motions of unquiet consciences in points of Religion, or by the fury of the sword, they are forc'd to quit their own Countreys, who bring their arts of Manufacture, and moveables, hither; Insomuch that our Lombards are full of their goods, and our banks superabound with their gold and silver which they bring hither in specie.

To secure our selfs, and cut the Enemy more work, and to engage our Confederats in a war with him, we have kindled fires in every corner, and now that they are to­gether [Page 312] by the Eares, we have bin content lately, being long woo'd thereunto, to make a peace with that King to whom we once ac­knowledged vassalage; which King out of a height of spirit, hath spent 500. times more upon us for our reduction, then all our Country is worth; But now he hath bin well contented to renounce and abjure all claimes and rights of Soverainity over us; In so much, that being now without an ene­my, we hope in a short time to be masters of all the comerce in this part of the world, and to eat our Neighbours out of trade in their own Commodities: We fear nothing but that exces of Wealth, and a surfet of ease may make us careles and breed quarrells a­mong our selfs, and that our Generall, be­ing married to a great Kings daughter may—.

Here he suddenly broke the threed of his discourse, and got hastily away, being haul'd by a ship that was sailing hard by▪

Hereupon my soul took wing again, and cut her way through that foggy condens'd aire, till she lighted on a fair spacious, cleare Continent, a generous and rich Soile mant­led up and downe with large woods, where, as I rang'd to and fro, I might see divers [Page 313] faire Houses, Townes, Palaces and Castles, looking like so many Carkases, for no hu­mane soul appear'd in them; methought I felt my he art melting within me in a soft resentment of the case of so gallant a Coun­trey, and as I stood at amaze, and in a kind of astonishment, a goodly personage makes towards me, whom both for his comport­ment, and countenance, I perceiv'd to be of a finer mould then that companion I had met withall before: by the trace of his looks I guessed he might be som Nobleman that had bin ruin'd by som disaster: having aco­sted him with a fitting distance, he began in a masculin strong winded language full of aspirations and tough collision of Conso­nants, to tell me as followeth: Sir, I find you are a stranger in this Countrey, because you stand so agast at the devastations of such a fair piece of the Continent, then know Sir, because I beleeve you are curious to carry away with you the causes thereof, that these ruthfull objects which you behold, are the effects of a long lingring war, and of the fury of the Sword, a cruentous civill War that hath rag'd here above thirty yeares: one of the grounds of it was the infortunate undertaking of a Prince, who liv'd not far [Page 314] off in an affluence of all earthly felicity; he had the greatest Lady to his wife, the bes [...] purse of money, the fairest Stable of horse▪ and choicest Library of books of any other of his neighbour Princes. But being by desperat and aspiring counsells put upon a Kingdom, while he was catching at the sha­dow of a Crown, he lost the substance of all his own ancient possessions: by the many powerfull alliances he had (which was the cause he was pitched upon) the fewd con­tinued long; for among others a Northern King took advantage to rush in, who did a world of mischiefs, but in a few yeers that King and Hee found their graves in their own ruins neer upon the same time; but now, may heaven have due thanks for it, there is a peace concluded, a peace which hath bin 14. long yeers a moulding, and will I hope, be shortly put in execution; yet 'tis with this fatall disadvantage, that the said Northern people, besides a masse of ready money we are to give them, are to have firme footing, and a warm nest ever in this Countrey hereafter, so that I fear we shall hear from them too often: upon these words this noble personage fetch'd a deep sigh, but in such a generous manner that he [Page 315] seem'd to break and check it before it came halfe forth.

Thence my soul taking her flight o're di­vers huge and horrid cacuminous moun­taines (the Alpes) at last I found my self in a great populous Town ( Naples) but her buildings were miserably battered up and down, she had a world of Palaces, Castles, Convents and goodly Churches: as I step­ped out of curiosity into one of them, upon the West side there was a huge Grate, where a creature all in white beckned at me, ma­king my approach to the Grate, I found her to be a Nun, a lovely creature she was, for I could not distinguish which was whiter, her hue or her habit, which made me remember (though in a dream my self) that saying, If Dreams and wishes had been tru, there had not been found a tru maid to make a Nun of, ever since a Cloyster'd life began first among women; I asked her the reason how so many ugly devastations shold befall so beautifull a Ci­ty, she in a dolorous gentle tone, and ruth­full accents, the teares trickling down her cheeks like so many pearles, (such pearly teares that wold have dissolv'd a Diamond) sobb'd out unto me this speech: Gentle Sir, 'tis far beyond any expressions of mine, [Page 316] and indeed beyond humane imagination to conceive the late calamities which have be­fallen this faire though infortunat City, a pernicious popular Rebellion broke out here upon a sudden into most horrid barbarismes, a Fate that hangs over most rich popular places that swim in luxe and plenty; but touching the grounds thereof, one may say that rebellion entred into this City, as sin first entred into the world by an apple: For our King now in his great extremities having almost halfe the world banding against him; and putting but a small tax upon a basket of fruit to last only for a time, this fruit­tax did put the peeples teeth so on edge, that it made them gnash against the Govern­ment, and rush into Armes; but they are sensible now of their own follies, for I think never any place suffered more in so short a time: the civill combustions abroad in other Kingdomes may be said to be but small squibs compar'd to those horrid flakes of fire which have rag'd here, and much adoe we had to keep our Vest all fire free from the fu­ry of it: in lesse then the revolution of a yeer it consum'd above fourscore thousand soules within the walls of this City; But 'tis not the first time of forty, that this lu­xurious [Page 317] foolish peeple hath smarted for their insurrections and insolencies, and that this mad horse hath o'rethrown his Rider, and drawn a worse upon his back; who instead of a saddle, put a pack-saddle and Panniers upon him: but indeed the voluptuousnesse of this peeple was grown ripe for the judge­ment of heaven.

She was then beginning to expostulat with me about the state of my Country, and I had a mighty mind to satisfie her, for I could have corresponded with her in the re­ [...]ation of as strange things, but the Lady A­ [...]adesse calling her away, she departed in an [...]nstant, obedience seem'd to be ther so pre­cise and punctual.

I steer'd my course thence through a most delicious Country to another City that lay in the very bosom of the Sea, ( Venice) she was at first nothing els but a kind of posie made up of dainty green Hillocks, tied to­gether by above 400. bridges, and so coa­gulated into a curious City; though she be espous'd to Neptune very solemnly once evry [...]eer, yet she still reserves her maydenhead, [...]ad bears the title of the Virgin City in that part of the world; But I found her tugging mainly with a huge Giant that wold ravish [Page 318] her; He hath shrewdly set on her skirts, and a great shame it is, that she is not now assist­ed by her Neighbours, and that they shold be together by the ears when they shold do so necessary a work, considering how that great Giant is their common Enemy; and hath lately vow'd seven yeers wars against her; specially considering, that if he comes once to ravish her, he will quickly ruin her said Neighbours, She (to her high honor be it spoken) being their only rampart against the incursion of the said Giant, and by conse­quence their greatest security.

From this Maiden City, mee thought, I was in a trice carried over a long gulf, and so through a Midland Sea, into another King­dom, (Spain) where I felt the Clime hotter by some Degrees; a rough-hew'n soile, for the most part, it was full of craggy barren hills; but where there were valleys and wa­ter enough, the country was extraordinarily fruitful, whereby nature (it seems) made her a compensation for the sterility of the rest. Yet notwithstanding the hardship of the soyl, I found her full of Abbeys, Monaste­ries, Hermitages, Convents, Churches, and other places of devotion; as I rov'd there a while, I encountred a grave man in a long [Page 319] black cloak, by the fashion whereof, and by the brimms of his hat, I perceived him to be a Iesuit; I clos'd with him, and question'd him about that Country: He told me the King of that Country was the greatest Po­tentat of that part of the world; and, to draw power to a greater unity, they of our Order could be well contented, that he were universall Head over Temporalls, because 'tis most probable to be effected by him, as we have already one universall Head over Spiri­tualls: This is the Monark of the Mines, I mean of Gold and Silver, who furnishes all the world, but most of all his own enemies with mony, which mony foments all the wars in this part of the world: Never did any earthly monark thrive so much in so short a tract of time, But of late yeers he hath been ill-favouredly shaken by the revolt and utter defection of two sorts of Subjects, who are now in actual arms against him on both sides of him at his own doors. Ther hath bin also a long deadly feud 'twixt the next tramontan Kingdom (France) and him, though the Q. that rules there be his own sister, an unnatu­rall odious thing: But it seems God Al­mighty hath a quarrel of late yeers with all earthly Potentats; for in so short a time [Page 320] ther never happen'd such strange shocks and revolutions: The great Emperour of Ethi­opia hath bin outed, he and all his children by a petty companion: The King of China, a greater Emperour than he, hath lost al­most all that huge Monarchy by the incursi­on of the Tartar, who broke ore the wall upon him: The grand Turk hath bin stran­gled, with 30. of his Concubines; The Em­perour of Muscovy hath bin content to beg his life of his own vassals, and to see before his face divers of his chief Officers hack'd to pieces, and their heads cut off and steep'd in strong water, to make them burn more bright in the market place. Besides the a­bove mentioned, this King hath also divers enemies more, yet he bears up against them all indifferently well, though with infinit expence of treasure, and the Church, speci­ally our Society, hath stuck close unto him in these his exigents: whence may be inferr'd, that let men repine as long as they will at the possessions of the Church, they are the best anchors to a State in a storm, and in time of need to preserve it from sinking; besides, acts of charity wold be quite lost among men, did not the wealth of the Church keep life in them: Hereupon drawing a huge pair [Page 221] of Beads from under his cloak, he began to ask me of my Religion; I told him I had a long journy to go, so that I could not stay to wait on him longer; so we parted, and me thought I was very glad to be rid of him so well.

My soul then made another flight over an Assembly of hideous high hills, (Pyreneys) and lighted under another Clime, on a rich and copious Country (France) resembling the form of a Lozenge, but me thought, I never saw so many poor peeple in my life; I encountred a Pesan, and asked him what the reason was, that ther shold be so much poverly in a Country wher ther was so much plenty: Sir, they keep the Commonalty poor in pure policy here, for being a peeple, as the world observes us to be, that are more humerous than others, and that love variety and change, if we were suffered to be pamper'd with wealth, we wold ever and anon rise up in tumults, and so this Kingdom shold ne­ver be quiet, but subject to intestine broils, and so to the hazard of any invasion: But ther was of late a devillish Cardinal, whose humour being as sanguin as his habit, and working upon the weaknes of his Master, hath made us not only poor, but stark beg­gars, [Page 322] and we are like to continue so by an e­ternal war, wherein he hath plung'd this poor Kingdom, which war must be maintained with our very vital spirits: but as dejected and indigent as we are, yet upon the death of that ambitious Cardinal, we had risen up against This, who hath the Vogue now, (with whom he hath left his principles) had not the fearful example of our next transmarin Western neighbours (the English) and the knowledg we have of a worse kind of slave­ry, of those endles arbitrary taxes, and hor­rid confusions they have fool'd themselfs lately into, utterly deterr'd us, though we have twenty times more reason to rise then ever they had: yet our great City ( Paris) hath shew'd her teeth, and gnash'd them ill­favouredly of late, but we find she hath drawn water only for her own Mill, we fare little the better, yet we hope it will con­duce to peace, which hath bin so long in a­gitation.

I cannot remember how I parted with that Peasan, but in an instant I was landed upon a large Island, and methought, 'twas the temperat'st Region I had bin in all the while ( England;) the heat of the Sun ther is as harmless as his light, the evening serene [...] [Page 323] are as wholsom ther as the morning dew; the Dog-daies as innocuous as any of the two Equinoxes. As I rang'd to and fro that fair Island, I spyed a huge City ( London) whose length did far exceed her latitude, but ne [...] ­ther for length or latitude did she seem to bear any politicall proportion with that Island: she look'd, methought, like the Ie­suits hat whom I had met withall before, whose brimms were bigger then the crown, or like a peticoat, whose fringe was longer then the body. As I did cast my eyes up­wards, methought I discern'd a strange in­scription in the aire which hung just over the midst of that City written in such huge vi­sible characters, that any one might have read it, which was this: Woe be to the bloudy City.

Hereupon a reverend Bishop presented himself to my view, his gray haires, and grave aspect struck in me an extraordinary reverence of him: so performing those com­plements which were fitting, I asked him of the condition of the place, he in a sub­miss sad tone, with clouds of melancholy waving up and down his looks, told me; Sir this Island was reputed few years since to have bin in the completest condition of hap­piness [Page 324] of any part on earth, insomuch that she was repin'd a [...] for her prosperity and peace by all her neighbours who were plung'd in war round about her, but now she is fallen into as deep a gulf of misery, and servitude, as she was in a height of felicity & freedom before: Touching the grounds of this change, I cannot impute it to any other then to a surfet of happiness; now, there is no surfet so dangerous as that of happinesse: Ther are such horrid divisions here, that if they were a foot in hell, they were able to destroy the Kingdom of Satan: truly Sir, ther are crep'd in more opinions among us about matters or Religion, then the Pagans had of old of the Summum bonum, which Varro saith were 300. the understandings of poor men were never so puzzled and di­stracted; a great while there were two op­posit powers ( King and Parlement) who swayed here in a kind of equality that peeple knew not whom to obey, many thousands complyed with both, as the men of Calecut who adore God and the Devil, Tantum Squantum, as it is in the Indian language) They adore the one for love, the other for fear: ther is a monstrous kind of wild liber­ty here that ever was upon earth; That [Page 325] which was complained of as a stalking horse to draw on our miseries at first, is now only in practice, which is meer arbitrary rule; for now both Law, Religion and Allegiance are here arbitrary: Touching the last, 'tis quite lost, 'tis permitted that any may prate, preach or print what they will in derogati­on of their annointed King: which word King was once a Monosyllable of som weight in this Ile, but 'tis as little regarded now as the word Pope (among som) which was also a mighty Monosyllable once a­mong us: the rule of the Law is, that the King can do no wrong, ther is a contrary rule now crept in, that the King can receive no wrong; and truly Sir, 'tis a great judge­ment both upon Prince and peeple; upon the one, that the love of so many of his vassals shold be so alienated from him; upon the other, that their hearts shold be so poyson'd, and certainly 'tis the effect of an ill spirit; both the one and the other in all probability tend to the ruine of this Kingdom.

But now Sir, (because I see you are so at­tentive, and seem to be much mov'd at this Discourse) as I have discover'd unto you the general cause of our calamities, which was not only a satiety but a surfet of happinesse, [Page 326] so I will descend now to a particular cause of them; it was a Northern Nation ( Scot) that brought these cataracts of mis­chiefs upon us; and you know the old say­ing,

Far be it from me to charge the whole Na­tion herewith; no, but onely som pernicious Instruments that had insinuated themselfs, and incorporated among us, and sway'd both in our Court and Counsels: They had a hand in every Monopoly; they had out of our Exchequer, and Customs near upon 400000. Crowns in yearly Pensions, viis & modis; yet they could not be content, but they must puzzle the peace and policy of this Church and State: and though they are a peeple of a differing Genius, differing Laws, Customs, and Manners unto us, yet for mat­ter of conscience they wold bring our necks into their yoak, as if they had a greater ta­lent of reason, and clearer illuminations, as if they understood Scripture better, and were better acquainted with God Almighty then we, who brought them first from Pa­ganisme to Christianity, and also to be re­formed Christians: but it seems, matters [Page 327] have little thriven with them; nay the visi­ble hand of heaven hath bin heavily upon them divers waies since they did lift their hands against their native King; For not­withstanding the vast summs they had hence, yet is the generality of them as beg­garly as ever they were; besides, the Civil Sword hath rag'd ther as furiously as here, and did as much execution among them. Moreover the Pestilence hath bin more vio­lent, and sweeping in their chief Town ( E­denburgh) then ever it was since they were a peeple. And now lately ther's the nota­blest dishonour befaln them that possibly could light upon a Nation, in that 7000. of ours shold upon even ground encounter, kill, slay, rout and utterly discomfit thrice as many of theirs, though as well appointed and arm'd as men could be: And truly Sir, the advantages that accrue to this Nation are not a few by that exploit; For of late years that Nation was cryed up abroad to be a more Martial peeple then we, and to have baffled us in open field in divers traver­ses: besides, I hope a small matter will pay now their Arrerages here, and elsewhere; but principally, I hope they will not be so busie hereafter in our Court and Counsel, as they have bin formerly.

[Page 328]Another cause of our calamity is a strange race of peeple (the Puritans) sprung up a­mong our selfs, who were confederat with those of the North; they wold make Gods House cleane, and by putting out the candle of all ancient learning and knowledge, they would sweep it only by the light of an Ignis fatuus: but 'tis visibly found that they have brought much more rubbage into it, and wheras in reforming this house, they shold rather find out the groat that is lost, they go about to take away the mite that's left, and so put Christs Spouse to live on meer almes: True it is, there is a kind of zeal that burns in them, (and I could wish there were so much piety) but this zeal burns with too much violence and presumption, which is no good symptom of spirituall health, it be­ing a rule, that as the naturall heat, so the spirituall shold be moderat, els it commonly turns to a frenzy, and that is the thing which causeth such a giddinesse and distraction in their braines; This (proceeding from the suggestions of an ill spirit) puffs them up with so much spirituall pride; for the Devill is so cunning a Wrastler, that he oftentimes lifts men up to give them the greater fall: they think they have an inerring spirit, and [Page 329] that their Diall must needs go tru, howso­ever the Sun goes: they wold make the Gospell, as the Caddies make the Alchoran, to decide all civill temporall matters under the large notion of slander, whereof they for­sooth to be the Judges, and so in time to hook in all things to their Classis: I believe if these men were dissected when they are dead, they would be a great deale of Quick­silver found in their braines.

But I could pitty the giddinesse of their braines, had they not so much gaul in their breasts, were they not so thirsting after blood, so full of poison and irreconcileable malice; in so much that it may be very well thought, these men are a kin to that race which sprung out of the Serpents teeth: these are they which have seduced our great Counsell, and led this foolish City by the nose to begin and foment this ugly War, insomuch that if those numberless bodies which have perish'd in these commotions, were cast into her streets, and before her doores, many thou­sand Citizens noses would bleed of pure guilt.

[Page 330]Not to hold you long, these are the men who have baffled common sence, blasted the beams of nature, and offered violence to rea­son it self; these are they who have infa­tuated most of the peeple of this Iland; so that whereas in times past, som call'd her the Ile of Angels, she may be term'd now the Ile of Gulls, or more properly the Ile of Doggs, or rather indeed [...]he Ile of Wolfs, there is such a true Lycanthrepy com in a­mong us: I am loth to call her the Iland of Devills, though she hath bin branded so a­broad.

To conclude Sir, the glory of this Isle is quite blasted; 'tis tru they speak of peace, but while the King speakes to them of it, they make themselves ready for battle; I much fear, that Ixion-like we imbrace a cloud for peace, out of which there will issue out Cen­taures, and Monsters, as sprung out of that cloud.

Touching that ancient'st holy Order whereof you see me to be; I well hoped, that in regard they pretended to reforme things only, they wold not have quite extir­pated, but regulated only this Order: it had bin enough to brayle our wings, not to have [...]ear'd them: to have lopp'd and prun'd, not [Page 331] to have destroyed root and branch of that ancient tree which was planted by the hands of the Apostles themselfs: In fine Sir, we are a lost peeple, 'tis no other Dedalus, but the high Deity of heaven can clue us out of this labyrinth of confusions, can extricat us out of this maze of miseries: the Philosopher saith, 'tis impossible for man to quadrat a Circle; so 'tis not in the power of man, but of God alone, to make a loyall Subject of a Round head: Among other things that strangers report of this Iland, they say that Winter here hath too many teares in his eyes: Helas Sir, 'tis impossible he shold have too many now, to bewaile the lamentable base slavery, that a free-born peeple is com to: and though they are grown so tame as to kisse the rod that whips them, yet their Taskmasters will not throw it into the fire.

Truly Sir, as my tongue is too feeble to expresse our miseries, so the plummet of the best understanding is too short to fadom the depth of them.

With this, the grave Venerable Bishop giving me his benediction, fetcht such a sigh, that would have rended a rock asun­der; and suddenly vanish'd (methought) out [Page 332] out of my sight up towards Heaven. I pre­sently after awoke about the dawnings of the day, when one could hardly discern Dog from Wolf; and my soul, my Arimu­la vagula blandula, being re-entred through the Horn gate of sleep into her former man­sion, half tyr'd after so long a Peregrinati­on; and having rub'd my eyes, distended my limms, and return'd to a full experge­faction, I began to call my self to account touching those world of objects my fancy had represented unto me that night; and when by way of reminiscence I fel to examin [...] and ruminate upon them; Lord, what a masse of Ideas ran in my head! but when I call'd to mind the last Countrey my soul wandred in, methought I felt my heart like a lump of lead within me, when I considered how pat every circumstance might be apply­ed to the present condition of England: I was meditating with my self what kind of dream this might be; wherupon I thought upon the common division that Philoso­phers make of dreams, that they are either

• [Page 333]Divine,
• Diabolicall,
• Naturall, or
• Humane.

For the first, they are Visions more pro­perly or Revelations, wherof ther are divers examples in the holy Oracles of God, but the puddled cranies of my brain are not rooms clean enough to entertain such: Touching the second kind, which come by the impulses of the Devil, I have heard of divers of them, as when one did rise up out of his sleep, and fetcht a poyniard to stab his bed-fellow, which he had done, had he not bin awake; Another went to the next chamber abed to his mother, and wold have ravish'd her; but I thank God this dream of mine was not of that kind.

Touching the third species of dreams; which are naturall dreams, they are accor­ding to the humor which predominats; if Melancholy sway, we dream of black dark­som devious places; if Phlegm, of waters; if Choler, of frayes, fightings, and troubles; if Sanguin predominat, we dream of green fields, gardens, and other pleasant represen­tations; [Page 334] and the Physitian comes often to know the quality of a disease by the noctur­nal objects of the patients fancy.

Humane dreams the last sort relate to the actions of the day past, or of the day follow­ing, and som representations are clear and even; others are amphibious, mongrell, distorted and squalid objects, (according to the species of trees over troubled waters:) and the object is clear or otherwise, accor­ning to the tenuity or grossenesse of the va­pors which ascend from the ventricle up to the brain.

Touching my Dream, I think it was of this last kind; for I was discoursing of, and con­doling the sad distempers of our times the day before: I pray God som part of it prove not propheticall; for, although the French­man sayeth, Songes sont Mensonges, dreames are delusions, and that they turn to contra­ries, yet the Spaniard hath a saying,

Insomuch that some Dreams oftentimes [Page 335] prove tru; as S. Austin makes mention of a rich Merchant in Milan, who being dead, one of his Creditors comes to his son to demand such a sum of money which he had lent his father; the son was confident 'twas paid, but not finding the Creditors Receipt, he was impleaded and like to be cast in the Sute, had not his fathers Ghost appeared to him, and directed him to the place where the Acquittance was, which he found the next day accordingly. Galen speaks of one that dreamt he had a wooden leg, and the next day he was taken with a dead Palsie in one whole side. Such a Dream was that of William Rufus, when he thought he had felt a cold gust passing through his bowels; and the next day he was slain in the guts, by the glance of an arrow, in new Forrest, a place where he and his Father had committed so many Sacrileges. I have read in Artime­dorus, of a woman that dreamt she had seen the pictures of three faces in the Moone like her self, and she was brought to bed of three daughters a little after, who all died with­in the compas of a moneth. Another dreamt, that Xanthus water ran red, and the next day he fell a spitting of blood.

To this I will add another fore-telling [Page 336] Dream, whereof I have read, which was thus: two young Gentlemen being travelling a­broad in strange Countreyes, and being come to a great towne, the one lay far in the Citie, the other in an Hostry without the wall in the Suburbs: he in the City did dream in the dead of night, that his friend which he had left in the Suburbs rush'd into his chamber panting and blowing, being pur­sued by others; he dreamt so againe, and the third time he might see his friends Ghost appearing at his beds side with bloud trickling down his throat, and a Poyniard in his brest, telling him, Dear friend, I am come now to take my last farewell of thee, and if thou rise betimes, thou shalt meet me in the way going to be buryed; the next morning his friend going with his Host to­wards the Inn in the Suburbs wher he left his friend, they met with a Cart laden with dung in the way, which being staid and search'd, the dead body was found naked in the dung.

I will conclude with a notable Dream that Osman the Great Turk had not many years since, a few days before he was mur­thered by his Janizaries, 1623. He dreamt, that being mounted upon a huge Camel, he [Page 237] could not make him go, though he switch'd and spur'd him never so much; at last the Camel overthrew him, and being upon the ground, only the bridle was left in his hand, but the body of the Camel was vanished: the Mufti not being illuminated enough to interpret this Dream, a Santon who was a kind of Idiot, told him, the Camel represen­ted the Ottoman Empire, which he not being able to govern, he shold be o'rethrown, which two dayes after proved tru.

By these, and a cloud of examples more, we may conclude, that Dreams are not alto­gether impertinent, but somthing may be gathered out of them; though the applicati­on and meaning of them be denyed to man, unless by special illumination.

THus have you a rough account of a ram­bling Noctivagation up and down the world: I may boldly say, that neither Sir Iohn Mandevile, or Coryat himself travell'd more in so short a time: whence you see what nimble Postillions the Animal Spirits [Page 338] are; and with what incredible celerity the imagination can crosse the Line, cut the Tro­piques, and pass to the other Hemisphere of the world; which shews that humane souls have somthing in them of the Almighty, that their faculties have a kind of ubiquita­ry freedom, though the body be never so under restraint, as the Authors is.

The Pre-eminence, and Duty OF PARLEMENT.

A GLANCE UPON THE ILE of WIGHT, OR AN INQUISITION AFTER TRUTH.

WHo vindicats Truth doth a good office not onely to his own Country, but to all Mankind; It is the scope of this short dis­course, viz. to make som re­searches after Truth, and to rectifie the world accordingly in point of opinion, specially touching the first Author and Aggressor of the late ugly war in England, which brought with it such an inundation of bloud, and so [Page 374] did let in so huge a torrent of mischiefs to rush upon us. Ther be many, and they not only Presbyterians and Independents, but Cavaliers also, who think that the King had taken the guilt of all this bloud upon himself, in regard of that Concession he passed in the preamble of the late Treaty at the Isle of Wight; The aim of this Paper is to clear that point, but in so temperat a way, that I hope 'twill give no cause of exception, much lesse of offence to any: the bloud that's sought after here, shall not be min­gled with gaule, much lesse with any venom at all.

We know ther is no Principle either in Divinity, Law or Philosophy, but may be wrested to a wrong sense; ther is no truth so demonstrative and clear, but may be subject to cavillations; no Tenet so plain, but per­verse inferences may be drawn out of it; such a fate befell that preambular Concession His Majesty passed at the Transactions of the late Treaty, in that he acknowledg'd ther­in that the two Houses of Parlement were neces­sitated to undertake a war in their own just and lawful defence, &c. and that therfore all Oaths, Declarations, or other public Instruments a­gainst the Houses of Parlement, or any for ad­hering [Page 375] to them, &c. be declared null, suppressed, and forbidden.

'Tis true, His Majesty passed this grant, but with this weighty consideration as it had reference to two ends.

First, to smoothen and facilitate things thereby to open a passage, and pave the way to a happy peace, which this poor Iland did so thirst after, having bin so long glutted with civil blood.

Secondly, that it might conduce to the further security, and the indemnifying of the two Houses of Parlement, with all their instruments, assistants, and adherents, and so rid them of all jealousies, and fear of future dangers which still lodg'd within them. Now touching the expressions and words of this Grant, they were not his own, nor did he give order for the dictating or penning thereof; the King was not the Author of them, but an Assentor only unto them: nor was He or his Party accus'd, or as much as mentioned in any of them, to draw the least guilt upon themselves. Besides, He pass'd them as he doth all Lawes and Acts of Parlement, which in case of absence another may do for him in his politic capacity, therfore they can­not prejudice his person any way. I am loth [Page 376] to say that he condescended to this Grant,

When the razor was as it were at his throat, when ther was an Army of about thirty thousand effectif Horse and Foot that were in motion against him, when his Person had continued under a black long lingring restraint, and dangerous menacing Petitions and Papers daily ob [...]ruded against him. Moreover, His Majesty pass'd this Concession with these two provisos and reservations,

First, that it should be of no vertu or va­lidity at all, till the whole Treaty were in­tirely consummated;

Secondly, that he might when he pleas'd inlarge and cleer the truth with the reserved­nesse of his meaning herein, by public De­claration: Now the Treaty being confused­ly huddled up, without discussing, or as much as receiving any Proposition from himself as was capitulated, (and reciprocall proposalls are of the essence of all Treaties) it could nei­ther bind him, or turne any way to his dis­advantage: Therfore under favour, ther was too much hast us'd by the Parlement, to draw that hipothetick or provisional Con­cession to the form of an Act so suddenly af­ter [Page 377] in the very heat of the Treaty, without His Majesties knowledg, or the least intima­tion of his pleasure.

Add hereunto, that this Grant was but a meer preambular Proposition, 'twas not of the essence of the Treaty it self: And as the Philosophers and Schoolemen tell us, there is no valid proof can be drawn out of Proemes, Introductions or Corollaries in any science, but out of the positive assertions and body of the Text, which is only argument-proof; so in the Constitutions and Laws of England, as also in all accusations and charges, forerun­ning prefaces & preambles (which common­ly weak causes want most) are not pleadable: and though they use to be first in place, like gentlemen-Ushers, yet are they last in digni­ty, as also in framing, nor had they ever the force of Laws, but may be term'd their at­tendants to make way for them.

Besides, ther's not a syllable in this preface which repeals or connives at any former Law of the Land, therefore those Laws that so strictly inhibit English Subjects to raise armes against their Liege Lord the King, and those Lawes è contrario which exempt from all dan­gers, penalties or molestation, any Subject that adheres to the person of the King in any cause or [Page 378] buarrell whatsoever, are still in force.

Furthermore, this introductory Concession of the Kings, wherein he is contented to de­clare, That the two Houses were necessitated to take Armes for their defence, may be said to have relation to the necessity, à parte pòst, not à parte antè: self-defence is the universall Law of Nature, and it extends to all other cretures, as well as to the Rationall: As the fluent Roman Orator in that sentence of his, which is accounted among the Critiques the excellentest that ever drop'd from Cicero; Est enim haec non scripta, sed nata Lex quam non didicimus, accepimus, legimus, verum ex natura ipsa arripuimus, hausimus, expressimus, ad quam non docti, sed facti, non instituti, sed imbuti sum [...]s, ut si vita nostra in &c. For this (meaning self-defence) is not a written, but a Law born with us; A Law which we have not learnt, receiv'd or read, but that which we have suck'd, drawn forth, and wrung out of the very brests of Nature her self; A Law to which we are not taught, but made unto, wherwith we are not instructed, but indued withall, that if our lifes be in jeopardy, &c. we may repel force by force. Therfore when the House of Parliament had drawn upon them a necessity of self defence (And I could [Page 379] have wish'd it had bin against any other but their own Soverain Prince) His Majesty was contented to acknowledge that necessity. As for example: A man of war meets with a Marchant man at Sea, he makes towards him, and assaults him; The Marchant man having a good stout vessell under him, and resolute, generous Seamen, bears up against him, gives him a whole broad­side, and shoots him 'twixt wind and wa­ter; so there happens a furious fight betwixt them, which being ended, the Marchant cannot deny but that the man of war, though the first Assailant, was necessitated to fight, and that justly in his own defence, which necessity he drew upon himself, and so was excusable, à posteriori, not à priori; As the Ci­vilians speak of a clandestine marriage, Fieri non debuit, sed factum valet; It ought not to have been, but being done 'tis valid: wherun­to relates another saying, Multa sunt quae non nisi per acta approbantur. Ther are many things which are not allowable til they are pass'd.

The Kings of France have had sundry ci­vil wars, They have had many bloudy en­counters and clashes with their Subjects, specially the last King Lewis the thirteenth, which turn'd all at last to his advantage; Among other Treaties in that of Loudun, he [Page 380] was by force of Article to publish an Edict, Dont lequel le Roy approuvoit tout le passé com­me ayant esté fait pour son service, &c. Wherin the King approv'd of all that w [...]s pass'd, as done for his service, &c. and these concessions and extenuations are usu­all at the close of most civil wars, but ther was never any further advantage made of them, then to make the adverse party more capable of grace and pardon, as also to enable them to bear up against the brunt of Laws, and secure them more firmly from all after­claps; They were pass'd in order to an Act of Abolition, to a generall pardon, and con­sequently to a re-establishment of Peace; now, Peace and War (we know) are like Wa­ter and Ice, they engender one another: But I do not remember to have read either in the French History, or any other, that such Royal Concessions at the period of any intestin war were ever wrung so hard, as to draw a­ny inference from them, to cast therby the guilt of bloud, or indeed the least stain of dishonour upon the King; For Royal In­dulgences and grants of this nature are like nurses breasts, if you presse them gently ther will milk come forth, if you wring them too hard you will draw forth bloud in lieu of [Page 381] milk: And I have observed that the con­clusion of such Treaties in France, both par­ties wold hugg and mutually embrace one another in a gallant way of national huma­nity; all rancor, all plundrings, sequestra­tion, and imprisonment wold cease, nor wold any be prosecuted, much lesse made away afterwards in cold bloud.

Touching the Comencer of this mon­strous war of ours, the world knows too well, that the first man of bloud was Blew­cap, who shew'd Subjects the way, how to present their King with Petitions upon the Pikes point, and what visible judge­ments have fallen upon him since, by such confusions of discord and pesti­lence at home, and irreparable dishonour abroad, let the world judge. The Irish took his rise from him: and wheras it hath bin often suggested, that His Majesty had fore­knowledge therof, among a world of con­vincing arguments which may clear him in this particular, the Lord Maguair upon the ladder, and another upon the Scaffold, when they were ready to breath their last, and to appear before the Tribunall of heaven, did absolutely acquit the King, and that spon­taneously of their own accord, being unsought [Page 382] unto, but only out of a love to truth, and discharge of a good conscience: but touch­ing those cruentous Irish wars, in regard ther was nothing wherof more advantage was made against His late Majesty, to imbitter and poyson the hearts of his Subjects against him then that Rebellion, I will take leave to wind up the main causes of them upon a small bottom as was spoken elsewhere.

1. They who kept intelligence and com­plyed with the Scot, in his first and second insurrection.

2. They who dismiss'd the first Irish Commissioners (who came of purpose to attend our Parlement with som grievances) with such a short unpolitic harsh answer.

3. They who took off Straffords head, (which had it stood on, that Rebellion had never been) and afterwards retarded the dis­patch of the Earl of Leicester from going over to be Lord-Lievtenant.

4. Lastly, they, who hindred part of that disbanded Army of 8000 men rais'd there by the Earl of Strafford, which His Majesty, in regard they were souldiers of fortune, and loose casheer'd men, to prevent the mischiefs that might befall that Kingdome, by their insolencies, had promised the two Spanish [Page 383] Ambassadors, the Marquesses of Veloda and Malvezzi, then resident in this Court; which souldiers rise up first of any, and put fire to the tumult to find somthing to do.

They, I say, who did all this, may be justly said to have bin the tru causes of that horrid Insurrection in Ireland; and consequently 'tis easie to judge upon the account of whose souls must be laid the bloud of those hun­dred and odd thousand poor Christians who perished in that war▪ and had it bin possible to have brought o're their bodies unputrified to England, and to have cast them at the lower House door, and in the presence of som Members, which are now either seclu­ded, or gone to give an account in another world, I believe their noses wold have gush'd out with bloud for discovery of the tru mur­therers.

Touching this last fire-brand of war, which was thrown into England, who they were that kindled it first, the consciences of those indifferent and unbiassed men are sit­test to be judges, who have bin curious to observe with impartial eyes, the carriage of things from the beginning.

I confesse, 'twas a fatal unfortunat thing, [Page 384] that the King shold put such a distance 'twixt his Person and his Parlement, but a more fatal and barbarous thing it was, that he should be driven away from it, that there should be a desperate designe to sur­prize His Person, that Ven with his Myrmi­dons, and Bourges with his Bandogs, (for so▪ they calld the riffraff of the City they brought along with them) should rabble him away, with above four parts in five of the Lords, and near upon two parts in three of the Commons: Yet 'tis fit it should be remembred, what reiterated Messages His Majesty sent from time to time after­ward, That he was alwaies ready to return, provided there might be a course taken to secure his Person, with those Peers and other who were rioted away from the Hou­ses, 'Tis fit it should be remembred, that there was not the least motion of war at all, till Hotham kept His Majesty out of His own Town Kingston upon Hull, (for the Name whereof shew'd whose Town it was) where being attended by a few of His meniall Servants, he came onely to visit her, having peaceably sent the Duke of York, and the Palsgrave thi­ther the day before) which act of Hotham's [Page 385] by shutting the gates against him was vo­ted warrantable by the House of Com­mons, and it may be call'd the first thun­derbolt of War: 'Tis fit it should be re­membred, that a while after there was a compleate Army of 16000. effectif Horse and Foot inrolled in and about London to fetch him to his Parliament by force, and remove ill Counsellours from about him, (long before he put up his Royal Standard) and the Generall then nam'd was to live and die with them: and very observable it is, how that Generalls Father was exe­cuted for a Traytor, for but attempting such a thing upon Queen Elizabeth, I mean to remove ill Counsellors from about her by force. 'Tis also to be observed, that the same Army which was rais'd to bring him to his Parliament, was continued to a clean contrary end two years after­wards to keep him from his Parliament. 'Tis fit it should be remembred, who in­terdicted Trade first, and brought in For­raigners to help them, and whose Com­missions of War were neere upon two moneths date before the Kings. 'Tis fit it should be remembred how His Maje­sty in all His Declarations and publick [Page 386] Instruments made alwaies deep Protestati­ons, that 'twas not against his Parliament he raised Armes, but against some seditious Members, against whom he had onely de­sired the common benefit of the Law, but could not obtain it; 'Tis fit to remember, that after any good successes and advanta­ges of his, he still Courted both Parlia­ment and City to an Accommodation; how upon the Treaty at Uxbridge, with much importunity for the generall advan­tage and comfort of his peeple, and to pre­pare matters more fitly for a peace, he de­sired there might be freedom of Trade from Town to Town, and a Cessation of all Acts of Hostility for the time, that the inflammation being allayed, the wound might be cur [...]d the sooner; all which was denyed him. 'Tis fit to remember how a Noble Lord (The Earl of Southampton) at that time told the Parliaments Com­missioners in His Majesties Name, at the most unhappy rupture of the said Trea­ty, That when he was at the highest he would be ready to treat with them, and fight them when he was at the lowest: 'Tis fit the present Army should remember how of­ten both in their Proposalls, and publick [Page 387] Declarations they have inform'd the world, and deeply protested that their principall aime was to restore His Maje­sty to honour, freedom and safety, where­unto they were formerly bound, both by their own Protestation and Covenant, that the two Commanders in chief pawn'd un­to him their soules thereupon. Let them remember, that since he was first snatch'd away to the custody of the Army by Cromwells plot, who said, that if they had the Person of the King in their power, they had the Parliament in their pockets. I say being kept by the Army, He never displeas'd them in the least particular, but in all his Overtures for Peace, and in all his Proposi­tions he had regard still that the Army should be satisfied: let it be remembred, that to settle a blessed Peace, to preserve his Subjects from rapine and ruine, and to give contentment to his Parliament, He did in effect freely part with His Sword, Scepter, and Crown, and ev'ry thing that was proprietary to him: Let it be remem­bred with what an admired temper, with what prudence and constancy, with what moderation and mansuetude he compor­ted himself since his deep afflictions, inso­much [Page 388] that those Commissioners and o­thers who resorted unto him, and had had their hearts so averse unto him before, return'd his Converts, crying him up to be one of the sanctifiedst persons upon earth: and will not the bloud of such a Prince cry loud for vengeance?

Let it be remembred, that though there be some Precedents of deposing Kings in his Kingdom, and elsewhere, when there was a competition for the right Title to the Crown by some other of the bloud Royall, yet 'tis a thing not onely unsampled, but unheard of in any age, that a King of Eng­land whose Title was without the least scruple, should be summon'd and arraign'd, tryed, condemned, and executed in His own Kingdom, by His own Subjects, and by the name of their own King, to whom they had sworn Alleagiance.

The meanest Student that hath but ta­sted the Laws of the Land can tell you, that it is an unquestionable fundamentall Maxime, The King can do no wrong, be­cause he acts by the mediation of his Agents and Ministers, he heares with [Page 389] other mens eares, he sees with other mens eyes, he consults with other mens braines, he executes with other mens hands, and judges with other mens con­sciences; therefore his Officers Coun­sellors or favorites are punishable, not He: and I know not one yet whom he hath spar'd, but sacrificed to Justice. The Crown of England is of so coruscant and pure a mettall▪ that it cannot receive the least taint or blemish; and if there were any before in the person of the Prince, it takes them all away and makes him to be Rectus in curia. This as in many o­thers may be exemplified in Henry the Seventh, and the late Queen Elizabeth: when she first came to the Crown 'twas mention'd in Parlement, that the attain­der might be taken off him, under which he lay all the time he liv'd an Exile in France; it was then by the whole house of Parlement resolv'd upon the question, that it was unnecessary, because the Crown purg'd all. So likewise when Queen E­lizabeth was brought as it were from the Scaffold to the Throne; though she was under a former attainder, yet 'twas thought superfluous to take it off, for the [Page 390] Crown washeth away all spots, and dar­teth such a brightnesse, such resplendent beams of Majesty, that quite dispell all for­mer clouds: so that put case King Iames died a violent death, and his Son had been accessary to it, (which is as base a lie as ever the devil belch'd out) yet his accesse to the Crown had purged all. This businesse about the playster which was applyed to King Iames, was sifted and winnow'd as narrowly as possibly a thing could be in former Parlements, yet when it was exhibited as an Article against the Duke of Buckingham, 'twas term'd but a presumption or misdemeanure of a high na­ture: And 'tis strange that these new ac­cusers shold make that a parricide in the King, which was found but a presum­ption in the Duke, who in case it had been so, must needs have been the chiefest Ac­cessary.

And as the ancient Crown and Royall Diadem of England is made of such pure allay, and cast in so dainty a mould, that it can receive no taint, or contract the least speck of enormity and foulenesse in it self, so it doth endow the person of the Prince that weares it with such high Pre­rogatives; [Page 391] that it exempts him from all sorts of publique blemishes; from all At­tainders, Empeachments, Summons, Ar­raignments and Tryalls; nor is there or ever was any Law or Precedent in this Land, to lay any Crime or capitall charge against him, though touching civill mat­ters: touching propertie of meum and tu­um, he may be impleaded by the meanest vassall that hath sworn fealty to him; as the Subjects of France and Spaine may a­gainst their Kings, though never so absolute Monarchs.

In the Constitutions of England, there are two incontroulable Maximes, whereof the meanest mootman that hath but salu­ted Littleton cannot be ignorant: the first is, Rex in suis Dominiis neque habet parem, nec superiorem. The King in his own Do­minions hath neither Peer, or Superior. The other is Satis habet Rex ad poenam quod Deum expectet ultorem: 'tis punishment enough for a King that God will take re­venge of him: Therefore if it be the Fun­damentall Constitution of the Land, that all just Tryalls must be by Teers, and that the Law proclaimes the King to have no peer in his own Dominions, I leave the [Page 392] world to judg, what capacity or power those men had to arraign their late King, to be in effect his Accusers and Iudges; and that an exorbitant unsampled Tribu­nall should be erected, with power and purpose to condemn All to cleer none, and that sentence of death should passe without conviction or Law upon Him that was the heard and protector of all the Lawes. Lastly, that They who by their own con­fession represent but the Common people, should assume power to cut off Him who immediately represented God,

Well, we have seen such portentous things, that former Ages never beheld, nor will future Ages ever be witnesse of the like: Nay, posterity, after a Century or two of yeers will hold what is now really acted to be but Romances.

And now with thoughts full of consterna­tion and horror, And a heart trembling with amazement and sorrow for the crying fla­grant sins of this forlorn Nation, specially for that fresh Infandous murther committed up­on [Page 393] the sacred Person of his Majesty, I con­clude with this Hepastick, wherein all cretures ( though irrationall) that have sence, yea the very vegetalls seeme to abhor so damnable a fact.