MAY it please your Majesty (in the day wherein you happily say, You now know that you are again King over your Brittish Israel) to cast a favourable eye upon your poor Mephibosheths now, and by reason of lameness in respect of di­stance, not until now appearing in your presence, we mean New-England, kneeling with the rest [Page 4] of your Subjects, before your Majesty, as her Restored King. We forget not our Ineptness as to these approaches. We at present own such Impotency, as renders us unable to excuse our Impotency of speaking unto our Lord the King: yet Contemplating such a King who hath also seen Adversity, that he knoweth the heart of Exiles, who himself hath been an Exile; The Aspect of Majesty thus extraordinarily circumstanced, influenceth, and anima­teth, exanimated out-casts (yet outcasts as we hope for the truth) to make this Address unto their Prince, ho­ping to finde Grace in your sight; We present this Script, the Transcript of our Loyal hearts, into your Royal hands, wherein we crave leave:

To Supplicate your Majesty for your Gracious Prote­ction of us, in the continuance both of our Civil Priviled­ges, according to (and of our Religious Liberties, the Grauntees known end of suing for) the Pattent conferred upon this Plantation by your Royal Father: This, This, viz. Our Liberty to walk in the Faith of the Gospel, with all good conscience, according to the order of the Gospel (unto which the former in these ends of the earth is but subservient) was the cause of our transporting our selves, with our wives, little ones, and our substance, from that pleasant Land, over the Atlantick Ocean, into this vast and waste Wilderness: chusing rather the pure Scripture worship with a good conscience, in this poor remote Wilderness, amongst the Heathens, then the pleasures of England, with subjection to the Imposition of the then so disposed, and so far prevailing Hierarchy, which we could not do without an evil conscience: For this cause we are at this day in a Land, which lately was not sown, wherein we have conflicted with the sufferings [Page 5] thereof much longer then Jacob was in Syria; Our Wit­ness is in Heaven that we left not our Country upon any dissatisfaction as to the constitution of the Civil State; Our Lot after the example of the Good Old Non Confor­mist, hath been only to Act a Passive part throughout these late Vicissitudes and successive Overturnings of State; Our separation from our Brethren in this desart, hath been and is a suffering, bringing to minde the affli­ction of Joseph, but Providential exception of us thereby from the late Wars, and temptations of either party, we account as a favour from God, the former cloaths us with sackcloath, the latter with innocency.

What Reception, Courtesie, and Aequanimity those Gentlemen, and other Adherers to the Royal Interest in their adverse Changes visited these Parts were enter­tained with amongst us, according to the meaness of our Conditions, we appeal to their own reports.

Touching complaints put in against us, our humble Request only is, that for the Interim wherein we are dumb, by reason of absence, Your Majesty would permit nothing to make an Impression upon your Royal heart against us, until we have opportunity and license to an­swer for our selves; Few will be nocent, said that Im­pleader, if it be enough to denie; few will be innocent, replyed the then Emperour, if it be enough to accuse.

Concerning the Quakers, open Capital Blasphemers, open Seducers from the Glorious Trinity, the Lords Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ, the blessed Gospel, and from the Holy Scriptures, as the rule of life, open ene­mies to Government it self, as established in the hands of any but men of their own Principles, Malignant and Assiduous Promoters of Doctrines, directly tending to [Page 6] subvert both our Churches and State: After all other means for a long time used in vain, we were at last con­strained, for our own safety, to pass a Sentence of Banish­ment against them upon pain of Death; such was their dangerous Impetuous and desperate Turbulency to Reli­gion, and to the State Civil and Ecclesiastical, as that how unwilling soever, could it have been avoided, the Magistrate at least in conscience both to God and man, judged himself called for the defence of all, to keep the passage with the point of the sword held toward them; this could do no harm to him that would be warned thereby, their willingly rushing themselves thereupon was their own act, and we with all humility conceive a Crime bringing their bloods upon their own heads. The Quakers died not because of their other Crimes how ca­pital soever, but upon their superadded presumptuous and incorrigible contempt of Authority, breaking in upon us, notwithstanding the Sentence of Banishment made known unto them; Had they not been restrained so far as appeared, there was too much cause to fear that we our selves must quickly have dyed, or worse; and such was their Insolency that they would not be restrain­ed but by Death; nay, had they at last but promised to depart the Jurisdiction, and not to return without leave from Authority, we should have been glad of such an op­portunity to have said they should not dye.

Let not the King hear mens words, Your servants are true men, fearers of God and the King, and not given to change, zealous of Government and Order, Orthodox and peaceable in Israel, we are not seditious to the In­terest of Caesar, no Schismaticks as to the matters of Re­ligion, we distinguish between Churches and their Im­purities, [Page 7] between a living man, though not without sickness or infirmities, and no man; irregularities either in our selves or others, we desire may be amended; we could not live without the publique worship of God; we were not permitted the use of publique worship, with­out such a Yoak of Subscription and Conformity, as we could not consent unto without sin: That we might therefore enjoy Divine Worship without humane mix­tures; without offence either to God or man, or our own consciences; we with leave (but not without Tears) departed from our Country, Kindred and Fathers house, into this Pathmos; in relation whereunto we do not say, Our Garments are become old, by reason of the very long Journey, but that our selves, who came away in our strength, are by reason of very long absence, many of us become grey headed, and some of us stooping for age; The Omission of the prementioned Injunctions, together with the walking of our Churches, as to the point of order in the Congregational way, is all wherein we differ from our Orthodox Brethren.

Sir, We lye not before your Sacred Majesty, the Lord God of Gods, the Lord God of Gods he knoweth, and Israel he shall know, if it were in Rebellion or Schisme that we willingly left our dwelling in our own, or continue our dwelling in the strange Land, save us not this day.

Royal Sir, If according to our humble Petition, and good hope the God of the Spirits of all flesh, the Father of mercies (who comforteth the Abject) shall make the permission of the bereavement of that All, for which we have and do suffer the loss of all, Precious, so Precious in your sight, as that your Royal heart shall be inclined to shew unto us that kindness of the Lord in Your Majesties [Page 8] Protection of us in these Liberties, for which we hither came, and which hitherto we have enjoyed upon Heze­kiahs speaking comfortably to us as to sons; This Or­phane shall not continue fatherless, but grow up as a revi­ved Infant under its Nursing Father: These Churches shall be comforted in a door of hope opened by so signal a Pledge of the lengthening of their Tranquility; These poor and naked Gentiles, not a few of whom through Grace, are come and coming in, shall still see their wont­ed Teachers with incouragement of a more plentiful in­crease of the Kingdom of Christ amongst them; and the Blessing of your poor afflicted (and yet we hope trusting in God) shall come upon the head and heart of that great King, who was sometime an Exile as we are:

With a Religious Stipulation of our Prayers, we (Pro­strate at Your, Royal feet) beg Pardon for this our boldness; Craving finally that our Names may be enrouled amongst