regret the Hard Usage which the Protestants meet with in other Countries and wish they were but as well treated there as the Roman-Catholicks are here Before I have done I beg leave to take notice of a Pamphlet that came out last Summer call'd Cursory Remarks upon the Proceedings of the Last Session of Parliament The Gentleman that wrote it had not only the Honesty to publish an Answer to his own Book but in that Answer to insinuate that I was the Author of it All the Use I shall make of this unusual Liberty of the Press is to declare That I have not publish'd any one Paper Pamphlet or Book these Six Years And though I have but little Leisure and yet less Inclination to appear again in Print yet if ever I alter my Resolution and publish any thing hereafter I will certainly put my Name to it as I have done to these Memoirs THE CONTENTS THE Excellencies of the English Constitution and the various Changes that have happen'd in it Page 1 The State of England under Queen Elizabeth 3 Her Character 5 The Character of her Ministers particularly of Walsingham Cecil c. and of the Members of the House of Commons in her time 8 Her Conduct towards Mary Queen of Scots 15 King James the First 's Accession to the Crown and the Condition of England under his Reign 19 His Character 20 The Character and Deathof Prince Henry 23 The Character of the Queen of Bohemia and King James's Conduct in the Business of the Palatinate 27 The Fate of Sir Walter Raleigh 28 King James's Conduct in teh Interdict of Venice 34 King Charles the First 's Accession to the Crown and the Condition of England at that time 37 The Breach betwixt Archbishop Abbot and Bishop Laud 38 The Rise of King Charles's Troubles and the first and second War with the Scots 41 The meeting of the Parliament November 1640. 45 The Fall and Character of Wentworth Earl of Strafford 47 The Fall and Character of Archbishop Laud 55 The Famous Petition and Remonstrance of the state of the Nation and the King's Answer 61 His coming to the House of Commons in Person to demand the Five Members and the Consequences of it 63 His Leaving the Parliament and the beginning of the Civil Wars and who began it 66 The Treaty of Uxbridge how unsuccesful and the Marquis of Montrose's fatal Letter the Cause 63 The Character and Fall of King Charles the First 74 His Opinion of Defensive Arms in the bisiness of Rochel 79 The Character of his Favourite Buckingham 84 The true Cause of the Scot's coming into England being a forg'd Letter 91 King Charles's design beâ—ore his Death to Resign the Crown And the Army 's to set up the Duke of Gloucester 98 His Consulting the Sortes Virgilianae 100 The Vsurpation and Character of Oliver Cromwell 102 The Restoration of King Charles the Second and the Manner of it with Monk's part in it and the Risk Monk ran in Scotland 114 One of the true Causes of the Fall of Chancellor Clarendon 122 The discovery of the Popish Plot and its Consequences 123 The Bill of Exclusion the design of it and how manag'd 125 The Disgrace of the Duke of Monmouth and the Consequences of it 131 The Protestant Plot and the Effects of it 133 The Death of King Charles the Second and the Suspicions about the Manner of it discuss'd 135 His Character 143 The Reign of King James the Second 148 The Advantages and Examples he might have maâ—e use of 150 His Brother's and Pope Innocent II.'s Advice to him 152 His first Speech to his Privy Council 153 His first Speech to his Parliament 156 His Second Memorable Speech to his Parliament 157 Two Letters from a Foreign Minister to their Ambassador in England upon the occasion of this Speech 159 Monmouth's Invasion and the Grounds of it 160 Some Passages out of Monmouth's Pocket-Book 166 Monmouth's Character 167 His Letter in his Retirement 169 King James's Speech to the Parliament upon Monmouth's Defeat 171 The Parliament's Address thereupon 173 The Sense of a Foreign Minister of this last Speech 175 The Advances made to the Subversion of the English Constitution 177 King James's Ambassy to Rome and how received 178 The Panegyricks of King James upon that occasion 182 The Manner how King James had been treated by another Pope in his Marriage with the Princess of Modena 187 King James grants a Toleration of Religion 191 He assumes a dispensing Power 194 He sets up an Ecclesiastical Commission 197 The Suspension of the Bishop of London 198 The Proceedings against Magdalen-College 201 His Second Declaration for Liberty of Conscience 206 The Affair of the Seven Bishops 208 The Birth of a pretended Prince of Wales 212 A new Parliament design'd and to what end 213 The Prince and Princess of Orange's Opinion about the Penal Laws and Test and how obtain'd 215 The Army Modell'd 220 The Methods us'd in Ireland and Tyrconel's Advancement 222 The Regulating of the Corporations and the Severities against the Protestants 228 The Act of Attainder there 232 The Interest that Foreign States had in England 234 The Emperor's Letter to King James 236 The Interest of the Prince of Orange 237 The bad Circumstances of the House of Orange at the Birth of the Present Prince of Orange now King of England 238 How he came to be Restored in Holland 240 The Desolation of Holland in 1672 242 The Reasons of that Desolation 244 The Difficulty the Prince of Orange had to grapple with 247 The Duke of Luxemburgh's Cruelties at Swammerdam 249 The Affair of Overall's Convocation and how resented by King James 255 His Letter to Dr. Abbot on that Occasion 257 ERRATA PAGE 62. Line 14 15. for the King's Answer to it at its delivery read Answer to them at their delivery MEMOIRS Of the most Material Transactions in England c. THERE is not a Natiâ—n in Europe that from the Constitution of its Government might have promis'd it self a more firm and lasting Repâ—se than England And yet scarce any Kingdom we know upon Earth has suffered so many and various Convulsions As if some malevolent Planet had over-rul'd one of the best of Human Constitutions and by an unaccountable Fatality had render'd ineffectual all the Endeavours of our Ancestors to make themselves and their Posterity happy under a Limited Monarchy A Monarchy in which the Prerogative of the Prince and the Liberty of the People are so equally temper'd that there seems nothing wanting that may tend to the Happiness of either The King of England has the Glory to Rule over a Free People The Excellency of the English Constitution and the People of England that of being subject to a Monarch who by the Laws of the Countrey is invested with as much Power and Greatness as a Wise and Beneficent Prince can reasonably wish for To compleat all the Crown of England has been for many Ages Hereditary and fix'd in
one Family The Breaches that have been sometimes made in the immediate Line not at all derogating from the nature of a Successive Monarchy so long as a due Respect is had to the Blood and for the most part the next immediate Heir except only upon great and urgent Difficulties and Emergencies The Crown being thus Hereditary it might have reasonably been expected That we should not only be strangers to the Inconveniences that arise naturally from Competitions in Elective Kingdoms but that it should be always the Interest of the Prince that 's in Possession of the Throne so to govern his People as not to put them upon the necessity at any time to break through the Succession and pass by the next Immediate Heir But such is the brittle state of human things that notwithstanding all the Advantages and Excellencies of the English Constitution scarce an Age has pass'd without some remarkable Struggle either between King and People for Prerogative and Liberty or between Competitors for the Crown it self The Glory of England was arriv'd to a high pitch in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth The Reign of Q. Elizabeth Her People liv'd at their Ease and were happy under her Auspicious Conduct and her opprest Neighbours felt the benign Influences of her great and bountiful Mind She it was that made Head against the then Paramount Power of Christendom and that in both the Old and New Worlds And it was in a great measure owing to her Conduct and Fortune that the Spaniard fell short of the Vniversal Monarchy To draw a Picture worthy of Queen Elizabeth Her Châ—ractâ—â— were a Task fit only for the Greatest Masters since all that ever was Great or Wise in Womankind did contribute to make up her Character As to her Person she had but little of a Regular Beauty in her Face but that was well proportion'd and in the main very agreeable Her Mien and Gait were Noble and in every thing she said or did there was something of Majesty that stâ—uck more Awe than Love Tho when she had a mind she could put on Charms that few were able to resist In her Features Person and Mien she had more of Henry the Eighth than of the Unfortunate Anna Bullen her Mother But they were his good and none of his ill Qualities which she deriv'd from her Father Her Youth was a continued Scene of Afflictions but she was happy in that she suffered one of the greatest before she was capable of feeling the weight of it for she was scarce Three Years old when her Mother was sacrific'd to the Rage and Jealousy of her Husband And she that had been the Year she was born declar'd not only Heir Apparent of the Crown but which was out of the ordinary Road Princess of Wales and that by Act of Parliament was now by another Act declar'd Illegitimate and excluded from the Succession Notwithstanding this strange Reverse of Fortune particular Care was taken of her Education especially by her Brother Edward the Sixth who lov'd her above all things and was scarce ever pleas'd but in her Company Before she was Seventeen Years of Age she understood perfectly well the Latin French and Italian Tongues and was so far Mistress of the Greek that she translated into Latin Two of Isocrates's Orations one of which I have seen of her own Hand-writing corrected by her Tutor but in Three places whereof one is an Error only in the Orthography She was indefatigable in the Study of Learning especially Philosophy History Divinity and Rhetorick not forgetting both Vocal and Instrumental Musick as far as it might become one of her Quality Being thus Learned it was no wonder she form'd her Tongue and Pen to a pure and elegant way of speaking and writing and her Mind to the Noblest Notions of Philosophy and the highest Practice of Virtue Her Brother dying Queen Mary's Hereditary Aversion to her upon the account of their Mothers broke out with all the marks of Ill-Nature and Revenge And Philip the Second who prov'd afterwards her greatest Enemy was the Person that preserv'd her Life but it was upon a mere political Design which however miscarried During all that Reign the Princess Elizabeth was tost from one Confinement to another being oblig'd many times to suffer Indignities far unworthy of her Birth till at last by the Death of Queen Mary she was call'd from a Prison to a Throne at the Age of Twenty five Years Upon receit of the News of her Sister's Death and that she her self was proclaim'd Queen it 's said she fell down upon her Knees and after a short silence broke out with these words of the Psalmist A Domino factum est isâ—ud est mirabile in oculis nostris Which Words she took afterwards for her Motto in some of her Gold Coin During all the time of her Reign she would never allow her Title to be debated or reason'd upon nor so much as explain'd or vindicated She thought it sufficient that she wore the Crown and was resolv'd and knew well how to maintain it upon her Head without the help of Paper-Arguments She receiv'd with Indignation a Proposition that was made to her to have her Title asseâ—ted in Parliament And scorn'd to Repeal even the Act which declar'd her Illegitimate and incapable to succeed Her Reign was long and glorious being lov'd of her People fear'd and admir'd by her Enemies and attended with constant Success in all her Enterprizes Never Prince was better serv'd nor more happy in the choice of her Servants and no Age can instance such a Set of Able Ministers as she had Her Court at home was the quiet and happy Seat of the Muses while her Fleets and Armies abroad gather'd Laurels every where for their Mistress and themselvts She had to perfection the Art of pleasing her Parliament and she and they never parted in discontent but with the highest proofs of mutual Confidence What sort of men they were that composed the House of Commons during her Reign and of how different a stamp from those in that of her Sucâ—essor Appendix Numb 1. The Character of the Members of Parliament in Q. Elizabâ—th's Reign is best express'd in the words of Sir Robert Nauntwell Secretary to King Iames who was a Member of Parliament in both Reigns which may not be improper to insert in the Appendix If Queen Elizabeth can be properly said to have had Favourites they were chiefly the Earls of Leicester and Essex but she never fail'd to humble them upon every occasion where they presum'd too much upon her Favour The one she recall'd with Ignominy from his Government of the Vnited Provinces for behaving himself haughtily in his Office And at another time upon his threatning Bower the Vsher of the Black Rod to have him turn'd out of his Place for stopping one of his Retinue at the Queen's Bed-Chamber Door she told him with a severe Frown accompanied with an Oath My Lord I had
a mind to do you good but you must not expect a Monopoly of my Favours I have other Subjects to show my Bounty to and I will give and take back again when and as often as I please If you pretend to command here I 'll find ways to humble you I know of no Master but I will make you know there is a Mistress And take care upon your peril that no hurt be done Bower for I 'll make you answer for him The Misfortune of the Earl of Essex every body knows Though otherways a brave Gentleman and endow'd with excellent Qualities yet he valued himself too much upon the Queen's Favour which together with the Contrivances of his Enemies hurried him on to Courses that in the end lost him his Head A Monarch supported with a Burleigh a Walsingham a Salisbury for the Cabinet a Nottingham a Drake a Raleigh for War with a great many others equally fit for both could scarce fail of being great and fortunate nor can any thing reflect more Lustre upon her Wisdom than her choice of such men Walsingham was a Pattern for all Statesmen to copy after The Character of Sir Francis Walsingham By his Vigilance and Address he preserv'd his Mistress's Crown and Life from daily Attempts and Conspiracies against her and by a refin'd piece of Policy defeated for a whole Year together the Measures Spain had taken for fitting out their Armado to Invade England The vast Preparations that were making for a considerable time in Spain kept all Europe in suspense and it was not certain against whom they were design'd though it was the general Opinion they were to subdue the Netherlands all at once which Spain was sensibâ—e could not be done without a greater Force by Sea as well as Land than had been hitherto employ'd for that Service Queen Elizabeth thought fit to be upon her Guard and had some Jealousies that she might be aim'd at but how to find it out was the difficulty which at length Walsingham overcame He had Intelligence from Madrid That Philip had told his Council that he had dispatch'd an Express to Rome with a Letter writ with his own Hand to the Pope acquainting him with the true Design of his Preparations and asking his Blessing upon it which for some Reasons he would not yet disclose to them till the return of the Courier The Secret being thus lodg'd with the Pope Walsingham by the Means of a Venetian Priest retain'd at Rome as his Spy got a Copy of the Original Letter which was stolen out of the Pope's Cabinet by a Gentleman of the Bed-Chamber who took the Keys out of the Pope's Pocket while he slept How upon this Intelligence Walsingham found a way to retard the Spanish Invasion for a whole Year by getting the Spanish Bills protested at Genoa which should have supplied them with Money to carry on their Preparations being properly a Mercantile Affair is needless here to mention I shall only give one Instance more of Walsingham's dexterity in employing and instructing his Spies how to get him Intelligence of the most secret Affairs of Princes The Court of Queen Elizabeth had reason to have an Eye upon the King of Scots as being the next Heir to the Crown and who they knew was courted with all possible Insinuations into the French Interest In order to fathom King Iames's Intentions there was one Wigmore sent to Scotland who pretending to be disoblig'd in England fled thither for Protection Sir Francis Walsingham gives him above Ten Sheets of Paper of Instructions all writ with his own Hand which I have read in the Cotton Library so distinct and so digested as a Man of far inferior parts to Wigmore could hardly fail to be a Master in his Trade In these Papers he instructs him how to find out King James ' s Natural Temper his Morals his Religion his Opinion of Marriage his Inclinations to Queen Elizabeth to France to Spain to the Hollanders and in short to all his Neighbours He likewise directs him how to behave himself towards the King At Table when a Hunting upon his receiving good or bad News at his going to Bed and indeed in all the Publick and Private Scenes of his Life Walsingham was not mistaken in his Man for though there past a constant Correspondence betwixt them Wigmore liv'd in the greatest Favour and Familiarity with King Iames for Nine or Ten Years together without the least Suspicion of his being a Spy Walsingham also laid the Foundation of the Civil Wars in France and the Low Countries which put a final stop to the vast Designs of the House of Austria Upon which occasion he told the Queen at his Return from his Embassy to France That she had no reason to fear the Spaniard for though he had a strong Appetite and a good Digestion he had given him such a Bone to pick as would take him up Twenty Years at least and break his Teeth at last So her Majesty had no more to do but to throw into the Fire he had kindled some English Fuel from time to time to keep it burning This Great Man after all the Services he had perform'd for his Queen and Countrey gave a remarkable Proof at his Death how far he had preâ—err'd the Publick Interest to his own for he died so poor that his Friends were oblig'd to bury him privately in the Night for fear his Body should be arrested for Debt A Fault which few Statesmen since his time have been guilty of Such Ministers also for Capacity and Application were Cecil Lord Burleigh and his Son the Earl of Salisbury the Inheritor of his Father's great Qualities and Places How refin'd a Politician he was and how throughly acquainted with the most secret Designs of Foreign Courts cannot be better express'd than in the words of the same Nauntwell Appendix Numb 2. to which the Reader is referr'd But to return to Queen Elizabeth It appears by her whole Conduct she had no Inclination to Marriage being loth to share her Power with any other It 's true she seem'd sometimes to give Ear to Propositions that were made her by several Princes but this was done either to gain time or manage their Friendship to her own Ends. When the Parliament address'd her to Marry she handsomly excus'd her self in a Pathetick Speech concluding with this Expression To me said she it shall be a full satisfaction â—oth for the Memorial of my Name and for my Glory also if when I shall let my last Breath it be engraven upon my Marble Tomb Here lies Elizabeth who reign'd a Virgin and dy'd one The whole Speech is of so Noble a Strain Appendix Numb 3. that it deserves a place in the Appendix She was very sparing of Honours insomuch that Sir Francis Walsingham had been employ'd in several Embassies and other Matters of State for many Years before she could be prevail'd with to make him a Knight notwithstanding it appears that
egregiously imposâ—d upon for there was no way to come at the Town but through Parts of Germany that were in the hands of Spain and so the Spaniards continued Masters of Frankendale When several other Princes were some time after upon entring into a League for Restitution of the Palatinate and the House of Austria was beginning to doubt the Success Gundomar play'd another Engine to break their Measures by proposing a Match with the Infanta of Spain for the Prince of Wales as the easiest and surest way to restore the Palatine Family which like all the rest was only to amuse King Iames and was equally unsuccessful It were too long to give the Detail of King Iames's Conduct in this Affair which was all of a piece The Author sums up the ills that attended it in this That thereby the Protestant Religion was entirely rooted out of Bohemia the Electoral Dignity transferr'd from the Palatine Family the Palatinate it self lost the Liberty of Germany overthrown and which he mentions with a sensible Regret the famous Library of Heidelburgh was carried to Rome to the irreparable Prejudice of Learning So that Gundomar had good reason to say in one of his Letters to the Duke of Lerma printed in the History of that Duke's Life That he had lull'd King James so fast asleep that he hop'd neither the Cries of his Daughter nor her Children nor the repeated Sollicitations of his Parliament and Subjects in their behalf should be able to awaken him There are two Passages more very observable in this Author The Court of Spain finding King Iames had broke off the Spanish Match and was brought to see how egregiously he had been abus'd in it they ventur'd upon a bold Attempt to trouble his Affairs by whispering in his Ears some things to make him jealous of his Son And that a good while after when King Charles and his Parliament were entring upon vigorous Measures to espouse the Palatine Cause they found ways to sow Divisions between him and his People that in progress of time broke out into a Civil War The latter needs no Commentary and the former is sufficiently explain'd Hacket's Life of Bâ— William by what a late Author has writ in the Life of Bishop Williams concerning that Prelate's being instrumental in making up some secret differences betwixt King Iames and his Son the Prince of Wales a little before King Iames's Death Spanhemius sums up what relates to this Affair with this Remark That never Prince was more oblig'd to a Sister than King Charles the First was to the Queen of Bohemia since it was only the Consideration of her and her Children who were then the next Heirs to the Crown of England that prevail'd with the Court of Spain to permit him to see England again As in most Foreign Transactions King Iames was unhappy In the Interdict of Venice so more particularly in the difference between Pope Paul V. and the Venetians There appear'd at that time a wonderful Disposition in that State to work a Reformation in the Church and throw off the Papal Yoke In order to advance it King Iames dispatch'd Sir Henry Wotton his Ambassador to Venice and hearing that Spain had declar'd for the Pope he declar'd for the Venetians and acquainted Iustiniani their Ambassador in England That he would not only assist Them with all the Forces of his Kingdom but engage all his Allies in their Defence At Sir Henry Wotton's Arrival the Breach between the Pope and the Republick was brought very near a Crisis so that a total Separation was expected not only from the Court but the Church of Rome which was set on by the Learned Padre Paulo and the Seven Divines of the State with much Zeal and conducted with as great Prudence The Ambassador at his Audience offer'd all possible Assistance in his Master's Name and accus'd the Pope and Papacy of being the chief Authors of all the Mischiefs in Christendom This was receiv'd with great Deference and Respect to King Iames And when the Pope's Nuncio objected That King Iames was not a Catholick and so was not to be rely'd upon the Doge took him up briskly and told him That the King of England believ'd in Iesus Christ but he did not know in whom some others believ'd King Iames had sent with Wotton his Premonition to all Christian Princes and States translated into Latin to be presented to the Senate which Padre Paulo and the other Divines press'd might be done at his first Audience telling him they were confident it would have a very good effect The Ambassador could not be prevail'd with alledging he had positive Orders to wait till St. Iames's Day which was not far off This Conceit of presenting K. Iames's Book on St. Iames's Day spoil'd all for before that day came the Difference was made up and that happy Opportunity lost So that when he had his Audience on St. Iames's Day and had presented the Book all the Answer he got was That they thank'd the King of England for his good will but they were now reconcil'd to the Pope and that therefore they were resolv'd not to admit of any Change in their Religion according to their Agreement with the Court of Rome How little Reputation he acquir'd in the Matter of the Venetian Interdict appears yet more plainly in this That in all the numerous Collections we have of Letters that pass'd on that Subject between the Cardinals of Ioyeuse and Perron the Marquis de Fresnes and Henry IV. there is not the least notice taken of King Iames or his Embassy To have done with King Iames it was said That he divided his time betwixt his Standish his Bottle and his Hunting The last had his fair Weather the two former his dull and cloudy and therefore that it was no wonder his Writings were so variable and that after he had pleaded for Witchcraft and the Pope's being Antichrist Somerset's Affair and the Spanish Match cur'd him of both After having enjoy'd for the most part of his Life a firm Health he died of a Quartan Ague in the Fifty ninth Year of his Age and with such suspicious Circumstances as gave occasion of Enquiry into the manner of his Death in the two first Parliaments that were call'd by his Son all which came to nothing by reason of their sudden Dissolutions King Charles the First came to the Crown under all the Disadvantages that have been mention'd The Reign of King Charlâ—s I. and yet the Nation might have hop'd that their Condition would be mended under a Prince of so much Virtue as indeed he was if the Seeds of Discontent which were sown in his Father's time had not every day taken deeper Root and acquir'd new Growth through the Ill Management of his Ministers rather than any Wilful Errors of his own Some of them drove so fast that it was no wonder the Wheels and Chariot broke And it was in great part to the indiscreet Zeal of a
time Monmouth was absconding and when there was a Proclamation out for apprehending him King Charles not only knew where he was and sent him Messages every day but saw him several times in private When the Duke's Anger was a little appeas'd by the Sacrifices that were offer'd up to it King Charles thought it was then time to have his Son once again about him In order to which he so manag'd the matter that Monmouth should owe the Favour to the Duke of York and that his Pardon should be granted merely at the Duke's Intercession The Night he appear'd first at Court upon his Reconciliation King Charles was so little Master of himself that he could not dissemble a mighty Joy in his Countenance and in every thing he did or said Insomuch that it was the publick Talk about Town and strongly insinuated to the Duke of York That all the King 's former Proceedings against the Duke of Monmouth were but Grimace and that his Royal Highness being made the Instrument of the Reconciliation was all but a Trick put upon him This so far incens'd the Duke that he never rested till King Charles was prevail'd with to demand of Monmouth the Publication of a Paper which he had sign'd under Trust and with an Assurance given him that it should never be made publick which the Party about the Duke knew Monmouth would not consent to as being against his Honour They were not mistaken for Monmouth refus'd it and upon his Refusal was disgrac'd once again King Charles's Kindness ended not here but attended him to Holland whither he was oblig'd to retire He found secret means to furnish him with Money and sent him Messages from time to time and sometimes writ to him with his own Hand He could not bear any hard thing to be said of him in his absence and some officious Courtiers found to their Cost that it was not the way to make their Fortune to aggravate Monmouth's Crimes Nor did the King take any thing more kindly than the Noble Reception Monmouth receiv'd from a Prince of his Blood in a Foreign Countrey when he was forc'd to abandon his own King Charles tir'd out at last with the uncontroul'd Hardships that were every day put upon him by the Duke's Creatures and asham'd to see his own Lustre obscur'd and his Power lessen'd by a Party that had rais'd themselves upon Monmouth's Ruin he resolv'd to shift the Scene and in order to make himself easy for the rest of his Life as he express'd it he determin'd to send away the Duke of York and recall the Duke of Monmouth April was the time agreed on to put this Resolution in practice but there is little left us by which we can judge whether Monmouth was to be recall'd to Court by a formal Invitation of the King 's or whether King Charles's usual Thread of Dissimulation was to be spun out to that length that Monmouth was to Land with an Arm'd Force The first seems more probable if it were but for what he has writ himself in the Pocket-Book which there will be occasion to mention hereafter It 's true the last looks more of a piece with the rest of his Behaviour towards his Brother and Son and more agreeable to his Natural Biass which seldom inclin'd him to chuse the High Road when there could possibly be found a By-Path to tread in But Death put a sudden stop to all King Charles's Designs and Monmouth's Hopes and at the same time warded off a Blow that threaten'd the Duke of York so near And Monmouth being just ready to rise higher than ever was left by all his good Stars which set with that Royal Sun that gave them Birth and Heat I would not be mistaken here as if I were of opinion that in this New Turn that was upon the Anvil immediately before the Death of King Charles there was any Design of altering the Succession or bringing Monmouth within the View of a Crown The whole Course of King Charles's Actions does sufficiently contradict any such thought And though Monmouth was afterwards prevail'd with by a headstrong Party about him to assume the Title of King yet it's next to a Certainty that all that was originally aim'd at by King Charles and the Duke of Monmouth was only to weaken the Duke of York's Faction which was then become insupportable by playing Monmouth's Party against it which was consistent with the only fix'd Maxim of Government in that Reign That when any one Party grew too strong to throw in the Royal Weight into the lightest Scale Monmouth was sufficiently stunn'd with this unexpected Change in his Fortune by the Death of King Charles But his great Courage and vain Confidence in a Popular Affection and Assistance bore him up against all Difficulties and prompted him on to attempt by Force of Arms what was never design'd him by King Charles With Three small Ships and about an Hundred and fifty Men the Duke landed in the West of England the Parliament sitting A Romantick kind of Invasion and scarce parallel'd in History Yet with this Handful of Men and the common People that join'd him without Arms Provisions Martial Discipline Money or any one Place of Strength to retire to in case of Accidents did this Brave Unfortunate Man bid fair for a Crown And if his Ill Fate had not plac'd a Battalion of Dumbarton's Regiment in his way he had in all probability surpriz'd the King's Army in their Camp and perhaps at that single Blow decided the Fortune of England for once Yet this Attempt may be said to have pav'd the Way for a Nobler Change in the Throne by leaving King Iames at liberty through this Success to act without Controul what at length tumbled him down Monmouth paid the Price of his Rebellion with his Blood And King Iames in ordering him to be brought into his Presence under the Sentence of Death was pleas'd to make one Exception against a General Rule observ'd inviolably among Kings Never to allow a Criminal under the Sentence of Death the sight of his Prince's Face without a design to pardon him There is nothing deliver'd concerning this Unfortunate Gentleman but what I have unquestionable Grounds for and which some Persons yet alive of the First Quality know to be true But of the most things above mention'd there is an infallible Proof extant under Monmouth's own Hand in a little Pocket-Book which was taken with him and deliver'd to King Iames which by an Accident is needless to mention here I had leave to copy and did it in part A great many dark Passages there are in it and some clear enough that shall be eternally buried for me And perhaps it had been for King Iames's Honour to have committed them to the Flames as Iulius Caesar is said to have done upon a like occasion All the use that shall be made of it Appendix Numb 14. is only to give in the Appendix some few Passages out of it
Author Notwithstanding these Difficulties and Discouragements that seem'd insuperable wonderful and surprizing were the Consequences of the Prince of Orange's Restoration As if that Family alone were design'd of Heaven to be the Founder and Restorer of Holland It fell out that immediately upon his being call'd to the Helm the whole Scene of their Affairs chang'd to the better At the Head of a small ill-disciplin'd Army discourag'd by continual Losses he not only put a Stop to the French Conquests but by taking first Naerden in spite of an Army near four times greater than his own and carrying afterwards the War out of his own Countrey he oblig'd the Enemy to abandon their Conquests in Holland as fast as they had gain'd them and be contented to retire to the Defence of their own Frontiers This War was attended with various Successes on all sides and most of the Princes of Europe came to be some way or other engag'd in it till at last it ended in the Treaty of Nimeguen The part King Charles acted in all these Transactions contributed but little to his Glory for he had been unsuccessful while he was engag'd in the War and when he came to be a Mediator for the Peace all Parties grew jealous of him and neglected him It was during the Course of this War as has been said before that King Charles aton'd for all the Errors of his Reign by marrying his Niece the Lady Mary to the Prince of Orange And whatever were the Motives that induc'd him to comply in this with the Universal Wishes of his People it has been found since that not only England but the greatest part of Europe do share at this day in the Blessings that have attended it By this Match the Prince of Orange had a double Interest in England both as a Prince of the Blood himself and in Right of his Princess the next Presumptive Heir He liv'd with King Charles in as much Friendship as was possible for one that would not enter into an Interest separate from that of his Country or of England Insomuch that in all the Endeavours that were made to exclude the Duke of York from the Crown he look'd on without espousing any of the Parties that struggled for or against the Bill of Exclusion though he knew it was design'd that He and the Princess should succeed upon the Death of King Charles When King Iames came to the Throne the Prince of Orange tried all possible means to cultivate a sincere Friendship with him and to persuade him to enter into such Measures as might tend to the Common Safety of Europe and the Happiness of England which if King Iames had given Ear to would have preserv'd the Crown upon his Head And so cautious was he of giving him no reasonable ground of Complaint that though in King Charles's time he had given a Generous Welcome to the Duke of Monmouth at the Request of that King upon his retiring to Holland Yet as soon as he knew that that unhappy Gentleman designâ—d to invade England upon King Iames's Accession to the Throne he offer'd to come over in Person to his Assistance and sent him with all Expedition the English and Scotch Troops that were in the Service of the States It had been happy for King Iames if he had complied with the Advice of the Prince of Orange or had not by his Success against Monmouth been push'd on to make the Steps that have bee mention'd together with a great many more for Brevity's sake here omitted towards his own Ruin and that of the Constitution of England But being flatter'd with the gaudy Charms of Absolute Power and the empty Merit of Restoring the Romish Religion he drove on without Controul till at last he forc'd the People of England upon an inevitable necessity of calling in the Prince of Orange to retrieve the expiring Liberties of their Countrey At the same time an indissoluble Friendship and Alliance which King Iames had enter'd into when Duke of York and had cultivated afterwards when he came to the Crown was a matter of that vast Consequence to the Neighbouring Princes and States as would not permit them to stand by as unconcern'd Spectators of the Scene that was acting in England but oblig'd them likewise to save recourse to the Prince of Orange for breaking off their own Fetters by breaking first those of England But by what Steps and concurring Accidents and with what surprizing Circumstances this Mighty Design came about may some time or other though perhaps not so properly in this Age be the Subject of a Second Part when it meets with one of more Leisure and Capacity to write it FINIS Addenda ad Page 36. Concerning the Reign of King James I. It may not be impertinent in this place to say something of that Convocation that was held in the beginning of this King's Reign Which had never been taken notice of in History if it were not for the use that was made of it in our late Debates about the Lawfulness of the Oaths to his present Majesty This Convocation goes under the name of Overall's Convocation and has been of late years often mentioned in Print upon that account And since a very Learned Divine has told us upon a solemn Occasion Dr. Sherlock That it was the Canons of this Convocation that first Enlightned his Eyes and persuaded him of the Lawfulness of the Oaths to his Majesty I shall only take notice of a few things about them It 's very probable that this Convocation was call'd to clear some Doubts that King Iames might have had about the Lawfulness of the Hollanders the 〈…〉 off the Monarchy of Spain 〈…〉 withdrawing for good and all their Allegiance to that Crown Which was the Great Matter then in Agitation in most Courts of Christendom It appears plainly by some of those Canons that the Highflown Notions of Prerogative and Absolute Obedience which came afterwards into fashion were not much known at that time at least the Clergy were not of that Opinion It 's true This was the first time that the Distinction of a King de jure and de facto was ever mention'd as a Point of Divinity or a Doctrine of the Church though it had been taken notice of before and that but once as a Matter of Law in an Act of Parliament of Henry 7. But these Canons did never receive the Royal Approbation and therefore are in the same case as if they had never been King Iames thought these Points too nice to be much touch'd upon and was highly displeas'd with the Members of that Convocation for medling in Matters which he thought were without their Sphere Thereupon he writ that angry Letter to Dr. Abbot afterwards Bishop of Sarum the Original of which it was my fortune to fall upon and to publish upon another Occasion It 's hop'd the Reader will not be displeas'd to read it again And it runs thus Good Doctor Abbot I Cannot abstain
may be heard as our great Patroness against that Haman whose Pride and Ambition of being honoured as his Master may have hitherto kept us in Slavery And though we wish none the fate of so dreadful an Example but rather a timely Penitence and Conversion we yet humbly crave your Majesty's Protection against all such if it may consist with your Royal Wisdom and Pleasure to which we with all humility submit in the establishing of the said Earl of Tyrconnel in such Authority here as may secure us in the Exercise of our Function to the Honour of God and offering up our Prayers and Sacrifice for the continuation of your Majesty's long and prosperous Reign over us Dublin the of July 1685. Your Majesty's most Dutiful and Obedient Subjects NUMB. XXII Colonel Luttrel's Order State of Ireland c. p. 430 431. forbidding above Five Protestants meeting any where c. By the Governor of Dublin June 18. 1690. WHereas several Disaffected Persons of the Protestant Religion are of late come to this City of Dublin and some of them Arm'd with Swords Pistols and other Weapons contrary to his Majesties express Commands by his Royal Proclamation bearing Date the 20 th day of Iuly 1689. I. These are therefore to Will and Require all Men whatsoever of the Protestant Religion now residing or being within the said City of Dublin or within the Liberties of St. Sepulchre Donnor or Thomas Court who are not House-keepers or have not followed some lawful Vocation therein these Three Months past to depart within Twenty four Hours after the Publication hereof out of the said City and Liberties and repair to their respective Habitations or usual places of Abode in the Country upon pain of Death or Imprisonment and to be farther proceeded against as Contemners of his Majesties Royal Commands and as Persons designing the Disturbance of the Publick Peace II. And likewise That all Protestants within the said City and Liberties not being of his Majesties most Honourable Privy Council nor in his Army or actual Service shall within the time aforesaid deliver up all their Arms both Offensive and Defensive aud all their Ammunition into his Majesties Stores in the said City upon pain of Death III. And that no Protestant whatsoever do presume at his peril to walk or go in the Streets from Ten of the Clock at Night till Five in the Morning nor at any time when there is an Alarum In which case all such Persons are required for their Safety and for the Security of the Publick to keep within Doors till such an Alarum is over IV. â—nd Lastly For the prevention of Riotâ— and unâ—awful Assemblies These are therefore to Will and Require all the said Protestants that no greater number of them than Five shall Meet and Converse at any time either in any House within the said City or Liberties over and above the Family of the House or in the Streets and Fields in or about the same or elsewhere Hereby declaring That all Persons who shall offend against any Clause in this present Order shall suffer Death or such other Punishment as a Court-Martial shall think fit NUMB. XXIII The French King's Declaration Memoirs pour servir a l' Histoire de la Paiâ— de Ryswick par Du Mont. Tom. 2 p. 66 67. publish'd at his Camp at Arnheim to oblige the Hollanders to surrender their Country to him Anno 1672. De par le Roy. SA Majesté considerant combien il a plû à Dieu de benir ses justes desseins faire prosperer les enterprises qu'il a faites depuis son arrivée à la Campagne Et voulant traiter avec la derniere douceur les Peuples des Provinces où elle pourra étendre ses Victoires afin de leur faire scavoir ce qu'ils auront à faire pour se rendre dignes de ses bontez sa Majesté a fait déclarer déclare par la presente que tous les Habitans des Villes de Hollande qui se rendront volontairement à son obéïssance recevront les Troupes qu'elle trouvera bon de leur envoyer pour leur sûreté pour leur défense seront non seulement traitez aussi favorablement qu'ils pourtroient desirer mais aussi seront maintenus dans tous leurs Privileges Franchises auront toute liberté de conscience avec le libre exercice de leur Religion Mais au contraire que ceux quine se vou dront pas soûmettre de quelque qualité ou condition qu'ils soient tâcheront de resister aux forces de sa Majesté par l'inondation de leurs Digues ou autrement seront punis de la derniere rigueur Et cependant on exercera toutes sortes d' hostilitez contre tous ceux qui voudront s'opposer aux desseins de sa Majesté lors que les glaces ouvriront le passage de tous côtez sa Majesté ne donnera aucun Quartier aux Habitans des Villes mais donnera ordre que leurs biens soient pillez leurs maisons brûlées Fait à l' Armée devant Aernhem ce 24 Iuin 1672. Signé LOUIS Et plus bas Le Tellier The Declaration HIS Majesty considering how it has pleas'd God to bless his just Designs and prosper his Vndertakings since his Arrival in the Army and it being his Intention to treat the People over whom he shall extend his Victories with the highest Clemency to the intent therefore that they may deserve his great Goodness his Majesty has caused to be declared and does by these presents declare That all the Inhabitants of the Cities of Holland who shall voluntarily submit to him and receive the Troops he shall send for their Security and Defence shall be treâ—ted as favourably as they can desire and shall be maintained in all their Privileges and Immunities and have Liberty of Conscience and the Free Exercise of their Religion On the contrary All of whatever Quality and Condition who shall refuse to comply with these Offers and shall resist his Majesty's Forces either by the Inundation of their Diâ—â—es or otherwise shall be punished with the utmost Rigor At present all â—â—stilities shall be used against those who oppose his Majesty's Designs and when the Ice shall open a Passage on all sides his Majesty will not give any Quarter to the Inhabitants of such Cities but give Order that their Goods be plunder'd and their Houses burnt Given at the Camp before Arnheim this 24th of Iune 1672. Sign'd LOUIS And underneath La Tellier FINIS Books Printed for and Sold by Tim. Goodwin THE History of the Revolution in Portugal in the Year 1640 or an Account of their Revolt from Spain and setting the Crown on the Head of Don Iohn of Braganza Father to Don Pedro the present King and Katherine Queen Dowager of England Written in French by the Excellent Pen of the Abbot Vertat Author of the History of the Revolutions in Sueden and
he frequently ask'd it and particularly in a Printed Letter of his to Cecil The Honour of Knighthood though often prostituted since was in so great Esteem in her Reign that a Gentleman of Lincolnshire having rais'd Three hundred men for her Service at Tilbury Camp upon his own Interest told his Wife at parting That he hop'd thereby to deserve the Queen's Favour so far as that she should be a Lady at his Return She had a particular Friendship for Henry the Fourth of France and to her in a great measure he ow'd his Crown She never laid any thing more to heart than his changing his Religion And it was a long time before she could be brought to believe it But when she receiv'd the Account of it from himself all her Constancy fail'd her and in the Agony of her Grief snatching a Pen she writ him a short Expostulatory Letter worthy of her self Appendix Numb 4. and of that melancholy occasion which is related in the Appendix This her Grief says her Historian she sought to allay by reading the Sacred Scriptures and the Writings of the Fathers and even the Books of Philosophers translating about that time for an Amusement Boethius de Consolatione Philosophiae into Elegant English The only Action that seems to reflect upon her Memory was the Death of Mary Queen of Scots The Affair of Mary Stuart Q. of Scots There had been an Emulation betwixt them of a long standing occasioned at first by the latter's assuming the Arms and Title of Queen of England which it 's no wonder Queen Elizabeth highly resented A great many other Accidents did contribute to alienate their Affections But when it fell out that every day produc'd some new Conspiracy against the Life of Queen Elizabeth and that in most of them the Queen of Scots was concern'd either as a Party or the Occasion Queen Elizabeth was put upon a fatal Necessity of either taking off the Queen of Scots or exposing her own Person to the frequent Attempts of her Enemies With what Reluctancy Queen Elizabeth was brought to consent to her Death and how she was deceiv'd at last in Signing the Warrant for her Execution by the over diligence of her Secretary and Privy-Council Cambden her Celebrated Historian has given us a very full and impartial Account Yet Queen Elizabeth is not altogether excusable in this matter for Queen Mary came into England upon a Promise made her long before Queen Elizabeth sent her once a Ring and at the same time a Message That if at any time she wanted her Protection she might be assured of it and the Token betwixt them was Queen Mary's sending her back the same Ring That Unfortunate Princess seeing her Affairs desperate in Scotland dispatch'd a Letter to Queen Elizabeth with the Ring to put her in mind of her Promise but without waiting for an Answer she came into England the very next day They were both to be pitied the one for her Sufferings and the other for being the Cause of them And I have seen several Letters in the Cotton-Library of Queen Mary's Hand to Queen Elizabeth writ in the most moving Strain that could be most of them in French being the Language she did generally write in There was one particularly wherein she tells her That her long Imprisonment had brought her to a Dropsical Swelling in her Legs and other Diseases that for the Honour of her Sex she â—orbears to commit to Paper And concludes thus Your most Affectionate Sister and Cousin and the most miserable Princess that ever wore a Crown When such Letters as these had no influence upon Queen Elizabeth it may reasonably be concluded That nothing but Self-Preservation could oblige her to carry her Resentments so far as she did To sum up the Character of this Renowned Queen in a few words She found the Kingdom at her coming to the Throne in a most afflicted condition embroil'd on the one side with a Scotch and on the other with a French War the Crown overcharg'd with her Father's and Brother's Debts its Treasure exhausted the People distracted with different Opinions in Religion her self without Friends with a controverted Title and strengthen'd with no Alliance abroad After one of the longest Reigns that ever was she died in Peace leaving her Countrey Potent at Sea and Rich in People and Trade her Father's and her Brother's Debts paid the Crown without any Incumbrance a great Treasure in the Exchequer the Coin brought to a true Standard Religion settled upon a regular and lasting Basis her self having been admir'd and fear'd by all her Neighbouring Princes and her Friendship courted by Monarchs that had scarce ever before any further knowledge of England but the Name So that her Successor had good reason to say of her That she was one who in Wisdom and Felicity of Government surpass'd all Princes since the days of Augustus After all To the Reproach of those she had made great and happy she was but ill attended in her last Sickness and near her Death forsaken by all but three or four Persons every body making haste to adore the Rising Sun With Queen Elizabeth dy'd in a great part the Glory and Fortune of the English Nation and the succeeding Reigns serv'd only to render hers the more Ilustrious As she was far from invading the Liberties of her Subjects so she was careful to maintain and preserve her own just Prerogative nor did ever any Prince that sat upon the English Throne carry the true and essential parts of Royalty further But at the same time the whole Conduct of her Life plac'd her beyond the Suspicion of ever having sought Greatness for any other end than to make her People share with her in it It was not so with the Prince that succeeded her The Reign of K. Iames. He was the more fond of Prerogative because he had been kept short of it in his Native Country He grasp'd at an Immoderate Power but with an ill Grace and if we believe the Historians of that time with a design to make his People little If so he had his Wish for from his first Accession to the Crown the Reputation of England began sensibly to sink and Two Kingdoms which disunited had made each of them apart a considerable Figure in the World now when united under one King fell short of the Reputation which the least of them had in former Ages The latter Years of King Iames fill'd our Annals with little else but Misfortunes at home and abroad The Loss of the Palatinate and the Ruin of the Protestants in Bohemia through his Negligence the Trick that was put upon him by the House of Austria in the business of the Spanish Match and the continued Struggle betwixt him and his Parliament about Redress of Grievances were things that help'd on to lessen his Credit abroad and imbitter the Minds of his Subjects at home Repenting of these unlucky Measures too late King Iames went off
the State not much lamented and left in Legacy to his Son a discontented People an unnecessary expensive War an incumbred Revenue and an exhausted Treasury together with the Charge of his Grand-children by the Queen of Bohemia that were now divested of a large Patrimony deriv'd to them by a long Series of Illustrious Ancestors In fine he entail'd upon his Son all the Miseries that befel him and left in the minds of his Subjects those Sparks of Discontent that broke out some Years after into a Flame of Civil War which ended in the Ruin of King Charles and of the Monarchy with him This Prince His Character though his Father and Mother were esteemed the Handsomest Couple of the Age they liv'd in was himself but a Homely Person nor in any of his Features was to be found the least Resemblance of the Beautiful Mary Stuart or Lord Darnly No Prince had a more Liberal Education And it could not well be otherwise having the Celebrated Buchanan for his Tutor He was acquainted with most parts of Learning but valued himself upon his Knowledge in Divinity above the rest in which he writ some things that were much esteem'd at that time He writ and spoke well but in a Stile that border'd too much upon Pedantry which was indeed the common Fault of that Age. As to his Religion notwithstanding all his Advances to the Pope and Papists upon the account first of the Spanish and afterwards the French Match he was really Calvinist in most Points but that of Church-Government witness some of his Books and his Zeal for the Synod of Dort But as to Episcopacy he shew'd so much Learning and Reading in his Arguments for it at the Conference of Hampton-Court that Archbishop Whitgift said He was verily persuaded the King spake by the Spirit of God Notwithstanding his Mother was dethron'd to make room for him and consequently he could have no Right but the Consent of the People while she liv'd yet upon all occasions he was fond of being thought to have a Divine Right to the Crown His Courage was much suspected and some would ascribe his want of it to the Fright his Mother was in upon the Death of David Rizio The Troubles of his Youth were various occasion'd chiefly by Factions of Great Men that strove who should have the Management of him But when he came of Age he sought all occasions to be reveng'd upon such of them as were living and the Posterity of those that were dead Goury's Conspiracy being in it self so improbable a thing and attended with so many inconsistent Circumstances was disbeliev'd at the time it was said to have been attempted And Posterity has swallow'd down for a Truth what their Ancestors took for a mere Fiction He came to the Crown of England by Lineal Descent and the Verbal Designation of Queen Elizabeth upon her Death-bed And the Conspiracy wherewith Cobham and Sir Walter Raleigh were charged to set him by the English Throne was no less Mystery than that of Goury's had been before The only uncontroverted Treason that happen'd in his Reign was the Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot. and yet the Letter to the Lord Mounteagle that pretended to discover it was but a Contrivance of his own the thing being discover'd to him before by Henry the Fourth of France through the means of Monsieur de Rhony after Duke of Sully King Henry paid dear for his Friendship to King Iames and there is reason to believe that it was upon this account among others that a Party of the Church of Rome employ'd Ravillac to murther that Great Man King Iames was equally happy and unhappy in every one of his Children The Character of Pr. Henry Prince Henry was the Darling of Mankind and a Youth of vast Hopes and wonderful Virtues but was too soon Man to be long-liv'd The Duke of Sully being in England to congratulate King Iames upon his Accession to the Crown laid the Foundation of a strict Friendship betwixt his Master and Prince Henry which was afterwards carried on by Letters and Messages till the Death of that King Though it 's a Secret to this day what was the real Design of all those vast Preparations that were made by Henry the Fourth for some time before his Death yet certain it is those Preparations were such as kept all Europe in suspense And I have seen some Papers that make it more than probable that Prince Henry was not only acquainted with the Secret but was engag'd in the Design But whatever it was it prov'd abortive by the Murther of that Excellent King just at the time when it was to have been declar'd his Army being ready to march Prince Henry surviv'd him but two years and dy'd universally lamented The World is very often willing to attribute the Untimely Death of Princes to unfair Practices and it was the general Rumour at that time that this Prince was poison'd Whatever was in it there is yet in Print a Sermon preach'd at St. Iames's upon the Dissolution of his Family that boldly insinuated some such thing And also Sir Francis Bacon Lord Chancellor of England in his Speech at the Trial of the Earl of Somerset had some Reflections upon the Intimacy of that Lord with Sir Thomas Overbury which seem to point that way insomuch that there were several Expressions left out of the printed Copy that were in the Speech But after all there is an Account in Print of what was observable upon the Opening of Prince Henry's Body under the Hand of Sir Theodore Mayerne and Five other Physicians Appendix Numb 5. from which there can be no Inference drawn that he was poyson'd The Second of King Iames's Children was the Princess Elizabeth Of Queen of Bohemia married to the Elector Palatine who was afterwards to his Ruin elected King of Bohemia It is hard to say whether the Virtues of this Lady or her Misfortunes were greater for as she was one of the best of Women she may be likewise reckon'd in the number of the most unfortunate King Iames thought to retrieve his Son-in-law's lost Fortune by the way of Treaty but in that and in every thing else the House of Austria outwitted him so that the poor Prince Palatine gain'd nothing by his Alliance with England but the hard Fate to be abandon'd by those whose Honour and Interest it was to support him Nor had the Crown of England any share in the Honour of re-establishing the Palatine Family which happen'd Thirty Years after for at the time of the Treaty of Munster when that matter was setled King Charles the First was so far from being in a condition to mediate for his Friends that he was himself a Prisoner to those very Enemies that in a few Months after the signing of that Treaty took his Life Of whom being the Youngest of King Iames's Children and of his Misfortunes there will be too much occasion to speak in the following
me and having formerly serv'd me on several Occasions and always approv'd the Loyalty of their Principles by their Practices I think them now fit to be Employ'd under me and will deal plainly with you That after having had the benefit of their Services in such time of need and danger I will neither expose them to Disgrace nor my self to the Want of them if there should be another Rebellion to make them necessary to me And at last he tells them That he was afraid some may hope that a difference might happen betwixt Him and his Parliament on that occasion which he cannot apprehend can befal him or that any thing can shake them in their Loyalty to him who will ever make all returns of kindness and protection and venture his Life in the Defence of the true Interest of the Nation It was no wonder That this Speech surpriz'd a people who valu'd themselves so much upon their Liberties and thought themselves secure of them both from the Constitution of their Government and the solemn repeated promises of their Prince They found too late that their fears in the former Reign of a Popish Successor were too well grounded and how inconsistent a Roman Catholick King is with a Protestant Kingdom The Parliament did in humble manner represent the inconvenience that might attend such Measures The Parliaments Address to K. Iames upon that Speech at least to render him inexcusable for what might Ensue And that they might not be wanting to themselves and their Posterity they Voted an Address wherein they told him That they had with all duty and readiness taken into Consideration His Majesty's Gracious Speech And as to that part of it relating to the Officers of the Army not qualified for their Employment according to the Act of Parliament they did out of their bounden duty humbly Represent to His Majesty That these Officers could not by Law be capable of their Employments and that the Incapacities they bring upon themselves that way could no ways be taken off but by an Act of Parliament Therefore out of that great Reverence and Duty they ow'd to His Majesty they were preparing a Bill to indemnify them from the inconveniences they had now incurr'd And because the continuing them in their Employments may be taken to be a dispensing with Law without an Act of Parliament the consequence of which was of the greatest concern to the Rights of all his Subjects and to all the Laws made for the security of their Religion Therefore they most humbly beseech His Majesty That he would be graciously pleas'd to give such Directions therein that no Apprehensions or Iealousies might remain in the hearts of his Subjects Over and above what was contain'd in this Address the House of Commons were willing to capacitate by an Act of Parliament such a Number of the Roman Catholick Officers as King Iames should give a List of But both this Offer and the Address was highly resented and notwithstanding that they were preparing a Bill for a considerable Supply to Answer his extraordinary Occasions and had sent to the Tower one of their Members for speaking indecently of his Speech King Iames was influenc'd to part with this his first and only Parliament in displeasure upon the Fourth day after they presented the Address As his former Speeches to his Council and Parliament had put a Foreign Court to a Stand what to think of him so this last put them out of pain and convinc'd them he was intirely Theirs Their sense of it can hardly be better express'd than in a Letter from Abroad contain'd in the Appendix Appendix Numb 17. which by its Stile though in another Hand seems to be from the same Minister that writ the two former In which he tells the Ambassador here That he needed not a surer Character of King James and his Intentions than this last Speech to the Parliament by which they were convinc'd of his former Resolution to throw off the Fetters which Hereticks would impose upon him and to act for the time to come En Maistre as Master A word till then altogether Foreign to the English Constitution What other Effects this Speech had upon the Minds of People at Home and Abroad may be easily guess'd from the different Interests they had in it Nor is it to be pass'd over without some Remark That the Revocation of the Edict of Nants which probably had been some time under Consideration before was now put in Execution to the Astonishment of all Europe The Parliament being dissolv'd and no visible means left to retrieve the Liberties of England King Iames made haste to accomplish the Grand Design which a head strong Party about him push'd on as the certain way in their opinion to Eternize his Name in this World and to merit an Eternal Crown in the other They foresaw that this was the Critical Iuncture and the only one that happen'd since the days of Queen Mary to Restore their Religion in England And if they were wanting to themselves in making use of it the prospect of a Protestant Successor would infallibly prevent their having any such opportunity for the future King Iames was pretty far advanc'd in years and what was to be done requir'd Expedition for all their labour would be lost if he should die before the accomplishment If he had been Younger or the next presumptive Heir had not been a Protestant there had been no such absolute necessity for Dispatch But the Uncertainty of the King's Life call'd for more than ordinary diligence in a Design that depended meerly upon it The Party being resolv'd for these Reasons to bring about in the Compass of one Single Life and that already far spent what seem'd to be the Work of a whole Age they made large steps towards it Roman-Catholicks were not only Employ'd in the Army but brought into Places of greatest Trust in the State The Earl of Clarendon was forthwith remov'd from the Office of Privy-Seal and the Government of Ireland to make room for the Earl of Tyrconel in the one and the Lord Arundel in the other Father Peters a Iesuit was sworn of the Privy Council And though by the Laws it was High-Treason for any to assume the Character of the Pope's Nuncio A Pope's Nuncio in England yet these were become too slender Cobwebs to hinder a Roman Prelate to appear publickly at London in that Quality Duke of Somerset and one of the greatest Peers of England was disgrac'd for not paying him that Respect which the Laws of the Land made Criminal To bear the Publick Character of Ambassador to the Pope An Ambâ—ssador sent to Rome was likewise an open Violation of the Laws But so fond was the governing Party about King Iames to show their new-acquir'd Trophies at Rome that the Earl of Castlemain was dispatch'd thither Extraordinary Ambassador with a Magnificent Train and a most Sumptuous Equipage What his Secret Instructions were may be
That the prayers of your Petition are grounded upon such premisses as We must in no wise admit yet notwithstanding we are pleased to give this Answer to you To the first concerning Religion consisting of several branches we say That for the preserving the peace and safety of this Kingdom from the designs of the Popish party we have and will still concur with all the just desires of our people in a Parliamentary way That for the depriving of the Bishops of their Votes in Parliament We would have you consider that their right is grounded upon the fundamental Law of the Kingdom and constitution of Parliament This we would have you consider but since you desire our concurrence herein in a Parliamentary way we will give no further answer at this time As for the abridging of the inordinate power of the Clergy we conceive that the taking away of the High-Commission Court hath well moderated that but if there continue any Usurpations or Excesses in their Jurisdictions we therein neither have nor will protect them Unto that Clause which concerneth Corruptions as you stile them in Religion in Church-government and in Discipline and the removing of such unnecessary Ceremonies as weak Consciences might cheque at That for any illegal Innovations which may have crept in we shall willingly concur in the removal of them That if our Parliament shall advise us to call a National Synod which may duly examine such Ceremonies as give just cause of offence to any we shall take it into consideration and apply our self to give due satisfaction therein But we are very sorry to hear in such general terms Corruption in Religion objected since we are perswaded in our conscience that no Church can be found upon the earth that professeth the true Religion with more purity of Doctrine than the Church of England doth nor where the Government and Discipline are joyntly more beautified and free from Superstition than as they are here established by Law which by the grace of God we will with constancy maintain while we live in their Purity and Glory not only against all invasions of Popery but also from the irreverence of those many Schismaticks and Separatisâ—s wherewith of late this Kingdom and this City abounds to the great dishonour and hazard both of Church and State for the suppression of whom we require your timely aid and active assistance To the second prayer of the Petition concerning the removal and choice of Councellors we know not any of our Council to whom the Character set forth in the Petition can belong That by those whom we had exposed to trial we have already given you sufficient testimony that there is no man so near unto us in place or affection whom we will not leave to the Justice of the Law if you shall bring a particular charge and sufficient proofs against him and of this we do again assure you but in the mean time we wish you to forbear such general aspersions as may reflect upon all our Council since you name none in particular That for the choice of our Councellors and Ministers of State it were to debar us that natural liberty all Freemen have and it is the undoubted right of the Crown of England to call such persons to our Secret Councils to publick employment and our particular service as we shall think fit so we are and ever shall be very careful to make election of such persons in those places of trust as shall have given good testimonies of their abilities and integrity and against whom there can be no just cause of exception whereon reasonably to ground a diffidence and to choices of this nature we assure you that the mediation of the nearest unto us hath always concurred To the third Prayer of your Petition concerning Ireland we understand your desire of not alienating the forfeited Lands thereof to proceed from your much care and love And likewise that it may be a Resolution very fit for us to take but whether it be seasonable to declare Resolutions of that nature before the events of a War be seen that we much doubt of Howsoever we cannot but thank you for this care and your chearful ingagement for the suppression of that Rebellion upon the speedy effecting thereof the glory of God in the Protestant Profession the safety of the British there our honour and that of the Nation so much depends all the Interests of this Kingdom being so involved in that business we cannot but quicken your affections therein and shall desire you to frame your Councils and to give such expedition to the work as the nature thereof and the pressures in point of time requires and whereof you are put in mind by the daily insolence and encrease of those Rebels For Conclusion your promise to apply your selves to such courses as may support our Royal Estate with Honour and Plenty at home and with Power and Reputation abroad is that which we have ever promised our self botâ— from your Loyalties and Affections and also for what we have already done and shall daily go adding unto for the comfort and happiness of our People His Majesties Declaration to all His loving Subjects Published with the advice of His Privy Council ALthough we do not believe that our House of Commons intended by their Remonstrance of the State of the Kingdom to put us to any Apology either for our past or present Actions Notwithstanding since they have thought it so very necessary upon their Observation of the present Distemper to publish the same for the satisfaction of all our loving Subjects We have thought it very suitable to the duty of our place with which God hath trusted us to do our part to so good a work in which we shall not think it below our Kingly dignity to descend to any particular which may compose and settle the affections of our meanest Subjects since we are so conscious to our self of such upright Intentions and endeavours and only of such for which we give God thanks for the peace and happiness of our Kingdom in which the prosperity of our Subjects must be included that we wish from our heart that even our most secret thoughts were published to their view and examâ—nation Though we must confess we cannot but be very sorry in this conjuncture of time when the unhappiness of this Kingdom is so generally understood abroad there should be such a necessity of publishing so many particulars from which we pray no inconveniences may ensue that were not intended We shall in few words pass over that part of the Narrative wherein the Misfortunes of this Kingdom from our first entring to the Crown to the beginning of this Parliament are remembred in so sensible expressions And that other which acknowledgeth the many good Laws passed by our Grace and Favour this Parliament for the Security of our people Of which we shall only say thus much That as we have not refused to pass any Bill
the just Rewards of Rebellion Only give me leave after I have reduc'd this Countrey to your Majesty's Obedience and conquer'd from Dan to Beersheba to say to your Majesty then as David's General did to his Master Come thou thy self lest this Countrey be callâ—d by my Name For in all my Actions I aim only at your Majesty's Honour and Interest as becomes one that is to his last Breath May it please your Sacred Majesty Innerlochy in Lochaber Feb. 3. 1645. Your Majesty's most Humble most Faithful and most Obedient Subject and Servant MONTROSS NUMB. XI The Address of General Monk and his Officers from Scotland to the Parliament of England against Monarchy upon Richard Cromwell's Abdication Right Honourable THAT a Nation may be born in a day Whitlock's Memoirs p. 679 680. is a truth which this days experience witnesseth unto us against all the dictates of humane Reason and that a glorious Cause whose Interest was laid low even in the dust should be in one day restored to its life and lustre when almost all the Asserters of it had so manifestly declined it by a defection of many years cannot be imputed to less than the greatest and most powerful manifestation of the Arm of God that ever this or former Generations saw or heard of In the sense of this the greatest of our Temporal Mercies we now come to address to your Honours as those whose presence we have so long wanted that had you staid but a little longer it might have been left to be enquired what England was we mean what was become of that People by whom God for so many years filled the World with so much admiration and terror But though this great Work be as most justly it ought to be wonderful in our eyes yet when we consider its Author who calls things that are not as if they were bringeth down to the Pit and raiseth up again we see that nothing is difficult to Faith and the Promises of God are sure and stable even then when in the eye of man no less than impossible We cannot but acknowledge to our exceeding great sorrow and shame that our selves though we hope most of us through weakness and frailty not out of design have very much contributed to those Provocations which have caused God to depart from our Israel and we could heartily wish that even amongst those that help to make up your own number there had not been an helping hand to this sad and deplorable work But we see when God's hour is come and the time of his people's deliverance even the set time is at hand he cometh skipping over all the Mountains of Sin and Unworthiness that we daily cast in the way We are not willing to detain your Honours too long upon this Subject and therefore beseeching the God of all our Mercies to heal the backslidings of his people and not to charge unto their account in this his day of their deliverance their miscarriages whilst they were wandering in dark and slippery places after the imaginations of their own hearts we with all humility and affection in the first place congratulate you in this your happy Restoration to the Government of these Nations which God was pleased once so to own in your hands as to make you both the praise and wonder of the Earth the glory and rejoicing of his People and the terror of your Adversaries and we acknowledge it a singular condescension in you in this day of so great difficulties to take upon you so heavy a burthen And seeing his late Highness hath been pleased to manifest so much self-denial and love to his Country Richard Cromwell in appearing for the Interest thereof against his own we humbly intreat that some speedy care may be taken for him and his family together with her Highness Dowager that there may be such an honourable Provision settled upon them and such other Dignities as are suitable to the former great Services of that Family to these Nations And in the next place we cannot but humbly beseech you now you have an opportunity than which a fitter your hearts did never pray for to finish the work of Reformation that hath been so long upon the wheel and met with so great Obstructions that you would not heal the wound of the daughter of God's people slightly but make so sure and lasting provision for both their Christian and Civil Rights as that both this and future Generations may have cause to rise up and call you Blessed and the blackest of Designs may never be able to cast dirt in your faces any more And as helpful to these two great Concernments Religion and Liberty we humbly propose unto your mature consideration these two Desires First that you would be pleased to countenance Godliness and all the sincere professors thereof encourage an able and laborious Ministry and suffer no other Yoak to be imposed upon the Consciences of God's people than what may be agreeable to the Word of God and that you would be a terror to all impious prophane and licentious People whatsoever Secondly that you would so vindicate and assert the Native Rights and Liberties of these Nations in and by the Government of a Free-State that there may not be the voice of an oppressed one in our Land but that all may enjoy the blessed fruits of your righteous and peaceable Government And for the prevention of all possibility for ambitious Spirits ever to work their ends against you we humbly desire you to be very careful as well what persons you entrust with the management of the Armies and Navies of this Commonwealth as of the measure of that Power and Authority you depart with to them or substitute in them Touching the qualifications of the Persons we desire they may be truly godly and conscientious Touching the measure of their Authority that it may be adequate to the nature and being of a Commonwealth And whilst you are thus pleading and asserting the Interest of God and his People you may rest assured with greatest confidence that we shall appear in your defence and the vindication of your Authority against the opposition of all Arbitrary Powers whatsoever And to that blessed and All-powerful God who is able to spirit you for this great work you are and shall daily be recommended in the prayers of Your most loyal and most Obedient Servants George Monk Thomas Read Ralph Cobbet Tim. Wilks Robert Read Iohn Cloberry Abra. Holmes Henr. Dorney Dan. Davison Rich. Heath Mi. Richardson I. Hubbelthorn Tho. Iohnson P. Crisp. He. Brightman Phil. Watson Tho. Dean Ierem. Smith Will. Davis Iames Wright Ios. Wallinton Will. Helling Ethelb Morgan Rob. Winter Iohn Paddon Anthony Nowers The Form of the Declaration and Engagement taken by General Monk and his Officers against Monarchy and the Family of the Stuarts at his coming up from Scotland I A. B. Whitlock's Memoirs p. 684. do hereby declare That I do renounce the pretended Title of
eaque quibus nunc frueris bona et si post ingens à Te pretiumâ— persolutum Tibi reddita fuerint non à Te coempta arbitrabitur sed quadam Superum prodigentiâ dona data Tibi demum gratulor praestantissime Orator quod tam faustum diem videris in Anglia detuleris in Vrbem Nam de Sapientia Tuâ quâ per eruditissimos libros Haeresim profligasti nihil attinet dicere nihil de Fortitudine quâ Carceres ipsos pro Catholica Religione tuenda non tam pertulisti quà m decorasti nil de Prudentia Nobilitate caeterisque dotibus Tuis Hoc unum universa Tua decora comprehendit quod ad maximum totius Regni negotium hoc est ut splendidissimâ— fungereris apud Innocentium P. M. legatione Iacobus II. Magnae Britanniae Rex maximus Te unum elegit quia unus dignus erat eligi alter eligere The Speech of the Rector of the College of Iesuits to his Excellency Roger Earl of Castlemain SIR YOU must not think this College alone can be mute and if they could their Silence must be a Crime at a Time when this City is filled with Vniversal Ioy upon the News of your Excellency's Arrival and all Places resound the Praises of James the Second and the Obligations the Catholick Church has to that Illustrious Prince I in the Name of this Learned Body do in the first place congratulate thee Innocent in whose Reign this flourishing Imperial Crown is added to the Papal Diadem It is now your Holiness can properly use that Apostolick Expression My Joy and my Crown Heaven has deferr'd this happy Day thus long That so great a Blessing might not be obtained without long and unwearied Prayers and at last effected when Two such Princes as James and Innocent should concur to reign the one in England and the other in Rome What a Support have all Catholick Kings gained by this Accession What an Honour has the Orthodox Faith receiv'd and what a Defence against the Enemies of the Name of Christ The Thunder of his Invincible Fleet will strike greater Terror into the Pyrates of Barbary and the Levant than Storms and Waves can do How highly blest art Thou O Britain Empress of the Ocean once secluded from the Earth now Mistress of the Commerce of the Eastern and Western World What Prosperity may'st thou not hope for under the Reign of so Excellent a Prince Raise thy Hopes Raise thy Courage and banish all unjust and unseasonable Fears I have no Inclination at this time to recount those Disasters and Calamities which England has been the Theatre for above an Age past to the Grief and Astonishment of the rest of the World But if Providence has made these the Steps for James the Second to mount the Throne I can hardly refrain declaring how cheaply thou hast purchased so great a Blessing It is certain their present Happiness will create Envy in succeeding Times and however dear it has cost them Posterity will esteem it more the Bounty and Profusion of Heaven than a Recompence of their Sufferings In the last place I must congratulate your Excellency who has first seen this happy Day at home and has next been the Messenger to bring it hither I shall not here presume to praise your Great Wisdom your Learned Writings against Heresy that steady Courage you have shewn in those many Prisons you have honour'd for your Zeal to the True Religion your prudent Conduct or your other extraordinary Qualities All these are summ'd up in one and your Character is in fine compleated by the Choice your Great Master has made of you to sustain the most considerable Affair of his Kingdom The present Glorious Embassy In which all the World must own Him to be the most competent Iudge and You the fittest Person NUMB. XIX The Answer of the Vice President and Fellows of Magdalen-College Oxon before the Ecclesiastical Commissioners Why they could not in Conscience comply with the King's Mandate THE said Vice-President and other deputed Fellows answered and said That the said Colledge of St. Mary Magdalen in Oxon is a Body Corporate governed by Local Statutes granted and confirmed to them by His Majesty's Royal Predecessor King Henry the 6th for Him and His Heirs and Successors under the Great Seal of England which are also since confirmed by several other Letters Patents of others of his Majesty's Royal Predecessors under the Great Seal of England That by the said Statutes of the College to the observation of which each Fellow is sworn it is ordered That the Person elected President thereof shall be a Man of good Life and Reputation approved Understanding and good Temper Discreet Provident and Circumspect both in Spiritual and Temporal Affairs And at the time of Election of a President the said Fellows are bound by the said Statutes to take an Oath that they shall nominate none to that office but such as are or have been Fellows of the said Colledge or of New-Colledge in Oxon or if they are not actually Fellows at that time of Election that they be such as have left their Fellowships in their respective Colledges upon credible accounts And when two qualified persons shall be nominated at the time of Election by the greater number of all the Fellows to the said Office of President the thirteen Seniors also swear that they will Elect one of them whom in their Consciences they think most proper and sufficient most discreet most useful and best qualified for the Place without any regard to love hatred favour or fear And every Fellow when he is first admitted into his Fellowship in the said Colledge swears that he will inviolably keep and observe all the Statutes and Ordinances of the Colledge and every thing therein contained so far as does or may concern him according to the plain literal and grammatical sense and meaning thereof and as much as in him lies will cause the same to be kept and observed by others and that he will not procure any Dispensation contrary to his aforesaid Oath or any part thereof nor contrary to the Statutes and Ordinances to which it relates or any of them nor will he endeavour that such Dispensations shall be procured by any other or others publickly or privately directly or indirectly And if it shall happen that any Dispensation of this sort of whatsoever Authority it shall be whether in general or particular or under what form of Words soever it be granted that he will neither make use of it nor in any sort consent thereunto That upon Notice of the Death of Dr. Clark Late President of the said Colledge the Vice-President called a Meeting of the said Fellows in order to the appointing a day for the Election of a new President and the 13th of April was the time prefix'd with power to proâ—ogue the same as they should see cause till the 15th beyond which time they could not statutably defer their Election and in