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
be the Scourge of Tyrants and Deliverers of the Oppress'd The Father of this Prince died young The ill Circumstances of the House of Orange at his Birth possess'd of Hereditary Dignities he deriv'd from his Ancestors in the States of the Vnited Provinces which had plac'd them upon a Level with most Princes of Europe and had given them a Figure in the World equal to some Crown'd Heads He had married a Princess of England the Eldest Daughter of King Charles I. and left her with Child of this only Son at a Time when the Royal Family of England was not only bereft of their Regal Power at Home but forc'd to seek Refuge Abroad The Father was scarce dead and the Son yet unborn when a Party in Holland that always oppos'd the House of Orange took hold of that unhappy Juncture to divest the Family by a Publick Decree of all the Dignities and Offices they had enjoy'd since the first Foundation of that Commonwealth and which they had so justly acquir'd as the Rewards of so many glorious Services they had done their Countrey Under these dismal Circumstances was the Prince of Orange now King of England born And in Apartments hung with Mourning for the Untimely Death of a Father and the Murther of a Royal Grandfather he first saw Light He was about Ten Years of Age when his Uncle King Charles the Second was restor'd and whether it proceeded from want of Power or of Will in the one the Condition of the other was little better'd by that Change It 's true King Charles in his Wars with Holland did always mention the Injury done to his Nephew as one of the Motives of his breaking with the States Yet neither in the Treaty of Breda in 1667. nor in the Alliance made at the Hague in 1668. nor that of the Peace concluded at London in 167 1 4. was there any notice taken of the Prince of Orange's Interest In this last it 's confess'd it was needless seeing some little time before he was Restor'd to all his Hereditary Offices and Dignities upon the following Occasion King Charles The manner he was restor'd to the Dignities of his Family the French King and the Bishop of Munster had enter'd into a mutual League against the Hollanders in the Year 1672. While in pursuance of that League King Charles without any previous Declaration of War did send out a strong Squadron of Ships to intercept their Smyrna Fleet and ruin their Trade at Sea and while the Bishop of Munster did invade the Provinces that lay next to him the French King at the Head of a Royal Army of at least 118000 Foot and 26000 Horse broke in upon them on the other side Like an Impetuous Torrent he carried all before him without any remarkable opposition making himself Master in a few Weeks of above Forty Towns and places of Strength some without firing a Gun and the rest with little or no Resistance This Army was compos'd of the best Troops that had been seen together for some Ages before and was made up of several Nations Over above the French themselves there were 3000 English 3000 Catalans 3000 Genoese and other Italians 6000 Savoyards 1200 German Horse 10000 Swissers without reckoning into the Number the Ancient Regiments of that Nation in the French Service and which was altogether new and extraordinary there was a Regiment of Swiss Horse Under the King in Person this Army was commanded by Two of the greatest Generals of the Age the late Prince of Conde and the Mareschal Turenne Never was any State nearer its Ruin The desperate Condition of Holland An. 1672. than that of Holland was upon this Irruption and in the opinion of all the World the end of that flourishing Republick was then at hand The French pierc'd into the Bowels of Holland as far as Vtrecht where the King kept a splendid Court and receiv'd Embassies from all Parts He was already Master of Three of the Seven Provinces and a Fourth was in the hands of the Bishop of Munster his Ally The Consternation was so great in the rest that it 's said it was debated at Amsterdam whether they should send the Keys of that Town to the French King at Vtrecht or hold out a Siege Scarce any thing can paint out in livelier Colours the low Ebb the Common-wealth of Holland was brought to at that time than the Declaration which the French King publish'd at Arnheim plac'd at length in the Appendix Appendix Numb 23. In this the French King declar'd that all the Inhabitants of the Towns in Holland that should render themselves willingly his Subjects and receive his Troops should not only be treated favourably but likewise be maintain'd in their Liberties and Privileges and enjoy the free Exercise of their Religion But upon the contrary whoever of them did not submit themselves of whatever degree or condition they be or should endeavour to resist his Arms by opening their Sluces or any other way they should be punish'd with the utmost Rigor his Majesty being resolv'd to give no Quarter to the Inhabitants of those Towns that shall resist his Arms but an Order to pillage their Goods and burn their Houses Among the more immediate Causes of this surprizing Desolation of Holland The Causes of that Desolation upon the Irruption of the French Army there were chiefly these two 1. The supine Security or rather profound Lethargy they were of late fallen into And 2. Their Intestine Divisions As to the first A vast Opulent Trade through most parts of the World had wonderfully enrich'd them and brought them to neglect and forget the Art of War A Peace that had continued without any remarkable Interruption for about Twenty Years at Land lull'd them so fast asleep with false Notions of their own Strength that they had neglected their Fortifications and Martial Discipline and were brought to believe that their Neighbour's Garisons and Strong Places were sufficient to cover them from all Insults As to the second Their Ancestors at the first founding their State taking into their Consideration that they were to raise a Commonwealth out of a great many distinct Governments independent originally of one another and govern'd by Customs and Laws peculiar to every Town and Province and how difficult it was to prevent Intestine Divisions in a Body thus aggregated did wisely provide against such a destructive Inconvenience by constituting an Hereditary Stadtholder and Captain General whose Office and Power was to be the Center in which all the various Lines of their Constitution should meet and the Cement that should keep the whole Frame together This High and Important Dignity was lodg'd in the Family of Orange and it was to the Auspicious Conduct of the Princes of that House that the States of Holland ow'd their first Settlement and the Figure they have made ever since in the World What their Ancestors foresaw and had thus wisely provided against came to pass
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
thee That even now I have received certain Intelligence of a great Defeat given by Montross to Argyle who upon surprize totally routed those Rebels and kill'd Fifteen hundred upon the place And it 's remarkable That in the same Letter to the Queen immediately after the mentioning Montross's Victory the King adds That as for trusting the Rebels either by going to London or disbanding my Army before a Peace do no ways fear my hazarding so cheaply or foâ—lishly for I esteem the Interest thou hast in me at a far dearer rate and pretend to have a little more Wit at least by the Sympathy that 's betwixt us than to put my self into the Reverence of Persidious Rebels Which Words being compar'd with Montross's Letter it will be found the one is a Commentary upon the other I have plac'd Montross ' s Letter it self in the Appendix Appendix Numb 10. and cannot leave it without making this Observation That considering the time it was writ the Critical Minute it was deliver'd with the sad Consequences that attended it it makes this Axiom true That oftentimes the Fate of Princes and States is chiefly owing to very minute and unforeseen Accidents The Treaty of Vxbridge being thus broke off the War was renew'd with greater Fury than ever till at last the Parliament's Army having beaten the King out of the Field came to kick their Masters out of the House and having modell'd the Parliament and Army to their own minds did set up for themselves and at one Blow compleated the Ruin of their Countrey in the Murther of King Charles I. and the Extirpation of Monarchy In short a continued Series of Misfortunes attended the Royal Cause and several favourable Accidents that seem'd from time to time to promise better Events did concur in the end to the King 's undoing Till at last that Unhappy Prince in being brought before a Tribunal of his own Subjects and submitting his Neck to the Stroke of a Common Executioner taught the World an astonishing Example of the Instability of Human Greatness and in that and the rest of his Sufferings a lasting Patern of Christian Magnanimity and Patience The Character of King Charles I. The Character of King Charles I. may be taken in a great part from what has been already said and I shall only add a few things more He was a Prince of a Comely Presence of a Sweet Grave but Melancholy Aspect His Face was Regular Handsome and well-complexion'd his Body Strong Healthy and well-made and though of a low Stature was capable to endure the greatest Fatigues His Face contrary to that of his Son 's Charles II. was easily taken either in Painting or Sculpture and scarce any one though never so indifferently skill'd in their Art fail'd do hit it He had something in the Lines and Features which Physiognomists account unfortunate And it 's commonly reported that his Picture being sent to Rome to have a Busto done by it a famous Statuary not knowing whose it was told the Gentleman that brought it He was sorry if it was the Face of any Relation of his for it was one of the most Vnfortunate he ever saw and according to all the Rules of Art the Person whose it was must dye a violent Death In his Temper he was Brave Magnificent Liberal and Constant but more affable to Strangers than his own Subjects It was his Noble and Generous Behaviour that took so much with the King of Spain when he went thither to court the Infanta that he rejected the repeated Solicitations of his Council to seize him and paid him more Respect than could have been well expected if he had been King of England at that time Of his Composure of Mind in time of greatest danger he gave a Noble Instance in his Behaviour in that great Storm in the Road of St. Andrees which was worthy the Ancient Philosophers Nor did he fall short of the Bravest in Personal Courage having expos'd his Person in every Battel he was in and oftentimes charging at the Head of his Squadrons He had a good Taste of Learning and a more than ordinary Skill in the Liberal Arts especially Painting Sculpture Architecture and Medals and being a Generous Benefactor to the most Celebrated Masters in those Arts he acquir'd the Noblest Collection of any Prince in his time and more than all the Kings of England had done before him It 's said notwithstanding his Natural Generosity That he bestow'd Favours with a worse Grace than his Son King Charles the Second denied them and many times obliterated the sense of the Obligation by the manner of it But indeed he had seldom much to give being kept short of Money a great part of his Reign The Essentials of Divinity he was as much Master of as ever his Father had been but without the Allay of Pedantry Of this among other things the Papers that past betwixt him and Mr. Henderson at Newcastle will be a lasting Monument He was a great Patron of the Clergy but his employing them in the highest Offices of Trust in State Matters created Envy against them and lessen'd the Love of the Nobility towards him Yet such was the Honesty and Integrity of one of them in the greatest and most obnoxious Post in the Kingdom that when some Years after he had resign'd the Treasurer's Staff and when the Parliament wanted not Will to crush him they could not find upon the narrowest Scrutiny any one thing to object either against his Accounts or his Behaviour in that Place King Charles was a passionate Lover of his Queen who was a Beautiful Lady and in all things very well accomplish'd insomuch that his Friends regretted the Ascendant she had over him on some occasions while others tax'd him with the Character of an Uxorious Husband He was fond of his Children and kind to his Servants though these last felt sometimes the hasty Sallies of his Passion He was not mistaken of himself when he said before the High-Court of Justice That he understood as much Law as any private Gentleman in England And pity it was that any of his Ministers should have advis'd him to make Breaches in what he so well understood He spoke several Languages very well and with a singular good Grace though now and then when he was warm in Discourse he was inclinable to stammer He writ a tolerable Hand for a King but his Sense was strong and his Stile Laconick and yet he seldom wrote in any Language but English Some of his Manifestoes Declarations and other Publick Papers he drew himself and most of them he Corrected In comparing those of the King 's with the Parliament's one will be easily inclin'd to prefer for the most part the King 's for the Strength of Reasoning and the Force of Expression I have seen several Pieces of his own Hand and therefore may the better affirm That both for Matter and Form they surpass those of his Ablest Ministers and come
any Age has produc'd and gave us a signal Instance how far it is possible for the same Person to be the Favourite of two Successive Monarchs He possess'd King Iames's Favour without a Rival and without any other Interruption but that Cloud which the Intrigues of Spain rais'd against him in the King's mind which has been already hinted at wherein the Son shar'd equally with the Favourite and which Bishop Williams's dexterity soon dissipated King Charles out-did his Father in his Kindness to Buckingham and had no Favourite after him He had all the Qualities that are requisite for a Court and fit to acquire and preserve his Master's Affection Notwithstanding he was in his Temper highly Generous and Beneficent and that there were few Great Families in England but he had some way or other oblig'd either in themselves or their Relations yet he fell under the Misfortune that attends Favourites but it must be own'd he was rather envied than hated He had the ill luck to be charg'd with a great many things of which he was innocent and particularly in relation to the Spanish Match By all that I have seen he deserv'd the Thanks of the Nation upon that account rather than an Impeachment in Parliament For it was he chiefly that broke off that Match when he saw how much King Iames suffer'd in his Honour through the manner he was treated in it which he found out sooner than the King did himself It 's none of the least Proofs of the Duke of Buckingham's Innocency in these matters that Spanhemius in his History of the Electrice Palatine writ long after Buckingham's Death speaks always honourably of him in the Business of the Palatinate whereas at the same time he exposes King Iames's Conduct It 's a vulgar mistake That he came to be the First Minister merely through the Caprice of King Iames for the Court unanimously promoted his Interest and recommended him to the highest Favour in opposition to Somerset whose Arrogancy Covetousness and Pride had disoblig'd every body and made both the King and the Court weary of him No Servant did his Master more Honour in the Magnificence of his Train and the splendid Manner of his living especially in his Embassy to France whâ—re in the Gracefulness of his Person and Nobleness of his Behaviour and Equipage he out-did any thing that ever was seen of that kind before He was more form'd for a Court than a Camp and though very Brave in his Person he was Unsuccessful in the only Military Expedition he was engag'd in which was that of Rochell And when he was upon the embarking a second time to repair that Disgrace he was basely murder'd amidst a Croud of his Friends and in the height of his Glory To return to King Charles's Character If he had any Personal Faults they were much over-weigh'd by his Virtues But an Immoderate Desire of Power beyond what the Constitution did allow of was the Rock he split upon He might have been happy if he had trusted more to his own Judgment than that of those about him for as in his nature he was an Enemy to all violent Measures so was he apt to submit his own Reason to that of others when any such things came under consideration There was another Error that run through the whole Management of his Affairs both Domestick and Publick and which occasion'd a great part of his Misfortunes He appear'd many times stiff and positive in denying at first what he granted afterwards out of time and too late to give satisfaction which encourag'd ambitious and interested Persons to ask more than they thought of at first and lost him the fruits of his former Concessions So that in the whole Conduct of his Life he verified this Maxim That Errors in Government have ruin'd more Princes than their Personal Vices I shall have done with this Melancholy Subject after the Reader has been acquainted with one remarkable Accident not hitherto mention'd with that Exactness it deserves by any Author I know of which considering its Consequences is an extraordinary Instance upon what small Hinges the greatest Revolutions may turn That the principal Rise of all King Charles's latter Troubles The true Cause of the Scots coming first into England was from the Second War with the Scots has been already show'd But what the Motives were that embolden'd the Scots to alter their Measures from those they had observ'd in the first War continues in great part a Mystery to this day In the first War they stood upon the Defensive only and came no further than their own Borders but in the second they acted so much in the offensive that they march'd into England as far as Durham and were coming on further if the Treaty that was set afoot at Rippon had not stopt them All the Accounts we have of this proceeding of the Scots do seem to be grounded upon the Informations they had of the Backwardness of England to assist the King in this War and that they were well assur'd of Friends all over the Kingdom and some of nearest access to the King's Person who they knew would interpose in their behalf rather than Matters should come to Extremities But these general Encouragements can hardly be thought to have had such weight with the Scots as to make them venture upon so bold an Attempt and therefore it 's but reasonable to believe they went upon surer Grounds when they made this Invasion This matter will be set in a clearer Light when the Reader is acquainted That a Forg'd Letter pretended to be sent from some of the most Leading Men of the Nobility of England came to have the same effects as if it had been a True One and really sign'd by the same Persons whose Names were affix'd to it Which fell out in this manner After the Pacification at Duns which put an end to the first War the King at his Return to London was prevail'd with upon the account of several things the Scots were said to have done contrary to the Articles of the Treaty and the Duty of Subjects to order the Pacification to be burnt by the hands of the Common Hangman To reduce them to obedience he was meditating a New War and in order thereto was levying another Army and was pleas'd to call a Parliament to assist him in it The Scots had their Commissioners at London at that time who wanted not Friends in both Houses to inform them of every thing that happen'd in Parliament and Council which they fail'd not to write home to their Countrey advising them to be on their Guard and to put themselves in a posture not to be surpriz'd The Scots knowing how matters went in England and that a new Storm was like to break out upon them were resolv'd to put themselves into a Posture of Defence and to the Forces they had not yet disbanded they added considerable new Levies both of Horse and Foot Their Preparations went faster on
and among other Motives brought them Engagements in writing from most of the greatest Peers of England to join with them and assist them when they should come into England with their Army This did much animate them for they had not the least doubt of the Papers brought them But all this was discover'd at the Treaty of Rippon to have been a base Forgery For there the Scâ—ttish Lords looking very sullenly upon some of the English Lords as on Persons of no Faith or Truth the Lord Mandevil came to the Earl of Rothes and asked the reason of that change of their Countenances and Behaviour in them who after some high Reflections at length challeng'd him and the other Lords of not keeping what they engag'd to them Upon which that Lord stood amaz'd and told him and so did the other Lords there That they had sent no such Messages nor Papers to them and that they had been abus'd by the blackest Imposture that ever was Thus it appear'd concludes this Author how dangerous it may be to receive some things that seem to have the highest probabilities in them easily and upon trust To leave this Subject it may not be improper to add another Passage out of the same Book where that Reverend Prelate speaking of the Inâ—lucements that prevail'd with the Scots to come into the Assistance of the Parliament Three Years after tells us That among other Arguments That Paper which was sent down in the Year 1640 as the Engagement of Twenty eight of the Peers of England for their Concurrence with the Scottish Army that Year was shown to divers to engage them into a grateful Return to those to whom it was pretended they were so highly oblig'd For though the Earl of Rothes and a few more were well satisfied about the Forgery of that Paper yet they thought that a Secret of too great Importance to be generally known therefore it was still kept up from the Body of the Nation To shut up what relates to K. Charles I. K. Charles's thoughts of Resigning the Crown to his Son After the Treaty of Newport was broke off and he once more carried away by the Army he found his Case was desperate and thereupon began to have some Thoughts of Resigning the Crown to the Prince of Wales as the only means in that unhappy Condition to preserve it for his Family But before he had time to digest this Resolution or an opportunity to acquaint the Parliament with it he was hurried on to his Trial. The last day of that Trial he earnestly propos'd That before Sentence pass'd he might be heard before the Lords and Commons in the Painted Chamber where he had something to offer for the Peace of the Kingdom and the Liberty of the Subject which might settle all differences It is probable he meant by this to have resign'd the Crown which his Enemies having some Intimation of and fearing it might be accepted they were the more forward to proceed to Sentence and Execution Likewise some days before his Death About setting up the Duke of Gloucester King the prevailing Party had thoughts of setting up the Duke of Gloucester King This was not kept so secret but King Charies had some notice of it for the Duke and his Sister having leave to wait upon him the Night before the Execution he took the Young Duke in his Arms and told him They were going to take off his Father's Head and may be they would set the Crown upon his Head which he forbad him to accept of while his Two Elder Brothers were Living There befel him an Accident which though a Trifle in it self and that no Weight is to be laid upon any thing of that nature yet since the best Authors both Ancient and Modern have not thought it below the Majesty of History to mention the like it may be the more excusable to insert it The King being at Oxford during the Civil Wars went one day to see the Publick Library where he was show'd among other Books a Virgil nobly Printed and exquisitely bound The Lord Falkland to divert the King would have his Majesty make a Trial of his Fortune by the Sortes Virgilianae His consulting the Sortes Virgilianae which every body knows was an usual kind of Augury some Ages past Whereupon the King opening the Book the Period which happen'd to come up was that part of Dido's Imprecation against Aeneas which Mr. Dryden translates thus Yet let a Race untam'd and haughty Foes His peaceful Entrance with dire Arms oppose Oppress'd with Numbers in th' unequal Field His Men discourag'd and himself expell'd Let him for Succonr sue from place to place Torn from his Subjects and his Son's embrace First let him see his Friends in Battel slain And their untimely Fate lament in vain And when at length the cruel War shall cease On hard Conditions may he buy his Peace Nor let him then enjoy Supreme Command But fall untimely by some hostile Hand And lye unburi'd in the common Sand. It is said K. Charles seem'd concern'd at this Accident and that the Lord Falkland observing it would likewise try his own Fortune in the same manner hoping he might fall upon some Passage that could have no relation to his Case and thereby divert the King's Thoughts from any Impression the other might have upon him But the place that Falkland stumbled upon was yet more suited to his Destiny than the other had been to the King 's being the following Expressions of Evander upon the untimely Death of his Son Pallas as they are translated by the same Hand O Pallas thou hast fail'd thy plighted Word To fight with Reason not to tempt the Sword I warn'd thee but in vain for well I knew What Perils Youthful Ardor would pursue That boiling Blood would carry thee too far Young as thou were 't in Dangers raw to War O curst Essay of Arms disast'rous Doom Prelude of Bloody Fields and Fights to come To return to our History Upon the Death of King Charles I. there was a Total Eclipse of the Royal Family for Twelve Years During a great part of which time an unusual Meteor fill'd the English Orb and with its surprizing Influences over-aw'd not only Three Kingdoms but the powerfullest Princes and States about us A Great Man he was and Posterity might have paid a just Homage to his Memory if he had not embrued his Hands in the Blood of his Prince or had not usurp'd upon the Liberties of his Countrey It being as natural a Curiosity in mankind to know the Character of a Fortunate Vsurper as of a Lawful King it may not perhaps be much amiss to say something of Oliver Cromwell By Birth he was a Gentleman The Usurpation and Character of Oliver Cromwell and bred up for some time at the Vniversity though nothing of a Scholar When the Civil Wars broke out he took the Parliaments Side and his first Employment in the Army was a Captain
a Numerous and Splendid Train of Persons of Quality among whom was a Prince of the Blood and Muncini Mazarine 's Nephew who brought a Letter from his Uncle to the Protector full of the highest Expressions of Respect and assuring his Highness That being within view of the English Shore nothing but the King's Indisposition who lay then ill of the Small-Pox at Calais could have hinder'd him to come over to England that he might enjoy the Honour of waiting upon one of the Greatest Men that ever was and whom next to his Master his greatest Ambition was to serve But being depriv'd of so great a happiness he had sent the Person that was nearest to him in Blood to assure him of the profound Veneration he had for his Person and how much he was resolv'd to the utmost of his power to cultivate a perpetual Amity and Friendship betwixt his Master and him Few Princes ever bore their Character higher upon all occasions than Oliver Cromwell especially in his Treaties with Crown'd Heads And it 's a thing without Example that 's mention'd by one of the best-inform'd Historians of the Age Puffendorf in the Life of the late Elector of Brandenburgh That in Cromwell's League with France against Spain he would not allow the French King to call himself King of France but of the French whereas he took to himself not only the Title of Protector of England but likewise of France And which is yet more surprizing and which can hardly be believ'd but for the Authority of the Author Puffendorf de Rebus Gestis Fredâ—rici Wilhelmi Electoris Brandenburgici p. 313. Id porro Bellum Protectoris in Hispanos adeo opportunum Gallo accedebat ut summo Studio istum faedore sibi innectere studeret etiam concesso ut Cromwellus eundem Gaâ—â—orum Regem non Galliarum nuncuparet aliâs ipse Protectoris quoque Franciae vocabulum ficut Angliae assumpturus Simul pateretur Cromwellum Instrumento suo Nomen titulumque ante Gallicum ponere whose own Words are in the Margin In the Instrument of the Treaty the Protector 's Name was put before the French King's It 's true France was then under a Minority and was not arriv'd at that Greatness to which it has since attain'd Towards which Cromwell contributed not a little by that League with France against Spain being the falsest Step he ever made with respect to the Tranquility of Europe As every thing did contribute to the Fall of King Charles I. so did every thing contribute to the Rise of Cromwell And as there was no design at first against the King's Life so it 's probable that Cromwell had no thoughts for a long time of ever arriving at what he afterwards was It is known he was once in Treaty with the King after the Army had carried his Majesty away from Holmby House to have Restor'd him to the Throne which probably he would have done if the Secret had not been like to take Vent by the Indiscretion of some about the King which push'd Cromwell on to prevent his own by the Ruin of the King It 's likewise certain that the Title of Protector did not satisfy his Ambition but that he aim'd to be King The Matter was for some time under Consideration both in his Mock-Parliament and Council of State in-so-far that a Crown was actually made and brought to Whitehall for that purpose But the Aversion he found in the Army against it and the fear of the Commonwealth-Party oblig'd him to lay the Thoughts of it aside at least for that time Yet it 's probable these high Aims did not dye but with himself For to be able with the help of Spanish Gold to carry on his Design in England without depending upon a Parliament for Money is thought was the true Motive of his Attempt upon St. Domingo which was the only Action of War he fail'd in But notwithstanding his specious Pretences to the contrary Cromwell invaded and betrayed the Liberties of his Countrey and acted a more Tyrannical and Arbitrary Part than all the Kings of England together had done since the Norman Conquest And yet after all his Good Fortune accompanied him to the last for after a long Chain of Success he died in Peace and in the Arms of his Friends was buried among the Kings with a Royal Pomp and his Death condol'd by the Greatest Princes and States of Christendom in Solemn Embassies to his Son But this is not all for whatever Reasons the House of Austria had to hate the Memory of Cromwell yet his causing the Portugal Ambassador's Brother to be Executed for a Tumult in London notwithstanding his Plea of being a Publick Minister as well as his Brother was near Twenty Years after Cromwell's Death brought as a Precedent by the present Emperor to justify his Arresting and carrying off the Prince of Furstenburgh at the Treaty of Cologne notwithstanding Furstenburgh's being a Plenipotentiary for the Elector of that Name And in the Printed Manifesto publish'd by the Emperor upon that occasion this Piece of Cromwellâ—s Justice in executing the Portuguese Gentleman is related at large To sum up Cromwell's Character it 's observable That as the Ides of March were equally Fortunate and Fatal to Iulius Caesar another Famous Invader of the Liberties of his Countrey so was the Third of September to Oliver Cromwell For on that Day he was Bornâ— on that Day he fought the Three Great Battels of Marston-Moor Worcester and Dunbar and on that Day he died Cromwell died in the peaceable Possession of the Sovereign Power though disguis'd under another Name and left it to a Son that had neither Heart nor Abilities to keep it The Genius of the Nation return'd to its Natural Byass and Monarchy was so much interwoven with the Laws Customs and the first Threads of the English Constitution that it was altogether impossible it could be ever totally worn out Our Ancestors had wisely settled themselves upon that Bottom and those very men that some Years before had justled out Monarchy upon the account of its Encroachments upon the Rights of the People were become as zealous now to restore it again upon the Encroachments that the assuming part of the People had made of late upon the Rights of their Fellow-Subjects For near Two Years together after Cromwell's Death the Government of England underwent various Shapes and every Month almost produc'd a New Scheme till in the end all these Convulsions co-operated to turn the Nation again upon its True and Ancient Basis. Thence it was that the Son of King Charles the First The Restoration of King Charles II. after Ten Years Exile was restor'd to his Father's Throne in the Year 1660 without Blood or any remarkable Opposition This Revolution was the more to be admir'd since not only all Attempts to bring King Charles back by Force of Arms prov'd ineffectual but that notwithstanding upon Cromwell's Death every thing at home seem'd to concur to his
to accomplish his Design for what a Parliament it may be would not do he was resolv'd that an Army should and therefore Care was taken to model his Troops as much to that end as the shortness of time would allow The Modelling of the Army Ireland was the inexhaustible Source whence England was to be furnish'd with a Romish Army and an Irish Roman-Catholick was the most welcome Guest at Whitehall They came over in Shoals to take possession of the promis'd Land and had already swallow'd up in their Hopes the best Estates of the Hereticks in England Over and above compleat Regiments of them there was scarce a Troop or Company wherein some of them were not plac'd by express Order from Court Several Protestants that had serv'd well and long were turn'd out to make room for them and Seven considerable Officers were cashier'd in one day merely for refusing to admit them The chief Forts and particularly Portsmouth and Hull the two Keys of England were put into Popish Hands and the Garisons so modell'd that the Majority were Papists To over-awe the Nation and to make Slavery familiar this Army was encamp'd Yearly near London where the only Publick Chappel in the Camp was appointed for the Service of the Romish Church and strict Orders given out That the Soldiers of that Religion should not fail every Sunday and Holiday to repair thither to Mass. As Ireland was remarkable for having furnish'd King Iames with Romish Troops sent into England The Methods us'd in Ireland so was it much more for the bare-fac'd and open Invasions that were made there upon the Liberties and Rights of the Protestants That Kingdom was the most proper Field to ripen their Projects in considering that the Protestants were much out-number'd by the Papists and had been for some Ages the constant Object of their Rancour and Envy which had been more than once express'd in Letters of Blood King Iames did recall the Earl of Clarendon from the Government of Ireland Tyrconnel made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland soon after he was sent thither and appointed the Earl of Tyrconnel to succeed him who was a Gentleman had signaliz'd himself for his Bigotry to the Church of Rome and his Hatred to the Protestants The Roman-Catholick Clergy had recommended him to King Iames for that Post in a Letter mention'd at length in the Appendix Appendix Numb 21. As one that did first espouse and chiefly maintain the Cause of the Catholick Clergy against their many and powerful Enemies for the last Five and twenty Years and was then the only Person under whose Fortitude and Popularity in that Kingdom they durst with chearfulness and assurance own their Loyalty and assert his Majesty's Interest Making it therefore their humble Request That his Majesty would be pleas'd to lodge his Authority in his hands to the Terror of the Factious and Encouragement of his Majesty's faithful Subjects in Ireland promising to receive him with such Acclamations as the long-captiv'd Jews did their Redeemer Mordecai Which Letter show'd they were no less mistaken in their History of the Bible than their Advice to the King for it does not appear by the Story of Mordecai in the Scripture that he was ever sent to the Iews or remov'd from the City of Susa after he came into Favour with Ahasuerus However Tyrconnel fully answer'd the hopes and expectations of the Papists and the fears of the Protestants of Ireland for by the Ministry of this Rigid Man was the Ruin of the Protestant English Interest in that Kingdom in a great measure compleated At King Iames's Accession to the Crown the Army of Ireland consisted of about Seven Thousand Men all Protestants and zealous to the Service These were in a little time all turn'd out and the whole Army made up of Papists most of them the Sons and Descendants or near Relations of those that were Attainted for the Rebellion in 1641 or others that had distinguish'd themselves since that time by their notorious Villanies and implacable Hatred to the English and Protestant Interest Though in King Charles's time The Manner of filling up the Benches in Ireland by the Influence of the Duke of York there had been grounds of Complaint against some of the Judges in Ireland upon the account of their Partiality to the Papists yet when King Iames came to the Crown these very Judges were not thought fit enough for the Work that was design'd It was judg'd necessary to employ the most zealous of the Party those that from Interest and Inclination were the most deeply engag'd to destroy the Protestant Interest and accordingly such were pick'd out to sit in every Court of Justice The Custody of the King's Conscience and Great Seal was given to Sir Alexander Fitton a Person convicted of Forgery not only at Westminster-Hall and at Chester but Fin'd for it by the Lords in Parliament This Man was taken out of Gaol to discharge the Trust of Lord High Chancellor and had no other Qualities to recommend him besides his being a Convert to the Romish Church and a Renegado to his Religion and Countrey To him were added as Masters of Chancery one Stafford a Popish Priest and O Neal the Son of one of the most notorious Murderers in the Massacre 1641. In the Kings Bench care was taken to place one Nugent whose Father had lost his Honour and Estate for being a principal Actor in the same Rebellion This Man who had never made any figure at the Bar was pitch'd upon to judge whether the Outlawries against his Father and Fellow-Rebels ought to be Revers'd and whether the Settlements that were made in Ireland upon these Outlawries ought to stand good The next Court is that of Exchequer from which only of all the Courts in Ireland there lies no Appeal or Writ of Error in England It was thought fit that one Rice a profligate Fellow and noted for nothing but Gaming and a mortal Inveteracy against the Protestants should fill the place of Lord Chief Baron This man was often heard to say before he came to be a Judge That he would drive a Coach and Six Horses through the Act of Settlement And before that Law was actually Repeal'd in King Iames's Parliament he declar'd upon the Bench That it was against Natural Equity and did not oblige It was before him that all the Charters in the Kingdom were damn'd in the space of a Term or two so much was he for dispach A Learned Prelate Dr. King Bishop of Londonderry his State of Ireland under K. Iames. from whose Book all the things that here relate to that Countrey are taken does observe That if this Judge had been left alone it was believ'd in a few Years he would by some Contrivance or another have given away most of the Protestants Estates in Ireland without troubling a Parliament to Attaint them In the Court of Common-Pleas it was though advisable that a Protestant Chief Iustice should
Fifthly his Lungs were very black and in divers places spotted and full of a thin watery Blood Lastly the Veins in the hinder part of his Head were fuller than ordinary but the Ventricles and hollowness of the Brain were full of clear Water In witness whereof with our own Hands we have Subscribed this present Relation the 7th day of November 1612. Mayerne Atkins Hammond Palmer Gifford Buttler NUMB. VI. Mr. Secretary Vane's Notes about the Earl of Strafford's Advice to King Charles to bring over an Army from Ireland Whitlock's Memoirs p. 41. to subdue England Note This was the most dubious and yet the most material Article against him which contributed most to his Ruin The Title of them was No danger of a War with Scotland If Offensive not Defensive K. Charles HOW can we undertake Offensive War if we have no more Money Lord Strafford Borrow of the City 100000 l. Go on vigorously to levy Ship-money Your Majesty having tried the Affection of your People you are absolv'd and loose from all Rule of Government and to do what Power will admit Your Majesty having tried all ways and being refus'd shall be acquitted before God and Man And you have an Army in Ireland that you may employ to reduce this Kingdom to Obedience for I am confident the Scots cannot hold out Five Months A Bp. Laud. You have tried all ways and have always been denied it is now lawful to take it by Force Lord Cottington Levies abroad there may be made for Defence of the Kingdom The Lower House are weary of the King and Church All ways shall be just to raise Money by in this inevitable Necessity and are to be us'd being lawful A Bp. Laud. For an Offensive not a Defensive War Lord Strafford The Town is full of Lords put the Commission of Array on foot and if any of them stir we will make them smart NUMB. VII The Theatrical Manner of Archbishop Laud's Consecrating Katherine Creed-Church Rushworth Part 2. Vol. 1 p. 77. in London ST Katherine Creed Church being lately repaired was suspended from all Divine Service Sermons and Sacraments till it were Consecrated Wherefore Dr. Laud Lord Bishop of London on the 16 th of Ianuary being the Lord's Day came thither in the Morning to Consecrate the same Now because great Exceptions were taken at the Formality thereof we will briefly relate the manner of the Consecration At the Bishop's approach to the West-door of the Church some that were prepared for it cried with a loud voice Open open ye everlasting Doors that the King of Glory may enter in and presently the Doors were opened And the Bishop with some Doctors and many other principal Men went in and immediately falling down upon his Knees with his Eyes lifted up and his Arms spread abroad uttered these words This Place is holy this Ground is holy In the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost I pronounce it holy Then he took up some of the dust and threw it up into the Air several times in his going up towards the Chancel when they approached near to the Rail and Communion-Table the Bishop bowed towards it several times and returning they went round the Church in Procession saying the Hundredth Psalm after that the 19 th Psalm and then said a Form of Prayer Lord Iesus Christ c. and concluding We Consecrate this Church and separate it unto thee as holy Ground not to be prophaned any more to common use After this the Bishop being near the Communion-Table and taking a written Book in his hand pronounced Curses upon those that should afterwards prophane that Holy Place by Musters of Soldiers or keeping prophane Law-Courts or carrying Burdens through it and at the end of every Curse he bowed towards the East and said Let all the People say Amen When the Curses were ended he pronounced a number of Blessings upon all those that had any hand in Framing and Building of that Sacred and Beautiful Church and those that had given and should hereafter give any Chalices Plate Ornaments or Utensils And at the end of every Blessing he bowed towards the East saying Let all the People say Amen After this followed the Sermon which being ended the Bishop consecrated and administred the Sacrament in manner following As he approached the Communion-Table he made many several lowly Bowings and coming up to the side of the Table where the Bread and Wine were covered he bowed seven times and then after the reading of many Prayers he came near the Bread and gently lifted up the corner of the Napkin wherein the Bread was laid and when he beheld the Bread he laid it down again flew back a step or two bowed three several times towards it then he drew near again and opened the Napkin and bowed as before Then he laid his hand on the Cup which was full of Wine with a Cover upon it which he let go again went back and bowed thrice towards it then he came near again and lifting up the Cover of the Cup looked into it and seeing the Wine he let fall the Cover again retired back and bowed as before then he received the Sacrament and gave it to some principal Men after which many Prayers being said the Solemnity of the Consecration ended NUMB. VIII The Order of Council against Archibald the King's Fool for affronting Archbishop Laud. IT is this day ordered by his Majesty Rushworth Part 2. Vol. 1. p. 471. with the Advice of the Board That Archibald Armstrong the King's Fool for certain scandalous Words of a high nature spoken by him against the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury his Grace and proved to be uttered by him by two Witnesses shall have his Coat pull'd over his Head and be discharged of the King's Service and banished the Court for which the Lord Chamberlain of the King's Houshold is prayed and required to give Order to be executed And immediately the same was put in Execution NUMB. IX The Petition of the House of Commons Husband 's Collect. in 4 to from p. 1. to p. 29. and their Remonstrance of the State of the Nation presented to K. Charles I. at his Return from Scotland in 1641. Together with the King's Answer and the Declaration he afterwards publish'd to the same purpose Note That the Matters contain'd in these Four Papers were the Grounds of the Civil War and came afterwards to be decided by the Sword The Petition of the House of Commons which accompanied the Declaration of the State of the Kingdom when it was presented to his Majesty at Hampton-Court Most Gracious Sovereign YOur Majesties most humble and faithful Subjects the Commoners in this present Parliament assembled do with much thankfulness and joy acknowledge the great mercy and favour of God in giving your Majesty a safe and peaceable return out of Scotland into your Kingdom of England where the pressing dangers and distempers of the State have caused us with much earnestness to
pursuance thereof a Citation or Premonition was fix'd upon the Chappel-door of the said Colledge signifying the same and by which the absent Fellows were Summoned to repair home as the Statute in the Case requires And the said Vice-President and other deputed Fellows farther say That on the 11th of April aforesaid they received his Majesty's Letters Mandatory to elect and Admit the said Mr. Anthony Farmer President of the said Colledge But forasmuch as the said Vice-President and Fellows apprehended the right of Election to be in them and believed His Majesty never intended to dispossess them of their Rights And forasmuch as the said Mr. Farmer had never been Fellow either of Magdalen or New-Colledge in Oxon and had not those Qualifications which in and by the said Statutes of the Colledge are required in the Character of a President as they in their Consciences did or do verily believe and in regard that they could not comply with his Majesty's Letter without the violation of their Oaths and hazard of their legal Interest and Property wherewith they are by the Statutes possessed and which by their Oaths they are bound to maintain they represented the same by their humble Petition to His Majesty And having deferred their Election of a President to the last day limited by their Statutes then they proceeded to Election and having first received the Eucharist and taken the said Oaths as the Statutes enjoyn to chuse a Person so qualified as is before expressed they did Elect the Reverend Mr. Iohn Hough B. D. and one of the Fellows of their Colledge a Person every way qualified to be President who has been since confirmed by the Bishop of Winton their Visitor as the Statutes of the said Colledge direct And that they might not lye under His Majesty's Displeasure by their Proceedings they did on the 19th of April make an humble representation thereof to His Majesty by his Grace the Duke of Ormond Chancellor of the University of Oxon setting forth their indispensable Obligations to observe their Founder's Statutes All which Matters the Vice-President and other deputed Fellows do humbly offer to your Lordships and pray to be dismissed with your Lordships favour NUMB. XX. The Petition of the said Vice-President and Fellows offer'd to King James Humbly sheweth THat upon the 27th of August we received Your Majesty's Letters Mandatory Dated August 14th requiring us to admit the Right Reverend Father in God Samuel Lord Bishop of Oxon to be our President and dispensing with all Statutes and Constitutions to the contrary It is an unexpressible Affliction to us to find our selves reduced to such an extremity that either we must disobey Your Majesty's Royal Command contrary to our own Inclinations and that constant course of Loyalty which we have shew'd in all instances hitherto upon all occasions whatsoever or else break our Founder's Statutes and deliberately perjure our selves For our Founder hath obliged us under Oath when we came in Fellows inviolably to observe his Statutes and one Clause therein injoyns us never to admit or make use of Dispensation granted by any Authority whatsoever whereby we may be absolved from the same In this Statute for the Election of a President he commands us upon Oath to Elect such a Person into the place of President within 15 days after the vacancy who either is or has been Fellow of our own or New-Colledge Which we represented to Your Majesty in our humble Petition sign'd April 9th wherein we offered our selves ready to Elect any Person capable of the same who your Majesty should be pleased to recommend and having waited the utmost time limited by our Statutes and receiv'd no Answer to that effect we did then according to the exigence of our Statutes having first taking the holy Eucharist and our several Oaths to that purpose nominate and Elect such a Person as we in our Consciences did believe to be every way qualified for that Place By which Act of ours we have conveyed all that right to him which our Founder hath intrusted us with and it does not lie in our power to admit any other Our Founder in another Statute obligeth us under the pain of Perjury a dreadful Anathema and eternal Damnation not to suffer any of his Statutes to be altered infringed or dispensed with and commands us under the same Sacred Obligations not to execute any Orders or Decree whatsoever contrary or repugnant to the said Statutes by which said Statutes and Oaths we are utterly incapacitated to admit the said Reverend Father in God to be our President May it please Your Sacred Majesty to give us leave to lay this our Case and our selves with all submission at Your Royal Feet most earnestly beseeching Your Sacred Majesty to extend to us Your humble Petitioners the Grace and Tenderness which Your Majesty hath vouchsafed to all Your other Subjects and not to believe us guilty of any obstinacy or undutifulness Crimes which our Souls abhor but to receive us into Your Majesty's Grace and Favour the greatest temporal Blessing which our Hearts can wish And Your humble Petitioners shall always as in Duty bound pray to Almighty God to bless your Majesty with a long and happy Reign over us and afterwards to receive You to an immortal Crown of Glory NUMB. XXI A Copy of a Letter of the Irish Clergy to King Iames in favour of the Earl of Tyrconnel found among Bishop Tyrrel's Papers in Dublin SIR SInce it has pleased the Almighty Providence The State of Ireland under K. Iames by Dr. King p. 294 295. by placing your Majesty in the Throne of your Ancestors to give you both Authority and Occasion of exercising those Royal Virtues which alone do merit and would acquire you the Crown to which you were born We though comprehended in the general Clemency and Indulgence which you extend to the rest of our Fellow Subjects are nevertheless so remote from your Majesty's Presence that our Prayers can have no access to you but by a Mediator And since of all others the Earl of Tyrconnel did first espouse and chiefly maintain these Twenty five Years last past the Cause of your poor oppressed Roman-Catholick Clergy against our many and powerful Adversaries and is now the only Subject of your Majesty under whose Fortitude and Popularity in this Kingdom we dare chearfully and with assurance own our Loyalty and assert your Majesty's Interest Do make it our humble Suit to your Majesty That you will be pleased to lodge your Authority over us in his Hands to the Terror of the Factious and Encouragement of your faithful Subjects here since his Dependance on your Majesty is so great that we doubt not but that they will receive him with such Acclamations as the long-captiv'd Israelites did their Redeemer Mordecai And since your Majesty in Glory and Power does equal the mighty Ahashuerus and the Virtue and Beauty of your Queen is as true a Parallel to his ador'd Hester we humbly beseech she
done into English Twelves Lex Parliamentaria or a Treatise of the Law and Custom of the Parliaments of England By G. P. Esq Octavo Memoirs of Denzil Lord Holles Baron of Ifield in Sussex from the Year 1641 to 1648. Octavo The Compleat Horseman discovering the surest Marks of the Beauty Goodness Faults and Imperfections of Horses The Signs and Causes of their Diseases the true Method both of their Preservation and Cure with Reflections on the regular and preposterous use of Bleeding and Purging Also the Art of Shooing with the several kinds of Shooes adapted to the various Defects of bad Feet and the Preservation of good Together with the best Method of breeding Colts backing them and making their Mouths c. By the Sieur de Solleysell Querry to the present French King for his Great Horses and one of the Royal Academy of Paris To which is added A most excellent Supplement of Riding collected from the best Authors With an Alphabetical Catalogue of all the Physical Simples in English French and Latin by Sir William Hope Deputy-Lieutenant of the Castle of Edinburgh Folio The Gentleman's Jockey and approv'd Farrier instructing in the Natures Causes and Cures of all Diseases incident to Horses With an exact and easy Method of breeding buying dieting and otherwise ordering all sorts of Horses as well for common and ordinary use as the Heats and Course With divers other Curiosities Collected by the long Practice Experience and Pains of I. H. Esq Matthew Hodson Mr. Holled Mr. Willis Mr. Robinson Mr. Holden Thomas Empson Mr. Roper Mr. Medcalfe and Nath. Shaw The Eighth Edition with Additions Octavo The Roman History from the building of the City to the perfect Settlement of the Empire by Augustus Caesar containing the Space of 727 Years design'd as well for the understanding of the Roman Authors as the Roman Affairs The Fourth Edition carefully revis'd and much improv'd By Lawrence Echard A. M. of Christ-College in Cambridge Vol. I. Octavo The Roman History from the Settlement of the Empire by Augustus Caesar to the Removal of the Imperial Seat by Constantine the Great containing the Space of 355 Years Vol. II. For the Use of his Highness the Duke of Glocester The Second Edition By Lawrence Echard A. M. Octavo Politica Sacra Civilis Or a Model of Civil and Ecclesiastical Government wherein besides the Positive Doctrine concerning State and Church in general are debated the principal Controversies of the Times concerning the Constitution of the State and Church of England tending to Righteousness Truth and Peace By George Lawson Rector of More in the County of Salop. The Second Edition Octavo An Account of Denmark as it was in the Year 1692. The Third Edition Octavo An Account of Sueden Together with an Extract History of that Kingdom Octavo Of Wisdom Three Books Written Originally in French by the Sieur de Charron With an Account of the Author Made English by George Stanhope D. D. late Fellow of King's-College in Cambridge From the best Edition Corrected and Enlarged by the Author a little before his Death In Two Volumes Octavo A New Voyage to Italy With curious Observations on several other Countries as Germany Switzerland Savoy Geneva Flanders and Holland Together with useful Instructions for those who shall travel thither Done out of French The Second Edition enlarged above one Third and enriched with several New Figures By Maximilian Misson Gent. In Two Volumes Octavo A Compleat Body of Chirurgical Operations containing the whole Practice of Surgery With Observations and Remarks on each Case Amongst which are inserted the several ways of delivering Women in Natural and Unnatural Labours The whole Illustrated with Copper Plates explaining the several Bandages Sutures and divers useful Instruments By M. de lâ— Vanguion M. D. and Intendant of the Royal Hospitals about Paris Faithfully done into English Octavo A Relation of a Voyage made in the Years 1695 1696 1697 on the Coasts of Africa Streights of Magellan Brazil Cayenna and the Antilles by a Squadron of French Men of War under the Command of M. de Gennes By the Sieur Froger Volunteer-Engineer on Board the English Falcon. Illustrated with divers strange Figures drawn to the Life Octavo Travels into divers parts of Europe and Asia undertaken by the French King's Order to discover a new way by Land into China Containing many curious Remarks in Natural Philosophy Geography Hydrography and History Together with a Description of Great Tartary and of the different People who inhabit there By Father Avril of the Order of the Jesuits Done out of French To which is added a Supplement extracted from Hakluit and Purchas giving an Account of several Journeys over Land from Russia Persia and the Mogul's Country to China Together with the Roads and Distances of the Places Twelves A Compendium of Universal History from the Beginning of the World to the Reign of the Emperor Charles the Great Written Originally in Latin by Monsieur Le Clerc Done into English Octavo A Political Essay or Summary Review of the Kings and Government of England since the Norman Conquest By W. P y Esq. Octavo The Art of preserving and restoring Health explaining the Nature and Causes of the Distempers that afflict Mankind Also shewing that every man is or may be his own best Physician To which is added a Treatise of the most Simple and Effectual Remedies for the Diseases of Men and Women Written in French by M. Flamand M. D. and faithfully translated into English Twelves A Defence of the Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England Written in Latin by I. Ellis S. T. D. Now done into English To which are added Lambeth Articles Together with the Judgment of Bishop Andrews Dr. Overall and other Eminent and Learned Men upon them Twelves The Present State of Christendom consider'd in Nine Dialogues between 1. The present Pope Alexander VIII and Lewis XIV 2. The Great Duke of Tuscany and the Duke of Savoy 3. King Iames II. and the Mareschal de la Feâ—illade 4. The Duke of Lorrain and the Duke of Schonberg 5. The Duke of Lorrain and the Elector Palatine 6. Lewis XIV and the Marquis of Louvois 7. The Advoyer of Berne and the Chief Syndic of Geneva 8. Cardinal Ottoboni and the Duke de Chaulnes 9. The Young Prince Abafti and Count Teckley Done out of French Octavo Bellamira or the Mistress A Comedy As it is Acted by Their Majesties Servants Written by the Honourable Sir Charles Sedley Baronet