That so much treasure and so many mens lives should be spent and lost to maintain the ambition luxury pride and tyranny of but two men in so many set-battels fought in the bowels of this kingdom Henry was stab'd with a dagger by the Duke of Glocester in the Tower Edward died at Westminster and left behind him two bastards and a miserable Whore Jane Shore Richard 3. A Monster of lust cruelty whose murders too many to be here repeated are at large set down in our Chronicles with his attempts of Rape and Incest So perfect he was in villany and hypocrisie that he would alwayes use most faire language and shew greatest signs of love and courtesie to that man in the morning whose throat he had taken order for to be cut that night and was the first I read of in our stories that ever used that oath God damn me He was slain at Bosworth-field his body stark naked mangled besmear'd with blood and dust was brought upon a horse to Leicester where for a spectacle of hate and scorn he lay two dayes unburied Henry 7. THis King my Lord of Virulam hath washt his face so cleane with good language that without a neer approach he is hardly discovered But surely I find no right he had to the Crown more then the consent of the people which was not then in fashion whom hee never durst trust neither his heart continually burning to destroy all sparks of the right blood and their Abettors How was the Lord Chamberlaines life jugled away for his thoughts and his estate which was so considerable with many more of our Nobility And for that story of Richard Duke of York son to Edward the 4. under the name of Perkin Warbeck I do as verily believe he was the said Duke of York as I believe Henry the 8. was the son of this Henry the 7. the circumstances being so pregnant from so many persons of honour but nothing more confirmes me in it then this kings indefatigable paines and most infinite cost to get him and ruine him and with him the harmless Earl of Warwick the one beheaded the other hang'd at Tyburn and surely though this king did far excell all his predecessors in craft yet was he as guilty of cruelty and blood as the worst of them Nor can all the water in the Sea wash from him those two monstrous sins of Avarice and Ingratitude Henry 8. TO say much of him were to make you surfeit Sir Walter Raleigh's testimony of him is sufficient If all the pictures and patternes of a merciless Prince were lost in the world they might all be painted again to the life out of the story of this King His vast expence of treasure and profuse blood-shed made this Kingdome look with a ghastly face and to express him fully this remaines of him to everlasting That he never spared man in his anger nor woman in his lust I do none of them wrong for thus I find them branded to my hand by publique Records and surely this puts me in mind of a story I have heard in Spain A Friar preacht before Don Pedro the king sirnamed the Cruel took his Text which invited him to extoll Regal Dignity to its highest pitch often saying Few kings went to hell but in the close of his Sermon said You may peradventure wonder that I so often tell you that few kings go to hell marry the reason is there are but few kings for if there were more they would go all to the Devil Of all these our kings I would know which was of blessed memory who ruled by blood oppression and injustice upon this nation in contempt of God and man Let no man now wonder if this Nation endeavour after so long and grievous bondage under tyranny to reduce themselves into a free State And as the face of things do now appeare in their glory for such surely they are I see no great hinderance to an honorable and secure setling of this Nation in a free State to the worlds end if we can agree amongst our selves which I pray God we may If an honest League be made and as honestly kept betwixt us and the Hollander not that I care much for Hans but because he is a man of business and surely 't is Trade must make this Nation rich and secure I know no power in Christendome can hurt us Shipping and Mariners must be cherished the value of our money so setled that the Mint may go plentifully our Gold must not be sold for profit as Merchandize by the fraudulent Goldsmith to Merchants to transport nor our Silver by them pickt and cull'd to sell to Refiners for silver thread to make superfluous Lace These digressions though true crave pardon As the wheels of our State are many whereon it goes so there are God be thanked sufficient to attend them and make them go right Let them go on and prosper and I doubt not but that shortly we shall see a clear light shine upon this Nation of honour respect and security Now in the close of this Preface if any man aske why I have curtail'd the lives and persons of these thus I answer the Common people of this kingdome cannot attend to read Chronicles and they are the major part whom it concerns and now by the providence of God that we are reduced to a Free State in this little Book I would have them hereafter know for whom and for what they fight and pay Next if any man ask why I make such mention of their Bastards I answer onely to let the world see what foundation these six and twenty Bastards have laid for honourable Noble and right Worshipfull Familes of a long continuance which have been maintained by the blood and treasure of this oppressed Nation If why I mention not Edward the 5. and Edward the 6. I say they were children and so died affording no matter for this present If why I omit Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth I answer I have nothing to do with women and I wish I never had But I must not make the door bigger then the house I have onely one Vote to passe That Ireland may once be setled in obedience to this Common-wealth and Scotland reduced to an English Province that there may never more be heard the name of a Kirk or Covenant and so I address my self to King James King James TO write the life and reign of this King requires a better book-man and a better pen-man that which I have to observe is onely to render him as great a Tyrant as any of the rest for though his fearfulness kept him from wars and blood yet as much as was in his power he laid as many springs to enslave this Nation as ever any His will was the sole rule of his Government nor had the people any thing to act but submissive obedience His first work was to sound the Prelates and Nobility whose ambition and corruption he found suitable
â—ars Puer Alecto Virgo VULPES Leo Nullu A CAT May look upon a KING London Printed for William Roybould at the Unicorn in Pauls Church-yard 1652. TO THE READER IF I were Master either of good Language or good Method I would then presume to present this ensuing Discourse according to the fashion intreat thy courteous acceptance But being so rude naked yet true I send it forth into the World to take its fortune with the rest of the Paperbrats of this Age some may fret some may laugh both please me alike my end only is that we may all of us after so much blood treasure spent with hearts and hands pray for and endeavor the welfare security prosperity of the whole Adieu The Introduction THE unparallel'd Transactions of these our late times have raised in mee such a confusion of thoughts that I resolved to look back as a man that is stunn'd with a stone looks not after the stone but after the hand that flung it And surely I find by the help of my spectacles King JAMES was the Fountain of all our late Afflictions and miseries It hath been a custome among our flattering Priests for I know none else used it upon mention of deceased Princes to use the expression Of blessed memory and so I believe have used it ever since William the Bastard of Normandy over-ran this Kingdome Which begat another itch in me to search the lives of all our Kings since him to see if any of them had deserved that reverend remembrance And first for King William The Conqueror I Know no better testimony of him then out of his own mouth lying upon his death-bed his words take as followeth The English I hated the Nobles I dishonoured the Commons I cruelly vexed and many I unjustly disinherited In the County of York and sundry other places an innumerable sort with hunger and sword I slew And thus that beautifull Land and Noble Nation I made desolate with the deaths of many thousands William Rufus THis King did not only oppresse and fleece this Nation but rather with importunate exactions did as it were flay off their skins His chiefest consorts were effeminated persons Ruffians and the like and himselfe delighted in continual adulteries and company of Concubines even before the sun None thrived about him but Treasurers Collectors and Promoters Hee sold all Church preferments for mony and took Fines of the Priests for fornication Hunting in that most remarkable New-Forrest Walter Tyrrel shot him to the heart with an arrow out of a Crosse-bow whether of purpose or not is no great matter Henry 1. IS branded with Covetousnesse and intolerable taxations and cruelty upon his elder brother whom he kept in perpetual prison and put out both his eyes and for his most excellent leachery leaving behind him fourteen Bastards King Stephen IN famous for perjurie a hater of this Nation whom he durst never trust but oppressed this Land with strangers notwithstanding that he had received the Crown upon courtesie dyes and leaves behind him two bastards Henry 2. NEver such a horrid extractor of monies from the Subjects as this King and is infamous for perjury jealousie and lechery curses all his children upon his death-bed and so dies leaving three bastards Richard 1. RAked more money by unparalell'd Taxes upon this Nation then any King before him his voyage to the Holy-Land pared them to the bones by many unjust wayes but his unlucky return quite ruined it He dyes by a poyson'd arrow and leaves two Bastards King John OF this King we cannot reckon so many impieties as he had Unnatural to his own blood to the wife in his bosom bloody to Nobility and Clergy Perjury often swearing but never kept his word betrayes the Crowne and Kingdome to the Pope And rather then want his will to ruine both Church Nobles and the whole Nation sends Ambassadours to a Moor a mighty King in Africa to render unto him this kingdome of England to hold it from him as his Soveraign Lord to renounce Christ and receive Mahomet In the heat of his wars with the Nobility Gentry and Commons of this Land repaires to the Abbey of Swines-head where he is poysoned and leaves behind him three Bastards Henry 3. A Chip of the old block for no Oath could bind him Jealous of the Nobility brings in strangers despiseth all counsell in Parliament wastes all the Treasure of the kingdome in Civil wars sells his Plate and Jewels and pawnes his Crown Edward 1. GOvern'd his will by his power and shed more blood in this Kingdome then any of his fore-runners counted his Judges as dogs and died as full of malice as he lived full of mischief Edward 2. A Man given to all sorts of unworthy vanities and sinful delights The scourge and disgrace of this Nation in Scotland against a handfull of men with the greatest strength of England After so many perjuries about his Favourite Gaveston and slaughter of the Nobility he is deposed and murdered Edward 3. TO his everlasting staine of honor surrenders by his Charter his Title of Soveraignty to the kingdom of Scotland restores the Deeds and Instruments of their former homages and fealties though after the Scots paid dear for it to supply his want Whatsoever he yielded to in Parliament was for the most part presently revoked And in that Parliament which was called The Good they desire the King having abundantly supplied his wants to remove from Court four persons of special prejudice to his Honour and the Kingdomes with one Dame Alice Piers the Kings Concubine an impudent troublesome woman But no sooner ended this Parliament having gotten their monies but those four forbidden return to Court and their wonted insolencies The Speaker who had presented the Kingdomes grievances at the suit of Alice Piers is committed to perpetual imprisonment Richard 2. T Is said of this King he spared neither the dignity nor the life of any that crost his pleasure spared neither lewd example nor vild action to follow cruell councell A man plung'd in pleasure and sloth in his private councels would alter whatsoever the Parliament had setled neglects his debts prodigal to strangers destroyes the Nobility and for his hypocrisie cruelty perjury and tyranny is deposed and murdered at Pomfret-Castle Henry 4. SO true is that Distych translated out of Suetonius Who first exil'd and after crown'd His reign with blood will much abound For after he had murdered his Predecessor nothing took up this Kings reigne but ruine and blood upon the Nobility and Gentry of this Kingdome with such unsufferable taxes as never were before nor since Henry 5. THis King reigned about nine years and a halfe all which time our stories mention nothing but his wars raising of monies and spending the blood of this poor Nation Henry 6. AND Edward 4. WEre two men born as it were for ruine blood and misery to this kingdome whose lives and actions no man can read with patience
although God Almighty be the Judge of all men yet Gods judgments that are so remarkable are for our instructions and God is to be glorified by us for these judgments of his upon this Kings family I cannot in the best stories I have read find who was clearly King James his Father Mary Queen of Scotland a lusty young Widow marries the Lord Darly son to the D. of Lenox in the year 1565. or thereabouts and at the same time had for a reserve in great favor with her an Italian Fidler and Bothwel a Scotch Lord After marriage the Queen proves with childe The King her husband that was Lord Darly enraged by some informations comes into the roome where the Queen his wife was at supper and very big drags the Italian Fidler into another roome and murders him The Queen was shortly delivered of a Son which was our King James The solemnity of the Christening ended she and Bothwel murdred the King her husband Then the Queen marries Bothwel and all this in a moment of time but they are both fain to flie The Queen came into England and was here beheaded Bothwel fled into Denmark and there lay in prison all the dayes of his life And now Reader observe the fortune of this prodigious Family His supposed Father was strangled in his bed by the consent of his mother and flung out into a garden His Mother is beheaded His eldest Son Pr. Henry by the jealousie and consent of his Father in the flower of his youth and strength of his age is poysoned His Daughter married to the Palsgrave where shortly her Husband in ambition to becom a king is slain and she with her many children are driven out of their estates and flie for shelter into Holland where she hath lived ever since upon the courtesie of this State Her eldest Son having lived long upon a particular charity of this Nation is now at length restored to a feather of his goose Two other of her sons after six yeares following arms and plunder for King Charles turn'd Pyrates at sea and so are at present King James himself after two twenty years reign by the act of his Favourite Buckingham and the consent of his son Charles that succeeded him is poysoned King Charles after eight years was with the Parliament is taken arraigned and condemn'd and is beheaded at his own dores his Wife fled home to her friends and his Children scattered abroad in the world to live upon the charity of others Are all these circumstances to be slighted or unconsidered And shall we take the Priests word King James was of blessed memory I challenge the proudest of them let them publish one cleare act of Honesty from him all the time of his reign or any honestman that ever he loved I 'le yield His hypocrisie perjury cowardise blasphemy malice are known to all and base ingratitude which comprehends more then all the rest whereof one example of him is well worth our remembring to Sir Henry Woâ—â—on which briefly was thus Sir Henry a man for person parts highly esteemed and honoured of all that knew him being in Florence when Queen Elizabeths death drew nigh which King Iames gaped for the Duke of Florence had intercepted some Letters which discovered a designe to take away the life of King James The Duke abhorring the fact resolves to endeavour the prevention calls for his Secretary to advise by what meanes a caution might be best given to the King and it was resolved to be done by Sir Henry Wotton who being well instructed is presently dispatched into Scotland with Letters to the King and most rare Antidotes against all manner of poysons whereby that mischief was prevented and Sir Henry Wotton returns into Italy where shortly after came the news of the death of Queen Elizabeth and James King of Scots proclaimed King of England and away comes Sir Henry Wotton to joy the King This had been a fit Subject for to have shewn his Noble minde upon for a Favourite but what doth the King takes him into two and twenty years travaile like a pack horse to make him an Agent in forreign parts and leaves him in his old age in Eaton-Colledge unable to pay his debts as many appear by his lamentable complaint upon his death-bed his words are these in his Last-Will and Testament I humbly beseech my Lords Grace of Canterbury and the Lord Bishop of London to intercede with our most gracious Soveraign in the bowels of Iesus Christ that out of compassionate memory of my long services some order may be taken for my Arrears for satisfaction of my Debts This president alone is so transcendently foul as all his other actions and passions are vertues to it Fellowes of no merit at home must wallow in his bounty and their own luxury to do his foul pleasure and to execute his tyranical actions whilest such a Noble Soul as this must suffer want and die in it And now lay all these things together the lives of all our former Kings and the lamentable condition of this Nation under these two last and tell me if it were not high time to consider of the honour welfare and security of this Nation by reducing it to a Free-State But before I take my leave of these Kings I would willingly as a Preparative to the cordial agreement of our Free-State present some few Considerations and herein I shall onely shew my hand and my heart wishing that some abler Pen-man may more substantially publish something to this purpose in better language and more at large First How often wee have been made slaves to Forreign powers by not agreeing among our selvs Our Kings having other Dominions beyond seas have consum'd our blood and treasure to defend maintain or increase them at their pleasures And their frequent matching into strangers blood hath increased new titles and pretences of quarrels that have afforded matter for bitter warres both abroad and at home All which are now laid asleep Next is worth our serious consideration How God Almighty in his providence hath divided us from all the World by a wall of Water and hath brought us into a condition this day by Shipping Trade and able Sea-men and Merchants that no Prince in Christendome can shew the like for number and abilitie So that now we have no Complements for Matches nor busines with Foraign Princes but for Trade And here let me use the words of Sir Walter Raleigh in his Discourse of Shipping Whosoever commands the Sea commands the Trade Whosoever commands the Trade of the World commands the Riches of the World and consequently the World it self A faire invitation to cherish Shipping Sea-men and Merchants And if hereafter we fall into difference with any Forreign Prince we fight for our selves not for ill-grounded Titles nor to satisfie the ambition of particular nor to maintain the luxury of any spurious Issue There are but two things which I mentioned in the Introduction can obstruct us as I hope IRELAND and Envious Presbytery The Royalist I presume will heare reason And SCOTLAND I suppose will shortly be reduced to an English Province and kept so by force for Jocky is not to be trusted He is naturally so false and hath been so high-fed since their Scotch king came to this Crowne that his owne Country fare will not down till they be humbled which God be thanked is in a faire way Yet if there be any of that Nation sensible of their owne security and welfare under our wing which I much feare that shall comply in this union I shall pray to God to make them good Christians And if any Forreigne Prince whatsoever shall hereafter through ambition or envy to our State or pretence of donation from the Pope assist or maintain a Faction either in Scotland or Ireland as heretofore to hinder prejudice or molest our right or interest in these or either of these places I see no reason why we should treat with them as friends But I am now beside my Cushion my end is only to prepare and perswade a hearty Agreement amongst our selves to the secure setling of our Free-State So farewell Scot and farewell King And GOD blesse the Common-wealth of ENGLAND FINIS Published by Authority Courteous Reader These Books following are printed and sold by William Roybould at his Shop at the Unicorn in S. Pauls Church-yard neer the Little North-door THe Holy-Arbor containing a Body of Divinity or the Summe and Substance of Christian Religion First methodically and plainly treated of then Analysed and applied wherein also are fully resolved the Questions of whatsoever points of moment have been or are now controverted in Divinity together with a large Alphabetical Table of such matters as are therein contained or occasionally handled either by way of Exposition Controversie or Reconciliation In folio by John Godolphin J. C. D. 1651. CHRIST alone exalted In seventeen Sermons preached by Dr. Tobias Crisp In 8o 1650. The History of the Bohemian Persecution from the beginning of their Conversion to Christianity to these Times In which the unheard of secrets of Councels Policie Arts and dreadful Judgments are exhibited In 8o 1650. The Assertion of Grace or a Treatise of Justification by R. Town The Ladies Vindication or The praise of worthy Women In 12o 1651. A further Discovery of the Mysterie of the Last times Set forth for the Good of such as in these dissenting times know not to what Society of Christians to joyn themselves In 4o 1651. A Sermon preached by Dr. Homes Octob. 8. 1650. at Christ-church before the Lord Major and Aldermen The Mischiefe of Mixt-Communions by Dr. Homes 4o The Life and Reigne of King Charles or the Pseudo-Martyr discovered together with some Animadversions on the strange contrariety between his publike Declarations protestations Imprecations and his Pourtraicture compared with his private Letters and other of his Expresses not hitherto taken into common observation In 8o 1651. The Antiquity of Commonwealths instanced by that of Holland wherein is declared the rise continuance of that Government as also their Lawes and Customes both in their Civil Military power In 8o 1652. A Sermon preached at Mary-Aldermanbury Novemb. 5. 1651. by M. William Jenkins being the first he preached after his Releasement Church-Cases cleared wherein are held forth some things to reclaim Professors is that are slack-principled Antichurchians Nonchurch-Seekers Church-Levellers with a Pacificatory preface c. By D. N. Homes