Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A81434
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A dialogue betwixt the ghosts of Charls the I, late King of England: and Oliver the late usurping Protector.
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1659
(1659)
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Wing D1357; Thomason E985_24; ESTC R207869
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2,732
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8
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A DIALOGUE Betwixt the GHOSTS OF CHARLS the I Late King of England AND OLIVER The late Usurping PROTECTOR LONDON Printed in the year 1659. A DIALOGUE BETWIXT The GHOSTS of CHARLS late King of England and Oliver the late Protector Charles TEll me who thou art that thus presumest to disturb the Ashes of one that hath been at rest this ten years Oliver It is he that sent thee to that Rest who now would fain be at rest himself but cannot Charles Ha! what doth mine eyes behold that grand Rebell and Traitor which was he destruction of me and my Family I command thee to be gone Was it not enough that in my life time by thy open force and thy cunning and secret Plots thou and thy Emissaries took away mi life and extirpated my Family and the Lord knows what ruine thou hast brought upon the poor Kingdomes that I once happily Governed but that thou must now pursue me after Death Oliver O Sir Pray forgive me for you cannot imagine the tortures of conscience that I indute when I call to mind all my ambitious and damnable Plots to ruine you and yours and to set my self in your steâ—â— It was I that laid the Plot to draw your Subjâ—cts obedience from you under pretence of Râ—ligion and Liberty It was I that after we had Routed your Army in thâ— Fields jâ—gled you into the Isle of Wight Knowing that theâ— I had you safe enough and far enough from your Friends and then when there was a Treaty there and almost all agreed betwixt you and the Commissioners I by my dam'd Policy and Power broke off the Treaty and all to get the Government my self Charles Who thee the Government why how couldst thou expect the Government didst thou think that such a free born people a they of England would be come subject to such a mean born Traitor as thee besides if you swords must carry it you were but Lieut. Gen. Fairfax was your Bruâ—ish Generall as in my life time I once stiled him Oliver Alas Sir see how far your honesty misleads you I had no sooner caused your head to be taken off but I was sens over into Ireland where I was made Lord Deputy Charles Oh! Name Ireland and Deputy no more for that puts me in mind of my weakness in subscribing to that wicked Bill for putting Stafford to death but go on with thy Discourse Oliver So having brought that Kingdomâ— under obedience to the Parliament as I then pretended thy â—on being own'd by thy Native Country-men the Scots There was an Army to be sent against them which Fairfaxes tender judgment would not admit off The which I presently accepted off and Jehu like run over all Scotland and took all their Garisons and in two Field Fights the one at Dunbar in Scotland the other at Worcester in England overthrew thy Son Charles Charles My Son Charles and hast thou Murdered him too or prethee Traitor tell me how he escaped thy bloody Thirsty hands or how came it to pass that treacherous Nation did not sell him to thee as well as they did sell me Oliver They would have delivered him to me but he was too wise for them for after the field was lost at Worcester he with the help of one or two of his choice friends in a disguise miraculously made an escape to London and from thence beyond the Seas where I did use all the Plots and Stratagems to destroy him but all in vain Charles Oh how mercifull is the Almighty God that although he was pleased in order to these mutations and changes which have since fallen upon these three Nations to let me fall into thy wicked and bloody hand that he should be so gracious to let my Son escape thee and thy implacable cruely Surely he hath reserv'd him for a further Work for the good of these Nations but go on Oliver So having subdued all the Enemies of the Common-wealth as I called them but the greatest which was my Self I disposed of my force for my advantage throughout the three Nations and then that which was accounted a high breach of Parliament in thee to desire but five Members of Parliament to be brought to a Legall Tryall in me was nothing at one time to turne out fifty and then afterwards all of them and so made my self with the help of two or three corrupt Iudges and the power of my sword Protector over the three Nations of England Scotland and Ireland Charles Oh horror them Nations surely were well protected by thee But it is strange to me my Subjects the English for I know the other two Nations would quickly be brought to any Government thy Tyranny wold impose on them should indure oâ—e of so low a Birth as thee to rule over them They being wholy addicted to Kingly Government and their Ancient Nobles Oliver Alas Sir see your goodness and mild disposition What I got by my Tyranny that I held by oppression not sparing any that did in the least seem to oppose me Let them either be such as had been of your side or them that were for the Parliament but them of your side it were too long to tell the horrid and damnable contrivances I had against them to the ruine of all or most of them and their families Making Plots my self and fathering them upon them that so I might have occasion to take away their lives or at least to get their Estates And I never wanted my Engines to swear and to forswear or Act what I had a mind too But oh the Sting of Conscience that troubles me now too late I find the horridness of my Crimes by oppressing the righteous and spilling the blood of the innocent Oh Sir little do you think what I feel for now I find the reward of all my evill doings Charles But prethee tell me how camest thee hither Did the people call thee to an account and put thee to death by the hand of Justice or did some free born subject of England stab thee or take away thy life some other way for surely such a Rebel Traitor and Tyrant could never dye in peace withou an open punishment for such offences as thou hast committed Oliver Sir I beleeve you had cause to know me better in my life time then to think that I would be destroyed by any private hand I had read too much of Machivil for that my Guards were strong and all my own Creatures And to tell you the truth my Reign was as all Usurpers must be more like to a Hell then a Heaven my Palace being a Prison to me I not daring to stir out of it without a guard sufficient to storm a City and if I had had not Enemies my own thoughts had been enough for if I lookt one way me thought I see you without a Head bleeding afresh as if there had been a Deluge to drown'd me and all my Crew in blood If I lookt another way me thought I see your Sons and Friends all with their swords drawn and Arm'd Cap-a-Pee to take Vengeance on me for destroying of so good a King Thus having Tyrannized as Protector over the people for almost six years it pleased the Lord in his wisdome and Justice at last to Visit me with two or three strong diseases which as I was alwayes Violent at last Violently hurried me out of that world wherein I had Acted so many Tragedies whereof your self was witness of some and to tell you the rest would fil a volume but hold my pains come on me I must leave you and repaire to my Station Farewell FINIS