Francis Allen. FRancis Allen a Citizen and Gold Smith of London and Lived Over against St. Dunstans Church neer Temple Bar was a great stickler against the King and one that had no way to improve his now decaying Estate but by siding with the rising Sectaries by which means he was made one of the Commissiâ—ners for their Customs and a Trustee for Sale of the Lands of the Bishops Deans and Chapters And the time coming on wherein his Soveraignes bloud was to be spilt he appears a forward Designer of that wicked Act and accepts very readily of the imployment of one of the Kings Judges where he appeared every day to propagate the Murther and was a great encourager of others to doe the same He likewise Signed to the warrant for the Execution and was ever after a continued Rumper and a great enemy of Olivers because he dissolved them and I think it will not be unseasonable to insert in this place part of a mock hymn which was made pretendedly by Mr. John Goodwin although onely a Jeer made in imitation of the like Drollery which he made and caused to be Sung in his Church Then spake one Allen of the City at which we gave a shout Who said indeed it was great pitty we should be thus turn'd out But Cromwell answered him again and said t' was such as he That were the Spunges of the land and now must squezed be Which indeed in some case was not said amisse for he arrived at a very vast estate by being a Customer and one of the Treasurers for sale of the King Queen and Princesse Lands at VVorcester house and of the lands belonging to the pretended Delinquents at the Lord Cravens House in Drury lane besides he compassed a considerable Estate out of the Lands of the Bishop of Chester at a very inconsiderable rate He dyed much about the time with Oliver Cromwell at his assumed house at Fox-hall and presently after him dyed his Wife also leaving their illegal and ill-gotten Estate to his Brother Deputy Allen a Herald Painter in London whose Heirs I doubt will have little cause to glory in it The Life of Thomas Andrewes ALderman Thomas Andrewes was at first a Linnen Draper upon Fish-street hill but improved his Estate better by the times then by his Trade for which purpose he was made a Treasurer for Plate Money and one of the Treasurers at War for which he received three pence per pound he was likewise one of the Commissioners for the Customes and with his brother Allen was likewâ—se one of the Treasures for sale of the Lands of the late King Queen and Prince c. These imployments being gainfull to him made him take any course to maintaine and propagate the power by which he received them whereupon he sides with the Kings Murtherers and appears at that Court as one of his Judges and at last signes likewise the Warrant for Execution And now having had a hand in the King's bloud he is resolved to blot out the Name thereof For in the year 1649. Alderman Reynoldson Lord Mayor of London in whose Mayoralty an Act was set on foot for the abolishing of Kingly Government and for the declaring our now Soveraigne then Prince a Traytor which was Ordered to be proclaimed in the City of London But honest Alderman Reynoldson refused to be present at that wicked Proclamation and publiquely and plainly told them he would not publish any such thing and for such his denyal was fyned two thousand pounds and three months Imprisonment yet notwithstanding this Alderman Andrews accepts of the place of Maior in his absence proclaimes the Act against Kingly Government and serves out the remaining part of Alderm Reynoldson's Government as if he had been legally chosen to doe the same and the next yeare succeeding was chosen himselfe by the City Lord Mayor of London He arrived at very little notice afterwards unlesse a Knighthood from the Protector which he but little while enjoyed although he was a principal Man at the proclaiming Richard Cromwell after the Usurpers Death He had very many Children most of his Sons got their Estates in Imployments under him but never lived to enjoy them for to his continued grief he was hardly out of Mourning for one before he had occasion to mourne for the losse of another At last a Suit of law coming upon him for a wrongfully detain'd sum of money which he injuriously kept in his hands of another Mans he dyed suddenly full of years in the Year 1659. and had he lived a Yeare longer three that had been Lord Maiors of London in Twenty years time had held up their hands at the same Barre where they had Condemned many Wretched persons which had not so much deserved it as themselves The Life of Col. John Venn COl John Venn was a Citizen of London likewise and as I have heard a decaying Tradsman he was taken notice of for his more then ordinary forwardnesse against the Kings interest when the Wars increased his Factious Principles increased too by reason whereof he was made Governour of VVindsor where he had the opportunity to encrease his Estate not onely by the Plunder of the Countrey thereabouts but by getting into his possession much of the Kings houshold stuff Hangings Linnen c. He was a chief Consultator with the wicked Councel of the Army at VVindsor and gave his Vote among them to Murther the King Mr. Christopher Love afterwards Martyr'd Chaplaine to his Regiment who instructed him in better Principles then he afterwards profest and about the year 1645 or 1646 this Col. Venn took a house in Aldersgate-street London for the onely reason that he might be near unto Mr. Love who then preached at St. Annes Church Aldersgate not far from Venns Lodging and about the year 1647 this professed Religious Collonel being to remove from thence to a place called Brumley near Kensington by reason of which distance he could not enjoy as he pretended the benefit of Mr Lov 's soul searching preaching whereupon he hired the Author of this small Treatise to be a constant Hearer of M. Love and to take his Sermons in Short-writing who made it his businesse all the weeke following to transcribe them again into a legible hand whereby what Mr. Love preach'd one Sunday at St. Anns was the next Sunday re-preach'd by Col. Venn in his own Family And yet this wretched Man acts contrary even to these Principles in the year 1648 he forsook both Mr. Love and his Religion too and sides with the then prevailing factious party and is nominated one of the Judges of the King who by this time they had contrived to put to Death to the great affliction and more then ordinary trouble of spirit of Mr. Love Finally he was one of the Judges of the King and most impudently sate among them he signed likewise to that blacke Authority that caused that unheard of Execution and lastly he proved a great enemy to
discomposed both in spirit and mind for he retained much of his former Frenetick humours now he was going to Execution He was drawn upon a Hurdle from Newgate to Charing Cross sitting therein like a Sot all the way he went and either plucking the Straws therein or gnawing the Fingers of his Gloves Being come to the place aforesaid not like a Minister but like some ignorant Atheist he ascended the Ladder but knew not what to say or how to carry himself at the hour of his death but standing there a while at length he perfectly burst forth into weeping and then after a little pause he held his hand before his eyes he prayed for a short space and now the Hangman being ready he very often remembred him to make haste by checking him with the Rope and at last very unwillingly he turned him off the Lader and after he had hung almost a quarter of an hour he was cut down and quartered His Head was set on London Bridge and his Limbs on the City Gates Upon Hugh Peters written by an ingenuous Spectator of his Execution See here the last and best Edition Of Hugh the Author of Sedition So full of Errors 't is not fit To read till Dun 's Corrected it But now 't is perfect nay far more 'T is better bound then 't was before And now I hope it is no sin To say Rebellion take thy swing For he that sayes sayes much amiss That Hugh an Independent is The Life of Mr. THOMAS SCOT MR. Thomas S ot was born in the County of Buckingham of no noted Family The first occasion of their publick notice was by the wicked projects of this unfortunate mâ—n He was sent to London by his friends to be brought up in some honest Calling which he was never so honest as to practice The highest preferment that he could reach before the Wars was being a Partner to a Brewer in the Precinct of Bridewel but of his honesty and faithfulness in his carriage therein I leave to his acquaintance and Neighbours to judge But he hoping to make better profit by having a hand in brewing of State Affairs makes friends to a Borough in Buckinghamshire where he was chosen a Burgess and so improves the good will of this his Country who made him a Parliament man to the destruction and confusion of the whole for being pre-prejudiced against the B shops and a constant envier against Monarchy he now had an opportunity to vent his malice and spit his venome by long Speeches and dilated Harr a gues in the Parliament This Tho. Scot being now crept into the House of Commons whispers Treason into many of the Members ears animating the War and ripping up and studying aggravations thereunto was forward upon all Tumultuous occasions to exasperate the people against the Bishops and through them striking at the King himself But it is to be observed how the drift of his malice soon after appeared This covetous wretch was so great an enemy to the Bishops onely that he might be partaker of their Lands for not long after that too forward Abolition of that Order and Government he then gets into the Bishop of Canterburies house at Lambeth and there Lords it with as much state as if he wanted nothing but the Title of an Arch Bishop And now his estate and his factious principles encrease together grasping as much of the Church Lands as he could and being of opinion that it had been no Sacriledge if he had pulled down the Churches themselves and did not think it enough for himself to be engaged in the Lands of the Church but he would engage his Son in the Lands of the King who was chosen and acted as one of the Trustees at Worcester house in the Strand for sale of the Lands of the King Queen and Prince In the year 1647. finding himself so far precipitated in the occasions and promoting of the War he sticks close to the Army and sayes There was no putting up the Sword after they had once drawn it against the King is admitted to the consultations of their private Meetings When they were contriving the death of the King he was one of the cheif underminers of that Parliament For when they Voted the Concessions of the King at the Isle of Wight were a sufficient ground for the peace of the Nations he with others and their never failng Speaker flie to the Army and coming to Town caused most of them to be secluded and he was one of the forty Members that Usurped the Title of a Parliament after they had driven away almost three hundred of their number and was a chief instrument in setting on foot that wicked thing called An Act of Parliament for the Trying of the King And because the Kings Seal could not be used to pass an Act against himself they all set their own Seals to that horrid instrument amongst whom this Mr. Scot's was one Every day that this wretched Crew called the High Court of Justice sate this Mr. Scot would be sure to be amongst them he was present and stood up when that impudent and unparaleld President commanded the Sentence to be read and he set his â—â—â—nd and Seal to that bloody Warrant for the Execution And now they thought their work was done after they had thus barbarously murthered the King Those few Members take upon them the Authority of the three Nations and Mr. Sc t is appointed one of their Council of State acts in the nature of a Secretary of State and is made the onely person to mannage the â—ntelligence as well Forraign as â—omestick both publick and private and thinks himself little other then a petty Prince in which condition he continued till the year 1653. at which time they were dissolved by the Ambition of the Grand Usurper He kept under him during the time of his domination several Spies called Pursivants and was a continual perplexer of Printers and Booksellers not suffering them to vent the least light of Transactions foâ— the information of the â—eople but by his Substitutes especially Ledsum all honest and true Intelligence was not onely seized and suppressed but the Divulgers thereof were both punished and imprisoned When Oliver Cromwel took the Government upon himself this busie body lay idle all the time onely behaved himself like a Wasp upon all occasions putting forth his sting He did nothing observable during that Usurpation worth our mention in this abridgement of their actions But that Government under him ceasing and Richard Cromwel now being setled in the scornful seat of his Father Mr. Scot begins again to shew himself and was a very active instrument in dethroning that foolish pretender and a chief Counsellor at Wallingford house with Lambert Fleetwood c. for the establishing of the Rump Parliament Which succeeding according to his desire he now appears as eminent as before and is re-instated in the places which under the Rump Parliament he had formerly exercised But a
second breach occasioned their second disturbance Lambert having lately victoriously overcome an undisciplined handful of men in Cheshire under the command of â—ir George Booth comes up to London like a Conqueror and sets the Wheels so on work as if possible to turn out that Rump Parliament again and so by Olivers policy to take the Government upon himself And thus these Traytors fell out amongst themselves which brought Our Soveraign to his Right Mr. Scot was much tickled at this sudden News and appears now as one that could not brook such an inâ—â—rruption to which purpose he with Mr. Weaver Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper c. Gentlemen of far honester principles then himself set on foot several designs for regaining the sitting of that Juncto as that of Portsmouth taking the Tower of London c. which brought them again once more to their Usurped Government and he is imployed by them with Mr. Luke Robinson to be as Spies over the actions and intentions of wise General Monck who was now upon his March towards London which proved ineffectual for their designe for although they would not suffer him to speak with any persons but where they were present yet they could not gain from him the least cranny to peep out at whereby they might understand or guess at his future intended purposes Soon after that Noble General gives the Secluded Members liberty to go into the House who till that time had been debarred by force from that their priviledge who onely sate to consider how another Parliament might be called and to dissolve that but supposed Parliament And before their intended dissolution Mr. Scot stands up and moves the House that before they did dissolve they would declare That all the Proceedings which had been made in relation to the Kings murther should be confirmed by the Parliament which motion was so ill recented that had not some moderate persons interceeded he had been at that time called to the Bar of the House for mentioning them to be so barbarous as to be conceived to countenance or own the Kings murther at which time he used this wicked expression That he desired no greater honour then to have it Engraved upon his Tomb-stone Here lies Tho Scot one of the Judges of the late King to the end the World might take notice of it The Parliament which met the 23d of April being summoned Mr. Scot flies beyond the Seas to seek a place for that hot head which he said he could not hide which proved true for not long after his Majesties restauration he was taken notice of in Flaâ—ders and there seized and sent Prisoner into England and brought to the Tower of London where he remained some time until he was brought to his Tryal Upon his Arraignment in the Old Baâ—ley he hâ—d little to say for himself pleading the power by which he acted to be a legal p wer bec use they were owned by the people c. But being told that the power by which he acted were not the â—enth part of the Commons of England and that if there had been a ful House of Commons and Lords likewise they could not by any Act of theirs take away the life of the poorest Cripple at the Gate much less the Kings He was left to his Jury and so was presently found Guilty And on Wednesday following he with others were drawn from Newgate â—n a Hurdle to their aforesaid appointed place of Execution All the way as he went his countenance was composed with a seeming cheerful gravity and being come to Charing Cross he obdurately and insensibly ascended the Ladder He spake very little to the people his chief business there as he said being to pray which being ended he made no long stay but was soon executed and qâ—artered according to his Sentence his Head was set up on the Gate of London Bridge and his Quâ—rters were set on the Gates of the City This treacherous Scot desired to have No other Motto on his Grave Then this That he was one that laid This bloody Scene anth ' King betrayd But he no Grave could now attain Whereâ—y that Motto should remain The Life of Col. Daniel Axtel COl Daniel Axtel was a man of a malicious and covetous spirit he was born of very private Parents and sent up to London to be put forth Apprentice He had not staid long at his Trade which was a Grocer before these destructed Nations began to shew their distempers and seeing nothing but letting of it blood would as they said procure its settlement he appeared a very forward instrument in taking up of Armes He went forth into the War but a private Souldier yet notwithstanding being a spiritually gifted man for so he was termed he very quickly arrived at the mark of a more publick notice When the Army were gathered together at New Market in a mutinous manner against their Masters the Parliament Agitators were chosen out of each Company to represent their pretended grievances Here Col. Axtel then but an ordinary Officer was looked upon as an eminent and fit person to carry on that factious and wicked design of refusing to disband the Army when they were commanded thereunto by the Parliament and when the Parliament and the King had come to Tearms of Peace in the Isle of Wight he comes up in the head of the Agitators and at the Bar of the Parliament House he is forward in impeaching the Members thereof calling them rotten Members c. and at that time being Lieutenant Colonel to Col. Hewsons Regiment of Foot he was very active that day the Secluded Members were imprisoned and disturbed and was more then ordinary Officious in the doing thereof When the High Court of cruel Injustice was established all the time during their sitting he commanded the Guards in Westminster-hall which attended them and when the King came through the Hall to his Tryal he commanded the Souldiers to cry Justice Justice and had the valour to beat such as did not execute his commands and when Bradshaw taxed the King with delayes and trifling away time saying the Commons of England demanded him to answer to his Charge a Lady from the Gallery said not half the Commons of England this Col. Axtel said to s Souldiers shoot the Whore pull her down c. And after upon the last day of their sitting he again commanded them to cry Execution Execution Afterwards being the day when this unparaleld murther was to be accomplished Col. Axtel was very busie that morning at Cromwels Chamber door where Ireton and Harrison then lay together in Whitehall and Col. Hunks Col. Hacker and Col. Phaire to whom the Warrant for â—xecution was directed being sent for thither Oliver Cromwel would have had them signed a Sub warrant to the â—xecutioner for the murther of the King but Col. Huncks refusing this Col. Axtel told him he was a peevish man and that he was sorry to think that now they were going into a safe Harbour