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
time Monmouth was absconding and when there was a Proclamation out for apprehending him King Charles not only knew where he was and sent him Messages every day but saw him several times in private When the Duke's Anger was a little appeas'd by the Sacrifices that were offer'd up to it King Charles thought it was then time to have his Son once again about him In order to which he so manag'd the matter that Monmouth should owe the Favour to the Duke of York and that his Pardon should be granted merely at the Duke's Intercession The Night he appear'd first at Court upon his Reconciliation King Charles was so little Master of himself that he could not dissemble a mighty Joy in his Countenance and in every thing he did or said Insomuch that it was the publick Talk about Town and strongly insinuated to the Duke of York That all the King 's former Proceedings against the Duke of Monmouth were but Grimace and that his Royal Highness being made the Instrument of the Reconciliation was all but a Trick put upon him This so far incens'd the Duke that he never rested till King Charles was prevail'd with to demand of Monmouth the Publication of a Paper which he had sign'd under Trust and with an Assurance given him that it should never be made publick which the Party about the Duke knew Monmouth would not consent to as being against his Honour They were not mistaken for Monmouth refus'd it and upon his Refusal was disgrac'd once again King Charles's Kindness ended not here but attended him to Holland whither he was oblig'd to retire He found secret means to furnish him with Money and sent him Messages from time to time and sometimes writ to him with his own Hand He could not bear any hard thing to be said of him in his absence and some officious Courtiers found to their Cost that it was not the way to make their Fortune to aggravate Monmouth's Crimes Nor did the King take any thing more kindly than the Noble Reception Monmouth receiv'd from a Prince of his Blood in a Foreign Countrey when he was forc'd to abandon his own King Charles tir'd out at last with the uncontroul'd Hardships that were every day put upon him by the Duke's Creatures and asham'd to see his own Lustre obscur'd and his Power lessen'd by a Party that had rais'd themselves upon Monmouth's Ruin he resolv'd to shift the Scene and in order to make himself easy for the rest of his Life as he express'd it he determin'd to send away the Duke of York and recall the Duke of Monmouth April was the time agreed on to put this Resolution in practice but there is little left us by which we can judge whether Monmouth was to be recall'd to Court by a formal Invitation of the King 's or whether King Charles's usual Thread of Dissimulation was to be spun out to that length that Monmouth was to Land with an Arm'd Force The first seems more probable if it were but for what he has writ himself in the Pocket-Book which there will be occasion to mention hereafter It 's true the last looks more of a piece with the rest of his Behaviour towards his Brother and Son and more agreeable to his Natural Biass which seldom inclin'd him to chuse the High Road when there could possibly be found a By-Path to tread in But Death put a sudden stop to all King Charles's Designs and Monmouth's Hopes and at the same time warded off a Blow that threaten'd the Duke of York so near And Monmouth being just ready to rise higher than ever was left by all his good Stars which set with that Royal Sun that gave them Birth and Heat I would not be mistaken here as if I were of opinion that in this New Turn that was upon the Anvil immediately before the Death of King Charles there was any Design of altering the Succession or bringing Monmouth within the View of a Crown The whole Course of King Charles's Actions does sufficiently contradict any such thought And though Monmouth was afterwards prevail'd with by a headstrong Party about him to assume the Title of King yet it's next to a Certainty that all that was originally aim'd at by King Charles and the Duke of Monmouth was only to weaken the Duke of York's Faction which was then become insupportable by playing Monmouth's Party against it which was consistent with the only fix'd Maxim of Government in that Reign That when any one Party grew too strong to throw in the Royal Weight into the lightest Scale Monmouth was sufficiently stunn'd with this unexpected Change in his Fortune by the Death of King Charles But his great Courage and vain Confidence in a Popular Affection and Assistance bore him up against all Difficulties and prompted him on to attempt by Force of Arms what was never design'd him by King Charles With Three small Ships and about an Hundred and fifty Men the Duke landed in the West of England the Parliament sitting A Romantick kind of Invasion and scarce parallel'd in History Yet with this Handful of Men and the common People that join'd him without Arms Provisions Martial Discipline Money or any one Place of Strength to retire to in case of Accidents did this Brave Unfortunate Man bid fair for a Crown And if his Ill Fate had not plac'd a Battalion of Dumbarton's Regiment in his way he had in all probability surpriz'd the King's Army in their Camp and perhaps at that single Blow decided the Fortune of England for once Yet this Attempt may be said to have pav'd the Way for a Nobler Change in the Throne by leaving King Iames at liberty through this Success to act without Controul what at length tumbled him down Monmouth paid the Price of his Rebellion with his Blood And King Iames in ordering him to be brought into his Presence under the Sentence of Death was pleas'd to make one Exception against a General Rule observ'd inviolably among Kings Never to allow a Criminal under the Sentence of Death the sight of his Prince's Face without a design to pardon him There is nothing deliver'd concerning this Unfortunate Gentleman but what I have unquestionable Grounds for and which some Persons yet alive of the First Quality know to be true But of the most things above mention'd there is an infallible Proof extant under Monmouth's own Hand in a little Pocket-Book which was taken with him and deliver'd to King Iames which by an Accident is needless to mention here I had leave to copy and did it in part A great many dark Passages there are in it and some clear enough that shall be eternally buried for me And perhaps it had been for King Iames's Honour to have committed them to the Flames as Iulius Caesar is said to have done upon a like occasion All the use that shall be made of it Appendix Numb 14. is only to give in the Appendix some few Passages out of it